Homily for 15 Mar 2018

15 Mar 2018

(School Mass)

How many of us here are Christians?  How many of us here are Christian and you follow Jesus in the Catholic way of life?  Go ahead and raise your hands, that’s fine.  I have my hand up.  Okay, good.  There’s lots of Christians here today.  Now Jesus says, “Prove it.”  Prove it.

And that’s an important thing to be able to do.  Otherwise, how do people know that we really are friends of Jesus?  The only way they really know is when we prove it.  Now, in the Bible this is called “giving testimony.”  And we hear about that in the gospel today.

Jesus talks about how John the Baptist “testified” to the truth.  And Jesus talks about himself, too, and how everything he does “testifies” that he was sent by God, and that he is God.  When somebody goes to court and they “testify,” they’re trying to “prove” that something is true or not.  

So we call ourselves Christians; we say that we’re friends and followers of Jesus.  And that’s good.  But then Jesus says, “Prove it.  Prove that what you’re saying is true;” that, yes, I am a Christian.  And that’s not too hard.  In fact, Jesus himself tells us how we can prove it.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his Apostles: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).  This is how all will know that you are my disciples: if you have love for one another.  Our love for one another is what proves that we’re Christian. 

So if you treat somebody badly, you ask for forgiveness.  You say, “I’m sorry.”  And that other person is supposed to say, “I forgive you.”  We fix our relationships and we make them stronger.  That’s a way we prove that we’re Christian: by admitting our mistakes, and being forgiving.  That’s a way we love one another.

Another way is when we encourage others.  You know, it’s very easy to criticize others and to make them feel bad.  And so, we want to encourage one another.  That’s harder to do, sometimes; especially if somebody has done something wrong and you have to tell them.  But even that’s a way we build others up; so they can see their mistakes and, hopefully, get better.  And so, we want to encourage one another, and to build each other up in a spirit of goodwill and friendship.  That’s another way that we can prove we’re Christian.

Jesus says, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  And so, if you’re a Christian, be sure to love one another.  Love one another a little bit more each day.  Because love is how we prove that we’re Christians.