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!