Sixth Sunday of Easter

 Lectionary: 55

I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.

Our first reading today recalls that unexpected moment when the disciples in Jerusalem learned that Samaritans had heard the Gospel of Jesus's passion, death, and resurrection; and were being baptized into faith. The disciples in Jerusalem, many of them recently baptized, wondered how, was it possible that these pseudo-Jews would believe in the Jewish Messiah? There was an ancient hostility between Samaria and Jerusalem. You remember the Samaritan woman's resentment when she said, "...you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 

But there they were worshiping Jesus in Samaria and the Apostles could not ignore that. And so, rather than acting out of their old provincial dislike of Samaritans, they recalled the Lord's courageous generosity and open-hearted hospitality to everyone; and sent Peter and John to confirm them in the Holy Spirit. 

As Saint Luke tells the story in the Acts of the Apostles, the Church would later open the same door to non-Jews and to all the world, as Jesus had commanded them,

"...you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

However, as Jesus also knew and they were rapidly learning, "the ends of the earth" -- that is the nations and their governments -- often resent the coming of the truth, and everyone who dares to speak the truth. The truth often demands our attention and respect. 

He had told them in so many words, 

I will ask the Father,

and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,

because it neither sees nor knows him.

But you know him, because he remains with you,

and will be in you.

The truth comes from God. It is something that human beings can recognize because we are made in the image and likeness of God, but it's also something alien to the cultures and social norms that we create. The truth is often rude and intrusive; or, as former-Vice President Al Gore called it, inconvenient. We are made to hear the truth and, like the Samaritans, we can receive it with joy. But as we realize how demanding it can be, we might first get uneasy, and then uncomfortable And some people get violent. 

Catholics know that because we have to go to confession once a year and we don't like it. The very fact that we have this sacrament and the Church's insistence that we must confess our sins at least once a year, seems downright rude. Who is the Pope to tell me that I have sinned even once in the last twelve months? How does he know that? Tell him, we love him to death but he should stay in Rome! 

But we have sinned and we know it, and so we confess our sins with gratitude for the grace of remorse and the opportunity of penance. Our Catholic readiness to own and confess our sins, and our repentance and atonement give us credibility as witnesses. We are sinners, and we admit it, and we understand why people sin; and we also know our God is merciful, unlike the principalities and authorities who control this world and try to invade our heads. 

Our love of the truth and our obedience to the truth also give testimony to our credibility as disciples of Jesus and witnesses of his resurrection. We have seen amazing things and we tell incredible stories. We understand why people believe that no one can or should rise from the dead; we know and understand why anyone would refuse to eat another's flesh or drink his blood, as we do when we celebrate the Holy Mass. But we have seen the Risen Lord and we have heard his command to eat and drink, and so we obey him. 

We know the Truth, because Truth is our God; that’s his name. This is not a matter of someone's opinion; it is a law as certain as gravity, and sunrise, and death. 

We understand that marriage is hard work, and raising children is not easy; but we know that divorce only makes matters worse, and abortion is an unspeakable crime. And marrying someone of the same sex is a parody of marriage, at best. But we also see and appreciate the astonishing beauty of a life-long marriage, and the blessings that fall upon their children for a thousand generations. 

When we vote for the common good we know that God wants all nations to live in peace and prosperity, and there's more than enough to go around. We can be patriotic toward our respective nations but we cannot be nationalists -- American, German, French, Jewish or Christian. We do not believe that God favors one nation over another. The Gospel became international when first the Samaritans, and then the gentiles heard the story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.

We have the same anxiety and fear as everyone else, but God has told us repeatedly, “Do not be afraid,” and so, out of respect for His command, we dismiss our fears. We have seen: 

"a great multitude of people, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.... They stand before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cry out in a loud voice: 'Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.'”

And we have found ourselves , unworthy as we are, welcome amid that cloud of witnesses, at home in the communion of saints.