FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
26 APRIL 2015
As we continue to reflect on the
transforming power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and apply that Mystery
to our lives, our Scripture readings offer us two interesting images
today. Saint Peter gives the first in
his speech to the members of the Sanhedrin.
Peter is clearly changed by the power of the resurrection and the gift
of the Holy Spirit. When the Sanhedrin had
interrogated Jesus on Holy Thursday, Peter was so filled with fear that he
denied knowing him. This time, he stands
without fear before that same hostile group.
He defends his healing of a crippled man, asking why anyone would
condemn him for performing an act of kindness.
Then he
explains how this healing occurred. He
insists that the miracle was not a result of his own power. Rather, he boldly proclaims the truth that
Jesus the Nazorean is the promised Christ, whom they had condemned to
death. He quotes Psalm 118, the psalm we
pray today as the Responsorial Psalm, and uses the image of Jesus being the
stone rejected by the builders. That
stone, Peter argues, has been raised from the dead by the Father and has become
the cornerstone of a new structure being built of living stones.
That image
takes on new meaning for our parish.
Last weekend, Bishop Rhoades led us in the groundbreaking of our new
church. He blessed the cornerstone, the
most important part of that structure.
You can check it out after Mass – the stone weighing two hundred pounds in
the back of church. That cornerstone
reminds us of the centrality of Jesus Christ in our lives and in our
parish. Our new church may be very
beautiful and more spacious. As we watch
the new church being built and put up with the inconveniences caused by
construction, we connect that emerging structure to the living members of our
parish. Just as that cornerstone will be
the most significant stone in that structure, the risen Christ remains the most
important part of ours, inviting us to be transformed through the power of the
resurrection, as Peter was transformed.
The second
image comes from the Gospel, and our children receiving their First Holy
Communion can tell you all about it. Jesus
says that he is the Good Shepherd. He
addresses this image to the religious leaders who are more concerned about
their own welfare than the welfare of those entrusted to their care. As the man born blind comes to see the truth
about him, they close their eyes to the truth.
Jesus uses this image to help us understand that he knows us each of us
by name. He recognizes our voice. He invites us to recognize him speaking to us
in the Word. He invites us to renew our
faith in his life giving death and resurrection. He has laid down his life for us on the cross
to rescue us from the wolves of death and sinfulness. He has laid down his life so that we can
share in the transforming power of the resurrection.
That is why
this First Communion Mass is so important.
These children have been preparing anxiously to be fed by their Good
Shepherd, who knows each of them by name, and who feeds them as the Lamb of God
under the form of bread and wine. Boys
and girls, we pledge our support to you as you take this important step in
faith. In a moment, you will walk back
to the Baptismal Font to renew your Baptismal Promises. It was at the font that you were incorporated
into the risen Christ through the waters of Baptism. You were clothed with a white garment to
indicate that you had put on Christ. As
you renew those promises, we promise to support you and your families as you
continue to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd speaking to you every
Sunday. We promise to walk with you as
you approach this Sacrament, trusting its power to conform you slowly and
gradually into the Body of Christ, of which you are an important member.
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