6^th Sunday of Easter (C); May 22, 2022

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29.  Ps 67.  Rv 21:10-14.  Jn 14:23-29

Deacon Jim McFadden

         In today’s Gospel, we heard a passage from Jesus’ farewell discourses.  Our Lord is giving his last thoughts as a spiritual guide to the Apostles before he enters his Passion and Death.  Today’s reading makes it very clear that Christian faith is completely grounded in the relationship of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.  God is Love and the Father, who is Lover, pours himself co-eternally and completely into his Beloved Son, who does the same.  And, in that mutual loving, the Holy Spirit comes from their relationship.  And, what is so remarkable is that God, who needs absolutely nothing from us, wants us to share in this Triune love now and forever!  We do so day by day, through the Holy Spirit who teaches us what the Gospel means, teaches us the logic of self-giving Love.

            That’s why Jesus speaks very directly about the work of the Holy Spirit and makes a promise: “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26).  As he moves towards the Cross and his inevitable death, Jesus reassures his Apostles that they will not be abandoned, left alone; indeed, the Holy Spirit will always be with them, the Paraclete, who will support, energize, and motivate them in continuing Jesus’ Mission to deliver the Gospel throughout the world.  In the original Greek, the term ‘Paraclete’  means the One who positions himself alongside, to support, and comfort.  Since Jesus will no longer be physically present to his disciples, the Holy Spirit will be a replacement, so to speak, who will teach them what the Gospel really means and to recall for them everything Jesus said—but, this time from the perspective of his Death and Resurrection.

            Throughout Jesus’ earthly life, our Lord  has passed on all that he wanted his Apostles to know.   In Jesus resides the fulness of Revelation—there is nothing more that needs to be revealed regarding our salvation, since he is the Word made Flesh and is the sole and universal Savior of the world.  The Holy Spirit’s task is to remind, that is, to enable a full understanding of the Good News and to induce us to concretely implement Jesus’ teachings in our lives.  And, this is precisely the mission of the Church, which is done through a very specific way of living: namely, self-giving generosity.  Such a unique lifestyle  is characterized by a few non-negotiable requirements: faith in Jesus and observance of his Word; docility to the movement of the Holy Spirit, who constantly renders the Risen Christ alive and present with our heart and soul and the gathering Church assembly; acceptance of his peace and the witness we give to the Risen Christ through an attitude of openness and genuine encounter with our neighbor.

            To accomplish all of this the Church cannot remain static.  In the spiritual journey there are only two directions: we’re either moving towards God or away.  As we live out our baptismal promises of being priest, prophet, and king, we are called to act as a community of believers who are on a common journey, who are tasked with the responsibility of bringing the Light of Christ to the darkness of our world.

 In order to live this radical call to discipleship, we have to free ourselves from attachment to the goods of the world—especially , individualism, consumerism, status, hedonistic pleasure, and power—and to place ourselves  in docile listening to the Word of the Lord, as we discern  what the Father’s will is in our lives.  Thus, it is the Holy Spirit who guides us and the Church, so that Holy Mother the Church may reveal the authentic, beautiful, and luminous face of Christ Jesus to the world. 

Today, the Risen Christ is inviting us, the People of God, to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, so that we may be guided on our Abrahamic journey as we realize our destiny.  Day-by-day the Holy Spirit teaches us the logic of the Gospel, the logic of self-giving love, by “teaching us all things” and reminding us “all the Lord has said to us.”  Amen.