C Cycle – 6^th Sunday of Easter 25

Jn. 14:23

The scriptures tell us Jesus appeared to the disciples three times before His ascension.  In each of those appearances, Jesus is preparing the disciples to depend on something more than themselves as they continue the ministry of Christ. He is preparing them for the day their faith will become the source of their willingness to do what Jesus did.  Today’s readings are interesting because they give us a glimpse into our reliance on our things we can see and understand rather than a faith based on what God has provided for us to be holy men and women. 

Today’s reading from Acts tells us a great deal about how a dependence on laws and externals can prevent us from understanding the mercy and forgiveness of God.  As necessary as those things are, they can be used to deceive us by making us comfortable.  The lie is to convince us we are in good standing with God and are righteous. The lie makes us dependent on the law and become judgmental about others.  The decision of the apostles to “not place any burden” on the gentiles converts had to shock those righteous Jews who demanded they be circumcised to be part of the covenant between God and Moses.   

Today each one of us makes our own tradeoffs between what we deem important in our journey of faith and what is less important.  We do those tradeoffs without any thought what God desires us to become.  Remember we are told God judges the intentions of the heart.  It not strict adherence to the law that that is important to God.  After all Jesus chastised the Pharisees because their hearts were far from God while they followed all six hundred laws.  Those Pharisees were constantly appalled as Jesus violated the Levitical laws. Jesus in response, simply points out their hypocrisy and their dependance on the law and failure to embrace dependance on what God had provided to redeem them.

Each of us live our faith life different while at the same time our desire is to draw closer to God.  We should never believe our external acts can influence God’s impression of who we are in His eyes.  Each week we come together to worship and to give thanks to God.  During our Liturgy, different things are going on within us.  We have things we like and some we do not like.  Some like a more traditional service in music and structure. Others like a service with more participation and join in the songs and prayers.  Some prefer to worship more freely and worship with hands held aloft.  We could go on, but you get the point.  The mass is designed to help us remember and celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Some people do that more openly than others. 

How we respond to Christ is internal and y personal. But the mass is designed to bring all of us closer to Jesus and form us into a community of faith that is evangelistic and welcoming.  Jessus in today’s gospel tells us what is important, and it that is the standard we should use to examine the disposition of our own hearts.

  
“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” (Jn.14:23).  

 It is seemingly a simple task, to love God.  But how can we love someone we cannot see?  How can we love someone with whom we do not interact?  Obedience to laws and rituals demands us to be strong and determined.  Loving God demands us to surrender and dependance on God.  We can easily be obedient to those in authority, but it does not demand we must love them.  We can be obedient to teachers, law enforcement officers, bosses, and the church without ever having a loving relationship with them. We are not required to give our hearts to them.  We can give them loyalty and dedication but not love.

But God is telling us we are to love Him with our entire being. If we can do that, we will discover we need to be in His presence.  We will find internal and external ways to be in the presence of God when we have given Him our hearts.  The heart is critical in our willingness to follow the dictates of all that is demanded of us as believers.  Jesus does not just tell us to keep His word and then leave us alone to figure out how to get to know Him and love Him.

No, Jesus tells us we will be given what is necessary to be able to love God and neighbor.  Jesus promised, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever” (Jn.14:16). God, through the prophets, promised us the Spirit would be given to us and would change our hearts. We can attempt to change our hearts but love for God is not developed by programs, laws, rituals, or desire.  It is a natural growth because the Spirit will flood us with the love of God (Rom.5:5).  Pentecost is meant for us. To change us as it did the disciples. 

The Spirit at work within us will motivate us to respond to the love of God.  It frees us from the burdens of sin and opens our eyes to the laws which can only condemn us, not change us.  That is what happened in today’s first reading. Those converts of Paul were freed from the law of sin and death because the apostles prayed and God spoke to their hearts showing them what is necessary to be acceptable to God. 

Jesus came to free us not condemn us.  God sent Jesus to die for the penalty of our sins.  God knew we would fall back into old patterns of behavior so He promised us the Holy Spirit who would be with us always.  To be at work within us transforming our hearts and helping us experience the mercy of God in the same manner as everyone Jesus touched and set free.  Jesus gave us a new commandment, and it was to love God and God promised the Spirit would embolden us to become witnesses. 

Pentecost is coming and in the words of Jesus, “stay in prayer and wait for the power that comes from on high to overshadow us.”