14 April 2024 – 3rd Sunday of Easter (Year B)

by Fr Fabian Dicom

Throughout these Sundays after Easter, the scripture readings constantly demonstrate how the early disciples and the communities were gradually processing all that they had gone through. As in all appearance stories, the Risen Jesus is not immediately recognisable. A gesture or word is needed before the disciples recognised the Risen Lord.

Now just as the disciples struggled to recognise Jesus in their midst, we too often find ourselves wrestling with doubts and certainties in our journey of faith. We may question God’s presence in our lives especially in times of trials and adversity. We may wonder if He hears our prayers because life seems miserable, things don’t get resolved and we have no way out. Is He truly guiding us along the path of righteousness? Yet in the midst of our doubts, Jesus reassures us with these words this morning:
Why are you so agitated?
Why are these doubts rising in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet. Yes, it is I indeed.

Like the disciples, my dear brothers and sisters, we are invited to look to the signs of Jesus’ presence and love that surround us each and every day. We all know the two most profound ways that we encounter the Risen Lord. And that is why we are here this morning. And I want to reiterate the obvious.

Firstly, in the Word of God: For the Risen Lord is the Word of God made flesh. We hear countless number of times Jesus explains the scriptures. We understand the Word of God is so important and that is why it needs to be proclaimed well, it needs to be broken well, it needs to be received well. We need to listen, to ponder on the Word of God as much as possible. And at times we wonder whether we understand these words. But don’t fear because it is the Lord who speaks to us. You may not understand it at that moment but the Lord works in our lives. And we have the capacity to read and understand as well, and to discuss and to talk about it. It has to be central in our lives. And it is a sure way of recognising and meeting the presence of Jesus.

And from the table of the altar, the second most obvious presence of the Lord, the same level is the table of the Eucharist. In bread and wine, the bread taken, blessed, broken and given to us, we encounter truly the Risen Lord. The bread and wine which becomes for us His body and blood, and we are nourished. And you and I have these experiences, our own personal experiences of this encounter of Jesus here. And we wait for that. We are also called to encounter Jesus in our community here, the body of Christ but you and I know in reality that can be challenging in its own way. And we hope that we are on the journey of perhaps getting there.

But we definitely encounter Him every time you and I have reached out to a person in need. Because it is very clear in the scriptures, in Matthew 25:40. Jesus says: Whatever you do to the least of my brother (can I include sister), you do it to me. It is almost sacramental that this encounter with someone in need is this encounter with the Lord. And you and I can remember the many times that we have reached out, that it was at the end of the day we who are evangelised, we who are touched.  There was something unexplainable about this encounter with our broken brother, with our broken sister, the least in our communities.

While we may not realise this, but another sign of Jesus’ presence is found in the love and support of those around us. In moments of difficulty, we often find comfort in the words and actions of friends and families who offer a listening ear, a helping hand or a word of encouragement. And this has sustained us. We know that from experience. These acts of kindness are manifestations of Jesus’ love working through others, reminding us that we are never alone in our struggles. This morning, if that person is next to us, can I suggest you at least squeeze the person’s hand or even give that person a hug. Okay nobody is moving. Can do it secretly.

No really, we need to acknowledge that. These people are around us. I personally thank these people in my life for they remind me of the Lord’s presence.

And personally, when we experience:-

• a moment of peace in the midst of a time of anxiety, a peace that we do not or could not create for ourselves,
• when we were surprised by a glimmer of hope rising up in us, despite all the reasons we are sure that nothing will turn out right,
• when we find ourselves drawn to doing the harder thing, the more courageous thing,
• when we feel ourselves in some mysterious way accompanied and loved and moved to accompany and love others,
• when a beloved friend or a total stranger says something to us that turns out to be the exact word we need to hear,

all these are signs pointing to Christ’s presence in our lives. So my dear brothers and sisters, recognise the Lord in the ordinary. Don’t wait for extraordinary things to happen. In the ordinary and we won’t miss it.

At the close of the Gospel, Luke summarises the last commission of Jesus to His disciples  “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins“ would be preached to all nations. It was so important. The disciples you and I know are from what they were, how they had been and their own doubts and anxieties. You and I know that they were convincing witnesses and effective missionaries because they had seen the Lord and have believed in Him. And likewise, all of us, all who would effectively bear witness to Jesus, must have encountered Him in a personal and living faith. You cannot witness Him without that encounter. We have all had that.

Today, when the call of the apostolate or the call to evangelise, the call to us is urgent. And the role of a witness, the last words of the Gospel today “You are the Witness“, the role of witness is seen as an obligation of every Christian. Not optional. And the only way is not a set of rules. The only way is not some code of conduct. The only way is not devotion upon devotion upon devotion. The only way is not to focus on superficial things that takes away our focus on the real presence of the Lord. And it happens quite a bit. Here.

The only way, my dear brothers and sisters is an attachment to a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. And I am talking about attachment. The First and Second Readings point to the danger of thinking that just because we belong to what we consider to be the true religion, we do not have to concern ourselves with how we live out that faith. The truth is the people that Peter and John were addressing they did not know and recognise Jesus. Peter is speaking to his fellow Jews beside the temple in Jerusalem, reminding them of the need for repentance and John is writing to some smug Christians who feel that simply thinking they know Jesus is enough. 

The fact is there must be a connection between what we believe and what we live or the way we live. Our faith must show itself in love and without being intimately connected to Jesus Christ, this does not work at all. And this way is the way of the disciple, to become a disciple of Jesus. How?

You have probably heard me say this countless number of times here in this church. I am going to say it again because I need to say it to myself and to be convinced every day about this. How do I attach myself to Jesus? How do I become this disciple?

Number One: embrace our belovedness. My struggle is I know this here (head), I preach this but often times my life does not reflect the life of a beloved Son. And I struggle with that. Free and knowing that He loves me unconditionally. And I pray for that grace to slowly embrace that totally. And I know it is a process and it is a process for all of us. You and I are created in the image and likeness of God. And through Jesus in whom we share our baptism, you and I are the beloved daughters and sons of the Father. I think I have said this before we share in Jesus’ baptism. When He was baptised, what did we hear? The Father saying: This is my beloved Son.

We must not confuse ourselves with the baptism preached by John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s baptism is a baptism of repentance from sin. Ours, we share our baptism with the Lord. When we are baptised (let us not focus about whether original sin goes off and we are white washed and all that), when we are baptised in the Lord, we become the beloved children of the Father. That is it. And our motivation is to live that beloved life. In Christ, all of us are the beloved of the Father and thus sharing in the belovedness of Jesus. We are therefore called to actuate the image of Jesus in our lives. That when you see me, when I see you, I see the Lord.

Next is to embrace humility. To embrace Christ’s self emptying in His incarnation. And in Philippians 2, Paul gives Christ’s own example of humility: Jesus emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man. Humility, the emptiness. This is a hallmark of a disciple, after the mind, the heart of the master Jesus.

And embrace servanthood. So embrace being beloved, embrace humility and embrace servanthood. The way of Jesus is clearly defined in Matthew 20:28, for He says: The son of man, this Risen Lord, God, has come not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. That is the way of the Son of God. Jesus Christ the servant.  The servanthood defines the way of Jesus. His perfection was in being a servant. The servant is the perfect image of Jesus Christ.

And we remember in John’s Gospel Chapter 13, He goes on to say: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” And that is what He is telling me and telling you. Together with the disciples, we are to have the share with him through the washing of the feet expressed symbolically. He has washed our feet and He says: “For I have set you an example that you should also do as I have done to you.“

Perhaps you could close your eyes for a while. Can I suggest that you hear these words in your heart as I conclude. The words of Jesus in the Gospel today, He is saying to you: “Peace be with you,” Just stay with that for a few seconds. Try to sense what you are feeling. For me, He says this. He says to all of us: “I accept you. I am not looking at all that you did or you didn’t do. Peace be with you. I love you. I am with you.” 

The scriptures made us realise this morning that in the midst of our doubts, in the midst of our struggles, we have been encountering Jesus, here, there and out there. We recognise the signs of His presence in our lives. And our only, only response is to answer the call to hold on to Him, to be attached to Him. And to be attached to Him in our own unique way, your way. Your way is the best way. And we embrace our belovedness, humbly emptying ourselves to walk in the footsteps of the servant Jesus Christ.

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