31 May 2025 – 7th Sunday of Easter | Pentecost Novena Day 3 (Sunset Mass)

by Fr Fabian Dicom

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we hear Jesus praying, not just for His disciples but for all of us. As we heard in the Gospel “May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us as you are in me and I am in You.“

It is a prayer for unity, not uniformity. But a unity woven from love, respect and a deep connection with God.

Now the early Christian community as we have heard in the Acts of the Apostles, lived this out by sharing their possessions, breaking bread together and supporting one another. It was a unity that shone brightly in the face of adversity. The Church always rises up to this. Now the early Christian community was that. But let us be honest.

Let us be honest. Let us look around today, at our church, at our country especially here in Malaysia. We are not that united community Jesus prayed for. Instead we see fractures, cracks that are all too real and painful.

In our parishes, we often organise ourselves by language and culture. Tamil Mass, Mandarin Mass, Bahasa Mass, English Mass, separate communities, separate worlds. We tell ourselves it is practical. But is it truly Christ-like?

And more than that. And still many remain unseen, unheard and left outside the circle. We are happy when we see the church relatively full. But believe me there are many, many more out there.

Sometimes decisions are made in quiet rooms where the Spirit’s voice is stifled, where transparency is missing. We focus so much on rituals, pious practices and appearances, grand processions, decorated feasts, large statues while ignoring the radical inclusive love and justice Jesus embodied.

Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that this is just a church problem.

The church does not exist in isolation from society. The shameful reality is that we, the church, mirror exactly what is happening in our society. We embrace the same politics, the same systems, the same comfort with titles and promotions and positions. What we lament in society, the corruption, the divisions, the systemic injustices are all too often reflected in our own structures and relationships.

In the Malaysian society, these cracks are not just reflections. They are realities. We are part of it. Just because we walk into the church, let us not feel we are immune to it or we are absolved from it. We are part of the Malaysian society.

So racism and religious divisions where policies favour one group over another, economic structures that widen the gap between the rich and the poor, environmental degradation ignored for the sake of development. We got excited about development in Penang but then silencing those who speak up. Even personal relationships have grown distant as fear and suspicion replace trust and friendship.

The story I read of, written by Ravindran Raman Kutty in Sin Chew online: A reflection of unity and division in Malaysia – Are we drifting apart?

Just to get a gist of what he siad. He is a man in his 60s. He decided to organise a reunion of his old classmates from once a vibrant multicultural school. He reached out to his friends across races and religions.

When the evening came, only a few showed up. Just one Malay friend among them. Excuses were made, halal food, busyness. But Ravindran knew the truth. The invisible walls of division had crept into their hearts. What was once natural friendship has now become cautious, strained and even avoided.

And this is where we find ourselves as society, as church. 

But here is the good news. The cracks are not the end. In the First Reading, Stephen the first martyr, as he is being stoned to death, sees something extraordinary.

I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

Jesus is standing, not sitting, not resting, standing in solidarity with Stephen’s suffering. This is important because we must know that He is there.

We heard in the Second Reading, He is the Alpha and the Omega. He stands as a witness, as a companion to those who are persecuted, excluded, broken.

When Stephen saw Jesus standing, it was not a distant vision. It was a glimpse of what is always true, that Christ stands with the suffering. Today He is present with us, not only in the Spirit that moves within our hearts but also through this body of Christ – the Church!

And especially in the Eucharist. And when we break bread together and when we break open our lives for the sake of others, Christ stands with us.

This is how grace flows through our cracks. Because in those cracks, Christ himself meets us, stands with us and calls us to stand with others. In fact, the cracks may be where something new can begin. 

Now think of a dry, hardened land split open by drought. When rain comes, it fills the cracks, turning them into stream of life. Or a clay pot. If it is perfect, it holds water for itself. But it it is cracked, the water seeps out, bringing life to the soil around it.

My dear brothers and sisters, what if we embraced our cracks? In our lives, in our church, in our country. Not as signs of failures but as spaces where God’s grace can flow?

The Second Vatican Council, its very popular document called gaudium et spes number one. Most of us know it. Now I will just repeat the first lie.

The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, ARE the joys and hopes and griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.

So while the church mirrors society’s cracks, while we mirror society’s cracks, the church must but awaken and transform and bringing this transformation into the world. And here is something deeper, also from gaudium et spes.

As the church reaches out to heal the world (and this is important so that we don’t get arrogant), she herself is healed and transformed.

And the document reminds in Number 44 that the Church has learned and can still learn from the experience of the world.

When we embrace the world’s struggles, when we listen (when I talk about the world, it is our struggles), when we listen, when we accompany and stand with those who suffer, the church becomes more fully what she is called to be – A Living, Breathing Sign of God’s Love and God’s Justice.

And therefore, unity and the living out of it (of unity, solidarity) cannot be confined to our church walls. They must flow out into our neighbourhoods, into our schools, our workplaces, into the public spaces.

Only then can we truly witness of the love of God and the dignity of every single human person.

Only then can we be the church according to the heart of Jesus.

In the book of Apocalypse, it gives us this promise. As we heart this evening – Then let all who are thirsty come. All who want it may have the water of life and have it free. When everything seems broken, even when hope feels lost, God’s grace flows freely to fill the cracks, to quench our thirst, to bring life.

So my dear friends, what is our response? What is our response?

~ We cannot just pray for unity while living in division.

~ We cannot say we love God while we are ignoring our neighbours, especially those of different races, faiths and backgrounds.

~ We cannot stay silent in the face of injustice, whether it is racism in our workplace, corruption in our systems, environmental harm or exclusion in our parishes.

We must, we must. And this sometimes feel alien to us but we must speak up for justice even when it is uncomfortable. Cross boundaries of race, language and faith and invite others into our lives. Share meals. Listen to their stories. Break open our comfort zones and let our lives become cracks where love and justice can flow and build a church, the body that listens, that is transparent, that welcomes every voice especially the marginalised.

Imagine if Christians in Malaysia were known not for how grand our buildings are but how deep our love is.

Imagine of we were known not for being ‘holy’ and separate but for crossing divides, standing for justice and bringing people together.

Picture this or picture it. A wall cracked under pressure. Through the cracks a river begins to flow. Just imagine that. A river of living water, unstoppable, flowing through our society, flowing through our politics, flowing through our parishes, flowing through our hearts.

Let us be that crack.
Let us be that river.
Let us be both the crack and the river.

So when Jesus prays, “Father, may they all be one“, our lives will be the answer.

Amen.

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