Third Sunday of Easter, April 18, 2021
(Acts
3.13-15.17-19; I John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48)
Former alcoholics are said to make the most ardent
advocates of sobriety. Their motive is simple. They have caused so much trouble
for their loved ones that they want to make up for their sins. It is the same
with some women who have had abortions. They feel so contrite that they protest
with the most fervor in front of the abortion clinics. Therefore, we should not
be surprised to see how Peter acts in the first reading. He who denied Jesus
makes no apology when he accuses the Jews of Jesus' death and demands
repentance from them.
Although he is direct and strong in his accusation,
Peter provides an excuse for the actions of the Jews. He says they acted out of
ignorance. According to Peter, if the Jews knew who Jesus was, they would never
have insisted that he be crucified. It is almost always the same with our sins.
Although we should know better, we do not choose evil because it is evil but
under the aspect of good. We don't drink too much because we want to get drunk.
Rather, we drink a lot because we want to relax after having worked hard. We do
not defame the other to destroy his reputation. Rather, we criticize him to
justify our perspective on life.
Our sins almost always have the same root. We want to
put our will, our way of seeing reality, before God's will. In other words, our
will becomes more important to us than the commandments of God. In the second
reading, the presbyter John tells us that we know God inasmuch as we fulfill
His commandments. If we know Him as His sons and daughters, we would always put
His will before everything else. Instead of looking for other people's faults,
we would pray for them. Instead of searching the internet for sexual stimultion,
we would thank God for the benefits we have.
Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. It was
such a perfect human sacrifice that it made up for the sins of all men and
women. Furthermore, his submission to the will of his Father gave us an
effective model of putting God first in life. It is a model because it teaches
us how to give ourselves in love for the other. It is effective because his
death has mastered evil for all who believe in him. It's like the discovery of
the Covid vaccine has freed all of humanity from the threat of the virus.
In the gospel Jesus declares that the message of
forgiveness will be preached to the world. Once they receive the Holy Spirit,
the apostles will begin this mission. We, its benefactors, have mastered our
own will at least for a while. However, the tendency to sin clings to us like
leeches. Why is the will to have our own way so enduring? Because we fear that
we will lose something valuable if we submit our will to God's. In the gospel
the disciples do not believe in the resurrection before they eat with the risen
Lord. May we overcome the fear of doing God's will by means of the Eucharist!
By listening to his word and eating his flesh with the proper intention, he
will strengthen our faith. Then, we will realize that we do not lose anything
significant by submitting our will to his. Rather, we receive the inheritance
of sons and daughters of God -- eternal life.
Remember Frank Sinatra singing "My Way"? The
lyrics speak of a person who boasts that he always has done things as he
wanted. Obviously, the person believes a lot in himself. It is not necessarily
wrong to do things our own way, nor is it wrong to believe in ourselves.
However, our ways and belief in ourselves have to submit to the ways of and
belief in God. Only then do we dominate sin. Only then do we gain eternal life.
