Christ is Risen! Walking with Jesus on the 6th Sunday of Easter
Acts 8:5-8, 1 Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21
It is good for each of us to stop and take a God check. What does this mean and how do I go about this God check?
I start with the Gospel from John because historically this happened first in time. Jesus states it completely and succinctly: “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” [John 14:15] Jesus is at the Last Supper with His disciples and He is speaking not only to them but to everyone at all times who choose to follow Him. Judas has left the scene, the apostles know the gravity of the situation and are listening closely. Jesus is predicting the future with simplicity and total confidence. They have seen how Jesus can heal all types of sickness and diseases, even raising people from the dead. He has predicted future events, His own death, resurrection and return. Imagine how difficult this is for them to process. Now He is saying He will be seen and unseen … the Father will be sending another Advocate. What is He talking about? How can we see and not see? Who is this Advocate? Was Jesus the first one? And what is an advocate? Use your imagination and focus on the disciples’ intensity in listening to these words for the first time. This makes me stop to see how I am doing as being Jesus’ disciple, a Christian, a member of the Catholic Church … these three really can’t be separated, because I would accommodate one over another. In reflecting on Jesus' words, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” I must know that for the first half of the sentence to be true, the second half must be followed. That means the commandment is: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” [John 13:34] Jesus is saying that the most important commandment is the law of charity.
Jesus knows the apostles love Him and the disciples who follow Him love Him. Judas struggles with that love and makes his own choice. Jesus is and has been teaching the disciples how to live out that love. It's not easy! We certainly know that. Jesus has repeated this over and over. Everything else comes second, including rituals and prayers. Putting love into action, as Jesus showed us in His life and in His dying tortures, is not easy. We want to avoid things that hurt us or cause us pain. Sometimes it may feel that we try to “pray them away.” In having discovered His love for us individually, we leave behind our preoccupation with our own emotions and enter into the realm of being aware of the needs of the people who enter our lives. Then we begin to discover what God has planned and needs from each of us. Jesus tells us in the Judgment of the Nations [Matthew 25:31-46] that in the end, we will be judged on our love … or love for God as it is lived out in our love for our neighbor: the people in our life and all others.
In today's second reading, St. Peter says we do this by “… Sanctifying Christ as Lord in our hearts.” Peter is telling his readers and us to be informed about our faith so we can explain it to others; most importantly in how we are living this belief in God’s total love. If Christ and His teachings are most important, then how am I living them? Do I love when I’m feeling well, when I'm not too busy and only when it's convenient? Do I do it when I can? Jesus never said this … He lived love each and every moment. That’s what He’s is telling us individually today. How am I doing?
In the first reading Philip travels to Samaria not just to proclaim that Jesus is Messiah; he shows it by being His witness in signs: curing the possessed, healing the paralyzed and crippled. …“There was great joy in that city” [Acts 8:8]. It’s amazing that the Samaritans, who were looked upon as heretics in not observing the rituals and practices handed down by their Jewish ancestors, were prime examples of accepting and realizing the power of God displayed before them and they believed. So important was this that Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to bestow the Holy Spirit upon them. God continually helps; we are not alone.
So I reflect on:
“Jesus is aware that the imminent loss of His physical presence will be a blow for His disciples. He reassures them, ‘I will not leave you orphaned.’ The loss of His physical presence will be made up to them by the sending of the Holy Spirit, who will be with them permanently. In our changing and increasingly secularized society, one can easily feel a sense of loss and abandonment. But the Holy Spirit continues to guide and inspire us into new and creative forms of communicating the Good News in ways that are relevant to today’s world.
“I do not need to rely on my own resources but turn to God, who promises to help me, and who sends the Holy Spirit. To be open to the spirit, I must quiet first my body, then my heart. In this time of quiet, God teaches me to see my world differently; I don’t act in it alone but am accompanied by God’s ever-present Spirit.”
It is good for each of us to stop and take a God check. What does this mean and how do I go about this God check?
- It means every person was brought into this world by our loving Father who loves them unconditionally every moment of their life. God doesn’t end there; He desires that each person will choose to live in heaven with Him for eternity.
- The God check is an assessment on how I am doing. Have I seen growth in my living that exhibits choosing: good over evil, caring over refusing, compassion over avoidance?
I start with the Gospel from John because historically this happened first in time. Jesus states it completely and succinctly: “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” [John 14:15] Jesus is at the Last Supper with His disciples and He is speaking not only to them but to everyone at all times who choose to follow Him. Judas has left the scene, the apostles know the gravity of the situation and are listening closely. Jesus is predicting the future with simplicity and total confidence. They have seen how Jesus can heal all types of sickness and diseases, even raising people from the dead. He has predicted future events, His own death, resurrection and return. Imagine how difficult this is for them to process. Now He is saying He will be seen and unseen … the Father will be sending another Advocate. What is He talking about? How can we see and not see? Who is this Advocate? Was Jesus the first one? And what is an advocate? Use your imagination and focus on the disciples’ intensity in listening to these words for the first time. This makes me stop to see how I am doing as being Jesus’ disciple, a Christian, a member of the Catholic Church … these three really can’t be separated, because I would accommodate one over another. In reflecting on Jesus' words, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” I must know that for the first half of the sentence to be true, the second half must be followed. That means the commandment is: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” [John 13:34] Jesus is saying that the most important commandment is the law of charity.
Jesus knows the apostles love Him and the disciples who follow Him love Him. Judas struggles with that love and makes his own choice. Jesus is and has been teaching the disciples how to live out that love. It's not easy! We certainly know that. Jesus has repeated this over and over. Everything else comes second, including rituals and prayers. Putting love into action, as Jesus showed us in His life and in His dying tortures, is not easy. We want to avoid things that hurt us or cause us pain. Sometimes it may feel that we try to “pray them away.” In having discovered His love for us individually, we leave behind our preoccupation with our own emotions and enter into the realm of being aware of the needs of the people who enter our lives. Then we begin to discover what God has planned and needs from each of us. Jesus tells us in the Judgment of the Nations [Matthew 25:31-46] that in the end, we will be judged on our love … or love for God as it is lived out in our love for our neighbor: the people in our life and all others.
In today's second reading, St. Peter says we do this by “… Sanctifying Christ as Lord in our hearts.” Peter is telling his readers and us to be informed about our faith so we can explain it to others; most importantly in how we are living this belief in God’s total love. If Christ and His teachings are most important, then how am I living them? Do I love when I’m feeling well, when I'm not too busy and only when it's convenient? Do I do it when I can? Jesus never said this … He lived love each and every moment. That’s what He’s is telling us individually today. How am I doing?
In the first reading Philip travels to Samaria not just to proclaim that Jesus is Messiah; he shows it by being His witness in signs: curing the possessed, healing the paralyzed and crippled. …“There was great joy in that city” [Acts 8:8]. It’s amazing that the Samaritans, who were looked upon as heretics in not observing the rituals and practices handed down by their Jewish ancestors, were prime examples of accepting and realizing the power of God displayed before them and they believed. So important was this that Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to bestow the Holy Spirit upon them. God continually helps; we are not alone.
So I reflect on:
- I am given a mission to be a light for my world. I am filled with the Spirit to let this happen. To live for Jesus — is that my joy … or my obligation … or both? What do I see as my purpose in everyday life?
- How does my belief and trust in Jesus impact my daily life?
- If I put other people’s needs first, what might happen to my life? How do I think my relationships would change? Would they?
“Jesus is aware that the imminent loss of His physical presence will be a blow for His disciples. He reassures them, ‘I will not leave you orphaned.’ The loss of His physical presence will be made up to them by the sending of the Holy Spirit, who will be with them permanently. In our changing and increasingly secularized society, one can easily feel a sense of loss and abandonment. But the Holy Spirit continues to guide and inspire us into new and creative forms of communicating the Good News in ways that are relevant to today’s world.
“I do not need to rely on my own resources but turn to God, who promises to help me, and who sends the Holy Spirit. To be open to the spirit, I must quiet first my body, then my heart. In this time of quiet, God teaches me to see my world differently; I don’t act in it alone but am accompanied by God’s ever-present Spirit.”
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