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6th SUNDAY OF EASTER
The one theme that naturally emerges in these lessons is that of presence-both absence
and apparent. Where is God when we suffer? Where is God in the marketplace and among
non-Christians? Where is the Spirit in the Church and what is it’s / her/ his role in
the community of the faithful? Such are questions that might naturally lead into a useful
and insightful homily on God’s presence in our world.
Acts 17:22-31-Yearning for Ultimate Reality
I see how extremely religious you are in every way. That’s how Paul describes
Athens after his walking tour through the city. Paul isn’t content to preach to
gospel-friendly ears. He engages the non-Christian culture of his day which includes
devout Jewish seekers as well as Epicureans and Stoics. Our lesson includes his formal
presentation of the gospel to this very broad group of listeners of Jews and philosophers.
How would we shape the gospel message if we were invited to give a presentation of the
gospel at the National Kantian Philosophic Society? Not an easy task. Yet this story
reminds us that the Church must engage the culture with an intelligent presentation of the
gospel so that non-Christian listeners can understand what’s so good about the good
news of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 66:8-20- Praise through Thanksgiving
Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth, urges the
psalmist. Through personal testimony and keen observation, the writer praises God for
God’s providential deliverance. Thanksgiving-which provides the context or
"why" of praise-alternates with the sheer exuberance of praise. On the
thanksgiving side of the page, God has demonstrated great power, controls the nations,
sustains those in precarious situations, and leads people into a spacious place. On the
alternating page, praise rules through the appropriate phrases as: joyful noise, how
awesome are your deeds!, sing praises, and rejoice!
1 Peter 3:13-22- Getting on your case for the wrong reason
First Peter carries the motif of “righteous suffering” throughout the book.
Though mentioned previously, we hear the same type of words and shaped in a similar way in
this Sunday’s lesson. “If you do suffer for doing what is right,” the
writer instructs, the “you are blessed” (3:14). The writer tacitly suggests that
God may even be behind some of the suffering we face: “It is better to suffer for
doing good, if suffering should be God’s will” (1:17). As in 2:18-25, so here in
3:18 and following, Jesus is portrayed as the supreme model of righteous suffering for the
Christian community. Jesus suffering as it turned out, was not just injustice and cruel
death, but for the purpose of reconciling the world to God. Baptism now marks us in the
path of this great model of suffering.
John 14:15-21- Another of the same kind
Jesus qualifies love for him by keeping his words, but with a promise-“I will ask
. . . and he will give you another Advocate.” Though most of what we know about the
Johannine community is only conjecture and educated guesswork, we do know what they
valued-the Holy Spirit among them. Such high value on the Spirit as Advocate is clear in
our lesson. The Spirit is conveyed to the Jesus community, among other things, those who
gather in his name and entrust their lives to him. In a sense, the Advocate is not just a
different modality or expression of God, but a replacement of the same quality (allos).
This lesson reflects the relational quality directed God-ward, inward, and outward to
“one another.”
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