Please read this passage before reading the homily.
My sisters and brothers,
Jesus says, “It is time for me to go.”
In the past two weeks, my sister left for Europe and my next-door neighbor went to Israel. These are people on my emergency call list. If anything happens to me, they cannot help. They did not say, “See you later,” but I expect they will return some day.
Each day we say goodbye to family members, friends and coworkers. Sometimes we keep in touch with smart phones, Skype, Zoom and other similar methods. Even though we ae absent too others, we are present to each other.
Jesus rose from the dead and visited his disciples many times afterwards. Today, on the fifth Sunday of Easter, he tells us that he has to return to his Father ad leave us. We have enjoyed hearing the stories of his resurrection and his presence among us. What is going to happen to us?
Jesus is going back to the Father. He is going to leave us, not to put distance between us, but for us to put our hope in him that we shall follow him to where he has gone before us.
Although Jesus has left us, nonetheless, he is with us in the Church. He is publicly here in this assemblage for Mass, in the proclamation of the Scriptures, in the work of the priest, and in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. Jesus is with us in our family, in our work, throughout the days and nights of our life.
The mystery of Christ is that he is always and in every place of the universe, in heaven and on earth. He is always with the Father in his glory and with us in our everyday lives.
Jesus is closer to us than our family, our friends, and our next-door neighbors. We do not say goodbye to each other, but rather, “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus!”