6th Sunday of Easter, Year A
You know we live in the world that it’s so challenging to be a Catholic Christian and to live out the gospel of Christ in. No matter what you do or don’t do, you are either persecuted, criticized, ridiculed, bullied, rejected and even killed because of your faith and beliefs. It has indeed become a big challenge for us in the world today and we sometimes feel like giving up or just being silent and quiet Catholic Christians in the shadows. We feel like just quietly practicing our faith by only going to church and minding our own business and life. But that is not what Christ teaches or what He wants us to do since He commanded us to go into the whole world and proclaim His good news. Also, we cannot give up because that is not what the Easter season is about, as it reminds us to be witnesses of our risen Lord in the world like the apostles and disciples did in the Acts of the Apostles.
In order to encourage us not to give up, today’s readings while emphasizing that discipleship is centered on Love and Sacrifice, reminds us to continue standing firm in our belief in God as we answer our call to discipleship and as we called to witness to Him in the world today.
In our first reading from Acts of the Apostles chapter 8, verse 5 to 8, and verse 14 to 17, we are told the story of how Philip relentlessly preached the gospel of Christ to the Samarians, converting them to the faith and how Peter and John were sent by the apostles to lay to hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
St. Peter in our second reading from the first Letter of St. Peter chapter 4, verse 13 to 16 tells us not to give up when faced with challenges as we witness to Christ, rather to “rejoice to the extent that we share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when His glory is revealed, we may also rejoice exultantly. Because whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name they bear.
Then in the gospel reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John chapter 14, verse 15 to 21, Jesus urges us not to give up when we are faced with persecution because of His gospel rather for us to love Him, and keep His commandments, because He will ask His Father, and He will give us another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to be with us always.
From these readings, we can see that our call to witness to the risen Lord and be His disciples in the world today will not be easy but as God’s children, we are called to focus on God’s love for us and our call to sacrifice for Him like He sacrificed His only begotten Son for us.
So, do we truly appreciate all God has done and continues to do in our lives? Do we really love God? And if we do love him, how have we shown our love for him in the world today, especially as disciples of Christ in spreading the Word of God to all? What exactly have we sacrificed for the sake of Christ and his gospel? Or are we giving excuses for our laziness by not loving God or reciprocating His love for us by fearlessly and courageously witnessing to Him in the world today when we preach and live out His gospel?
My dear friends in Christ, let us not forget the words of Jesus to us in today’s gospel reading which states, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Whoever has My commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me. And whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.” So let us work harder in our spiritual lives to love God more and be ready to undergo trials, persecution, challenges, suffering, struggles and pain for His sake because He will not leave us orphans; but in the end when His glory is revealed, we will surely rejoice exultantly in His kingdom in heaven.
