Father Thomas Welbers' Homily	Jump back to Homily Index
Second Sunday of Easter, April 18, 2004 Acts 5:12-16 Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 John 20:19-31	Listen to Audio

"As the Father has sent me so I send you." Don't we often see our relationship with God in terms of what we get out of it? Don't we sometimes criticize the Church because it doesn't meet our expectations? Don't we want to keep our religion private and personal, as well as safe and satisfying? Such attitudes find no support in the life and words of Jesus nor in the two-thousand-year faith tradition of the Church. The reason why Jesus Christ has called us to be his followers is in order to send us forth to be apostles. Evangelization is the word used to describe what each of us must do if we are going to be faithful to the call of Christ. The word means living in the world in a way that the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus -- forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life -- is present to others in word and action, in an inviting and even compelling way.

It's an old question, even a cliché, but nonetheless an important one: If being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you? What visible qualities of your life and actions might the prosecuting attorney use to prepare a case against you? Would they convince a skeptical jury that you really are a Christian?

Notice that this does not say anything about "going to church," "church work" or "ministry" -- lay or ordained. Whatever we do in church to develop our relationship with Christ has to serve what we do in the world -- the workplace, the marketplace, the boardroom, the neighborhood, the school, the playground -- to make Christ present there. Otherwise we're not doing much more than holy navel-gazing in spiritual self-admiration. While people are needed to do the things that make liturgy and ministry happen, to do the things that make the parish run, the reason why we exist at all is to be leaven in the world. If you come to Mass on Sunday -- great; if you're a lector or a eucharistic minister or perform another ministry in the Church -- wonderful, you're needed; if you pray an hour day -- marvelous, we can't get along without you! But all of this leads to the real question: What do you do in your "secular life," in your "worldly pursuits," to demonstrate to all who see you that "Jesus Christ is Lord"?

© Thomas Welbers 2004

Note: This is the same text as on the website home page. Fr. Scaria Kalloor preached at all the Masses at OLA this weekend, but I had to prepare seomthing for a homily at Holy Name of Mary's 9:30 Mass -- so I used what I had already written. (Got a couple of compliments too!)

Here are some useful links, which provide material for the study of these liturgical readings, and reflections on their message:

The Text This Week, Second Sunday of Easter. I highly recommend the message by Yvonne Delk, "Freed to Follow."

Daily Word of Life

The Center for Liturgy at St. Louis University

Lectionary Resource for Catholics