20240405 ANNOUNCING THE NAME OF JESUS AS LORD WITH BOLDNESS
05 April 2024, 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.
ANNOUNCING THE NAME OF JESUS AS LORD WITH BOLDNESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 4:1-12; PS 118:1-2,4,22-27; JOHN 21:1-14]
The crippled man was able to walk again. Two groups of people reacted differently. It is ironical that, unlike the people who were excited and astonished that the crippled man was healed and wanted to know what happened, the priests and the Sadducees were oblivious to the great miracle that had just taken place. They were not interested to find out what exactly happened and how it happened. Instead they came to arrest the apostles because they “were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.”
Indeed, this is also true in our days. Secular society is pleased that the Church is providing humanitarian and social services to the people. The Church is well known for her outreach to the poor, the marginalized and the vulnerable. Caritas International provides funding to countries that need material and financial aids. Within each country, there are many Catholic organizations that help the poor and the disadvantaged. These are all well-received but quite a number of our Catholic organizations that serve the poor often do so without even letting the beneficiaries that know they are Catholic organizations, much less to share their Catholic Faith with them because we lack confidence and courage to witness to Christ.
Not least too, the Catholic Church is known not just for providing financial and material aids but also standing up and being the voice of the people, especially those suffering from social justice, those discriminated – especially the unborn, the elderly and women. Here again, the Church is seen as a nuisance to those in power and those who are oppressing the weak and vulnerable. Some are against our moral doctrines on sexuality and marriage. In such situations, the reaction is even more hostile because those who work for justice have to announce their faith beliefs either directly or indirectly. By proclaiming our beliefs, it is seen as an attack against the system and personal freedoms. So we are silent.
In the final analysis, the name of Jesus is a threat to secular society, especially when it is particularly hostile to the Christian Faith. Some governments seek to control the missionary activity of the Church. In fact, like the Sanhedrin during the time of the apostles who asked, “What are we going to do with these men? It is obvious to everybody in Jerusalem that a miracle has been worked through them in public, and we cannot deny it. But to stop the whole thing spreading any further among the people, let us caution them never to speak to anyone in this name again.” (Acts 4:16-18), they, too, acknowledge the good works the Church is doing, but they also see the Christian Faith as a threat to their programs and their political agenda. So much so, even our Catholic humanitarian organizations are hesitant to share about Jesus and the gospel with their beneficiaries, as if we are doing them a disfavour. We are good at offering humanitarian aids but we forget that the Church’s primary concern is ultimately to save souls for Christ and to help our people to live a holistic life and the full development of the human person, not just physically, materially, academically or in skills but also in affectivity and spirituality. He is, as Peter said, “the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone.”
When the Sanhedrin asked the apostles, “‘By what power, and by whose name have you men done this?’ Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them ‘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. For all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.'” We, too, when we proclaim the gospel, there will be occasions when people are curious about our way of life, about our values and the good works we do. This is when we must seize the opportunity to share with them the source and strength of all that we live and do in life.
However, more than just external opposition that witnesses to the gospel face, our reticence is due primarily to the lack of our own personal conviction of Jesus and our superficial knowledge of the gospel. We are told that the apostles went back to fishing after the death of Jesus. They had given up hope on their calling to be fishers of men when they just met the Lord. Even though it was light by then, the disciples did not recognize Jesus who stood at the shore. So 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’.”
Indeed, where the Lord is, there is light. Where the Lord is, there is a big catch. “The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.” They saw the Lord and they knew it was Him. “Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you? They knew quite well that 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.” Without encountering Jesus, we would not hear His call for us to be fishers of men. We need to reconnect with Jesus if we want to share about Him to others.
We must be conscious that without Jesus, we can do nothing. Just like the apostles who caught nothing, but with Jesus’ instructions they caught so many fishes, big ones too, and most of all the net did not break. “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.” In other words, the harvest is plentiful and the Church will never have enough members. We must rely on the Lord, not on our own strength to spread the gospel and build His Church. He will ensure that we will have the capacity to bring more people to believe in Him and be baptized into the Church if we only depend on Him. Peter who was “filled with the Holy Spirit” in addressing his opponents is our example and encouragement. The work of God cannot be accomplished without the help of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit seizes us, we will dare to do what humanly speaking we dare not do because we know that such things cannot be accomplished on our own strength and ingenuity. With the Risen Lord and His Spirit on our side, we can do what is impossible in the assessment of the world.
Truly, we must not stop proclaiming His name. When the Sanhedrin “called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus, Peter and John retorted, ‘You must judge whether in God’s eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God. We cannot promise to stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.’ The court repeated the warnings and then released them; they could not think of any way to punish them, since all the people were giving glory to God for what had happened.” We must be obedient to the gospel and the command of our Lord to proclaim Him as the Saviour of humanity. Obedience to God must come before obedience to man so that truth is proclaimed.
We can be confident that in spite of oppositions, the gospel message is unstoppable. Luke, the evangelist, would not even allow us a moment to think that just because the apostles were arrested by the authorities, God’s saving plan would be thwarted. On the contrary, there were more converts that day and the Church membership grew. For “many of those who had listened to their message became believers, the total number of whom had now risen to something like five thousand.” This is because the spread of the gospel is not the work of men but men working under the power of the Holy Spirit. Persecution does not stop the spread of the gospel but only awaken the need of Christians to defend the gospel. This is why in spite of the growing secularism, many of our Catholics and young Catholics too are fuelled to defend their beliefs more than ever. The onslaughts of a hostile secularism only make us stronger and come to appreciate our faith even more. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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