7 May 2023 – 5th Sunday of Easter, (A)

7 May 2023 – 5th Sunday of Easter, (A)

1st Reading: Acts 6:1-7

Under pressure, a solution is found to deal with new needs of the community

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.”

What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Responsorial: Psalm 32: 1-2, 4-5, 18-19

R./: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,
with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs. (R./)

For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love. (R./)

The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine. (R./)

2nd Reading: 1 Peter 2:4-9

Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, 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 stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, so that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Gospel: John 14:1-12

We have a deep basis for inner peace, because Christ has prepared a place for us in the Father’s house

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, 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, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? 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 say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

BIBLE

Building up the house of God

Acts 6 shows how differences and disputes were resolved in the church’s early days. The Hellenist (converts whose language was Greek), complained that their widows were not getting a fair share of the church’s social services. The apostles’ solution to the problem shows how changes of practice are not only possible but necessary for the health of the church.

The solution shows two important dimensions of church life: prayer and service; and that living our Christian vocation requires a balance between the two. Each of us is personally called to prayer, to a dialogue of worship with God; and we are also called to service. No matter what we do in life, our work affects others in some way. We should be of service to our neighbours; and provided we have an attitude of respect, no task we do is a menial task. Prayer and preaching the word was of primary importance to the apostles; but service to the widows and the needy in the community was also vital, so they appointed seven trusted men to attend to it, and initiated them by an evocative ceremony.

As a result, the disciples in Jerusalem increased in numbers.. We may wonder how this kind of growth in the church could be revived in our day. Is the word of the Lord still spreading or the number of disciples increasing? In St Peter’s letter, the church is imagined as a spiritual temple, with ourselves as living stones making up a living house of God. Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer we say ‘thy kingdom come.’ This implies taking some responsibility for spreading the word and doing something to build up the church? We can work for God’s kingdom by our daily conduct and attitudes.

The cornerstone of the church is Christ himself, and he offers us encouragement even today. If he is going away, it is to prepare a place for us in his Father’s house, which has many rooms. So there is a place for us all in the kingdom. Each person has gifts of nature and grace, each should have a say in church life, as exemplified by the apostles in the first reading.

Many people today regard faith as irrelevant because their notion of God is faulty or distorted. For an authentic picture of what God is like, we should look to Jesus who said “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” He shows what the invisible Father is like: concerned for all, interested in all, respecting everyone, calling sinners back home. This welcoming God is the one that our church worships, and we renew our trust in Him.

One Comment

  1. Thara Benedicta says:

    Key Message:
    We are selected and set apart for Jesus!!

    Homily:

    Our Lord Jesus worked as a carpenter till his thirtieth year. But once He got baptized, He worked only for Almighty God. He completely set apart Himself only for doing God’s work. In today’s first reading when the issue of distribution of food for widows came where the Apostles had to jump-in, they wisely allocated the tasks to other spirit-filled people. They restricted their time to do what God had asked them to do only. If they had taken the job of overseeing the distribution of food for widows, Christianity would not have spread. In some families we see there is no equal distribution of work. The mother carries the majority of the task on her shoulders. There is no support from her spouse and kids. She works all 365 days with no break. God too rested on the seventh day, didn’t He? Our moms also will require a good weekend break! Though she has many capabilities, her personal interest to shine in the world diminishes along with her health.

    A mother’s testimony: “I had lots of health issues for 15+ years. Out of my anguish I told our Lord Jesus, “You are curing so many people in the world. I have been suffering for years altogether. I am not sure what the reason is for this prolonged sickness and why You are not curing me. Please tell me something so that my heart will find some peace”. Then immediately our Lord Jesus made me remember the occasion where St. Paul asked our Lord Jesus to remove the thorns thrice. Our Lord Jesus only replied, “My grace is sufficient for you”. I understood our Lord Jesus is giving me the same reply – “My grace is sufficient for you”. Also it occurred to me that though our Lord did not take away the thorn from St. Paul, he still completed his race. He was eagerly looking forward to the award. He never quit. So having problems is not the actual problem, how we respond is the real problem.

    In most of my prayers I was telling our Lord, while all the other ladies of my age are enjoying life, why I alone was suffering. I got an answer for it too. Though St. Paul could raise a dead man to life, he himself was not getting cured, because he was specially chosen by God. St. Paul was chosen by God to have this thorn. He was one of the robust stones whom God has chosen to build His church. So I am also chosen and set apart by God to do His work only.”

    Setting apart for God, does not mean a blessing alone, it is a blessing with suffering. If you are uniquely suffering, you are set apart for Jesus. You are His chosen race. God’s own people. You are selected by God to build up His church. When God has anointed us to do His specialised work He will also give us the capability to do the work for which He has anointed us to do. One of the great saints of our times, St. Little Therésè of the Child Jesus was suffering all her life with sickness. Yet she couldn’t remember that she had committed any sin from the age of 3. She said that she was so accustomed to suffering that she wanted to suffer in Heaven too. If you are having a special child, then you are set apart by God to take care of one of His weak children.

    Our Lord Jesus forgave the thief who was on his deathbed, but had lived a life full of sins. Our Lord couldn’t punish the good thief or even recall his sins. Our Lord Jesus said, “Even if you give a glass of water to someone, because He is my servant, you will receive a reward”. Let us help those who are suffering because they are God’s servants.

    In today’s first reading we see that when the Apostles had to take the worldly tasks in their hands, they refrained from it. They only covered the spiritual part and the rest they allocated to others. They stayed focussed on their ministry. If we are called to do ministry, let us stay focused on that call only. Even if the other tasks are good ones, if it takes our focus on ministry then we should refrain from it like the Apostles. Which job is as precious as being God’s servants?

    Let us take part in God’s mission in our lives. Let us work on one mission for Jesus. Let us ask our Lord Jesus to lead us. He will show us the way. Hasn’t He said, “I am the way”. It can be an intercessory ministry, which is a very powerful ministry. Begin the intercessions as part of your family prayer. Have each of your children remember and pray for his friend or teacher or someone whom they know is suffering. Or we can take care of children, if not financially, but by keeping them on the right path. Saint Don Bosco was devoted to taking care of the young. He said, “To know that you are young is sufficient reason for me to care for your welfare.” He did all he could do for the young. If you are happy giving Catechism classes to children or being part of a choir, continue it. We may not be able to handle multiple ministries, but we can take only one. I know a rich family where the second child was a special kid. They were not able to find a proper school for him and in the process they started a school for special kids. Now they are able to take care of many special kids. We can invite one not-so-fed kid to our house and lovingly give him good food. If there is no time or money for anything, we can choose gentle speaking as our mission. Gentle words can heal deep wounds.

    Let us not fear when we face problems in our lives. When Daniel’s three friends – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were about to be thrown into the red hot furnace, they did not fear. They were not able to see the Almighty God in their physical eyes. They boldly replied to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods”. They went into the burning furnace boldly. But when Jesus was sleeping in the boat and there was a storm, the disciples feared. Our Lord Jesus rebuked them, not because they woke Him from His sleep but because they feared. When there is a problem, our Lord Jesus is not going to run away from us. But whether we face it boldly like Daniel’s friends or fearfully like the Apostles is only our choice.
    Better be brave, our health also will be better!!

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