5th Sunday Year C - Homily 1

Homily 1 - 2007

What is Paul on about in today’s Second Reading? Christ died for our sins; he was raised to life... he appeared to...  a string of disciples. Let’s look at each of those three statements, but we’ll work backwards.

He appeared to Peter, the twelve, a group of 500, Jesus’ brother James and then to Paul himself. That means that the fact that he was raised to new life was not just wishful thinking. It was witnessed by a whole lot of people – it really happened!

He was raised to life: That means that death wasn’t the end. More than that, it was the dawn of a whole new adventure of life - (for want of a better word, of risen life). More than that, if death didn’t end life - if it didn’t all finish then - then life, living, has purpose and meaning. More than that, Jesus’ way of living had meaning – his choosing to commit his life to loving people, and, in the process, to steer clear of force and violence, wasn’t fruitless or futile (as it seemed when they killed him) but it has meaning. Indeed, God raised him. God put the rubber stamp definitively on the approach he adopted.

Which brings us to He died for our sins - for our personal sins and for the social, structured, systemic sin of the world. That means that the mess we make of our lives, the mess we make of our relationships in families, as citizens and as nations, the pettiness, the injustice, the wars, the inequality, the mess and the sin are not inevitable, and need not have the last word.

Indeed, Jesus’ choice to commit his life to loving people, and, in the process, to steer clear of force and violence was his way precisely to counter and to reverse the pettiness, the injustice, the wars, the inequality, the mess and the sin. But it did mean his death.

That is what Luke is on about: Last week, Jesus announced the possibilities. He insisted that he had been sent to bring the good news to the poor, to set captives free, to proclaim God’s year of favour. This week he said to three fishermen, Simon, James and John: Don’t be afraid; from now on its people you’ll catch. And they followed him.

Jesus could not do it alone. In fact, he cannot do it at all unless we all are part of it. He can’t love in our place; we have to learn to do that ourselves. And as much as we can - as Jesus did it as much as he could - we need to help others to  do the same.

That’s what the Church is for, what it is: the gathering of followers of Jesus doing our best, with his help, to get others on board, to swell the movement, to confront the mess of the world and to show it instead a better way, the way of profound respect, even of love.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all find the inspiration and the courage to say, with Isaiah, Here I am, send me. It makes sense. As Paul said: He died for our sins; He was raised to life by God; he was seen. It is not just wishful thinking on our part

Life now has meaning. Life is worth living. And we can’t even suspect the next stage that it is leading to.