HOMILY 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER 2025
JESUS PROMISES THE SPIRIT OF PEACE AND ENDURING PRESENCE
Jn 14.23-29 AA 15.1-2,22-29 Rev/Apoc 22.12-14,15-17,20
Backwards and onwards we go, with the return to Jesus’ long, long farewell discourse in John’s Gospel. It’s heavy theology really, with the complexities of the mystery of Jesus’ relationship with the Father whom he reveals in himself and then the Spirit who is to come. There were all sorts of theological misunderstandings and conflicts over this text in the early centuries of Christianity, as Jesus speaks of the Father being greater than himself. To my mind, the entanglements of theology are not so important as faith in accepting the mystery and that Jesus reveals a God of love and life through his own presence among us, with the promise of the Spirit to guide and accompany all the way. We express it every time we begin to pray with the Sign of the Cross. (There was a slight misunderstanding with one of our young students, learning his prayers, who said ‘In the name of Father John, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit’!)
Scripture scholar Raymond Brown comments on the conundrum of Jesus’ identity: “Stressing the theme of his departure, Jesus consoles his disciples by a promise to return to take them to himself, so that they may be with him. Throughout, the flow of the Discourse if furthered by those who ask questions reflecting their misunderstanding, and so Thomas’ question leads to one of the most famous proclamation of the Gospel: “I am the way and the truth and the life”, and Philip’s question leads to Jesus’ ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… I am in the Father and the Father is in me.’ This mutual divine indwelling leads, in turn, into the theme of how the Spirit, Jesus and the Father will all dwell in the Christian.”
Ultimately, the key point is that, despite his impending physical absence, his presence will continue through the coming of the Spirit. The words advocate, from the Latin, refers to being called alongside, to accompany, and paraclete, from the Greek, meaning either defence attorney or, moreso, in John’s Gospel, as prosecutor. It all sounds a bit legalistic, but, in fact, simply refers to ongoing presence and guidance.
On Friday, we celebrated Confirmation with about 90 of our Year 6 students, conferred by our new regional bishop, Rene Ramirez, a down to earth and affable chap, with no airs and graces, a worthy successor to Bishop Terry Curtin, now able to enjoy a well-earned retirement at nearly 80! The hope is that our almost teenagers will take the message to heart of the responsibility and commitment to producing the fruits of the Spirit by taking the Gospel of Jesus to heart and applying it to the way they live their lives. We can only hope, but it was a full church with families and friends on Friday! That’s at least a start!! The theory and theology are one thing, but ongoing practice is, of course, another! 6 more to baptize this weekend as well, so they do keep coming!
Significant, too, is Jesus’ call to peace being lived out, particularly in a world where there is so much conflict and discord, where there should be a willingness to find common ground and resolve differences amicably through dialogue. Pope Leo XIV continues the tradition of his predecessors as spiritual leader, calling for peace, in a world so divided. His first words of greeting, from the papal balcony, were ‘Peace be with you’, to a waiting world, and not just the Catholics or Christians. We can only hope that this message will be taken to heart as time goes on, in a troubled world.
And now, with Easter season nearly over, we are reminded that his presence endures, as we continue to commit ourselves to producing the fruits of the Spirit, starting with the fundamentals of love and peace in our own lives.
As for early Church life today, we hear how the expanding Christian communities adjust to the need for a broader understanding of what is truly important in living faith, and, more generally, the need for a process for conflict resolution. It goes far beyond external rules, regulations and traditional practices, to which those of Jewish background were accustomed.
As usual, some know-alls, of their own volition, and without reference to the leaders, had decided to insist on imposition of what they were used to, on those expressing faith in Jesus and wishing to join the community. Paul and Barnabas see the need to consult and confer, before concluding that the essentials were avoidance of bad behaviour, in other words, sin, and the dangers of idolatry, with focus on the one God whom Jesus reveals.
What is more, one can imagine that many of the old dietary laws evolved from health and hygiene requirements, probably including male circumcision! But some always fail to see the wood for the trees, as to what is really important!
As Claude Mostowik says: “Jesus calls his disciples and us to let go of whatever prevents one from living lives of integrity, solidarity and justice for all in God’s reign. It might be comfort, security, fear, self-interest, prejudices, and self-protection by isolation. God is pushing the boundaries of acceptance and love. Paul pushed the boundaries of Christianity away from a ghetto-like fear and timidity or self-interest… It becomes real when we act with compassion, gratitude and generosity of heart every day. It calls us to dismantle barriers that divide, to seek to understand others, to forgive those who hurt us. It nudges us to open ourselves to God’s Spirit and to became advocates ourselves for the poor, the forgotten, the dispossessed and the alienated.”
Then we come again to the weird visions of John in Revelation, where the faith dimension is in seeing the enduring presence of Jesus among us as the “Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” as we say at introduction to the Easter Vigil, offering the food and water of life, in a spiritual dimension, pointing to the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist.
Once again, Claude Mostowik MSC has some further worthwhile insights, to conclude: “With the Risen Jesus in our midst, we find that we reveal his presence in even the smallest act of selfless kindness. We may find that joy in little wounds we suffer in trying to bring God’s love into our environments and our hearts. It reveals the heart of God. As Leonard Cohen once said: ‘If the wound of Jesus comes to express his love for humankind, then it will never heal.’ This the case for all who give love by their presence and actions. Let us not be blind to the power of the Resurrection.” And so we faithfully keep trying to live as active disciples.
john hannon 25th May 2025
And in the midst of the terrible conflict between Israel and Gaza, there are small signs of hope, with Gershon Baskin, veteran peace activist and hostage negotiator and Samer Sinijlawi, a like-minded Palestinian peace activist and advocate, out here to present “a shared vision for an end to the war and a revived 2 state solution”, out here to speak about negotiating peace, in what appears to be an insoluble scenario. There are still moderate people of hope and reason who see ways forward, despite all that has gone in the wrong direction, of suffering, death and disaster.