|
Sixth Sunday of Easter
2007
May 13, 2007 –
Year: C
Acts 15:1-2, 22-9; Rev. 21:10-4, 22-3; Jn. 14:23-9
The
Holy
Spirit, the
Human
spirit and the
Christian
spirit.
First Reading...
"Certain individuals came down from Judea and were
teaching the brothers, 'Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.'
And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and
debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the
others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss
this question with the apostles and the elders.
Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of
the whole church, decided to choose men from among their
members and to send them to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas,
leaders among the brothers, with the following letter:
'The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the
believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and
Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that certain
persons who have gone out from us, though with no
instructions from us, have said things to disturb you
and have unsettled your minds, we have decided
unanimously to choose representatives and send them to
you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have
risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who
themselves will tell you the same things by word of
mouth.'
'For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to
impose on you no further burden than these essentials:
that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols,
and from blood and from what is strangled, and from
fornication. If you keep yourselves form these, you will
do well. Farewell." [Acts 15;1-2, 22-9]
Second Reading...
"In the spirit the angel carried me away to a great
mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming
down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and
a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as
crystal.
It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the
gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the
names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; on the
east there were three gates, on the north three gates,
on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on
them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord
God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need
of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is
its light, and its lamp is the Lamb." [Rev. 21:10-4,
22-3]
Gospel Reading...
"Jesus said to his disciples: 'Those who love me will
keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will
come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does
not love me does not keep my words; and the word that
you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent
me.
I have said these things to you while I am still with
you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, will teach you everything, and
remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not
give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts
be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I am
coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that
I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater
than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs,
so that when it does occur, you may believe.'" [Jn.
14:23-9]
Helpful Story:
A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For
many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a
dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well
afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited
signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on
the morning of his graduation his father called him into
his private study. His father told him how proud he was
to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved
him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.
Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened
the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible.
Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said,
“With all your money you give me a Bible?” and stormed
out of the house, leaving the holy book.
Many
years passed and the young man was very successful in
business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family,
but realized his father was very old, and thought
perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since
that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements,
he received a telegram telling him his father had passed
away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He
needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness
and regret filled his heart.
He
began to search his father’s important papers and saw
the still new Bible, just
as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the
Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those
words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind
the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s
name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had
desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and
the words...PAID
IN FULL.
How many times
do we miss God’s blessings because they are not
packaged as we expected?
Another Story maybe helpful:
In Church, when the priest had gone for
lunch, the statue of the Lord and the Stepping Stone
were conversing.
Stepping Stone: “What a good fate you have. We both were
the same lump of rock for millions of years. The
sculptor carved an statue out of you and every one is
worshipping you and lighting candles. And look at me, I
am a stepping stone and every one stands on me and
stamps on. What kind of life is this?“
The
statue kept smiling and never bothered to answer this,
now, routine murmur from the stepping stone. But the
stepping stone (stone used as a step, that is) will
never stop his constant bickering.
One
day the statue broke silence and replied: “But do you
remember that when the sculptor set out to carve a
statue, it was you he chose, first. You were so
impatient. In one strike, you broke in to two. But when
he tried on me, I grinned and bore all the hammers and
chisel strikes with PATIENCE. Here I am the worshipful
and happy to be here and you are the Stepping Stone ….“
The
difference between success and failure is patience and
persistence. Remember the gifts and graces just don’t
come. They come to us the way we prepare ourselves…
Gospel Reflections: (Try
to link your homily it to the stories above)
Make the homily interesting trying to
find situations around you, among the people and try to
create your own anecdotes.
During
the Gospel Reading, you may have perceived the Christian
unity in those who obeyed the command of Jesus. The
command of Jesus was, "Those
who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love
them, and we will come to them and make our home with
them." [Jn. 14:23] Those who love Jesus,
they are of one spiritual mind with the others who also
obey the command of the Lord.
When considering our presence here today, it is a sign
of our Christian spirit. United in one Faith in the Lord
Jesus, we are gathered here to adore and worship our
Lord, our God. In the Catholic spirit, we are united to
receive the blessings that are bestowed upon those who
receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that is the
Living Bread.
How many of us come just to fulfill this obligation? Or
how many of us come to get things from the Lord? Or how
many of us are really convinced that the Lord is ready
to give us the biggest gift of life – PEACE?
The
second common factor that is found in all of today's
three readings is that we are called to do all
things in the spirit.
Jesus said, "The hour is coming, and is now here, when
the true worshippers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth,
for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God
is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth." [Jn. 4:23-4]
What
does it mean to do all things in the spirit or to
worship in spirit? It means that when we received the
Sacrament of Baptism, just as Jesus was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, within us, a new
creation was raised from death to walk the new life that
was received through Christ. [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12] (628)
Without the Sacrament of Baptism through water and
Spirit, we could not enter the Kingdom of God. [Jn. 3:5]
The
greatest gift is love and life in the Lord Jesus
This
gift of God, instituted through Jesus Christ in the New
Covenant, fulfills the promises of the Old Testament.
During the Sacrament of Baptism, we received a new heart
and a new human spirit. [Ezek. 11:19-20; 18:31] Through
our new heart, we have become children of light. We have
been blessed with a spiritual mind that enables us to
worship God in spirit and in truth.
During
today's First Reading, we can perceive how Paul,
Barnabas, Barsabbas, Silas, the apostles and the elders
answered their call to do all things in the spirit.
Embracing a spiritual mind,
these followers of Jesus placed the Divine Will of God
first. They faithfully served the Lord for
the common good of all. By subjecting themselves to the
authority of the Church, they sacrificed their personal
opinions on the subject of circumcision.
This
is an exemplary model for those who cling on to mixed
feelings regarding abortion, birth control, cloning,
euthanasia, female priesthood, etc... By accepting the
final decision of the Holy Catholic Church, one finds
peace of mind. Through peace of mind, one can answer his
calling to do all things in the spirit as a new creation
of God.
During
today's Gospel Reading, we heard Jesus say, "Peace I
leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to
you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them
be afraid." [Jn. 14:27] When we do not do all
things in the spirit, our hearts are troubled. We are
afraid because deep inside we know that we are in
disobedience and the Wrath of God is pending. We are
afraid because the Spirit of Christ talks to us in our
hearts and reminds us that we are not walking in the
spirit. The peace of Christ comes to us when we
obediently submit ourselves to God's Divine Will through
the authority of the Church. Then, we are blessed with
Divine peace; we are no longer troubled or afraid. The
mixed feelings that we once had, they have faded away.
The third common factor that is found in all three of
today's readings is that we are called to walk with the
Spirit of Christ. When we walk with the Spirit of
Christ, we shine in the fruit of the Spirit. These are
love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control." [Gal. 5:22-3]
Those
who walk with the Spirit of Christ, they are led by the
Spirit. When the apostles and the elders reviewed the
issue of circumcision that Paul and Barnabas had brought
before them, such was done under the guidance and
leadership of the Holy Spirit. This truth is affirmed in
the content of the response that the Church authority
sent to Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. The reply from
Jerusalem began with the words, "For it has seemed good
to the Holy Spirit and to us..." In other words, they
were walking in the Spirit of Christ, proclaiming
spiritual wisdom that had been made known to them
through the Holy Spirit.
During
the reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus made
reference to the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father would send in His Name.
Such was fulfilled on the
day of Pentecost [Acts 2:1]
when the Lord Jesus breath
the Holy Spirit upon His disciples. [Jn. 20:22;
Acts 2:2-4] At that moment, the official ministry of the
Holy Spirit had its beginning on earth.
In making known to us the teachings of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is twofold. The
first goal is to build up
the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Visible in
nature with its seat in Rome, its invisible reflection
is the holy city with its seat in Jerusalem where the
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church had its
beginning. The unity of the two form the mystical Body
of Christ, the Church also being known as the Bride of
Christ. The second goal is to
sanctify us in
Christ so we may be purified and transformed in the
likeness of Jesus.
Today's Second Reading from the Book of Revelation spoke
of the holy city that is being built by the Holy Spirit
for the "glory of God." [Rev. 21:11] Year after year, as
the saints are added to it membership by the sanctifying
power of the Holy Spirit, the holy city progressively
experiences growth. This growth shall continue until
such time as God determines in His infinite Wisdom that
the fullness of the spiritual Jerusalem has been
achieved.
In
consideration of all what has been said until now, in
the Christian spirit, we are called to do all things in
the spirit with the Spirit of Christ. The three
applications of the word "spirit"
cannot be separated. It is by the power of the Spirit of
Christ that we received
our new creation, that we are being
transformed into
holy beings and that we are being
moved to imitate
the love of Christ towards our Christian brothers and
sisters. Without the Spirit of Christ, we would be
spiritually dead.
Through the same Holy Spirit, we are drawn towards Jesus
in the unity of the Christian spirit. Through the same
Holy Spirit, we are sanctified in the likeness of
Christ. Through the same Holy Spirit, the works of God
are manifested through our humble persons who are
subjected to Christ in obedience and humility.
My
brothers and sisters, this week, let us reflect upon
these three things. When we do, let us remember the
words, "He,
me and us."
"He"
is the "Holy Spirit" through who all spiritual things
become viable.
"Me"
is my newly created "human spirit" that is moved by the
Holy Spirit for the good of the whole Church. "Us," by
the power of the Holy Spirit, is the blooming "Christian
spirit" that embraces the unity of the many human
spirits who have answered their calling.
Event:
Once a lady in our parish told me that there is going to
be a prayer session and the Holy Spirit would come
powerfully on all. So please attend the meeting. Well, I
said, I would, if I had time. Then she told me that the
time we give to God is the time we gain. If I were to
come, I would certainly witness miracles. Then I said to
her, I witness miracles everyday when I see people with
problems and they are consoled with the word of God I
speak to them. The Spirit is alive everywhere and
anywhere. Only you need to tune your spirit to God’s
Spirit. Well, hearing this, the lady went away, may be
she didn’t like the way I spoke to her about the Holy
Spirit and his power present every where.
How many times do we miss God’s blessings
because they are not packaged as we expected?
|
 Dear friend, my
homilies will be posted on Thursdays and you can benefit
them and if you need more resources, you could contact
me on
rudyocd@yahoo.com or
rudyocd@gmail.com
Let us make this ministry
fruitful one so that the Word of God becomes a source of
joy for me and for you and help people become more aware
of its riches. You are also welcome to share your
feedback with me. Thanks and God bless.
|
|
