EZEKIEL 37: 12-14
PSALM 129
ROMANS 8: 8-11
MATTHEW 11: 1-45
In the first reading, to a people in Exile, through the Prophet Ezekiel, God tells the people:
“I shall put my spirit in you and you will live……”
In the second reading, St Paul in his most profound letter, tells the people that ‘the Spirit of God has made his home in them.’ He writes, ‘And if Christ is in you then your Spirit is life itself.’
And in the Gospel in Jesus we see the purpose of the gift of the Spirit, that God may be glorified.
This Easter, Adam will be received into the Catholic Church through the sacrament of Baptism. What does our baptism mean to us? Through our baptism, we are given the fruit of Jesus death and resurrection: a new life in the Holy Spirit. Today, let us ask ourselves, ‘How is the Holy Spirit within me, life giving?’
The challenge to us today is that sometimes we can feel bounded by our sins or feel we are not good enough that we despair. We end up being like Lazarus in the tomb. We can sometimes feel it is not possible to change and so close the tomb we are in and not allow Jesus to free us.
Yet, if we say we believe then believe that Jesus can transform our lives because he has risen.
The words that Jesus speaks to Martha in today’s Gospel, he is saying to us today also.
“I am the Resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, though he dies, he lives,
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS”
In Baptism, through the Holy Spirit we are made into the image of Christ. As St Peter said as Jesus is Priest, Prophet and King, so are we through our baptism.
As priest, Jesus was a person of prayer who taught us how to prayer and prayed for us.
Sometimes people can avoid prayer because they think it is too difficult and too time consuming. Prayer is simply a talking to God: a simple thank you or sorry or a asking for a blessing on a person in need or for ourselves. What is important in prayer is not length of time but a sincere love in our hearts and faith in God.
As prophet, Jesus proclaimed God’s mercy and God’s way and God’s almighty power. We are all prophets of God when we live out our Christian virtues in seeking right relationship with our neighbour, even those who hate us. We are all prophets of God when we gather to worship God, for in so doing we are telling the world the importance of having a right relationship with God.
Another image of the king is that of the Good Shepherd. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus cared for the sick, the poor and the sinner. In so doing he revealed God’s mercy and compassion.
We are called to share in Jesus’ kingship by being shepherds who care for those in need, the poor, the sick, the lonely, the outcaste, the sinner even the enemy in need.
Yes, if we say we believe then believe that Jesus can transform our lives even today, because he has risen and with him we too will rise.
Merredin Catholic Parish 