Sunday of the 5^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:26-31; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8

There is an art technique called pointillism, which works pretty much as the name implies: Tiny dots of color are applied to a canvas, one by one. Up close, all you see are the dots. However, as you move away, the dots blend together to form the image the artist had in mind.

It might seem like God uses that same technique to communicate with us. Think of the bible: Every part of every story is like a dot on the canvas; if we focus on the dots, we can’t see the big picture. Only when we step back and allow them to blend does the story of Christ begin to emerge. It’s like that for the daily readings, too. For example, today we see Barnabas managing the entry of Paul into the Church, John writing about love, and Jesus speaking of a vine and branches. While there’s great depth and beauty to each reading when considered by itself, if we step back and look at the big picture, does an overall theme emerge?

Yes, and I think a visual aid might help.

Above is a photo of the stained glass window near the sacristy. The next image is another representation of it. In either, you might be able to see some fairly abstract images; a person embracing God in the center, the cross of Christ next to that, and, on both sides, people interacting in various ways. All of that speaks to the theme of today’s readings – relationships – both God’s relationship with us, and our relationships with each other.

But to explore that theme in greater detail, we have to look at the picture up close. When you do, you will see that it’s not a single image at all, but hundreds of tiny images of our parishioners taken years ago, each image tinted to match the colors of the original window:

Thus, art helps us see the spiritual reality that the Church is not an abstraction, but is made up of real people in relationship with God and each other.

With that image as context, three aspects of relationships in the Church emerge in the readings:

1. Togetherness. Christianity isn’t something we do alone. We’re “in it” together. In fact, we need each other. As we heard in the first reading, even St. Paul couldn’t go it alone. There was no way he was going to just walk into Jerusalem and be welcomed by people he had tried to imprison. Not only that, he apparently irritated some people so much they wanted to kill him! Clearly, Paul had relationship problems and needed help; someone like Barnabas, whose “people skills” found a way to bring Paul in, yet keep everyone united. And look at the result! Where would the Church be without St. Paul, or St. Paul without St. Barnabas? The question for us is, for whom are we Barnabas? Who among us needs encouragement or support, and how can we provide it?
   
2. Belonging. These images represent people who want to belong to God and to each other. They know, as John implied in the second reading, that the only true basis for our relationships is love that is put into action, not love that is merely talked about. Again, the question for us is, how am I putting my love for God and other people into action, or do I tend to talk about it more than actually do it?
   
3. Openness. These images also represent people who, like every member of the Church, have endured their share of suffering and sorrow, yet have borne fruit. We can only do that if, as Christ says in the gospel, we remain in him; in other words, if we keep our will united to his, despite whatever setbacks we experience. That may well be the hardest challenge of all – to look inside ourselves and ask if we remain open to the will of God, even when the answer to our prayers isn’t what we wanted.

In a recent homily, I said that Catholicism is not what we do, it’s who we are. I think this picture, in light of today’s readings, says something very similar: Church is not a place we go, it too is who we are. With that in mind, let’s allow this image of the Church to remind us that, as members of Christ’s Body, we are bound together by his love, no matter where we go; that, no matter how badly we have fallen or been rejected by the world, we always have a place to go and a Father who loves and wants us; and that, no matter how much we suffer or struggle in this life, there is infinitely greater joy in the eternal life that awaits.

—