Homily
for the
3d Sunday of Easter
On May 1, the 3d Sunday of Easter this year, I took part in Scouts Emblems Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral and didn't have a "regular" Mass assignment at which to preach. So, here's an oldie.
April 17, 1983
Acts
5: 27-32, 40-41
MHCA, North Haledon, N.J.
“He whom God has exalted at his right hand as ruler and
savior is to bring repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5: 31).
The Lord has been raised to new and immortal life. The disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit and with courage. They proclaim the word of salvation thruout Jerusalem. Thousands accept the good news and are baptized. The established leadership of the nation is upset, and pressure, if not outright persecution, is put upon the apostles.
Not only do the apostles say that they cannot stop
preaching, but they do some preaching to the very men ordering them to
stop. The verse that caught my eye not
only proclaims Christ’s risen glory, but it also gives a succinct reason for
it. God has exalted Jesus, made him our
ruler and savior, “to bring repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
Christ has been raised and glorified in order that men might
recognize their sins, turn away from them, and be forgiven. The apostles and the young Church have begun
to do this—the gospel gives Peter as an example of repentance and forgiveness (John
19:15-19). Now Peter is asking those
whose ignorance Christ forgave on the cross to recognize what they’ve done, to
be sorry, and to be forgiven.
The essence of the Christian message is that we are sinners
and that God forgives. If we haven’t
literally crucified Christ as the Jewish leadership did, we have done so
figuratively by what we’ve done to our neighbors. We try to make our importance felt; we’re
insensitive to their needs, their hurts, their talents; we give bad
example. We also cut corners with God
now and then—probably less often than with our sisters and brothers.
Whatever we’ve done or omitted or said or thought—the
resurrection of Jesus is the sign that God has healed us. In Jesus our humanity is renewed and made
whole again. Sin is wiped away and God
is reconciled with man. The apostles and
the Holy Spirit testify to this by their preaching that Christ lives and by
their signs of healing.
If God forgives our sins, we cannot hesitate to admit them
to ourselves, as the Sanhedrin did, or to one another. Even more, we cannot hesitate to forgive one
another, which may be our biggest testimony that Christ is risen and we’re made
new.
The Word of God convicts us of sin. That word is good news for those who confess
their sins, turn from them, and give them over to the Risen Lord.
May God bless us with his grace!
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