Sixth Sunday of Easter

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 16 2024

Membership Qualifications

Groucho Marx once said, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member.” We laugh because usually, the opposite is the case. We don’t want to belong to any club that would have anyone very different from me as a member. The Church, however, is true to its calling when the welcome mat is out for all.

Acts today gives us a “tweeter’s” version of the early council of Jerusalem on the issue of whether Gentiles can be received into the community without circumcision and accepting the Law of Moses. Take some time to read all of Chapter 15 to hear the three important speeches that determined the conditions for the outcome of this debate. The final decision was reached under two influences: “the Holy Spirit and us”—the “us” being Peter, Barnabas, and Paul, and James, leader of the church in Jerusalem.

In a more intimate manner of expression, though no less binding, Jesus speaks about the requirements for having the Father and him come to dwell with the disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” That “word” we heard last week, his great commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. Jesus gives further assurance: “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

In both instances, the Holy Spirit is recognized. May the Holy Spirit always continue to work on the Church’s membership drive and guide the deliberations of its leaders.

Consider/Discuss

What do you see as necessary for being a member of the Catholic Church?
Do you know what the Church declares necessary for being a member in good standing?

Responding to the Word

Holy Spirit, you descended upon Christ at his baptism, guided him through his ministry, and were his first gift after the Father raised him from the dead. Continue to be with his body, the Church, to guide its work so that all its members live according to his word.

Dec 16 2024

Scripture Study for

The question of conditions for membership was one of the most serious disputes that raged in the first years of the church. Since the Jesus movement was originally an internal Jewish renewal, the Jewish Christians continued to observe the religious practices of their former faith, and they expected the same of Gentile converts. However, Paul allowed his Gentile converts to refrain from Jewish observance. An official letter from the Jerusalem church decided the issue. Though requiring minimal observance, this decree affirmed the belief that salvation came only from Jesus and not even indirectly through the law. The vision of the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven recalls several prophecies of ancient Israel, particularly from the book of the prophet Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 40:2; 48:30–35). Coming from God, the city is radiant with the splendor of God. The new Jerusalem is founded on the apostolic teaching; the role played by the tribes of Israel is not as evident. Perhaps they reflect an element of Jewish eschatology that expected the restoration of the twelve tribes at the end time. There is no temple in this new city, because the risen Christ is the place where God and human beings now meet.

Love is the fundamental message of Jesus’ last discourse. He calls for a demanding kind of love, one that is as self-sacrificing as was his own. Jesus and his Father make an abiding dwelling with those who love like this. Like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father. The Spirit is not a substitute for Jesus, but is an emissary, participating in the mission of Jesus by reminding the disciples of the things that Jesus taught them. Jesus’ words end on a note of reassurance. He bequeaths his peace. This is more than a wish; it is a blessing that includes all of the benefits of the Resurrection. Jesus’ peace is grounded in his relationship with his Father and his self-sacrificing love of the world.