HOM 7th
Sunday of Easter 2014
Acts 1:12-14
Psalm
27:1, 4, 7-8
1 Peter
4:13-16
John
17:1-11a
A few weeks ago I met Ellen, a person
in her early-50’s. Ellen moved into a new house. As she decided what to keep and what to throw
away, she came across several letters that her mother had written to her when
she was in high school. The two of them
had major differences then; at that time Ellen wasn't sure she would ever
understand her mother or if it was even worth the effort. Ellen’s mother had
died about 15 years after writing those letters. As she reread them,
middle-aged Ellen finally understood her mother in a way impossible 30 years
before. In fact, Ellen realized that in some ways she was becoming her
mother. And that was not such a bad
thing after all.
Very often we as young and older
Catholics and believers might think also like teenagers thinking that our
Catholic religion is asking too much of us; that being the followers of Jesus
cost us too much. That our life would be a lot more free and happy if we do not
have God’s commandments to guide us. Without realizing it we live in a very
secularized society in which the idea of being a faithful religious person is
outdated. Because of that we rarely talk about our practice of religion
publicly or even within our families. It is easy for us to catch this way of
life that bombards us daily that we do not need religion. This culture permeates the way we make
personal moral decisions or how we react or accompany those who are in the last
days of their life. The elderly who faithfully practiced their religion for
years are now assisted by sons and daughters who see no need of religion. Consequently, the elderly may be denied
spiritual comfort and peace at this significant time in their lives.
In the last reading Jesus told the
apostles that the Spirit would guide them to all truth. If spreading the message of Jesus and
depending completely on the talent and courage of the apostles, Jesus would
never have been known. The apostles
found that many people wanted to stop them from talking about Jesus. On
Thursday we celebrated the time when Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus, their friend, the one for whom they
had given up everything was now gone. If
they had gone to you for advice what do you think you would have told them?
They resorted to something which Jesus
had told them. Pray, and pray
always. So they stayed together and
prayed, asking for guidance. Their prayers are answered, as all our prayers are
answered, but in an unusual way. In a few days, they were told in prayer, they
would have the third person of the Blessed Trinity come to them. This person known as the Holy Spirit would
come on a day which we call Pentecost - 10 days after the Ascension.
Like Ellen moving in a new house, the disciples
had to decide what to keep and what to throw away among their earlier ideas
about what being a disciple of Jesus requires. Certainly they must keep the
spirit of prayer and an openness to God’s love which was part of their life
before Jesus left them. They must learn
to accept Jesus’ standards of success and failure instead of their usual way of
calculating these. They were also surprised that some who had not been part of
their family got to know Jesus and they followed Jesus very closely. In a sense
the disciples felt jealous. How
could it be that these late comers were getting as much attention as they when
they had not suffered all the pain and humiliation that they had.
In a sense these disciples may have
felt like us from time to time. How often have we felt like leaving Jesus, or
the Church? We all know people who have
been hurt by someone or something in the Church. Such a person may even be one of us. And because
of this a person may have stopped going to Church or may have switched to
another form of religion. Sometimes this has turned them to anger, or
resentment or feelings of betrayal.
This was happening to the early Church
community. They often argued among
themselves over religious beliefs and practices. Often even Jesus was
misunderstood by his close friends. Many
fell asleep when he asked them to pray, and they all left him when he was
arrested.
One of the great Mothers of modern
times known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: WITHOUT MISTAKES, THERE IS
NO FORGIVING. WITHOUT FORGIVING THERE IS NO LOVE. That is why we begin every
Mass with a prayer of forgiveness.
Many years ago there were no followers
of Jesus in this country or even in this community. Disciples of Jesus brought their faith here
and witnessed to it by their words, but especially their actions. That faith
took root and grew. We are invited by
Jesus to be like some of these. To bring the Good News of Jesus and his way of
life to others. The more that we allow
the words and action of Jesus to be part of our life, the more we will become
like him. Refuse to be persuaded by those who may try to convince you that the
practice of your religion and faith in Jesus no longer has any value.
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