Fifth Sunday

5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C (2)

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Today’s readings remind us of the reason for hardship in our pursuit of the Kingdom of God. Through that hardship we’ll be united with Our Lord one day in love and never experience hardship again.

Today’s First Reading recalls the end of Paul’s first missionary voyage. In his lifetime he made three missionary voyages, and just like when he was knocked to the ground and blinded, he had no idea where his missionary voyages would lead him. Today he arrives back in Antioch, the Christian community who had sent him out at the Holy Spirit’s instruction, and he tells them something none of them expected: the Gentiles, the non-Jews, were welcoming the Gospel too. He encourages them to keep the faith, since, as he says “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Paul is saying that from experience. On the mission he just finished he had almost been stoned in one town, mistaken for the god Zeus in another, and in a third was dragged outside the city, stoned, and left for dead. The path to the Kingdom of God is not easy, but worth the hardship.

In today’s Second Reading John tries to describe what the Kingdom of God will look like one day when all the hardship is over: the Church, as splendid as a bride on her wedding day, with Christ as her spouse. In every celebration of the Eucharist we try to imitate what the Church will be like to Christ on that day. The Baldachin (in Italian Baldacchino) built over the main altar in many classic church designs is a symbol evoking the canopy used in Jewish weddings. During the liturgy we wear nice clothes and fine vestments, sing beautiful music, and use items made of gold, silver, and other precious materials to celebrate Jesus coming down to be with us and come down into our hearts. Some day we will all be united, just like those people listening to St. Paul in Antioch, just as when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, rejoicing forever with God among us and all the pain and sorrow wiped away.

St. Paul describes the path to Heaven as hardship, but Our Lord in today’s Gospel calls it the moment of his glorification. When John in his gospel talks about glorification, he is referring to Jesus being crucified. As Judas goes out to betray Our Lord, the Lord says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” He knows that the suffering and hardship that he is about to undergo will make what John sees in the Second Reading come true: all of us, united with him in joy forever. “The One on the throne” in the Second Reading today is Jesus Himself, and he says, “Behold, I make all things new.” Death, sickness, tiredness, and effort are a part of life, but Jesus will re-new everything again: not just spruced up, new again. He is always coming into our hearts to renew us with his love, and, one day, things will be as if they were brand new, forever, like a flower in the fullness of bloom that never wilts again. If we continue to love one another as he has loved us, he can continue to make all things new.

Paul taught the Corinthians, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews had similar thought: “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Are you racing to win in your Christian and spiritual life, or just making the occasional jog and walk? We not only have a finish line in life, but a time limit. No one knows how much time they have to complete the race, but ever race devised involves running and the risk of not reaching the finish line in time. The Christian life is no different: “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

Readings: Acts 14:21–27; Psalm 145:8–13; Revelation 21:1–5a; John 13:31–33a, 34–35.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C (2)

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All three readings today share one common thread: an experience of God’s majesty and power, a call to mission and conversion, and the need for God’s grace and encouragement to change and to accept the invitation.

Isaiah in today’s First Reading experiences a vision of God’s glory and thinks he’s about to die, and die as a sinner. Throughout the Old Testament a basic principle was that anyone who looked upon the Lord would die. The Lord sends the angel to purify him and then invites him to be his prophet. When Our Lord calls you to do something great with your life (and being Christian is something great to do with your life), a natural reaction is to feel your unworthiness, your nothingness in comparison to Who is asking something of you. Isaiah today needed to know that the Lord would “have his back.” Isaiah wouldn’t be working alone and unprepared: the Lord had him purified and would be with him on his mission.

Paul in today’s Second Reading recalls the core of the Gospel: that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, and his own close and personal encounter with the Risen Lord. When he recalls his own encounter with the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus, he also recalls his unworthiness to be commissioned as an apostle, but by God’s grace he’s made capable of carrying out his mission. Paul persecuted Christians and was convinced they were abandoning their religion. Then the Risen Lord appeared to him, struck him blind, and gave him “quiet time” to process what had happened. One of the most humiliating experiences anyone can have is realizing that you were completely wrong about something, compounded by the fact that you know everyone’s going to find out you were wrong. Worse still, Paul received a special revelation that he had actually been hindering Our Lord’s mission and not really embracing the mission Our Lord had sown in his heart. Paul sees his mission of being an apostle as a great work of Our Lord’s grace, not just his own merits.

In today’s Gospel, upon seeing the miraculous catch of fish that makes him go from calling Jesus “Master” to calling him “Lord,” Peter acknowledges his sinfulness and unworthiness for what Our Lord is asking him. Throughout the Gospel we see faith and fear mixed in the man who would become, after Jesus’ Resurrection, the leader of the Apostles and the vicar of Christ on earth. After a long night of fishing an itinerant rabbi asks to use his boat and take advantage of the natural acoustics of being out on the water, also giving his listeners a better view. Was Peter hoping Jesus would give him something? Was he performing an act of charity? The Gospel account isn’t clear, but he let Our Lord into his boat and, in a certain sense, into his world. As Peter soon found out, Jesus expected something much greater from him. We don’t know if he listened to much of Our Lord’s teaching as he sat in his boat, since he was tired after a long night of fishing, but Jesus encouraged him to cast out the nets and Peter responded with trust, even if maybe he was just humoring him. The amazing catch was a response to Peter in a language he could understand. In that moment he realized Our Lord was asking him for far more than a shuttle service, and that he was not just another itinerant rabbi. Suddenly Peter knew that Our Lord understood his world too. Peter knew his weakness, but Our Lord knew it too. In the end, even though it presented a few more hurdles, Peter’s weakness did not prevent either of them from accomplishing their mission.

Our Lord wants to step into your world, just like he stepped into Peter’s boat. He wants to build the bridge between yours and his. However, he expresses this by way of invitation, and, no matter what your anxiety and concerns, accept his invitation and he will help you succeed. It was not easy for Isaiah, Paul, or Peter either, but it will be more fulfilling than you could have ever imagined possible.

Readings: Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8; Psalm 138:1–5, 7–8; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11; Luke 5:1–11. See also 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and 1st Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

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On the Fifth Sunday of Easter Our Lord reminds that that we are called to continue his work, and to achieve even greater things than he accomplished during his earthly ministry. He built his Church with growth in mind, generation after generation, founded on him and the Apostles.

In today’s First Reading the Twelve are faced with more work than they can handle, and people are starting to complain. The Twelve cannot take care of everyone. This is no surprise. Our Lord didn’t just appoint one person to carry on his work; he appointed Twelve, and, soon after, the Twelve needed helpers, and other apostles, like Paul and Barnabas, to continue the work in the face of the Church’s explosive growth. The Twelve asked for candidates, but they were also clear that those who would help them in the ministry needed to be “filled with the Spirit and wisdom.” These men would become known as the Seven, and, according to tradition, may have been the first deacons in the Church. The Church’s mission is not just for the clergy. Everyone is called to help according to their possibilities and state of life. As needs increase, each member of the Church must be dedicated to doing his or her part: bishops shepherding their dioceses, helped by priests and deacons; consecrated persons contributing according to their charism; and laity, ordering the world’s affairs in accordance with the Gospel and helping the Church in matters where they may have more expertise. The Holy Spirit kept the apostles faithful to the work Christ wanted them to do, and the Spirit continues to do so for all of us.

In today’s Second Reading St. Peter reminds us that through Baptism we have been incorporated into the Church, and are now living stones in an edifice constructed with a spiritual and priestly purpose. Our Lord described himself to the Pharisees and scribes as the stone rejected by the builders that would become the corner stone (see Matthew 21:42). They had rejected him, but the Father build the Church on him, and he made the Apostles the foundation for his Church. The Lord continues to build the Church through us, on the solid foundations of those living stones who have preceded us and our own efforts at holiness. A living stone is not just edified, but edifying. We are inserted into this spiritual and social structure and helped to support it and to remain solid. If our works are edifying it will attract even those who don’t know Our Lord to see where that special something we have comes from and to seek it out as well.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord, at the Last Supper, prepares his disciples for the moment when he’ll be separated from them on earth and they’ll be expected to carry on his mission. He reminds them that they have a place waiting for them in Heaven, just as they have a place in his Church. He tells them today that they know where he is going. They know the way to the Father’s House too and don’t need him to show them. When the moment was right Our Lord returned and led every one of them to the Father’s House, just as he will lead us one day. In the meanwhile, we have to stay the course he has taught us, and, if we get turned around, ask for directions to get back on track. Helping people get back on track to the Father’s House is what we’re all called to do as Christians, but to do that we must know how to get to the Father’s House.

Christ describes himself as the “way”: we show others the way to the degree that we imitate him. Our Lord became flesh and put some believers on the right track, and those believers have helped him guide us ever since. He sent apostles to the four corners of the world, and they still carry out their mission through us. This is the work he said would be even greater than his own ministry on earth. It spread to the entire Roman empire, then beyond its borders to the whole world. We’re called to continue these “greater works” that he encouraged his first disciples to do. The key is having faith in him.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord describes Heaven not just as his home, but as a place for us to call home as well. Thinking of home evokes so many warm sentiments–rest, security, peace–and it also invokes the memory of the people there waiting to be with us. Many people today live a difficult situation at home, if they have a home at all, but they all dream of that peaceful place where they can be together with their loved ones. A simple family dinner, where everyone sets aside work, school, etc., to spend time together becomes a glimpse of Heaven as each enjoys the company and there are no worries to dampen the evening.

Our Lord has prepared a place for each of us with Our Father in Heaven. How often do we dream of that? How often do we dream of the day in which life’s journey, with all the fatigue and trial, will be over and we’ll finally and permanently be home with the ones we love? How often do we see the need to remind others of our true home as well so that one day we’ll all be there together?

Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us always keep our true home in mind. If we know he’s shown us the way, no burden or obstacle of this life will rob us of our hope in getting there.

Readings: Acts 6:1–7; Psalm 33:1–2, 4–5, 18–19; 1 Peter 2:4–9; John 14:1–12.

5th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

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In today’s First Reading recalls the end of Paul’s first missionary voyage. In his lifetime he made three missionary voyages, and just like when he was knocked to the ground and blinded, he had no idea where his missionary voyages would lead him. Today he arrives back in Antioch, the Christian community who had sent him out at the Holy Spirit’s instruction, and he tells them something none of them expected: the Gentiles, the non-Jews, were welcoming the Gospel too. He encourages them to keep the faith, since, as he says “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Paul is saying that from experience. On the mission he just finished he had almost been stoned in one town, mistaken for the god Zeus in another, and in a third was dragged outside the city, stoned, and left for dead.

In today’s Second Reading John tries to describe what the Kingdom of God will look like one day: the Church, as splendid as a bride on her wedding day, with Christ as her spouse. In every celebration of the Eucharist we try to imitate what the Church will be like to Christ on that day: we wear nice clothes and vestments, we sing beautiful music, we use things of gold and silver and candles and nice things to celebrate Jesus coming down to be with us and come down into our hearts. Some day we will all be united, just like those people listening to St. Paul in Antioch, just as when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, rejoicing forever with God among us and all the pain and sorrow wiped away.

St. Paul describes the path to Heaven as hardships, but Our Lord in today’s Gospel calls it the moment of his glorification. When John in his gospel talks about glorification, he is referring to Jesus being crucified. So as Judas goes out to betray Our Lord, the Lord says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” He knows that the suffering and hardship that he is about to undergo will make what John sees in the Second Reading come true: all of us, united with him in joy. “The One on the throne” in the Second Reading today is Jesus Himself, and he says, “Behold, I make all things new.” Death and sickness and tiredness and effort are a part of life, but Jesus will re-new everything again: not just spruced up, new again. He is always coming into our hearts to renew us with his love, and one day, things will be as if they were brand new, forever, like a flower in the fullness of bloom, but never drying out or wilting.

Let’s love one another as he had loved us, so that in us he can continue to make all things new.

Readings: Acts 14:21–27; Psalm 145:8–13; Revelation 21:1–5a; John 13:31–33a, 34–35.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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All three readings today share one common thread: an experience of God’s majesty and power, a call to mission and conversion, and the need for God’s grace and encouragement to change and to accept the invitation. Throughout the Old Testament a basic principle was that anyone who looked upon the Lord would die. Isaiah in today’s First Reading experiences a vision of God’s glory and thinks he’s about to die, and die as a sinner. The Lord sends the angel to purify him and then invites him to be his prophet.

Paul in today’s Second Reading recalls the core of the Gospel: that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. When he recalls his own encounter with the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus he also recalls his unworthiness to be commissioned as an apostle, but by God’s grace he’s made capable of carrying out his mission. Lastly, upon seeing the miraculous catch of fish that makes him go from calling Jesus “Master” to calling him “Lord,” Peter acknowledges his sinfulness and unworthiness for what Our Lord is asking him. Our Lord gives him the grace of expressing his confidence in him, a confidence that we know later was tested, but in end, by Our Lord’s grace, merited.

Not every believer is called to be an apostle or prophet, but every believer can expect a deeper experience of Our Lord if it is sought. Many simple don’t look. It may not involve visions or great miracles or revelations, but it will be a moment of realizing that God is somebody, somebody amazing, and somebody who loves you. You may feel like a tiny speck in his presence, but he will give you the grace to be great in his eyes. Seek him out and you will find him, knowing that he is seeking you as well, just as he sought Isaiah, Peter, and Paul.

Readings: Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8; Psalm 138:1–5, 7–8; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11; Luke 5:1–11. See also 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday and 1st Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.