5th Sunday of Easter (A) 3rd May 2026 Sermon

 5^th Sunday of Easter 3rd May 2026 Revealing God

 Jesus came to show  us what God was like. If you see Me you see the Father as well.(today’s Gospel Jn 14,9)

 And what do we see when we look at Jesus? Tell John what you see and hear – the deaf hear, the blind see, the lame jump for joy – (Mt 11,4-5)

 This is what God is like: He saves, He heals, He lifts up from the ditch… all positive, and someone we are glad to know. He is everything that is good, kind, generous, merciful. He is all good and nothing bad.

 If we do not understand something about God’s promises, the fault will be with us, not God.

 If we can be patient we will understand all that we need to know of God's nature, and His way of acting.

 The whole idea of the Incarnation was that God would come down to the earth and start repairing things. By the time He came there was a lot of sin about - unconfessed, unrepented, unamended, which made a very murky environment for Him to work in. – so far were things degenerated that even when He came He was still not welcomed. (Jn 1,11)

 However, He did work many miracles, which were helpful to the people who received them, but also were strongly symbolic of what was achievable and what was to come.

 Amidst all these happy events, He came also to correct where beliefs and behaviour had become muddled.

 A lot of this side of His ministry struck resistance. Many preferred the dark to the light; many still do, but the offer of salvation is always there.

 He taught us that if we stay close to Him, we will be protected from the worst of the evil going round.  If we give up our false gods, amend our ways, we will know a much greater happiness.

 God is not cruel by nature, as some think, but always working for our advantage.

 Trust in Him (Jn 14,1). Stay on board and you will find all you need.

 If we approach Him He will not turn us away. A humble and contrite  heart You will not spurn (Ps 51,17)

 He came to show us what God is like. We could also say that He came to show us what we are like, or can be like. He took on our nature but without sin (Heb 4,15). He embraced our humanity but also acted to improve it, by removing the imperfections.

 We approach Him then, not in fear but trust.

 By a combination of mercy and grace Jesus will act in and around us to help us go deeper in our search for ultimate happiness; to find that place He has gone to prepare (Jn 14,2).

 At the Last Supper, when Jesus delivered these words, He was trying to strengthen His apostles, to cement them in their faith, so that they could be strong for others as well as themselves. By the time of Pentecost they were ready for that responsibility!

 As we can be ready for whatever mission the Lord has in store for us.