HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 05 02 – Year II
Elements of Discipleship: Relationship, Persecution and Proclamation –
Optional Memorial of Saints Nereus and Achilleus
(Acts 14:19-28; Ps 145; John 14:27-31a)
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The readings today offer us three elements of discipleship as followers of Jesus: relationship, persecution and proclamation.
The gospel places us back at the Last Supper just before Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. There we see again his main concern is not the physical suffering he will face, but the intimate relationship he has with the Father whom he loves, and the disciples whom he loves, whom he wants to be in an intimate relationship with the Father through their love for him. The fruit of that relationship is that it overcomes all fear that the disciples may have in their lives.
The first reading takes us back to the events after the resurrection and Pentecost as the early Church goes through its growing pains, pains that include persecution in one town after another. That persecution is seen by Paul as the key to entering the kingdom of God. In a way, nothing has changed, as many Christians today are being persecuted for their faith – more so than ever it seems.
There is another dynamic at play in this reading, and it is the interplay of kerygma and didache. Paul and his companions are proclaiming the Good News of the Risen Lord to folks in one city for the first time ever (kerygma), and then returning to other cities where they have already established churches to strengthen and encourage them (didache). Those same dynamics can be just as relevant today, as we will run into people who really have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ either.
So, what do we learn from these readings? Put our relationship with God and with one another through Jesus first; be ready for persecutions, and be ready to carry out both kerygma and didache in our lives as disciples of Jesus.
Today the church invites us to remember and honor Saints Nereus and Achilleus, who were soldiers in the Imperial Roman army. While they may have lived in the 1st century, what is known of them originates from a 4th century inscription by Pope Damasus, which attests to the fact these soldiers had experienced conversion and had been martyred as a consequence.
The Eucharist is for most people an experience of didache, of deepening our relationship with Jesus through his Word and the intimate moment of receiving his Body and Blood.
May our pondering of God’s word today strengthen us to face even persecution if that comes, and witness to the resurrection of Jesus in an often unbelieving world.
If we are become his disciples then we should establish a intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ . If we are true Christians then we would hear and understand the word of God and use it to strengthen our faith. We also need kerygma and didache; when we experience the Risen Lord in our own unique way then we would go out proclaim the Good News. When we are disciples we should go out to cities just like Paul and his companions to proclaim the Good News or proclaiming the word of the God. Whether those people believe you are not and it is restricted . We still needed to complete God’s mission in building his community and church . There would be persecutions because certain countries have restriction in expressing about God. But, we know Jesus is alive and living within us to deepen our faith. We can be stone to death and known to be martyrs. Amen. Thanks Be to God.
Thanks Bishop Sylvain Lavoie for the talk about discipleship and being martyrs. It is beautifully wriitten and lifting our hearts in knowing what is it like be disciple. Let us face persecution by spreading the word of God no matter what the circumstances are . Amen. Gracias! Shalom! 😇😇🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😍😍💖💖✝✝