Homily For The Fifth Sunday Of Easter, Year A

Acts 6:1-7/ Psalm 33/ 1 Peter 2:4-9/ John 14:1-12

Agorsor Aaron Agbeshie

THEME: CHALLENGES ARE ENGINE FOR GROWTH.
There is no single theme running through the Liturgy for today. It will seem artificial to want to establish a common theme. The readings for today’s Liturgy focus on four main issues namely the bridging of tensions between conflicting views or groups within the Church; the need for adapting the apostolic ministry to changing times; the common priesthood of all Christians and the true meaning of Christ’ departure.
To begin with, I must emphasise that conflict, division and tension in the Church did not begin today. It can be traced from the beginnings of the Early Church. Often, what bring about conflict is usually something trivial and in its triviality when taken for granted, can divide the Church. The Early Church had to face this problem too for “During those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1).
The Church was experiencing growing pains and this was making it impossible for the apostles to minister to everybody. The Hellenists were the Greek-speaking Jews who had come to Palestine from other nations and therefore may not have spoken Aramaic while the Hebrews were Jewish residents in Palestine who spoke Aramaic and Greek. The fact that the widows of the Hellenists were being neglected created a situation that could have divided the Church. However, the apostles handled the problem with great wisdom and did not give Satan any foothold in the fellowship.
When a Church faces a serious problem, it presents the leaders and members with a number of opportunities for growth. For one thing, problems give us the opportunity to examine our ministry and discover that changes must be made. In times of success, it is easy to maintain the status quo, but it is dangerous.
The apostles studied the situation and concluded that they were to blame: they were so busy serving tables that they were neglecting prayer and the Ministry of the Word of God. They had created their own problems because they were trying to do too much. Even today, some pastors are so busy with secondary tasks that they fail to spend adequate time in study and prayer. This creates a “spiritual deficiency” in the Church that makes it easy for problems to develop. This is not to suggest that serving tables is a menial job, because every ministry in the Church is important. It is a matter of priorities; the apostles were doing jobs that others could equally do.
Church problems also give us the opportunity to exercise our faith, not only in God but in each other. We are told that “The Twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the Word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom whom you may appoint to this task” (Acts 6:2-3). The Church was not afraid to adjust their structure in order to make room for a growing ministry. When structure and ministry conflict, it gives us the opportunity to trust God for a solution. It is tragic when Churches destroy ministry because they refuse to modify structures. The apostles were not afraid to share their authority and ministry with others.
The Early Church Community may differ from ours today in terms of administration and numerically. Therefore, there is the need for adapting the Apostolic Ministry to the changing times. As a Church community we have a lot to learn from the leadership skills of the Apostles. How do we solve problems in our Parish communities? As Pastors of souls, are we sensitive to the plight of our members no matter how trivial it may seem? The Apostles called together the whole community, a sign of concern and dedication to the growth of the community. They did not ignore the issue in its triviality but approached it with all seriousness.
This problem of distribution arose perhaps because those who did the distribution of food were not honest men. Dishonesty, nearly caused division in the Early Church. We who are entrusted with leadership in our Parish community must do it with honesty and dedication so that our Priests can have more time for Prayer, the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments. If we need men full of the Holy Spirit to distribute food, then your guess is as good as mine.
The Second reading spells out clearly the priesthood character of the community of believers. That the common or the servant Priesthood of believers stems from the priesthood of Jesus Christ cannot be over-emphasised. Thus St. Peter says “The Lord is a living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him, so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house” (1Peter 2:4-5).
We are reminded that our Priesthood is not independent of Christ. We are called to offer our very selves as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God. In this sacrifice as St. Peter Chrysologus says “…a man does not look for something outside himself to offer to God; there a man brings with himself and in himself and for himself a sacrifice to God; there the victim is not consumed and the priest never completes his task; there the victim is slain but lives…”Again, a priestly community declares the wonderful deeds of him who calls it out of darkness into his marvelous light (cf 1Peter2:9).
The Gospel reading brings out the true meaning of Christ’s departure namely in order to be ever present with his community at all times in all places, through the “greater works” that his Church performs. When Jesus told the disciples that one of them will betray him and that Peter will deny him three times, the disciples were troubled. He admonishes them “Do not let your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).
However, the heavier blow was the fact that Jesus was going to leave them. Where was he going? Could they go with him? These were some of the perplexing questions going on in their minds. Jesus did calm their troubled hearts by offering them some assurances which when we claim today will calm our troubled hearts namely that Heaven awaits them (John 14:2-3), that they have God as their father (vv. 7-11), that they have the privilege of prayer (vv.12-15).
In sum, our Parish communities must become centres of unity and anything that threatens unity must be nipped into the bud immediately; our Parish communities must open itself up to modern trends but preserve the values of our faith; that we are a priestly people who must continually offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God and above all, that the resurrection should invoke faith in us instead of having troubled hearts. We pray for all Parish communities that are experiencing challenges; for Pastors and lay leaders who have been weighed down and overwhelmed by challenges and cannot see the way forward. Rise up to the task and see these challenges as engine for growth.