20211028 CHRIST AS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE CHURCH
28 October, 2021, Thursday, Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
First reading |
Ephesians 2:19-22 © |
In Christ you are no longer aliens, but citizens like us
You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):2-5 © |
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Te Deum |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
The glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:12-16 © |
Jesus chooses his twelve apostles
Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
CHRIST AS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EPHESIANS 2:19-22; LUKE 6:12-19]
In the gospel, Jesus appointed the Twelve to continue His mission, knowing that His life on earth would be short, especially when He saw the growing opposition against Him. He saw the need to establish a community after Him so that His mission could continue. Hence, “Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles'”. In choosing the Twelve, Jesus had in mind the New Israel, for they represented the Twelve tribes of Israel. They did not replace the Old Israel as such but it shows a continuity and development. No longer would Israel be just the Twelve tribes but the New Israel encompasses everyone who has faith in Christ.
Indeed, anyone who belongs to Christ forms His Church, His household and His body. This is what St Paul wrote, “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.” “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Eph 1:22f) The Lord said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Lk 8:21)
But what is significant is that the Church which Jesus established is truly Catholic, that is, universal, embracing people of every race, language, culture, nationality, rank, status, education, profession, and social class. The vision of Jesus fulfils the promise of God made to Abraham when God renewed His covenant with him and said, “You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.” (Gen 17:4-6)
Accordingly, our Lord began His Church by choosing Twelve apostles who came from different backgrounds, professions, aspirations and passion. These were the Twelve He chose, “Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became the traitor.” It is notable that these Twelve did not share much in common, whether it was their background, temperament or motivation in following Jesus. Peter, James and John were fishermen. Matthew was a tax collector. Simon, whose feast we celebrate today, was a zealot. He was a revolutionary and would have considered Matthew to be a traitor for selling the Jews to the Romans. Then we have Judas Thaddeus, whose feast we also celebrate today. He is more known as Jude so that we would not confuse him with Judas Iscariot. Like Simon the Zealot and Jude Thaddeus, we do not know much about them except that they were among the Twelve and that Jude left behind a short letter.
Selecting His future leaders from such a wide diversity of people with different skills, mindsets and along with them, their prejudices, surely, Jesus was asking for trouble. Obviously, there would have been tension among them just to co-exist, much less to work together. We all know how difficult it is in any organization, especially among people who are professionals, experts in their fields, and passionate in different causes because of different backgrounds, to work together, find alignment in vision and mission. Quite often, members would clash in their views as we all see life and situations very differently, each coloured by past experiences, encounters, history, education, upbringing and training. So it is very challenging to try to get everyone on board as views are sometimes simply irreconcilable.
Yet, this is the Catholic Church that Jesus intends for humanity. The Church of Christ must be able to embrace all peoples irrespective of culture, language, political and economic views, and even theological views. The Church has this mammoth task of accommodating everyone so that none would be left out. Only then can the Church be a Sacrament and sign of unity for the human race. If as Church we cannot embrace diversity and differences, we will never achieve unity. This is why we must bear in mind that unity is not uniformity. Any unity that can be achieved is based on diversity. The strength of union does not lie in uniformity, or homogeneity but in diversity. When there is unity in spite of diversity, then that unity is solid, whereas a unity rooted in uniformity is a weak form of unity because it cannot withstand differences and diversity.
What then is the basis for unity in the Church? Although unity embraces diversity, there are certain fundamental principles for such unity in diversity to be realized. St Paul says that “You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.” In this text, we see the importance of being aligned with the Lord and with His Church. This guarantees that “every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.” To become the Holy Temple of the Lord, we must make the House of God a place where His Spirit truly lives.
Indeed, the first foundational principle that cannot be compromised is that Jesus is our cornerstone. We can have diverse ways in ministry, in execution of plans, in the structure of leadership, in some moral and theological perspectives, but we must all have a common devotion and fidelity to the Lord. This is why, the Church today must be more ecumenical. The insistence that non-Catholic Churches must return to the Catholic Church which is the Church of Christ is not realistic. Today there are thousands of Christian denominations and even the mainstream Christian communities are quite fragmented within in theological positions and leaderships. In the Constitution of the Church in Vatican II, the Church acknowledges the elements of the true Church of Christ in them even if they are not in union with the Catholic Church. “For there are many who honour Sacred Scripture, taking it as a norm of belief and a pattern of life, and who show a sincere zeal. They lovingly believe in God the Father Almighty and in Christ, the Son of God and Saviour. They are consecrated by baptism, in which they are united with Christ. They also recognize and accept other sacraments within their own churches or ecclesiastical communities. Many of them rejoice in the episcopate, celebrate the Holy Eucharist and cultivate devotion toward the Virgin Mother of God. They also share with us in prayer and other spiritual benefits.” (Lumen Gentium, 15)
Secondly, the Church is founded on the apostles and the prophets. Beyond these established structures, there are also many gifts of the Holy Spirit given to Christians so that they can continue to build the Church of Christ. “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” (Eph 4:11-13) We cannot deny that these gifts are present in many non-Catholic churches. Indeed, we must acknowledge that “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (Eph 4:4-6)
So today, as we celebrate the Feasts of Simon and Jude, let us rediscover the call to promote unity among Christians, a unity that is founded on diversity. Whilst we cannot deny that we all have differences in the interpretations of scripture, traditions, doctrine and morality, what is of utmost importance is that we all seek to be as faithful to Christ as possible, bearing in mind our responsibility to dialogue with those whom we cannot agree. It is through sincere and humble discussion that we can strengthen our fraternal bonds with each other and work together to spread the gospel of Christ to all of humanity.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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