May 25, 2014

6^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21
Sometimes at this time of year, I get into a little bit of a ‘funk’. I’m really ready for summer, but there is much to do before it comes. I have a need to get away and relax, but vacation time isn’t even planned yet and I’m not sure when it will happen. With Memorial Day this weekend I’m remembering, honoring really, the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally this was known as Decoration Day and it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. I am remembering the prayer services I have been privileged to be a part of in various cemeteries and memorials.
A special day I will remember was when I went to the memorial service in Waterloo, New York, which the federal government declared the birthplace of Memorial Day. This community first celebrated this on May 5, 1866—it was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
The readings deal today with remembering with a tinge of worrying and hoping against hope. The Acts of the Apostles continues its description of the early church and its worried growth. After the martyrdom of Stephen persecutions started in and around Jerusalem and many believers had to flee for their lives. It doesn’t seem that the early leaders were ready for what happened. The ones who fled wanted to be taken care of and to continue to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus and The Way. Today’s first reading shows Philip who was a Greek speaking Jewish Christian going to Samaria to preach about Jesus being the Messiah. The miracles he performed brought these former Jewish haters into the faith and Philip baptized them. Then John and Peter came and administered the sacrament of Confirmation that only the apostles could administer in those early years.
So the question that continued was how were they to live as Christians in a very hostile world, the question for every age and place. Msgr. Chet Michael feels that J.B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English best translates the letters in the New Testament. For today’s passage it reads, “You need neither fear men’s threats nor worry about them; simply concentrate on being completely devoted to Christ in your hearts. Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants a reason for the hope that you have within you. Make sure that your conscience is perfectly clear, so that if men should speak slanderously of you as rogues they may come to feel ashamed of themselves for abusing you for your good Christian behavior. For it is the will of God that you should suffer it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Remember that Christ the just suffered for us the unjust, to bring us to God.” Do I live realizing that God is in me and needs to be seen by those with whom I come into contact with each day even if it involves some inconvenience or even ‘hurting’ on my part?
The Gospel continues with Jesus’ last teaching discourse to the apostles at the Last Supper; Jesus knew that His announcement that He was leaving would scare the apostles; yet their love for Him would overcome their fear and give way to hope and joy. He would never leave them alone...He never has left me alone...He leaves no one alone. And since He never leaves me or anyone alone He fills us through the Spirit with absolutely everything that I need and each person’s needs every moment of our lives. Do I go to God with my needs...Do I trust God...Do I allow God to be God to me and love me?
There is an old story that tells of a father saying goodbye to his daughter. I don’t know who wrote it but I saw this in Connections: “The father says, ‘I love you, honey, and I wish you enough.’ The daughter hugs her dad again, ‘Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.’ A person overheard this conversation and asked the father what this ‘I wish you enough meant’? The father responded, “I’m old and my daughter lives far away. It’s getting harder for me...and the reality is that her next trip home will be for my funeral. The saying has been handed down in my family for generations. My parents used to say it to everyone. When we said I wish you enough, we wanted the other person to have a life with just enough good things to sustain them. Then he recited the blessing from memory:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest joy may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.’”

I reflect on:

• So I realize that the Resurrection miracle is God’s assurance that I will always have:

‘enough’ love to give,

‘enough’ forgiveness to ask for and give.

‘enough’ incentive to continue on no matter what loss or catastrophe I face

knowing that God is with me, loving and helping.

• How would I live my life differently if I were fully confident that I had the Spirit of God beside me as my Helper?
• Through my actions how can I reveal the Father to others? The Holy Spirit? Jesus?
• Philip preached and ministered to the unpopular people of Samaria. Do I avoid or realize that I am gifted to help those the Lord puts in my way?
• Love is present in my actions more than my words. Do I rely on my own resources or do I turn to God who always promises His help?