Sixth Sunday of Easter

Fr Dominic's Homily

Last Sunday we had the Gospel of Jesus describing himself as being the one true vine and of us being the branches. This not only had Eucharistic implications of reminding us of the wine that we use in Mass but also of routing our whole lives in Christ. We need to be grafted onto Christ so that everything we do is connected to him because without Jesus there is actually nothing we can do.

The scene we have today is still as the last supper. Jesus is describing to his disciples who he really is and how they need to have great faith in him as well as following his commandments. Faith plus good works. Never anywhere in the scriptures does Jesus say that faith alone is good enough. Never anywhere does he say that if you believe in me enough then suddenly you are saved. No both are needed in order for us to attain salvation.

And what is salvation? Sometimes we are tempted to think that salvation is purely an avoidance of hell. Yes it is that but it is also so much more than that. It is actually achieving a fullness of life in Christ in which we achieve a deep peace and joy that will never come from the world.

So we must abide in the love of Jesus and follow his commands. If we consistently break his commandments then we will cut ourselves off from the vine and then these branches are collected and burnt. They have no use.

So we follow his commands. Now the world tells you that if you break away from rules and regulations and commandments of the church only then will you be free. But we only need to look around in the world to see that this isn’t true. License doesn’t bring happiness.

If you simply allow yourselves to be and to do whatever you want in this life without following any kind of rules and just trying to fulfil yourself then you will actually become very miserable and depressed. But when you give of yourself and actually follow God’s rules you achieve a supernatural peace.

It’s almost like the 10 commandments of God are a supernatural activation code that we need to unlock the ability of really becoming a human being and achieve a fullness of peace and joy. There is no other way.

Jesus says that you are my friends if you do what I command you to do. Now that probably isn’t the definition of friendship that we subscribe to. We aren’t going to get many friends if we relate to people around us like that. Only Jesus can say things like this – because his friendship has infinite implications for us – because he is God. And having friendship with God is really important for us in eternity whether we can realise that in this world or not.

God wants all of us to be saved and to come to the knowledge of his truth. There are 2.4 billion Christians in the world of which 1.4 billion Catholics. And that’s just who are alive at the moment. Many more who have lived and died. The apostles did well in their evangelising.

What about other faiths and religions – can they be saved? Well we see in the first reading that Cornelius who was a Roman soldier and so was a gentile and a Pagan was still visited by an angel and told to go and visit Peter because God recognised his prayers as being authentic. This man had a good disposition of heart. So God listened to him. But doesn’t just leave him to his own devices. He calls him to become Christian and to follow the Lord as closely as he can. Salvation can only ever be through the person of Jesus Christ whether or not we realise that.

Cornelius betrays his pagan roots by trying to worship Peter himself but Peter soon puts him right. And then Peter himself learns a lesson as he realises that God does not have favourites. God is not himself a Catholic.

God wants all nations to be saved. But through his son.

In the teaching of the Catechism we know that God has bound salvation for us through the receiving of sacraments in his Church. However that doesn’t mean that God himself is bound to these sacraments. God is not bound by his own covenants. He is free to act in whatever way he will and if he wishes to act in a supernatural way in order to bring someone that he sees has a good disposition of heart closer to him in the right way then he will do it.

But that doesn’t give us licence to give up on following him and not bother any more. We must follow him in the best way that he shows us and teaches us. Remember that he knows us better than we know ourselves.

Let us pray that we will always follow Jesus in good conscience of heart so that we can maintain his friendship and keep our lives rooted in him.