20240503 THE CRUX OF THE GOSPEL
03 May 2024, Friday, Ss Philip and James, Apostles
First reading |
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 © |
The Lord appeared to James, and then to all the apostles
Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.
Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):2-5 © |
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6,9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, says the Lord.
Philip, to have seen me is to have seen the Father.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 14:6-14 © |
To have seen me is to have seen the father
Jesus said to Thomas:
‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.
If you know me, you know my Father too.
From this moment you know him and have seen him.’
Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’
‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me?
‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father,
so how can you say, “Let us see the Father”?
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself:
it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work.
You must believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.
I tell you most solemnly,
whoever believes in me
will perform the same works as I do myself,
he will perform even greater works,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask for in my name I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask for anything in my name,
I will do it.’
THE CRUX OF THE GOSPEL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Cor 15:1-8; PS 19:2-5; JN 14: 6-14]
Today we celebrate the feasts of St Philip and St James the Lesser, apostles of the Church. The scripture readings chosen for these two feasts focus on the crux of the gospel message. What is the centrality of the gospel message? It is about who Christ is and what He did for us. In the first reading from St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul summed up the gist of the gospel, namely, “that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures.” In the gospel, Philip asked, “‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’ ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip,’ said Jesus to him ‘and you still do not know me? To have seen me is to have seen the Father, so how can you say, ‘Let us see the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” The identity of Jesus is clear from the response given to Philip, namely that Jesus is identified with the Father.
Indeed, faith in the salvific work of Christ is the key to grasp the gospel in its entirety. St Paul reminded the Christians, “Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.” Our faith is determined by how we grasp this foundation of our faith. All other questions are dependent on whether we believe that Christ died for our sins, was raised from the dead on the third day fulfilling the scriptures. On this faith in the Kerygma, all other questions must agree with what we profess, namely, that Christ saved us from our sins, and was raised to life to reveal to us His true identity as the Son of the Father, and gave us the hope of more than the immortality of our soul – a resurrection of our body at the end of time.
So critical is this faith in the Kerygma that it is the basis to settle disagreements. St James was the Bishop of Jerusalem where the first Council was held to determine the relationship between the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. It was here that the Council proposed to deal with the essentials of faith in Christ as the basis for salvation and to leave out the non-essentials, such as customs, to each individual community, whilst recognizing the need to be sensitive to each other. When it comes to salvation in Christ, there cannot be any compromise.
We are saved by His death on the cross, for Christ is the atonement for our sins. Jesus did not simply die. It is not enough to even declare that Jesus died. Even pagans believe this fact. But we must add, as the tradition passed down to St Paul specifically said, that He died for our sins. It is our sins that caused the Son of God to die for us. This explains why St John later wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:8-10) Jesus is indeed our Saviour because in dying on the cross, He died to death, since the wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23)
However, what vindicated Jesus as our atonement and sacrifice for our sins, is His resurrection. Without His resurrection, there is no way to prove for certain that Jesus is our Saviour. At most, He sought, like other martyrs before Him, to save others. But to save the world and humanity, those that preceded before and after Him, Jesus had to show that His sacrificial death is effective for all time and for all of humanity. In His resurrection, Jesus showed that he is identified with God, and His raising is the Father’s endorsement of His words and His works. This is why in the gospel, Jesus said, “The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason.”
Consequently, an encounter with the Risen Lord, or faith in the Risen Lord, is critical in strengthening our faith. St Paul in the first reading underscored that faith in the resurrection of Christ is based on the testimony of the early disciples of our Lord, especially His apostles. “He appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles.” Jesus was seen by many of His disciples so that future generations could be confident that the testimony is true.
But he also added that “last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.” St Paul had the great privilege of encountering the Risen Lord in His life on his way to Damascus. The experience was indescribable. Although one could speak of the external manifestation of our Lord in the voice that was heard, or the fact that he fell down from his horse, or the brilliant light that he saw, the vision itself was never described by Paul. Later on, he hinted at this vision when he wrote, “I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows – was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.” (2 Cor 12:1-4)
Paul’s encounter with the Lord was untimely for two reasons – firstly, the appearances of our Lord were presumed to have ceased after the Ascension, or a period of time indicated by forty days; and secondly, St Paul was a great persecutor of the Church. Yet, Christ chose to reveal Himself to Paul in a unique manner, so much so that he also claimed to be a real apostle even though he was not among the Twelve that were with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Hence, he considered himself as a true apostle of Christ, sent especially to be an apostle to the Gentiles.
We know His encounter with the Risen Lord and conversion to be real because of the transformation in His life. He wrote, “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.” (1 Tim 1:12-16)
For us too, where we stand in our faith in Christ is dependent on whether we have faith in His passion, death and resurrection. It is through the eyes of faith, as the Lord told St Thomas, that we come to experience His saving works and His saving presence in our lives. When we have faith in Christ, all other questions might not be resolved, but they are settled because of our faith in His Word, as St Peter confessed his faith on behalf of the apostles when many disciples left Him after the discourse on the Eucharist. When the Lord asked Peter and the apostles, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:67-69) Indeed, the gospel St John wrote at the end of his book reminds us, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20:30f)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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