20210518 MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
18 May, 2021, Tuesday, 7th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 20:17-27 © |
I have without faltering put before you the whole of God's purpose
From Miletus Paul sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus. When they arrived he addressed these words to them:
‘You know what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful to you; I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.
‘And now you see me a prisoner already in spirit; I am on my way to Jerusalem, but have no idea what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, in town after town, has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await me. But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.
‘I now feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will ever see my face again. And so here and now I swear that my conscience is clear as far as all of you are concerned, for I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 67(68):10-11,20-21 © |
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
You poured down, O God, a generous rain:
when your people were starved you gave them new life.
It was there that your people found a home,
prepared in your goodness, O God, for the poor.
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
May the Lord be blessed day after day.
He bears our burdens, God our saviour.
This God of ours is a God who saves.
The Lord our God holds the keys of death.
Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn14:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I go, but I will come back to you,
and your hearts will be full of joy.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 17:1-11 © |
Father, it is time for you to glorify me
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Father, the hour has come:
glorify your Son
so that your Son may glorify you;
and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him,
let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.
And eternal life is this:
to know you,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth
and finished the work that you gave me to do.
Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me
with that glory I had with you
before ever the world was.
I have made your name known
to the men you took from the world to give me.
They were yours and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now at last they know
that all you have given me comes indeed from you;
for I have given them the teaching you gave to me,
and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you,
and have believed that it was you who sent me.
I pray for them;
I am not praying for the world
but for those you have given me,
because they belong to you:
all I have is yours
and all you have is mine,
and in them I am glorified.
I am not in the world any longer,
but they are in the world,
and I am coming to you.’
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ ACTS 20:17-27; JN 17:1-11 ]
Have you ever imagined or fantasized the day of your funeral? Who will come to visit you at your wake? What will they say about you? What eulogy will your loved ones give on the day of your funeral? What will they write on your tombstone? Indeed, my dear friends, death will come. It will come sometimes when we are least prepared. It can come through illness or a mishap or an accident. Whether it comes gradually or suddenly, we will never know. We need not waste time worrying about the time of our departure.
More importantly, will you be ready when it is time for you to return to the Lord? What does it mean to be ready? It means whether we will leave this earth fulfilled and happy because we have been faithful to our vocation and responsibilities in life. We can leave this earth with resentment, regrets or at peace knowing that we have done what we could in life, using all the resources given to us for the service of God and of men. We can depart from this world in such a way that the loved ones we leave behind are filled with regrets and sorrow for us or with joy that we have accomplished what the Lord had set out for us to do. How we leave when the time comes will be dependent on how we live our lives today. In order to prepare for eternal life, we must therefore be prepared for death.
How would you judge yourself when you arrive at your death bed? The truth is that we do not live just for today. Neither do we live for ourselves. If we only live for ourselves, we will die a miserable death because we know we have been selfish. We cannot rest in peace. We will regret and condemn ourselves. We all have been given a vocation in life. Fidelity to our calling is what gives us peace. We will be required to give an account of how we live our lives with all the resources that have been given to us. Otherwise our conscience will condemn us. We will not be able to face God or those who have been entrusted to us. Most of all, we cannot face ourselves. This is perhaps the real judgment. Upon death we will see things in all clarity about ourselves, our actions and our motives. Indeed, peace and happiness in the final analysis has nothing to do with success and self-indulgence. Nor is peace to be identified with freedom from suffering or even persecution. It is a question of whether we have lived our lives responsibly before God and our fellowmen.
Hence, St Paul wrote, “But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.” Instead of talking about life and dreaming about life, we must start living fully instead. Just mere thinking of the good things we hope to do one day and our great aspirations of helping the poor might never materialize. Whilst we are still alive, we must be like St Paul, do all we can according to our capacity. It is this singular mindedness of St Paul in fulfilling the tasks given to him by the Lord that explains why he was not worried about his future or his imminent death and possibly execution.
In the gospel, Jesus too was also fully focused on His ministry. He knew the reason why He came to this earth. Right at the tender age of twelve, Jesus told His mother at the Temple, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:48) At the end of His life, Jesus could proudly say to His Father, “I have glorified you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do.” It is important to take cognizance that the happiness of Jesus laid in the fact that He gave glory to the Father. All that Jesus wanted in His life was to make His Father known and loved. That is why He said, “I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”
What about us? Have we discharged our responsibility faithfully and conscientiously to those given to us on trust? We must be clear that our children, our workers, our students, our members and our subordinates are given to us on trust. We do not own our children or our workers. We are only stewards of God’s grace. The authority given to us is one of deputizing God the Father. We are simply exercising the office bestowed by God for the good of His people. We are the sheep of His pasture. Only God is the shepherd. “Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Ps 100:3)
Jesus was totally devoted to the people of God. Whatever He did, it was always with His people in mind. The happiness of His people came before His. Even as He was preparing to depart from this world, His thoughts went to His disciples. He told His Father, “I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you.” In saying that “all I have is yours and all you have is mine and in them I am glorified” Jesus was declaring that it was His total commitment and identification with His people that He was glorified. In other words, by the life we live, we reflect His image and love in us. We glorify Jesus by our very lives. This is how the celebrant at the end of the Mass dismisses us, “Go in peace, glorifying God by your lives.” Jesus’ entire life was one of glory to His Father. In His last testament He said, “Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me.” By revealing Himself as coming from God, we now know the heart of the Father in person, His love and care for us.
So, too, did St Paul. He knew that he did not leave anything that he could have done undone. He spoke the truth and proclaimed the gospel in and out of season. With a clear conscience, he wrote, “You know what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful to you; I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.” In other words, he truly did his best in spite of all the oppositions he faced. Paul had given everything he had to the Church. He emptied himself like Jesus for the people of God.
This explains why St Paul and Jesus were ever ready to depart from the world to return to the Father, not out of escapism from the suffering that came from the sacrifices in life. St Paul was always ready to meet the Lord. Writing to the Philippians when he was in prison in Rome, he said, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” (Phil 1:21-24) A clear indication that we have not been faithful to ourselves and not living our life fully is when we are afraid to meet the Lord and face death. If we have discharged our duties well we would be ready to let go.
In the light of such inspiring lives of Jesus and Paul, let our lives glorify God and inspire man. With a clear conscience, we can then depart this world without guilt or regret and our loved ones will also suffer no guilt when the time comes for us to go. Let us take to heart what St Paul said, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. (Phil 2:14-18)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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