20240418 DRAWN BY THE FATHER
18 April 2024, Thursday, 3rd Week of Eastertide
First reading | Acts 8:26-40 © |
Philip baptizes a eunuch
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So he set off on his journey. Now it happened that an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia, and was in fact her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and meet that chariot.’ When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ ‘How can I’ he replied ‘unless I have someone to guide me?’ So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side. Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this:
Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house,
like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers,
like these he never opens his mouth.
He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him.
Who will ever talk about his descendants,
since his life on earth has been cut short!
The eunuch turned to Philip and said, ‘Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?’ Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him.
Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptised?’ He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptised him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 65(66):8-9,16-17,20 © |
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
O peoples, bless our God,
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Blessed be God
who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord, who hung for us upon the tree,
has risen from the tomb.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn6:51 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven,
says the Lord.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:44-51 © |
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven
Jesus said to the crowd:
‘No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God,
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it,
is to come to me.
Not that anybody has seen the Father,
except the one who comes from God:
he has seen the Father.
I tell you most solemnly,
everybody who believes has eternal life.
‘I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that a man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh,
for the life of the world.’
DRAWN BY THE FATHER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 8:26-40; PS 66:8-9,16-17,20; JOHN 6:44-51]
Often, we wonder why it is that some have faith in Christ and some do not. Coming to faith in Christ is the work of grace, and indeed, it is a mystery. There are many factors that make faith in Christ possible. We need a preacher, someone who proclaims the Word of God to us. We need the recipient’s cooperation with grace. We need the gift of understanding. Faith itself is also a gift because some can hear and hear, and yet not understand nor come to faith. This is why, the Lord said, “No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me.”
In the first reading, we see how the grace of God worked in the life of the Ethiopian official. “He was a eunuch and an officer at the court.” He was already a believer of God. Possibly, he was a proselyte to Judaism. He was going back home after his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. “As he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. He was grappling with the following text from the Prophet Isaiah, “Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house, like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers, like these he never opens his mouth. He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him. Who will ever talk about his descendants, since his life on earth has been cut short!”
To come to faith in Jesus or in God presupposes that we are truly searching for God and for the meaning of life. And not just life but the fullness of life. This is the first step towards growing in faith. The reason why some never grow in faith or deepen their faith in God or in Christ is because they are complacent about life and their faith. They take life for granted, drift with the rest of the world, like sheep being led astray by the world. They adopt the values of the world and the relativistic, materialistic and individualistic value of life. All they care about is enjoyment, pleasure and living for oneself. They never ask the fundamental questions of life, of existence, of meaning, of purpose, and of their final destination.
Even for those who are believers, they do not seek to deepen their understanding of their faith. They are complacent and live their faith in a nominal and routine way. This is particularly so for those who are cradle believers, that is, those who were born into a faith family. And if the parents and relatives lack faith, although they are baptized, they are merely routine Catholics, performing some devotional spiritual exercises and attending mass and celebrating rituals. But they do not search deeper into their faith like the Ethiopian, praying the scriptures. Indeed, as the Lord said, God wants to teach us but we must be docile to His teaching.
Growing in faith requires a true understanding of the Word of God. In the case of the Ethiopian, he was unsettled by the Spirit when he read the text from Isaiah. He could not understand even though he read it. He needed someone to explain to him. He was humble and willing to learn. Humility and the sincere desire to grow in faith is a necessary disposition for those who want to know God. They must be ready to learn, to inquire with not just a seeking mind but a humble heart. There are many who are too proud to learn from others about God because they are not ready to listen to a messenger of God. They will continue to remain ignorant of their faith.
How does God teach us? Firstly, He sends us a messenger. The Lord said, “It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father.”
Jesus, of course, is our true teacher, the first and primary teacher. He is God in person and therefore the teacher of truth. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, the Messiah and the sender of the Holy Spirit. As the Lord said, “I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” Jesus comes to reveal to us the life of His Father. He comes to give us life through the Word that He preaches, and most of all, through the utter giving of Himself on the cross and giving Himself to us in the Eucharist, His flesh and blood. It is through our reception of the Word of God and partaking in the Eucharist, that we share in the life of Christ, that is, His mind and His heart, and become one with Him and in Him. Through our sharing in the Eucharist, His Spirit lives in us.
But Christ needs messengers to continue His work. In this case, God sent Philip to be the teacher. “The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.’ So he set off on his journey.” We need a teacher and a preacher, without which, it is difficult to come to know God. This is why St Paul said, “But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” (Rom 10:14f) We must pray for teachers and preachers to be sent by God. Today, not many are willing to be proclaimers of the Word of God, much less to be priests or religious. Many are called but not all have responded. Hence, the Lord said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Mt 9:37f)
We need to have people like Philip. We need to have preachers and teachers who are committed to the proclamation of the gospel. Although, he was a deacon, he took his calling seriously. He was receptive to the gospel himself and, most of all, to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He presented himself as a man always ready for the service of the gospel. He was attentive to the voice of God through the angel. He was attentive to the Spirit who told him, “Go up and meet that chariot.” Philip was not focused on himself. He was not like some other professional teachers, religious leaders, even priests and religious who make use of the gospel for themselves, or to have an easy life. For Philip, he was totally available to the work of the Holy Spirit. He did not live for himself but for God, His people and the gospel. After instructing and baptizing the Ethiopian, “Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.” Such is the kind of preacher and religious leader we need today for the spread of the gospel. It is not enough to have more priests and religious. We must pray that they are full of zeal, holiness and humility in the service of the gospel and His people before their own. Good preachers and missionaries of the Word of God do not wait for opportunities to come to them. They find opportunities to spread the gospel.
Finally, does it mean that those who do not have the opportunity would be condemned? Surely not! But as the Pastoral Constitution of the Church teaches, “All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men of good will in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. For, since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery.” (Gaudium Et Spes, 22) Even for those who sincerely search for God but do not know Christ personally because of circumstances, God will also teach them in His own ways. They would be given the grace of faith and salvation through ways unknown to us. We can have confidence that God loves us all and He would not deprive anyone of the grace of salvation. Indeed, as the Constitution of the Church teaches, “Nor is God far distant from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, for it is He who gives to all men life and breath and all things, and as Saviour wills that all men be saved. Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.” (LG 16)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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