Focusing On The Way and On The Mission

Homily For The 5th Sunday Of Easter. May 7, 2023

“It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at the table” (Acts 6:2)

Sunday Readings

My Dearest Friends in Christ,
With the joy of the Risen Lord, I welcome you to this special moment of encounter with God Who speaks to us in the readings. May this encounter transform and renew our lives.

The readings of today remind us how the Apostles resolved disunity that threatened the early Church by fashioning out of it, a serving and worshipping community; thus keeping alive the memory of Christ who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.

Focusing On The Mission

Each one of us has a special mission ordained by God. To fulfill that mission, we must remain focused lest we become distracted by many side attractions and alluring vanities of the modern world. The Church today more than before, needs people who are focused on the mission of proclaiming the Good News .There are many things that are competing for our attention daily, so much so, that the spiritual resources we need to remain focused on our mission are greatly reduced. The devil has restrategized and has devised new ways to steal our attention from spiritually to physically rewarding activities.

Addressing The Conflict From Within

In the first reading, the devil tried to corrupt the Church from within, by creating opposition within the rapidly growing early Christian Church. It came as a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists saying that their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food. Today, most problems in our churches might not be how food or groceries in the pantry is distributed but how money is managed. The complaint by the Hellenistic Jews was not successful in stopping or slowing the work of the Church. The second strategy by the devil is to “divide and conquer” by raising one group of Christians against another. The Hebrews tended to regard the Hellenists as spiritual compromisers of Greek culture, and Hellenists regarded the Hebrews as holier-than-thou traditionalists. There was already a natural suspicion between the two groups, and the devil tried to take advantage of that standing suspicion. Today, this suspicion might be seen in the way some groups or people from certain races tend to dominate activities in the church, thinking the church belongs to them. The early Church took its responsibility to help and support widows seriously because they often had no other support, but they also expected these widows to serve the church faithfully (1 Timothy 5:3-16). So there is a possibility that the widows were not actually neglected but that the Hellenists imagined that they were and complained. Just as I said earlier, if you do not remain focused on your mission the devil will devise ways to distract and lure you away. The Church has a principal mission of proclaiming the Good News. While not relegating charity to the poor, and although IRS might recognize the church as a 501(c)3 the Church Jesus did not establish the Church as a charity or nonprofit organization. The Church is a spiritual entity that provides both the spiritual and bodily needs of the faithful-The body of Christ. To emphasize the material more than the spiritual is a deviation from the norm. So, in order to keep the mission of evangelization which is most important afloat, the Apostles, led by the Holy Spirit, chose 7 deacons who were good and reputable men and entrusted them with the mission of service, especially sharing food. The Apostles then focused more on the ministry of prayers and preaching the word of God. “Therefore, pastors must not think that they have so done their duty that they need to do no more when they have daily spent some time in teaching.” – Calvin

A Model of Conflict Resolution in The Church

The division in the church was orchestrated by two factors: mutual suspicion between the Hellenists and the Jews and secondly, material resources. These two factors to this day have continued to be a source and a cause of friction leading to various factions among the clergy and the Christians. We all must realize that we cannot maintain the unity of the Church if we allow mutual suspicions and material benefits to distract us from the noble mission God has entrusted to us. While we all need material supplies and works of charity to the poor, we must maintain checks and balances in order not to allow it to be a source of disunity among us. We must follow the example of the Apostles in handling administrative problems by choosing not just people dear to us or related to us, but people who have the gifts and spiritual disposition to carry out the missionary work of God. We must strive towards inclusion in our parish community while not neglecting service to the poor and preaching the word of God. The Apostolic approach for me remains a model for solving administrative issues in the Church today. I strongly believe that it is the work of evangelization ( preaching and prayers) and not the sharing of food, that draws people more to God, as we see in the increase of the early Christian community. Although people today may be attracted to the Christ and His because of material benefits, such people often do not grow strong in faith if the material benefits do not lead them to Christ. Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. (cf. John 6:26 )

We all must remain focused on the mission we are called to discharge. Don’t give the devil the opportunity to distract you from your purpose in life. Outside the Church, there are many such distractions coming our way daily. We need the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to find ways to handle such distractions in order to focus on the essentials. ” I just follow God’s lead one step, one day, and one opportunity at a time. The hardest part is not becoming distracted.” – Carlos Wallace

Jesus: The Way Of Focused, Loving, Humble, Sacrificial Service.

As Thomas does in the Gospel, we have to ask, “…how can we know the way? ” Jesus answers Thomas’ question with, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.” The basic doctrine of Judaism is that Yahweh is the Way the Truth and the Life. Hence, Jesus is making a revolutionary claim that He is equivalent to Yahweh. Jesus also declares that He is the safest and surest way to God; thus discrediting the notion that all religions are equally sure ways to reach God, or that organized religion is unneeded and only living a good life of sharing love is necessary to reach God. Jesus, however, is the Way which He calls narrow because it is The Way Of Focused, Loving, Humble, Sacrificial Service. The question we all have to ask ourselves today is – Am I still following the way to actualize my mission or goal in life or am I being distracted by side attractions? I was told of the story of the young man whose father sold a piece of land and sent him to start a business in a big city. He was distracted by city ladies and invested in them instead of investing in his business until he went begging for food and returned home dejected. We need three basic things to remain focused in life. 1.By accepting Jesus as the Truth through learning and practicing what He has taught us, as given in the Bible and in the teachings of the Church. Without knowing the truth, you will remain in darkness and endless search for meaning In life. 2. By sharing the Divine life of God through making use of the means Jesus has established in His Church. 3. Through prayers. Each day we are confronted with new challenges forcing us to make decisions to remain focused on our mission. We need the inspiration of the Holy spirit to discern the truth and to make the right decisions. It was the Holy Spirit who guided the Apostles to decide on choosing the deacons. We too can handle the distractions of life and maintain our inner peace and unity with others by following the prompting of the Spirit.“The Holy Spirit leads us like a mother. He leads His child by the hand…as a sighted person leads a blind person.” – St. John Vianney

Christ did not make a vain promise when He said: “Whoever believes in Me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these because I am going to the Father.” Yes, we can do all things through Him that strengthens us (cf. Phil 4:13) if we remain focused and follow Christ, our way to God. Many today are claiming to be the way. Many religions and pastors are claiming to possess the truth and many still are promising to give you a better life, often at the expense of your worship and adoration to God. Be careful dear child of God! If you truly believe in God and worship Him wholeheartedly, you are unstoppable and insurmountable.

May Christ live in you and may His Holy Spirit direct you to walk on the path that leads to Heaven where Christ has gone to prepare a way for you. Keep it in mind in your daily struggles that someday you are going back home. Christ is coming again to take you to where He has prepared for you. Do not miss that opportunity to be there.

The Mission is to spread the good news and win more souls for God. No other responsibility in the church is greater than this. “Salus Animarum Suprema Lex”