20210416 GOD IS IN CHARGE
16 April, 2021, Friday, 2nd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 5:34-42 © |
They were glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name
One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them. And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’
His advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.
They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 © |
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead:
have mercy on us, triumphant King.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:1-15 © |
The feeding of the five thousand
Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.
Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
GOD IS IN CHARGE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 5:34-42; PS 27:1,4,13-14; JOHN 6:1-15 ]
In the first reading, Gamaliel, a Pharisee and a highly respected teacher of the Law, advised the members of the Sanhedrin, which was mostly comprised of Sadducees, not to stop the movement of the apostles from growing. In his convincing argument, he presented two cases before them, when the movements started by Theudas, and Judas the Galilean, did not last long. His conclusion was simply this, “If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.” What He said seems to be true and hence his advice was accepted.
Yet, this is not always the case, at least in the short run. The reality is that when something is not nipped in the bud, good or evil will grow from strength to strength. Jesus had warned His disciples about the yeast of Herod. (Mk 8:15) St Paul issued a similar exhortation to the Corinthians, “Let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:8) And the advice of Gamaliel gave the Christians the opportunity to grow and spread the gospel. Of course, we know that ultimately, God will triumph over evil and sin. But it would be at the end of time. In the meanwhile, there will be many casualties.
But what is significant in the decision of the Sanhedrin demonstrates to us the power of God, and that He is in charge. Gamaliel unwittingly was used by God to give an advice that was in favour of the Christians. In trying to handle the apostles’ claim that Jesus had been raised from the dead, he was in a bind because on one hand, the Pharisees believed in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, whereas the Sadducees staunchly opposed this doctrine. In order to strike a compromise, he had to advice the Sanhedrin to allow the apostles to be freed, and then allow God to take charge of the situation, believing that God knew best and His action was His wisdom. By so doing, God endorsed the movement of the apostles because it grew in strength. Indeed, “they preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.”
This is why today, in the face of challenging times, we do not have to feel that we are fighting a losing battle in spreading the gospel to all of humanity. Indeed, the tide seems to be against religions in general, and Christianity in particular. The individualistic, materialistic and relativistic values of the world are in contradiction to the gospel that Christ is teaching. Not just the world but even our own believers are subscribing to the secular values of the world, destroying marriage and family life, promoting the culture of death and leading the world into ecological disaster, besides the military, technological and space wars among countries. But the message of today’s scripture readings is that God is in charge.
That God is in charge is the message reiterated in today’s gospel of the multiplication of loaves. Today’s passage of the gospel is a continuation of the previous chapter when Jesus told the Jews, “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (Jn 5:45-47) Jesus is the one that Moses spoke about when God said, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.” (Dt 18:18) To illustrate this truth, St John’s gospel brings out two nature miracles paralleling what Moses did for his people when he set them free from the land of slavery, and then brought them through the desert before entering the Promised Land.
John begin by noting that “Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick.” This reminds us of how the Hebrews followed Moses because of the signs that he worked, the Ten plagues that he inflicted on the Egyptians forcing Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free. In this instance, the crowd followed Jesus because of the miracles, especially of healing that He performed. We are also told that this happened, “shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.” Readers will know that it is an inference to the Passover when the Hebrews celebrated before passing over from Egypt through the waters, the Red sea to the Promised Land. Clearly, the mention of the Passover was an important information for the readers to make the link between Moses and Jesus.
Then again, this editorial emphasis that “Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples” is to remind us how Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Laws of God and taught the people. So too, Jesus would often teach on the Mountain like Moses, teaching with the authority that came from God. Within this context, we have the miracle of the multiplication of loaves. It is important to take note of the setting that it was just before the Passover because the multiplication of the bread is to recall the giving of the manna by Moses to the people in the desert and how Jesus also gave the bread of life to His people both by His teaching and most of all by being the Passover Lamb at the end of His life. This also took place in a deserted place, symbolizing the hunger not just for food but for eternal life.
Once again, we see Jesus taking charge of the situation in feeding the crowd. When it comes to looking after us, saving us, God always take the initiative. “Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do.” Just as the people lamented and grumbled against God and Moses saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food?” (Num 21:5), Jesus also tested Philip. Jesus, like God, was always testing His people to see whether they had faith in Him.
Then we are told how the Lord with five barley loaves and two fish fed five thousand men, excluding women and children. He was truly the New Moses who supplied the bread of life to the people. Not only were they all fed but the Lord instructed the disciples, “‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves.” And the conclusion is obvious, “The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.” Indeed, they wanted to make Him King but Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world. (Jn 19:36)
The power of our Lord in feeding the Five Thousand anticipated the Eucharistic Miracle, the Bread of life, which is the Word of God and the giving of His body and blood at the Eucharistic celebration. This power is further reinforced when after withdrawing from the crowd, He walked on the sea to meet His disciples who were caught in the storm as they took the boat to cross the sea to Capernaum, reminiscing how the Hebrews crossed the red sea to freedom. Upon entering their boat, the storm died down. “He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.” (Jn 6:20f) With Jesus, we will arrive safely at our destination. This is why, once again in the face of trials and struggles against a hostile secularism and an amoral world, we must hold fast in faith to the Lord who is with us.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment