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.

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, where we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday instituted By Saint John Paul II. On the occasion of the institution of the 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 at this time.

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 taken 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 simply for us to allow 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 came and gave Himself completely to us by His preaching, miracles and healing and finally of giving Himself in humility on the cross.

As we approach the end of the Lenten season, we are reminded of our last chance to cooperate with God’s special graces of this season. To show that our last chance with God is not without hope, the gospel presents an event that took place towards the end of Jesus’ life, when He was accustomed to teach in the temple by day and leave the city to spend the night on Mount Olive.

Traditionally today being the fourth Sunday of Lent is known as Laetare Sunday. Calling us to rejoice having gone mid-way into our Lenten observance. The color of the vestment is rose but if for any reason the church cannot afford it they could still use purple. The first reading from the book of Joshua presents us with Joshua who finally led the people of Israel into the promised land. They reached the promised land after many decades of challenges, doubt, loss of hope and difficulties. God kept the promises He made with their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would be their God and they would be His people. God has kept the promise He made to them long ago that He would bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. This finally happened under the leadership of Joshua. Thus, Joshua becomes like a pro type of Jesus who comes to bring salvation, that’s why the meaning of Joshua in Greek is salvation.

The first reading from the Book of Exodus presents to us the encounter of Moses in the burning bush where the bush is being burnt but not consumed. Thus, out of curiosity he went to find out the meaning of such events. Incidentally, as he approaches the place, God calls not to come nearer but that he remove his shoes for the place he is standing was a Holy Ground. In most Eastern countries when you are entering Sacred Places like churches or temples you are required to remove your shoes or sandal because it signifies reverence for a Holy place. In the same way, in most western countries when entering the Sanctuary or Holy Places one is expected to remove his hat as a sign of respect for the Holy place. Thus, the removal of shoes is a confession of personal defilement and conscious unworthiness to stand in the presence of a Holy God.

Today’s gospel presents us with the account of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus. The account of the Transfiguration appeared in the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each time we see an event in the Bible recorded in the three synoptic Gospels it points to the fact that those particular incidents actually happened in reality. That is to say that Our Lord Jesus was transfigured and His glory shown in greatness on the mountain while He was with His three chosen disciples. The reading says that Jesus took Peter, James and John to the mountain to pray and as He was praying, He was transfigured before them. This particular incident happened or took place over 8 days, according to Luke’s account, after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah. The other two Gospels said it was after 6 days. The difference in the number of days after the confession that happened is not a major concern because the Gospel writers were not writing chronological history.

Today’s Gospel presents us with the temptation of Jesus at the end of His forty days fasting in the desert. The gospel states that it was the Spirit that led Jesus into the desert. As we begin our own Lenten season which started on Ash Wednesday this past week, we are called to allow the Spirit of God to lead us during this grace period of Lent. Lent is a special season when we go into the desert of our lives to stay more closely with Jesus. Lent is a gracious moment in our lives as Christians when we seek the face of God more closely. It is a time God pours out His blessings in the most amazing way because we are journeying with Him in the desert. It is a time of deeper reconciliation with God and with our family members and those we have issues with. It is a time of prayer; when we make our time to be with God more in prayer. It is a time of fasting when we abstain from over-eating, drinking, spending too much time on the television and getting distracted from social media. It is a time to give alms and be generous with our gifts.