Sixth Sunday of Easter
We are drawing near Pentecost, and Jesus is promising to send the Holy Spirit upon those he sends into the world.
Introduction
My question for this reflection: who are we, and what are doing together as Church of Jesus Christ?
My answer follows the steps of the Scriptures of this sixth Sunday of Easter A, beginning with the Old Testament, and ending with the time of the apostles as we see the good works of Philip and the confirmation by Peter and John. The big theme is obviously the harmonious articulation of charism and institution we can translate as personal talent in accord with leadership of the community.
In summary, we meditate today on the whole history of God's faithful love to God's people from times immemorial. This consistent faithfulness of God is now revealed in Christ Jesus whom God raised from the dead, and in whose name great signs are given to those who believe and follow his way. The result of following in the footsteps of Jesus is life in the Spirit, a life of unconditional goodness.
1. God has always chosen people for his praise and honor, and for their salvation
Psalm 66 recounts the good deeds of the Lord in past generation. Because of the signs of his love, the sensible believer stands in adoration before the Lord, and he knows that the spiritual fruit of joy is what the Lord is offering by assisting him in all events of life. This discovery becomes simultaneously a mission to others: Let us rejoice in God! The difficulty with that mission is the very personal character of the experience of God. Could the Egyptians rejoice in the God who drowned their armies in the Red Sea? ‘By no means!' They could just repent and convert to the true God because of the signs they witnessed. This conversion, in our today's language is the relenting from oppression of the poor. It is a recognition, a realization of the dignity and gift of those who have less and live in a dependence of some sort. Seeing God in the oppressed is the most profound content of biblical theology. Seeing God when I see the needy is the safest place for our encounter with the true God as regards illusions and self-seeking sentiments. The story of the crossing of the Red sea and the favorable listening of God to the prayer of the psalmist declare that very fact: God knows about the needs of people. When we have experienced the providence of our loving God, we wish that everybody else would come to the same experience. It is so good to know that God is good, and God cares for our good. But our cross is to be patient because God's timing is not our own timing. Unless everyone makes their own experience, we would be manipulative of imagination, and we would force interpretation upon others – an ethically unacceptable attitude. "Come/taste and see!" Is our word of mission. "Come and experience the truth of God's love!" But what should people come and see?
2. We see Jesus in others, we see Jesus in the Word and bread of liturgy, we see Jesus in acts of love/charity, and we see Jesus in those in the world who need our help[1]
We call the world to experience the teaching of Jesus. Jesus is a man who teaches that the world as it is does not perceive him correctly. He teaches that there is an amount of falsity that leads to death: the belief that we are self-made; that we control the source of our own lives. Jesus teaches that the faithful love of God his Father is not limited to external success alone. But even the things that do not show might, the Spirit of truth may impart with power. In other words, signs are no more limited to the visible realm. "Show me your power and I will believe you!" is untrue, because life is not about power, but about love and unity - and the power that springs from love.
The faithful love of God throughout history is forcefully present in the life of this Nazorean prophet, Jesus whose life is a new teaching, given with authority, unlike the words of other teachers (scribes and Pharisees according to the gospels). No one can derive such authority from himself. God is with us in the life of Jesus, more so in the risen life of Jesus who has conquered death. This is precisely the teaching he is offering today. "When I die bodily, I will return to you in a different form". Paul has already told us (Phillipians' letter) that Jesus was in the form of God; then he took the form of a slave in his ministry on earth in the form of a human person. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit as a Lawyer on our side, so as we shall never be orphans, left alone to ourselves in confusion, faced with hostility. This first fruit of the resurrection is the continuation of the same faithful love of the Father. Logically, God's love precedes us and exceeds us. Therefore, the Spirit of God is both the source and the activity in our lives dedicated to the commandments of the Lord Jesus: Love God and love your neighbor, and know that you still have brothers and sisters whom you have not met yet (John 10: 16).
In Jesus' teaching those who love him are loved by God. This is the certainty of faith. God loves us. And, because of Jesus, God loves us to the point of forgiving us everything we might feel ashamed about, with the mission to search for these other sheep whom God loves also in Jesus by letting the light of the risen Lord shine through us. This light is the outward sign of the indwelling of the Spirit of God.
3. The apostles lived and preached by the Spirit of God
Philip does wonders, allowing people to come to the knowledge of the truth that God loves them, and has always loved the world in various ways. Those various ways do not ignore now the testimony of Jesus through whose name "all is possible to one who has faith". The truth of God's love is a revelation of the sinful part of our human nature which "positive thinking" may lead us to underestimate. Those among us who have experienced grave evils in the world may know how deep human darkness can be. We shall never underestimate the power of evil – that power that killed Jesus in the flesh to convince us again that divinity cannot dwell on earth bodily, that we shouldn't worry about the works of the spirit since we are just our bodies. Our passions and desires can dictate everything and be considered wise guides and accurate discerning principles. Deacon Philip cures diseases in the pagan land of Samaria where Jesus had healed a lonely woman and a community of tough/doubting people. The divine touch is dramatically depicted, but the apostles transmit to them the gift of the Holy Spirit, the silent communion with God that explains everything else. It is not the joy of external relief, but that God is pleased to dwell among us. Within our liturgical celebration, the Eucharist means God's dwelling among us, either we are physically healed our dramatically touched by the Word of God in visible ways or not. The Spirit of Jesus still tells us that God loves us. But what does it mean today to say that God loves us? What do we do with God's love in the midst of our challenges?
4. The community led by Peter the first chosen apostle, keeps alive Jesus' teaching, calling us to mission
Pope Benedict was recently in our midst with words of encouragement. I will not be completely wrong if I summarized his speeches by this simple sentence: "Love one another as Christ-our-hope has loved all of us in integrality, forgiving the bad, healing the sick, and encouraging the good, always mindful of the natural world and the beauty of human true civilization and power."
Peter is very realistic in his words: if it is God's will that we should suffer, who are we to refuse or denigrate God who did not spare his only Son to save us? "It is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong." Respect for differences in the world, courtesy for persons of different walks of life, clear conscience about God's love that defeats death, the ultimate absence of God and life. This faith, no one can engrave upon himself but God alone who creates us in the Spirit of Jesus. Peter alludes to a peace, a certain strength of character which is not derived from "gang-bonding" but from the gathering of individuals empowered by the Holy Spirit to testify to the truth of God's faithful love. As we gather here, we have as many experiences of God's love as our numbers indicate. This is the power of the community of believers in Christ. We have seen different faces of Jesus and we are different faces of Jesus and activities of the Lord.
Let us pray as we wait for the coming of the Spirit of truth and of life, to receive with joy the gift of being Christ's ambassadors in the world, for the hope of salvation unto God, in Christ Jesus.
[1] This is one of the internet folks' stories of faith and faith vision of the world Fr. John Maxwell shared with a number of his friends. I also find it a very helpful poetry to educate our eyes to the vision of Christ's presence today in continuity with the Old Testament:
I Saw Jesus Last Week.
He was wearing blue jeans and an old shirt.
He was up at the church building;
He was alone and working hard.
For just a minute he looked a little like one of our church members.
But it was Jesus, I could tell by his smile.
I saw Jesus last Sunday.
He was teaching a Bible class.
He didn't talk real loud or use long words, But you could tell he
believed what he said.
For just a minute, he looked like my Sunday School teacher.
But it was Jesus, I could tell by his loving voice.
I saw Jesus yesterday.
He was at the hospital visiting a friend who was sick.
They prayed together quietly.
For just a minute he looked like our preacher.
But it was Jesus, I could tell by the tears in his eyes.
I saw Jesus this morning.
He was in my kitchen making my breakfast He then fixed me
a special lunch to take with me.
For just a minute he looked like my Mom.
But it was Jesus, I could feel the love from his heart.
I saw Jesus today.
He was praying on his knees all alone.
He then began to cry for those he prayed for.
For just a minute he looked like a lady from our church.
But it was Jesus, I could see the compassion poured out of his prayer.
I saw Jesus the other day.
He was at the grocery store talking to a friend.
He then put his arms around them to comfort them.
For just a minute he looked like a young mother in our ladies class.
But it was Jesus, I could see the concern for others who hurt.
I see Jesus everywhere,
Taking food to the sick,
Welcoming others to his home,
Being friendly to a newcomer
And for just a minute I think he's someone I know.
But it's always Jesus, I can tell by the way he serves.
May someone see Jesus in you today.
Remember to encourage those you see living for Jesus!
"You are My witnesses," says the Lord." (Isaiah 43:5)
