5th SUNDAY

of

Acts 6: 1-7
I Pet. 2:4-9
John 14:1-12 Cycle A

14 May 2017
INTRODUCTION:

Our reflection this Sunday is

on the Last Farewell of
Jesus the night before he
died. It is his longest speech
recorded in the Gospel and his
Last Will and Testament.
INTRODUCTION:
It is for us, believers of
Jesus, to take his Last Will
seriously. The distinctive
texture of our Christian
Faith is on powerful display
on this Gospel passage
proclaimed before us today.
1
The whole passage speaks
of the divinity of Jesus.
"Have faith
in God; have faith
also in me!"
Note how strange
Jesus' statement is.
1
No prophet like Isaiah or
Jeremiah or any founder of
religion like Mohammed
would ever make such a claim.
They always talk as
distinct from God.
1

Not so with Jesus!

He makes himself parallel
or equal with God.
"Where I am going,
you know the WAY!"
2
Thomas, who represents
the many intellectual
Christians today, asks:
"Master, we do not
know where you are
going, how can we know
the way?"
2 Jesus answers Thomas:
2
Just like what he did at his
opening statement, he does it
again to Thomas. He does not
distinguish himself from the
Absolute WAY, TRUTH, LIFE!
Jesus is the one and only
WAY, TRUTH, LIFE!
2

Philip dares Jesus another

time with, "Master, just
show us the Father and
that will be enough for us!"
2

Jesus answers Philip:

"Have I been with you for so
long a time and you still do not
know me, Philip? Whoever
has seen me has seen the
Father. How can you say:
Just show us the Father?"
2
Jesus is unflinching in his
words to us first, then to
Thomas, and again to Philip
that he and the Father are
one; in the words of St. Paul
that Jesus is the human face
"the Icon" of the Invisible
God.
2
Hard words to take at this
time of freedom and no
absolute talk! It would have
been easier to take if Jesus
were just a great prophet, a
great teacher but that would
not be Christianity anymore.
2
That is why Jesus can
claim he who does not
gather with him scatters;
he who is not against
him is for him.
3
With all his claim to his divinity,
the end of this passage serves as
a paradox and a great consolation
to us, followers of Jesus,
"Amen, Amen I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do
the works that I do and will do
even greater ones than these. . ."
3

In the light of the history of

the Church, those who
believe in Jesus did much
more than what Jesus did in
his lifetime.
3
Jesus healed a number of
people, perhaps thousands
in Judea and Samaria;
the believers of Jesus
healed many more through
the many Catholic Hospitals
and many Religious
Congregations of their
Founders.
3

Jesus in his preaching

reached thousands;
Fulton Sheen reached
millions in mass media.
3

Jesus walked through 140

miles in Israel as an
itinerant preacher;
his missionaries up and
down the centuries
covered the whole world.
3

Francis Xavier is by far

a better missionary than
Jesus was. The above
words of Jesus is fulfilled
in us believers of Jesus
through the centuries!
 CONCLUSION:

How do we resolve this

paradox and make
sense of all these?

Jesus is indeed the Icon of

the Invisible God; the
human access to God.
+AR
 CONCLUSION:
But who is God?

Therefore, what God wants

is more for us.
+AR
 CONCLUSION:

The more we proclaim Jesus' divinity is not

to denigrate us but to capacitate us to
do even more than he did in his lifetime.
 CONCLUSION:
The more we proclaim about
the Divinity of Jesus, the more
we become more
inclusive more appreciative,
and more able to do more
charitable works than he was --
the very things that
people want to do today. +AR