2017/05/21 — 6th Sunday of Easter — Year A

As Eastertide enters its last two weeks, the readings turn our attention toward the Holy Spirit.

The first reading — Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 — tells of the reception of the gospel in Samaria. Philip was one of the seven who were appointed to "wait on tables" to insure equity in the daily distribution, as we heard in last week's first reading. In chapters 6 and 7 we hear of Stephen's works, preaching, trial, and martyrdom. Now another deacon is preaching the gospel. Despite the reason behind their selection for ministry (with an installation which has marks of ordination), they cannot refrain from proclaiming the gospel.

Stephen's activity was in Jerusalem, but Philip goes to Samaria. Up to this point, we have only heard of the Church in Jerusalem — the work and preaching of the Apostles there and the opposition from the Sanhedrin, culminating with the martyrdom of Stephen. Philip is the first to proclaim the gospel outside Jewish territory. The Church had to verify that this extension of the faith into foreign territory was authentic.

The apostles' prayer brings the Holy Spirit manifestly upon the Samaritans. Although Baptism brings the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which Jesus promises, there was with Jesus and the early Church an empowering anointing by the Holy Spirit which believers received. We can see this as corresponding to Confirmation.

The responsorial psalm — verses of Psalm 66 — speaks generally of our joy in the goodness of the Lord. Our joy is based on the Resurrection of Jesus, with all it means. The response, extending the call for joy to all the earth, can remind us of the extension of the gospel beyond Judea.


In the second reading — 1 Peter 3:15-18 — there is a "stream of consciousness" which calls us to good conduct of various sorts and concludes with a reminder of Jesus' saving work. This connects with the theme of the Holy Spirit in two ways. There is an explicit reference to the Spirit's place in Jesus' resurrected life. Beyond that, it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to sanctify Christ, to give respectful explanations of our faith, and to keep our consciences clear by avoiding evil conduct and doing good.


The gospel — John 14:15-21— like last Sunday's is an excerpt from Jesus' discourse at the Last Supper. He is looking forward to the time after his ascension. He promises the sending of the Holy Spirit, here called Advocate and Spirit of truth. This promise was first fulfilled at Pentecost, again at Samaria and on other occasions recounted in Acts, and the Holy Spirit continues to be given to believers, to dwell in us.

Jesus then promises that his ascension will not leave us orphans: he will come to us. He will return at the end of time to gather those who love him to himself. It seems there is more to this promise than simply that. We will see him when the world no longer sees him. We see him in the sacrament of his Body and Blood. We see him in another way in the least of his brethren.

Next, Jesus tells us that he is in the Father and in us, and we are in him. Elsewhere he has told us the Father is also in him (John 14:10). Implicitly, then when we are in Jesus, we are also in the Father and the Father is in us — and as Jesus had just said, the Holy Spirit is in us. This reciprocal indwelling of the faithful and the Trinity is the form which our baptismal adoption takes. We participate in the life of God, which is eternal life.

An Italian Salesian daily missal I got many years ago draws this point out in a way that explains why Jesus' command at 15:12 is not "Love your neighbor," but "Love one another as I have loved you." The love which exists among the followers of Jesus is of a higher order that that which can exist with non-believers, since it is a  share in the internal love of the Persons of the Trinity. Nevertheless, we are also called to love all our fellow humans. It seems to me that this love is analogous to God's love. The love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was so great that it "had to" express itself in the creation of a loved universe, including humans with whom the love could be reciprocally shared. God loves all people and wants them to be saved, and the divine love in us must also overflow into to love for all and a desire for them to be saved. This love should motivate us as it motivated Philip's preaching in Samaria. We should not neglect opportunities to explain the reason for our hope; and our lives — keeping Jesus' commandments — should reflect God's goodness.

2015/07/19 — 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Although this Sunday's gospel is not one in which Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, we can still think of this as a Good Shepherd Sunday. The readings invite us to ask ourselves two questions: “What kind of shepherds are we?” and, “What kind of sheep are we?” They also invite us to be thankful.


Jeremiah — Jer 23:1-6 — begins with a condemnation of the bad kings of Israel. Their failure to follow the covenant had led the people’s hearts away from God, and now king and people are being taken away from the promised land into exile. But this is not the end. God will bring his people back to him and give them good shepherds, and a descendant of David as their king. There are two stages of fulfillment of this prophecy. There was a return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. Several centuries later, Jesus came as Messiah, and established the Church with its constant supply of shepherds. As Paul points out, Jesus also accomplished a further gathering of God’s scattered people by uniting the Gentiles with the Jews.

So the question, “What kind of sheep are we?” asks how well we follow the shepherds God has given us, our pastors in the Church. Do we respect them and their office? Do we tend to wander off on our own?


The responsorial Psalm is Psalm 23, in which we reflect on the fact that the Lord is our shepherd.


Last week we heard of the sending of the Twelve on their mission. Now we fast forward to their return in Mark 6:30-34. When the Twelve return, Jesus invites them to get away from the crowds and rest. But for Jesus, there is no escape, no rest, other than the nights he spends in prayer. He encounters a crowd that is like the people of Jeremiah’s time: they are without a shepherd, so he teaches them. The shepherd can never neglect the flock. He must always be ready to take care of their needs.

It's not explicitly in this passage, but building on the promise of (plural) shepherds in Jeremiah and the conferral of authority on Peter and on the Twelve in Matthew, we can realize that Jesus wants his people always to have a shepherd, so he will establish a church with its shepherds.

As Christians, we share in Jesus’ mission. Certainly, in many ways, the people of our time, immersed in its spirit, need real guidance. At times we are to be the ones who teach God’s message. We are to be the shepherds for those who need to be guided and cared for. While we may be called on to be shepherds on various occasions and in some ways generally to the world around us, there are various specific relationships in which we are shepherds: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, teachers, coaches, group leaders, supervisors, mentors. Some have explicit duties of teaching the faith. All have the responsibility of modeling Christian behavior. What kind of shepherds are we? Do we show people the joy of the gospel? Does God’s love shine in us? Do we gather God’s people, or do we scatter them? Do we drive people away from God’s flock by being unwelcoming or excessively demanding or critical?


If we have to ask ourselves how we’re doing, and to ask for whatever grace we need to be better and do better, we also need to take a few moments to realize what God has done for us. The second reading —Ephesians 2:13-18 — tells us something of God's goodness. Most of us are Gentiles, not descendants of the Israelites. Our ancestors 2,000 years ago didn’t know what God had taught the Jews. They were those whom Paul categorizes as "far off" from Israel and God's promises. But with the saving act of Jesus, reconciling both Jews and Gentiles with God through his cross, the time had come to spread knowledge of salvation to the whole world. God wanted us as well as the Jews to be his people so he extended the covenant to us. Of course the fact of our sharing in redemption is something we should always be thankful and praise God for. It’s really good news!


So in light of this Sunday's readings above all we thank God for seeking us out and calling us into his flock. We seek to realize what it means. We ask Jesus to teach us as he taught his disciples, how to live as his people. We ask him to teach us how to continue his work and to enable us to be good shepherds to those he has placed in our lives and — as far as possible — to the world of today.