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Homily for Third Sunday of Easter

READ: (Acts 3: 13-19; 1 Jn 2: 1-5; Lk 24: 35-48)

REFLECT: Repent for sins, follow God’s commands and be a worthwhile witness of God in life…

Dear friends, we are in the third Sunday of Easter. The liturgy of the word today enlightens us to understand how we can become worthwhile witnesses of Christ in the world. As Pope Francis tells us, “Be a witness to Jesus Christ in the way you conduct your ordinary, everyday life, and it will become a masterpiece for God. We are called to bear witness to Jesus right where we live, in our families, at work, everywhere, even just by giving the light of a smile, a light that is not our own, it comes from Jesus.” Yes, we need not to find extraordinary ways to be a witness of Christ in our world rather simple and ordinary ways of bringing people to Christ is a worthwhile witness as Christians like sincere repentance, following God’s commands/commandments and living/resembling Christ in our lives with Christ like values daily. So based on the liturgy of the word, I would like to share with you three points of reflections.

1. Repent and return to God:

We all know that the public ministry of Jesus and John the Baptist, they began with the similar message, “Repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” The call to repentance and return to God was for a new start of life in God to leave behind sins and stains of life and cling on to God for all eternity. It was also a sign of preparation from the part of the people to be holy and welcome Jesus, the messiah, the holy one of God. So repentance is one of the ways we can renew our lives in God. That’s what we see in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles by Peter, the apostle. Just as Jesus and John the Baptist began with the preaching of repentance and forgiveness of sins at the start of their public ministry for the fault and failure of Jewish people in the past, who took the love of God for granted that was made known through patriarchs, leaders, kings and prophets, so also Peter now makes known the faults and failure of the people in rejecting Jesus and being part of the bloodshed of Jesus. Therefore, Peter too calls people to repentance and forgiveness of sins to become children of God.  

Peter, the apostle of Christ gives us in nutshell the salvation history inaugurated by God in Jesus Christ from Old Testament to the New Testament. That’s why the first reading mentions the names of Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and ancestors who glorified Jesus but the people denied, crucified and killed Jesus and how God raised Jesus from death to life. Peter too mentions that it was due to ignorance of people and the rulers that they failed to see the truth of God’s love. But peter gives a way to come out of ignorance and become knowledgeable of what God wants of us and understand God’s love for us. The way to come out of ignorance and know God’s love and plan is to repent. Repentance is the only way we could reconcile with God for the sins that we have committed against God and get back to God. That’s why Peter says, “Repent, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.”

Yes, repentance is for a renewal of life. Repentance makes us feel sorry for one’s state of sinfulness and misery and seek the mercy of God that flows from his divine goodness. Repentance is not merely a conversion of mind but heart as well, wherein the entire being is changed to start afresh in life. Repentance is a movement or a leap from darkness to light of life. Repentance gives an access to begin again new life in Christ.

As Peter says that people and the rulers of Jesus’ time acted in ignorance, bringing Jesus to a wretched end, but ignorance needs to be addressed and replaced with right knowledge. Ignorance cannot be ignored or taken for granted; ignorance should elicit in us to thirst for what is true and know what is right and perfect in the sight of God; ignorance needs to be rectified and justified. One of the ways of rectifying and justifying our ignorance is to repent for the sins we have committed and turn to God for life eternal. Some of us have the habitual way of saying that I did out of ignorance. Yes, it is true that we do things at times due to ignorance but ignorance cannot remain or go on endlessly for a lifelong or long time. There needs to be efforts on our part to get rid of ignorance by knowing and obtaining knowledge about the same to understand better and to live life better in accordance with God’s law and love. So the means that God offers us to get rid of ignorance is knowledge. The knowledge of who Christ is and who we are, what we have done and what we should do will makes us repent for the sins that we committed against God or one another and turn to God for fullness and renewal of life.

In connection with repentance, Pope Francis very beautifully points out the significance of repentance saying, “Repentance is neither the fruit of self-analysis, nor of a psychic sense of guilt, but arises entirely from an awareness of our wretchedness in the face of God’s infinite love, his boundless mercy.” Yes, repentance makes us become aware of the miserable state we would fall into without the love, mercy and forgiveness of God. The awareness and realization of our miserable state makes us run like a thirsty and hungry person for want of water and food to quench our thirst and hunger for God’s love and mercy. Yes, once we become aware of God’s love and forgiveness, become sorry for the sins we committed, turn from wicked ways, the returning to God with a new mind, heart, body and soul take place. Thus we begin a fresh start with Christ for newness of life. So let us repent and return to God, our real source and summit.

2.     Follow God’s commandments:

In our daily dealings and daily life, we use the phrase, ‘I know.’ The phrase, ‘I know’ refers to the knowledge that we have about someone or something. By saying that ‘I know’ we also mean that I know what is right or wrong and what is good and bad. It is after knowing that we discern from what is wrong to right and what is evil to good. So similarly, when we say that we know Christ, we assert that we know who is Christ, what is his status and where is he from, what he expects of us etc. So the knowledge of Christ should enable and equip us to be his ardent followers of Christ and lead us to authentic Christian ways of living in ways and likeness of Christ. That’s what we see in the second reading from St. John’s first letter.

The letter of St. John very clearly tells us “by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” Yes, by keeping God’s commands and his commandments, we come to know him more and become intimately united with God, establishing a strong bond of relationship with God. Therefore, true knowledge of God is obtained by following the commands and commandments of God. Something, similar we could connect with our own lives to wherever we dwell or work. In a family, the more we know about each other, the functions, responsibilities, the way we deal or feel for one another, the bond of relationship is strengthened or weakened. similarly, even in our work places or in our careers of profession, the more we are familiar with the persons, rules and regulations, functions and responsibility of a given task, we become familiar with the work and the people with whom we work or the management that holds a particular profession. Therefore, familiarity helps us to know others better and function better.

Yes, we become more familiar with God when we know God, follow his commands and commandments. The command and commandment of God is nothing but love. That’s what we see in the beginning verses of the first reading. The first reading beautifully points out to us that, “I am writing this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the expiation for our sins and the whole world.” Yes, these verses describe the unconditional love that God has manifested for us his people, through Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. Therefore, the command and commandment of God is love. When we follow God’s commands and commandments of love with love, we would always remain God’s children.

It is like the familiar statement that someone has very beautifully said, “we become what we think” or “our belief is what seen in our behaviors.” Yes, if we think of God, his commands and commandments, we become God’s children or the children of light and life otherwise we become children of darkness and evil. Today, we are called to realize and remind ourselves of the fact that God always loves us, provided we love God by following his commands and commandments. That’s why very clearly the second reading from St. John’s letter tells us that “whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar.” Yes, the true knowledge of God lies in following God’s commands and commandments and in acknowledging God’s love for the humanity personally and collectively.

Just merely saying that I know God or Jesus but not following his commands is as equal as not knowing God or Christ. By doing so, we deceive ourselves and do not share the original nature with God and fail to become true to God’s love and grace. The true knowledge of Christ or God experience would effect change in us. The change will not only affect us rather transform everyone around us for the good of all.  So let us know and understand that true love of God consist in knowing who is Jesus for us and to the entire humanity, acknowledging Jesus as the expiation for our sins and the whole world. Let us acknowledge the same by obeying and following His commands and commandments. Thus we take a closer step to be in union with God.  

3.     Be a witness of God:

We all know what it means to be a witness. Witness is the one who confirms what is true or false based what one has seen or heard face to face. We seek for proof or testimony or witness or evidence to attest and affirm to facts or incidents that had happened. Based on the witnesses we confirm what is true and false and thus come to a fair conclusion. However, being and becoming a witness of Jesus or becoming Christian witness would mean to share or make known Christ what one has experienced from Jesus personally. The apostles and disciples of Jesus have been with Jesus during his ministry, passion, suffering, death, resurrection and post-resurrection. The apostles and disciples have seen Jesus face to face, heard Jesus on quite a lot of values pertinent to the kingdom of God. Now the apostles and disciples who have seen and heard Jesus become real witness to Christ, even if it costs suffering and death in bearing witness to Christ. That’s the real martyrdom or witness of Christian life. First and foremost, each and every Christian live for Christ and if it is necessary or the situation demands, we need to die for the cause of Christ’s values and the spread of the gospel too.

The gospel reading of the day invites us to be a witness of God as it ends with the phrase, “you are witnesses of these things.” The words, ‘These things’ indicate what Jesus said and did during his life on earth in his association with the apostles and disciples. It includes Jesus’ life, ministry, passion, death and resurrection etc. Today’s Gospel presents to us the accounts of Jesus’ appearances to his disciples after his Resurrection. In the post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus, we continue to hear the greetings of Jesus resounding his apostles and disciples with the words, “Peace be with you.” Perhaps we could understand and feel that this was apt greeting and necessary for the disciples who were troubled and felt disowned at the departure of Jesus from their company. We see that in the opening verse of the Gospel reading of the day, Jesus begins with peace and ends with repentance and forgiveness of sins and to be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.

As we know through the Gospel reading of the day that the disciples were in fearful state desolated and devastated, Jesus proves that he is not dead but alive by eating and sharing the meal with them. We could consider this eating and sharing meal with the disciples to signify Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples, reminding them of the importance of Eucharist and to encounter him henceforth in the Eucharistic meal in remembrance of Jesus. The verse of the Gospel reading, “you are witness of these things,” reminds the apostles and disciples of Jesus to bear witness to Christ in all ways and always. The apostles and disciples of Jesus have been witness of what Jesus said and did. They witnessed the miracles of Jesus and the obstacle of Jesus; they witnessed the passion, suffering and death of Jesus and the passionate commitment of Jesus towards Calvary and in doing God’s will; they witnessed Jesus resurrection and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. These witnessing aspects of the apostles and disciples are what Jesus is referring to them to bear witness to Christ thereafter.

Very beautifully Pope Francis exhorts us saying, “Christianity is not a school of ideas or a collection of beautiful temples and lovely art; it is a living people who follow Jesus and give witness to him every day. A Christian who doesn’t give witness is unfathomable. We are not a religion of ideas, of pure theology, of beautiful things and commandments. No, we are a people who follow Jesus Christ and give witness, that is, want to give witness to Jesus Christ and this witness sometimes ends up being giving one's life.” Yes, we know there were times of sadness and suspicion among the apostles and disciples of Jesus after his death. But Jesus appears to them, convinces and consolidates them to get rid of the fear and failure, encourages and empowers them to bear witness to Jesus of what they have seen and heard.   

Today, what the apostles and disciples bore witness to Christ is manifested to us in the scriptures. We have bible as a source book or reference book of all that God has done through Jesus Christ and the experience of apostles and disciples in association with Jesus, their master and our Lord. We need to believe in Christ primarily and believe in the witness of apostles and Disciples of Christ that’s made known to us through scriptures. We need to bear witness to Christ in our lives through the apostles and disciples of Jesus in their writing and through their life-style. Yes, Jesus has shown us the way as how we should bear witness to God by his own life. The apostles and disciples have learnt how Jesus bore witness to God’s love and plan and so the apostles and disciples have shown us the way to bear witness to Christ. It is our turn now to equip and learn to be and bear witness to God’s work and to Christ in our lives. The real witness in life springs forth when we are with Jesus and make Jesus as our own. So we pray that we become witnesses of peace, repentance and forgiveness in our world; we pray that we bear witness to the Eucharistic Lord, who empowers and nourishes us daily with his own body and blood; we pray that we bear witness to Christ in sharing the good news that Jesus is with us always to make us all witnesses of his word and deed in life.

RESPOND:

Do we sincerely repent for our sins and become aware of God’s love and mercy and see the state of misery without God’s mercy?

Do we follow God’s commands and commandments and come to true knowledge and love that God has for us?

Do we bear witness to Christ in life by spreading the good news of Christ far and near, living Christ in our lives by manifesting Christ and living the kingdom values?

Let us become worthwhile witnesses of God by repenting for our sins and turning to God, following his commands and commandments to know God deeper and become witnesses of God by living Christ in our lives and by manifesting Christ’s values to one another. Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968