20240516 HOPE FOR THE RESURRECTION IN CHRIST
16 May 2024, Thursday, 7th Week of Eastertide
First reading |
Acts 22:30,23:6-11 © |
'You have borne witness in Jerusalem: now you must do the same in Rome'
Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.
Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11 © |
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.’
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn16:7,13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn17:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
With them in you and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realise that it was you who sent me,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 17:20-26 © |
Father, may they be completely one
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
I pray not only for these,
but for those also
who through their words will believe in me.
May they all be one.
Father, may they be one in us,
as you are in me and I am in you,
so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.
I have given them the glory you gave to me,
that they may be one as we are one.
With me in them and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realise that it was you who sent me
and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
so that they may always see the glory you have given me
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Father, Righteous One,
the world has not known you,
but I have known you,
and these have known that you have sent me.
I have made your name known to them
and will continue to make it known,
so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,
and so that I may be in them.’
HOPE FOR THE RESURRECTION IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; John 17:20-26]
Christianity stands or falls by faith in the resurrection of Christ. When Paul was brought before the Sanhedrin, he said, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” Paul was shrewd. He did not begin by speaking of the resurrection of Christ. But it was not so much because of a clever ploy that Paul sought to divide the Sanhedrin. Rather, Paul knew that the centrality of the issue was founded on the resurrection. Indeed, for Paul, confession of faith in Christ’s resurrection was central to his proclamation. This was the key issue that determined the nature of the continuity or discontinuity of Judaism and Christianity as part of the People of God.
Hence, he began by raising an issue that divided the Sadducees and the Pharisees. “For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three.” The Sadducees and Pharisees differed on what happens to us after death. Why was there disagreement between these two groups with respect to faith in the resurrection? Faith in the resurrection of the dead was a doctrine that developed much latter in the Old Testament, which the conservative Sadducees did not subscribe to as they only recognized the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament as regulative. In contrast, the Pharisees affirmed an intermediate state as “angels and spirits” and a final resurrection. Paul agreed with the Pharisees that the Jews’ national hope depended on a future resurrection. As a consequence, a number of the Pharisees exonerated Paul by declaring him innocent. This perspective would permit them to recognize the possibility that an angel or spirit had spoken to him on the road to Damascus. But their agreement with Paul stopped here.
However, for Paul, Israel’s future hope of a messianic salvation had occurred in the raising of Jesus. This created the discontinuity between them. The resurrection of the Messiah Jesus was the key issue that determined the continuity and discontinuity between Jews and Christians as part of the true people of God. For Christians, hope for the resurrection of the dead is rooted in the resurrection of Christ. Paul showed the connection between the resurrection of Christ and the hope of the Jews in his speech to Agrippa. (Acts 26:8, 23) Writing to the Corinthians, he said, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ – whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” (1 Cor 15:13-15)
Indeed, the resurrection of our Lord is a critical issue not just as a basis for faith in the resurrection of the dead, but it also differs from the views of Judaism. In a deeper sense, the Christian claim for Jesus was a fundamental departure from all ideas of resurrection in all strands of Judaism. Firstly, in no place did the Old Testament hold the resurrection of the dead as applied to a single individual, which the Christians applied to Jesus. It was always understood as a resurrection that would only take place before the end of history. Furthermore, all Jewish understanding of the resurrection were corporate – involving either all people or all the righteous; never of an individual. It was also the Jewish understanding that resurrection was an event that would take place at the end of history, unlike the case of Jesus where the resurrection took place before the end of time. The real issue for Paul was that the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem occurred some thirty years earlier, which was an exceptional occurrence. Nevertheless, he saw a link between the resurrection of Jesus and the end-time general resurrection.
Finally, faith in the resurrection of Jesus entails at the same time, a belief in Jesus, in all that He said and did, and that He was the Messiah that was put to death by the religious leaders. More than that, faith in the resurrection would at the same time affirm His then implicit claims of His divinity. Jesus was proclaimed Lord and God by His death and resurrection, without which His death would have been but a tragedy, not an event of mercy and grace. It is only because of Christ’s resurrection that Christian faith in the future is founded on solid rock. We do not simply have hope in the resurrection of the body but we are certain that we will share in Christ’s resurrection as well.
Consequently, Christian hope in the resurrection at the end of life is the Good News that we offer to humanity. If the world is against accepting Christ as the Risen Lord, it is because they do not believe in a life that is to come at the end of this earthly life. To share in that life, we need to keep ourselves pure, and focus on heavenly things. St John wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:2f) Paul also warned us, “For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phil 3:18-20)
Indeed, this is the tragedy of the world today. They are taught to have faith only in this world. We can appreciate why the modern generation live as if there is no tomorrow. As St Paul wrote of the Christians, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15:19) But this is a trend today even among Christians. Christianity is reduced to an ethical religion, or one that inspires us to live life fully in this world. But we do not truly believe that there is a life to come, or even in the resurrection of the body at the end of this life. Faith in the final judgement, in hell and heaven, does not exist in the minds of many people today; sadly, not even in the consciousness of many of our Catholics. They live as if there is only this life. They have their hopes only in the social and material progress of life, but not beyond this life. Hence, like the rest of the world, they also live their life recklessly, without a thought for tomorrow, enjoying themselves, not worrying about any accountability at the end of their life. They just live for themselves, and if life becomes difficult, they just end their suffering by taking their own life. Without that certain conviction of Christ’s death and resurrection, we cannot be certain of our future.
This is not surprising, for the Lord said, “Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.” The world does not know the Father and hence have no orientation in life. Today, we live in an atheistic world, where there is a growing number of people without faith in God, and so they lack faith beyond this life. Only through Jesus can we come to know the Father and His divine plan for us to be with Him. We must lead people to know the Father, which was the task and mission of Jesus.
Consequently, it is important for us to turn to our Lord for direction. Jesus Himself in the priestly prayer spoke of His return to the Father. “”Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” We are called to be with Jesus. The destination of Jesus which we celebrated on Ascension Thursday is also ours. We are called to be with the Father in our glorified bodies at the end of time. We must never forget this hope, otherwise we will live just for this world. Such a life is without meaning and purpose. Even beautiful relationships are not worth cultivating because if there is no continuity of life after death, then departure at death becomes heart-wrenching. With faith in the resurrection, all our anxieties and fears of the future are resolved in hope and faith.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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