20210629 FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT BY KEEPING THE FAITH
29 June, 2021, Tuesday, Ss Peter and Paul, Apostles
First reading | Acts 12:1-11 © |
'Now I know the Lord really did save me from Herod'
King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week. All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.
On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison. Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands. The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.’ After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’ Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him. It was only then that Peter came to himself. ‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):2-9 © |
From all my terrors the Lord set me free.
or
The angel of the Lord rescues those who revere him.
I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.
From all my terrors the Lord set me free.
or
The angel of the Lord rescues those who revere him.
Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.
From all my terrors the Lord set me free.
or
The angel of the Lord rescues those who revere him.
Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.
From all my terrors the Lord set me free.
or
The angel of the Lord rescues those who revere him.
The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.
From all my terrors the Lord set me free.
or
The angel of the Lord rescues those who revere him.
Second reading |
2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18 © |
All there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me
My life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.
The Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt16:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 16:13-19 © |
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT BY KEEPING THE FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 12: 1-11; Ps 34:2-9; 2 Tim 4, 6-8. 17-18; MT 16, 13-19]
It is almost unbelievable that the Catholic Church, which was established 2000 years ago by our Lord Jesus Christ, is still being persecuted today. At no time in the history of the Church was she ever really free from persecution. At every era, she faced persecution and opposition from within and without. But we should not be surprised because the Lord had already warned us, “You will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mt 10:22) He said “have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mt 10:26,28)
The Church today continues to face opposition from a world that no longer believes in God and is without moral values. In the days of old, all politicians, civil servants, businessmen and rulers would appeal to their Faith in God to gain credibility in the governance of the people because people had more respect for faith believers as they believed that they would do what was good and right by others since they were accountable to God. But today, we would not want people to know our faith affinity for fear of being ridiculed, discriminated and lose the trust of people because we are on the side of God and truth and goodness! So the world makes use of religion, depending on whether religion favours them or not. Some of our own Catholics, in order to win popularity with the world would even go against Church teachings publicly so that the world would know that they are on their side. They want the world to look up to them and idolize them so that they can enjoy fame, power and wealth.
This was the case of Herod in his persecution of the Christians and Peter. To gain the credibility and support of the Jews, “King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church. He beheaded James the brother of John, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well.” He would be doing a great favour to the Jews if he could also put Peter to death so that the church in Jerusalem would be without a leader and hence destroyed. To show that he was a good Jew who respected tradition and the Law, he did not bring Peter to trial during the Passover. “This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week.”
This explains why in the face of persecution and temptation to betray our faith and our Catholic values, we must be ready to fight the good fight. We are called to imitate St Paul. He said, “As for me, my life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end.” Indeed, in spite of the trials we face each day in life, we must fight until the end. There will be times when we feel like giving up. We feel like throwing in the towel. But to give up and to surrender to the triumph of evil will make us live a life of regret. Our conscience will not be at peace. We might save our body but we will not save our souls.
But it is not enough to fight to the end, we must keep the faith as well. St Paul wrote, “I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith.” Indeed, it is always easy to begin something, a project or a mission. But it is a different thing to sustain it. Many of us begin well, with much enthusiasm and passion. After some time, when faced with much opposition or when routine sets it, we either give up fighting or succumb to complacency. But Paul did not give up till he had completed his race, keeping his faith intact and alive. He would not give in to the world and to falsehoods. This is because he knew that he was answerable to God who was his ultimate judge, for he said, “all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.” It was his faith in Christ and the ultimate hope to be with Him that gave St Paul the impetus and courage to remain faithful to the Lord till the end.
So what would sustain us in completing the race is our faith in God and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us who lack faith in Christ would not be able to sustain the battle with the Evil One for long. This is why the world is in despair because it does not have a hope beyond this life. We only live for this life and if this life is too difficult, we would just cut short their stay on earth so that there will be no more suffering and pain. However, faith in Christ as the Son of the Living God would give us the strength to persevere. This was what the Lord said to Peter when he confessed in Him as the Christ, “the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, ‘You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” It is faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God that would make us stand firm in our faith. It is on this rock, this faith in Christ that we share with Peter that we can overcome the gates of the underworld.
With faith in Christ, we will have no fear even when our lives are threatened because we know in Christ we have overcome death. God is in charge of our lives just as He was in charge of the lives of St Peter and St Paul. It was not yet the time for their martyrdom. So the Lord rescued Peter by having an angel release him from prison. It was a miraculous event which Peter came to realize only much later, after he was led out of the prison. When Peter came to himself he said, “Now I know it is all true. The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.” So too St Paul spoke of how the Lord protected him as well and delivered him many times from death and his enemies. “The Lord stood by me and gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Thus, it is important that we continue to pray for divine intervention and protection of the Church, especially her leaders, like what the early Church did. “All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.” This is the reason why we pray for the Holy Father and the bishops and the clergy at every Eucharistic celebration. If the shepherds lose their faith, the sheep will scatter. Like the early Christians, we need to intercede for the Church. Instead of being used by the Evil One to sow division in the Church or to attack the Church, we must seek to defend and protect her. We too must ask God for ourselves, for the grace to know Him more deeply and personally. Faith in Jesus, in the final analysis, is a gift from God. The Lord said to Peter, “You are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.”
Like Peter, we too have been given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. We must use the Key, like Peter, to close the Church by protecting her from the influence and infiltration of the Evil One who is sowing division within the Church and the persecution of the world. But we must also use the other key of St Paul to evangelize the gospel to the world. We cannot afford to hide from the onslaught of the world. We must confront the world head-on, otherwise we will be marginalized and defeated. The only way to protect the Church is to evangelize the world with the Good News as St Paul did.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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