May 18, 2014

5^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 6:1-7; 1 Peter 2: 4-9; John 14:1-12

It is an interesting set of readings the Church has chosen for reflection today. The first reading takes up a consideration in the early Church that the disciples never imagined, the tremendous growth of people coming into the Church. They didn’t even imagine that they were now an organization, and they had to get organized. The ones who first followed Jesus were Jewish Christians. Since they lived in the Holy Land they followed the rituals and traditions more rigidly than those Jewish people who lived outside of Israel. The term used for them was ‘Diaspora’, a Greek word that means ‘scattered.’ These Diaspora Jewish people were much more sympathetic to the Roman-Greek culture. The early followers of Jesus were Jewish, and now Gentiles were joining The Way, an early title of the Church. This would lead to all sorts of clashes especially involved around the question: should these Gentile converts become Jewish and then become Christian? Paul and Peter were heading for a showdown over this issue. Today’s problem was much more immediate: how are we to care for the widows and poor who were in desperate need of food and sustenance for survival; this gave birth to the diaconate.
Now this community had to get organized and today’s second reading reflects a community that was beginning to understand who they were and what they are about and how they are to live as followers of Jesus. Peter uses Old Testament terms to help these early Christians identify who they are and how they are connected to Scriptures. They are a chosen race (Isaiah 43:20-21) a royal priesthood and consecrated nation (Exodus 19:6) a people claimed by God (Malachi 3:17). They are not a ‘new religion’ bursting on the scene but a completion of the prophecies in the Old Testament according to the eternal plan of God.
Now the Gospel is from the Last Supper discourses of Jesus after He had washed the feet of the apostles. Jesus knows that His passion and death He has been predicting is very close. The apostles are still out in the cold and Jesus wants to prepare them for some pretty important things about Himself and His mission and how they are to carry out their part in God’s plan. They need to know about His love and compassion so that they can be people of love and compassion. Their mission is about God and God’s plan for salvation of the world and not for their own glory or recognition. They are to be witnesses of Jesus in other words they are to be Jesus and take on His outlook and His priorities. They are having a problem with this; they don’t understand God’s role and Jesus says, “If you know Me, then you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him”...you have seen Him in Me...I and the Father are one.”

Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings gives a beautiful analysis of the disciples’ plight and an important message for me and Christians. “The departure of Jesus would have felt like a death to His community of friends no matter how it came about. The actual circumstances were brutal and shocking but no matter how long folks like Thomas and Philip had to prepare to become the body of Christ themselves, it would not have seemed long enough. Up to the final hours, they were still asking questions that betrayed their lack of understanding. No matter how many anchors of truth Jesus dropped into their laps about turning over the ship to them, these guys were not even dreaming of taking over the daily operation of Church, Inc.

We may be tempted to find the ignorance of the first disciples faintly absurd given our knowledge of the rest of the story. But the truth is we’re now in the same position they were. The Church is in our hands, and it’s time for us to cast off on the next leg of this journey. How willing are we to accept this responsibility? Are we still waiting for someone else to determine what the next course should be?”
Jesus is preparing His disciples for His own return to the Father. He knows that they are sheep in front of wolves so He encourages them and gives them direction. He talks about the ‘many dwelling places’ in His Father’s house. The King James Version uses ‘mansions’ instead of dwelling places. This certainly gives the indication of some sort of luxurious rewards being prepared for all the followers of Jesus. Now this is not a reference to heaven. St Thomas Aquinas said that when Jesus uses the term ‘His Father’s House’ it is really a metaphor for God. Living the Word says so poignantly, “Our destiny is not to live in any created dwelling place, but to share in the life of the eternal God. It is by dwelling in the ‘spiritual house’ of the Christian community on earth—through worship and mutual love—that we come to dwell with God in eternity.”
With this in mind I have to reflect and continually ask myself all sorts of questions as I live as a follower of Jesus:

• What part do I play in building up the body of Christ?
  
• Am I showing people that I am trying to be Jesus each day by the way I live and the compassion, love and mercy that I show?
  
• Do I feel that all I need to do is spend time on my prayers and devotions and that this is enough?
  
• Do I feel that my love and caring can be selective and when I have time?
  
• When it is difficult to have faith in Jesus do I just go into a shell and say ‘Maybe this part of the message isn’t for me?’
  

My final point for reflection is from Preaching to Adults, Teens, and Children
“The sublime and perfect unity of the Father and the Son is beyond human understanding. Jesus lives on a different plane, one not readily apparent to His followers, particularly Philip. Yet Jesus invites us to live in union with Him and thereby experience the love the Father has for Him and that He has for the Father. The ‘way’ to do that is simple and profound: Love one another.”