Homily for the Solemnity of the Pentecost

Signs That The Holy Spirit Is Active In You

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Solemnity of the Pentecost 

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Last weekend, we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. On that day, something of the earth goes into the heavenly realm. Today, we celebrate the Pentecost, something of heaven— the Holy Spirit comes down and invades the earth. Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the love that connects the Father and the Son. He is the invisible soul of the visible Church. The Holy Spirit is the animating principle of the Mystical Body. Without the presence and involvement of the Holy Spirit in the Church, the Church wouldn’t have lasted beyond the first century. Think of the Holy Spirit as the soul of the Church. And when you look around, you can see his work all over the place. In all the three readings, we see the effects, works and signs of the Holy Spirit. 

Today, I want to preach on some of the signs of the Holy Spirit. In the first reading, we are told that upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples of Jesus, who were all Galileans, spoke in different foreign languages and the people from those foreign nations understood what they were talking about: “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?” (Acts. 2:7-8) Aside from speaking human languages, what is one language that if you speak it today, everybody will hear and understand you? The language of love! So, the first sign of the Holy Spirit is love. If the Holy Spirit is active in your life, you want to be a teacher, preacher, believer and agent of love. What is love? It is to will the good of the other as other, and to do something about it. To love is to continuously find delight in the existence of another. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. He is the love that connects the Father and the Son, the love into which we have been invited. Therefore, the most important sign of the Holy Spirit is love. You could be a prayer warrior, you could be gifted with some or all the spectacular charisms of the Holy Spirit like speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy etc.; you could also be gifted with some or all the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit like administration, kindness, generosity, teaching, service etc. but if you don’t have love, the Holy Spirit is not at work in you. That’s why St. Paul can say there are three things that last— faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. You can have faith enough to move mountains, but if you don’t love, you are nothing, so says St. Paul. That’s it! That’s the first mark of the Holy Spirit. We are Catholics! We are both spiritual and religious. We come to Mass regularly, say our prayers regularly and perform certain spiritual exercises. But if we are lacking love, the spirit dwelling in us isn’t the Holy Spirit. End of discussion! At the sunset of our life, love is the basis we are going to be judged. It comes down to love, everybody. In one of his songs, Don Moen sings, “When it’s all been said and done; all my treasures will mean nothing; only what I’ve done for love’s reward; will stand the test of time.” After so much earthly accomplishments, after so much success, after realizing your dreams and aspirations in life, it will come down to one thing: Did you love? Did you honestly will the good of the other? Did you delight in their very existence? 

The second sign of the Holy Spirit is bold speech. By bold speech, I don’t mean screaming and yelling and having an “in your face” attitude. Bold speech implies announcing the good news of Jesus Christ with clarity, precision and distinction. In Our second reading, St Paul says, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3b). If the Holy Spirit is active in your life, you won’t hesitate to announce the good news of the Lord when the opportunity arises in both words and deeds. Yes, in our culture today, we have been told not to talk about religion publicly. We have been told to keep and make religion a private thing. Although the First Amendment to the US Constitutions says that everyone in the United States has the right to practice religion or not to practice religion at all, people are still told or expected to not come out publicly with their religion and religious views because it’s just going to cause trouble. Due to this, many American Christians including immigrants to the US line behind “don’t talk about religion in the public space.” But St. Paul is saying that if the Holy Spirit is active in your life, you won’t hesitate to say “Jesus is Lord” even if those around think you are odd. In fact, authentic Christianity is odd. If your life, beliefs and utterances are not seen as odd, something is missing. Be odd! Be weird! When the moment is right, say the word. Announce that Name. Give a reason for the hope that is in you. Lots of people have questions about the faith, they are wandering away from the Church, and sometimes they ask questions. St. Peter enjoins us to “Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you.” If somebody asks you about your faith and convictions, be ready to speak boldly and give a clear reason for the hope you have. From the early Church, from Peter, Paul, John, James, and all the way up to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, St. Pope John Paul II etc., people filled with the Holy Spirit can’t keep Christ to themselves. They have to speak it. It was St. Paul who said, “Woe to me if I do not evangelize.” St. Paul couldn’t keep his experience of the Risen Lord to himself. The short prayer I printed on my priestly ordination souvenir card reads, “My zeal to your house O God burns in me like a fire,” therefore, “Lord, to whom else shall we go to, since you have the words of eternal life.” Like Paul, I was on fire; and almost sixteen years after, I am still on fire to proclaim Christ. So, the second sign that the Holy Spirit is active in you is bold speech to announce the word. As a baptized person, if you don’t have bold speech, the Spirit has been cooled. There is a need to now fan into flames the spiritual gifts you received at baptism. 

The third sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in your life is unity. The Holy Spirit by definition is the gathering Spirit. He is drawing and bringing all the followers of Jesus in unity. Although there is diversity and variety of personalities and cultures, in the Church, the community of Jesus is meant to be united. It is only when we are united that we can possibly unify the world. At the Last Supper, before he died, Jesus prayed to the Father “that they may be one, just as you, Father, and I are one” (John 17:22). The second reading today says, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… and we were all given to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are going to be a promoter of unity in words and deeds. Where there is disunity, you will sow peace, and work towards unity. You are not going to be the one working against unity in God’s house. But if division and disunity is your preference, you have kicked the Holy Spirit to the back seat and have allowed sin to fester in you. 

The fourth sign of the Holy Spirit is freedom from evil and wicked spirits. Not all spirits are holy. St. Paul reminds us that we are, in fact, involved in spiritual warfare. Just as there are good people and wicked people, there are good angels and wicked angels. These fallen angels who constitute dark spirits do their work in the world. They work through temptation, suggestion and so on. We battle powers that we can see, but we also battle powers that we cannot see. If the Holy Spirit is active in you, if you have not bewitched the Holy Spirit, he gets rid of these dark spirits. The Holy Spirit has expulsive power. He cannot dwell alongside evil spirits. He kicks them all out and makes you his dwelling temple. He takes residence in you. 

The fifth sign of the Holy Spirit is joy. In today’s Gospel, we are told that after Jesus greets his disciples “Peace be with you,” and shows them his wounds, “The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” Joy is the principle flag of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you and is very much active in your life, joy will not elude you regardless of what the world throws at you. Of all the signs and indicators of the Holy Spirit, the clearest one is joy. You might be attending Mass regularly, you might be right about the moral life and about lots of things, but the mark of the Holy Spirit is joy. An unhappy Christian undermines and undercuts the Christian faith. By joy I don’t mean merely smiling or laughing, although it includes those but goes beyond them. The joy of a Spirit filled Christian is radiant and contagious. If an encounter with someone makes you feel more alive, that’s it, everybody. That’s a sign of the Holy Spirit in that person. If their joy latches on you and animates you afresh, the Holy Spirit is around. Watch your own life. If joy has eluded you, and has become far-fetched, it might be that the Holy Spirit has taken the back seat. 

Finally, the sixth sign of the Holy Spirit is spiritual and intellectual curiosity about the faith. If the Spirit is working in you, if you are filled with the Love that links the Father and the Son, you want to know Jesus as much as you can. You are eager to find out all you can about the Lord. What you learned during the catechism class won’t be sufficient for you. You want to know more and more. And as you know through the great writings and sermons of the saints, church figures etc. you fall in love with Jesus in a new way. The more two lovers get to know each other, the more they are passionate about each other, so it is with Jesus. If suddenly you realize that you don’t care anymore, don’t ask questions anymore about faith and morals, you have become indifferent, convinced yourself that the Church is becoming corrupt, just know this— you too are becoming corrupt in your faith. Spiritual and intellectual curiosity will lead you to read, study, and pray over a biblical text, a sound spiritual and theological book that will aid you to understand the faith more and more. If you have this desire, that’s a sign that the Holy Spirit is active in you. 

Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Ascension Is Intimacy With The Risen Lord

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Ancient Greek philosophers spoke about two worlds— the world of appearance and the world of forms. Plato, who was the father of this idea, postulated that the world we live in, the physical world, is not really the “real” world, it is rather the world of appearances. The real world, he said, is the world of Forms. For him, the material world is imperfect and ever-changing, but the world of Forms or the realm of true reality is perfect, unchanging and eternal. And between these two worlds, there is a sharp division. In other words, there is no meeting point between the material world and the spiritual world, between the realm of appearance and the realm of Forms. Many people, knowingly or unknowingly, have this Greek thought pattern. Even some of us who are spiritually minded tend to think of salvation as an escape from this world of suffering and tears to a disembodied state called “heaven.” The problem with this thought pattern is that it is not consistent with the Bible. 

Now, the Bible does speak of “heaven” and “earth,” but not as two unrelated entities, sharply dichotomized, sharply divided and opposed to each other. The Bible sees “heaven” and “earth” as two interacting, interfacing and interpenetrating fields of force. Yes, heaven is the realm of God and the angels, but it touches upon and calls out to earth, which is the realm of humans, animals, plants, and planets. Salvation therefore is the meeting of heaven and earth, so that God might reign on earth just as he reigns in heaven. In the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In that prayer we can see that it is not about fleeing and escaping from the earth, but rather that earth and heaven might come together. 

In the Resurrection of Jesus, the first Christians saw the beginning of the marriage of heaven and earth; they saw it as the commencement of the process of reconciling earth and heaven. They saw the risen Christ as the heavenly ruler of the nations, the one who would bring the justice of heaven to this world. That was why they went to the ends of the world announcing this new state of affairs, that Jesus is Lord! Just before his Ascension to heaven, Jesus declared, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Notice the interesting link between Ascension and Pentecost: in the Ascension, something of the earth goes into the heavenly realm, and at Pentecost, something of heaven— the Holy Spirit— invades the earth. These two great events are a foretaste of the great reconciliation of heaven and earth. What is the privileged place where this coming together of heaven and earth happens? The Church! Check this out! In the liturgy of the Church, in good preaching, in the lives of the saints, in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, in everything we do here in St. Bridget Church, in the parish council meeting, finance council meeting, staff meeting, liturgical committee meeting, trustees meeting, in choir rehearsals, in children liturgy, faith formation class, in our fellowship meals, etc. we are making possible the coming together of heaven and earth. 

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples on numerous occasions. He did this not just on a single day, but on several days between his Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. Strictly speaking, we don’t know every single time that Jesus appeared to his disciples during the 40 days sojourn after his resurrection. John’s Gospel indicates that the Gospel accounts were not a complete historical record of Jesus, “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which were not written down in his book” (Jn. 20:30). However from the accounts of the Gospels, Jesus is recorded as appearing ten times to his disciples in his resurrected body. But those appearances end at the Ascension when Jesus is fully transferred into God’s dimension. 

This is what Ascension is not: it is not Jesus going up and away. It is not the going away of Jesus. We are not here to celebrate the day when the first Christians said goodbye to Jesus. That’s not what Ascension is about. To go into God’s dimension means leaving this dimension of space and time and entering the realm that can touch upon all space and all the time. In his lifetime, Jesus the eternal Son of God was limited by space and time. He can only be in one space at a time. But God can touch upon all space and time. So, the risen Jesus is not able to be present to the whole life of his church anywhere and at any time. But what does that presence look like? It looks like his active direction of the Church. Before the invention of military planes, manned and unmanned drones, military commanders used to get up to a high ground in order to survey the whole field of battle. Technically, this is called reconnaissance. The risen Jesus has gone to this holy place, God’s dimension and is now able to survey the whole field of operation of his church. Part of the composition of the creed is that the ascended Jesus is “Seated at the right hand of the Father.” What does that mean? To be seated at the right hand of the authority was to share in that authority’s power. So, the ascended Jesus is now reigning with God the Father. Together he and the Father direct the church. How? Together, they send the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit sends charisms into the church and directs the operations of the church. So, Ascension is not about the disappearance of Jesus, like I previously said, we are not here to celebrate the day the disciples said goodbye to Jesus. Our Risen Lord has not disappeared from us. He has not left us as orphans to fend for ourselves. In fact, in his farewell discourse, he said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). Jesus is still with us but he is now in position of command with the Father.

With the ascended Jesus now in position of command, he is able to send the Holy Spirit. And with the Holy Spirit unleashed upon the Church, the Church is able to do its work. Everybody hear me now! Ascension is not desertion and abandonment. It is not the flight of Jesus from earth to heaven. Rather, it is the feast of intimacy with the Risen Lord. Jesus is very active in the Church; he is still directing the Church today. As we celebrate the feast of Ascension, consider how the Lord is directing you. In what ways is he directing you? What are you hearing from Jesus? What charisms (gifts) has he sent to you to equip you to do his work? Some of you have been commanded by the Lord to be part of the 12 apostles from St. Bridget representing our parish in the ongoing synod of our Archdiocese. We are moving in the next stage of forming small groups where rather than being preached to by your priests and deacons, you preach to each other, you listen to each share our faith. When that time comes, more people will be invited by Jesus to join this small group. The goal of the synod is the goal of the church from its inception to the present day, and that is, to make disciples for Christ, to awaken the spiritually asleep in our midst, and to make our parish community a privileged place of intimacy between heaven and earth. 

God bless you

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Easter, Year A

Wherever You Go, Go with Your Christianity

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Easter, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Throughout this Easter, the first readings have been drawn from the Acts of the Apostles. It is believed that St. Luke authored two-volume works; the first volume is the Gospel of Luke, the second volume is the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts commences with the promise of the Holy Spirit. In one of his post-Resurrection appearances, Jesus instructs his disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit. In our Gospel for today (John 14:15-21), the Holy Spirit is described as the “Parakletos,” which means “one who pleads another’s cause before a judge,” that is a prosecuting attorney. But who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Love of the Father and the Son; he is the Love that connects the Father and the Son together. Jesus promised that the love between him and the Father will descend upon them, and empower them for their work. What is that work? The gradual act of making Jesus King.

On Pentecost Day, the Spirit fell on the Apostles as tongues of fire. On that day, the Spirit sent the Apostles into the streets of Jerusalem speaking all the languages of the world. We heard that their early work recorded a huge success: three thousand converts were added to their number on that first day. But soon enough, they met serious opposition. Fierce persecution broke out in Jerusalem. The political and religious establishments went all in to stop them. The Apostles were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (an assembly or council) and warned not to speak of the Name. They were also beaten. After a period of time, Stephen was stoned to death; Peter was imprisoned, James was beheaded. Some decades later, Peter and Paul were martyred, crucified upside down.

The saying that “God works in mysterious ways” is always true. Check this out! When fierce attack, lynching, imprisonment, death by stoning broke out against the Apostles and disciples, many of them were forced to flee from Jerusalem. But wherever towns they settled, they also spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Our first reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17) says that prompted by the persecution “Philip (one of the Greek-speaking deacons) went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.” As he preached, the crowd listened to him with great attention and accepted the faith. Why did the Samaritan people accept the Christian faith? Because of the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of the spoken word of Philip. Philip was a great preacher. He captivated his audience and directed them to Jesus. 

What’s the lesson to be learned from this narrative? Wherever you go, carry your Christian faith with you. Don’t live it behind. Wherever you go, go with your Christianity. Teach the world the Christian culture. Teach them your religion. Wherever you go, be who you are in church and at Mass. Wherever you go, teach them right. Teach your family, your people, your friends, your nation, and the world your faith. And you can actually do this without uttering a word. Just the deeds of your life. Gradually and gently you can make Jesus King without sounding offensive. You have the gifts of the Holy Spirit to begin today. 

God bless you!

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Easter, Year A

The Mission Of Every Catholic Christian 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Easter, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Throughout this Easter, the first readings have been drawn from the Acts of the Apostles. It is believed that St. Luke authored two-volume works; the first volume is the Gospel of Luke, the second volume is the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts commences with the promise of the Holy Spirit. In one of his post-Resurrection appearances, Jesus instructs his disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit. In our Gospel for today (John 14:15-21), the Holy Spirit is described as the “Parakletos,” which means “one who pleads another’s cause before a judge,” that is a prosecuting attorney. But who is the Holy Spirit? He is the Love of the Father and the Son; he is the Love that connects the Father and the Son together. Jesus promised that the love between him and the Father will descend upon them, and empower them for their work. What is that work? The gradual act of making Jesus King. The Acts of the Apostles is the story of how Jesus gradually becomes King; it is the story of how his power and influence spread all over the world through the acts of his Apostles. Luke says these acts were made possible by the Holy Spirit which descended upon the Church. From a distant reading of the Gospels, it is clear that the Spirit of Jesus and his Father cannot be the spirit of violence and hatred. The kings of the world, from the ancient times to the present day, govern the world through hatred, violence, oppression; what St. Augustine called “libido dominandi” (lust to dominate). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love, but like an army, it is also the Spirit eager to engage the powers of the world. This is why the Holy Spirit is called the Parakletos, a prosecuting attorney willing to take on the wickedness of the world the way a prosecuting attorney might through the power of the mind and of speech. 

On Pentecost Day, when the Spirit fell on the Apostles, it appeared as tongues of fire. On that day, the Spirit sent the Apostles into the streets of Jerusalem speaking all the languages of the world. This is a signal of a Church marching and fighting not with the weapons of the world, but with a more powerful weapon— a Spirit filled speech. We heard that their early work recorded a huge success: three thousand converts were added to their number on that first day. But soon enough, they met serious opposition. Fierce persecution broke out in Jerusalem. The political and religious establishments went all in to stop them. The Apostles were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (an assembly or council) and warned not to speak of the Name. They were also beaten. After a period of time, Peter was imprisoned. Stephen was stoned to death; James was beheaded. Some decades later, Peter and Paul were martyred, crucified upside down. The story of these Christian warriors is still our story today. It is still the story of the Church of Jesus Christ to this present day. 

The saying that “God works in mysterious ways” is always true. Check this out! When fierce attack, lynching, imprisonment, death by stoning broke out against the Apostles and disciples, many of them were forced to flee from Jerusalem. And wherever towns they settled, they also spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Our first reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17) says that prompted by the persecution “Philip (one of the Greek-speaking deacons) went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.” As he preached, the crowd listened to him with great attention and accepted the faith. Why did the Samaritan people pay great attention to Philip? Why did they accept the Christian faith? Because of the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of the spoken word of Philip. Philip was a great preacher. He captivated his audience and directed them to Jesus. In the history of evangelization, this is what always happens. When St. Paul preached, there were demonstrations of power in the Spirit. When he came into a town, there was great preaching and something more— lots of miracles too. So, as Philip powerfully preached, great demonstrations of power were happening in real time. In his ministry in Samaria, Philip was being used to overcome the dark powers of this world. He was carrying on the work inaugurated by Jesus Christ and thereby making Jesus sovereign. Christians are always at war, as Paul says. Our battle is not flesh and blood. We battle against principalities and power.

In conclusion, we are told that two of the great pillars of the faith, Peter and John, upon hearing the exploits of Philip in Samaria, traveled to Samaria to facilitate the descent of the Holy Spirit on the new converts. It is like the visitation of a bishop today at a Catholic parish who presides over the descent of the Holy Spirit (confirmation) on those who have been baptized. Philip has preached and baptized and now Peter and John are called in to preside over the descent of the Holy Spirit. As Catholics, we hold that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given at baptism but they are stirred up and brought to life at confirmation. So, what we see in our second reading is imitated in our Church today. After baptism, someday later, confirmation follows. What are these gifts of the Spirit? Some can be spectacular like speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy (these things are real), and some can be ordinary too—administration, kindness, generosity, teaching (being a catechist). These gifts exist for the sake of equipping the warriors. The Spirit first fell on the Apostles and then to the wider Church. But the purpose is always the same— to extend and spread the reign and authority of our Lord Jesus. Every baptized Catholic has received some gifts of the Spirit and is therefore called to fight. As we embark on this fight, our confidence is in Jesus’ promise that the gate of hell will not prevail against us, his Church. Declaring the kingship of Jesus and extending his reign remains our mission just as it was for Philip centuries ago. 

God bless you!

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Easter, Year A

The Unique Status Of The Son Of God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Easter, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Jesus sacrificed his life for the greater good. Rather than allow hatred to consume him,  he allowed the hatred of others to consume him. In his indescribable and lavished love for the human race, he freely accepted to be the Lamb for the sacrifice, sacrifice that reconciled heaven and earth, divinity and humanity, God and humans. But before this ultimate sacrifice was offered, Jesus celebrated the passover meal with his disciples generally called the Last Supper. At this Supper, Jesus spoke to his disciples about his impending fate— arrest, trial, judgment, death by crucifixion, resurrection etc. He spoke about his betrayal by Judas Iscariot; he spoke about the denial of Peter. In his farewell discourse, Jesus also prayed, uttered words of assurance, comfort and consolation to his disciples. Our Gospel for this weekend (John 14:1-12) is part of his farewell discourse the night of the Last Supper. It is by far the longest speech by Jesus in the Bible. It begins from John chapter 13 and ends in chapter 17. It is like Jesus’ last will and testament. When a close relative or friend who is about to die is speaking, everyone in the room listens attentively. In like manner, followers of Jesus should pay close attention to the Lord’s final speech, for in it we see the unique texture of Christianity in full display.

What is one of the clearest teachings we get from this Johannine passage? It is that Jesus is divine! As Jesus speaks to his disciples, he says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Other religious founders and prophets will urge people to have faith in God. You are not likely going to hear them urging people to have the same in themselves. Can you imagine, let’s say, Isaiah saying, “Have faith in the Lord; and also in me?” Can you imagine Jeremiah urging people, “Have faith in Yahweh and also in me?” Can you imagine Mohammad saying, “Have faith in Allah, and have faith also in me?” No! Prophets point outside of themselves; they point to God. But on the lips of Jesus, these two actions meet: faith in God and faith also in him. More to it, when Thomas asks, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus responds, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” We are so accustomed to hearing those words that we miss just how unusual they are. We can imagine the Buddha or Confucius talking about the way or the path. Actually,  Buddhists describe Buddhism as a way, and not so much as a religion. Buddha said he discovered what he called the Eightfold Path to liberation from the painful cycle of rebirth (reincarnation) and attaining nirvana (soteriological release). But Jesus is not speaking of discovering a way. He calls himself “the way.” More to it, he doesn’t call himself a teacher of the truth, which any philosopher or mystic or poet might say. He says, “I am the truth.” He does not say he receives the message that leads to life. He says, “I am the life.” Believe me, it is this distinction between Jesus and other religious founders that sets Christianity apart. 

When Philip joins the conversation and says to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us,” Jesus replies, “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.” Trust me, there is no philosopher, no founder, no poet, no mystic that said such a thing. There is no religious figure in human history who made such a declaration. But as breathtaking as it is, what exactly is Jesus saying? In the language of St. Paul, Jesus is saying that he is the icon of the invisible God. He is the privileged access to the very being of God. To see his face is to see the face of God. What is the implication of all these? Jesus is God! Because he is God, that is why he compels a choice in a way that no other figure does. It is either you are with Jesus or you are against him as he himself said. There is no sitting on the fence and you cannot be indifferent to him. So, Jesus is not an interesting teacher. He is not someone whose some of his teachings appeal to us and others, not so much. We cannot say that Jesus is great just like other significant figures. It is either he is what he says he is, or he is a bad man. Are these difficult to take? You bet! It is difficult for a lot of people today to accept and assimilate. We live in a time when freedom, equality, and acceptance of diversity are central. So, any claim of unique status or authority is immediately questioned and rejected. The talk of Jesus’ uniqueness and divinity will be rejected by many people in our culture today. It will be easier to think of Jesus as a philosopher, a mystic, a wise man. But the problem is that it won’t be the Christian faith. 

In conclusion, Jesus also says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater one than these…” How can we do greater works than the Son of God? In his own lips, Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” He says “He is the way, the truth and the life.” But just as we are getting used to that idea, he turns around and says those who believe in him will do greater things that he had done. How is that possible? Think about that in light of the history of the Church. In his lifetime, Jesus reached out to the sick and cured them. But through Catholic hospitals, more people have been reached out and healed by religious orders in the life of the Church. In his lifetime, Jesus preached to hundreds and thousands. Archbishop Fulton Sheen preached to millions. Today, we have Bishop Robert Barron, Fr. Mike Schmitz etc. who are preaching to millions of people around the world. Think about the late great American preacher, Billy Graham. He preached to millions too. Think about many Christian preachers up and down centuries who preached to millions. During the COVID-19 lockdown, through the use of technology, a lot of Catholic priests and other Christian ministers preached to thousands and millions of people around the world. The Bible tells us that Jesus spent a whole night in prayers. Contemplative monks and nuns over the centuries have spent years and years in prayer. In his lifetime, Jesus covered several miles. He moved around a lot. However, missionaries in his name have traveled all over the world. So, what Jesus predicted happened and is still happening. We have done greater things than he did. But before we become cocky and proud, it is important to remember that the Church is able to accomplish all these due to Jesus’ involvement. We have been able to do greater things than Jesus did in his lifetime because of Jesus. It is in his name and by his power that all of these are done. Apart from him, we can do nothing. To those who have a problem believing in the divinity of Jesus, I have this for you: believing and proclaiming his divinity does not denigrate us, it rather lifts us up. Jesus wants the best for us. He assumes our human nature because he wants to lift up human nature. It is not a power struggle.

God bless you!