Christ is the
Way. There are many ways to take but none of them leads to the Father,
except Jesus. When we live by our own rules for a time we may
feel happy, but eventually we will find out that our self-centeredness
will only lead us astray. Proverbs 19,3 says: “Their own folly leads people
astray, yet in their hearts they blame the Lord.”
One of the raging issues of the day is the bill to reinstate
the death penalty. Studies after studies conclude that it doesn’t deter crime,
but strict and consistent law enforcement does. Also certain investment
opportunities and development aid are pegged upon our country’s upholding of international
treaties against the death penalty. If it doesn’t deter crime and will only
result to lesser economic benefits to our country, why insist on the death
penalty? The one thing it satisfies is a limited and retributive form of
justice, expressed in the desire for vengeance – an eye for an eye, a life for
a life. But is it the way of Christ?
The way of Christ is the way of the cross, which is the radical
expression of the way of love. In His time on earth Jesus has shown His love
for the poor, the outcasts, and public sinners. He prevented the summary execution
of a woman caught in adultery. He promised paradise to the dying criminal who
was crucified with Him at Golgotha. He sacrificed His life on the cross for our
sake.
People who feel nothing but contempt whenever their pastors speak about giving second chances to criminals, or against the rampant killings happening around, do not follow the way of Christ. They must be following a different messiah.
Christ is the Truth. He is
more than just a teacher of sensible ideas or a dispenser of inspirational
quotes. He offers nothing less than the very truth of Himself: that He and the
Father are one. Whoever knows Him, knows the Father. He is the fullness of the
revelation of God. He says in John 8,3: “you will know the truth and the truth
shall set you free”.
If Christ’s truth sets us free, then those who twist God’s word for
their own ends, those who knowingly spread fake news, those who contribute to a
culture of post-truth and alternative facts, deceive people to enslave them. Today
we see a strategy that exploits people’s fears and frustrations by pointing
them first to a common enemy as object of hate, often a minority or a disadvantaged
class; and then to a worldly savior, a false messiah who offers simplistic
solutions to complex problems and, in exchange, only asks for their blind trust and
loyalty.
It is important that we know who we believe. For Christ Himself says: “whoever
believes in me will do the works I do” (John 14,12). We know we have fully
believed in Christ when we have become more and more like Him. For the purpose
of discipleship is that we become who we follow. Imagine if we are deceived
into following a false messiah.
Christ is the Life. Christ,
the source of life, want us to live life to the full. In John 10,10, He says: “A
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they might have
life and have it more abundantly.”
In a society where the culture of death pervades, fullness of life is
still celebrated but only for a few. The culture of death is not just about the
ubiquity of killings. It starts with the thinking that people, whose lives fall
below the moral standards of honest law-abiding citizens, don’t deserve the
full protection of the law. Human rights and due process are wasted on them. Some
of them may not be even humans anymore. When we fall into this trap, we
become purveyors of the culture of death. We become desensitized to the cry of victims and their families. News of yet another
victim of summary execution, would mean one less threat to our family’s
safety eliminated.
Christ as life reminds us that every life is sacred because it comes
from God. And He wants everyone to be saved, not just the law-abiding. In fact,
He comes to call sinners, which means He comes to call all of us to conversion and
renewal. So unless we choose life for everyone, we are on the side of sin and
death. The self-righteous will not have a place in His Kingdom.
In a time of war, post-truth, and the culture of death, it becomes even
more important to proclaim Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. For when
we are lost, Christ is our way. When we are confused, He is our truth. When we
are down and broken, He is our life.
HOMILY for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12
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