20220504 DEALING WITH OPPOSITION AND REJECTION
04 May, 2022, Wednesday, 3rd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 8:1-8 © |
They went from place to place, preaching the Good News
That day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.
There were some devout people, however, who buried Stephen and made great mourning for him.
Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.
Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News. One of them was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 65(66):1-7 © |
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name!’
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations:
let rebels not rise against him.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn6:40 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that whoever believes in the Son shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:35-40 © |
It is my Father's will that whoever sees the Son should have eternal life
Jesus said to the crowd:
‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away;
because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will,
but to do the will of the one who sent me.
Now the will of him who sent me
is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father’s will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’
DEALING WITH OPPOSITION AND REJECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 8:1-8; PSALM 66:1-7; JOHN 6:35-40]
When we seek to do something good for the Church, the community or our organization, we can be certain that there will be opposition from some quarters. There will be some who will oppose our initiatives. This is true for the mission of the Church as well. We take heart that right from the start of the Church, the early Christians were persecuted for their faith. They were opposed by the Jewish leaders. Saul “worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.” They were arrested, flogged and thrown into the prison, and some were stoned to death as in the case of St Stephen. In fact, in an act of defiance against the authorities, “some devout people buried Stephen and made great mourning for him” which was against the law, as they were honouring a supposedly condemned criminal.
Yet, it is amazing that persecution and threats did not stop them from proclaiming the gospel. Surely, they were afraid for their lives and that of their loved ones, but they took the persecution as a sign that God wanted them to move out of Jerusalem and bring the gospel to Judaea and Samaria. We read that when “a bitter persecution started against the Church in Jerusalem, everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.” The apostles, as the leaders of the Church, had to remain behind even at the expense of their lives as they needed to give direction and provide stability to the Church. If the leaders were to flee, then the people would be without a leader and all would be scattered. But in this case, only the Christians fled, not because they were cowardly but because the gospel had yet to be proclaimed. The persecution did not hold them back from proclaiming the Good News. In fact, it became the springboard that forced them to move out of their comfort zone and to go to faraway places. “Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News.”
One of the seven deacons, Philip, “went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves.” The Samaritans were the enemies of the Jews because they were a mixed race as a consequence of the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians. Many were exiled in Assyria and those in Assyria migrated to the Northern Kingdom. Soon they intermarried, and the Israelites from the Northern Kingdom were no longer a pure breed. They worshipped Yahweh and set up their Temple at Mt Gerizim five centuries before Christ, which they claimed was commanded by Moses. However, they were also influenced by paganism and hence the people were involved in magic and occult. It was important therefore for Philip to perform signs of wonders, casting out unclean spirits from those possessed and healed paralytics and cripples. This was because the people believed strongly in the power of magic and Philip’s miraculous power was seen as a sign that what he taught about Jesus was true. This explained why the apostles had to deal with Simon the Sorcerer who thought that he could buy divine power from Philip when he saw Philip casting out evil spirits. (Acts 8:9-25)
“There was great rejoicing in that town as a result.” Indeed, the faith continued to spread because people could see the marvellous works of God in their lives through the preaching and work of the deacons and the apostles. Hence, the responsorial psalm urges us, “Cry out with joy to God all the earth, O sing to the glory of his name. O render him glorious praise. Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds! Because of the greatness of your strength your enemies cringe before you. Before you all the earth shall bow; shall sing to you, sing to your name!’ Come and see the works of God, tremendous his deeds among men. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river dry-shod.” God is victorious in the end over evil. “His eyes keep watch over the nations: let rebels not rise against him.”
In the gospel, Jesus also spoke of the amazing grace of God at work in our lives. Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Bread of life. He is the Word of God, the manna that the Israelites ate in the desert. Only Jesus can quench the hunger of our hearts and the thirst of our souls. “He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.” Indeed, Christ is the living fountain. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Jn 4:13f) And this water that Jesus comes to give us is the Holy Spirit. At the end of the Festival of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” And St John noted, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (Jn 7:37-40)
Receiving the Holy Spirit requires that we believe in Jesus and accept Him as the One whom the Father sent in His name. What is remarkable and consoling is that God wants us all to be saved. St Paul in his letter to Timothy wrote, God “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Tim 2:4-6) Jesus made it clear that He has come for all and His salvation is given to all without exception. “I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of the one who sent me. Now the will of him who sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, and that I should raise it up on the last day.” Jesus came to do His Father’s will, which is to save everyone.
We all belong to Jesus, even those who reject Him. But the mercy of God is so great that as He reiterated, “all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away.” It is very comforting to know that Jesus will never turn us away if we are willing to confess in Him. We are called to respond to His grace and cooperate with Him so that we can believe in Him. Salvation is not simply the work of man but the work of grace. It is God who initiated the invitation for us to come to Him. It is God who gives us the grace to turn back to Him.
What is necessary therefore is for us to live in His grace and grow in our faith in Christ gradually. We should not be obsessed over whether we are worthy enough to enter the kingdom of God, or whether we are blameless in every way. What we must do is to recognize that salvation is the work of grace. Holiness is in response to God’s grace at work in our lives. We know that God has chosen us but we also have to collaborate with Him to remain in His grace. St Peter urged the Christians to “make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Pt 1:10f) Even though salvation is the work of grace, it requires our partnership as well.
This was why Jesus said, “But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe.” Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, one cannot believe in Christ. Like the early Christians they were sent out to preach only because they had encountered the Risen Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the wisdom and the perception of who Jesus really is. It is the Holy Spirit that will enable us to encounter the Risen Lord in our hearts and in our minds. The Lord said, “Yes, it is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise him up on the last day.” Let us therefore pray for an ever deepening of our relationship with the Lord through the grace of the Holy Spirit which is given to us through the Eucharist, the Bread of Life and the Word of God which we read and heard it proclaimed. Hence, it is critical for us as Christians to receive the Eucharist as often as possible and to contemplate on the Word of God so that our faith can grow in depth and conviction. Only in this way, will we be able to stand firm when our faith is challenged or when we have to face trials and opposition when we do good.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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