2 May 2021
Fifth Sunday of Easter
O sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders;
in the sight of the nations he has shown his deliverance, alleluia. Ps 98:1-2
I am the vine and you are the branches, says the Lord.
Whoever remains in me, and I in him, bears fruit in plenty, alleluia. Jn 15:5
This week the Church contemplates the Risen Lord who sends forth the disciples to proclaim the good news of His Cross and Resurrection. There are difficulties from the very beginning, as we can see in the case of Saul (later St. Paul). Twice in our first reading we hear of how in two separate cities (the city of his conversion, Damascus; and now the city where he had been persecuting early Christians, Jerusalem) Saul “spoke out boldly in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 9:27-28) His boldness prokes both fear and anger in Jerusalem. For the sake of Saul’s safety, Barnabas brings him to the apostles and the brothers take him out of Jerusalem. Saul’s boldness, though impressive, must be discerned by those with apostolic authority as authentically Christian or not. And even once he moves freely about Jerusalem as one who is speaking in the name of the Lord as the apostles are, still, for the sake of peace, the brothers decide it is better to have Saul preach in Caesarea and his hometown of Tarsus.
As we seek, each according to our state in life, to speak to those whom God puts in our life about the marvelous works that the Lord has done by dying and rising for our sakes, let us do so only in union with Christ and His Church. Let us remain in Christ through keeping His commandments to believe in His Name and to love one another. (1 Jn 3:23) Let us grow deeper in that love by taking in Christ’s love for us in the Eucharist, which offers fullness of life to our hearts and minds like the vine which provides life to the branches. In our efforts to tell others of Christ, let us be bold like Saul, in union with the apostles and their successors, following the guidance of our brothers to speak and act where we may bear greater fruit in strengthening others in faith and charity.