6th Sunday of Easter Year C 2022

 

6^th. Sunday of Easter (C)

(Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29)

 

 

Today, dear People of God, let us give careful attention to those words of Our Lord:

Whoever loves Me will keep My word;

for they are a ‘buckler and shield’ against difficulties easily arising from alienating aspects of modern society which may undermine the confidence and commitment of some Catholics and Christians.

For example, much public good is done today; but, not as of old, by individuals and volunteers of good-will promoting purposes of healing both spiritual and physical, while seeking financial help from benefactors great and small.  Today’s good works which are part of what has been called by a modern writer, the progressives ‘imposition of improvements’ and cancellation of Christianity:

are centred only on physical and mental health, spirituality being cancelled;

are imposed and hedged around with criminal terminology such as ‘hate-crimes’ etc.;

are backed by continuous propaganda on national TV concerning colour and to a lesser extent, gender;

are, often, seized upon by over-excited student bodies for slogans such as ‘racist’, ‘divisive’, ‘slavers’; where student-pride leads them to want to change history to suit their own present-day immaturity.

Obviously, being tarred by their obligatory nature, such improvements are questionable as regards their original purpose as well as their ultimate intention.

            Whoever loves Me will keep My word.

Jesus’ words of guidance are also helpful for well-intentioned believers puzzled by individuals known to them who do not practice any religion and say that it is not necessary for people to go to Church in order to live a good life.  Such a puzzle left unanswered at the back of one’s mind and being repeatedly encountered in an ever-more secular society, can generate vague feelings of insecurity, sow tiny seeds of anxiety and doubt, in remote corners of the hearts and minds of some believers.  And should they, subsequently, encounter others positively antagonistic towards religion and who scornfully refer to the faithful as ‘church-goers’ ‘hypocrites’ and other like terms of disdain or even contempt, then those believers can find themselves robbed in some measure of the peace, joy, and confidence which should normally accompany their faith.

            Whoever loves Me will keep My word.

 Dear People of God, those words of Jesus are a most sure buckler and shield when accepted and understood in the way innocent children embrace what their parents have told them, and hold on to that teaching despite the challenges and mockery of ‘smart alecs’ in the school ground, or ‘big mouths’ in the university campus.  As disciples of Jesus we are called to lovingly centre our lives on Him, to keep Him ever in mind, recall and act on His words with calm confidence at all times … not to bother ourselves with what others around think, remembering those other words of Jesus, ‘they hated Me, they will hate you’, ‘you are not of this world just as I am not of this world’.

The Catholic, Christian life is both peaceful and sure where love of Jesus is strong and true, and where trust in the Spirit He has given us is child-like, leading believers, first of all, to recognize and embrace Jesus’ will for them: fruit, which He the true vine, wants them as His branches, living by the sap of His Spirit, to produce for the Father, and to thereby allow the Spirit, to form those disciples ever more truly in Jesus’ likeness and enable them to share ever more fully in Jesus’ own joy and fulfilment.

Nevertheless, on the human level faithful disciples can still at times wonder, how irreligious people, and indeed, sometimes, openly evil people, can appear to be both charming and attractive.

For the answer to this, we must continue to ponder Our Lord's words, for we have much more to learn from Him that may seem strange to us if our patterns of thought have too often been formed by commonly held opinions rather than Christian teaching.

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. 

Notice that pronoun "My".  Today, people are very familiar with the supreme Christian prayer, taught by Jesus Himself, which goes: "Our Father, who art in heaven ,.. "   Many call that prayer the "Our Father", but that is not accurate enough, it should be called "The Lord's Prayer" because it was a prayer given by Jesus to His disciples, not to anyone and everyone.   God does indeed love all His creation because He created it; and mankind, the culmination of His creation is supremely loved by God: they alone are made in His likeness.  Now, it is just there that we come across the reason why we can, at times, find some non-religious people so puzzlingly attractive: it is because we are still able to see in them aspects of the rich endowment and subtle beauty of God’s crowning creation; and, indeed, the closer we ourselves are drawn to God, the more such people can move us, at times, to appreciate what is, whilst regretting, most sorrowfully, what might have been.

Of those disciples who learn to love and obey His teaching, we are told that Jesus said,

My Father will love them.

Now, the Father loves such disciples because of their love for and belief in His only begotten Son, and thus loving them for Jesus’ sake, He loves them as His own adopted children in Jesus.  The Father also endows such disciples with a new and supernatural beauty because, being living and vital members of Jesus, they therefore share, even here on earth, something of His Resurrection beauty and glory.

Now, there is a world of difference between God's love for creation, between God’s love for mankind as the crown and culmination of His natural creation, and His Fatherly love for His supernatural children, born of the Spirit, in Jesus.  And in order to experience God in this new way, as our heavenly Father, our love for Jesus must become ever and more whole-hearted:

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. 

My dear Catholic and Christian people, our God is not cheap.  His love is the supreme Gift, treasure, blessing, of any human life; and when the Father and the Son come to us, they bring also with them the Holy Spirit to be our very own Advocate, Counsellor, and Guide:

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and will remind you of all that I told you.

With Him, the Spirit of Jesus, present as divine Gift in our soul, guiding, comforting, strengthening, delighting, and inspiring us for Jesus' sake, then, indeed, we can begin to truly experience God’s presence in our heart as the heavenly Father's love, as Jesus' companionship, and as the Spirit's comfort, strength, peace, and joy.

People of God, you are called, destined, to be citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom, therefore, do not worry yourselves, like Lot’s wife, looking back at what the world is doing around you, or sideways at what people are thinking or saying about you.  Leave hold of the world,   

Whoever loves Me will keep My word,

or, as one of our hymns puts it, "Walk, walk, in the light of the Lord" and, indeed, do your very, very, best to walk ever forward, with a firm step, a steadfast heart, and by the Spirit in true Easter joy.    

                        (2022)