Cycle A - Year II:  

10 May 2020: Fifth Sunday of Easter

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Acts 6:1-7

Second Reading:   1 Peter 2:4-9

Gospel Reading:   Please read John 14:1-12  

"To find the Way....."

The corona pandemic has put the world in pandemonium and disarray.  Many places are in lockdown to prevent transmission of the killer virus from people to people.

Researchers and scientists are saying that it will take some time before a cure or vaccine against covid virus can be found.  For those who will survive, what will life be after this pandemic?  Can we go back to normal again?  Or would it be a "new normal" for everyone?  Do we really know where we are going to after this pandemic?

Many experts say that the world will never be the same after this pandemic.  Everything will have to change.  Everyone will have to re-evaluate our life's journey in this "new normal" world, asking if what lies ahead is what we really want and hope for.

The Church is not spared from the effects of the pandemic.  With public Masses suspended and churches closed during the pandemic quarantine to help stem the virus transmission, it will not be the same for our journey of faith in the "new normal".  We must also ask the pivotal question "do we know where we are going to in our life of faith?"

The Good News for this Sunday's Gospel is a timely reminder not only about the right path in our earthly journey but most importantly the way to our final destiny beyond our physical world.

Our faith teaches that heaven is our final destination, even as we pass through life's storms in our worldly journey.  Can we find our way to heaven, then, without some kind of map or guide?  Can we "google" our way to heaven, we may ask?   

If we regularly read Sacred Scriptures and reflect on God's word we can have many hints  on the way to heaven.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus proclaims: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Jn 14:6)

In His own words, our Lord Jesus Christ does not only give us advice and direction but He is saying that He is the only way to the Father. "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father," our Lord Jesus says. (Jn 14:9)

But then we ask, why is the Father known in Jesus?  Well, because Jesus reflects the Father perfectly, like (in human language) a mirror image can be said to reflect the original subject.

 Now we can say, therefore, that the only way to experience and encounter God, who is divine, is through the very humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  Because by virtue of being God's perfect image, Jesus indwells in the Father and the Father in Jesus.

So Jesus tells the disciples that He is the Truth and the Life.  For Jesus embodies the truth in His very person.  He not only shows us the right path of life, He gives us the kind of life which only God can give, and that is eternal life with the Father.

 Therefore, we cannot be lost when we follow our Lord Jesus Christ to the Father's house.  That is why we need to walk Jesus' way, to live like He did, surrendering ourselves to the will of the Father.  Let us take up the challenge to imitate Christ and dedicate our lives to love and serve others, especially the least fortunate, during this pandemic time, including bearing our daily crosses, enduring suffering for the kingdom, and even offering our very life for the love of God, if need be.

Are we ready to walk Jesus' Way, and to follow in His footsteps to God's kingdom?

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!