Homily: Third Thursday of Easter

Third Thursday of Easter (Acts: 8:26-40) “Let Me Tell You About Jesus”

One attitude that the early Christians had that we could imitate is what we might label missionary zeal. How easy it is to avoid the topic of religion. Someone we may know might not know much about Jesus. What do we do? Do we invite them to have a conversation about faith? If we do what might happen?

The Ethiopian Eunuch in the bible passage we read today was not part of any one religion, but he did have a hunger for faith. He was a seeker. He had something stirring within him that led him to search for knowledge about God.

He was led to the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. He did not understand what he was reading, but he wanted to know. Philip could have said that he did not want to waste time talking to someone who was not a Jew about Jesus. But Phillip was ready to talk to anyone about his faith in Jesus. He eagerly struck up a conversation with this Ethiopian stranger.

We break down people in our society into different groups when we talk about religion. We have people who belong to a particular denomination. We have those that have fallen away from the faith they grew up in. Finally, we have those that have never been exposed to Christian teaching.

We find it easier to talk to those who have some knowledge of Jesus when we are doing the work of evangelization. Quite often we concentrate on those who have fallen away. We might think that they’re predisposed to come back. We also feel more comfortable talking about faith with those who belong to other churches. Quite often the Christian churches just trade members. We call that evangelization. Real evangelization is introducing Jesus to those who have never heard of him. Phillip was not afraid to do that, and his zeal led to a man’s conversion and new life.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Do I know someone who doesn’t know Jesus? Am I comfortable introducing them to Jesus?

2.   When was the last time I got into a conversation about God with someone? Has it been a long time?

 Dear Parishioner,

             I had a couple of phone calls recently from people who wanted to talk about their faith. These were people who did not belong to Sacred Heart but felt the Spirit stirring in them.

            When I receive such a call, I invite the person to come to my office and talk. Many times, this initial conversation leads to a longer conversation. Sometimes it leads to the person joining our OCIA program.

            If you are uncomfortable talking to someone who is a seeker feel free to direct them to Fr. Matthew, myself or Sandy Carlsten. We would love to speak to them.

            May Our Lady of Peace pray for us,

            Fr. Mark