Sunday, May 5, 2002
6th Sunday of Easter
1st Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.
All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened
to him and saw the miraculous signs which he did. For in cases of possession,
the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralyzed
or crippled were healed. So there was great joy in that town.
Now, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted
the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They went down and
prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not
as yet come down upon any of them since they had only been baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus. So Peter and John laid their hands on them
and they received the Holy Spirit.
2nd Reading: 1 P 3:15-18
Dear brothers and sisters, bless the Lord Christ in your hearts. Always
have an answer ready when you are called upon to account for your hope,
but give it simply and with respect. Keep your conscience clear so that
those who slander you may be put to shame by your upright, Christian living.
Better to suffer for doing good, if it is God's will, than for doing wrong.
Remember how Christ died, once and for all, for our sins. He, the just
one, died for the unjust in order to lead us to God. He died as humans
do, but was raised to life by the Spirit.
Gospel:
Jn 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments;
and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with
you forever, that Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because
it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he is with you
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you. A little while and the
world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live and you
will also live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you
in me, and I in you.
Whoever keeps my commandments is the one who loves me. If he loves me,
he will also be loved by my Father; I too shall love him and show myself
clearly to him."
Commentary
The liturgy is turning our thoughts to the coming of the Holy Spirit, who is Christ's way of being present to each of us at all times. In the reading from Acts we see how the Spirit works, building bridges, teaching us to say, "we" rather than "them." Jesus had told the apostles not to enter any Samaritan town. Now the Spirit is widening their horizons and building them into one community with the Samaritans. The Spirit leads us where we never expected to be taken. In the past, missionaries thought that it was they who brought the Holy Spirit when they evangelized and baptized. But mission is also following the Spirit, who went ahead of us long ago and is waiting there to welcome and surprise us.