Sixth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 57
When the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated the following Sunday, the second reading and Gospel from the Seventh Sunday of Easter may be read on the Sixth Sunday of Easter.
Reading I
Some who had come down from Judea were
instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders
about this question.
The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”
Responsorial Psalm
R (4) O God, let all the nations
praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let
his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all
nations, your salvation.
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you
rule the peoples in equity;
the nations
on the earth you guide.
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the
peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all
the ends of the earth fear him!
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
Reading II
The angel took me in spirit to a great, high
mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
As Christians, we must remember that we do have a blueprint regarding how we should live our lives. From Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church, there is a clear path forward to a joyous life. Jesus told us through His disciples that whoever loves Him will keep His word. This means abiding by His teachings and obeying what He has to say. Yes, there are times when we all will make mistakes and fall short, but it is the intent that matters and the realization that, when we do wrong, we acknowledge it while committing ourselves to do better in the future. Each day can present an opportunity for us to correct ourselves and strive to improve ourselves in comparison to the previous day.
A good friend of mine once asked me if I thought that I was a different person from yesterday and if I would be a different person tomorrow. I had to contemplate the question. Change usually comes over a long period of time and includes a process of learning new things and new ways of doing things. Habits and behaviors are not easy to break, and learning takes repetition. There are examples throughout history of immediate change, but these usually include Divine Intervention, such as with the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. For the rest of us, can this happen? I then realized that, through our daily experiences and the gaining of wisdom, we do indeed change on a daily basis. He was making a point that, regardless of the circumstances that we might find ourselves in, we can better ourselves and transform ourselves into a better person immediately if we really want to.
Jesus is always here to help us with this change. There is no limit to what He can do, and we can participate completely in this process if we just surrender to Him. This act of surrendering requires listening to what He says and reacting to what is said. Our faith requires action and cannot just be an acknowledgment of what He is saying. The truth that is revealed through Jesus Christ must be reacted to so that it may affect how we conduct ourselves. Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church serve as the foundation and what we do with it becomes the structure that will define our lives and how fulfilling it will be.
Jesus told us,
“Remain in me and I will remain in you.”
We are living tabernacles. Created by God, we are a part of Him. To feel His presence and the movement of the Holy Spirit, our actions must reflect our thoughts and our present state of mind. Jesus doesn’t mean that He will leave us if we don’t listen to Him or adhere to what is being said. Instead, He is indicating that when we don’t listen to Him or obey His words, we are pushing Him away and turning our backs on Him. He has no choice in the matter. We are loved so much that, if it was up to Him, He would always be with us. Unfortunately, how can that be the case if sin, by its very nature, is a turning away from God? By its definition, sin an act that includes either pushing God out or leaving Him. It is an independent act that God has no part in or control of. What Jesus is saying is that, if we want Him, He will always be with us.
That is how much Jesus loves us: all we have to do is ask, and He will be with us. The asking part is necessary because of the gift of Free Will that God gave us. He wants the decision to be ours. As Jesus said,
“Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened.”
Even though a relationship with God may appear to be hard at times, that is because of conflicts that we bring upon ourselves: the constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. The flesh and all the pleasure that it offers can be a formatable foe, especially when it is also the tool of choice that Satan uses to put a barrier between us and God. We should remind ourselves that, when we give into the temptations of the flesh, we are welcoming evil into our lives. Harmless and enjoyable some things may seem to be, they will almost always lead to darker things. In the end, anything rooted in this world and absent from the influence of God, will lead to emptiness and disappointment. Saint Francis said,
“The more things we have, the less we are able to love God.”
This is evident as to why Jesus always de-emphasized the necessity of material wealth. He challenged the rich man to give away all of his possessions and to follow Him. He said that the widow in the temple giving all that she had was more important than the rich man who gave so much more. Through Jesus Christ, we are far richer spiritually than we could ever be chasing material wealth. You cannot serve both God and mammon.
In the world today, we are overwhelmed with information and what can be described as “white noise.” Our time is divided and our senses tantalized incessantly. We must focus ourselves inward where we can find Jesus Christ. We can then be guided through this maze called life, avoiding the pitfalls that we all too often create for ourselves.
There are no short-comings and self-inflicted wounds when Jesus Christ is factored into what we say and what we do.
Deacon Tom
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