Fifth Sunday of Easter
There is a story my second-grade teacher told us in my catechism class. Strangely, I still remembered the story as I read today’s scripture. One day, Michelangelo walking through a garden in Florence, saw a block of marble in a corner protruding from the earth. It was half covered by grass and mud. He stopped suddenly as if he had seen someone. Then he said to his friends who were with him, exclaimed: "An angel is imprisoned in that marble; I must set him free." And, armed with a chisel, he began to work on that block until the figure of a beautiful angel emerged. The teacher continued, “Each of us is an angel in the making. And God is the artist. The chisel is the Word of God. God uses his word to bring out the best in us.” Later when I got older, I verified the truth of Michelangelo’s story. It turns out, that my teacher was correct. The angel is now in the Basilica of St Dominic in Bologna, Italy.
As the Easter season continues, we become aware of two movements. First, for three Sundays after Easter we heard stories of the physical appearance of Jesus to his disciples. Now as we move to the fifth Sunday after Easter, the emphasis changes to the in-dwelling presence of Christ. That is why Jesus says, “Remain in me, as I remain in you” (Jn 15:4). Second, there is a visible change in the maturity of the disciples. We will see disciples who are more convinced about Jesus’ mission and who will fearlessly proclaim it. But if they must continue that way, they need to stay attached to Jesus. That is why Jesus says, “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me” (Jn 15:4). For us this means that just as Michelangelo’s created something amazing from a block of marble, God is constantly trying to recreate us anew.
Let me offer three practical implications based on these readings.
New Presence
The vine and branch analogy in today’s gospel readings tells us new ways in which Jesus is present to us. First, Jesus is be present in and through his words. Jesus says, “You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.” Second, Jesus talks about his in-dwelling presence in the disciples. This deeper communion is accomplished through the Holy Spirit. John says in today’s second reading, “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.” We see this played out in today’s first reading. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, the Church grew in numbers. The third way in which Christ is present is not mentioned specifically in today’s gospel but John already talked about it in his sixth chapter –the Bread of Life. Jesus is present to us in the Eucharist. In other words, Word, Spirit and Bread – that is how Christ is present to us. Today, we are being invited to not only become aware, but to recognize Christ deeply all the ways in which Christ is present to us.
Formed into Disciples
When Michelangelo saw the block of marble, he saw within that block of marble, an angel. He used his instruments to chisel out the image he saw. Similarly, the three ways in which Christ is present to us is also meant to create us anew. What does Christ see in us? Who does Christ want us to be? The answer is found in the very last sentence of today’s gospel. Jesus says, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” Disciples! That is who we are meant to be. If by the end of our lives we succeed in allowing God to prune us and form us into genuine disciples, then we have become that the Creator intended. What a disciple look like? There is a specifically Christian answer to that question. The disciple looks like the Master. Really speaking, then, discipleship is about character formation. Today we are being invited to allow God to transform us into the image of Christ. The greatest tragedy would be that we return to God untouched by God’s renewing and recreating work. The greatest tragedy would that at the end of our lives we have professed Christ without realizing our most basic call – the call to be disciples of Christ and to transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
The Way to Discipleship
Those of you who are parents or those of us who are educators, one of the lessons we teach our children and students is the enormity of the task of character formation. Often times, even after giving the best example, children do not turn out like parents or teachers expect. Jesus spent three years with his followers forming them into disciples. As the story goes, it was no easy task. Perhaps our story is the same. To allow the word of God to prune us – that is no easy task. To prune self-centeredness, to keep our mind and heart pure, to be peacemakers, to give till it hurts, and to seek righteousness, is no easy task. Similarly, to be constantly open to the Holy Spirit – that takes discipline in prayer. To receive the Body of Christ and then to become the body of Christ, that takes commitment, dedication and sacrifice. Today’s readings are an invitation to allow the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist for form our character.
Just the marble was able to be chiseled by Michelangelo into something beautiful, may God be able to chisel us into the image of Christ.
As we celebrate this Eucharist, we realize that all the three ways Christ is present to us is now present to us. The Word of God has just been proclaimed. Very soon the Holy Spirit will transform he bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. And we are now in turn being transformed into the body of Christ. May we allow Christ to remain in us and we remain in him. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph