JESUS, OUR WAY.
May 7, 2023.
Fifth Sunday of Easter – A.
“In my Father's house, there are many dwelling places.” Jn
14:2
A Nigerian proverb says: “Without knowing a way thoroughly
at day time, never attempt to pass it at night.” And an Ivorian proverb adds:
“The way a cat walks is not the way it catches a rat.”
We live in a world where models, examples, and directions
matter a lot. Many people lose their way by following the wrong model. Many
people go to their loss for following the wrong direction. Sadly, many more are
misled by wrong convictions and falsehoods. The media, day after day, are
bombarding us with images and conceived models. And because nature abhors the
void, we buy and consume them without moderation.
The Lord, today, teaches us the right and unique model
worthy to be followed and incarnate or imitate. For us Christians, he is our
unique model and mediator of life, love, and peace. We are urged not only to
imitate him but also to follow and participate in what he is.
Speaking of participation in Christ, the Church says:
"Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church "a
kingdom, priests for his God and Father." The whole community of believers
is, as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through
their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ's mission as
priest, prophet, and king. Through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation
the faithful are "consecrated to be... a holy priesthood." CCC 1546.
We spoke last Sunday of vocation and of being shepherds
after the image and the example of the Lord. Here is a universal way open to us
all. We have it through our very Baptism that made us priests, prophets, and
kings after the image of Christ. Ours, therefore, is to be like him.
We all have a part to play, a mission in the edification of
the kingdom of God. The Twelve, in the first reading, entrusting the task of
the table to the seven Deacons, not only give à lesson, a great model of
subsidiarity but also teach us that all have something to do for a more
equitable world.
The election of the seven Deacons was aimed at something
special, to solve a problem of justice in the first Christian community, and to
give the Apostles more time to focus on their primordial mission, to preach the
Gospel. We read that "About this time, when the number of disciples was
increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily
distribution, their own widows were being overlooked."
The first Christian community, like any other human
community, faced the problem of injustice and discrimination. The Apostles find
no other solution to it but to put people of great moral standing in charge of
the distribution. The Lord Jesus is the prince of justice. Injustice can not
and must not take root among those who profess their faith in him. In our
communities and associations, or groups, there are many ways to serve, many
ways of giving up one's life. Everyone, therefore, is called to find the way
that fits him much, the best way to be of use. We are all intendants of God's
grace, all servants of others. As St. Peter can say in the second reading, we
are elected, a chosen race, a royal priesthood.
There is no image more beautiful to describe our Christian communities than that of the building. As believers, we are called to be built into a spiritual house. As such, each one of us, like a stone, has his place and a role to play.
Coming back to the image of the community, and based on the
first Christian community where the Apostles could not do everything by
themselves, this defies our churches and communities today. We cannot all be
pastors, prophets, seers, singers, exorcists, or evangelists... For peace and
harmony in our communities, everyone must have something to do. The priest by
himself and alone cannot lead the community. He needs a committee, he needs
collaborators, he needs people to work with him, and he must also let people
work and walk with him. As a priest, I tremble when I hear pastors or priests
think they are experts in everything. One is at the same time bursar, superior,
parish priest, architect, engineer... They are so all-powerful that they
believe they need no help, no suggestion from anyone. We believe we can do
everything, until the day nature teaches us that we are only limited beings.
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