Homily for 5th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
5th Sunday of Easter

May 7, 2023
John 14: 1-12
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do” (John 14: 12).

As we read or hear the Gospels, we observe the works that Jesus did.  He preached.  He prayed.  He showed compassion for the sick, the hungry, those afflicted by sin.

Evening Prayer, by Pierre Edouard Frere

These are works of Jesus that we can do.  We can’t heal people miraculously or raise the dead.  But we can preach the Gospel.  We might do that by instructing our children or grandchildren, teaching catechism, or answering someone’s question about what we believe or why we act the way we do.  And the way we act:  that’s the most fundamental form of preaching the Gospel, our day-to-day actions, our ordinary conversation.  If these are exemplary, if these are Christ-based, we’re preaching the Gospel.

We can show compassion for people in need:  the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the refugee.  We can do so with financial generosity if our means allow, with patience, with kindness, with attention to public policies, with personal service, e.g. by visiting someone who’s sick, someone who’s grieving, or by helping at a soup kitchen.

Jesus prayed.  He was always attentive to what his Father wanted (cf. John 4:34)—in gathering disciples (he appointed his Twelve after spending the nite in prayer [Luke 6:12-16]), in teaching them and all the people, in calling people to conversion in their attitudes and behavior, in offering divine mercy and forgiveness to sinners—sinners like the paralytic brought to him while he was teaching in his home at Capernaum (Mark 2:5), like those possessed by demons, like the woman whom the scribes and Pharisees wanted to stone for adultery (John 8:1-11), like the thief crucified next to him (Luke 23:39-43).  Finally, he put aside his own will and his fear, and accepted the cup of suffering presented to him by his enemies (Luke 22:39-45)—enemies who didn’t like what he taught and how he acted as his faithfully carried out his Father’s will.  He was able to do all that because he prayed to his Father regularly, even in the garden of Gethsemane as he confronted his passion (Mark 14:32-42).

If we pray—to Jesus’ Father, to Jesus himself, to their Holy Spirit, to our Blessed Mother the Help of Christians, to the saints—then we too will be able to do the works of Jesus.  We’ll be able to live truthfully, chastely, and patiently.  Without prayer, we’re powerless and lose our insights into the truth that is Jesus Christ, lose the way toward eternal life (cf. John 14:6).