5th Sunday of Easter

Running through all of the Scripture Readings in today’s Mass, is a strong sense of action, of movement by the Church and within the Church. The First Reading (Acts 6:1-7) tells of how certain widows were not being taken care of “in the daily distribution.” What was the “daily distribution”? Following Jesus’ word and example of feeding the hungry and caring for those in need, the Apostles would care for the local widows with what they had available to them – goods often gathered from the generosity of the Christian community. The number  of Christians rose so quickly, however, that the Apostles could no longer preach the Word and distribute the alms to Christian widows. In addition, the Greek-speaking widows were apparently being left out of the distribution, while the Hebrew (or Aramaic) speaking widows were not. Because of this, the office of the deacon was established to be an extension of the Apostle’s work for the poor, and allow the Apostles to focus on proclaiming the Word and celebrating the Breaking of the Bread (Eucharist).  

In our Second Reading (1 Peter 2:4-9), we are reminded that every effort we undertake must be founded first on Jesus Christ. He is the Cornerstone upon which we work. In the               Gospel of John (John 14:1-12), we are given the same message. Jesus is speaking to the Apostles at the Last Supper. They want to know how to live a righteous life. Jesus responds: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” He is not just the foundation, the cornerstone that Peter writes about in the Second Reading. Jesus is the path itself. He is the Way.  

This is a very important truth for our time. Being socially    conscious is a common message today. From care for the environment, to immigration issues, to being conscious of the working conditions of those around the world who manufacture the goods we use, our culture is increasingly aware of how our actions affect others. Catholic social teaching helps to express social responsibility and awareness, but Catholic social teaching is different from the humanitarian work of secular society. This is because our work for the poor and our sense of social responsibility must come first from our relationship with Jesus. For without Christ, good deeds can be self-serving or serve an ideology that stands at odds with the Gospel. May we always have Jesus as the cornerstone of our lives so that every good work is built from our relationship with Jesus.