Sermon Thoughts – 5th Sunday in the Easter Season

Sermon Thoughts – 5th Sunday in the Easter Season

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I remember a lady. She used to come to the Church regularly very early in the morning, actually before the sacristan comes. She attended daily mass holding cross in her hands. She spent long time in the Church in prayers even the mass was over. She was almost in all pious associations in the parish. She collected money for the Mission Sunday so that the poor children in Africa and South America … a really saintly life…

But when she comes to the family,..
She has no time to care her children…She has only time to fight with her mother in law.

We may know many people like this lady. Proud to be Christians; Ready to do this and that social projects…For Africa, for Asia, for South America and so on. They are conscious about the poverty around the world. It is not bad at all. But many a time, they avoid the needs of their own society. Some times they are helpless too…

Why to tell all these here? Let us look, if the readings of this Sunday help us somehow.

St Paul proclaimed the good news but in very hard formulations. This hardness is nothing against the humanity. But it has its origin in his zealous faith in Jesus. He says today, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” His words are important and powerful. It asks from us Courage, Faithfulness and readiness to accept hardships in life. We explain it so easily. But each word represents a World.

All of us know that our faith in God needs certain sacrifices. Just as Jesus; just as the Apostles; just as many saints showed us… Our faith demands certain sacrifices…

But just as the lady, I mentioned above, we are unaware about it. Simply to explain we don’t realize the many sacrifices behind our faith, which we enjoy now.

Jesus exhorts his disciples nothing bombastic. He demands to keep his “love”. Actually what was nothing special in his teaching? In the Old Testament we hear “love your neighbour” (Lev 19,18). Now Jesus says, I am giving a new covenant! What is it? “As I loved you”…Yes, that is it. The Old Testament had enough theories…enough rules and rituals. But it lacked the very examples. If there were some, they were not powerful too.

Now Jesus says, “Love, live as I loved”.

The Apostles had clear picture of this Love before them…Paul hadn’t direct contact with Jesus; still he got this Love through his “special vision”. And all these made them so energetic in their faith. And they lived it in its full power!

The Revelation of John says, “Behold, I make all things new”. How is it possible?

Yes, there in only one way for that. It is possible through the unchangeable love of Jesus.

The disaster of our world is the lack of “examples”. We look for here and there. But just as Apostles did, look at Jesus. He is the example.
“As I loved you” he repeats it. Not as PP John Paul II loved, not as PP Benedict loved, not like Padre Pio or any other saints. I am not against them. But the truth is, if we go after for such earthly examples, we may find in them some human failures. It is because they are human and have their weak sides too.

Our Way and Light is Jesus. He is our Example.
He invites us, “Love as I loved”.

Let us start it from our surroundings… in our family… in our parishes…in our workplaces…Then it will automatically transcend to other parts.

Let us look at Jesus, the uncorrupted example…the unfading light…and be a living part in the new World…Amen!

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Fr Thomas Kalathil