Fifth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 52
Reading 1
As the number of disciples continued to
grow,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews
because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said,
"It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,
filled with the Spirit and wisdom,
whom we shall appoint to this task,
whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer
and to the ministry of the word."
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,
so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They presented these men to the apostles
who prayed and laid hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us,
as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
Beloved:
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it says in Scripture:
Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.
Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone, and
A stone that will make people stumble,
and a rock that will make them fall.
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.
You are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises" of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father, except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way."
Thomas said to him,
"Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him,
"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
"Do
not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”
Jesus was speaking to His disciples at the Laster supper, giving them final instructions and preparing them for His crucifixion and death. Through His words we have a window into the relationship of the Trinity and an invitation into what our relationship with God could be like. It is through Jesus that we encounter the Father, drawn by the Holy Spirit, (the Love of God), into that same relationship that Jesus is talking about: The Father being in Him while being seen through him, while experiencing what they have by being a part of it. Confusing that it may be, it can be simplified by stating that the Father loves and is with the Son and through them the Holy Spirit reveals itself.
There truly is nothing to fear. Whatever threatens us in this life can be overcome through the relationship we have with God, if that relationship is central and Jesus is at work within us. We cannot take this for granted. Whatever is predominant in our mind will take precedent, for all action is perpetuated first by thought. If God is on our mind, then He will have influence over our actions and the outcome of them. We will be able to think clearly and make decisions based on what God wants for us, for we have made an effort to remove obstacles that could be impeding a fulfilling relationship with Him.
It is natural for us to be uncomfortable turning our lives and will over to God. This is part of our fallen nature through Original Sin. It is natural for us to try to control things through our self- will, instead of surrendering everything over to God. That is when things go wrong in our lives and we get frustrated, possibly disheartened with God himself. We blame Him instead of ourselves, thus alienating Him further. Jesus cuts through the self-created confusion that we find ourselves in, telling us not to worry and to remain in Him.
“Whatever you ask for in my name I will do.”
These words come from Jesus, but oftentimes fall upon deaf ears including our own. If the key to true joy and happiness in this life is through a loving relationship with our God, why do we find it hard to pursue exactly that? Why do we continuously choose to put Him aside, making choices and decisions without His advice and counsel, even though He is always here readily offering that which we routinely reject. Regardless of the answer we can provide, the question is rhetorical. We are the problem while Jesus is the solution. To solve the problem, we must reject what the problem offers in favor of the solution. This means a distrust of ourselves and a complete trust in God.
The process of disentangling ourselves from the self and entering into a relationship with Jesus can be a slow process. It takes a lot of trust, patience, and an understanding that Jesus must be the center, which an elevated importance in comparison to everything else including relationships, goals, needs, and wants. Just last week, through the Gospel Reading on Good Shepherd Sunday, Jesus claimed He was the gate to which all must pass through to get to the Father. Coming to Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, brings us directly to the Father and into the relationship of the Trinity. Here, we are completely emersed into a relationship with our God. Here, we are guided, protected, and above all loved. Experiencing the perfect good means that there is no room for evil actions or thoughts. These things naturally dissipate and disappear. There is no room for them or no wanting for them on our part. There is just us and our God.
The Apostle Peter tells us that we are,
“… rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God”
I feel the need to encourage all of us to take a moment to contemplate: “WE WERE CHOSEN BY OUR GOD.” We did not choose Him, He chose us by creating us and first loving us. To return that love is key to us being healed and built into something better: what God intended us to be in the first place. That is the best possible version of ourselves through the work of His hands, not ours. As scripture tells us, “He is the potter and we are the clay.” To be the clay, we have to be pliable and let God do the necessary work within us to promote change. Let Him do the work and let us be benefactors of all the rewards and gifts that will follow.
As Psalm 62 says,
“My soul, be at rest in God alone, from whom comes my hope. God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not fall. “
We are invited to stop fighting and to stop resisting. Instead, we are offered respite and comfort. This takes a commitment, a step forward, and an act of surrender. We are invited to stop fighting and rest instead. It is through the accepting of this invitation that a new life can be revealed to us filled with joy through out eternity.
Deacon Tom
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