Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sixth Sunday of Easter

What is God like? We know that God is a spirit, we know that he is infinite, but we cant help
trying to imagine God. The readings from Acts and from the Gospel of John give us glimpses
of God.
1. The first reading is from the second part of the book of Acts of the Apostles. The first part
describes the actions of Peter, the second the missionary activities of Paul
Paul undertook 3 missionary trips. These were not quick journeys. Each lasted a number of years,
since Paul would typically spent a couple of years in each town he visited, converting people and
getting the church started.
In todays reading, we read a speech given by Paul during his second missionary trip, when he
stopped briefly in Athens, the cultural capital of the Roman empire. Paul went to one of Athens main
public areas, the Areopagus, and gave a speech.
I would love to be able to tell you that the speech was a stunning success. In reality, Pauls speech
was mostly ignored, but a few people were touched by it and converted to Christianity. Two are
mentioned: Aquila and Priscilla.
2. In his speech, Paul stated that he had seen in Athens an altar dedicated to the unknown
God. That was the opening he needed to start talking about God. He made the following
points:
God is the creator of the world and of everything in it, and is the Lord of heaven and earth
God is not an idol, a statue made by human hands, but God is alive and gives life to all living things
God guides the lives and destiny of all the people of the earth: God is the God of history and he
intervenes in human history
Quoting from Greek poetry, he reminded them that humans live in God, move in God and derive their
existence (their being) from God
Finally he told them that God wanted them to repent and change their lives as he would be their
judge at the end of their existence on earth.
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3. Let us now turn to the passage from the Gospel of John. The writer of John did not attempt to
describe Jesus life and death as the other 3 Gospels did and did, but offered a more
philosophical reflection on Jesus actions and on his message.
Todays reading is part of Jesus farewell speech to his disciples before his passion and death. Jesus
mission on earth was about to end [in a little while the world will no longer see me]. So this passage
describes how God will continue to be with Jesus disciples after Jesuss ascension into heaven.
God will send them the Holy Spirit, which John calls the Advocate (like a lawyer to help them and speak
for them), and also the Spirit of truth, to help them understand what they had heard from Jesus but had
been unable to grasp. That Spirit will be all around them and in them.
The presence of the Spirit of God among Jesus disciples means that the Holy Trinity is present among us:
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus continues to be with his disciples even today, as long as we
keep his commandments.
The Gospel of John equates love of Jesus with keeping his commandments: if you love me, you will keep
my commandments.
4. I started by asking, What is God like? The words of Paul and of John give us glimpses of God:
God is the creator, and everything around us is produced by God. The scientists tell us that the universe
was generated by the big band and then evolved from there. If that is a fact then God created the world
using the big bang and evolution.
God is not hiding outside the universe: God is all around us and in us, supports us, and keeps creating and
expanding our universe.
God is not merely a spectator to human events, but while allowing us to make our choices, he directs
human events to the fulfillment of his purpose
Johns mention of God as Father, Son, and Spirit, hints at a complexity is God, which is beyond our ability
to understand. We know that God has been and continues to be present to us in different ways: as
creator he made the universe and each of us, as redeemer he entered human history and reconciled us to
himself, and as Holy Spirit he inspires, guides and supports us and his church.
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If we have faith, the Spirit of God is here among us, like Jesus was with his disciples. But faith is not
merely intellectual agreement with a set of doctrines. Faith is a commitment to obey Jesus
commandments to love God and love our neighbors.
The theme in John is: if you love me you will keep my commandments, and if you do that you will be
in harmony with Gods will, thus you could ask anything of God and it will be granted.
6. We are called to become followers of Christ and we join his disciples through
the Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism makes us adopted children of God.
In a few moments we will baptize Mackenzie Irene, and she will become Gods adopted daughter.
This will be her official call to become a Christian. Gods call comes to her through her mothers
decision that she should be baptized and raised as a Christian. Some may ask, why baptize her now?
Why not wait till she is old enough to decide for herself?
Children are born totally helpless and totally dependent on their parents for everything: food, care,
shelter, love, education, opportunities. Mackenzies mothers decide what is good for her and will
continue to provide for her until she is old enough to decide and provide for herself.
We dont wait to feed children till they are old enough to choose what is good for them. We dont
wait to send them to school until they are old enough to appreciate that without a good education
they would have no opportunities in life.
God uses the love and concern of her mothers to call her to be Christian and a member of this
community. When she grows up she will have the chance to either accept her call or reject it. In the
meantime she will be nurtured spiritually as she will be nurtured physically and emotionally.
Every time we baptize new members of our community, they become a part of our family, and we
take on the responsibility to love, care and support them.
Mackenzie, like her two brothers, is becoming Christian and a member of St. James. Let us renew
our baptismal covenant and by our words and our example, let us commit to teach her that to be
Christian means to love God and our neighbors.