May 22, 2011
Fifth Sunday of Easter
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith. Acts 6:6-7
Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,"and "A stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall." They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny. But you are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises" of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:7-9
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Piety
Our piety brings us to Jesus as the living stone of our spiritual life. Spirituality is built around the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. He makes us into the "chosen race, the royal priesthood and the holy nation, a people of his own" so that we can announce the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. Christ is the cornerstone of our spiritual life. We follow in his footsteps. He shows us the way that brings us to his Father. Our spiritual life, based on Christ, will bring us to the dwelling place he has prepared for us in heaven.
Study
Our study brings us to the Father’s house. We realize that we could never know the way without Christ. No one comes to the Father except through Christ. If we know Christ, we know the Father. Christ has loved us even as the Father has loved him. Christ invites us to live our lives with each other loving one another as Christ has loved us. He tells us that if we love him, we will keep the commandments. Even people who have never heard of Christ have the victory of Christ written on their hearts in the truth that wherever there is love, God is there. The Commandments are the secret of happiness. They are the perfect statements of interpersonal relationships. There is no genuine happiness without the perfection of the commandments coloring how we relate to one another. Love is the goodness of our way of being with each other. Altruistic love is doing all we do for the good of each other without expecting a return.. We study Christ because Christ is the perfect human expression of what the Father is asking of us. When we see Christ in our study, we see the Father. Christ is in the Father and the Father is in Christ. The very works of Christ reveal the Father.
Action
Our love for Christ and our belief in him carry the promise that we will be able to do the works of Christ. Because Christ is now with the Father, it is possible for us to do greater works than the works of Christ. Because Christ lives in us and we live in him, our works are the works of Christ. Because we are priestly people, our actions carry the weight of the work of Christ. When we are seen in the goodness of our lives as the Mystical Body of Christ, Christ is seen. We work so that when people see us they will see Christ at work in us. The actions that grow out of our spiritual journey build us into the spiritual house of a holy priesthood able to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Stephen is the most notable to the deacons because he is the first martyr. The Apostles laid hands on the first deacons so that they would be free to do the prayer and study that would make their ministry of the word more fruitful. We live in the age of the laity who today can easily be seen as a priestly people because of how many are involved in the work of the Church. Our faith in Christ calls us out of darkness into the wonderful light of the love of God in the Christ of our hearts. Our actions build us into a spiritual house. We are called into the House of God by making ourselves into the house of God.
