Apr.19 , 2015 Sunday Homily: Fr.Francis Chirackal CMI
ACTS.
3: 13-15, 17-19; I JN 2:1-5; LUKE 24: 35-48
For Readings
There was an old man who was suffering from
paralysis of his legs and was not able to walk. One day some of his
grand-children asked him to tell a story about his teacher, and he related how
his master used to hop and dance while he thought of prayer. The old man rose
as he spoke and was so swept away by his story that he himself began to hop and
dance to show how his master did it. From that moment he was cured of his
paralysis and started walking. In today’s gospel we find that when we tell the
story of Christ, we achieve two things. We enable others to experience Him and
we ourselves experience His power even more.
Today, all three readings from the Holy
Scriptures echo that Jesus suffered for the forgiveness of our sins and
deliverance. His Holy Name became the source of power, the power of forgiveness
and healing, the power of strength, the power of courage, and the power of
conversion.
In the first reading we see that Peter
witnesses to Christ after curing the crippled man at the temple. He cured the
crippled man in Jesus’ name, gave honor to Jesus, proclaimed Him to the people
around him and invited them to repent and believe in Jesus. John in the second
reading reminds us that, "God fulfilled what he had foretold through all
the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God
so that your sins may be wiped out." Jesus in the gospel explains the
salvific meaning of His suffering and death and His universal mission. He
commissions them to share in His universal mission, and henceforth we all share
in that mission without exception.
The Gospel speaks of sharing our faith with
others. Christ wants His followers to be His witnesses. Witnessing, like a
coin, has two sides. One side is like seeing an event and having knowledge of
it through personal experience and not on hearsay. The other side has to do
with being able to give an account of it before others. Therefore to be
witnesses of Christ means that we are called first to have a personal
experience of Christ and then to share this experience with others.
How do we experience Christ? We experience
Christ through prayer, the sacraments, and a life of love and charity. Our
experience of Christ enables intimate communication with Him. Whoever
experiences Christ in their life, finds unending peace. Every time He appeared,
He wished peace to His disciples. He communicated peace to their troubled
hearts. He did the same thing for the last two thousand years and continues the
same even today.
In the gospel we see Jesus appeared to them
in their midst, while the two disciples were sharing their experience of risen
Lord with the other disciples. The Sharing of Christ's experience intensifies
our own experience, while it sheds new light on the lives of others. As He
opened the minds of the disciples, He also opens our minds and hearts to
understand His words and His will.
The disciples and saints witnessed to
Christ not through violent arguments and demonstrations of powers, but through
life-changing faith living. Their lives of faith, words of faith, and acts of
faith worked wonders and miracles. Those were not the means but the effects.
Christ's experience and sharing has no room for selfishness or dominance, but
sufferings that resulted in His glorification. Witnessing with sufferings will
bring conversion, repentance and forgiveness.
Mass acceptance and popularity are not the
criterion for the success of witnessing to Christ, but real repentance and
conversion from sinful ways. For popularity there may be many twisted ways of
presenting Christ’s words or selfishness covered with word of God. Some times
we may see even some priests, deacons and religious who are becoming counter-witness
to Christ by their action, though they speak differently or try to present
themselves as the best person available in the Church. Their hidden goal is
self-glorification, not the glory of God and salvation of souls. That is why we
may encounter even clergies and religious who do not have real faith or spirit.
Jesus calls them hypocrites. Jesus invites us to bear fruits with true
witnessing of Christ and His life giving Words. Therefore when we see or hear
of some one boasting of powerful witnessing, we need to pray for the opening of
our own hearts and minds to understand its real content and intention. Also we
should be cautious while witnessing to Christ, that we present Christ through
our words and actions, and not to present ourselves covered with Christ’s
words. Presenting ourselves with selfish motives without Christ’s spirit may
result in losing the sheep from the flock or the mushrooming of different
so-called sects and groups. Jesus wants us to continue the mission of
witnessing His words and actions, which He entrusted us through His disciples,
which will bring repentance, conversion and peace.
Let us be the faithful witnesses to Christ
and obey His commandments. Let us be sure that we know Him and we are in Him.
He has promised His continuous presence and support to our effort with true
faith and spirit. We will experience peace, even when we go through different
kinds of hardships. Let us share that peace with others. It will work miracles
in our lives and in the lives of others. Let us be the rejoicing people in
Christ. God bless you.
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