May 03, 2026. 5th Sunday of Easter (Year A)

Readings: Acts 6:1-7, 1 Peter 2:4-9; Jn. 14:1-12

Have no anxiety at all

1.    In today’s Gospel, Jesus told his apostles: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” (Jn. 14:1). Jesus is addressing these words to us today, as we deal with the world in crisis, with wars in the Middle East and the continuous conflict between Russia and Ukraine. With these conflicts come other consequential effects: food and gas prices keep going up. We cannot honestly say that we are not anxious, worried, or afraid. We worry about our health, finances, mortgages, our children’s education, and their future. We are also afflicted by national and international fear and trouble, of increasing violence and crimes in our cities. We fear loss and failure, criticism and rejection; we are most worried about the unknown. But should we? O Lord, we are afraid! We are anxious.

 

2.    The second reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows us how the early Christian community was united in mind and heart. They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles, to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread, and to prayers. And with great power, they bore witness to the risen Lord. (Acts 2:42-47).  Amidst that perfect community, we heard of fear and anxiety, as the Greek speaking Jews - the Hellenists – complained that their widows were left out during the daily distribution of food. Fear can, sometimes, propel people to greater heights. Peter realized that the apostles needed assistance, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at the table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-5). Thus, the diaconal ministry was inaugurated. This ministry of service enabled the apostles to devote themselves to prayer and preaching the word.

 

3.    In our worries, fear, and anxiety, we must not forget to devote ourselves to prayer and to the reading of the word, as the apostles did. By so doing, Peter said we will “Come to the living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-6). For “You are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

 

4.    Friends, this is why we should not be afraid. Christ tells us: “Do not worry about your life. Can any of you, by worrying, add a single moment to your lifespan?” (Matt. 6:25-34). And Paul adds, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-6). The secret to a worry-free life is to depend on God. We must cry out to God like Peter and devote our lives to prayer and reflecting on the word of God like the early Christians. They depended on one another in their fears and anxiety. We have our families, our church, and our circle of friends. Let us fall back on them for support when we are afraid. The disciples were together in prayer, in bible reading, and in the breaking of bread. We must do the same. Jesus assures us that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Even when we do not know where He is going or know the way, He is our way, He is our truth, he is our life. He knows the Father, and he knows how to get us to the Father. We must trust him. We must also see ourselves in the service of love and mercy to one another.

 

5.    We thank God for our children who made their first Holy Communion today. We thank their families and those who prepared them for the reception of Jesus Christ, the word of God, and the bread of life. May Christ guide and continuously point them to the path they are to follow in life. We hope and pray that, as they grow in faith and love, they may consider the vocation to the Holy Priesthood that will make them ministers of the sacrament they have received today. Amen. 

 

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

April 26, 2026. 4th Sunday of Easter, (Year A)

Readings: Acts 2:14, 36-41; 1Peter 2:20-25; Jn. 10:1-10

The Shepherd and the Lost Sheep

1.     Today is Vocations Sunday. The Mother Church invites us to pray that young men may hear the voice of the Shepherd, and give their lives in service to him, as his ministers. Christ “Came not to be served but to serve and gave his life as a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). We pray also that religious men and women in consecrated life may continue to say ‘Yes’ to the Good Shepherd as they bear witness in the world through their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The laity are equally encouraged to use their gifts of time, talent, and treasure in their service of the Church and humanity.

2.     In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Himself: “The gate for the sheep.” (Jn. 10:7). Earlier on, He said: “Whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.” (Jn. 10:1).  Jesus is not just the Good Shepherd; He is the Gate itself. The sheep must go through Him. He is the one who calls them out and leads them to pasture.

3.     Dear friends, the image and attitude of the shepherd is the one who goes out of his way to look for the wandering sheep in Luke 15:1-7. Jesus is The Good Shepherd. He is the Gate of the sheepfold. He came to reconcile us to the Father, and he laid down His life for the sheep. “A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10). He hears the cries of His sheep and comes to their rescue. “I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16). “Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom and leading the ewes with care.” (Is. 40:11).

4.     David calls God his shepherd, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” There is a story told of an actor who recited the 23^rd Psalm and held his audience spellbound. When he finished, a great burst of applause broke from his guests. As it died away, an old man rose from behind the room and declaimed the same psalm. His voice was not remarkable; his tone was not as faultless as the actor’s, but, when he finished, there was not a dry eye in the room. The actor rose, and his voice quivered as he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I reached your eyes and ears; he has reached your hearts. The difference is just this: I know the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd.”

5.     The questions for us today are: do we know the Shepherd? Do we listen to Him and allow Him to lead us to green pastures? Many times, in our struggles, we fail to see the shepherd in our midst. The second reading urged us to be patient in suffering if we suffer for doing what is right. “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.” Our world is replete with prophets whose aim in preaching the gospel is to brainwash people for money. They care for themselves alone and what they could benefit from their congregation. They preach the prosperity gospel only to enrich themselves. They extort money in the name of tithes and seed-sowing for their lifestyle, building mansions, buying a fleet of exotic cars, airplanes, and jets, while most of their congregants are impoverished. These are the thieves and robbers referred to in the Gospel. By their fruits you shall know them.

6.     Let us open our eyes and see the Good Shepherd who meets us at the points of our needs. When we are bereaved, the shepherd appears to us as a gardener (Jn. 20:15), calls us by name, and eases our problems. When we fail at our jobs, he stands on the shore of our uncertainties and asks, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” and then tells us what to do. (Jn. 21:5-7). When we are hungry, he appears as a cook and provides us with food, “Come, have breakfast.” (Jn. 21:9-12). When we are sad and in distress, he is a stranger on the road who explains things to us. (Lk. 24:13-28). When we lose our faith, he helps us to believe again (Jn. 20:26-29). The Good Shepherd loves flawed people like the harlots and tax collectors, the thieves and those feared by others: the lepers and those possessed by demons. He rejects no one, “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” (Jn. 6:37,39). Even the young adults and college students, who stopped going to church and lost their faith after Confirmation, he waits for them to return to baptize their children or seek to regularize their marriage. He waits as the merciful father waited for his prodigal son’s return, with no condemnation, anger, judgment, or bitterness but mercy, compassion, understanding, and love.

7.     Dear friends, let us listen to our Good Shepherd as he calls us by name and leads us to green pasture. Yes, we may wander away from his love, but we are his Beloved Wanderers. He will look for us and bring us back to himself. For “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (Jn. 15:7). B blessed!

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

April 19,2026. 3rd Sunday Easter; Year (A)

Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1Peter 1:17-21; Lk. 24:13-35

Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus called two of his Disciples fools. Why? The two men on the road to Emmaus were obviously frustrated and disappointed. They were upset with Jesus for acting as a stranger in Jerusalem and for asking them a question. “What are you talking about to each other as you walk along?”  How could Jesus ask them such a question: “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days?  “What things?” Christ asked them. Christ wants to know what is going on in our lives. He wants us to tell Him about our troubles, sadness, worries, and our joys. He wants us to share our stories with Him. He wants us to tell him about the sickness in our families and how devastated it makes us feel. He tells us, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.” (Matt. 11:28-30). When we are confused, as the men on the road to Emmaus were, we must turn to Jesus. When in doubt, we must go to Him for comfort. When we are disappointed, Christ will console us. He understands us now more than ever before. Christ will always meet us on the way of our worries, fears, and anxiety. He will engage us, ask questions, and listen to us attentively. We must listen to Him, too.

There are times when our sterile worries, futile pleasures, and vain preoccupations cloud our eyes so much that we cannot recognize the Lord as we should. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were thoroughly distracted, unfocused, frightened, and downhearted, as their conversation reveals. Their answer to Jesus clearly showed their frustration. They closed their minds to the Scriptures. One could feel their incredulity and doubts as they recounted their litany of woes to the stranger. “We were hoping He would be the one to redeem Israel.” (Acts 2:21). We have been tempted many times to turn away from God, Christ, and the church because our expectations were not met. We often think that because we go to Church, say our prayers, pay tithes, obey the church, and keep the commandments, our problems will be solved. How false are these assumptions! Many were so disappointed with the sexual abuse of clergy that they stopped going to church. Others stopped giving to the Church, which they felt had let them down. Many turned away because they do not agree with the Church’s teaching on marriage, divorce, gay marriage, and the like. Many have refused to approach the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and have their sins forgiven. They can confess directly to God, they reason. Just like the men on the way to Emmaus once followed the Lord with hope and joy and truly believed that God had sent him to establish God’s kingdom, we often feel that way too. But when the storms of life hit us hard, like Good Friday hit the Apostles, we are often disillusioned and quickly return to our former life, stopping to believe in God.

Mark Link, reported in his book Sunday Homilies Year A, a story that best illustrates the attitude of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Regina Riley tells a story that many parents can relate to. For years, she prayed that her two sons would return to the faith. Then one Sunday morning in church, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Her two sons came in and sat across the aisle from her. Her joy and gratitude overflowed. Afterward, she asked her sons what prompted their return to the faith. The younger son told the story. One Sunday morning, while vacationing in Colorado, they were driving down a mountain road. It was raining cats and dogs. Suddenly, they came upon an old man without an umbrella. He was soaked through and through and walked with a noticeable limp. Yet he kept trudging doggedly along the road. The brothers stopped and picked him up. It turned out that the stranger was on his way to Mass at a church three miles down the road. The brothers took him there. Since the rain was coming down so hard, and since they had nothing better to do, they decided to wait for the stranger to take him home after Mass. It wasn’t long before the two boys figured they might as well go inside, rather than wait out in the car. As the two brothers listened to the reading of the scriptures and sat through the breaking of the bread, something moved them deeply. The only way they could later explain it was: “You know, Mother, it felt so right. Like getting home after a long, tiring trip.”

Often in our frustration and despondency, we turn away from Jesus, but He never abandons us; He speaks to our hearts. “Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?” Jesus then explained what was said about himself in all the scriptures, beginning with Moses and the writings of all the prophets. Like the two brothers on Colorado road who met a stranger and returned to the faith, Jesus is the stranger who walks with us on our road of sadness and stress. He will open our minds to the Scriptures, and our hearts will burn within us. He will lead us to the Eucharist and give us His body to eat and His blood to drink.

Whenever we turn away from the Church, Christ comes in search of us. He will never force himself on us but will wait to be invited in. And after explaining the Scriptures to the two men, He did as if He was going on further, waiting for them to invite Him in. Once He was invited in, He broke the bread with them. They rediscovered their Lord. He was never far away from them; they were too preoccupied to see Him. Let us pray that we may see Jesus who stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. May we hear His voice and open the door, so that He may enter and dine with us and we with Him. Amen. 

Augustine Etemma Inwang MSP