Sixth Sunday of Easter

Jan 14 2025

Living into the Mystery

The Easter season keeps offering us pictures of what happens when the power of resurrected life, given by Jesus to his disciples, enters the world. Sometimes it led to a recognition that one group should not be favored over another, whether they were widows or Samaritans. All were to be served; all were to receive the gospel.

When the deacon Philip began to preach Jesus as the Messiah, the people of Samaria listened. They not only heard Philip’s message but also saw the power of God’s salvation at work as he cast out demons and cured people who were crippled and paralyzed. With the new birth of faith came baptism and a reception of the Holy Spirit, when Peter and John laid hands on them.

The Holy Spirit continues to bring the truth of who God is and the strength to help us live in that truth, fully revealed in Jesus. Because of the Spirit, we dwell with the Father and the Son. Jesus’ promises come to fulfillment in us; we are not orphans but beloved sons and daughters, the divine life of the Trinity flowing in us. In the Eucharist Jesus comes to be with us, and brings the Father, for he is in the Father and we are in him and he in us.

Resurrection life commits us to living out the command “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15). The Spirit brings hope and, as Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical “Saved in Hope” (Spe Salvi), “The one who has hope lives differently.”

Consider/Discuss

What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit with you as an “Advocate,” that is, a “counselor” or “protector”?
Jesus says the world cannot accept the Spirit of truth “because it neither sees nor knows him.” Does this mean the world is beyond hope?

Responding to the Word

We ask the Holy Spirit to be with us always, so we may live more fully in an awareness of the truth that is Jesus Christ, beloved Son, who came to teach us what it means to be children of God. Pray to be more aware of your intimate com munion with the Father and the Son.

Jan 14 2025

Scripture Study for

Philip, one of the seven men appointed by the Jerusalem community to attend to the needs of the Hellenistic widows, travels north to Samaria. Though Jews and Samaritans pursued different paths, they both lived in expectation of a messiah. This shared hope explains their openness to Philip’s preaching, which is supported by exorcisms and healings. By their baptism, the Samaritans were incorporated into the community. Whether the Spirit was conferred on them when they were baptized or when the apostles laid hands on them is a lesser matter. What is important is the reconciliation in Christ between the Jews and the Samaritans.

The First Letter of Peter tells the Christians that they must respond to the suffering they will endure for their faith in a way that will enhance the spread of the gospel. Peter offers the sufferings of Christ as an example to follow. He places their sufferings within the context of the holiness of Christ, which gives them both strength and courage. He explains how the suffering of Christ was a vicarious sacrifice that effected redemption for all. The reading ends with a traditional formula of Christian faith in the Resurrection, built on the classical contrast between flesh and spirit. Though he died in the flesh, Christ is alive in the Spirit. Following his example, even though they die in the flesh, they can hope to live in the Spirit.

Jesus calls for self-sacrifice, as was his own love. He insists that if the disciples truly love him, they will keep his commandments. Though his departure might leave them feeling abandoned, he reassures them that he will return. The real marvel of this passage is found in the description of mutual indwelling. Jesus is in the Father; Jesus is in the disciples and they are in him; both the Spirit and Jesus will remain in the disciples. This is the manifestation of the love that begins and ends this reading.

Jan 09 2025

The Spirit’s Joy

I was having a conversation with a well-educated Catholic layman, who asked me what I was writing about. I said, “Mission.” His eyes lit up. “You should go talk to Father M.; he spent a lot of time in Africa!” I grinned. Mission: the word evokes exotic places and visiting priests or nuns telling hair-raising stories. Many people of faith still interpret “mission” as something someone else does somewhere else. What is expected is to give money to the “missions.”

Yet mission also means “purpose.” Researchers tell us that a personal sense of purpose leads to greater well-being. A famous saying is, “The two most important days in your life are the day that you were born and the day that you find out why.” Where does Christian purpose come from? Why are we here?

Jesus promises that the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will be with us always. As we are washed with that indwelling tender Spirit, we in turn fall in love. Daily life is no longer the same. We may be fishermen or computer programmers, students or professionals, preachers or lay ministers, parents or grandparents—when we encounter the friendship of the living God, we are changed. We are filled with radiant joy. Mission is not just something someone else does somewhere else. Mission is what we do, right here, right now. It doesn’t matter so much what we do in daily life, but how we do it. The Holy Spirit’s joy gives us purpose.

As Pentecost approaches, we can prepare to be empowered and sent out into our ordinary twenty-first–century lives to be extraordinary people. This is our calling, our obligation. This is also our delight. We are to be an enthusiastic people of purpose, with determination, resolution, drive, tenacity, and commitment to living Jesus’ joy-filled way of life.

Consider/Discuss

One of the tensions in the last five weeks of the Easter season is the contrast between the first readings from Acts, which tell stories of what happens after Pentecost, and the Gospels which are rich with Jesus’ admonitions to help the disciples get ready for Pentecost. How do our lives dwell within that paradox—living in the Spirit now while also waiting for the Spirit’s fullness to come?
We are given a mission to be light for the world. We are filled with the Spirit to accomplish that mission. To live for Jesus—is that our joy or our obligation—or both? What do we see as our purpose in everyday life?

Living and Praying with the Word

Come, Holy Spirit! We need a new Pentecost, a revival of faith. Our world needs renewal. We cannot do this by ourselves. We need you. Come with your rushing wind. Come with your mighty power. Come, hidden joy of the world. We pray together in deep need: come, Holy Spirit and renew the hearts of your faithful.

Jan 09 2025

Scripture Study for

In Acts, the gospel proclamation radiates from Jerusalem, eventually reaching Rome. Just previous to this passage, we read that persecution in Jerusalem has scattered the disciples “throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria” (8:1). Philip, one of the seven “deacons” chosen in last week’s reading, finds himself among the Samaritans, a people long estranged from Jews. His preaching of the Jewish Messiah, accompanied by healings and exorcisms, leads nevertheless to many being baptized. This might be considered something of a reconciliation between Jew and Samaritan, and therefore a sign of the kingdom of God. The effect of the baptisms is completed with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the apostles.

The letter of Peter supports persecuted Christians in their struggle to remain faithful to Christ. Echoing one of the Beatitudes, the apostle reminds his audience that they are blessed who suffer because of righteousness (3:14). Righteousness means, among other things, responding to hostility as did Christ, the Lord of their hearts: with peace and gentleness. The animosity they face for being Christians constitutes a temptation to respond in kind, a temptation that should be resisted, lest they act with a bad conscience and do evil. Those who suffer for Christ can be strengthened by the reminder that he too suffered and although he died “in the flesh,” he now lives “in the Spirit.” His followers can expect the same.

The Last Supper discourse continues with Jesus’ promise of the Spirit. He has just assured the apostles that he will not abandon them but will return to take them to the Father (see last week’s Gospel). Now he promises them that in the meantime, he will send “another” Advocate, suggesting that the Spirit will do for them what Jesus did. And indeed the Spirit is a Spirit of truth, as Jesus himself is the truth (14:6). He then reverts to his promise to return, using language that emphasizes the mutual indwelling of Christ and his followers. It is on the basis of this indwelling that the followers are commanded to love Jesus, and thus be loved by the Father and by Jesus. To those who love, God the Father and the Son will be revealed.

Dec 10 2024

Does God Love Me?

I sat at her kitchen table with a cup of tea. She had been at a retreat that I had given a week earlier, and she wanted to talk about it. “You know, I really don’t believe you,” she said. That sharpened my attention. “Would you tell me about that?” I asked. “Well,” she said, “You told us that the core of our faith is that we are loved with a mighty love by a wonderfully good God.” I nodded. She shook her head. “I can’t believe that.” She went on, “I believe that you believe that. And I believe that God loves you.” She looked down at the table. “I just don’t believe that God loves me.”

That was twenty years ago. Since then, as a hospital chaplain and a teacher, a spiritual director and a preaching coach, I have heard it many times, though perhaps not said so explicitly. Others have that same block of being unlovable. I cannot just intone, “God loves you.” It does not it sink in.

I recently participated in a seminar on childhood trauma. It began to fit. Trauma survivors are not helped by solutions. “God loves you” sloughs off like oil in a non-stick pan. Trauma survivors are helped by developing resilience to deal with those early experiences that do not go away.

Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “We will make our dwelling with you.” Resilience comes through that “with.” Love comes in relationship, that there is Someone who walks with us no matter what life has thrown at us. That presence is what brings peace. The Spirit is our Advocate, God by our side here and now.

And yet . . . even as I write them, these words also just feel like words, solutions. The experience of divine presence—that is what will heal our hearts. Holy Spirit, come, make it so!

Consider/Discuss

It is estimated that 50 to 70 percent of the people who sit in the pews of Christian churches have been impacted by some kind of childhood trauma. One of those people may be you. One of them may be your brother or spouse or child. How has the presence of God, Father, Jesus, Christ, Holy Spirit—whatever name for the divine works best for you—helped you to cope with life’s experiences? What words could you use to share that sense of presence with someone whom you know that needs healing? What words don’t work?
Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” These words come just before he is to suffer the deep and difficult trauma of the cross. Pain is real. Yet we are in the Easter season of resurrection; we believe that the Lord has transformed this valley of tears. Healing is also real. Death and destruction are not the final answer. How does Easter resurrection give you peace and/or hope?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord God, you who love us so deeply, we come to you for presence. We turn to you in silence. We wait for you. You know the broken places within us. You know where we block you out. You know where we have been hurt. Sometimes we cannot believe the words that we hear about you. Sometimes they feel too good to be true. Come and be with us. Walk with us. We are afraid. We are troubled. But we bring you that fear. We bring you our troubles. We cannot walk through this valley of tears alone. Be with us. Help us. Let us not be afraid to come into your presence, to enter into your glory. Be present with us now in quiet and in splendor and in peace.