20220524 CONFRONTING THE TRUTH
24 May, 2022, Tuesday, 6th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 16:22-34 © |
Become a believer and you will be saved, and your household too
The crowd joined in and showed their hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged. They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners. When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t do yourself any harm; we are all here.’ The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They told him, ‘Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.’ Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his family. Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household. Afterwards he took them home and gave them a meal, and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 137(138):1-3,7-8 © |
You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
I will adore before your holy temple.
You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
you increased the strength of my soul.
You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
You stretch out your hand and save me,
your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
discard not the work of your hands.
You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ has risen and shone upon us
whom he redeemed with his blood.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn16:7,13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 16:5-11 © |
Unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Now I am going to the one who sent me.
Not one of you has asked, “Where are you going?”
Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this.
Still, I must tell you the truth:
it is for your own good that I am going
because unless I go,
the Advocate will not come to you;
but if I do go,
I will send him to you.
And when he comes,
he will show the world how wrong it was,
about sin,
and about who was in the right,
and about judgement:
about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me;
about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more;
about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.’
CONFRONTING THE TRUTH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 16:22-34; PS 138:1-3,7-8; JOHN 16:5-11]
One of the most painful things to talk about to anyone, especially our loved ones, is departure. Whether we are the one leaving, or the other person, it is often too difficult to speak about it. It could be someone joining the priestly or religious life. Breaking the news to our parents or our loved ones is always an anguished moment. Sometimes, our relationship with our friend is not working well and we have decided to call it a day. Telling our boyfriend or girlfriend that we want to have a break is extremely heart-breaking. But there is nothing like telling someone that we have a terminal illness and we might not last long.
In all these situations, our tendency is to hide or not to talk about such unpleasant things. We will delay as long as possible. We might give some hints about our departure but we would not say it. Worst of all, we do not know whether the other party gets the hint; or if he or she suspects, they do not dare to clarify and live in suspense and anxiety. Indeed, the truth is always difficult to reveal. This precisely was the case of the opponents to the gospel. Instead of listening to Paul and Silas and investigate the matter, they threw them into the deepest and darkest part of the dungeon. They wanted to suppress the truth of what they were saying. They made it as if Paul and Silas were such notorious criminals that they had them stripped, flogged and “given many lashes and then thrown into prison. Furthermore, “the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”
But our takeaway from this event is that the truth cannot be hidden, regardless of how men try to suppress and cover up the truth. We are told how Paul and Silas, instead of feeling imprisoned and constrained by their chains, were more than liberated. In high spirits, “late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened.” Indeed, it is said no one can imprison our hearts even if they imprison our bodies. Even in captivity, they were able to give praise and thanks to God. They knew that God was on their side and that God would not fail them.
And indeed, they were not wrong. We read that something miraculous happened. “Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners.” Surely, all of them who witnessed this powerful sign of God’s protection would have remembered the psalm we just prayed. “I thank you, Lord, with all my heart: you have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple. I thank you for your faithfulness and love, which excel all we ever knew of you. On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul. You stretch out your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me. Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands.”
The immediate response to this divine intervention was to bring in the light! “The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'” Truly, when we encounter the power of God, we seek the light and the truth. When the gaoler saw what happened, his response was to seek salvation by wanting to know the truth. He was then imprisoned by fear although he was the gaoler. He was fearful for his life in the event the prisoners escaped. But Paul assured him, “Don’t do yourself any harm; we are all here.” How appropriate that Paul would assure him that they were there to save him and not destroy him.
So too was the case with Jesus. He did not hide His imminent departure from His disciples. Pointedly, Jesus said, “Now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you has asked, ‘Where are you going?’ Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. Still, I must tell you the truth.” Jesus knew that His disciples were unsettled. They had heard the prophecies of His passion, but they could not quite accept them. They were still in denial and were hoping that the prophecies would not come to pass. But the truth must be said. Hence, Jesus felt the need to prepare the disciples by explaining to them why His departure was necessary.
Jesus made it clear that unless He went, the Holy Spirit would not come. “It is for your own good that I am going because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send him to you.” Whilst all departures of our loved ones are heart-breaking and distressful, understanding why the departure is necessary will help us to cope with the pain of loss. Jesus was very much aware of His disciples’ attachment to Him and their fears, and He sought to reassure them that His going was for their benefit in the long run. Having Him around can do them much good, but His going away and then sending the Holy Spirit would do them even greater good because only in the power of the Holy Spirit could they be sent forth to the whole world to proclaim the Good News that they had received. So long as Jesus was with them, the Good News would be confined to that small band of disciples.
Most of all, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, He would “show the world how wrong it was, about sin, proved by their refusal to believe in me.” The greatest sin is not the sins that we commit out of weakness, temptations and ignorance. Most of the time, our sins originate from fear, anxiety and self-preservation. Rather, the basis of all sins is the rejection of Jesus because when we reject the truth that Jesus has come to reveal to us the love, mercy and justice of God, we end up doing more wrong. Faith in Jesus is the way to experience the forgiveness and mercy of God.
Secondly, the Holy Spirit will vindicate Jesus that He was in the right, “proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more.” The resurrection and ascension of Jesus vindicated Jesus’ claim of divine filiation with the Father. He is the Son of God and His origin came from the Father. Rightly so, after completing His mission on earth, He returned to the Father. He said, “Now I am going to the one who sent me.” He was sent by the Father and after completing His mission, He returned to the Father from whom He originated. The resurrection was the endorsement of the Father on the life and mission of Jesus. The ascension signifies Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, with all the powers of divinity restored. He now rules the world and His kingdom is established.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit will show us “about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.” In the final analysis, judgement is meted to us through self-judgment. No one condemns us, not God either. But in rejecting Jesus and the way of life offered by Him, we consign ourselves to live in a world of misery, in anger, greed and fear. How do we know we have been judged? By the fruits of how we live our lives. Jesus in the gospel makes it clear, “You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Mt 7:16f)
We too must learn from Jesus in helping our loved ones to be prepared when the time for our departure comes. We must be courageous in confronting the truth of the situation. It is always better to speak about it; and to do it positively so that all are at ease and can come to terms with it, seeing everything in the light of divine providence and His wisdom. The truth is that in life, departure will come sooner or later. There will be a time for us to step down from office. There will come a time when your children need to move on to start their own families. There will come a time when we have to depart from this world. Rather than hide the pain of departure, we should help each other to share a common desire to surrender each other to the Lord. When separation is united by a greater mutual union of will, that separation, even though painful, brings joy and a greater union. This is true in the case of giving up your sons and daughters for the service of the Church or the country.
If we are generous like Jesus, the end result will always be in our favour. What we lose is what we gain. By letting our elderly loved ones go, they return to their true home in heaven where “he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” (Rev 21:4) By allowing our children to move on in their lives and not tie them to our apron strings, we set them free to establish themselves in society, giving them fulfilment and growth. By allowing a relationship to break when both parties are incompatible, we find peace, freedom and new joy. So let us trust in the divine providence and intervention of God in our lives as Jesus, Paul and Silas did. Let us imitate the gaoler who became a believer in the Lord Jesus. He and His household were saved that day “and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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