20210506 A JOY THAT IS COMPLETE
06 May, 2021, Thursday, 5th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 15:7-21 © |
I rule that we do not make things more difficult for the pagans who turn to God
After the discussion had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the elders.
‘My brothers,’ he said ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers. In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.’
This silenced the entire assembly, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.
When they had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘listen to me. Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the pagans. This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:
After that I shall return
and rebuild the fallen House of David;
I shall rebuild it from its ruins
and restore it.
Then the rest of mankind,
all the pagans who are consecrated to my name,
will look for the Lord,
says the Lord who made this known so long ago.
‘I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has always had his preachers in every town, and is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):1-3,10 © |
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen, he who created all things,
and has granted his mercy to men.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 15:9-11 © |
Remain in my love
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.’
A JOY THAT IS COMPLETE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 15:7-21; PS 96:1-3, 10; JOHN 15:9-11 ]
Are you seeking true joy in life? In spite of the fact that you are doing relatively well, holding a good job, a successful business, a loving family, are you truly happy? Is there something missing in your life just like the woman in Samaria, seeking living water? If not, then Lord Jesus says, “I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.” To find complete joy, our joy must be of the same joy as Jesus’. To find joy we must first find Jesus. Only Jesus can complete our joy.
What then was the joy of Jesus? It was the joy of basking in the love of the Father. Jesus’ great joy was to be one with the Father in everything. Jesus’ joy was to be the Father’s beloved Son. Indeed, the strength of Jesus’ ministry came from His constant communion with the Father in prayer and in doing His ministry. Knowing that He and the Father were one gave Him the confidence and trust in aligning His will to that of the Father. His food, as Jesus tells us, was to do the Father’s will. Even though doing His will was extremely difficult, Jesus commended everything into His hands. His greatest desire was to give glory to His Father. “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.” (Jn 17:4)
The second secret of Jesus’ joy was to pour out the joy that He received from His Father to us. This is what the Lord Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” He reached out to us in joy. Jesus revealed to us His Father’s love. He was sent by the Father to show us His Father’s love and mercy. He did this not just in words but in concrete actions by reaching out to those who were dying, sick and disheartened. He came for the poor and the lost as the Good Shepherd. Most of all, He laid down His life for us and died for us whilst we were still sinners. He came to forgive us for our ignorance. By His death, He came to give us His Spirit, the love and joy of God. The great joy of Jesus was that we share in His Father’s joy. “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:26) True joy cannot be contained within oneself. Indeed, creation is the consequence of the abundant joy and love in the heart of the Trinity. From this inner love of God, creation flows from God. From the heart of the Father, came Jesus to save us from damnation.
To remain in His love is the way to remain in God’s love. We too must have the heart of God in loving, first by allowing Him to love us; and then by pouring out the love we have received to others. This is what the Lord meant when He said, “Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” There is ultimately only one commandment; it is the commandment of love. When we love like God, even to the extent of giving up one’s life for others, then we remain in the love of God and our joy would be complete.
That was how the early Christians loved each other and allowed this love to grow in leaps and bounds. In the first reading, we read of the struggles of the early Christians with the conversion of the Gentiles to Christianity. The Jewish Christians had to live and work side by side with the Gentile Christians. But their Jewish customs forbade them to mix with the Gentiles, especially when it came to eating with them. They were still observing the Jewish laws of circumcision and the Mosaic laws. At the same time Paul and Barnabas, through their preaching and missionary work, brought many Gentiles to acknowledge Christ as their Lord and Saviour. So there was a dilemma in resolving this tension of being Jews and Christians, and yet accepting the Gentile Christians as their equal to the covenant promises.
What prevailed finally was the love of Christ in them. Instead of being narrow-minded and protective of each community’s interests, they saw the bigger picture of reaching out to all nations in the proclamation of the gospel. James cited from the prophet Amos, “After that I shall return and rebuild the fallen House of David; I shall rebuild it from its ruins and restore it. Then the rest of mankind, all the pagans who are consecrated to my name, will look for the Lord.” The gospel is not just for Jews. Those desiring to be Christian need not adopt Judaism and its customs. We are all chosen people of the New Covenant in Christ.
Peter helped them to broaden their perspective on what salvation entailed, namely through faith in Christ and grace alone. St Peter said, “God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” Clearly, salvation is not through obedience to the Mosaic laws but faith in Christ. Anyone who is sincere and have faith in Jesus is saved.
This love of Christ is also demonstrated in dialogue through listening. Love is always attentive to the pains and needs of all. Love does not impose one’s vision and perception on others. Love is always reaching out and being receptive of others. So when they met, they were not shouting down each other’s assessment of the problem. Rather, they met as brothers trying to find the best solution for everyone. So they began by listening to the apostles and the elders. Most of all, they were ready to listen to the testimonies of Paul and Barnabas on the work they were doing, “describing the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.” This is what is required of us in living out the love of God, especially when it comes to building community – the readiness to listen to each other and to think of each other’s interests and not just one’s own. Humility and charity wins the day.
As a consequence, they came to a compromise. The judgement was not just a rule declaring that the Gentiles need not observe the Mosaic laws. Whilst in principle it was the case, in practice it would not be a loving thing to do because for 2000 years, the Jews upheld the law of Moses tenaciously. To ask them to accommodate the pagans would take time and could not be done immediately. Hence, it was ruled that out of charity and consideration to the Jews, the Gentile Christians should observe the four basic rules. James said, “I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.” So in order not to make things difficult for both the Jews and the Gentiles, only the most sensitive rules were kept.
Indeed, for us today, two of these rules are still relevant to us in seeking perfect joy. If we want to remain in Jesus, it is more than just worshipping Him and praising Him; we must also obey His commandments, which is love. We must constantly be alerted to the fact that we must abstain from anything that is polluted by idols, that is, to be motivated by the worship of self, egotism and self-centeredness when we do things for ourselves or for others. When it is about fulfilling our ambition rather than selfless and humble service; when it is a question of indulging in pleasures rather than in sharing our joys with others, then we are polluted by idols. We too must keep away from fornication or sexual immorality in the broadest terms. Sexual immorality will lead us to decadence. This is especially so in today’s world where a promiscuous life is promoted by the world. This promotion of lust instead of authentic love, which involves true sacrifice of oneself for the other, will only lead to frustration in love, emptying us of true joy because of the lack of stability in a selfless and giving relationship. Lust alone gives us false joy. Perfect joy comes from self-effacement in love and purity of heart. This is how we love in Christ. Perfect joy comes when we love like Him and in Him.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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