Apostolic Ministry

                                    7th Sunday of Easter

                                    

On this seventh Sunday of Easter we are in a kind of limbo. Last Thursday we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of the Lord into Heaven. But his Spirit will not come to us into next Sunday at Pentecost. For the nine days between the Ascension of the Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost the Apostles were alone. These nine days are commemorated in our word “novena” that simply means “nine.” Nevertheless, the Church uses this week to present us with one of the most important of all lessons.

But it is safe to say that the Apostles, just like ourselves, were never alone or deserted. We get an example in today’s first reading. The Apostles are trying to decide on a replacement for Judas, the one who betrayed the Lord. They understand that the successor must come from the ranks of those who have followed Jesus from the beginning.

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men

Who accompanied us the whole time

The Lord Jesus came and went among us,

Beginning from the baptism of John

Until the day on which he was taken up from us,

Become with us a witness to his resurrection.

It’s good to know that there were others in addition to the Twelve who had followed Jesus and remained faithful from the beginning. Most of their names have been lost to history as most of our names will be. Nevertheless, there are two in their midst who fit the bill: Judas, called Barsabbas or Justus, and Matthias. Rather then take a vote the Apostles prayed and decided to leave the choice up to the Lord by drawing lots. They didn’t believe that they were leaving things up to chance but left it to the Lord to choose between the two qualified candidates. Although Matthias was chosen, one had to suspect that the other was still going to continue in the service of the Lord.

In today’s gospel Jesus makes known how dear the Apostles were to him. It is obvious that he regarded them as his special responsibility. In a prayer he addresses to the Father, he says,

When I was with them I protected them in your name that you have given me,

And I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction.

Son of destruction refers to Judas, the one whose place was filled in today’s first reading.

We usually think of the bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles, but whenever we hear of the twelve Apostles we should also think of ourselves as their successors. Just as Matthias was chosen by God to succeed Judas we should also consider ourselves chosen by God to carry on his work.

Last Thursday we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of our Lord. Just before he departed from his disciples Jesus told them:

Go into the whole world

And proclaim the gospel to every creature.

We must understand that it is not just up to the Pope or bishops to carry on the work of the Apostles. In today’s second reading St. John makes it clear that we are all called to be apostles.

Beloved, if God so loved us,

We also must love one another.

No one has ever seen God,

Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,

And his love is brought to perfection in us.

Today is Mother’s day and there is no greater love than the love of a mother for her children even when those children are no longer children. When our mothers took upon themselves the responsibility to care for us, they said yes to a life of self-sacrifice. They said yes just as Mary did at the Annunciation. It might not be fashionable to use the word “handmaid” of the Lord anymore, but when we think of our mothers or look around at all the mothers in church, we can really behold handmaids of the Lord. Mothers are true successors of the Apostles.

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Reading 1. Acts 1: 15-17, 20a, 20c-26

Reading II. I John 4: 11-16

Gospel. John 17: 11b-19 (I sent them into the world)

God is Love

                                    6th Sunday of Easter

                                   

Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles contains one of the most important passages in all of Holy Scripture. The Roman centurion Cornelius, a Gentile but a god-fearing man, had sent messengers to summon Peter to his house. Before the messengers arrived Peter had a vision in which God had shown him that no one, whatever their race or nation, could be called unclean or unworthy. When Peter arrived at the home of Cornelius, he realized that the vision had meant that he could share a meal with a non-Jewish person. He says,

In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.

Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly

Is acceptable to him.

Is that all there is to it? Do we just have to fear God and act uprightly? What does it mean to fear God? Maybe, respect is a better word. But how do we respect God and act uprightly?  Today’s gospel provides the answer. This passage is taken from the last words of Jesus to his disciples before his Passion and Death. Last week, he referred to Himself as the vine and told us to remain attached to Him like the branches of the vine. This week he tells us that the way to remain attached to Him is to keep his commandments.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,

Just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

And remain in his love.

Ordinarily, we don’t like commandments. We get our backs up at a long list of do’s and don’ts. But the commandment of Jesus seems remarkably simple.

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this,

To lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

It is true that Jesus is predicting his own suffering and death in this passage but I don’t think he is saying that we all have to suffer a cruel persecution like so many Christian martyrs suffer even in our own time. He is saying that his disciples will have to lead a life of selflessness, not selfishness. If we want to love Him, we will have to love one another. Throughout the gospels Jesus deflects our love away from himself to our neighbor. All four of our gospels can be traced back to those who had a direct contact with Jesus, and they all understood that the message of the risen Lord was Love.

In today’s second reading St. John says, "Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love."

He doesn’t say that God loves us or that we ought to love God, but that God is Love. I think that so many people today reject even the idea of God because they still can only imagine an angry old man hurling thunderbolts at poor humans below. Also, in our scientific age they can’t see God, they can’t feel, or hear, or measure or count Him. He is beyond the experience of our senses.

But what if we could wrap ourselves around the idea of Love being God? We can’t see, or hear, or measure Love but who doubts its existence? Who, but some very unhappy people, would ever admit that they don’t believe in Love?

Atheists say that they do not believe in God but I believe that most atheists believe in Love as much as anyone. Everyone wants to love and be loved. Most of our songs are about love. Songwriters and poets attribute to Love all the characteristics that theologians attribute to God. For example, Love is in the air, Love rules the world, or Love is here to stay. They even speak of everlasting and eternal Love.

To fear God and live uprightly means simply to love one another, especially those entrusted to our care. The early Christians who St. John addressed in his letter would have understood the message.

Beloved, let us love one another,

Because love is of God…

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Reading 1. Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48

Reading II. I John 4: 7-10

Gospel. John 15: 9-17 (love one another)

The Vine and the Branches

                                    5th Sunday of Easter

                                    

In the three Sundays following Easter the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles has mainly followed the activity of Peter. However, the first reading this week introduces the Apostle Paul. In today’s reading we hear that after his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul returned to Jerusalem to join the disciples of the Lord but did not receive a warm reception.

Because of his past activity as a persecutor of the Church, the disciples “were all afraid of him” and did not believe that he was a true disciple. Only after Barnabas introduced Paul to the apostles and told them of all that Paul had done, did the apostles welcome him into their midst. Paul had seen the Risen Lord, spoken to Him, and “spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.” The fruits or results of Paul’s conversion were obvious.

Today’s gospel is also about bearing good fruit or getting good results. Jesus compares Himself to a vine.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.

He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,

And every one that does he prunes so that it may bear more fruit.

So, just as in the case of St. Paul it is not just a matter of saying we believe in Jesus, we must show the results. Jesus says that He and His Spirit will be in His followers and that we will bear fruit even if sometimes we don’t seem to realize it. What are the fruits of the spirit of God? It is clear that Jesus is not talking about grapes, or apples or oranges. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul gave a partial list.

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Our tradition has expanded the list a little. Charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.

To get a better idea, let’s just consider the opposites. Are we uncharitable? Do we lack joy, or fail to find joy in our lives or the lives of others? Do we possess inner peace, or are we full of anxiety? Are we impatient or easily fly off the handle? Do we fail to exhibit kindness or goodness to others? Are we generous not just with our money but with our time and compassion? Do we sometimes fail to be gentle with even those we love the most? Are we unfaithful? Can others rely on us to keep our word? Has popular culture made us insensitive to immodesty? Rather than self-control do we put the gratification of our selves and our desires ahead of everything else? Finally, do we lack chastity in thought, word and deed?

It is not easy to bear such good fruit and we all need help, even if it involves a constant pruning or cutting back on the things that can easily consume our lives. But if we can exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit even to a small degree, we can be sure that Jesus is working in us. It might be hard to remember Paul’s whole list but in today’s second reading, Saint John sums it up in one word: Love.

And his commandment is this;

We should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,

And love one another just as he commanded us.

Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,

And the way we know that he remains in us

Is from the Spirit he gave us.

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Reading 1. Acts 9: 26-31

Reading II. 1 John 3: 18-24

Gospel. John 15: 1-8 (the Vine and the Branches)