3RD MONDAY HOMILY IN EASTER — YEAR A

3RD MONDAY HOMILY IN EASTER — YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: “RABBI, WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?”

BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas

After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea. The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

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The miracle of the multiplication of bread serves as the preparatory event of Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. Today, the evangelist gives the formal introduction to the long discourse of Jesus on the Eucharist. At the outset, Jesus directly chided the crowd: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”

Jesus is going to teach them about something profoundly spiritual and theological. And so He had to make the people aware of their worldly and materialistic orientation that may obstruct in their understanding of His teaching. In a way, He was making sure they are ‘on the same page’. That is why, He admonished them: . “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

These words are addressed to all people of all times. Human as we are, many of us are prone to be spiritually myopic due to materialistic and worldly influence. We may as well accuse ourselves as being no different from the ill-motivated crowd who could not bring themselves to accept Jesus’ teaching. And, in fact, at the end of the discourse in this chapter, many of them left disgruntled and indignant.

Materialism is the most potent weapon the devil is using to muddle and becloud the teachings of Jesus, and lure people away from the spiritual realities. This is illustrated by the unprecedented popularity of the so-called Prosperity Gospel being effectively and persistently propagated by televangelists who are mostly fundamentalist Christians. Their tremendous success lies in the promise of material rewards, and their oft quoted biblical passage is, “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap” (Lk 6:38). Hence, they invariably avoid preaching about the hard truths of the Gospel, such as the evil of sin, the need for repentance and conversion, the value of the cross, and the like.

This, then, consequently leads to the phenomenon of Cafeteria Catholics. These are Catholics who come to church to listen to the Word of God, but choose to accept only the teachings that they like to hear, especially those ‘nice’ homilies that make them feel good, and affirm their worldly values. They are quick to judge any priest preaching against abortion, injustice, sexual sins and perversions as being judgmental, intolerant and sanctimonious.

This also explains why, during these times, many people, even Catholics, have joined Freemasonry. Despite the teachings and warnings of the Church for centuries against it, they are still persuaded and attracted to join, mainly because of the assurance of material success and worldly comfort.

Indeed, materialism is the bane of Christianity. Where it abounds, Christianity gradually dies. People lose appreciation of the values of the Kingdom of God, and endeavor only for fleeting worldly happiness.

In order to remain strong in our faith in the face of the pandemic of materialism, let us hold fast to the words of the Lord in the Gospel today: “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

As a final note, let us reflect on the words of St. Augustine: “If you are caught in the river of time and are drifting down the rapids, you have a choice. Either you may drown in the water, or you can catch hold of a tree by the stream and save your life. Similarly, you have a choice in the world. Either you may love the world that passes away with time, or you may hold on to Christ and live eternally with God.”

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