HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER, YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: The Advocate, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
Acts 14:5-18, Psalm 113:1-4,15-16, John 14:21–26
INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Monday of the 5th Week of the Easter Season.
FROM OUR FIRST READING
When Paul is speaking to a pagan audience in today’s first reading, he tells them that the living God did not leave them without evidence of himself in the good things he did for them, such as abundant rain, the growth of crops, sufficient food. It can be helpful for us to recognize the presence of the living God in the good things in our own lives, especially in these times when we have so many not so good things to come to terms with. Even in the midst of struggle and loss, good things can be found, and all such good things are little reminders of the presence of the living God. The really good thing in our lives that the living God has given us is God’s own Son, Jesus.
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FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
In the gospel reading, Jesus makes the extraordinary statement that if we love him, he and his heavenly Father will come to us and make their home with us. It is quite something to reflect on how Jesus and God the Father want to make their home with each one of us. This is a time when many people cannot get to church, which we think of as God’s house, God’s home. Yet, Jesus is reminding us that each one of us can become a church, in the sense that God and his Son can make their home in us. We can each become the house of God, the home of God. It is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus and God the Father make their home in us. At the end of the gospel reading, Jesus says that God the Father will send us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to remind us of all Jesus said to us.
CONCLUSION
The Lord’s love for us comes first, then our love for the Lord in return, which then finds expression in loving others as the Lord has loved us. It is clear from today’s gospel reading as well that this loving way of life, this keeping of the Lord’s word, is not just down to our own efforts alone. We will need the help of the Holy Spirit, or the Advocate. According to Jesus in today’s gospel reading, the role of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of all Jesus has said to us, to keep bringing to our minds the word of Jesus, especially his call to love one another as he has loved us. The Holy Spirit not only reminds us of this word of Jesus that we are to keep, but empowers us to live it out in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the recreating power of the risen Lord in our lives enabling us to love as we have been loved.
Have a Blessed Week everyone.
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