Homily at Our Lady of the Valleys for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B.
Today is the day when everything changes.
St Peter has chosen an unpromising approach for his preaching. “You killed Jesus. That was a bad move, since he was God’s Son. Good news – he didn’t stay dead. Better news – he’s willing to pardon you for killing him. Now will you join our church?”
I wonder how many of the listeners had been in that crowd which shouted “Crucify him?” And how many, the week before, had also cried “Hosanna to the Son of David”? St Peter’s tactics were surprisingly successful – many in the crowd did repent, and we read in Acts 4 that the Church grew to about 5000 people! But perhaps that’s what happens when dozens of people say they’ve seen a dead man now alive!
Maybe you’re holding on to a sin which feels as terrible as crucifying the Son of God. Perhaps there’s an abortion in your past, or a broken relationship, or a terrible insult given. We’re still in the days close to Divine Mercy Sunday when Christ’s promise offers us not just forgiveness but the total pardon of the Purgatory attached to your sin. If thousands of people who shouted “Crucify Him” can repent and ask for mercy, you can too. So perhaps for you,
Today is the day when everything changes.
St John’s letter was written to Christian believers who, like us, came together to worship each week. Yet simply coming to church doesn’t automatically make us change our way of life. John felt it was important to write that we should start keeping God’s commandments and stop sinning. I wonder if there’s something in your life which needs to be addressed? Maybe there’s something you’ve decided doesn’t count as a sin, because it would be too difficult to change? Maybe there’s something the Catholic Church teaches, but you’re not sure if Jesus really expects us to live that way?
Our church doesn’t teach what she teaches to make our lives needlessly difficult. She only teaches what she believes Jesus wants us to do. If there’s a teaching you’re struggling to understand, there are plenty of good podcasts and videos out there on the internet. Or you could even book a conversation with your parish priest! If there’s a topic you’ve been avoiding until now, maybe…
Today is the day when everything changes.
The disciples were there in the Upper Room trying to make sense of what had happened in the last week. They thought Jesus was going to start a revolution and become King of Jerusalem. Then they’d seen him arrested in front of their eyes.
Most had not had the courage to stand at the foot of the Cross, but in their grief and their guilt, they were now trying to make sense of these reports that people had seen Jesus, alive. And now, here he was, standing in front of them.
Not a ghost – definitely not a ghost. A living body, eating fish, with wounds still present in his hands and his feet. But not the King they were expecting, either. Until now they had thought they were heralds of a new independent Israel. But this is the day when they started to understand their true calling – heralds of heaven, sent to the ends of the earth.
Believe in the Name of Jesus. Stop breaking God’s Law. Say sorry, and mean it. Do these things and it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past – you have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today is the day when everything changes.
“Repentance” is a clumsy attempt to put into English a word which means a total change of life. So I ask you, are you living a changed life?
Maybe you’ve made changes as an adult. Or maybe the changes were made by your family and you’ve grown up living a changed life. So what kind of change am I talking about? Let me put it like this. If I visited you at home, how would I know you were a follower of Jesus?
Would I find you saying grace before meals or family prayers before bedtime?
Would I find you avoiding the coarse language of the world around us?
Would I find you choosing things to watch on television which are uplifting and not steeped in too much gratuitous sex or violence?
Would I find you making time to do family things together, away from the distracting devices of our age?
Would I find you taking time to volunteer for good causes in the community, or even for tasks that need to be done to keep this parish running?
Every saint has a chequered past. But every sinner who responds to Jesus Christ has a glorious future. Today is not about the faults that we have left behind us. Today is about the future which is set before us. If you’ve already reached that point in your life where you asked Jesus “What would you like me to do?” and you’re doing it to the best of your ability – thank you! Keep it up. But if my words today are challenging you to repent of some sin or take on some new good deed, you know what you need to do. Today is the day when everything changes. Today is the day Jesus will make you a saint.
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