Message from the Mission of Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Do You Know Jesus?
A Reflection for the Fifth Sunday after Easter
Acts 7:55-60, Psalm 31, 1Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus
A ministry of the Franciscans of Divine Mercy , RCCI
www.MissionStSergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
http://groups.yahoo.com/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans

Jesus said; “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you know me, you know my Father too. From this moment you know him and have seen him.’(John 14:) These words taken from today’s reading are very important in my way of thinking. They are important because it seems that Jesus is telling us, in very plain language, that if we recognize and accept that Jesus is the only begotten son of God, the creator of all things, we are on our way to return to God, Our Father.
Further along in the reading we hear Christ tell Phillip; “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak as from myself: it is the Father, living in me, who is doing this work. You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; believe it on the evidence of this work, if for no other reason. I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works, because I am going to the Father.”
When we consider this teaching found in John along with the teaching found in the second reading for this Sunday from 1 Peter 2:4 - 9 where Christ compares Himself with the “Living Stone” or as we more commonly call it “The Corner Stone” we can begin to realize that What Christ gave us is a roadmap to heaven.
The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed. That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:2-10)
Within the passage from Peter is an interesting and ominous warning: “but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone, a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them.”
If you have ever tripped over a stone and fallen, as I have on several occasions in my life, you know how painful it can be and also how often, the pain remains for days after. So too, I believe is the pain we endure we re reject or refuse to abide by what Christ has instructed us. Often, when we reject Christ’s teachings and go off on our own merry way, we trip, fall, and commit sin.
Christ made it very easy for us to gain eternal salvation by summing up all the commandments when asked by a scribe in the following; "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' "The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." (Mark 12:29-33)
Now the question we must ask ourselves is; “How do we show our love of God and of our neighbor?”
The answer is quite simple; we do it by claiming our place in the Mystical Body of Christ given us in Baptism, and by living our lives in a manner consistent with Christ’s teachings.
To do this we need to fully partake in the Sacraments especially the Eucharist, pray often giving thanks to God for all He has given us and petitioning Him for our needs, and we need to be acutely considerate of the needs of the poor and marginalized as the early apostles were in today’s first reading. The poor and needy were a major consideration of the early church fathers, so much so, that they appointed Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch, a convert to Judaism to serve the needs of the entire community of followers regardless of what group they belonged to.
If we believe in Christ, then we need to act like a “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1Peter 2:9-10)
God’s infinite Mercy and love for every one of His children is unlimited is given freely to those who seek it. That is what we can expect when we really know Jesus and attempt to live our lives in accord with His teachings. That is the root and essence of my Franciscan order and of the message to St. Faustina in Christ’s appearance as Divine Mercy.
In knowing and living as Jesus instructed, we also know the Father and show honor, glory, praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God, The Father. AMEN