The author of the first reading from the book of Ecclesiastes says “Vanity of Vanities, says the preacher, All is vanity”. The author known as Qoheleth or a preacher, expounds the futility of excessive attachment to the passing things of this world. The author was engaged for many years in a philosophical exercise for the search of the meaning of life, but surprisingly reaches a conclusion of vanity of all human toils, which is said to have depressed him a little.

In the First Reading from the book of Genesis we are presented with the Mysterious visitors who announced that Sarah would bear a child. These visitors prefigure the annunciation made by the archangel Gabriel to Mary. It also shows us that God is always with us, and there are times when God’s presence becomes tangible. Sometimes God’s visits come in the form of a good idea or with a strong awareness that we are not alone.

The story of Abraham in today’s first reading tells how Abraham, trusting in God’s mercy, pleaded for the people of Sodom, a sinful city that God had wanted to destroy. Abraham recognized that justice called for destruction but argued that Sodom should be spared if a few righteous citizens could be found. What is seen in this passage is the possibility of the righteous to intercede with God and influence the divine will. God in His mercy and love gave ears to Abraham’s plea that if a few good people could be found He will spare the city. It presents us with a relationship with a God who is able to give ear to the prayers of those who have good relationship with Him.

In the first reading of today we see Moses telling the people if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law you will have life. He goes further to say that “But the word is very near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.” It means that the word of God is with us here and now and it is by keeping this word of God that our life becomes meaningful. The word of God is alive and active and the Word of God is Jesus Himself. Our life is sustained by the word of God and if we keep to the word of God we become happy and live well.

The First Reading of today is taken from the Prophet Isaiah 66:10-14, among biblical scholars it is called the Third Isaiah. Some scholars claim that this part of Isaiah was not written by the original Isaiah, but maybe a disciple of Isaiah. It comes mainly from the period following the return of the people from the Babylonian exile. It was the work of the Deutero Isaiah and was written to instill faith among the people. The people had lost complete hope as a result of the deportation to Babylon, but their greatest heart-breaking experience was the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. In this passage, they were back to Israel and life was no longer the same. They became discouraged, heartbroken and depressed.

In the first reading of today we see a drama between Elijah and Elisha. First as we heard, “the Lord said to Elijah you shall anoint Elisha as a prophet to succeed you.” Which means God has already chosen Elisha to be a prophet after Elijah. God has appointed Elisha as a successor to Elijah, but he could still throw the chance away if he does not make a good decision for himself. Elijah went out and found Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and he threw his cloak over him. Immediately, Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah and told him he wanted to go and kiss his father and mother goodbye, but Elijah asked him “did I do anything to you?” Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them and gave it to the people to eat. In this passage God appoints, but He still gives the individual the freedom to choose or to reject His call and this is based on the decision the person makes.

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ according to Living Liturgy “is God’s hospitality in the gift of Jesus, shared with the world in His personal fullness, in His body and blood”. The feast is a declaration of the Catholic faith of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist which is a core belief of the church from the earliest time till date. It is a belief that most modern Christians including many Catholics have some form of doubt about the teaching but it is a belief that makes us different from the other churches. The church teaches that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian worship. It teaches that Christ is real present whole and entire in a unique manner in the form of bread and wine after the words of consecration by the priest.

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Solemnity simply means that there are three persons in One God. That is to say, God is One and Three at the same time. It is a mystery and that is why it is called the mystery of the Trinity. A mystery does not mean something we cannot understand or does not have any clue about it, but something we cannot fully grasp completely with our own limited head. Mystery is part of our religion and in fact every authentic religion has elements of mystery in it.

Today, 50 days after Easter Sunday, the Church celebrates the great feast of Pentecost. The day the Apostles received power from above and were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. It is on this day that the church came into existence. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, they were all in one room for fear of the Jews, not knowing what would befall them and thus they could not go out. However, with the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, they were empowered and they went out with courage and started proclaiming the great news of salvation. That is why my dear friends that the Holy Spirit is the wonder worker. When we become aware of His power in us, we are empowered to work wonders.

Today is the Seventh Sunday in Easter which means the Easter season is coming to an end. We celebrated Ascension last Thursday and next Sunday would be the Pentecost which brings the long period of Easter to a final close. One great thing we can take away from the Easter period is the affirmation that Jesus is alive and He lives among us. If He had not risen from the dead our faith would not have been credible and our preaching empty, however, since He has risen from the dead, we are sure that He lives among us and walks along with us in good times and bad.

The Easter season is gradually winding down and some of the readings will be focused on the events before the Pentecost. Luke tells us in the first reading, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat strangled animal and from unlawful marriage if you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right”. There was a problem between the Jewish Christians and the Gentiles in the early life of the church. The first group of people who became Christians were the Jews and they came into Christianity with their Jewish tradition, customs and rituals. When the Gentiles, who are not conversant with the Jewish tradition, started believing in Jesus the Jews wanted them to observe all the Jewish traditions and the Mosaic law.

The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles narrates how Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the good news and made a considerable number of disciples. They made a considerable number of converts not without hardship, but with encouraging each other in the midst of challenges. We were told they returned to Lystr, to Iconium and to Antioch to strengthen the spirit of the disciples.

There was a great need to encourage one another in the service of God. When we encourage one another, it brings healing and restores hope and this is what gives fruit to the work of evangelization. In the same way, when we encourage each other’s spirit, we make more progress and achieve more in our relationships and families. The last point here for us to take is commending our project to God with prayer and fasting.

Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter the church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday. Today is also observed as vocation Sunday when special prayers are offered for the increase of vocations to priesthood and religious life. We pray especially for all priests in the Lord’s vineyard since priests are visible representation to us of Christ in His role as the Good Shepherd. Jesus tells us that He is the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep and cares for them. Jesus uses the image of a shepherd because during His time in Israel a good shepherd is known as one who is ready to lay down his life for his sheep. Therefore, in using this metaphor Jesus brings it clearly home that He is that shepherd who gives His life for us His sheep.

We are still in the glorious mood of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead which is the foundation of our faith as Christians. His Resurrection is a credible assurance that He is alive and with us here.