20200512 REJECTED BY OUR OWN
12 May, 2022, Thursday, 4th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 13:13-25 © |
God has raised up one of David's descendants, Jesus, as Saviour
Paul and his friends went by sea from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia where John left them to go back to Jerusalem. The others carried on from Perga till they reached Antioch in Pisidia. Here they went to synagogue on the sabbath and took their seats. After the lessons from the Law and the Prophets had been read, the presidents of the synagogue sent them a message: ‘Brothers, if you would like to address some words of encouragement to the congregation, please do so.’ Paul stood up, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
‘Men of Israel, and fearers of God, listen! The God of our nation Israel chose our ancestors, and made our people great when they were living as foreigners in Egypt; then by divine power he led them out, and for about forty years took care of them in the wilderness. When he had destroyed seven nations in Canaan, he put them in possession of their land for about four hundred and fifty years. After this he gave them judges, down to the prophet Samuel. Then they demanded a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin. After forty years, he deposed him and made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 88(89):2-3,21,22,25,27 © |
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I have found David my servant
and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him
and my arm shall make him strong.
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
My truth and my love shall be with him;
by my name his might shall be exalted.
He will say to me: ‘You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me.’
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Rv1:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You, O Christ, are the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead,
you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 13:16-20 © |
Whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me
After he had washed the feet of his disciples, Jesus said to them:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
no servant is greater than his master,
no messenger is greater than the man who sent him.
‘Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly. I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled: Someone who shares my table rebels against me.
‘I tell you this now, before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe that I am He.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.’
REJECTED BY OUR OWN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:2-3,21,22,25,27; Jn 13:16-20]
One of the most poignant comments of St John about the reception of Jesus was this “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.” (Jn 1:10-13) Later on in the ministry, Jesus also expressed sadness and disappointment when He said to the people from His village. “‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.” (Mk 6:4-6)
In today’s gospel, Jesus was not just rejected by His people but even one of His apostles. Knowing how Judas would betray Him, He said, “‘Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly. I am not speaking about all of you: I know the ones I have chosen; but what scripture says must be fulfilled: Someone who shares my table rebels against me.” Jesus was sadder for the soul of Judas than for Himself. Judas failed to recognize Jesus as the One sent by the Father in spite of the time and personal mentorship of our Lord over the last three years. He saw the miracles and the compassionate love of our Lord. Yet he betrayed Him. This was why the Lord remarked, “I tell you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe that I am He. I tell you most solemnly, whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
But what happened in the life of Jesus also happened to the early Church. The Church continues the mission of our Lord, proclaiming Him as the Kingdom of God in person since by His death and resurrection, Jesus demonstrated Himself to be the Lord of all, overcoming sin and death. St Paul writing to the Philippians said, “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)
Today’s first reading was St Paul’s address to the Jews at the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia. It is important to note that Paul in his missionary trips always began by addressing the Jews first, before going to the Gentiles. Only when they were rejected, did they turn to the Gentiles. “Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'” (Acts 13:45-47) He reiterated this priority when he wrote to the Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16) Indeed, St Paul was always conscious of the fact that the Jews were the chosen people of God. Hence, “as regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Rom 11:28f)
This explains why in his first missionary trip, he went straight to the Synagogue to proclaim the Good News to the Jews. He began by going back to the history of salvation when Israel was chosen by God to be His people. He praised and affirmed them for their love for their Jewish tradition. He spoke of God’s promise for Israel, beginning with the Patriarchs, and their sojourn in Egypt, and then how Moses led them out of Egypt. After forming them to be a people in Egypt, they took possession of the Promised Land. Then God gave them Judges, followed by King Saul and King David. But it was to David that God promised an everlasting dynasty. “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” However, David has died and the kingdom has been destroyed by the Babylonians. Nevertheless, “to keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel.”
At this juncture, St Paul sought to connect Jesus with the history of Israel, particularly as a descendant of David. Now we can appreciate why the scriptures underscore the fact that Jesus was a son of Joseph, belonging to the Davidic tribe of Israel. At His birth, Joseph registered Him as his son and so legally, he is the son of Joseph, His adopted Father. Later on, when He entered Jerusalem during His final days, the crowd acclaimed Him as, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” (Lk 19:38) The blind Bartimaeus addressed Him as “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” (Lk 18:39) St Paul said of John the Baptist, “Before John ended his career he said, ‘I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.'”
It is truly ironical that those who were supposedly close to our Lord rejected Him. And this continues to happen even today in our Christian life. Sometimes, familiarity breeds contempt. Those who deal with the scriptures every day or even the liturgy can become so familiar with them, that we no longer have the sense of the sacred and reverence for them or consciousness that we are in God’s presence. We can become very professional in the way we deal with the scriptures and sacred things but our hearts are far from being moved and our lives are unchanged, in spite of the fact that we teach the Word of God, to our children and our people. We can fall into the same category of the Jews as well. They could not accept Jesus. We can be like Judas who eventually betrayed his Lord.
Today, we are invited to be appreciative of the tradition that we have received. We should be grateful that we have been chosen by God to know His Son. We should be grateful that we have the Catholic family to support us in our faith. We should therefore show our love for our Lord and His Church. We all should know how painful it is to be betrayed by people whom we love and whom we care for. So, too, when Catholics become counter-witnesses, we are showing ingratitude for the graces He has showered on us. Quite often, we take our blessings and privileges for granted. Often people come to the church to demand for services when they do not contribute to the church or help the church in any way. They only know how to receive but do not know how to give as well. Many fail to be grateful to the many church volunteers who sacrifice themselves, their time and resources to support the community. We often complain about them and take them as paid workers.
It is notable also that at the very beginning of the passage, St Luke remarked that “John left them to go back to Jerusalem.” No reason was given for John Mark’s abandonment of Saul and Barnabas in their first missionary journey. Some scholars suggest that he could be homesick or not able to withstand the difficult journey and the rough terrain, having to scale the mountains to Galatia. Or perhaps, he resented Saul for taking over the leadership from Barnabas, his cousin. Regardless of the reason, Saul was greatly disappointed with John Mark and refused to take him along for his second missionary trip. We too might also lack in our commitment to our ministry and the mission we have undertaken for the Church. Because of anxiety, stress, fear or disagreement, we withdraw from our commitments. In a certain sense, we too have betrayed our Lord. To accept our Lord, to welcome Him, requires that we be ready to suffer for Him and most of all, to be committed to Him right to the end.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment