May 09, 2010 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23; Jn. 14:23-29 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings:   http://www.usccb.org/nab/050910.shtml       ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________     Jesus cautions the disciples that the test of love is whether they keep his word or not. "Whoever does not love me, does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from God who sent me." We can live with the mystery because we can trust the one who is making the promise. The caution is not to lose what God has given us. To walk on in trust that we are not alone but that he is with us.   Jesus tells his disciples that he will be leaving them. In a sense, they will be alone. Although he promises to send them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, they will have to fend for themselves. While Jesus was alive, the disciples trusted in his ability to hold opposition at bay. Where will they find the strength and direction they need when he is gone?   We see that Jesus had been faithful to his promise: the Holy Spirit was indeed present and active in the life of the church. The disciples had not been left alone. They were part of the church, along with Paul, Barnabas, Silas, the Gentile converts, the apostles, elders and the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. They would be able to derive strength and direction from the Holy Spirit working through the church.   If we look at the church today from a human perspective, all we see are limited women and men. But we have not been left alone. The power of the Holy Spirit has transformed us into the glorious holy city of the new Jerusalem envisioned in the reading from Revelation. That city is not only magnificent in the splendour of God, it is fortified against intruders. Fortified by the Holy Spirit, we too can live lives of openness and compassion. In the community of love, which is the true image of the church, no one is alone.   We are not limited to the world we know but can with open hearts and minds seek a world that still will be revealed to us. The future brings the joy of new experiences with God, but they are based on what Jesus has shown in his teachings, in his life, and in the days following our lesson in his death and resurrection. One of the great works of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is to reinforce what Jesus did and is doing. When the peace of Christ is at the center of our lives, then we have the strength of our convictions to let go of what has been and to receive the promise of what will be.     <<   Previous: 5th Sunday of Easter  | Next: 7th Sunday of Easter >>   Go Back to SERMONS (Year C)