The Fifth Sunday of Easter

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051814.cfm

 

         What is the largest gathering of people that you have ever been a part of?  Maybe it was at a specific event, like a concert or sporting event.  Maybe it was to see or meet a famous person.  Perhaps you traveled to a popular destination with thousands of other people from around the world who came on the same day.  There are many possibilities.  If you were seeing a favorite band or going to a destination you had long wanted to see, very likely there were plenty of emotions connected with seeing that person or place or object.  But how did the crowds make you feel?  Did they increase your excitement; seeing so many people coming to the same place or event as you?  Did the crowd make you nervous, wondering if you might loose yourself or others in the vast crowd?  Were you worried that something might happen to you in the crowd?  Were you happy to see so many others coming, or maybe you wished that you could have come at a less busy or hectic time?

          The biggest gathering that I have ever been a part of has to have been at World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada in 2002.  This was the last International World Youth Day in which St. John Paul II was able to attend.  As the saint was nearing the end of his life on earth, he was looking more and more feeble.  It was known that he planned to come to Toronto, but there was a lot of speculation as to how active his participation would be.  When he arrived by plane, he could have had an elevator take him down from the plane and been moved in a wheelchair and I'm sure no one would have thought less of him for doing that.  Instead he chose to walk down the stairs from his plane under his own power.  I found a video online that showed that day and it was amazing.  One bishop was next to him, holding his arm to guide him and give him some balance, but otherwise he walked down on his own.  Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of youth had already gathered in Toronto.  When news got out that the Holy Father had arrived and was walking and waving at people, hundreds of thousands more bought tickets at the last minute to come to the events.  They wanted to be there if the Holy Father could make it.  Well over 800,000 people gathered on an abandoned airfield outside of Toronto to celebrate an evening vigil and then Mass with the future saint the next morning.  We were exhausted from the many miles of hiking we had to do the day before and it rained off and on during the night.  Yet there were so many youth there, I could barely make out anything that was happening on the large stage that was set, let alone see where the Pope was. 

          As far as my reaction to the crowds, I will not lie to you; it was a bit overwhelming for me to be in such a large crowd.  Having grown up in a small Northern Minnesota town, I never could have imagined being a part of such a large crowd.  It took me well out of my comfort zone.  That being said, it was still a very powerful and wonderful experience.  To realize I was at a Mass with the Holy Father and I was saying prayers and singing at the top of my lungs with over half a million youth from all over the world who shared my same faith in Jesus Christ, was truly awe-inspiring.  Nothing else in my life has quite compared to that.

          When one looks at a gathering of the faithful like any of the World Youth Days, or when we look at the large crowds that come here to St. Raphael's on Christmas Eve and Easter Morning, it's astounding and a little bit sad that our churches aren't full to overflowing every Sunday of the year.  When we read through the Scriptures (I'm talking about today's readings and many other places in Sacred Scripture) we can see that God Himself and those who wrote the Scriptures down on paper envisioned a vast number of people to be in heaven.  I'm not just talking about a big group or a large crowd.  I'm talking about a great multitude of people from every nation and every race.  This goes well beyond what typical Sunday attendance suggests.

          St. Peter's first letter today calls people to come closer to God.  He tells us, “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.”  So we ourselves are being brought together to God as stones are brought together to make an altar or a monument to God.  St. Peter elaborates by saying that we are the cornerstone that God has chosen to build His Church.  Though others have rejected that cornerstone (though we may be rejected by those who do not believe) that stone is (we are) precious in God's eyes.  He also talks about “a holy priesthood”.  He goes on to say, “You are 'A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own'”.  These lines about “a royal priesthood” and “a holy nation” are references to the Book of Exodus when God tells Moses that He will set Israel apart from the rest of the nations of the world.  In other words, the Israelites will be set a part just as priests are set a part from the people.  In making this reference in his letter, St. Peter is saying that we as Christians share in that distinction.  We have been set apart by God for His own.  This is not a small select group, but a great number of people.

          In the Gospel, Jesus is even expecting a large of number of people to come to the Father.  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”  God has made many dwelling places because He is anticipating many people to come and be with Him for eternity. 

          So we know that we are a part of a vast multitude of people that God wants to come join Him in Heaven, but how do we get to Heaven and how do we get others to join us?  First of all we follow Jesus, who is the way and the life and is in the Father and the Father is in Him, as He tells Thomas and Phillip.  Secondly, we show others by example.  We are servants to each other, just as we see the first deacons in the first reading serve at table.  We show our love and respect for each other.  We are a part of a vast assembly of God, let us set our minds and our hearts on the goal of Heaven.