Easter 5 - The One and Only Jesus

 

Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 7, 2023

The One and Only Jesus

 

            Pope Benedict XVI starts out his magnificent book “Jesus of Nazareth” with a fundamental question - what did Jesus come to bring us? Did He come to bring us world peace? Did He come to end hunger or poverty? Did He come to be a great moral teacher?

            Well, we still see war and hunger and poverty…and although His moral teachings are very wise, they could have been given by the Dalai Lama or Socrates. So, Pope Benedict concludes that Jesus came to bring us…God. He came to reveal the Father to us. We would have no way to get to know God unless Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, would reveal Him to us.

            It’s always humorous that when I tell people I’m from Maryland, they sometimes say, “Oh, do you know John Smith?” Um, there are over six million people in Maryland…unless I’ve met John Smith, merely knowing that he is in Maryland doesn’t mean I have a relationship with him! Likewise, we may know that God is in Heaven, but we needed someone to bring God to us, so that we can get to know Him and have a relationship with Him.

            But here’s the audacious claim – Jesus says that He is the only way to the Father. He makes the claim that He is not “one path among many” to reach God. Rather, if we authentically want to know who God is, we look to Jesus, to His Words and deeds in Scripture, and to His Body, the Church.

            A few years ago I was watching a documentary about faith and the interviewer was asking a woman named Shawna what she believed. She said, “Well, I like the holidays of Christianity, but I also like how the Buddhists meditate, and I’ve been reading the Koran, and I’m really devoted to the environment…so a little bit of everything. I guess you could say that I believe in Shawna-ism.” A classic modern response: do-it-yourself, find “what works for you” and what “fits your lifestyle”. In other words, religious relativism – the belief that all religions are essentially equal. Yet, Jesus says something different! Jesus’ singular claim is that He is the one Savior of the human race, He reveals the fullness of the Truth about God, He is the only Way to Heaven, He is the only Life that we can find.

            This means a couple things. First, as Catholics we respect all that is good, true, and beautiful in other religions - while also acknowledging that Christ is the fullness of goodness, truth, and beauty. Anyone from another religion who is saved, is saved because of Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross - not because of their other religion. Buddha cannot save us; Mohammed cannot save us; other spiritual traditions cannot save us. It is only Jesus Christ, and Him alone, who is the one unique Savior of the human race, the one and only pathway to God. This doesn’t mean that only Christians go to Heaven – the Church does not teach that. Rather, Vatican II teaches that Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, may achieve eternal salvation. But their salvation comes through Jesus and His grace, not through their own religion. Jesus is the only Savior of the human race!

            And Christ makes clear what our response is: faith. Faith is not some vague feeling or sentimentality - it is the commitment to take Jesus at His word, accept His claims, and apply them to our lives. For example, He reveals that He is divine - we then have a duty to worship Him. His death brings us life and mercy - faith requires us to live as new creations. Jesus preaches repentance and holiness - if we have faith, we will respond to His call and turn from our sins and seek to live in Him. Jesus reveals that eternity awaits us - so we take seriously the pursuit of Heaven. Jesus established His Church - so we stay faithful to Catholicism and pray for the spreading of the True Faith. Jesus remains with us in the Eucharist, so we become people whose lives are centered around the Mass. Faith in Christ means living like all of His claims are true, no matter what it costs us.

            A perfect example of this is the life of St. Abo of Tiflis. Never heard of him? Neither did I until two weeks ago, but he’s an amazing story. He grew up in Baghdad as a Muslim in the 700s, and his father taught him to be a master perfumer – someone who made and crafted perfumes. Back in the sweaty Middle East all those centuries ago, most people smelled pretty bad, so being a perfumer was an elite job. At the age of 17, he managed to get hired by a visiting prince, Prince Nerses, who took him into his retinue. After serving him for a while, the prince returned to his home country of Georgia (not the state, the country!) and there, for the first time, Abo encountered Christians. As a young, fervent Muslim, he began to debate the local Catholics and the priests of the town, but he knew that his arguments would be stronger if he knew the Bible so he could debunk it. So, he began to read the Bible…and there he encountered Jesus Christ. He was absolutely shocked that he didn’t just encounter a wise man or a prophet, but God Incarnate. The words of the Bible were a bridge to encounter Jesus, the Word of the Father. He immediately converted, knowing this was the Truth, but he also knew that as an ex-Muslim he could be killed if he practiced his faith outright, so for several years he lived as a “clandestine” Christian – praying to Jesus in secret. Finally, Prince Nerses had to move to another part of the country where there were more Christians, and Abo got baptized.

            But after a while, the prince had to move back to the majority-Muslim part of the country. He warned Abo to stay in the safe region, but Abo was on-fire with love for Christ and wanted to share the good news of Jesus to his own people. He went back with the prince to the Muslim part, and began preaching to everyone he knew that Jesus was the Savior. He was threatened and warned by the Muslim authorities, but his heart was ablaze – he couldn’t stay silent. Finally, he was arrested and sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. The judge offered him rewards and treasure if he would give up his new faith, but Abo knew that Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life was worth dying for. He gave up his life for Christ, and Christ the Life restored it to him a thousandfold.

            This day, we rededicate our hearts to following the only One Who created us, Who loved us unto death and beyond, and Who invites us to share in His eternal life: Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.