5th Sunday of Easter - May 22, 2011: Following & Proclaiming the Way the Truth and the Life

Click Here for the Mass Readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter - May 22, 2011 (Year A):

"Jesus said to his disciples: 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me... I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (Jn 14:1;6)

Earlier this week world-renowned theoretical physicist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, made news when he stated "there is no heaven or afterlife...; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."  Of course, such a conclusion steps infinitely beyond the scope and methodology of his field of science and presents us with nothing more than an non-scientific statement of Dr. Hawking's personal disbelief.  But why begin a reflection dedicated to this Sunday’s liturgical readings in this way?  Well, aside from contrasting Dr. Hawking's most recent declaration of disbelief with the exhortation to faith we hear throughout the readings for this 5th Sunday of Easter, a stark example of disbelief also has the ability to inspire a more mature, concrete examination of the role of faith in our personal lives.

To encourage such a reflection, I would like to highlight two essential dimensions to our faith.  The first is found most conspicuously in this Sunday's Gospel reading from St. John, who accentuates the role of faith like no other Gospel writer.  For St. John, faith is an action.  He consistently chooses to use the verb "to believe" throughout his Gospel to underscore the living, dynamic nature of faith.  "To believe" isn't simply a sterile acknowledgement that God exists, but a vibrant "yes" to Jesus Christ and His message; a "yes" that draws us back to Christ on a continual basis, bears visible fruit in the way we live, think, and act, and ultimately opens us to receive the gift of eternal life.  That's why Jesus confronted St. Philip's hesitancy to believe in this Sunday's Gospel with the exhortation, "believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe because of the works themselves."  Jesus knew that a hesitancy to believe was also a hesitancy to follow.  If St. Philip were hesitant to believe Jesus and the Father were one, he would not have had the conviction to follow Christ as "the way, and the truth, and the life."

As we know, St. Philip came to believe wholeheartedly in Jesus and went on to proclaim Him joyfully and zealously in numerous places.  This brings me to the second dimension of faith I wish to highlight: proclamation.  St. Peter summarizes this dimension of faith nicely in Sunday's 2nd reading: "You are a chosen race...so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Pet 2:9)  "To believe" entails a personal transformation in Christ, but it also means explaining and proclaiming the salvific message of Jesus to others.  Unfortunately, this dimension of faith seems somewhat foreign to us as Catholics, as it has been forgotten - or ignored in some cases - and is only now beginning to emerge with greater prominence and momentum.

We are called not only to follow Christ as the Way, live in His Truth, and participate in His Life, but to lead, inspire, and encourage others to a deeper knowledge, faith, and love of Christ.  All of us can do this in some way or another.  And given the fact that two-thirds of Catholics who leave the Church do so before the age of 23, we cannot wait for someone else to take the lead.  It doesn't take much, a word of encouragement at the right moment can go along way.  I still find inspiration in little things people said to me a long time ago.  And while some people will accept what we have to say, it's true that others, like Dr. Hawking, will have nothing to do with it and reject it with vim.  But faith cannot be silent, nor can it survive (never mind thrive) when we lock it up within.  May the Risen Lord grant us the fire of His Spirit to follow Him more fervently, and seek opportunities to invite others to walk with us along the same path of faith, hope and love.  God bless you!

(Photo of the "Philip Catechizes the Ethiopian Eunuch" courtesy of Dcn. Lawrence Lew, O.P.)