JESUS, THE LIVING STONE

V EASTER SUNDAY - 1 Peter 2:4-9

Speaking of Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter tells us that He is “the living stone”, “chosen by God and precious to him”. Despite being rejected by men, there will be no building that may last but the one built upon this stone. He is the cornerstone that becomes a stumbling block that will bring down all those who refuse to believe in Him. Thus, Peter invites us to become living stones in communion with Him. The Church is the “spiritual house”, built upon Christ, that is to be our home. In Christ, we become “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God”.

In the gospel, Jesus presents himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14:1-12). Through him, we come to the Father, and we must realise that “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). Thus, when we see him, we see the Father. In communion with Him, we are in communion with the Father.

In the first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6:1-7), we see the struggle of the Early Church to live out that communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Since the beginning, the Church has had a social dimension, paying attention to the most vulnerable, looking after the widows. However, being human, the good intentions become easily tainted by selfish interests. And signs of discrimination on a tribal basis appeared: "The Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked.”

In an attempt to solve the problem, the apostles “called a full meeting of the disciples”. Indeed, matters affecting the Church are matters that must be the concern of all. The apostles made it clear that they should concentrate on the proclamation of the word of God. That is their ministry: they must be at the service of the word, accompanied by prayer. The community must take responsibility for other matters. Thus, it was decided to create a new ministry – the ministry of deacons – to be at the service of the community and its needs. As the Church grows, all members must be actively involved in the search for solutions to the arising problems and involved as well in the actual service of the community. That is what nowadays is called the synodal dimension of the Church. However, to the apostles belongs the great duty of giving witness to Jesus Christ and dedicating themselves to the proclamation of the word and to worship.

I AM THE GATE

IV EASTER SUNDAY – John 10:1-10

This fourth Sunday of Easter is also called the 'Good Shepherd Sunday’. We fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who leads us to fresh and green pastures, where he gives us repose. 

In the first reading, Peter gives a brief summary of the essential tenets of our Christian faith. The Crucified rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father, who made him Lord and Christ. He is the Saviour and the Redeemer. This is the basic proclamation of faith, which has implications for us who hear it: we must repent, be baptised in the name of Jesus and then receive the Holy Spirit, the great gift of God’s love. And Peter ends his message with a clear warning to all of us: “Save yourselves from this perverse generation.” (Acts 2:14, 36-41). Indeed, this world we live in is full of perversity and corruption. We may be taken in very easily; thus, we must be on the alert, being guided by Christ, who is the true Shepherd that takes us to the wells of salvation. Jesus Christ suffered for us; he passed through threats, insults and torture. “He was bearing our faults in his own body on the cross so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness; through his wounds you have been healed.” Like sheep gone astray, we were lost, and he came for us, becoming “guardian of our souls” (1 Peter 2:20-25).

In the gospel, Jesus presents himself as the gate, through whom we may pass and find safety. In a different passage, Jesus advised his disciples to pass through the “narrow gate” (Mt 7:13). Jesus is the gate, but, like him, we must carry our cross, having a share in Jesus's sufferings. We must be sure that, going through him, we will be welcomed in Paradise.

The Lord is my shepherd;

  there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

  where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,

  to revive my drooping spirit.

Psalm 23

LORD, EXPLAIN THE SCRIPTURES TO US

III EASTER SUNDAY - Luke 24:13-35

According to Peter (1 Peter 1:17-21), we live in a foreign land, as in exile, walking towards the promised land in the Kingdom of God. Being in this situation, we “must be scrupulously careful”, aware that we were freed from slavery by Jesus Christ, who paid our ransom with his blood.

In his first speech after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Peter confronts people with their biggest sin: they killed the Messiah, the pure and innocent lamb who offered himself as a sacrifice for the redemption of our sins. Then, he proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ and invited all his listeners to repent and convert. Jesus is the only way to the Father; believing in him, we find life and salvation.

Whenever the Gospel is proclaimed, we are invited to become disciples and to join the group of disciples, that is, to become the body of Christ, his Church. It is essential that, in the Church, we make the encounter with Christ and recognise that He is risen. This encounter is made possible through the Word of God and the Eucharist. These are the two sides of the same coin, as we discover in this Sunday’s gospel.

Jesus walks with us along the paths of life. We may not recognise him, but he listens to us and tries to understand our frustrations and backsliding so that we may find hope and purpose in our lives. For that to happen, we must allow ourselves to be confronted by the word of God. His word is both challenging and revealing; it gives understanding and meaning. It guides and motivates us, leading us to faith in Jesus Christ, He who is the Truth and the Life.

However, the proclamation of the Word must end in the breaking of the bread at the table of the Lord. As we discover in the story of the two disciples going to Emmaus, the word led them to invite Jesus into their home. In their hearts, there came a desire to hear more from the master of truth, thus opening new horizons and going deeper into the mystery of salvation. Learning from them, we must press Jesus to be with us: “Stay with us.” The celebration of the Eucharist – the breaking of the bread – is essential for us to recognise the Lord Jesus as the Risen Lord. It was this experience that gave them the strength to return to Jerusalem and give witness that Jesus is alive. The Eucharist makes the mission possible. After this eucharistic celebration, we are sent to our families and our working places to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

II EASTER SUNDAY - John 20:19-31

Pope Saint John Paul II established the second Easter Sunday as the Divine Mercy Sunday. We are invited to celebrate God’s mercy in an attitude of thanksgiving, giving praise to God for his eternal mercy. His mercy is the paramount proof of his love. That’s why we repeat with the psalmist:

Let the sons of Israel say:

  ‘His love has no end.’

Let the sons of Aaron say:

  ‘His love has no end.’

Let those who fear the Lord say:

  ‘His love has no end.’ (Psalm 118)

In his first letter, Peter praises God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for his great mercy which has led him to accept us as his sons. This is a cause of great joy for us. We may go through hardships and suffering, and our faith may be put to the test, but this faith will lead us to the salvation of our souls.

God’s mercy is the fountain of the mercy we must exercise to our brothers. This mercy makes reconciliation possible. Jesus entrusted to his disciples the ministry of reconciliation (2 Co 5:18-19). In his gospel, John clearly presents Jesus entrusting to his disciples the power to forgive sins, that is, to exercise mercy. It is through them that, in the Church, we receive mercy. Then, as we ask for the forgiveness of sins, we must forgive all those who have injured us.

Jesus entrusted to the Church the mission he received from the Father: “As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” To enable us to carry out this mission, he gave his disciples the Holy Spirit. It is in the power of the Spirit, poured upon the Church by Jesus Christ, that the ministry of reconciliation is exercised.

The first reading (Acts 2:42-47) and the gospel stress the importance of the Church as a community of believers. The bonds of love that establish the communion of the children of God demand our participation and our commitment to the community so that we may be, like the first Christians, “one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32). In the gospel, Thomas was absent from the Sunday assembly. That's why he could not make the experience of the encounter with the Risen Jesus Christ. Once he gathered with the other disciples, he recognised the Lord's presence and was able to profess his faith: “My Lord and my God!” This is our profession of faith as well. This is the profession of faith of the Church. With him we say: “My Lord and my God!”

CHRIST IS RISEN. ALELUIA!

EASTER SUNDAY - Acts 10:34, 37-43

Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. It comes from the Jewish Passover, in which the liberation from slavery was celebrated. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who conquered death, defeating the slavery of sin, for us to become the beloved children of God. Thus, we are invited to die with Christ to rise with Him. 

On the first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, while addressing Cornelius, Peter presents a summary of the great events surrounding Jesus Christ. According to Peter, everybody heard, and many saw what happened with Jesus. After John the Baptist, Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, “went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil”. And Peter stresses the fact that there were many witnesses of what Jesus said and did. However, despite his goodness, they killed Him on a cross; “yet three days afterwards God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand.” Peter and his companions are the witnesses who had the privilege of having the experience of the Risen Lord. Indeed, “we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead.” From the Lord himself, they received the mandate “to proclaim this to his people and to tell them that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead.” Jesus is risen and has been constituted the judge of the living and the dead. As a consequence of his rising from the dead to be at the right hand of the Father, “all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

With Peter, we give witness that Jesus is alive, being glorified and constituted the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He is the Saviour and Redeemer of humankind. Before him, all knees shall bow, and all tongues confess “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Fil 2:11).

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul tells us that, if we die with Christ, “when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.” For that to be true, Christ must become our model so that we “look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth.” (Col 3:1-4).

CRYING OUT IN A LOUD VOICE, JESUS YIELDED UP HIS SPIRIT

 PALM SUNDAY - Matthew 26:14-27:66

We begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday, in which we remember the solemn entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem, when he was acclaimed as the Messiah. Jesus entered accompanied by the crowds who were going on pilgrimage to the great celebration of Passover. The people in Jerusalem got very surprised and asked, "Who is this?” And the crowds answered, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.” And they proclaimed him to be the son of David, that is, the Christ. And they cried out, “Hosanna!" – that is, save us, liberate us. Entering in a humble and simple way, mounted on an ass, Jesus presented no threat to the authorities. He had no armies at his disposal to take power, defeat his enemies and become a real king. However, the authorities got afraid and planned to do away with Jesus.

With the crowds that entered Jerusalem, we recognise and proclaim that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, who came to save us and set us free from all forms of oppression. However, we should not have false expectations like the crowds and even the disciples and the apostles had. Jesus is the Messiah, but he refused to be a political messiah. He did not come to restore the kingdom of David and become a ruler of the world in the manner of all great and powerful kings. He came to be a servant, the servant of God, carrying out his Father’s will, even if that would take him to suffering and death. He redeemed and saved us by shedding his blood on the cross, thus bringing reconciliation with God.

In the second reading, taken from Philippians 2:6-11, Paul quotes a hymn already in use in the church that gives the profound meaning of Jesus’ passion and death. Despite being divine, as the Son of God, Jesus humbled himself  and “became as men are”, accepting death on a cross to overcome the power of death and restore us to life. That’s why “God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names.” Every knee shall bend and every tongue shall “acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In the gospel, we read Jesus’ passion according to Matthew. Thus, we are invited to live the Holy Week with our eyes fixed on the cross, aware of the great love of the one who shed his life for us so that we may be welcomed into Paradise, sharing there in the glory of the Lord.

MY SOUL IS LONGING FOR THE LORD

V SUNDAY OF LENT - John 11:1-45

This Sunday, we are presented with the third of the three great themes of Lent taken from the Gospel of John. With the Samaritan woman, we were invited to accept Jesus as the fountain of living water. With the blind man, we were taken to Jesus as our Light and the Light of the world. On this last Sunday of Lent, with Martha and in the company of Mary of Bethany, we proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God and that in Him we find true life because He is the resurrection and the life. Step by step, in the company of Jesus and of all his disciples, we are taken up until we reach the summit, proclaiming our faith – that is, the faith of the Church: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into this world.

Through the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:12-14), God promised to take us out of our graves, putting his spirit in us so that we may live. Most of us are walking dead, dwelling in tombs richly adorned, covered with flowers that deceive us with their soothing odour. In reality, we are rotten, soul and body, and the perfume exhaling from the flowers can’t hide the stinking rottenness of our lives. The society we live in is rotten to the core. Like Lazarus, we must hear the Lord’s word calling us: “Come out.” Come to the Light and live. By the power of Jesus, the Lord of Life, may the promise made through Ezekiel be fulfilled so that we receive his Spirit, who will lead us to Christ to be his true disciples. Indeed, as Paul told the Romans, we must possess the Spirit of Christ to belong to him. And his Spirit will guide us to put our interests in spiritual things. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, has the power to recreate us anew so that we live for God as his beloved children.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.

  I count on his word.

My soul is longing for the Lord

  more than watchman for daybreak.

(Let the watchman count on daybreak

  and Israel on the Lord.)

Psalm 130