HOME

Sermon

LINKS

MEDITATE

THOUGHTS

ARCHIVES

Audio 

Sixth Sunday of Easter (C)                                                                             John 14:23-29

The Resurrection of Christ, meant the opening of the gates of heaven for all mankind. By repeating references to heaven in our second readings Sunday after Sunday, through this Easter season, the Church encourages us to concentrate and meditate on the future that awaits us. These readings reflect St. John’s apocryphal description of his visions of the beauty of heaven to give us hope and assure us that there is a place of eternal joy, beyond our imagination, when we end this life here on earth. It is necessary for some of us to be reminded, every so often, of where we are going or should be going.

It goes without saying that our present day Church has been facing a very serious crisis of disunity among the hierarchy, but our new Pope Leo XIV, elected by the Holy Spirit, is preaching unity and love, in his first homily as Pope; a hopeful sign for the future. It may be helpful to recall that there have been other serious dilemmas facing the Church over  the past centuries. Now in no way do I intend to minimize the seriousness of our current situation. Rather, I want to share how these scripture passages offer us hope for the life of the Church as we proceed with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

In our first reading from The Acts of Apostles we hear the story of the very first Council of the Church known as the ‘Council of Jerusalem.’ They made a vital decision that would effect the Church through all generations with the guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit. In fact, at the conclusion of that holy Council they stated that “this was the decision of the Holy Spirit and ours.” 

Our gospel is taken from the Last Supper discourse of Jesus with his Apostles after their Passover meal. Jesus has expounded his teaching very clearly, but the Apostles do not yet fully understand it. Jesus promises them that when he returns to the Father they will receive the Holy Spirit, who will teach them all things and help them recall all the things that Christ had taught them. In other words, the Holy Spirit would assist them to preserve and interpret the “Deposit of Faith” — i.e. the sum total of divine revelation given to us for salvation. 

That promise was fulfilled, at the Council of Jerusalem as we have heard, less than twenty years after our Lord’s Ascension into heaven. It has been fulfilled again and again down through the history of the Church. One proof that the Church is the true Church of Christ is the reality that it still stands as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic after thousands of years and the attacks of many armies and ideologies which have tried to destroy it from outside and from within. The Church today is 1.4 billion people, the body of Christ, moving to one goal, the heavenly glory that St. John relates to us in his visions. 

The Holy Spirit breathes where he wills, Jesus tells Nicodemus the Spirit is like the wind, we don’t know where it comes from or where it goes. But we do know that he assists the Church locally and universally. He inspires Christians if they call upon him in their need. He inspires young people if they listen to him, and they are doing that more today than ever before. He is at work among us and among our separated brothers and sisters, helping to inspire that unity for which Christ prayed. 

The Risen Christ greets the Apostles with Shalom (peace), which was and still is the common form of greeting among Jews. The Church still uses this greeting in our liturgy when just before communion we greet each other with the ‘Peace of Christ.’ The peace which Jesus gives is a peace that transcends the peace of the world, which is often procured by violence and is always unstable. The peace of Christ is reconciliation with God and reconciliation of people with one another; it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is so much more than just greeting our neighbor; Christ’s peace is serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart, a bond of love. No one can live in unity with Christ if he does not keep his covenant of peace. 

Soon we will celebrate the day Christ returned to the Father, his entrance into glory, and from which he sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to remain with his Church until the end of time. Therefore, we should never despair or lose hope in our Church or its teaching. We must have faith in what Jesus has promised us. He gives special grace to us who believe and yet we have not seen him like St. Thomas saw him. Yet we believe he is our Lord and our God, he is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God from God, light from light, true God from true God.   Amen.