20240412 DISCERNING THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF A MOVEMENT
12 April 2024, Friday, 2nd Week of Eastertide
First reading | Acts 5:34-42 © |
They were glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name
One member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the apostles taken outside for a time. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, ‘Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people. There was Theudas who became notorious not so long ago. He claimed to be someone important, and he even collected about four hundred followers; but when he was killed, all his followers scattered and that was the end of them. And then there was Judas the Galilean, at the time of the census, who attracted crowds of supporters; but he got killed too, and all his followers dispersed. What I suggest, therefore, is that you leave these men alone and let them go. If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.’
His advice was accepted; and they had the apostles called in, gave orders for them to be flogged, warned them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. And so they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name.
They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 26(27):1,4,13-14 © |
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
There is one thing I ask of the Lord, to live in the house of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We know that Christ is truly risen from the dead:
have mercy on us, triumphant King.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt4:4 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:1-15 © |
The feeding of the five thousand
Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.
Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.
DISCERNING THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF A MOVEMENT
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 5:34-42; PS 27:1,4,13-14; JOHN 6:1-15]
In today’s first reading, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a doctor of the Law and respected by the whole people, proposed to the Sanhedrin to leave the apostles alone and let them go. This was because there were some ambiguities that they could not resolve. The facts before them was that the crippled man was healed by uneducated disciples of Jesus whom they claimed was not by their own power but the name of Jesus. Leaving the possibility that the Jesus movement could be of divine origin, his advice was simply this, “If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them, but you might find yourselves fighting against God.” To substantiate his point, he gave them two revolutionary messianic leaders whose movements eventually crushed. They would find themselves fighting with the sovereignty of God if the Jesus movement turned out to be of divine origin.
But is this principle of discernment valid? It is perhaps one of the many criteria but not the only one because there are other considerations as well. Firstly, just because the movement has a long runway does not always mean that it is from God. It could also be the work of the devil influencing the movement to mislead the people of God. The success may not always be the work of God but of evil, selfish, and self-centred people. Of course, we know that truth and love will eventually triumph at the end, but it might take a whole life on earth and perhaps not even in our time but in the world that is to come. It is also true that often such worldly movements do not last for long because the short-terms benefits will eventually reveal the long-term consequences for those who subscribe to their philosophy. We see this in the world today with regard to social and moral issues, whether it be population control, contraceptives, abortion, euthanasia, surrogate motherhood, IVF and social egg freezing.
Secondly, from the perspective of religions, we see that many of the world religions began thousands of years ago and they are still in existence. Would all religions therefore be magnanimous to attribute all of these religions as of divine origin? What about those that have just started or broken away from the main religions? Christianity has always seen herself as of divine origin because we believe Christ is the revelation of God in person by His death and resurrection. For evangelicals, many would not permit any other religions to claim that they are of divine origin or that they are true religions. Catholicism has always recognized the special relationship that Christianity shares with Judaism and Islam because we all worship the same God. With regard to non-Christian religions “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.” (Nostra Aetate, 2) So there is ambiguity with respect to using this principle to apply to religions.
Thirdly, from the perspective of political powers, this principle seems to be quite obvious that political powers are certainly not of divine origin even though those in powers have been chosen to protect the people under their care. We see the rise and fall of many kingdoms, states and governments. Even the most powerful nation has its days. Even the best government has its days. Empires will rise and fall, so, too, governments. Nothing is permanent, regardless how strong or powerful they. We see this in history all the time and this is repeated. This is why no country, no government, and no rulers can ever claim that they are of divine origin simply because their rule is temporary and transient. They do not last.
How, then, can this principle be legitimately applied for the discernment of the divine origin of a movement? We can only observe the effects of a movement over time. Some can be from God but because they lost their direction, they will cause the movement to collapse. We have many preachers and founders of religions and sects. Some claim to be miracle-workers and healers. They can even amass millions of followers. But soon they discover the inconsistency between what they preach or claim and the lives that they lead. When corruption and scandals are exposed, many of these movements collapse.
The Catholic Church is also a target as well because of the many scandals that are committed by the clergy, including high-ranking Church officials. But then again, the Church has always claimed that she is both a divine and human institution. As of divine origin, the Church teaches the truth but as a human institution, the people in charge might fail in their moral life. But even now, the Catholic Church, which has stood firm in her doctrines for more than 2000 years, is now being shaken because of the attempts of some prelates seeking to pander to the popular trends of our people, such as same-sex union, transgenderism, euthanasia, abortion, etc. So much so that people begin to question how infallible the Church is when it comes to teaching truth, since the magisterium appears to be divided on so many issues.
In the final analysis, I think we can judge whether the movement is of divine origin by whether truth in charity and charity in truth is maintained. It is important that whilst recognizing that every religious institution has its shortcomings, and sometimes, errors are made by those in authority, we do not reject the institution unless it compromises on truth and charity. It is critical that we must seek to hear the voice of God speaking through scripture and tradition as we contemplate on the events unfolding in the world. At the end of the day, we need to ensure that the gospel, if it were to be true and seen as of divine origin, reflects the holiness of God and His power in our lives. Anything to the contrary cannot be from God because sin and holiness do not mix and are totally incompatible.
Indeed, there is a tendency of some who want to be inclusive in their approach to the world, to be willing to compromise the hard truths and demands of the gospel in exchange for more membership. We cannot soften the demands of the gospel simply because we are afraid that unbelievers might find them too challenging or unacceptable. However, not to speak the truth of the gospel is to deceive them of the true teachings of the gospel and, most of all, deprive them of growing in truth and holiness. We must never forget that Jesus, whilst welcoming sinners, never compromised the truth of the gospel. Those whom He welcomed, such as Matthew and Zacchaeus, gave up their dishonest living and used their resources for the good of the community. Even with the adulterous woman, our Lord, after assuring her that He also did not condemn her, said, “Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” (Jn 8:11) Indeed, we will not be acting honestly if we ask people to accept Christ and assure them of His forgiveness but do not ask them to repent from their social sins against society, such as abortion, racial and religious prejudices, same-sex union, transgenderism, or personal sins of greed, dishonesty and impurity.
A religion of divine origin must truly promote the holiness of God, His truth and His mercy. By proclaiming Jesus as Lord, more people will commit their lives to Him. The easy way of identifying with the needs of the people by lowering our standards will only compromise the beauty of the gospel. We do not have to take drugs in order to help the drug addicts. So too, we do not have to be sinners to help other sinners. Jesus was a man like us in all things but sin. Rather, when we live an authentic Christian life based on the gospel, others will see the power of the gospel because life is changed. It is our fidelity to the gospel and our conviction by the way we live our lives and our testimony to the Risen Lord that will change lives. Indeed, this was the case of the apostles. After being flogged and released, “they left the presence of the Sanhedrin glad to have had the honour of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name. They preached every day both in the Temple and in private houses, and their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted.” This is the most powerful testimony that they know the divine origin of their faith in Christ.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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