20260515 FULFILLING THE MISSION WITH CHRIST
15 May 2026, Friday, 6th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 18:9-18 |
'I have many people on my side in this city'
At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.
But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.
After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 46(47):2-7 |
God is king of all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth.
God is king of all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.
Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,
given to Jacob out of love.
God is king of all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God, sing praise,
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
God is king of all the earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:26 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Lk24:46,26 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
It was ordained that the Christ should suffer
and rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 16:20-23 |
Your hearts will be full of joy that no-one will take from you
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.
A woman in childbirth suffers,
because her time has come;
but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering
in her joy that a man has been born into the world.
So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,
and that joy no one shall take from you.
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.’
FULFILLING THE MISSION WITH CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 18:9-18; PS 47:2-7; JN 16:20-23]
Being a real Christian is truly living a life of martyrdom. Not all of us realise this because most of us become Christians expecting to live a blessed life; where all our petitions are granted, our desires for joy and success are fulfilled, and God protects us from every harm and evil, and shield us from all suffering. And when the world accepts us, it is because we are seen as respectable through our inclusivity and compassion for the poor and marginalised. Yet, the reality is that if we take the Gospel seriously, it is a threat to the society we know today. This is not because we desire to cause division, but because the Gospel challenges the world to live a life of justice, compassion, rooted in truth and charity.
But we are not alone in our mission. In the Gospel, Jesus assured His disciples that they would never be left alone, even after His departure, “I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a man has been born into the world. So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.” His leaving them was only temporary because He will come again in a new way; after His resurrection, He will send them the Holy Spirit. The resurrection will reveal His true identity and the Holy Spirit will continue to enlighten them on the meaning of what the Lord has taught them. And it is true for us as well.
At times, we might feel the absence of the Lord in our trials. But in truth, the pains we experience are all part and parcel of the trials of the apostolate that Paul himself shared with us. “Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2 Cor 11:24-28) Yet, all these pangs of childbirth will eventually give life to the people to whom the Gospel is preached. What should encourage us is that, through the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, our joy will be primarily rooted in our relationship with Jesus. When we know and understand the Lord in the light of the resurrection, we will stop asking Him questions. As He said, “When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions.”
For this reason, we must cling on to the Lord’s promise that He will be with us if we want to accomplish the mission as Paul did in today’s First Reading. “At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.” The assuring vision Jesus gave to Paul, and other similar visions he received on other occasions (Acts 23:11, 27:23-24) demonstrate that God was with him in his mission. We can be sure that, like Paul, when we face opposition, we may feel fearful or hesitant to witness to Christ, just as Paul did in the situation at Corinth. Thus, Christ gave him a gentle reminder to remain steadfast. He was not the first messenger to receive the gentle rebuke, nor the last. All the prophets before him – Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others – received the same assurance: “I will be with you.”
When we are assured that we are fulfilling the mandate of the Lord, we can carry it out with confidence and courage. In most cases, this mandate from the Lord is given explicit endorsement by the Christian community. For us, priests, it is given through the bishops who, as the successors of the apostles, authenticate our call to be His priests after consulting the people of God. When God calls us, it is not because we are ‘good’, but because God wants to use us for His service. As in the case of Paul, the call was not simply based on talent; the primary reason is that we are sent to announce the message of salvation to the people. Often, like Paul and the others who have been called, we are afraid to take up the challenge of proclaiming the Gospel because we feel we are not gifted or good enough. This is where we can learn from Paul and Peter – to surrender our fears and anxieties to the Lord, knowing that with Him, we will be more than sufficient. As St Paul wrote, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13)
Indeed, this was the case for Paul when he was shielded by the state. The Proconsul refused to take up the case brought by the Jews, who had tried to imprison him for breaking their Laws. “Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – and I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.” By this decision, Gallio set an important precedent for managing the affairs between the state and religion. This principle was adopted by other proconsuls as well; Gallio made it clear that the state does not make judgments pertaining to religious beliefs and customs. He threw them out of the court and ordered them to settle the matter among themselves. Because of this decision, Paul was able to continue his mission in Achaia without hindrance, and later elsewhere in the Roman provinces. This incident confirms how the Lord works His ways in all of us. He made good on His promise to the apostles and to Paul that He would protect them. It was through His grace that Paul was able to be in Corinth for 18 months to lay the foundation of a new Christian community, preaching the Word of God.
However, this is possible only if we cooperate with the sovereign plan of God. When the Lord told Paul that He had many people in this city, Paul could have said, “Well, since you have so many people here, you can ask them to do it. Or, let me go to another town where it is safe for me to preach the Good News.” Instead, Paul accepted the Lord’s choice and the mandate given to him. He did not try to escape the trials ahead of him. He relied simply on God’s strength to accomplish the work the Father entrusted to him. Like Paul we are asked to fulfil the promises of God and to trust in His sovereignty. From Paul, we learn that aligning our personal desires with the discernment of God’s plan is necessary for us to fulfil His design for humanity. We must be like Paul who, although he had his own plans, was always open to the plan God had for him. This is why it is very important that we do not impose our will over the will of God, or impose our plans on Him. Openness and sincerity to do God’s will are necessary for success in our mission.
Another lesson we can learn from Paul’s experience in Corinth is that discipleship is a lifelong relationship. It is not just a ‘touch-and-go’ experience. God knew that the Christians in Corinth were not easy to be formed in discipleship; in fact, Paul faced a lot of challenges in pastoring them. There were theological issues, such as eating of food offered to idols, as well as the more human struggles of fighting for power, popularity, etc. All these are our problems in this day and age as well. Wherever human beings are – imperfect as we are – there will be broken, insecure, and wounded people in our midst trying to grow in discipleship. So, with the extra time Paul had with them, he spent it grounding them in the Scriptures.
Indeed, because of his cooperation with God’s plan, Paul completed the final part of his second missionary journey and returned to the Church in Antioch, where the mission began. (cf Acts 15:35-41) Before going to Jerusalem, Paul shaved his hair to conclude a Nazirite vow. (cf. Num 6:2, 5, 9, 18) It was an act of thanksgiving to God for protecting him in Corinth. The vow included a ritual of offering a sacrifice to God by burning his hair on the altar in devotion to God. So, contrary to the false charges of his accusers, this action shows that Paul was very much devoted to the Law. He only adapted it to different cultural situations for the sake of the Gospel. Let us, in a manner similar to Paul, walk with confidence and trust in God’s sovereign plan for us all.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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