20250517 SEEKING GOD IN CHRIST
17 May 2025, Saturday, 4th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 13:44-52 |
Since you have rejected the word of God, we must turn to the pagans
The next sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly. ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:
I have made you a light for the nations,
so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’
It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.
But the Jews worked upon some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 |
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Rm6:9 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again.
Death has no power over him any more.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn8:31-32 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If you make my word your home
you will indeed be my disciples,
and you will learn the truth, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 14:7-14 |
To have seen me is to have seen the father
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘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.’
SEEKING GOD IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 13:44-52; PSALM 98; JOHN 14:7-14]
Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” This request of Philip is also the desire of every person. Man cannot find rest until he discovers his identity. This cannot be found unless he knows his origin and his purpose and destiny in life. Otherwise, he lives his life aimlessly, not knowing where he comes from, who he really is and what hope there is for him in this life and after death. That is why if we know our origin, which is from the Father who is the author of life, we too will discover our identity and our purpose on earth. This deep yearning to discover God and to experience Him is the reason why many adherents of mainstream churches are migrating to the charismatic and evangelical churches to experience the Lord in their lives.
How, then, can we come to know Him? Different religions give different answers. This is because in most religions, men seek God. In Christian Faith however, it is God who seeks man. Although with different degrees of success, their search remains inadequate, as no man can really know God. That is why faith in God’s revelation of Himself is the presupposition of faith in Christ as the Son of God. Jesus claims to be the revealer of God His Father. This is what He is claiming in St John’s gospel. In Christ we see the face of the Father. As Nicodemus tells us, Christ comes from above and therefore He knows heavenly things. “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” (Jn 3:31-32)
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus defended His identity and authority by claiming Divine Sonship. Jesus in exasperation reprimanded Philip when He said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.”
So the ultimate criterion is whether we believe in Jesus as the expression of the Father. Unless we believe in Jesus as identified with God, we cannot claim to have complete faith in Jesus. Only by confessing the divinity of Christ, can we then also reclaim our identity as children of the same Father and thereby perform the same works as He did, since we are identified with Christ. This made Jesus declare: “Amen, amen I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, 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.”
Our task is to proclaim Christ as the Son of the Father, the Way, the Truth and the Life to all once we have discovered this truth for ourselves. Like the apostles, we who have encountered Christ as the Risen Lord in our lives must now announce Him as the Good News to others. That was what the apostles did. This work of evangelization entails both ad intra and ad extra, within and without. Within, we must help our Catholics to encounter Jesus personally in their lives. Without, we must proclaim to those who do not yet know Jesus. One would think that it is harder to proclaim Christ to non-Catholics and Non-Christians. On the contrary, the most difficult people to evangelize are those Catholics who think that they do not need conversion or a renewal because they think they know everything about their faith already.
This situation was similar to that faced by the apostles when they were spreading the Good News. The most unlikely recipients of the Good News were the pagans. Their own fellow Jews were stirring up trouble for the apostles. They were “prompted by jealousy, used blasphemies and contradicted everything Paul said.” As if that was not enough, they even instigated “some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas and expel them from their territory.”
It is a sin of ingratitude, intellectual pride and complacency. The price of ingratitude and pride is to be hindered from accepting the gift of God. The Word of God is given to us, but by our opposition, the Word is given to others. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, “we had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, we must turn to the pagans. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: I have made you a light for the nations, so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.” So for those who are too proud to relearn what they had learnt many years ago about their faith, they will be left behind. By their rejection of the gospel, what was a loss to the Jews became a gain for the pagans. This is the wisdom of God. We read, “It made the pagans very happy to hear this and they thanked the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside.”
What attitude should we take in the face of rejection? We read, “So they shook the dust from their feet in defiance and went off to Iconium; but the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” We must not be discouraged when the message we proclaim is rejected by others. The discouragement has to do without our wounded ego and the desire for appreciation and acceptance. In truth, they did not reject us but they rejected Christ whom we believe. Like the apostles, we must surrender the work of conversion to the Holy Spirit. By reacting negatively, we allow human emotions and our selfish needs to determine our apostolic zeal. We must be cautious that we do not obstruct the gospel, or if met with opposition, react negatively because of a wounded ego rather than out of sadness for those whom we love, even when we do not know them.
Following the apostles, let us be filled with joy in the Holy Spirit instead. Joy, of course, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, then there will always be joy in the ministry. A lack of joy is an indication that we are no better than the Jews who opposed Paul when he proclaimed the Word of God. Instead of recognizing the work we do as the work of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we reduce our work to mere human manipulation of people’s hearts. We must never think that conversion is our work. The psalmist makes it clear when he prayed, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.” God is our warrior and the Holy Spirit is the one that stirs hearts to conversion. Our part is simply to do what we can and commend everything into the hands of God.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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