20210501 JESUS THE FULFILLMENT OF OUR YEARNING TO SEE GOD
01 May, 2021, Saturday, 4th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 13:44-52 © |
Since you have rejected the word of God, we must turn to the pagans
The next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations,
so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’
It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.
But the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 © |
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Rm6:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again.
Death has no power over him any more.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn8:31-32 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
and you will learn the truth, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 14:7-14 © |
To have seen me is to have seen the father
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’
‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him, ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
JESUS THE FULFILLMENT OF OUR YEARNING TO SEE GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 13:44-52; Ps 98:1-4; Jn 14:7-14 ]
In a world of secularism where God is removed from public life, it does not mean that man has lost the desire to see God. On the contrary, more so than ever, we long to see God because we all know that we are more than material creatures. We have a spirit that is manifested in our thirst for things beyond physical needs. We yearn for love, for joy, for meaning and purpose. But even then, to find love in our friends, joy in the pleasures of life, arts and music, meaning and purpose in serving humanity, leave us hungering for more. We desire ultimate joy, love and purpose.
This is what Philip was asking our Lord. “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” He wanted to see God just as Moses asked to see God. Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” (Ex 33:18) But God said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” (Ex 33:20) Instead the Lord said to Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’ and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” And the Lord continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” (Ex 33:19,21)
Precisely, the face of God, His goodness, compassion and mercy are now made present in the person of Jesus. Jesus said to Philip, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” Jesus is the personal presence of the Father. We cannot see God who is pure spirit except through the humanity of our Lord. When a person says he has “seen” God, it cannot mean a pure direct vision of God, rather it is mediated through some tangible signs such as the experience of light, goodness, love, joy, mercy and peace. Our encounter with God necessarily comes through the means of His Word and His works mercy, wonders and healing in our lives. This is why Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.”
But how is God present in Jesus? This is the question that Thomas asked Jesus earlier on to show them the way to the Father. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (Jn 14:6f) This statement of our Lord can be misconceived as Jesus being the Way to the Father, as if He is just a conduit or a means to the end. What Jesus was saying is that He is not just the Way, but also the Truth and the Life. God is Truth and Life. In other words, Jesus is more than just a channel to God, someone we can dispose of once we reach God. Rather, in Jesus, we see God. He is the means and the end as well. To know Jesus means to know the Father.
In other words, as the Lord said to Philip who still could not understand, He is One with the Father. The unity between Jesus and the Father is an ontological unity, that is an essential unity of nature. It is more than just a moral or ethical unity of mind and will. As sons and daughters in the Son, we are called to share in the moral unity with God, that is, to align ourselves with His will and mind. However, the unity of essence, which is His divinity, is unique to Jesus alone with His Father.
This is the same message that Paul proclaimed to the Jews and the proselytes in Antioch. He went through the history of Israel, beginning with their sojourn in Egypt and then liberated by Moses and finally the establishment of the Davidic Kingdom. Jesus was the fulfillment of the promises made to King David foretold by the prophets with John the Baptist preparing the way for Him. After being put to death, instead of seeing corruption, He was raised by the Father. It was important for Paul to underscore that Jesus was the continuation and the fulfillment of salvation history. In this way, both the Jews and the converts to Judaism would be better placed to appreciate how having faith in Jesus is not a betrayal of their beliefs in Judaism but the flowering of God’s promises.
However, faith is required to come to this realization. There are still many who cannot accept that Jesus could be the Messiah, much less the Son of God. This is understandable because without faith and revelation, we cannot arrive at this belief. Even the apostles took time to come to the full realization of what Jesus was teaching about Himself to His disciples. They could not grasp how Jesus could be one in essence with God without compromising their faith in the One God. Indeed, the full Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity took almost 300 hundred years for the Church at the Council of Nicea in 321 A.D. to define exactly our faith in the One God who is Father, Son and Spirit. So, we should not be surprised that the Jews could not accept Jesus.
But what is important is whether we are docile to the Word of God. What is it that prevents us from finding faith in Jesus as the Revealer of God and the Revealed? If it is prompted, as the first reading tells, us by jealousy, then we are to be faulted. “When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said.” When they could not prevent the crowd from listening and finding faith in Jesus, they “worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory.” When we reject God’s word because of fear, jealousy, insecurity and prejudice, then we are listed among the Gentiles who reject God. This explains why the apostles, like pious Jews did when they wanted to disassociate themselves from others, shook “the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium.”
In contrast, the pagans, like the apostles in the gospel and the Gentile proselytes to Judaism, were keen to listen and docile to the Word of God. As a consequence, “they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers.” Many were converted also because they came to realize that they did not have to follow the Jewish customs and culture to be included among the People of God. All that was needed was to believe in Jesus and follow Him by living a life of integrity, charity and mercy to see God.
Today, we are called be like the apostles, to proclaim Jesus to the world. As Paul said, “For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.” We must proclaim Jesus as Paul did, explicitly as the Saviour of humanity. We cannot compromise on this proclamation, otherwise the gospel would be reduced merely to a social gospel that is directed at uplifting the material and physical needs of humanity. We must remember that we are here also to save souls and to give them eternal life. This was what Paul said to the Jews, “We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans.” Of course, our proclamation of the Lord as Saviour and the gift of eternal life must correspond with what Jesus did, by producing the works of the Father in works of mercy and compassion. But let it be clear that we are not just doing social and humanitarian works, providing material needs to our fellowmen. Rather, we are expressing God’s love for them so that they can look beyond the material gifts they receive to faith in Jesus so that they can find fullness of life. Just as Jesus is the sacrament of the Father, we are called to be the Sacrament of Jesus by our words and works.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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