"Be match-makers!"

Homily of Archbishop Franciso Padilla at the Opening Mass for the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Jesus Youth in the UAE

Today we open the celebrations of the 25 years of the foundation of the International Association "Jesus Youth" in the UAE. Most of us are somehow familiar with the origins, growth and the achievements of this movement, which began in Kerala in 1985 and in the past 35 years have spread to 35 countries in the world. The life of the members of the association and their mission is to experience the joy, vitality and fullness of union with the life of Christ and to bring the same to others so that they may be led to Christ.
 
This mission of the Jesus Youth - to live the life of Christ and bring others to Christ - is highlighted  this morning in the Eucharist as we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew who was an apostle even before he was called by Christ to be an apostle.  The Greeks have called him the "protoclete" because he, in some sense, was the first one called and we could call him likewise the  "proto­ apostolos" because among the apostles at least he was the first one to bring the good news of salvation to others and to bring others to the Lord. So it is fitting to coincide the celebration of the Feast of  St. Andrew with the opening of the celebration of the jubilee. He followed the calling in today's gospel: "Come after me and I will  make you fishers of men ". This calling the members of Jesus Youth have also received.
 
I am sure that the reason for the spread of the Jesus Youth movement is due to the hunger of its members for Christ and the truth. St. Andrew was a disciple of St. John the Baptist but as soon as the Precursor pointed to Jesus and said: "Behold the Lamb of God , he who takes away the sins of the  world", Andrew  immediately  sought to follow Christ, along with another disciple of the Baptist who was almost certainly the man who would become St. John the Evangelist, the one who would write down the details of the encounter for us in Jn. 1:35-42. They wanted to know Jesus more and these two were tailing Jesus at a distance so much so that at one point Jesus turned to them and asked: What do you seek? And nervously they answered "Where are you staying?" Jesus invited  them to a dialogue and experience and a relationship:  "Come and see".  Because it was approaching the sundown in the sabbath,- so great was the  first  impression of that first encounter with Jesus that St. John noted the precise time "about 4pm" - they needed to spend about the next 26 hours with him.  And what an experience of joy, vitality  and fullness of life. This would also have been the first experience of the members of the Jesus Youth in encountering the Lord . And they knew that this joy had to be participated in. It cannot be kept to themselves. So they told others and others became curious and  they came and became members of the group to partake of the experience.  Look at Andrew. Even he, after this experience with the Lord, ran to his brother Simon and announced: "We have found the Messiah" and he brought his brother to Jesus. He wanted his brother to experience the same joy.
 
The founders of the association had the same experience and little did they know the result of their mission of bringing others to Christ. Now they are spread in 35 countries, 25 years in the UAE and they are present in many parts of the country. Little did Andrew know what Jesus' plans would have been for his brother that he would become the rock upon which Jesus would build his church. All he did was to bring Simon to Jesus and Jesus did the rest. Likewise we never know when we bring others to Jesus, what he will do with them. They may become the great Saint. They may become a future priest or even a Bishop and the Pope. What we need to concentrate on is simply sharing the joy of our encounter with Christ to others. We have encountered God many times and received him in the Eucharist. And we are called to share the joy of that reality with others, seeking to bring our brothers and sisters, friends, neighbours, colleagues to Jesus and let him reveal to them their vocation in this world. May this be the fruit of the jubilee celebrations.
 
I am happy to see that the Jesus Youth members are doing exactly this and I encourage them to do more,  to invite more, to travel more to other places to convince people of this wonderful and joyful experience and to preach the message of Jesus Christ, thus becoming true evangelizers. For this work rhymes well with what Paul has just told us in the first reading:  "But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And  how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent?"
 
Another relevant incident with Andrew is when Jesus has to feed the 5,000 people. It is Andrew who brought the boy to Jesus who had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus miraculously multiplied them for the people to be satisfied. All the apostles were surprised by what Jesus could do when one brings others with their gifts (in this case the boy with the little he had) to Jesus. The boy gave his basket to Jesus. When we bring others to Jesus and convince them to give generously to him like this boy, Jesus  can multiply those offerings and do tremendous things. Our task, like Andrew, is just to match-make others to Jesus and to be generous of all our gifts and talents for the service of Him.
 
Yes the work of match-making others to the Lord,­ this is your magic word - "matchmaking". I know the members of the Jesus Youth went from place to place in the UAE where there was no formal presence of the Church. They came, found people and tried to match­ make them to the life of Christ. And Christ did the rest. They were successful and in recent years they established communities in East Africa and in Jordan.
 
Let me end by referring  to the  Apostolic  Exhortation of Pope Francis "Evangelii  Gaudium,  the Joy of  the Gospel".  This   document   reawakens  all of  us to the mission of bringing Jesus life and the good news to others and bringing others to Jesus.  The Pope mentions that as a Christian, I do not have  a mission. I am a mission. The whole reason to exist is to fulfill  this mission. We are alive because we bring the joy of our encounter with Jesus to others.  We are breathing so that we can attract others through that joy to come and meet the Lord.
 
Dear members of the Jesus  Youth,  do  not  be discouraged when  you  encounter  challenges,  counter­-currents in the fulfilment of your  mission.  Entrust  your life to the Lord and the Holy Spirit will come down to bring you again this new experience of encounter that brings joy and vitality.
 
We thank the Lord for your presence and work. We thank you for your generosity and dedication. God will multiply them a hundred  fold.  May you continue to celebrate jubilees of 50 and 100 with more  members filled with joy and vitality of the risen Lord.
 
Amen.