Reflection on the 4th Sunday of Easter (April 25, 2010)
(Readings from Acts 13:14,43-52; Ps 100:1-2,3,5; Rev 7:9,14b-17; Jn 10:27-30)
In the first reading, Paul & Barnabas went to synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia (in modern day Turkey). This was at the time when the early Christians were still welcome in the synagogue, where the assembly of believers prayed and where the Word of God was preached. In the narrative, we read about Paul and Barnabas not only being able to take their seats in the synagogue, but being able to speak to the Jews and worshipers about remaining faithful to the grace of God. Their preaching was so well received that on the following Sabbath, a large crowd from the city gathered to listen to them. This sight aroused jealousy among some Jews, who contradicted and abused the apostles and incited leading men and women of the city to persecute them and expel them from the city.
Now, recall the place where these key events happened. The synagogue- a place of prayer and the preaching of the word of God became the place of division, where Jews who rejected Christ separated themselves from Jewish Christians and Gentile believers. This reminds us of the conflict and division that we see engulfing many Christian communities. We can’t help but ask the question, why, Lord? How can it happen to people who all call you Lord, a people You planted in a common spiritual home? Why can’t we seem to live up to the salvation that you won for us? How can we who are so broken be instruments of salvation to others?
There were two types of “hearers” to Paul & Barnabas’ preaching of the Word: the Jews, who refused to listen, to take to heart what they heard; and the Gentiles, who in their thirst for the light, accepted the Word preached to them with delight. Those who were destined for eternal life received the Word with open heart, and came to believe. Through them, the Word of God spread throughout all regions, and they themselves became, like Paul and Barnabas, instruments of salvation. Those who rejected the Word, gave vent to their resentment and anger, and by rejecting and persecuting the two apostles, inadvertently helped pave the way to their most fruitful mission to the Gentiles.
This narrative from Acts and the Lord’s words in the gospel point to the key spiritual qualities of those who fruitfully serve the Lord’s plan of salvation: hearers, followers and doers of the Word.
Let us now turn to the gospel for the core message from the readings: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” God-seekers are open to the Spirit, who speaks the Lord’s words and conveys His life to us. Our quest for God finds satisfaction the moment we hear His voice and follow Him. Hearing and following bring us to profound intimacy with God, and in it we find the greatest treasure of all- knowledge of God, union with Him. Possessed by the Lord in His hands, we become part of His work to bring salvation to all, so that all who believe may belong to God.
(Note: first posted on March 3- moved to the month of April to coincide with the April 25th Mass readings)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
On Faith
(A reflection on the readings for the 2nd week of Easter - Apr 9, 2010. Worship Theme: We seek heavenly things when we firmly believe in God)
To “seek heavenly things” is to seek God Himself; all the goodness associated with heaven comes with Him. To firmly believe in God is to trust that He who loved us and sought us first will be true to His promise to share His divine life with us- even though we don’t and can never deserve it. It is only through God’s grace that we have this hope to live in communion with Him forever.
Faith is both a grace and a human act. A grace, because “man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe in the truth.” (CCC 153) A human act, because “believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.” (CCC 155)
In the readings, grace consists of the gift of healing bestowed on Peter, the vision of the Lord granted to John, the Risen Lord’s appearances to His disciples, and His gift of the Holy Spirit. The human acts are Peter’s obedient faith, the belief of the sick and those who carried them that the Lord was in Peter, John’s deep prayer on the Lord’s day, the disciples’ joyful belief in the Risen Lord, and Thomas’ overcoming his unbelief with his faith-filled declaration, “my Lord and my God!”
From the readings, we learn that our response of faith requires being tuned in to God, and being attuned to God in turn helps our faith. To be tuned in to God is like setting our radio or TV to a Christian station, EWTN, or other channels with wholesome family programming. This means tuning out voices, messages and idols that turn us away from God: all that is fleshly and worldly, the spirits that are not of the Lord. However, this does not mean the loss of free will. “To be human, man’s response to God by faith must be free, and…therefore, nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act.” (CCC 160).
Tuning in to God is to fix our eyes on Jesus, our sure access to the Father, the Beginning, the Way, and the End of our journey to God. It is to tune in to the Lord’s example during His public ministry. In Jesus, we find the embodiment of the life we too must live, a life devoted to seeking a lasting unity with the Father, a life of faith, of prayer, of obedience to God's will, and of loving and selfless service to others, especially the needy.
Tuning in to God is to abide in the Holy Spirit, who alone enables us to say that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor 12:3) and to call God, Abba Father (Gal 4:6). “To be in touch with Christ, we must first be touched by the Holy Spirit” (CCC 683). It is the Spirit who sanctifies us, brings us to communion with God, that we may bear much fruit.
Tuning in to God is to share in the Lord’s Cross and Resurrection. Jesus promised, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” (Jn 12:32). The nail marks on His hands and the wound on His side attest to His being lifted up, to His divinity. Only the One who comes from above can return to the Father above. They attest to the power of God over death, to the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to unshackle us from the chains of sin and death that bound us to earth and to earthly things. They attest to the truth that in Christ our Lord, heaven, the things of heaven, all that is pure and holy- are within the reach of those who believe.
As Jesus is lifted up, so are we and our faith lifted up. Regardless of circumstances - whether in sorrow, pain, want or fear, during those times when the nail marks and side wound of Jesus seem like our own, when we are hard pressed and are falling– our faith in the Lord Jesus as our helper and savior will give us the strength and courage to persevere. Our faith will remain firm, that in Jesus alone is Heaven, in Him alone is Life! Jesus, our Lord and our God, is risen!
Directions on tuning in to God, tuning up our faith:
1. Talk about God’s word. Make it your way of life that people will see and know Jesus in your person. Be the light and salt of the earth. Live Jesus daily.
2. Be active in declaring the works of the Lord. Use your spiritual gifts as witness to the power of the Holy Spirit and continue to proclaim the Good News through our encounter programs and mission work
Promise: “…believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20: 31b)
To “seek heavenly things” is to seek God Himself; all the goodness associated with heaven comes with Him. To firmly believe in God is to trust that He who loved us and sought us first will be true to His promise to share His divine life with us- even though we don’t and can never deserve it. It is only through God’s grace that we have this hope to live in communion with Him forever.
Faith is both a grace and a human act. A grace, because “man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe in the truth.” (CCC 153) A human act, because “believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.” (CCC 155)
In the readings, grace consists of the gift of healing bestowed on Peter, the vision of the Lord granted to John, the Risen Lord’s appearances to His disciples, and His gift of the Holy Spirit. The human acts are Peter’s obedient faith, the belief of the sick and those who carried them that the Lord was in Peter, John’s deep prayer on the Lord’s day, the disciples’ joyful belief in the Risen Lord, and Thomas’ overcoming his unbelief with his faith-filled declaration, “my Lord and my God!”
From the readings, we learn that our response of faith requires being tuned in to God, and being attuned to God in turn helps our faith. To be tuned in to God is like setting our radio or TV to a Christian station, EWTN, or other channels with wholesome family programming. This means tuning out voices, messages and idols that turn us away from God: all that is fleshly and worldly, the spirits that are not of the Lord. However, this does not mean the loss of free will. “To be human, man’s response to God by faith must be free, and…therefore, nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act.” (CCC 160).
Tuning in to God is to fix our eyes on Jesus, our sure access to the Father, the Beginning, the Way, and the End of our journey to God. It is to tune in to the Lord’s example during His public ministry. In Jesus, we find the embodiment of the life we too must live, a life devoted to seeking a lasting unity with the Father, a life of faith, of prayer, of obedience to God's will, and of loving and selfless service to others, especially the needy.
Tuning in to God is to abide in the Holy Spirit, who alone enables us to say that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor 12:3) and to call God, Abba Father (Gal 4:6). “To be in touch with Christ, we must first be touched by the Holy Spirit” (CCC 683). It is the Spirit who sanctifies us, brings us to communion with God, that we may bear much fruit.
Tuning in to God is to share in the Lord’s Cross and Resurrection. Jesus promised, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself” (Jn 12:32). The nail marks on His hands and the wound on His side attest to His being lifted up, to His divinity. Only the One who comes from above can return to the Father above. They attest to the power of God over death, to the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to unshackle us from the chains of sin and death that bound us to earth and to earthly things. They attest to the truth that in Christ our Lord, heaven, the things of heaven, all that is pure and holy- are within the reach of those who believe.
As Jesus is lifted up, so are we and our faith lifted up. Regardless of circumstances - whether in sorrow, pain, want or fear, during those times when the nail marks and side wound of Jesus seem like our own, when we are hard pressed and are falling– our faith in the Lord Jesus as our helper and savior will give us the strength and courage to persevere. Our faith will remain firm, that in Jesus alone is Heaven, in Him alone is Life! Jesus, our Lord and our God, is risen!
Directions on tuning in to God, tuning up our faith:
1. Talk about God’s word. Make it your way of life that people will see and know Jesus in your person. Be the light and salt of the earth. Live Jesus daily.
2. Be active in declaring the works of the Lord. Use your spiritual gifts as witness to the power of the Holy Spirit and continue to proclaim the Good News through our encounter programs and mission work
Promise: “…believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20: 31b)
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