HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year B)

May 2, 2021

1554

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (9:26-31)

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on this way to Tarsus.

The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32)

(R) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the Lord. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the Lord shall praise Him: "May your hearts live forever!" (R)

All the ends of the Earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; all the families of the nations shall bow down before Him. (R)

To Him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the Earth; before Him shall bend all who go down into the dust. (R)

And to Him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve Him. Let the coming generation be told of the Lord that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born, the justice He has shown. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the First Letter of Saint John (3:18-24)

Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before Him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God and receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. And His commandment is this: we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. Those who keep His commandments remain in Him, and He in them, and the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He gave us.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (15:1-8)

Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does He prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain In you. Just as a branch cannot to bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

There is an inspiring story of two men who were seriously ill. They were admitted into a hospital and both of them shared the same room. One of them was lying in the bed next to the only window in the room. Every day for a few minutes he was advised to sit up in his bed to help drain the fluid from his lungs. The other man was forced to stay all day in bed flat on his back. Every time when the first man was sitting up, he described in detail all he saw outside the window - the view of the park, the lake, children playing, couples walking hand in hand, the skyline and so on. His roommate always looked forward to those moments of sharing which brightened his spirit and made him happy. After listening to the descriptions, the roommate would close his eyes and imagined all the beautiful things that were told to him.

One night the man, whose bed was near the window, died peacefully in his sleep and his roommate was very sad. There was no one to describe the outside scene to him anymore. So he asked the nurse if he could be moved to the bed near the window. The nurse agreed and he was moved. After she had left the man slowly propped himself up on one elbow to take a look at the world outside. He was stunned. There was only the blank wall of another building staring at him. When the nurse came to visit him the next time, he asked about the beautiful things outside the window that his roommate had described to him. The nurse replied that his roommate was a blind man. She said, "Probably he just tried to encourage you."

We all need a little encouragement and help in our life. We all need one another to see us through tough times. We cannot accomplish anything alone. Especially we need to support, encourage and pray for one another to persevere in our faith and walk in God's ways.

As you are aware, since Easter, we have been reading the accounts of Jesus' appearances and the reactions of the apostles. The meeting between Mary Magdalene and the Risen Christ at the tomb was the first of the stories of Easter. Then we read about Jesus making two appearances to his disciples at two different times in a locked room. And then, we heard the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples when two disciples were talking about their encounter with the resurrected Jesus on their way to Emmaus. Each time Jesus appeared, he gave his disciples a very special gift - the gift of peace as a sign of forgiveness, reconciliation and love, and called on them to witness to him. Last Sunday we recalled how the two disciples Peter and John stood before the Jewish council and boldly testified that the ability to heal a crippled man was granted to them by the Risen Christ, the one whom they had crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

In today's text from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we read the beginning of the missions of two apostles - Paul and Barnabas.

We all know the amazing story of the conversion of Paul who is also known as Saul. He was a well-educated, faithful Jew. At one time he was a fierce critic of Jesus and persecutor of the early followers of Christ. He personally headed up the mob that killed Saint Stephen by stoning him. There is no evidence that he ever met Jesus while he was alive, but according to the Scriptures, Acts (9:1-19), he was miraculously blinded by lightning on the road to Damascus, and heard the voice of the Risen Lord. His eyesight was subsequently restored through baptism at the hands of the priest, Ananias. After his dramatic encounter with the Risen Christ, he was transformed. His conversion to Christianity is one of the most significant events in Christian history, for it not only dramatically changed the course of his life but also made a powerful impact on the first followers of Jesus, and continues to transform the life and faith of lots of people even today through his writings.

In today's text we read that when Paul tried to join the other disciples in Jerusalem, they were unable to believe and accept Paul as one of them. They were naturally skeptical of him, because when they had last known him, he was a threat to their lives. But Paul willingly submitted himself to the other disciples, and spoke out bravely in the name of the Lord Jesus. He had already shown courage and greatness of mind in preaching Christ at Damascus. His boldness was not only empowered by the Holy Spirit but also by the comfort and assistance of others, particularly of Ananias and Barnabas. In today's reading we hear how Barnabas encouraged others to accept Paul.

Who is Barnabas? The Book of Acts, (4:36-37), describes Barnabas as a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi from Cyprus and "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith", (6:24). His Jewish parents called him "Yosef" or "Joseph", but when he sold all his property and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem, he was given a new name: Barnabas, which means a "man of consolation" or "man of encouragement". Living up to his name of "encourager" Barnabas gave valuable moral support and encouragement to all believers in the midst of intense persecution, struggles and difficulties, Acts (11:22-24).

So, when the disciples in Jerusalem looked on Paul with suspicion and fear, Barnabas came forward and spoke on his behalf to encourage him and others. He explained to them how Paul had encountered the Lord, and consequently how he spoke with courage in Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he demanded the disciples to show love and kindness towards Paul. Consequently, Paul was accepted by the disciples, and he preached the gospel of Jesus in Jerusalem. Later on, when Paul was in more danger than the others, because of his strong and powerful preaching the disciples came to the rescue. By this time no doubt Paul was accepted as a true disciple of the Lord, therefore others helped him escape to Caesarea and later was sent off to Tarsus, Acts (9:30). Paul then went on to preach and establish many communities. Thus, the Church continued to grow and enjoyed peace.

The powerful personal examples of the priest Ananias, Apostle Barnabas and the early Christians provide some great lessons for us today. Our faith in Jesus Christ is constantly challenged by persecution, ridicule, harassment, hardships, struggles, illnesses, poverty, lifestyles, other religions and unbelievers. At these tough times we need to shout out our support for one another. We need to encourage, accept and love one another to grow in our faith and find peace in Jesus Christ. We can have real, deep, lasting peace only through a relationship with Jesus.

In today's gospel, John (15:1-8), Jesus says, "Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing... If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you." Let us, therefore, cultivate a culture of encouragement. Let us inspire one another to rise above present discouragement, obstacles, struggles, difficulties and lack of faith. Let us help one another to keep our faith in difficult times. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who leads us to peace and joy. Just as the branches are connected to the vine to bear fruit let us remain in Jesus and let Jesus' and his words remain in us so that we might bear much fruit, together with him.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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