6th Sunday Easter - Year C

Today’s readings remind us of the gift of the abiding Spirit. The action of the Spirit transformed our ancestors in the faith, strengthening them for the work of evangelization and encouraging them in times of doubt, difficulty, conflict or persecution.  It plotted their path for the growth of the Christian community.  But some of us are perhaps less aware of the continuing action of the Spirit in the Church today.  Is it because the Spirit continually challenges believers to practice discernment?  Is it  because we think we will be caught off-guard by what the Spirit might say?

The scripture selections will enable us to see how the early church dealt with similar issues and to appreciate some of the principles of discernment that they developed under the aegis of the Spirit.  Jesus in today’s Gospel (Jn 14:23-29) establishes the Spirit as God’s gift sent in Jesus’ name to remind the church of all that Jesus said and taught.  An attitude of welcome is necessary on the part of all believers to benefit from this gift.  This welcome should express itself in the form of constant collective and private prayer besides having a willingness to be surprised.

A second principle is suggested in today’s 1st reading from Acts (15:1-2, 22-29).  Don’t backpedal, don’t attempt to restrict the action of the Spirit.  After the Cornelius event (Acts. 10-11) and the Spirit-driven, landmark decision to accept gentiles, some wanted to impose Mosaic practice on gentiles as a requisite for salvation.  After considerable dissension and controversy, the church agreed to gather, tapped into the power of the ever-present Spirit and decided not to burden the gentile converts “beyond that which is strictly necessary”.

In this post Vatican II era, we must allow the Spirit, so much in evidence at that Council, to continue to move us to realize its insights, decisions, reforms and renewals. Rather than backpedal or ignore or even deny the movement of the Spirit, let us be as bold as a Paul, a Peter, a Barnabas or a John XXIII.

To encourage our continued openness to the Spirit author Murray Bodo, a Franciscan priest, shares the following: “…from time to time, there is an unexpected, sudden revelation or shining forth of God,… call it insight, epiphany, the presence of the Spirit...  because of that moment, all the rest of my days are changed permanently.”