Neli ML

  Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 2024 Jesus the True Vine. John 15:1-7 Rev. Neli Miranda A vine plant has its base on a main stem called trunk, which sends down roots for water or nutrients. Each year, the trunk sends out new shoots near the ground that grow upward and outward to become branches. The branches are not self-sufficient but rely on being connected and receiving nutrients and water from the main vine trunk through the sap that flows between them. In spring, buds form on the branches, the buds become leaves and then flowers, and flowers develop into grape bunches. So, the final fruit, the grapes, come from a generous, interconnected, intertwined system whose base is the trunk underground that nourish es the whole plant through the sap’s circulation.   A vine plant needs regular pruning by gardeners/vinegrowers who also cut off dead, dried or unfruitful branches. This is the splendid image Jesus used to describe his relationship with God and his disciples.            

  Fourth Sunday of Easter 2024 Psalm 23 & John 10:11-18 Rev. Neli Miranda Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter, known as the Good Shepherd Sunday. It was Pope Paul VI who instituted this celebration in 1964 in view of the crisis in the decline in numbers of the new vocations, both in seminaries and convents. This day was established as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations or Vocation Sunday and is celebrated not only in the Catholic church but also in other Christian traditions like the Anglican church. It is customary on this Sunday to read the Gospel passage of the Good Shepherd and other related lessons like Psalm 23.    Since biblical times, the shepherd’s role has been associated with the leaders of the people, particularly with the religious leaders who guided the people in their spiritual life. And traditionally, Christian leaders have been considered shepherds of the people in our world.   Shepherding is one of human’s oldest occupations, even before agri

Third Sunday of Easter Luke 24:36b-48 Rev. Neli Miranda On the first two Sundays of Easter, we read the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection recorded by the Johannine tradition, which tells us that it was Mary Magdalene the first disciple to see the risen Jesus and the first to be sent to proclaim the great news of Jesus’ resurrection to the first community of disciples. This is why she is recognized as the apostle of apostles in Christian tradition. According to this account, none of the disciples reacts to Mary Magdalene’s good news, no one goes out looking for the risen Jesus; rather, we read that w hen it was evening, they are locked down for fear of the Jewish authorities . So, it is Jesus who comes among the fearful community and greets them saying, “ Peace be with you!”   We continue to read about the crisis that came to the first community of disciples after Jesus’ execution. Certainly no one had understood what Jesus had foretold about his resurrection until he comes among th

  Second Sunday of Easter 2024 John 20: 19-31 Rev. Neli Miranda   “I have seen the Lord!” This is Mary Magdalene’s glorious announcement on Easter morning. Very early, while it was still dark, she had come to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for his final burial, but what she found was that the stone had been removed from the tomb and with great anguish she saw that there was no body inside.   As the morning advanced, she experienced great desperation and desolation as she continued to seek for Jesus’ dead body; however, at the end of her seeking, she encountered not a dead body but the Risen Jesus!   The removed stone and the empty tomb had now transformed into good news. So, with great joy she went and announced to the first community of Jesus’ disciples, “ I have seen the Lord!” Mary Magdalene’s announcement has brought light, joy, and hope to twenty centuries of Christian spirituality, but on that early Easter morning, the first community of disciples was paralyzed by fear