Dear friends, it is Pentecost!

This is the great day when the Church became catholic, which means, a universal sacrament of salvation for all people, nations, languages and cultures. We are re-enacting this universality via our multi-cultural celebration today to show that all cultures, tribes and peoples are taken up in an embrace of the divine human salvific encounter.

As the time for his departure from the world draws near, Jesus rounds off his instruction to his disciples. His attention turns towards the welfare of the disciples whom he will be leaving behind for the continued propagation of the good news of salvation. They have learned to depend on him in all difficult situations, but now, he must go to suffer and return to the Father. Hence, his concern about their survival in the trials that were about to visit them when he will not be physically there to guide. Jesus undertakes a long reassuring parting address promising not to leave them as orphans but to send them the Holy Spirit (John 14:16 -18). He concludes his discourse with a long priestly prayer to his father on their behalf (John 17).

The first reading of today’s liturgy, taken from the Acts of Apostles, tells us how Philip took the gospel message to Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them and the people welcomed the message. In the second reading, Peter encourages us never to give up our faith due to the persecution and challenges we may encounter since Jesus first suffered for us and left us an example to follow. In the Gospel Jesus said to his disciples; “If you love me, you will keep my commandment.”

In the first reading, the disciples dealt with the issue of injustice and marginalization by choosing men filled with the Holy Spirit to do the ministry of service. Peter, in the second reading, encourages us to draw close to God so that we can be living stones built into a spiritual temple. Jesus tells us in the gospel that He is the way, the truth and the life. St. Peter’s call, in the second reading, is very imperative and profound to us today as it was for the first Christians. We are called to be Saints which means that our Christian vocation is a call to take our place in heaven when our earthly life is ended. We seem to know this but for far too many of us, it is more a subconscious than a conscious thought in our daily lives. While doing the same daily tasks, we waste precious months and sometimes years in which we could be storing up treasures in heaven, because we forget God and the purpose of our Christian vocation.

A profound message in today’s first reading is the reaction of the people after listening to Peter’s speech. The author of the “Acts of the Apostles” says that “they were cut to the heart” and they asked the question “what are we to do.” To be cut to the heart means that the words spoken made a deep impact on their lives. They listened with an open mind and their hearts burning with a great desire to make a change. “God’s words are spirit, and they are alive” and when one opens his heart to God’s word it provokes a response of change of heart.

Peter, in the first reading of today, stood up and proclaimed to the Jews how they used lawless men to condemn and crucify Jesus whom God commended to them, a man filled with mighty deeds and powers. He put it to them that they know how Jesus worked miracles in their midst and did many wonders but even though they killed Him out of wickedness that God raised Him up on the last day. The speech of Peter, in this first reading, testifies to the power of the risen Lord. This is the same Peter who could not stand before a teenage girl now speaks directly to the leaders of the religious authority, even blaming them for killing Jesus to their faces with boldness. What it means is that the power of the risen Lord had transformed him in such a way that he speaks boldly without fear. When we allow the risen Lord to transform our lives we have nothing to fear because having conquered death; there is nothing more to worry about. As we celebrate this power of the risen Lord let us recognize that His power transforms situations, events and lives that He touches.

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter as we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday instituted by Saint John Paul II in the year 2000. On the institution of Divine Mercy Sunday, he said, “there is nothing that man needs more than Divine mercy. Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind.” Today, our world needs God’s mercy more than anything else. We need God’s mercy as the world battles with all kinds of political crisis, injustice especially in the war going on in Ukraine. We pray for the Mercy of God to come down like rain from heaven to bring an end to this war and many other countries where there are crises. We pray for God’s mercy on many families who have lost their loved ones in this war in Ukraine. Many people have been displaced and forced to leave their home; we pray that the mercy of God would bring consolation to them. We cannot forget the military who have been over stretched as result of this war that they may be encouraged.

Today we celebrate the greatest solemnity of our Faith, the foundation on which our hope and faith as Christians stands. We celebrate and rejoice that Our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. By rising from the dead, He has defeated the power of death, Satan, evil forces, falsehood, and injustice and claimed the Glory. God made Him to rise from the dead to prove that He has power over life and death. As Paul would say, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and our faith is in vain.” (1Cor 15:14-15) But because Christ has been raised, we have hope and our faith is credible and that is what we celebrate. That is the reason we shout Alleluia! Alleluia! Indeed, the Lord has truly risen.

The passion narrative gives us an insight of what Jesus suffered for us, especially the love He has for us that made Him endure all the insults and humiliation for our sake. Today’s liturgy does not require a long homily but allows the events of the passion story to speak directly to us in the silence of our heart. Our meditation is on Jesus’ suffering and death for our sake. He gave Himself completely to us by His preaching, miracles and healing and sacrificing Himself humbly on the cross.

It is one of the most precious things in life to have a house and a home into which one can go at any time and find rest and understanding and peace and love. That was doubly true for Jesus, for He had no home of His own: He had nowhere to lay His head. (Luke 9:58) In the home at Bethany, He had just such a place. There, three people loved Him & there He could find rest from the tension of life. Their house was a home for Him.

The first reading and the gospel have a common message, in the sense that both readings present to us the human and divine way of seeing things. Most often human judgment is defective because it looks at outside appearance while divine light looks at the inner core of the person, which is the heart. The divine wisdom of God far outweighs the human wisdom and knowledge. God saw something in young David which Jesse and his sons could not recognize. David was in the field tending the sheep of his father when God chose him to be the leader and king of His people. Even though he was young and inexperienced, God saw his heart and chose him to lead His people. His strength and success came not from himself but from God who anointed him with the power and wisdom of His own spirit.

The first reading narrates how the people of Israel complained against Moses because they have no water to drink. Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people, a little more and they will stone me.” The Lord told Moses to strike the rock with his staff and water will flow from it for the people to drink. Moses struck the rock which made water come out and the people had more than enough. The provision of water for the people in the desert demonstrates to us that God cares for His people whenever they are in need. It is also a sign that God is the one who sustains our lives. If God can make water flow in the desert, it means that God can sustain our lives even in the most difficult moments and situations of our lives. In the desert of our lives, let us always call to God and He will answer and provide for us.

The liturgy of this second Sunday of Lent invites us on a faith journey to a greater holiness of life, through a profound life of prayer, charity and fasting. These exercises, when done in humility of spirit, draw us closer to God. The journey towards holiness requires faith which motivates us to a life of true prayer and sacrifice. The first reading is a call of Abraham to begin a journey of faith to an unknown destination but known to God who called him. The period of Lent is also a call to begin a journey of faith that will culminate in the death and resurrection of Christ at Easter. Abraham steps out with faith not knowing where he was going but relies on the fact that God is a faithful one who will always keep His promises. As we continue our journey in this season of grace let us not lose sight that His promises are eternal, and God will give us the graces we need.