5th Sunday after Easter 22 May 2022 Divinity of Christ
At the Last Supper Our Lord is preparing His disciples to carry on what He has started.
He has nearly completed His mission in coming here. soon He will return to Heaven.
He wants us to understand that He is God, not just some lesser presence.
Many have denied His divinity. Why so much denial? There are various reasons, but they all amount to an attempt to make the truth more palatable, less challenging.
It is easy to believe that God would send someone to do His bidding. But to believe that God Himself would come from Heaven and take on human nature – well, that is more demanding.
It is still true, however. The bolder claim is not false simply because it is bolder.
People generally do not like being under authority, so here again, if Christianity can be reduced to just one among many religions, without having any special authority, then we are free to adopt a more relaxed view of the moral law. We can do what we like, in effect.
The right position - we say He is both God and Man. That it is a great honour to mankind to have God come and join us.
We know we do not deserve it but we marvel at God's generosity in doing that.
We will not try to deny it or say that it cannot happen.
We welcome His teachings and the discipline that goes with them, because they help us to find the right course and stay on it.
This way we can get all our thoughts and desires into the right place.
Our Lord is appealing to us to have the right idea of Him (Gospel) and this will make the Church a lot stronger.
He knew the wolves would come (Mt 7,15), and the cunning serpents, who would tempt the faithful (cf Mt 4,1-11).
He needed the Church to be strong. He promises to send the Holy Spirit, who will bring that strength.
Again, we are tempted to downplay the scope of salvation by offering excuses. I am not a saint; I cannot be that good; it is too hard.
But His mercy will forgive and empower us to live at a higher level of holiness.
He wants all His disciples to be at top strength, interacting with Him and processing His will revealed through trusted means (Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium).
If we give due prominence to Our Lord’s divinity we will have a stronger sense of obligation that we really need to take Him as seriously as He expects from us, and a stronger sense of the power that we can call upon. It is a life-changing, life-defining realization
The words at the Last Supper are for us now, as for disciples then. Ask in His name and good things will happen (Jn 16,24).
We have not been at top strength but even so a lot of good things have happened.
If we pray seeking to believe, we will receive the faith and it will become clearer.
There will still be mysteries but we will know enough to know which path to take. We develop a more reliable sense of what God wants, always of course keeping within the boundaries of the faith.
The Lord has left us in terms of visible presence. But in so many ways we can still reach Him. Let us take Him as He is, God and Man, and not try to change the truth to suit ourselves.
May the Lord guide and bless His Church in the years ahead. Amen
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