6th
Sunday of Easter (Year A)
First
Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Second Reading: 1
Peter 3:15-18 Gospel Reading:
John 14:15-21
“THE DIVINE
PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”
There
is a touching story told of a humble, consecrated pastor, whose young
son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive
series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son
had a terminal illness.
The youngster had accepted Christ as his Savior, so the minister knew
that death would usher him into glory; but he wondered how to inform
one in the bloom of youth that soon he would die.
After
earnestly seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, he went with a
heavy heart through the hospital ward to the boy's bedside. First he
read a passage of Scripture and had a time of prayer with his dear
child. Then he gently told him that the doctors could promise him
only a few more days to live.
“Are
you afraid to meet Jesus, my boy?” asked his devout father.
Blinking
away a few tears, the little fellow said bravely, “No, not if
He's like you, Dad!”
We
are at the end period of Easter Season and today is the 6th
Sunday. The Gospel Reading of today from St. John continues the
Farewell
Discourse
of Jesus. Ideally situated in the Liturgical Year to anticipate the
coming feasts of Ascension
and Pentecost,
the reading tells both of Jesus’ immanent
departure
and his promise
of the Holy Spirit.
The theme of today’s
Scripture Readings is the proclamation of “The
Divine Presence of the Holy Spirit”
and they refer to the missionary age of the Christians and the
presence and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit to be given to them. In
the Gospel Reading Jesus calls him the Advocate, the Spirit of truth
who will live in the hearts of Christians to console and to guide
them. While the presence of the Holy Spirit is a free gift of God’s
love, it is only received by those who want and prepare themselves
for it. The First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles begins with
the persecution of the early Church in Jerusalem and yet speaks of
the spread of the Church to the surrounding places. Deacon Philip
preaches successfully in Samaria and the Apostles are called to lay
their hands on them so that the community receives the Holy Spirit.
In the Second Reading from his 1st
Letter to the scattered Christian communities, St. Peter urges them
to be ready to engage others in order to explain Christian
expectations. He implies that suffering is a likely consequence of
preaching. It is interesting that St. Peter characterizes
Christianity by its hope, its expectations of what is to happen
because of Christ.
THE
PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
The
Gospel Reading of this Sunday from St. John continues the Farewell
Discourse of Jesus wherein he prepares his disciples not only for his
coming suffering and death, but also for his Resurrection and
Ascension. And he promises them that even afterward he will remain
with them but in a very different way from now. The context once
again is the Last Supper. The reading picks up where last Sunday we
left off. But whereas last Sunday’s passage centered on believing
in Jesus, this week’s passage centers on loving him. Those
who love Jesus keep his commandments. In other words, covenant
fidelity is an outpouring of love. Jesus
is about to leave the world and return to his Father and when
he is no longer physically present,
he promises to send them another
Advocate,
the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth to be with them always.
'Advocate'
is a translation of the Greek word 'Paraclete'
and it carries a range of meanings – Counselor, Comforter, Helper,
Intercessor, Strengthener. It literally means 'one
called alongside to help'
whenever necessary. In other words, the disciples need not be
troubled or afraid because they will never be alone. The Holy Spirit,
the Advocate, will always be with them to defend them, to intercede
for them, and to comfort them.
Many in the world do not
recognize the Spirit. The ‘world’
here represents all those who live only for themselves, who see
everyone else and everything else as stepping stones to their own
advancement, their own pleasure and enjoyment. Such people are
totally deaf to the Spirit. The disciples however, do know the
Spirit, “Because he remains with you, and
will be in you.” So, although Jesus tells his disciples
that he is about to leave them and they are clearly alarmed and
despondent at the idea, he reassures them that he will come back, he
will continue to be with them though in a different way. He
tells them that he will not leave
them orphaned but his Spirit will be with them till the end of time.
Jesus
further says, on that day, the day when he would be lifted up in
glory on the cross, they will realize that he is in the Father and
they in him and he in them! And how would that happen? It is all
summed up in this final sentence: “Anybody
who has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him
and reveal myself to him.”
We love God not just by expressing our love directly for him but by
the way in which we extend our love to all those around us with no
exception whatsoever. And all those who love Jesus will receive the
love of the Father. But how to love Jesus? We love Jesus when we love
him in our brothers and sisters. When we live our lives in this way
we will in turn experience God’s love and grow in our familiarity
with Him.
PEOPLE OF SAMARIA
RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT:
Today’s
First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles is a historical recount
of the event surrounding the giving of the gift of the Holy Spirit to
the Samaritans. Last week we saw that the apostles had ordained seven
men to administer the soup kitchen in Jerusalem. The men, later known
as deacons, quickly expanded their role to missionary work. One of
the deacons, Philip, travels to Samaria and begins making converts
baptizing several people. After hearing this glorious news, Peter and
John, two apostles, go to the city for the express purpose of
confirming those who were baptized by laying hands on them and
conferring the Holy Spirit. In this act of the-laying-on-of-hands for
the purpose of conferring the Holy Spirit, we see the primitive
origin of the sacrament of confirmation as we administer and
celebrate it today.
CHRISTIANS
ARE PEOPLE OF HOPE:
Today's
Second Reading from the 1st Letter of Peter, delineates
the need to participate in Christ’s redemptive suffering as well as
the vivifying role of the Holy Spirit, “Put
to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.”
Christ in his passion is the Savior and model for Christians; it
is he who brings us to communion with God and who shows us the level
of love to which Christians are called by the will of God. Peter
says that Christ suffered for our sins once for all, the righteous
person for the unrighteous, in order to bring all people to God. He
urges them to be ready to engage others in order to explain Christian
expectations. He implies that suffering is a likely consequence of
preaching. It is interesting that St. Peter characterizes
Christianity by its hope, its expectations of what is to happen
because of Christ.
CONCLUSION:
The
Easter Liturgy not only makes us feel the intense saving initiative
of our loving God, but also the deep demands expected of us as
'resurrection
people'
and the inner strength we need to live up to it:
We
are reminded today that we are called to love Jesus; that is part of
the Christian calling. Those who keep Christ's commandments will, he
promises, receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate will
gently indicate the way to us that we should go, the paths that need
to be repaired, the relationships in need of further inspection or
care. For this Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, is a gift from God. And
being from God, it can never do harm, never do wrong, never lead us
into danger. We may of course be led in ways that we did not expect
or anticipate, but if we are truly open to God and all his gifts then
we must also be open to go where he would will for us to go. So
let us ask ourselves once again: Do we earnestly and genuinely wish
for the Spirit of truth to enter into our hearts and stay with us
always? If
we are at all uncertain about any of our answers to these questions,
then let us pray - pray that we might truly be open to the
scriptures, open to God, open to Jesus and what he asks of us in
love. And pray that as Pentecost approaches we too might become
filled with “The
Divine presence of the Holy Spirit”
and completely open to the love and freedom in Christ that is
promised to us as a result.
Again, Christians are people of hope. That is one of
our distinguishing marks. But do we think of ourselves as people of
hope? Are we noticeably hopeful people? Hope is not based on
what is happening to you in the here-and-now, nor on what you might
be able to do or receive in the future. It is based entirely on God,
on our certainty that we are loved by God because he has said so, and
also on the resurrection of Christ. If Christ is not risen then our
faith and hope are in vain.
So, as Eastertide draws to its close, perhaps it is a good time to
ask ourselves: Do I really have hope? Am I a person of hope? And we
can remind ourselves that this hope does not depend on us, on our
strength and determination, but wholly on God's love for us in
Christ, shown in his Resurrection. And this is the Good News of
today.
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