[stephenkhoo]

THE MOVEMENT FROM DISCIPLESHIP TO APOSTLESHIP PRESUPPOSES AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE RISEN LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ACTS 1:15-17, 20-26; JN 15:9-17
http://www.universalis.com/20140514mass.htm

What is the difference between being a disciple and an apostle? A disciple is one who is a follower and a learner, whereas an apostle is one who is sent as a messenger and a witness. Before one can be an apostle, one must first be a disciple. But a disciple must one day become an apostle even though discipleship in reality never stops as it is an ongoing process even when we assume apostleship.

Indeed, this is what Jesus said, “You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last.” Yes, we have been chosen for discipleship so that we can be His apostles, His messengers to others. We are not chosen for ourselves but for others. It is not enough to be contented to be His disciples, but we must also be His apostles. Consequently, being His apostle is our goal.

But before we can be His apostles, we must first follow Him. This is the most important criterion of apostleship. For this reason, the only condition of apostleship, as Acts tells us is, “someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us, someone who was with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us…”

Why is this so necessary? Because an apostle is ultimately called to be a witness to His resurrection. But the apostles’ task was not simply to proclaim that they saw Jesus after His death. Rather, their entire mission was to proclaim the resurrection of Christ and all the implications that spring from this truth, namely, His divine sonship, the love of the Father in the Holy Spirit and our calling to share in His Trinitarian love.

What does it mean for us to be a witness today? It simply means that we are called to be a believer of the resurrection of Jesus. This belief should lead us also to attest to His divine sonship and the truth of His message regarding His Father’s love for us. Secondly, to be a witness of the resurrection is to see the transforming effects of having faith in Jesus as the one raised by the Father, which we see in our own lives and in the lives of those who surrender in faith.

There is a real danger among Catholics who reduce their faith to mere acceptance of some doctrines and routine practices, like attending mass, saying a few prayers and doing penance on Fridays. When faith is no longer a personal relationship with the Lord that encompasses knowledge, affection and trust, God becomes distant to us. Such a faith cannot empower us or give us life. Indeed, a living faith is one that helps a believer become increasingly conscious of Jesus as the Risen Lord.

This is brought about through a personal encounter with Him in our prayer life through contemplation and study. At the end of the day, the question is not how much knowledge of the faith and charisms we have. Rather, it is about whether we have enough faith and love for Jesus to want to give our lives to Him by serving Him in the Church and humanity, proclaiming Him as the Lord and saviour, the meaning and destiny of our lives.

Truly, in the final analysis, what matters is the depth of our faith. Some preachers attract big crowds, not because they have deep theological knowledge, but because of their deep personal faith and conviction. Faith is caught, not taught. Lives of people are changed and touched not so much by what we say but how we say it and what kind of faith we exude. We can touch lives provided we have a deep personal faith in the power of the Risen Lord.

Consequently, in order that we can be His effective witnesses, we must ground our witnessing and therefore our mission in Jesus who is sent by the Father and who now sends us. To understand better our mission, we must first grasp how Jesus was a witness to His Father.

Jesus experienced His Father’s unconditional love. It is this experience of His Father’s love that gave Him a joy beyond understanding. Flowing from this exuberant joy is Jesus’ desire to share this joy with us. Hence, He declared, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” Jesus understood the heart of the Father’s love. Because the Father loves us, Jesus also loves us, since He is one with the Father in love.

Secondly, Jesus came to reveal to us His Father’s love. He said to His disciples, “You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.” Indeed, this is in essence the only necessary thing we need to know about God; that He is our Father who loves us and gave His only Son for our salvation. If we understand the divine plan for us, we would be able to live our lives with a sense of direction, purpose, zeal and with enthusiasm.

Thirdly, He revealed the depth of His Father’s unconditional and faithful love by His death and resurrection. Thus Jesus said, “A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” So in His death, Jesus wanted to reveal how much the Father loves us. Jesus is therefore the true witness and revealer of the Father’s love. Death is the ultimate sacrifice of the testimony of love we can offer to anyone. Jesus, in imitation of the Father’s love, surrendered His life for our redemption.

Having showed us His Father’s love, today, we in turn are sent out to love like Him. Twice in today’s gospel He commanded: “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. …. What I command you is to love one another.” Our mission therefore is to reveal the Father’s love for us in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The credibility of our proclamation is the transformation of our own lives, especially in a life of love which entails a dying to self.

What does it require of us if we were to be a witnessing community of faith to the Risen Lord? To be a witness presupposes that we have shared in His love. We cannot be missionaries for Christ if we have not experienced the same love and the ensuing joy that comes from this experience as Jesus did. Being a witness to the resurrection in the final analysis is not dependent on how much theological knowledge we have acquired, but how well we know Jesus personally and how much we have experienced His love.

Indeed, the commandment to love makes sense only within this context. For how can love be a command? Love is free. No one can command us to love. Christ can command us to love only because He has first loved us and without reservation. The command that Jesus speaks about is not an external command or a command from a superior. It is the command that we have over someone who is our friend. It is a love that flows out from the love that we have received. Hence, Jesus said, “You are my friends, if you do what I command you.” Love is a command in terms of drawing out the love of our beloved. Such a love always brings joy. Otherwise, service to others can be a real burden. When we love freely because we have been loved, that love brings joy. Grouchy and unhappy ministry members are those who have lost the love of Jesus in their lives.

So, if we want to be apostles for Jesus, then we need to remain in His love. This is the most important thing for anyone. Nothing in Christian formation can be more important than this. This is what Jesus wants for all of us. He reiterated this when He said, “Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” In other words, if we follow Jesus, we will remain in His love. This is the secret of our ministry and mission. Without which, we cannot expect to bear much fruit, since we are not being sent by the Lord.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh