6th Sunday of Easter, 2016

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29
Freedom, not Conflict, opens the Door of Faith: Freedom as Love and Love as Reconciliation

I once worked in a village called Mayerthorpe, in the Canadian province of Alberta. It was summer, 2009, at St. Agnes parish. One Sunday, during my homily, I observed a spectacle. At Mass, there was this young mother (name withheld), with two young daughters. It seemed her daughters intentionally took turns to run to the back of the church; and, each time that happened, their mother goes after the one behind the church to negotiate with her on why she should return to her seat, and listen quietly to my homily. This back and forth with her daughters happened all through the homily. One question was on my mind, all through: is this not how God treats us, sinners, patiently negotiating with our freedom? Growing up in Nigeria, a spank or a dirty slap was enough to keep a child quiet and attentive all through Mass, not only for the period of the homily. But how often have we been spanked or rough handled by God because of our sins?

Surely, every human being, at the age of reason, has heard the word “love” before. Evidently, each person can tell a tale of love or what one considers as a love-experience. The parting of the ways starts when one wants to synthesize the various shades of meaning the word “love” encapsulates. Yet, there is only one understanding of love for Christians – sacrifice.

The young mother of our story and her two daughters were not enemies nor at war with each other; also, the Nigeria parent who spanks an unruly child is not on an abuse spree: both parents are navigating the troubled waters of freedom and love via reconciliation. The journey to bring “love” and “freedom” to each other’s proximity is “reconciliation.” Of course, “reconciliation” smacks off the idea of a warring party or conflict situation; only if we knew that “reconciliation” is the attempt at creating “love” and restoring “freedom” to its true meaning, only then, can we begin to appreciate the need and role of reconciliation in our lives. This is glaring from our first reading today.

History teaches us that St. Paul was a scholar of the Jewish Law (Old Testament) and very verse in classical studies. The contestation of Paul’s expertise, by people of less education, engenders a debate which challenges Paul’s legitimacy, an embarrassing situation seeking an arbiter to decide on the authenticity and veracity of Paul’s teachings. In a nutshell, Paul’s world was on a crumbling course, badly in need of rescue. Thank goodness, there was a commonly accepted locus of credibility – Jerusalem, and people of trust – the apostles. Therefore, the journey to Jerusalem is a love story, not a journey of rivals because the freedom to learn and the love of the truth are not at variance with each other. Paul and some of his challengers went down to Jerusalem to hear the truth and bring it back to other members of their community; for, rivals and enemies travel separately, not together.

The freedom exercised by those who do not reason and believe as we do is the possibility which offers us the chance to bring the faith to them. Freedom of religion and of expression are given by God and they are not obstacles to faith; rather, freedom opens the door of faith, provided that love is factored into the equation. Love is the necessary ingredient for the unfolding of reconciliation because it domesticates freedom through knowledge of the right use of freedom – freedom to love as God loved us in Christ.

Paul’s and Barnabas’ love of God and neighbour concretizes itself in their missionary journeys to bring the Christian Faith to others. Likewise, the freedom to accept or reject the Christian Faith is a fundamental right of everyone created in the image and likeness of God, which Paul’s and Barnabas’ hearers are exercising today. The respect for human freedom and the love for human salvation reveals itself in the degree of patience displayed by missionaries, especially Paul and Barnabas today. They accepted the journey to Jerusalem, without shame, to search for the truth, in order to assuage doubters!

The apostolic letter brought back by Paul and Barnabas, and the oral encouragements of Judas and Silas, manifest the goodness in freedom and love – reconciliation! “The Holy Spirit and us have decided,” says the apostolic letter to the gentile churches. “The Holy Spirit,” like freedom, blows where it wills, we only remark its presence without being able to determine exactly whence it comes or thence it goes! But one thing sure about the Holy Spirt is that it is never at variance with God, since it is the Spirit of God. Only love enables a Christian to see opportunity for good in every act of freedom, a freedom directed by God’s Holy Spirit for the reconciliation of the whole of humanity, and not for conflicts and wars.

Today’s gospel does not mince words in making the Holy Spirit the principal agent of reconciliation. For the Holy Spirit to be termed the “Advocate” presupposes a legal battle, because advocates and solicitors are lawyers who either defend or prosecute those brought before a tribunal. In its Johannine context, however, the Holy Spirit decides the veracity of God’s words and intentions. Here, precisely, is the link between the gospel and the first reading. The statement of the first reading to the effect that “The Holy Spirit and us have decided,” concretizes the promise and fulfillment of Jesus Christ that the Church will never lack the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Today, the Holy Spirit proves that Jews and Gentiles are both children of God. Consequently, the judgment of the apostle was guided by the Holy Spirit, the Advocate.

In reality, the intention of God is for the actions of Christians to flow directly from the Holy Spirit. In other words, just as the exercise of freedom flows freely from the human person, so does the Holy Spirit of God wish to flow from every Christian. When that happens, external laws become irrelevant, just as the presence of the temple is irrelevant in our second reading today, because God is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem, just as the Holy Spirit enlightens the actions of those he leads.

Only the power of love can guide freedom aright. Freedom, not conflict, opens the door of faith; so, those who oppose us are not our enemies, but those in need of conversion through our love and patience. Freedom as love and love as reconciliation makes true conversion and authentic worship of God possible. Violence only legitimizes falsehood and turns freedom into an enemy. The good news is that the Holy Spirit turned Advocate keeps alive and sustains every human effort towards love and freedom of the children of God.

Assignment for the Week:

Can you come up with an initiative of how to show God’s love this week by doing something out of love and freedom in addition to what the laws of the Church and State require?

An Exegetical Homily on the Gospel of Sixth Sunday of Easter, 2016 (For Seminarians)

A literary exegesis, which we employ today, looks closely at the relationships created by the different verbs in a text. Today’s gospel uses verbs in the future time, past (aorist) and present. By implication, some activities in the text are yet to be fulfilled, while others had already taken place, to which the present makes an important link. For clarity, we have emboldened the important verbs in the text.

Step I: What Does the Text Say (John 14:23-29)?

Jesus answered him, “[whoever] who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 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 14:23-29 NRS).

ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει, καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ἀγαπήσει αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευσόμεθα καὶ μονὴν παρ᾽ αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα. (Joh 14:23 BGT) ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν με τοὺς λόγους μου οὐ τηρεῖ· καὶ ὁ λόγος ὃν ἀκούετε οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὸς ἀλλὰ τοῦ πέμψαντός με πατρός. (Joh 14:24 BGT) Ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν παρ᾽ ὑμῖν μένων· (Joh 14:25 BGT) ὁ δὲ παράκλητος, τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὃ πέμψει ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα καὶ ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς πάντα ἃ εἶπον ὑμῖν [ἐγώ]. (Joh 14:26 BGT) Εἰρήνην ἀφίημι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν· οὐ καθὼς ὁ κόσμος δίδωσιν ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν. μὴ ταρασσέσθω ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία μηδὲ δειλιάτω. (Joh 14:27 BGT) ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπον ὑμῖν· ὑπάγω καὶ ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. εἰ ἠγαπᾶτέ με ἐχάρητε ἂν ὅτι πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ μείζων μού ἐστιν. (Joh 14:28 BGT) καὶ νῦν εἴρηκα ὑμῖν πρὶν γενέσθαι, ἵνα ὅταν γένηται πιστεύσητε. (Joh 14:29 BGT)

Step II: What does the Text Mean?

1. The very first point made is the consequence of love. The verbs involved are in the future time/tense, they describe what will happen in the future to those who will love God. The one who loves does show his/her love by keeping God’s word: “anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” By implication, when the physical “Word” of Christ disappears from the scene (Jn 14:28), it will still be possible to love him; this will be done through keeping his “Word.” Consequently, there is no difference between ourselves, born centuries after the earthly Christ’s incarnation, and those who knew him in the flesh. Our love for him translates itself in keeping God’s “Word.” The “Word” which became flesh (Jn 1:14) is the same as the “Word” which he spoke, and which we are expected to keep. Also, just as the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14), the Word and the Father will dwell with whoever loves God, through keeping God’s “Word.” The future verbs point to the era of the Holy Spirit who will come on Pentecost day.
2. If the first point made is in future time/tense (Jn 14:23), the second point made is in the present (Jn 14:24). Here and now, implied by the use of present time/tense, people do not keep the “Word” of God: they have rejected it. This sign of rejection is made evident by the use of a past verb (aorist) “sent” (πέμψαντός). The rejection of Christ is the rejection of the Father who sent him. This point is essential today because it tells us the kind of world in which the Holy Spirit will come to, on Pentecost day. It also tells us how our present world, with all the sins plaguing it, badly need the presence of the Holy Spirit.
3. If the second point made is in the present and the first point in the future, the third point (Jn 14:25-26) made creates or gives a sign of “hope” that the future might be better than the present. This note of “hope” is built upon a promise of sending an “Advocate,” a job to be done by the Father. The present rejection of the “Word” will be given a chance of survival, when the Holy Spirit comes, because the Advocate will teach and remind Jesus’ disciples of what Christ taught – the full meaning of them all.
4. If the Father will send the Holy Spirit later on, Jesus bequeaths “peace” before his departure. This fourth (Jn 14:27) point is presented in the present time/tense. The warning that Jesus’ “peace” is not the usual kind of peace people are conversant with (worldly understanding of peace) is important in two ways: first, it reveals the identity and role of the Holy Spirit, because to call the Holy Spirit “Advocate” is to presuppose a legal battle for which the disciples of Christ will need an advocate or lawyer to defend them. Secondly, Jesus’ gift of “peace” suggests there were problems already which the disciples were facing, so they needed to know that God’s peace is different from what they were expecting. More so, Jesus’ peace was to dispel their present/current fear because the Holy Spirit will come.
5. The last point (Jn 14:28-29) made, “I go away, and I come to you,” is very ambiguous. The question usually asked is whether Jesus Christ is the one who returns to his disciples in the form of the Holy Spirit. That is, whether the Holy Spirit and Jesus are one and the same. However, another passage of John’s gospel indicates that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, so different from the Holy Spirit and the Father: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf” (Jn 15:26 NRS).
6. Since we have seen the implications of the text, a question remains: what is the message of today’s gospel? It is clear that Jesus’ gift of “peace” and the promise of the “Advocate” were made from the backdrop of the reality of the day: lack of love of the “Word.” It follows that the cases of unbelief we experience today make the presence and activities of the Holy Spirit still relevant in every generation. In other words, Jesus invites us to be courageous in the face of the difficulties we face in life, and keep praying that the Holy Spirit help us in moments of trials and persecution.

Step III: Points for Homily

1. A possible theme for homily is the Holy Spirit, who intercedes on behalf of Christians, especially persecuted ones. This theme will explain that God knew that persecution is part of the Christian faith, and so provided the Holy Spirit to help us.
2. Another possible point for homily is the Christian understanding of peace, and all the different conceptions of peace possible.
3. The reality of sin and refusal to keep God’s commandments, as our daily experiences show, could be a homily topic as well.
4. The division of labor among Father, Son and Holy Spirit suggests that every human being has got to contribute his/her quota towards the salvation of the world. Joblessness or spiritual passivity is not Christian.