Fifth Sunday of Easter A  May 22, 2011

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

1.  Every Religious Order and Congregation, every Diocesan Priest is invited, is challenged to look at one’s original charism and calling on a regular basis. As Jesuits, we will be spending the better part of a week at the end of July doing precisely this. In that time we will look at our individual lives and lives as a religious group.

• We will discern.
• We will evaluate in the light of shared experience
• We will dialogue with mutual trust in each other.
• We will judge whether our lives and works are for the greater glory of God

One of the things that attracts me among the items we will touch is expressed in three Greek words: Kerygma, Leitourgia, Diaconia. In ordinary language it would be

• Proclamation of the Gospel
• Celebrating the Sacraments
• Serving in charity.

All this must be done realising that there is an inseparable connection between the faith we profess and the promotion of justice: not for few, not for many, but for all.

Coincidentally? Surprisingly? – this is the very matter of our first reading this Sunday.

2. The first reading gives us a small scene. There are two groups among the believers in Christ: those of Hebrew or Jewish background and those of  Greek speaking or Gentile background. The widows of the Gentile origin felt that they were neglected in the sharing of the common goods. In a word, they said they were getting the left-overs.

The Apostles realised they could easily be tied down with the nitty-gritty of every day administration. They appointed helpers, deacons, men of faith who could be relied upon.  The apostles, probably without knowing it, were following a tradition that went back to Moses. Moses was deluged by daily details. He was getting burnt out. On the advice of his father-in-law, he chose 70 elders who managed to settle the daily small but significant disputes in the lives of the Exodus people.

3. In our parish here at Our Lady of Lourdes, we have gone a far distance in collaborating with the laity in the Parish ministry. This way of action was recommended at the General Meeting of the Jesuits from all over the world, in 2008.

We are called to entrust to the laity the things that belong to the laity, the things that are proper to their calling. It comes from a realisation that the proclamation of the Gospel is not a Jesuit thing, but a Christian responsibility we have had since the time of our baptism. We should take this decision in a calm and reasoned manner.

 Sometimes, circumstances force us to take this sensible decision. In 1980, I was appointed Parish Priest on the West Bank of the River Demerara in Guyana. It had five parishes that were empty because they weren’t enough priests. Two of these parishes were on islands, which took two to three hours to reach by boat, depending on the tide. I could visit these parishes only once or twice a year for all the sacraments: baptism, marriages, reconciliation.

3a So I appointed men and women of faith to care for the physical structure, the yearly upkeep of repairs, painting and cleaning. They counted and deposited the weekly collection and paid the bills. Thus I was able to celebrate Mass, hear confessions and celebrate marriages, baptize the children, teach catechism and give scripture classes.  Thirty years later, those Parish Lay Assistants are still flourishing and they are doing far better that I could do- when I was physically present there.

So why does it take so long today to achieve this Collaboration between Clergy and Laity? If these structures were in place, we could more intelligently and adequately

• Proclaim God’s word
• Celebrate the sacraments – with more spiritual richness
• Be of service to the community in a greater way – than distributing food as Stephen and his seven companions did as reported in the Acts.

I do not know the answer. But an old and wise lady said to me, “the reason we cannot achieve this, is because of the great love for Power and Authority.” It is also because of our low self image. We think things will fail unless we are there to do it ourselves or there, to supervise it. We must have the first and last word in all matters.

- the story of Rose and the Cake – told here.

4. The longer I work in Parishes, more and more I have come to realise that the Kingdom of God is already here. God was present before I arrived on the scene, God will be there, when I move on. The Kingdom will be proclaimed with me or in spite of me! And yet, God chooses each one of us to be a part of this glorious enterprise. The reality of the Kingdom is in our Gospel today. Philip says, “Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” 

 More and more parishioners and people want that and only that from their priests, sisters and religious that minister among them. Show us the Father they say– in the way you live your lives, in the words you utter in hope, encouragement and faith.

• Whether there is holy water in the stoops,
• whether the candles are lit,
• whether the church bells are rung,
• whether the carpet needs to be changed,
• whether the parking lot needs to be repaved,

all these things will fall in place in due time.

As we celebrate this Easter Season, and as we approach Pentecost, let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us the Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom to know the Father – and to proclaim the Father’s love which Jesus announced as he took flesh and dwelt among us.

Appendix:

Rose was a single mother, who badly wanted to make an impression with the Women’s Institute of the Village. But she was generally snubbed. She went for every meeting. She volunteered for different works. But the chairperson of the group would have nothing to do with her.

There was going to be a great bake sale. Various women in the group promised to bake cakes and Rose joined in that group. The one organising the cake sale was the chairperson of the W.I. As it often happens in the lives of single mothers, unexpected things need immediate attention and she completely forgot about the cake sale. In a hurry, she baked the cake early in the morning. Just as she took it out, the centre of the cake just fell through. With typical ingenuity, she put a toilet roll in the centre, covered with frosting, and took the delightful looking cake to the bazaar. She left a note with her 16 year old daughter to go down to the bazaar the first thing in the morning and buy the cake. The daughter slept in. By the time she reached the sale, the cake had gone.

To her horror, Rose found that the chairperson herself had bought the cake. She was having a tea party to honour the Mayor of the town that same evening. Rose flew to the tea party with the hope of confessing the whole mess. Just as she arrived there the chairperson was making her speech, “Thank you, Mayor for coming to our humble gathering. And I want you taste the cake,” – Rose stood up in embarrassment, but sat down again as the chairperson continued,  “which I baked with my own hands this very morning”

And Rose said quietly to herself,  “God is good!”