20220518 UNITY IN CULTURAL AND RACIAL DIVERSITY
18 May, 2022, Wednesday, 5th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 15:1-6 © |
They were to go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders
Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.
All the members of the church saw them off, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria they told how the pagans had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done with them.
But certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers objected, insisting that the pagans should be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses. The apostles and elders met to look into the matter.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 121(122):1-5 © |
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
I rejoiced when I heard them say:
‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
Jerusalem is built as a city
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
For Israel’s law it is,
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
of the house of David.
I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn15:4,5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you,
says the Lord;
whoever remains in me bears fruit in plenty.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 15:1-8 © |
I am the vine, you are the branches
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes to make it bear even more.
You are pruned already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
but must remain part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,
and they are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it.
It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
and then you will be my disciples.’
UNITY IN CULTURAL AND RACIAL DIVERSITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 15:1-6; PS 121:1-5; JOHN 15:1-8]
Until the last century, the world was mostly homogenous in race, culture and religion. This explains why when “foreign” religions sought to enter a particular country or community, they were often met with great resistance and persecution because they threatened not just the official religion of the country but it also bred confusion and division because it challenged the homogeneity of the people, its culture and faith values. Consequently, we can appreciate the threat that Christianity brought to the Jewish Faith, and even among the Jewish Christian converts, as the influx of Gentile Christians caused tensions within the Christian community. Until then, Christianity was seen more as an offshoot of Judaism. One had to first be a Jew, and then added to what Jews were required to do, accept Christ as their Messiah, Saviour and then Lord.
Within this context, we can understand the tensions of the early Church. On one hand, they were happy that Christianity was spreading to peoples beyond Judah and Palestine. On the other hand, the Jewish Christians did not know how to accommodate the Gentile Christians with their long-held traditions from Moses, religious practices and customary rituals. So the natural thing for them was to insist that the Gentile Christians be first proselytes of Judaism and then accept Christ as their Messiah. This meant that principally, they had to be circumcised like the Jews to be members of the Chosen race, and then adopt the laws of Moses and the Jewish customs. It was within this context that the tensions surfaced when “some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved’. This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men.”
By imposing Jewish religious and cultural practices on the Gentile Christians, it meant that they had to reject their own cultures. Can one accept Christ and yet remain within one’s own culture, so long as the cultural values do not deny the unique position of Christ and the teachings of Christ? Did not Christ go beyond the Jewish Laws and customs? In other words, is Christ universal for all? What does universality mean if not the fact that faith transcends race, language and culture? This is why the Church is called Catholic. Whilst our personal identity is Christian because we belong to Christ, our religion is Catholic because we believe that the Church is “one, holy, catholic and apostolic.” In other words, what unites us as Christians is that we believe in the apostolic faith in Christ and the gospel.
This means that Christ is for all and in all. As St Paul wrote, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:28f) In other words, to be children of the Promised in Abraham, we do not need to be direct descendants of Abraham, as in the case of the Jewish People, but we are called to have the same faith of Abraham in God which ultimately is faith in Christ because He is the Son of the Father. St Paul wrote, “Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.’ For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.” (Gal 3:6-9)
For them to arrive at this conclusion that faith in Christ is the basis of unity and this is all that it matters, it took the early Church quite a while, notwithstanding the tensions between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. The situation came to a head because the missionary trips of Paul and Barnabas resulted in many conversions. “They told how the pagans had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by the brothers. When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders, and gave an account of all that God had done with them.” Paul and Barnabas had spread the Good News and brought conversion, which was the positive part of their work. The threatening part was that now the Christian communities had a growing number of Gentile Christians over the Jewish Christians. Naturally, the Jewish Christian community could not impose their customs on the Gentile Christians without facing some pushback.
Indeed, the Church had to be purified and pruned, as Jesus told the disciples in today’s gospel. Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.” This is the reality of a deepening faith in Christ. Over the last 2000 years, the Church has been pruned many times. Historical and cultural changes had forced the Church to reflect on doctrinal formulation of faith and beliefs. Doctrines in the early Church have been transposed from scriptural categories to Greek metaphysical categories to speak of the Holy Trinity and the person of Christ and the Holy Spirit, the Incarnation and conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary. This was necessary because Christianity had to be in dialogue with the philosophical categories of the Greek world.
Over the years, faith also had to be translated into other philosophical categories. This is why medieval theology tended to use Thomistic language, whereas in the 18th and 19th centuries, there was the proliferation of other philosophical thinking such as existential philosophy, nominalism, empiricism, etc. Today, with the changing trends in values, especially atheistic and relativistic philosophy, the Church again is being purified because the eternal truths of the gospel have to be restated in terms that make sense for our people. Even liturgy has evolved, and is still evolving, since the beginning of the Church. So too the structures of the Church. Pope Francis has done much in reforming the hierarchical structure of the Church that was left untouched for centuries.
But this is where the tension will always remain. How much can we allow the practices and beliefs of the Church to evolve and develop? Is faith so fluid that it can be practiced in one way but now in direct contradiction to the past practices and beliefs? What can be changed and what cannot be changed. This is the crux of the question. What are the essentials that must be maintained at all costs so that the faith would not become diluted? Yet the fact remains that among many Christians denominations, the Church’s hierarchy, doctrines, liturgy and practices have evolved and therefore each church has its own practices and beliefs which might not be exactly the same as others.
Regardless which direction we take, the common source of unity must be in Christ. Jesus said, “Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.” We need to ensure that we are in union with the Lord. He made it clear, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt.” We need to be with Jesus.
How can we be with Jesus if not by being immersed in His Word? Jesus exhorts us, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.” We will bear much fruit if we keep ourselves close to Jesus by allowing His words to be in us. Contemplating and studying the scriptures, being familiar with Jesus is how the Lord prunes us. He said, “You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you.” Even though we might not always agree with each other, we need to approach the Word of God with sincerity, humility and docility. We might not always come to an agreement but what is important is that we continue to search the Word together in love and humility.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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