21 May 2023 – 7th Sunday of Easter (Year A)

by Bishop Bernard Paul

A reporter was on the lookout for some juicy news. He sought out a very, very old man who was residing at a government-run home for the aged. And the young reporter asked this old man: “Grandpa, how would you feel if you suddenly get a letter telling you that a distant relative had left you ten million ringgit?“

The old man looked at the reporter and he said: “Son, I would still be 95 years old. Wouldn’t I?“

My dear friends, sometimes we are distracted by a very nice hot or sensational news. But this old man was very, very centered, he was very connected to the fact of the matter or what we may say be connected to the real source of life. And scripture calls it Eternal Life. Just as he knew ‘Whether I get ten million or twenty million, I am still 95.’ That is a fact. And the same way the scripture talks about this fact of life that all of us must be connected to, that is the Eternal Life.

And for many people, they reduce eternal life to everlasting life, living forever and ever and therefore they have this attitude ‘I don’t want to die’. Then others look at eternal life as long life, a desire to outlive. But how long is long? And then there are a good many who look at eternal life as good life, a good life of ease and plenty, no pain, no suffering. And that is the understanding that many of us have about eternal life. And you find that scripture reminds us or teaches us differently.

Jesus teaches us that eternal life is not what we have or concocted it or designed it or want it to be. For Jesus, eternal life means connection to the Life Giver, where we connect ourselves to the fire of all fires, the fire that does not extinguish. It is a perfect union with God, the God the source of our abundant life, a life that endures, that satisfies. He talks about this life force with which we must be connected. And it is personal. It is not something that you can buy but it is something alive and living.

Secondly, it is very relational. For Jesus, eternal life is living a relationship, living an intimacy. It is not about in the head, it is about knowing in your heart the one true God and Jesus whom was sent. And you find that what happens is that most of us go through a journey. We find that many of us are first introduced to Jesus and slowly we get curious and after we are curious, we begin to seek Him. When we are seeking Him, we get a glimpse of Him here and there. Little bits of who Jesus is. And as we persist, we slowly move out of the crowd and we slowly begin to draw closer to Him. And as we draw closer to Him, you find that it leads you and you become His follower. And then after being a follower, He slowly says ‘Come, serve me.‘ And from servant-hood, slowly He brings us to a point we call ‘Friend. Friends of Jesus.‘

This journey is a common journey for all of us. Sometimes we are aware of it. Sometimes we are not aware of it. Eternal life is a process. eternal life is a relational. We start from something abstract. Then we move to something concrete. We move from something unknown and slowly we begin to know Him. That is the journey that we take. We want everything instant. It does not work that way. We find that eternal life is about moving slowly and slowly and slowly until we hear the word say: ‘Come, be my friend.’

And then the next thing is, the third thing is, this eternal life becomes a reality when we begin to recognise and able to confess with our lips that He is the One True God. I am one-minded and one-hearted about it. There is no other gods in my life. I am only faithful to this one Lord. And when I begin to recognise, then that all the many other gods are little gods but I have the One. And He is the only One. then you find that eternal life begins to bubble in us, begins to flood us, overflowing us.

And the fourth thing that He talks about is there is a deep sensing of the Spirit of Glory. You find that eternal life is about that. I am able to sense. Something is moving me. Something is working in me. Something is happening around me. It is not me. There is a presence here. The presence of the Holy One. He is moving me. It is the Spirit of Glory. The Spirit of God that is resting in me, resting on us, that is driving me. The driving force in our life.

When you begin to sense this, then we begin to realise that is eternal life. Jesus is telling us that. Eternal life is just that. And what happens is that we are even able to share in the sufferings of Christ as Saint Paul said. Because we know we have to move with the Spirit. When it is time to suffer, we suffer. Time to rejoice, we rejoice. Time to plot, we plot. Time to struggle, we struggle. Time to build, we build. Because the spirit prompts us to respond.

And that is we find that people who have the eternal life are finishers as well as they are enable to end something. They endure. They are endurers. You find that this is what is a mark of those who are moved by the eternal life, sensing the Spirit that is driving me. And I bear witness that I am able to bear all evil that comes my way. I am able to suffer for who I am and for the Lord. All this comes in one package. You find that it is not a life of ease. It is not a life of no pain. But it is a life where you live with your pains but you know that your heart is filled with joy.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. And that is what eternal life is all about. Eternal Life is not after I am dead. Eternal Life is to be experienced here. It has to be experienced today. It must happen in your life. Then only you become joyful evangelisers. See? Don’t be mourners. Don’t be mournful. Many of us are mournful Catholics. No. We have to be joyful Catholics because the Lord is here. The Eternal Life is here, not after. Many of us are looking and waiting for it to happen. Don’t. Start now. Experience the Living Lord in your presence.

So today, my dear friends, the signs that accompany people who are moved by the Eternal Life.

One is they experience inner freedom. They have an inner freedom, they have an inner confidence that the Lord watches over me. I know I walk with the Lord. The Lord governs me. The Lord prompts me and therefore there is an inner freedom. I am not afraid of doing good. I am not afraid to love. I am not afraid to forgive. I give generously because the Lord moves me. There is an inner freedom that accompanies those moved by the Eternal Life.

Second, our perspectives change. The way we see things also changes. We are not upset by events. Many of us are upset by the little, little difficulties, the stumbling blocks that happen in our lives. The disruptions and interventions but those who are moved by the Eternal Life see the hand of God in all situations. Therefore their perspective changes. Yes, difficulty comes. They find a way to overcome, rise above it or ride the storm, they say.

And the third sign is that they know they feel that there is a power that moves them and drives them. They are enabled to reach out, they are enabled to be contended and they also say “I have enough. I am blessed.

These are the signs that a moved by eternal Life. When the Eternal Life floods our life, I know I am blessed. And I dare to say I am blessed.

So my dear friends, today as we pray for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit wants us to live a very rich life here on earth. He wants us to live a very joyful life so that others see the joy of being a Christian. Let us pray for the grace and let us allow the Spirit that is already in us at the same time also as we go through these Novena times, pray extra hard that the Spirit begins to be freed in us so that we become witnesses of Eternal Life.

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