5th Sunday of Easter
Fr. Ben Riley
A few years ago, I was having a conversation with an acquaintance of mine near the Buffalo River. Let’s call her Rachel.
Rachel is not a believer. She had experienced a lot of church hurt as a child. She had been taught a version of Christianity that focused almost entirely on guilt and shame, and very little on the love and mercy of God. So it’s not surprising that she drifted away from God many years ago.
And honestly, these are the kinds of conversations I love. Because, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, you’re trying to bring some healing to a wounded heart.
Rachel and I talked about a lot of things. She struggled with the hypocrisy of Christians—people who claim to follow Christ but live very unchristian lives. She struggled with the Bible, not trusting a text that has been translated so many times. But most of all, she said something that I think a lot of people today would agree with.
She said, “I don’t see why I need the Church. I believe in God. I’m spiritual. Why would I listen to a hypocritical pastor when I can just read the Bible myself?”
And I imagine, sitting here today, that some of us have had similar thoughts. Or at least, we know people—friends, family—who have asked those same questions. People who have been hurt. People who have drifted. People who still believe in God… but don’t see any need for the Church.
And at first glance, it can sound reasonable.
If God is everywhere…
If I can pray on my own…
If I can read Scripture by myself…
Then why the Church?
And this is where the readings today speak in a really powerful way.
In the first reading from The Acts of the Apostles, we hear something easy to miss: a large number of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Those priests were not just random people. They were the Jewish ministers of the temple—the place where God and His people met. And if they were coming to believe in Jesus, it means they were recognizing something: not that the temple was being rejected… but that it was being fulfilled, in Jesus.
Then Peter makes it even more clear.
He says: Christ is the cornerstone.
And you—each one of you—are living stones being built into a spiritual house.
In other words, the temple is no longer just a building.
It is Christ.
And it is His Body, the Church.
And this is the key:
The temple has always been the place where God meets His people. Not where people go searching blindly for God— but where God has chosen to make Himself known.
And that means something very important.
Because many people believe the spiritual life is about searching for God. Searching for Him in prayer, devotion, holiness. But see, if the Church is his living Body…
The search is over.
God is not hiding.
He has made Himself present—here, in His Church. In His Word. In the Sacraments. In a real and concrete way. Jesus says:
“l am the way and the truth and the life.” Not just a guide. Not just a teacher.
But, The way.
And people encounter that way… through Him… and through His Body, the Church.
So for us.
It means the Church is not optional.
It’s not just a helpful add-on for spiritual people.
It is the place where heaven and earth meet.
And today, we are seeing that in a very real and beautiful way.
Our second graders are about to receive their First Holy Communion.
For the first time, they will receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Not a symbol.
Not just a reminder.
But His real presence.
The temple has always been the place where God meets His people.
And here—at this altar—that meeting happens in the most profound way possible.
God does not stay distant.
He gives Himself.
He comes to us.
And these children are encountering Him for the first time in that
But now here’s the part we can’t miss.
You are not just people who come and watch that happen.
You are part of the temple.
You are being built into it.
Which means your life is meant to become a place where other people may encounter God.
And think about this:
These children are not just learning about Jesus from a book.
They are learning from you.
From your example.
From your reverence.
From the way you live your faith.
You are helping shape how they will understand what they are receiving today.
Think about your own life.
Who helped bring you closer to Christ?
It probably wasn’t just an idea.
It was a person, or many people.
Someone whose faith was real.
Someone whose life made God visible.
That’s how the Church works.
Not just through programs…but through people.
Through you.
And that means your life is not neutral.
You are either helping people encounter God…or making it harder for them.
And, so imagine this.
A stranger, someone who is searching, maybe a Rachel, walks into this church, our parish.
And what do they encounter? Not just a pretty building…but a living temple.
A people who believe that what is happening at this altar is real. A people who receive the Eucharist with reverence.
A people whose lives reflect the presence of Christ within theme
Because that’s what you are.
Living stones.
Built on Christ.
A place where God meets His people.
And the beautiful part is this:
There are people out there like Rachel.
People who are searching…
And God’s plan… is to reach out to them…
Through you.