The readings on this fifth Sunday of Easter present us with themes of dwelling places and home. As Christian stewards, we recognize that this world is not our permanent home. We are pilgrims here, making our way through the stewardship way of life toward our true home — heaven.
Yet, as we journey toward heaven, we are called to make our dwelling here — whether we live alone or in a full and busy household — a true “domestic church.” In other words, the stewardship way of life begins long before we set foot on parish grounds. Stewardship starts at home.
We see this lived out in the earliest days of the Church in our first reading from Acts. The community faced a real concern when “their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” When needs are not met within the community — especially basic needs — or when a spirit of service is lacking in our homes and relationships, we are not living as the stewards Christ calls us to be.
Stewardship is not simply about attending Mass once a week, serving in ministries, or giving financially to the parish. These are essential expressions of stewardship. But stewardship begins well before we arrive at church. It begins in our families — our domestic churches. The home plays a vital role in our sanctification because it is the primary place where we learn and practice self-giving love.
Ultimately, stewardship is not something we do — it is who we are. It is a way of living out our baptismal call to follow Christ as His disciples — in our parish life, our work, our relationships, and certainly in our homes.
In our second reading, St. Peter reminds us, “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” He is speaking not only to clergy, but to all the baptized. Each of us is called to participate in this spiritual priesthood through the offering of our daily lives.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “It is here that… all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way ‘by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.’ Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and a ‘school of human enrichment’” (1657).
In our Gospel passage from John, Jesus speaks of heaven as a home filled with dwelling places. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” This is a beautiful image of the glory that awaits us and the personal love our Lord has for us — preparing a place for each one of us who remains faithful to Him.
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