10-28-2011, 10:53 AM
Scripture Reflections
Friday, 28 October, 2011, Feast of Ss Simon and Jude, Apostles
VOCATION AS MYSTERY, COMMUNION AND MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: EPH 2:19-22; LK 6:12-19
We know very little about the two apostles, Simon and Jude, whose feasts we are celebrating. Scripture tells us that Simon comes from Cana and was a Zealot, whereas Jude Thaddeus was the one who asked Jesus why He showed Himself to the disciples but not to the world. Beyond this, tradition considers St Jude as the patron for hopeless cases. How this tradition originated is uncertain. Perhaps St Jude, who in the scriptures is called Judas, Son of James, has been confused with Judas Iscariot who fell into despair and committed suicide. According to tradition too, these two apostles preached the Gospel in Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia (Iran) where they were martyred. Today we honor Saints Simon and Jude who died violently for their faith.
Nevertheless, the primary reason why their feasts are celebrated in a grand manner is because they were chosen to belong to the group of twelve by the Lord. As apostles, they were commissioned by Christ to speak in His name, and empowered to act by His authority. They constitute the foundation of the Church, for as St Paul said, we are “part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for foundations”. It is their privileged position and their exemplary lives that made them true apostles of the Church.
Thus, on the feast of the apostles, the obvious theme that we are invited to reflect on would be our call. We should consider our own call in life; a call implied by our baptism. Regardless of our vocation in life, all are called to bear witness to Christ and work for His kingdom. Our first point for reflection would be the nature of the choice of the call itself. It is significant that at the beginning of His mission, Jesus chose twelve men to be His friends and apostles. In the choice of the twelve, Jesus chose very ordinary people. They were non-professionals, who had no wealth or position. They were chosen from the common people who had no special education, and no social advantages.
The first thing we can learn from the call of the Twelve is that vocation is truly a gift from the Lord and therefore a mystery. It is also a mystery because it is God’s plan for us, chosen by Him for us from time eternity. It is also a mystery because it is a calling for us to be in communion with the Trinity. But there can be no communion with the Lord unless we are in communion with each other, the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
God has destined from all eternity what we are called to do in this life. The circumstances and the means given to us are to enable us to fulfill our role in the plan of God for the salvation of humanity. It is not our choice, for the givens in life are simply givens. We cannot choose to be born in a particular place or time. Our talents and resources are all given to us before we can even make use of them. So those of us who are leaders and achievers in life must never think too highly of ourselves and consider ourselves a cut above others, thinking that what we have become is due to our efforts and ingenuity alone.
Realizing that our vocation is a gift and mystery will make us grateful. Failing to appreciate the gift of vocation results in us taking our vocation as if it is a career where we can work hard for it. Such an attitude will result in us making demands on our rights and privileges later, as if we have a right to them. But if we are grateful, then we will remain humble and always appreciative that we can serve, which itself is the reward.
However, even before we contemplate on the gift of vocation, we must realize that the greatest gift given to us before any specific calling is the gift of baptism, the gift of sonship and the gift of communion. The mystery, which we speak about, is precisely the gift of communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is nothing greater than the call to communion with the Holy Trinity because this is the goal of every person, to share in the Trinitarian life.
This communion is first and foremost to be in communion with the Lord. Jesus in His own life demonstrated that His mission was due to His communion with the Father. In today’s gospel we are told, “Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.” Only after spending such long hours in prayer, did He carry out His mission. Of course, the first thing He did was to summon His disciples and pick out twelve of them whom He called “apostles”. Furthermore, we are told that when He came down from the mountain, “there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem … who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.” And we are told that “people tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him because power came out of Him and cured them all.
If we want to be great apostles of the Lord, we, too, must first cultivate our communion with the Lord. St Paul reminds us that Christ Jesus is our main cornerstone. Jude asked Jesus in John’s gospel why He only showed Himself to the disciples and not to the crowd. Thus, it is clear that Jesus wants us to be in communion with Him before we can be active in the mission. Unless we are in communion with Jesus in prayer, we cannot be fruitful and effective in our mission. The call to be apostles presumes that ordinary people do extraordinary things not because of their ingenuity but because of their union with the Lord. Truly, the Lord chose such ordinary people to be His apostles not for what they were, but for what they would be capable of becoming under His direction and power. Necessarily, when the Lord calls us, we only need to offer ourselves the little we have for God to work in and through us.
But we are called to be in communion with the Lord so that we can be in communion with each other. It is noteworthy that after such long prayer, Jesus would choose such a motley group of men to be His apostles, people who have such diverse characters and background. Yet, perhaps it is His way of telling us that the communion that He is bringing about is not the work of men. Rather, God wants us to know that His power is manifested in the fact that we are so different and yet able to work together in unity. Indeed, St Paul said something to the same effect when he wrote, “As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.”
Of course, working together with each other is not easy. In spite of divisions due to different opinions and working styles and different characters, unity is possible only when founded in Christ. Thus, the communion we speak about is not simply inter-personal relationship but that we are in communion with the Church. For there can be no real communion with the Lord unless we are in communion with the Church, the Body of Christ. Hence, Paul said, “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.” Fidelity to the apostolic faith, which transmits the authentic faith of Christ, is necessary.
This communion therefore becomes the basis for mission, the mission ad intra and mission ad extra. Without appreciating our call as mystery and that this mystery is communion, and that communion is mission, we cannot participate in the work of Christ in establishing the kingdom. This is vital because without mystery, it is not God’s call but our choice, we calling ourselves, not God calling us. We will no longer be living our vocation since the very word “vocation” means a call from without. Vocation is different from career as the latter is not a calling but our own choice. Without communion with the Lord, there will be no fruits because we lack the Spirit of God to work in and through us. And without communion with the Church, there will be no mission since communion is our mission and this mission can only be accomplished in communion.
In the light of today’s liturgy, we are invited to respond to God’s love and surrender ourselves to Him. In today’s first reading, like the Ephesians we are reminded to make ourselves a spiritual home for the God where the Spirit lives. We must therefore learn to dissociate ourselves from our needs, desires and self-pity so that we can hear the Lord’s call clearly. By responding generously to the Lord’s call first to be in communion with Him, we will then become the dwelling place of God in the Spirit and, like Jesus, the power of God will radiate from us, the power that helps us to unite ourselves with each other and bring the whole world into communion with Him through our works, deeds and presence. In this way, we become truly apostles of Christ, since we act in His name like all ambassadors of those nations they belong to, according to the vocation the Lord has called us to. Through our witnessing in the way we live out our calling in life, which is that of the gospel and the Trinitarian life, we hope that one day all nations will come to know that the gift of Jesus, which is the gift of mystery and communion from God, is given to us all.
Friday, 28 October, 2011, Feast of Ss Simon and Jude, Apostles
VOCATION AS MYSTERY, COMMUNION AND MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: EPH 2:19-22; LK 6:12-19
We know very little about the two apostles, Simon and Jude, whose feasts we are celebrating. Scripture tells us that Simon comes from Cana and was a Zealot, whereas Jude Thaddeus was the one who asked Jesus why He showed Himself to the disciples but not to the world. Beyond this, tradition considers St Jude as the patron for hopeless cases. How this tradition originated is uncertain. Perhaps St Jude, who in the scriptures is called Judas, Son of James, has been confused with Judas Iscariot who fell into despair and committed suicide. According to tradition too, these two apostles preached the Gospel in Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia (Iran) where they were martyred. Today we honor Saints Simon and Jude who died violently for their faith.
Nevertheless, the primary reason why their feasts are celebrated in a grand manner is because they were chosen to belong to the group of twelve by the Lord. As apostles, they were commissioned by Christ to speak in His name, and empowered to act by His authority. They constitute the foundation of the Church, for as St Paul said, we are “part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for foundations”. It is their privileged position and their exemplary lives that made them true apostles of the Church.
Thus, on the feast of the apostles, the obvious theme that we are invited to reflect on would be our call. We should consider our own call in life; a call implied by our baptism. Regardless of our vocation in life, all are called to bear witness to Christ and work for His kingdom. Our first point for reflection would be the nature of the choice of the call itself. It is significant that at the beginning of His mission, Jesus chose twelve men to be His friends and apostles. In the choice of the twelve, Jesus chose very ordinary people. They were non-professionals, who had no wealth or position. They were chosen from the common people who had no special education, and no social advantages.
The first thing we can learn from the call of the Twelve is that vocation is truly a gift from the Lord and therefore a mystery. It is also a mystery because it is God’s plan for us, chosen by Him for us from time eternity. It is also a mystery because it is a calling for us to be in communion with the Trinity. But there can be no communion with the Lord unless we are in communion with each other, the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
God has destined from all eternity what we are called to do in this life. The circumstances and the means given to us are to enable us to fulfill our role in the plan of God for the salvation of humanity. It is not our choice, for the givens in life are simply givens. We cannot choose to be born in a particular place or time. Our talents and resources are all given to us before we can even make use of them. So those of us who are leaders and achievers in life must never think too highly of ourselves and consider ourselves a cut above others, thinking that what we have become is due to our efforts and ingenuity alone.
Realizing that our vocation is a gift and mystery will make us grateful. Failing to appreciate the gift of vocation results in us taking our vocation as if it is a career where we can work hard for it. Such an attitude will result in us making demands on our rights and privileges later, as if we have a right to them. But if we are grateful, then we will remain humble and always appreciative that we can serve, which itself is the reward.
However, even before we contemplate on the gift of vocation, we must realize that the greatest gift given to us before any specific calling is the gift of baptism, the gift of sonship and the gift of communion. The mystery, which we speak about, is precisely the gift of communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is nothing greater than the call to communion with the Holy Trinity because this is the goal of every person, to share in the Trinitarian life.
This communion is first and foremost to be in communion with the Lord. Jesus in His own life demonstrated that His mission was due to His communion with the Father. In today’s gospel we are told, “Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.” Only after spending such long hours in prayer, did He carry out His mission. Of course, the first thing He did was to summon His disciples and pick out twelve of them whom He called “apostles”. Furthermore, we are told that when He came down from the mountain, “there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem … who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.” And we are told that “people tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him because power came out of Him and cured them all.
If we want to be great apostles of the Lord, we, too, must first cultivate our communion with the Lord. St Paul reminds us that Christ Jesus is our main cornerstone. Jude asked Jesus in John’s gospel why He only showed Himself to the disciples and not to the crowd. Thus, it is clear that Jesus wants us to be in communion with Him before we can be active in the mission. Unless we are in communion with Jesus in prayer, we cannot be fruitful and effective in our mission. The call to be apostles presumes that ordinary people do extraordinary things not because of their ingenuity but because of their union with the Lord. Truly, the Lord chose such ordinary people to be His apostles not for what they were, but for what they would be capable of becoming under His direction and power. Necessarily, when the Lord calls us, we only need to offer ourselves the little we have for God to work in and through us.
But we are called to be in communion with the Lord so that we can be in communion with each other. It is noteworthy that after such long prayer, Jesus would choose such a motley group of men to be His apostles, people who have such diverse characters and background. Yet, perhaps it is His way of telling us that the communion that He is bringing about is not the work of men. Rather, God wants us to know that His power is manifested in the fact that we are so different and yet able to work together in unity. Indeed, St Paul said something to the same effect when he wrote, “As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.”
Of course, working together with each other is not easy. In spite of divisions due to different opinions and working styles and different characters, unity is possible only when founded in Christ. Thus, the communion we speak about is not simply inter-personal relationship but that we are in communion with the Church. For there can be no real communion with the Lord unless we are in communion with the Church, the Body of Christ. Hence, Paul said, “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone.” Fidelity to the apostolic faith, which transmits the authentic faith of Christ, is necessary.
This communion therefore becomes the basis for mission, the mission ad intra and mission ad extra. Without appreciating our call as mystery and that this mystery is communion, and that communion is mission, we cannot participate in the work of Christ in establishing the kingdom. This is vital because without mystery, it is not God’s call but our choice, we calling ourselves, not God calling us. We will no longer be living our vocation since the very word “vocation” means a call from without. Vocation is different from career as the latter is not a calling but our own choice. Without communion with the Lord, there will be no fruits because we lack the Spirit of God to work in and through us. And without communion with the Church, there will be no mission since communion is our mission and this mission can only be accomplished in communion.
In the light of today’s liturgy, we are invited to respond to God’s love and surrender ourselves to Him. In today’s first reading, like the Ephesians we are reminded to make ourselves a spiritual home for the God where the Spirit lives. We must therefore learn to dissociate ourselves from our needs, desires and self-pity so that we can hear the Lord’s call clearly. By responding generously to the Lord’s call first to be in communion with Him, we will then become the dwelling place of God in the Spirit and, like Jesus, the power of God will radiate from us, the power that helps us to unite ourselves with each other and bring the whole world into communion with Him through our works, deeds and presence. In this way, we become truly apostles of Christ, since we act in His name like all ambassadors of those nations they belong to, according to the vocation the Lord has called us to. Through our witnessing in the way we live out our calling in life, which is that of the gospel and the Trinitarian life, we hope that one day all nations will come to know that the gift of Jesus, which is the gift of mystery and communion from God, is given to us all.