HOMILY FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

In the First Reading of today, (Acts 9: 26-31) after his conversion, Saul wanted to join the disciples at Jerusalem. The disciples were initially afraid to accept this new company until Barnabas explained how Saul was converted. Thereafter, Saul went about preaching the gospel. One effect of Saul’s conversion identified by the text is the peace that reigned in the Church: “So the Church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up...in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts. 9:31). Clearly, the conversion of Saul shows the power of the risen Christ over sin and evil. Paul saw to the successful execution of Stephen (Acts. 7.59). In fact, he was on his way to arrest and persecute Christians when he had the miraculous encounter that occasioned his conversion (Acts. 9:1-19). At this time when we seem to be faced with the unimaginable evils of our fellow human beings, where Christians are being attacked in churches, priests killed when celebrating mass, the menace of armed robbery and kidnapping, what should be our attitude as Christians: to curse darkness or to light a candle? The greatest temptations we often face in the midst of difficulties is not just the problem we encounter, but more so it is in giving in to fear and hopelessness. When faith lacks hope, it would become dry and empty. Love will not have any foundation to build on. We must therefore use this period of Easter when we celebrate the power of the risen Christ over the evil that oppresses us to rekindle our faith and strengthen our hope so that the loving message of the Christian faith can permeate our times once more to dispel darkness with the light of Christ. Using the metaphor of the vine and branches, our Lord in the gospel reading of today (John 15:1-8) said that just as the branch will only bear fruit when united to the vine, so does our fruitfulness come from our union with him. To be united to Christ is to be open to God’s grace that inwardly transforms us to live according to the example of Christ. Christ has taught us that the redemption of the world does not come from the violence and tyranny of the powerful, rather from the meek saviour on the cross. In the meek savior, we see the limitedness of the power of evil. To look at Christ is to see how he places a limit on the power of evil by his forgiving mercy. This is what Jesus expressed on the cross when he asked that his persecutors be forgiven (Lk. 23:34). Stephen, a true branch of the vine, also did same when he asked that his killers led by Saul should be forgiven (Acts. 7:59). When hope is always based on a sound faith, it would inspire us to seek how to improve our current situation. From faith we know that God is the creator of the world. He did not create it and leave it alone like the God of Aristotle. He is still present and active in the world: in him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28). Therefore, God owns the world and not the devil or those who do evil. Faith means not allowing the persistence of evil to diminish our belief that God is the owner of the world. It is the belief that God owns the world that makes us take seriously the divine command to till the earth (Gen. 2:15). For this reason, a true life of prayer is never passive in the midst of evil. It always seeks legitimate human and practical measures to respond to the problems of our time. The Christian who knows that he or she shares in God’s ownership of the world by his life of prayer, is ready to work shoulder to shoulder with other men and women to seek practical measures to respond to problems. A prayerful concern about our security situation also means seeking how we can take practical measures to improve our security. One who prays that a thief should not break into his house also has to ensure that there are protective locks on the doors of the house. We see this creative tension in the way the disciples whisked Saul away from Jerusalem to Caesarea when it became clear that Saul's life was in danger from the Hellenists. Their trust in the protective arm of the Lord did not stop them from making practical efforts toward that trust. In fact, their ability to protect Saul was already a mark that they had received the grace that they were seeking - protecting the new Christian communion. It was this move that made the Church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria grow in peace. Saul was the light in these regions. Let us entrust our faith, hope and love into the hands of our Lady, that she may preserve us in the midst of difficulties so that we can always learn to light candles in the midst of darkness. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord - Amen.