20220422 EFFECTIVENESS IN MISSION
22 April, 2022, Easter Friday
First reading | Acts 4:1-12 © |
The name of Jesus Christ is the only one by which we can be saved
While Peter and John were talking to the people the priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees. They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. They arrested them, but as it was already late, they held them till the next day. But many of those who had listened to their message became believers, the total number of whom had now risen to something like five thousand.
The next day the rulers, elders and scribes had a meeting in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, Jonathan, Alexander and all the members of the high-priestly families. They made the prisoners stand in the middle and began to interrogate them, ‘By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, ‘Rulers of the people, and elders! If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all, and would indeed be glad to tell the whole people of Israel, that it was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence, today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 117(118):1-2,4,22-27 © |
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
O Lord, grant us salvation;
O Lord, grant success.
Blessed in the name of the Lord
is he who comes.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord God is our light.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Sequence |
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal Victim
offer sacrifice and praise.
The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb;
and Christ, the undefiled,
hath sinners to his Father reconciled.
Death with life contended:
combat strangely ended!
Life’s own Champion, slain,
yet lives to reign.
Tell us, Mary:
say what thou didst see
upon the way.
The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
The angels there attesting;
shroud with grave-clothes resting.
Christ, my hope, has risen:
he goes before you into Galilee.
That Christ is truly risen
from the dead we know.
Victorious king, thy mercy show!
Gospel Acclamation | Ps117:24 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
This day was made by the Lord:
we rejoice and are glad.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 21:1-14 © |
Jesus stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.
It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.
As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’; they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.
EFFECTIVENESS IN MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:1-12; PS 118:1-2,4,22-27; JOHN 21:1-14]
We are coming to the end of the Octave of Easter. The focus in the first few days of the Octave was on the appearances of the Risen Lord. But the purpose of Jesus’ appearances was to prepare the apostles for the mission of spreading the Good News. Hence, today’s scripture readings prepare us on how to be effective in the work of evangelization.
The gospel begins with seven apostles led by Peter preparing to go fishing. They must have felt disheartened after the death of our Lord. They had left everything, their fishing profession to join the itinerant preacher to proclaim the gospel and be fishers of men. But with His death, all their hopes and dreams were shattered. Their ambition to establish the Kingdom of God, which they imagined to be a political one, was dashed. They still did not quite understand how to situate His passion and death in God’s plan for Israel. For this reason, most of them had returned home to their families and their former trades. Most likely, too, for those who were fishermen like Peter, James and John, there was nothing else to do except to go back to fishing for a living, something they were good at.
Again, we hear of the same experience Peter had when he was called by the Lord to be a fisher of men. They “caught nothing that night.” Indeed, night is always a symbol in John’s gospel for darkness, ignorance and sin. The apostles were living in guilt after the death of our Lord. They were living in ignorance on the significance of His death. Hence, the evangelist noted, “It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.” Jesus is the light, the Risen Lord who stood before them. But they still could not recognize Him. This was the case also of the Sanhedrin in today’s first reading. They saw the crippled man completely healed and they asked, “By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?”
They came to recognize the Lord when “Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in.” Indeed, it is the Word of God that enlightens all men and His word is effective and efficacious. The prophet Isaiah said, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isa 55:10f)
Clearly, this incident reminds us that effectiveness in mission requires us to hear the Word of God and be summoned to action. As St James wrote, “Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.” (Jas 1:22-24) But more than just attentive listening to the world of God, St Peter acted when John who had the gift of revelation, told him, ‘It is the Lord.” “At these words ‘It is the Lord,’ Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water.” Peter did not wait even for a second. When John confirmed it was the Lord, Peter swam towards Him.
Obedience to the Word of God is an important virtue for effectiveness in mission. The saving grace of St Peter was that he was docile and obedient to the Word of God even when he could have thought he knew better how to fish than someone on the land, or worst still, a carpenter instructing him how and where to fish. Without obedience, we would be doing our own thing and according to our own ingenuity and knowledge. It would no longer be the Word of God acting in and through us. Unfortunately, the world today relies more on psychological, sociological, technological and scientific knowledge than knowledge of the Word of God. Even today, many theologians, priests, religious and church workers spend much time studying the secular sciences with a view to applying that knowledge in the work of evangelization. But they have no time to read, study and meditate on the Word of God. This is one of the reasons why our mission is impeded. Indeed, with all the modern sciences available to them, the conversion rate in the advanced Christian countries is far outstripped by those in the Third World countries where conversion is the consequence of a simple proclamation of the Word of God and our Lord Jesus Christ with faith and conviction.
We see this clearly in the example of Peter and John in today’s first reading. They were brought before the Sanhedrin. They were uneducated men compared to the theologians and scripture scholars among the Sanhedrin. St Luke noted, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) How could such ordinary, uneducated men, without rabbinic studies, preach so eloquently, forcefully and convincingly that even the Sanhedrin had nothing to say against them. “When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” (Acts 4:14)
Indeed, it was the personal conviction of Peter and John that brought about the conversion of thousands who listened to them. The religious leaders asked, “By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?” Truly, the fact stands for itself. The healing of the crippled man was the proof of the power of the name of our Lord. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them. “Rulers of the people, and elders! If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple, and asking us how he was healed, then I am glad to tell you all, and would indeed be glad to tell the whole people of Israel, that it was by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the one you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this man is able to stand up perfectly healthy, here in your presence today. This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone.”
Truly, it is union with the Lord that can ensure the effectiveness of our mission. Faith in the Risen Christ and our communion and fellowship with Him is the key to a personal conviction of His power at work in and through us. This was why, after they came to the shore, our Lord “stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish.” This action was but a reminder of the Last Supper Meal, He had with them before His death. It was His way of helping them to be reminded of Him and His sacrificial death for all in humble service. By celebrating the Eucharist, we remain in communion with Him in spirit and also receive Him sacramentally. No mission can be effective unless we are in communion with the Lord and His Church. Only in the Eucharist does the Lord show Himself to us. As John wrote, “This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.”
Today, the mission continues in our lives. As the Lord said, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Mt 9:37) Although we must pray for “the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38), it is not enough to have more labourers. As Pope Pius X said, “Give me ten holy priests and I will change the world.” So too, Jesus had Twelve apostles, and the gospel spread to the entire world. The catch was bountiful beyond their imagination. Peter “dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken.” Indeed, we are called to be Catholic, that is, universal church embracing all of humanity. The gospel must reach out to all the nations in the world. We must never become complacent in reaching out to the many who have not yet heard of Christ. It is our utter conviction that “for all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.” Consequently, we must seek to be missionary disciples by hearing the Word of God with docility, and be summoned to action in proclaiming His word with conviction and power with the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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