05 May 2024 – 6th Sunday of Easter (B)
05 May 2024 – 6th Sunday of Easter (B)
1st Reading: Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 33-35, 44-48
Peter baptises the household of Cornelius
On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshipped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.”Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Responsorial: from Psalm 98
R./: The Lord has revealed his saving power to the nations
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. (R./)
The Lord has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel. (R./)
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise. (R./)
2nd Reading: 1 John 4:7-10
Not that we first loved God but that he loved us
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Gospel: John 15:9-17
Chosen by Jesus, abiding in love
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.
Choosing and being chosen
The experience of being chosen by someone can be a welcome one. It might be as simple as someone choosing us to be on their team; or, some years later, to be their referee, when applying for a job; they trust us to give them a good reference. But being chosen can be even more significant still. At the root of every happy marriage is the fact that two people once chose and then kept on choosing each other. At the heart of every true friendship is a similar choice. Two people choose to be friends with each other; they valued their relationship as special and worthwhile. As in marriage, the choice must be mutual if the friendship is to last. When the choice is one-sided, there can be heartbreak for the one not chosen in return. One of life’s really painful experiences is unrequited love.
In the gospel today Jesus uses this language of choice and friendship. He tells them (and us), “I chose you,” “I call you friends.” We can each hear those words as addressed to us. The disciples here represent us all. He has handed over his life for us all. Like St. Paul we can each say that the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. In giving his life for us, Jesus chose us, personally, called each of us his friend. His words are to us, “You are my friends.” The Mass makes present the self-giving death of Jesus in every generation, to every community that gathers for the Breaking of Bread. Right here and now he continues to speak those same words from the last supper, “You are my friends,” “I chose you.” But here’s a thing: In our personal lives, choosing one means not choosing another. This is not the case with the good Lord, who is able to choose each of us equally. As Peter says in the first reading, “God does not have favourites.”
If I choose someone as a friend, I want that person to make a similar choice of me. Similarly, the Lord’s choice of us seeks and desires our choice of him. Having chosen us, he wants us to reciprocate that choice. Earlier in the gospel, at a time when many people stopped following him, he turned to his disciples and said to them, “Do you also wish to go away?” Jesus was inviting them to respond to the choice he had made of them. At that highly-charged moment, Peter said on behalf of them all, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the message of eternal life.” In this way he publicly declared his choice of Jesus. At Mass we both celebrate the Lord’s choice of us and we renew our choice of him. When we respond to his invitation to take and eat, we take Him to heart and renew our choice him as our way, our truth and our life.
God first loved us
It is said that St. John lived to a great age, and as an old man was carried each Sunday to where the Christians at Ephesus were celebrating the Eucharist. Invariably he was asked to address the little congregation, and always he spoke about the love of God, until even these devout people grew a little weary of the same recurring theme. The old man would not change his subject but persisted in speaking about love, because for him the central theme of Jesus’ message was the overwhelming love of God. “We believe in love,” was the motto of those who were in full agreement with John.
This could easily be an empty slogan, except that John stated clearly what he meant by love, and it is echoed in today’s 2nd Reading. “This is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us, when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes away our sins.” The deep truth about God is not that he loves us or that he is a lovable being, but rather that, in himself, he is love. By his nature God gives and shares of his inner self. It also means that whoever receives the gift of God’s love must mirror God’s own sharing of self. God’s love was such as to impel him to give his only Son so that we might have life through him.
I am quite unable to love myself to the same degree that God loves me. God is even closer to me than I am to myself. Through the prophet Isaiah 49:16) God addresses to me the consoling words, “See upon the palm of my hand I have written your name.” Indeed, in the person of Jesus, God, as it were, reaches out to us with two hands — the one extended in forgiveness which saves us from being engulfed here and now in our evil ways, the other casting a ray of light beyond the portals of death, reminding us that as God raised Christ from the. dead, so he will redeem us too, when we have completed our earthly existence. That we are able to grasp those hands of God extended to us, that we are able to cling to them steadfastly, is more a gift of God’s grace that our own accomplishment. No amount of self-pruning, of teeth-gritting human striving, will bring us any closer to God.
But if we try and go through life in the conviction that God’s loving care is watching over us, we will cease to be anxious about our own happiness, about what we would like to become. Strange as it may seem, faith in God’s love for us frees us from all kinds of inner pressures, and yet at the same time brings us to a closer and more completely loving our God. “There are three things that last,” St Paul tells us, “faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13). For coming into the presence of God, faith will give way to vision, hope to attainment, but love will continue alive and well for all eternity.
Key Message:
The more desperate we are to receive the Holy Spirit, the more we will be infilled with the Holy Spirit!!
Homily:
Testimony: One day when I was in my bed, I was contemplating the state of my soul after my death. Will I regret thinking “I was a useless person on earth. How much could I have done for the Lord when I was in the world?” Will I be crying or smiling after my death? These thoughts made me think on how to transform my current not so fruitful life into a fruitful one. I realized that our Lord Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a fruitful life. That is why He said, “Ask and receive the Holy Spirit”. Thenceforth the first prayer for me every morning is “Loving Jesus, please fill me with your Holy Spirit”. I will be saying this simple prayer fully aware of the truth that without the Holy Spirit I will not know how to make my life fruitful. After that I will be able to hear the silent voice of the Holy Spirit giving me personal directions.”
Our Lord Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.” Our Lord Jesus chose us to bear fruit. Are we able to lead fruitful lives?
Quick thoughts of a person: “I was just wondering… I am working for the Lord without any gifts of the Holy Spirit. My life is dry and not so fruitful. But if I ask and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, how fruitful my life will become…” Our time is limited in this world. In this limited time, we should do as much as possible for our Lord Jesus. Because our eternity is to be spent only with Him. We cannot go empty-handed to Him. We need to take a few souls along with us to our Lord Jesus.
The majority of the people are afraid to continue their walk with God because of their guilty feelings. So they are not able to even pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. They shrunk because they have a feeling that God will not love them because of their sins. They assume that their sins are too much for our loving God to forgive. But Jesus is hanging on the cross, waiting to forgive our sins. In every church we see our God hanging on the cross, eagerly waiting for us to forgive our sins. So let us not waste any moment from running to Him and make our soul purified.
Our Lord Jesus never magnified our sins when He sojourned on the earth. Because sins did not concern Him as much as the sinner concerned Him. Just ask for forgiveness and in the next statement ask for infilling of the Holy Spirit.
In today’s first reading we read that God does not show any partiality. He loves us all and does not show any favoritism. For Him all are His children irrespective of race, caste, religion or any social, economic background. God loves everyone equally and desires the best for all of us not just for a few selected ones. So whoever cries to our God for infilling of the Holy Spirit will be filled with His Spirit. We should not think God will not shower His Holy Spirit if we ask for the Holy Spirit. If we are a rich father of five children, and all our children ask for toys, we will select only two children and give them toys? We will give to all our children. Similarly our God will infill all those who ask for His Holy Spirit.
Our God is a gentleman kind. He will keep waiting at our door, knocking on our door. He will not push open the door and enter our house if we do not say “Yes”. Even for Him to be formed in Mamma Mary’s womb, He waited for an answer. He came to Mamma Mary’s womb only after Mamma Mary said “yes”. So we should have a longing for the Holy Spirit and ask for Him desperately.
Some people think that Christian life is a boring life, but no it is the most enchanting life in the world. The Holy Spirit will make us walk the life that our Almighty God has in plan for us. Otherwise we may think that the glory the world gives is the only glory. We will stay where we are.
Do an activity: Write on a piece of paper all the marvellous plans you have made for your life. Read it. God’s plan for your life will be a better one than whatever you had written and read. You cannot match God’s plan even if you fix it. So to live your life to the fullest, pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Mankind is in deeper problems, not only sinful life. We see many righteous people walking in paths of deep agony. The Holy Spirit also encourages us using the gift of faith.
Testimony: I have found many times in my life when my mind starts to meditate on “Will it happen?”, “How can we manage?” kind of questions, there is a complete drain of energy. I keep thinking about it again and again until I call out my faith words. Then the Holy Spirit gave me the revelation that “Almighty God is my loving Father. He will certainly cure me”. A huge energy of faith and hope started to flow within me. Now I realize that we are not alone. Along with our Mamma Mary, Angels and Saints, there are the two compassionate eyes of our Almighty Father, lovingly looking at us.
A cute testimony from a Catholic mom: “My little girl is in her eight grade. I pray for her to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I am able to see positive changes in her. Earlier she was timid and shy in her class. Nowadays she participates in all the competitions, is motivated to shine in her life. She is also becoming a caring person.”
Daily we should pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit for those who care for us and those whom we care for. Especially, we should pray for all our consecrated priests and nuns so that they will be powerful in their journey.
Knowing that we are not sufficient enough to run our own lives, let us ask for the support of the Holy Spirit!!
I have been to Mass twice today so I have had ample time to contemplate on today’s readings.
There is so much love going around.
The 2nd reading, 1 John 4:7-10, begins by telling us that we must “let us love one another since love comes from God …….because God is love. God’s love for us ….” etc, etc.
And, in the gospel passage, John 15:9-17 — a fairly short passage — there is no fewer that nine mentions of the love word.
All the music and hymns, of course, at both Masses were also all focused on love.
Now, just a few weeks go we were remembering the cruel, brutal death suffered by Jesus to placate his vengeful — not very loving — Father to save us all from that Father’s wrath and all on account of the sins of our ancestors — almost certainly mythical ancestors — that we, puzzlingly, were being held accountable for and were due to suffer for.
Until Jesus saved us all by suffering that horrible, brutal death.
And, of course, that vengeful Father image was “the” teaching for virtually all of our Church’s history.
Now, I know we have had, many times, on this site very scholarly and intelligent debates and more about this very issue and I am not trying to start another such discourse.
But the contradiction in all of this is so glaring as to be blinding.
No wonder bright, educated young people in Ireland — Donagh has a lot to answer for, no! thank God for Donagh! — and beyond can so easily see the nonsense in all of this.
Mild evening here in Edinburgh.
Paddy, I’m never quite sure what you are criticizing: “Now, just a few weeks go we were remembering the cruel, brutal death suffered by Jesus to placate his vengeful — not very loving — Father to save us all from that Father’s wrath and all on account of the sins of our ancestors —”
Why not meditate on the Johannine language of the Atonement, which is closely interrelated with his language of God as love? 1 John 2:1-2: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 3:16: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 4:10: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 5:6-8: “This is the one who came by water and blood — Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”
Dear Paddy, might I suggest that you read “On the Incarnation” by Athanasius. It might help clear up the “vengeful Father full of wrath” image.
Peace and blessing to you
In 1974 I was a bumptious participant in a month-long seminar at the University of Leiden, chaired by Hendrikus Berkhof (author of Die Theologie des Eusebius von Caesarea, 1939). Having just completed an MA thesis on Athanasius, De Incarnatione, I was measuring everyone’s lectures by the standard of Athanasius, the pillar of orthodoxy. The speaker on the last morning was Edward Schillebeeckx, and Berkhof asked him how he would sum up in one sentence the meaning of Christ for today. Schillebeeckx replied: “I do not think I could find a better summary than the dogmatic definition of Chalcedon.” “Well, Fr O’Leary will be happy to hear that!” Berkhof commented.
At lunch, I asked Schillebeeckx if he thought Piet Schoonenberg was a heretic (having in mind two articles by Kevin McNamara, later Archbishop of Dublin, making that claim. I did not realize that Schoonenberg was Schillebeeckx’s colleague at Nijmegen). He replied: “I might not say he is a very good theologian, but I would not call him a heretic.” “But the church teaches that the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Spirit is eternal, whereas Schoonenberg says the Son comes to be in time.” “Time, eternity, we do not know what we are speaking of when we use these categories.” I probably annoyed Schillebeeckx, since we had no further exchange until he said “Goodbye, Fawder” at the end of the meal.
Now, fifty years later, all this comes back to me as I read the books of Joseph Lienhard, SJ, and Sara Parvis, who attempt to rehabilitate Marcellus of Ancyra, the fellow-defender of the faith with Athanasius, “Marcellus calls God as monas and identifies the monas with the biblical ‘Lord and God.’… Twice Marcellus speaks of the expansion of the monas into a Triad, each time insisting that the monas remains undivided…. To make the expansion of the Monad into a Triad the keystone of Marcellus’s thought is to distort his theology. Marcellus was utterly convinced of the need to teach that there is one God. He reacted against the Eusebians and their pluralistic language. Faced with the triadic rule of faith, he attempted in his mind to derive the Triad from the Monad, but could not elaborate a wholly coherent explanation of the triadic confession” (Lienhard, Contra Marcellum, CUA Press, 1999, 56-8). This sounds like Schoonenberg and is still flaky. Of course Marcellus’s further precision that Christ is reabsorbed in the Father at the end of time, when he hands the Kingdom back (1 Cor 15:24-8) is condemned in Creeds from 341 on, including the Niceo-Constantinopolitan Creed: “And of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Lienhard says: “Marcellus never said that Christ’s kingdom would have an end, but only that the partial kingdom would end; it would not be destroyed but united with the kingdom of God, ‘so that the Word would be in God, just as it was earlier, before the world existed'” (66). That leaves unaffected the real motive of offence: that the Word only becomes Son at the Incarnation and apparently loses that distinctive hypostatic status at the eschaton.