Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day, we heard how the Apostles assigned the first seven men to be what is called the order of Deacons, to serve the community of the faithful by distributing to them food and the daily rations, as the faithful at that time, if we read the rest of the Acts of Apostles, lived together as a community, sharing their goods and blessings with one another.

And then we heard in the Gospel about Jesus Who appeared to His disciples in the midst of a storm and walked on the water to reach out to them. The Apostles were scared and doubtful, thinking that they had seen a ghost. Their faith was still weak and wavering, and doubt was in their hearts. And this happened just after Jesus had fed the multitudes of five thousand men and countless other women and children with just five loaves of bread and two fishes.

The disciples then were still not able to comprehend the divine nature of our Lord Jesus, their Lord and Master. They were still in conflict on the nature and the truth which Jesus had told them about Himself. They thought that such miraculous works would have been possible and beyond human ability to comprehend. That was why they were doubtful, fearful and scared as they witnessed what the Lord had done.

But remember what Jesus had told them? Do not be afraid! And that was what He had told them all. It is I, your Lord and Master, do not be afraid! To Thomas, one of His Apostles, who have doubted about His resurrection, and who refused to believe that He had risen from the dead, Jesus also appeared to him, and told him, do not be an unbeliever! Believe!

We can clearly see the transformation between the Apostles at the time when Jesus was still walking with them on earth, and how they were after He had risen from the dead and sent them the Holy Spirit. They were thoroughly transformed, from those who were doubtful and whose faith were easily shaken, have become the pillars of the Church, as the foundation upon which God’s Church were gathered and where it could expand outwards from.

The lesson which all of us can learn from this is that, as all of us are members of the Church, we too have the same obligation as the Apostles to continue to carry on their good works for the people of God, our fellow brothers and sisters in the same Lord Jesus Christ. And each and every one of us can play our part to contribute to the good works of the Lord made through His Church.

We may have our fears, doubts, apprehensions and other things that are in fact obstacles to our active participation in the works of the Church, but this is precisely where we need to make a stand and change our lives for the better. We are just like the Apostles too, as after all, we are all still human beings, with our imperfections, our shortcomings and our weaknesses.

But God made the weak strong, and encouraged those who were downtrodden and without hope. He aroused in all of us the Spirit of love, the Spirit of hope, and the Spirit of faith, His own Holy Spirit through which He brings in us the best of our efforts to care for our brethren, and to show compassion to the weak, the poor and the unloved. And from all this, God will make us the instruments of His grace to the world.

Let us no longer be fearful or doubtful, and instead, let us all step forward filled with faith in our future, as we embark on this journey of faith, and as we celebrate the joy of this Easter season. Let us all be examples of faith to our brethren around us, and awaken in one another the strong desire to love our Lord, and at the same time, the spirit of charity and compassion to each other.

May God strengthen us in our resolve to live our lives with faith, and let us all embark on this journey to bring ourselves and one another closer to God and closer to His salvation. God bless us all, now and forever. Amen.