20260522 IDEALISM GIVES WAY TO REALISM
22 May 2026, Friday, 7th Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 25:13-21 |
'I ordered Paul to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar'
King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case before the king. ‘There is a man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in custody, and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge. So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20 |
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has set his sway in heaven
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
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!
Gospel | John 21:15-19 |
Feed my lambs, feed my sheep
Jesus showed himself to his disciples, and after they had eaten he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
‘I tell you most solemnly,
when you were young
you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out your hands,
and somebody else will put a belt round you
and take you where you would rather not go.’
In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
IDEALISM GIVES WAY TO REALISM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 25:13-21; Ps 103:1-2,11-12,19-20; Jn 21:15-19]
Most of us have great ideals. But when we are not in charge, we like to criticise those who are, because we think that those in authority do not measure up to our ideals. We criticise the government, church leaders, our bosses, and our parents as well. We always feel that they are not doing what they should be doing. We feel that they are backward, outdated, out-of-touch, and not responsive to situations, etc. We feel that our parents do not know how to live out their marriage; that they do not know how to raise their children. We seem to have all the answers. We are just waiting for that day when we can take over their jobs and show them what they should do. We have great aspirations and hope that we can change lives and make a real difference in society. When President Obama took office, he called for “change.” When President Trump took office, he said, “I will make America great again!” When South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office, in a similar vein he said, “I will build a new nation. I will make a great Korea, a proud Korea!”
But the reality is that when the day comes for us to take over, we will realise that it is not so easy after all. Indeed, those of us who are married today have come to realise that marriage is not a bed of roses, and that building a relationship with our spouse is a challenging task, and that looking after our children is sometimes an impossible task! What more if one has to deal with difficult in-laws or elderly members at home. So too, all those who assume office – whether in the government, in church, or any corporation or organisation – will face the same challenges. Many bishops and priests become jaded after assuming office for a while because it so difficult to get anything moving or get everyone to agree on anything. Church members, too, become disillusioned because of the bureaucracy in the Church. The list goes on and on.
This too was the case for the apostles and Paul. They too had great dreams for Israel. Peter wanted to die for Jesus and follow Him wherever He went. Peter declared, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Mt 26:33) Again, he repeated, “I will lay down my life for you.” (Jn 13:37) Yet, when the time came for Peter to prove himself, he vehemently denied that he knew Christ when a maid or a servant identified him as one of His followers. So too did the rest of the apostles; all of them fled when Jesus was arrested. Only John was at the foot of the cross with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and some other women. The irony is that James and John had once told Jesus that they were ready to drink the cup that He was to drink. (cf Mt 20:22)
Indeed, like all those before us, when it is our chance to take charge of things, we find that our ideals cannot be reached. There are too many constraints. It is easy for us to give great advice to those in authority because we see things from our own narrow perspective and lack the breadth of their views. We think we have the solution to all their problems. But often, we do not realise that every leader and every person in office is faced with certain limitations in terms of manpower, resources, and finance. No one can do whatever he likes – not even the President of the United States or the Pope!
That was also the experience of the Roman governor, Festus, as we see in today’s First Reading. He had taken over from Felix and the case of Paul was not yet settled. Unlike Felix, Festus was a just and honest governor. He wanted to do the right thing. The Jews wanted him to condemn Paul to death but he knew that Paul did not warrant a death sentence. He knew that the Jews were jealous of him and felt threatened by him over some religious disagreement. As he was not comfortable in making a judgement on Paul, he proposed that Paul be tried in Jerusalem since it was a religious matter. But Paul knew very well that the judgment in Jerusalem would not be fair and just. Instead, he appealed to Rome for judgement. We can be sure that Festus was relieved that he did not have to make a bad judgement, as he did not want to offend the Jews at the start of his office.
That is why we must learn to be humble and be more realistic. It is easy to be opinionated when we are not in charge or involved in the situation. It is easy to dish out great advice when we are not in it. St Peter learned a great lesson; he was totally humbled by his sin of apostasy. He was so ashamed of himself for denying Christ. If not for Jesus, he could never have forgiven himself for what he did. Until it happened, he never realised that he was a coward. So when Jesus met him again, He asked Peter, “do you love me more than these others do?” If this question was in reference to his profession as a fisherman – an invitation to follow Jesus by giving up everything, including his trade – he would have likely answered positively, just as he did when he was first called. But this time, Peter was no longer cocky and dismissive. He no longer wished to compare himself with others. And so the reply was simply, “‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.” He did not dare to say that he loved Jesus most. Peter, now aware of his own limitations, was realistic in his love for the Lord. When Jesus asked him whether he loved him in an “agape” manner – that is total, unconditional, complete, and self-sacrificing – Peter replied with the word, “phileo”, which is essentially the love of a friend. Peter was no longer full of himself. It was better for him to just say to Jesus that He knew how much he loved Him; he would love Jesus as much as he could. “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.”
Indeed, we see how Peter was healed by the threefold affirmation of love for the Lord. Jesus gave him the chance to redeem himself by overwriting his threefold denial. With that, Jesus now had greater confidence in him, appointing him as the shepherd of his sheep. Previously, Jesus had told Peter, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward.” (Jn 13:36) But after his restoration, the Lord not only asked him to feed and look after His lambs and sheep, but He said to Peter, “Follow me.” Only those who have been healed of their pride and arrogance can become great leaders for the Lord. Otherwise, arrogance in leadership will destroy them and those whom they are leading. Whilst it is important for leaders to have great dreams, they must learn humility and realism. We cannot do everything we hope to do. Peter no longer was obstinate and insistent on having his own way. The Lord said, “I tell you most solemnly, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.”
Indeed, the ways of God are not ours. “The Lord has set his sway in heaven and his kingdom is ruling over all.” Though James and John did not get to sit on the right and left hand of the throne of Jesus, they did drink the cup eventually. James was beheaded, and John was sent into exile. And although he did not suffer martyrdom, he offered his whole life for the Gospel. Peter, like James, was also executed. The evangelist noted, “In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God.” St Paul, too, never realised his dream of bringing the Gospel to the ends of the world. He never expected that circumstances would happen in such a way that he was literally brought to Rome to proclaim the Gospel. The ways of God are unimaginable. Man proposes but God disposes.
What we need to do is simply to surrender our lives to Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Our mission is dependent on the Holy Spirit. Success is not just our work, but that of divine plan and providence. Jesus too surrendered His mission to the Holy Spirit at His death on the cross. So all we need to do is to cooperate with His grace at every step in our lives. God will lead the way. We cannot determine the end or the outcome because it is the grace of God. Let us listen to the Lord, “Follow me!”
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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