Saturday in the 6th Week of Easter

The Ministry of Encouragement

Readings: Acts 18:23-28; Psalm 47:2-3, 8-9, 10; John 16:23b-28

One of the things I’m afraid of, as someone who has the happy responsibility of preaching from the pulpit, is that I might become a nag. Why, you might wonder. Well, we all know what a nag is, don’t we? Who wants to listen to a nag? In my own experience, for example, the people I like to be around, the people I’m more likely to listen to, even when they tell me things that are difficult to hear, are not those who nag at me. Those I tend to listen to are those who somehow give me the sense that they are on my side. They somehow make me feel good about myself, even when they are offering me constructive criticism. The naggers on the other hand, I tend to avoid like the plague. And even when I can’t avoid them, even when I have to listen to them, I find that my mind seems spontaneously to switch off whenever I hear their voice. I’m not sure if you have the same experience, but I seem to have an allergy to those who always seem to delight in finding fault with something or other, those who always seem to be telling people to stand up straight or tuck in your shirt, so to speak.

How different is the approach taken by those in our readings today. My attention is drawn, for example, to a word that appears twice in the first reading. And this word is not nag. No. On the contrary, the word is encourage. We are told first that Paul travels through Galatia and Phrygia, encouraging all the followers. We also hear of how the Christian community encouraged Apollos in such a way that his zeal and talents as a preacher bear fruit for the good of the early church. And we notice also how this encouragement is really the result of a choice that is made. In the case of Apollos, for example, the community could have acted quite differently. For in spite of his eloquence and sound knowledge of the scriptures, he had only experienced the baptism of John. Yet, instead of harping on his deficiencies, Priscilla and Aquila take him under their wing, offering him the encouragement and support he needs to flourish in the ministry.

We have also been witnessing the same thing happening in the gospel readings of these days. Jesus knows his disciples well. He knows all their shortcomings. He knows, for example, that they will soon desert and deny him. Yet, in his farewell discourse, his concern is not with nagging them but with encouraging them to persevere in the truth. Today, in particular, he reminds them of that one truth that we all need continually to be reminded of. He tells them that the Father himself loves you… And it is through this same encouragement that they will find strength to survive and surmount the difficulties that lie ahead.

Together, Paul and Priscilla, Aquila and Jesus demonstrate to us the truth that, as Christians, we are all called to a ministry not so much of nagging and finding fault, but of consolation and encouragement. Listening to their example, we might perhaps remember with gratitude the different people in our own lives through whom God continues to encourage us, and so find the strength to reach out in our turn to encourage others.

How are we being invited to exercise our God-given ministry of encouragement today?

Friday in the 6th Week of Easter
Overcoming Inertia

Readings: Acts 18:9-18; Psalm 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; John 16:20-23

One of the things we learnt in school was Newton’s Laws of Motion. According to the first law, the law of inertia, a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. As the years go by, one sees that this law has applications beyond the scientific realm. It also provides a good description of what often happens in the spiritual life as well. We all know how difficult it is to break a bad habit. It’s not easy, for example, to stop smoking or to stop gossiping. We may be enthusiastic at first but gradually we quickly become discouraged when the pangs of withdrawal set in. It’s also difficult to get groups to see and do things in new ways. Those who try often have to deal with different forms of resistance. We know, for example, how even fifty years after Vatican II, there still remain those who continue to resist its reforms. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. It is indeed difficult to change and to try new things. Sometimes the resistance is a sign that it’s simply not the right thing to do, or maybe it’s not the right time for it. But what to do if we are convinced that this is precisely what God wants us to do? Where and how to find the courage to persevere through the difficulty, to overcome the inertia, strong though it may be?

This is exactly the question that Paul faces in the first reading. Here we find an account of the founding of the Corinthian church. We observe the strong opposition that Paul faces from the Jewish community of that city. Anyone would be daunted by such vehement resistance, especially when viewed from a solely human point of view. But instead of getting discouraged Paul finds strength to persevere by looking at the situation from the perspective of God. Although he is rejected by his own people, in his prayer God reassures him in a vision that he will find support from other quarters. And Paul is encouraged to persevere. He remains in Corinth for eighteen months, preaching the good news and thus laying the foundations of what will become a vibrant new Corinthian church.

We see something similar in the gospel, where Jesus encourages his disciples to persevere even as he prepares to walk the road to Calvary. He reminds them to set their sights firmly on the joy that awaits them in the future, the joy that is theirs through his own triumph over sin and death. It is this hope for what is to come that will give them strength to meet the challenges of the present, and to overcome the inertia of those – including themselves – who would resist the good news.

As we meditate on these readings today, perhaps we might ask ourselves if we too are not being called to make a change of some sort, or whether we too are not being encouraged to persevere in a change that we are in the process of initiating. In the face of the different forms of resistance that we might face, how are we being invited to see things from the perspective of the God who is king of all the earth? How are we being encouraged to cling to the hope presented to us by our Crucified and Risen Lord, the hope of lasting joy?

The Ascension of the Lord (C)

Not Alone

Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrew 9:24-28; 10:19-23; Luke 24:46-53

Today I’m reminded of the story of the boy who was sent to school by his parents. I don’t remember the name of the school. Maybe it was SJI (Jnr). At first, he was very sad to leave his parents. He didn’t understand why they had to leave him with all these strangers in such a strange place. But his mum and dad explained to him that they loved him very much and that he was always in their thoughts even while they were hard at work to support the family. Also, they reminded him that, in a way, even though he could not see them in school, they were still very much with him. At recess time, for example, when the boy ate the sandwiches that his mother had made for him earlier that same the morning, he could remember how much his mum loves him. Or when he was talking with his friends and sharing the stories and jokes that his dad had told him at home, he could also remember how much his father cares for him. In this way, even though he was apart from his parents while in school, he was actually learning to appreciate even more deeply the love that his parents had for him. And because he remembered how much his parents love him, he began to enjoy his time in school. He became a very good boy. He concentrated on his studies. And he also had lots of fun talking and playing with is friends at recess time.

That was not all. Some time later, the boy’s brother was also sent to the same school. Like him, his younger brother was very sad to leave his parents at the beginning. He often cried and refused to do his schoolwork or to play with the other children. Now it was the turn of the older boy to help the younger one. He reminded him of all that his parents had told him. He especially taught him how to remember how much mum and dad really loved them. The older boy felt good to be able to help his brother in this way. It made him feel even closer to his parents and their love for him. After some time, he even began to help other kids who were having trouble. He really began to enjoy his time in school.

In a way, the feast of the Ascension, which we are celebrating today, is something like this story. Jesus leaves his disciples, he leaves us, to go to his Father in heaven. But he is not leaving because he doesn’t like us. Like the mum and dad in the story, he goes so that he can work for us, to make us even happier. And even though he goes, he actually does remain with us in some way. Like the boy in the story, there are things that we can do to make him present among us. There are things we can do to remember how much he loves us. When we come together to celebrate this Mass, for example, when we listen to the bible readings, and when we receive Holy Communion, we remember all that Jesus has done for us. We remember how he became a human being like us, how he suffered and died on the Cross and how he was raised on the third day for us.

We can also feel Jesus’ presence especially when we reach out and help one another. Sometimes we will meet people who are sad. Maybe they have no friends to talk to or play with. Or maybe they don’t know how to do their schoolwork. By helping them as best we can, we can also show them how much Jesus loves them. And when we do this, Jesus becomes present among us, because we are learning to be more like him.

Although Jesus ascends to heaven, he does not leave us alone. How can you meet Jesus and speak with him today?

Wednesday in the 6th Week of Easter
Memorial of St. Andrew Bobola, SJ

In God’s Time…

Readings: Acts 17:15, 22—18:1; Psalm 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14; John 16:12-15

It can sometimes be difficult and even discouraging to live our Christian calling to the full. This is especially so at times when we have to wait. Sometimes, we may, for example, have to wait even as we struggle to understand why something has happened. At other times, in spite of the pains that we may take to set a good Christian example, we may still have to wait a long time for a particular individual, perhaps a loved one, to finally embrace the faith. Or, our waiting may also be for a group of people to see the truth of the gospel in a particular situation. This group may sometimes be small, like a parish neighborhood group. But it can also be as large as the whole universal church. We remember, for example, how the contents of many of the documents of the Second Vatican Council are based on the work of several theologians who had earlier been suspected by church authorities of presenting erroneous teaching and so silenced. It can indeed be difficult and discouraging in such circumstances to continue proclaiming the gospel in the particular way and situation in which we find ourselves. At such times we may find the courage to persevere by recalling two insights in our readings today.

The first is the radical nature of the gospel we are sent to proclaim. We often hear how faith and reason go together. And it is important to remember that. But, as we see in today’s first reading, it is also important to remember that faith also requires us to go beyond reason. Paul’s speech in the first reading, for example, is a model of rational thinking and presentation – things which should have appealed to his Athenian listeners. Yet many laugh at him when he gets to the crux of his message: the raising of Christ from the dead. Surely, it is no easy thing to expect rational minds to accept such a truth. And this is especially so because one can really only accept Christ’s rising if one is first ready to accept the dying that precedes it. Indeed, in any given situation, to embrace the truth of the good news often requires that we be willing first to die in order to live anew. Isn’t this why it is so difficult for us, let alone for others, to accept what the Lord might be saying at any given time and place?

The second insight is one that Jesus, excellent teacher that he is, reminds us of in the gospel today. I still have many things to say to you, he says, but they would be too much for you now. For every situation and person, there is an appropriate time for the truth to ripen such that it becomes more palatable, radical though it may be. Eager as Jesus is to share all that he is and has with his beloved disciples he is careful to respect their need for time to digest all that he is saying. He recognizes that the Spirit will gradually reveal all to them in due time. How is Jesus able to do this? How is he able to wait so serenely and patiently for his disciples to come to the knowledge of the truth? Is it not because he places his trust in the workings of the Spirit? Is it not because he trusts in the saving power of the God in whom we live and move and exist? And are we not all called to do the same, even as we continue to do our best to proclaim the good news to all we meet?

How are we being invited to wait today?

Tuesday in the 6th Week of Easter
Signs and Wonders

Readings: Acts 16:22-34; Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8; John 16:5-11

Two days before the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, and two Sundays from the feast of Pentecost, we find Jesus promising to send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was… Jesus’ description of the work of the Holy Spirit is perhaps not all that easy to follow. There is mention of right and wrong, of judgment and sin, of belief and unbelief. It all sounds pretty abstract. What does all this mean in our own lives? The amazing story in the first reading helps us to understand.

For some, the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit is associated with great signs and wonders. And we see this to be the case in the first reading too. After Paul and Silas have prayed and sung the praises of God in jail, there is suddenly an earthquake, and all the prisoners are freed from their chains. A mighty and wondrous sign from God? Perhaps. Yet, aren’t there even more powerful works, even mightier signs of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit to be witnessed in the story? Isn’t it wonderful, for example, that after having received many lashes and then thrown into prison, Paul and Silas can still be in the mood to pray and sing God’s praises? Isn’t it amazing that even after the earthquake had broken their bonds, Paul and Silas continued to remain in their cell? In any other prison, we might perhaps have heard of the inmates going on a riotous rampage in retaliation against their captors, or at the very least, quickly making good their escape. But to continue to sit quietly in one’s cell? And to even be concerned for the wellbeing of the jailer, the very one who had thrown them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks? What sort of wonder is this if not the work of the Holy Spirit?

And it is precisely through these wondrous works of the Spirit manifested in the conduct of Paul and Silas that the world – represented by the jailer and his household – is made to see how wrong it was, to accept baptism, and to joyously celebrate its conversion to belief in God. Here we find the truth of the response to today’s psalm: You stretch out your hand and save me, O Lord. Indeed, the Lord saves not just Paul and Silas, but more importantly, the jailer and his whole household. These are the saving effects of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit. These are the great signs and wonders worked by the Advocate through those with open minds and hearts.

And, of course, this presence and activity continues among us today. In a world of violence, where many give in to retaliation and despair, there continue to be those who choose the way of peace and of hope. In a world which often seems only to delight in pandering to the cravings of the rich, there continue to be those who expend their energies in championing and satisfying the needs of the poor.

Where is the presence and activity of the Advocate to be found in your life today?