Homily Fifth Sunday of Easter Cycle B May 2, 2021
So begins our
second reading today, from the First Letter of St. John. It is a short but beautiful letter.
But it is a
little off-putting. St. John addresses
us as “children”. I don’t know
about you, but I find that a bit odd or even demeaning. We, as Americans and Texans are so proud of
our self-determination, our independence and ability to answer for ourselves,
our adult ability to be responsible and independent actors, that the address of
“children” strikes me as a bit off-putting.
In the
Orthodox Bible translation, it is even more off-putting. They translate this as
“my little children.” How would
you feel if I addressed you all in my homily as “my little children”??? // It just doesn’t work for us.
But that is
really OUR problem, not St. John’s.
Because he is speaking to you and to me with great tenderness and great
intimacy. Such tenderness, such
intimacy, such affection and closeness takes us by surprise, startles us, makes
us a little uncomfortable, a tad embarrassed.
At least it does so for me. It is not manly.
So let us
swallow our inflated sense of self-importance, let go of our pride in our adult
independence, and graciously receive John’s tenderness and love, and allow him
to refer to us as “my little children.”
And what he
tells us is simple but very important: “Children, let us love not in word or
speech but in deed and truth.”
In other words, do not just talk the talk but walk the walk. Or as Jesus tells us in St Matthew’s Gospel: “Not everyone who says to Me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who
is in heaven will enter.” MT 7:21
We all, I think instinctively, understand
this. To simply profess our faith with
our lips but then not to live it out in practice by what we do and what we
avoid doing, is simply hypocrisy. And I
assume that all of you do not want to be a hypocrite.
How do we do the hard work of avoiding evil and
doing good, of avoiding gossip but building others us through support and
compliments, of avoiding greed in all its forms but generously helping others
in need, of not cheating or lying, but professing the truth, and on and on and
on?
The answer to this important question is in the Gospel
today. Jesus solemnly declares: “Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear
much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
If you
have never seen a grape vine, take yourself out to Fredericksburg. Along the way you will see dozens of
wineries. Many of them have vineyards on
their property. Stop and look at the
vines. Look at them, and remember what
Jesus tells us: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in her will bear
much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.”
Bible reading is a wonderful way into
prayer. Some find the Rosary as a great
way to settle, calm down, center and pray, meditating on the various
mysteries.
There is the story of a priest who
noticed a rather rough and obviously poor man who prayed daily in the church,
moving his lips but the priest could not hear or make out the words. It intrigued the priest to imagine what this
common laborer was saying in all these words.
So finally, one day he said to the man, “I see you praying all the time,
mouthing the words, but not hearing you. What do you say in your prayer?” The poor man replied: “Oh Father, you know I
am not a very educated man and don’t know a lot of big words. So I just recite the alphabet. I give God the letters and He makes the words.”
That is prayer. Spending silent time with the Lord is
prayer. Pope Francis speaks of sitting
silently before the tabernacle and says “I look at the Jesus and He looks at
me.” That is prayer.
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