Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sixth Sunday of Easter

What is God like? We know that God is a spirit, we know that he is infinite, but we
cant help trying to imagine God. The readings from Acts and from the Gospel of
John give us a glimpse of what God is like
1. The first reading is from the book of Acts of the Apostles.
Acts is not a real book, but the second part of the Gospel of Luke. Four people set out to write
the story of Jesus life: Mark was the first, he he wrote his Gospel in Rome. About 15 years
later Matthew and Luke wrote their Gospels. They were living in different parts of the world:
Matthew in a Jewish community in Syria, and Luke in a Gentile community in Greece, possibly
in Corinth. Luke was a physician, a friend of Paul, and had accompanied Paul in some of his
missionary expeditions around the Mediterranean.
Lukes goal was more ambitious than that of the other 3 Evangelists: he did not want to write
only the story of Jesus, he also wanted to write the story of how the disciples of Jesus carried
out his mission in the world.
The first half of Lukes work tells the story of Jesus, the second half tells the story of the
Apostles, especially of Peter and Paul.
A century after Luke wrote his book, the church leaders decided to split it in 2 volumes: the
first half was named The Gospel of Luke, and second half The Acts of the Apostles.
Paul undertook 3 missionary trips. These were not quick journeys. Each lasted a number of
years, since Paul would typically spent a couple of years in each town he visited, converting
people and getting the church started.
In the first reading today we read a speech given by Paul during his second missionary trip,
when he stopped briefly in Athens.
Athens was the cultural capital of the Roman empire. Paul went to one of Athens main public
areas, the Areopagus, and gave a speech. I would love to be able to tell you that the speech
was a stunning success. In reality, Pauls speech was mostly ignored, but a few people were
touched by it and converted to Christianity. Two are mentioned: Aquila and Priscilla.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
2. In his speech, Paul stated that he had seen in Athens an altar dedicated to the
unknown God. That was the opening he needed to start talking about God and
proclaiming who God is:
God is the creator of the world and of everything in it, and is the Lord of heaven and earth
God is not an idol, a statue made by human hands, but God is alive and gives life to all living
things
God guides the lives and destiny of all the people of the earth: God is the God of history and he
intervenes in human history
Quoting from Greek poetry, he reminded them that humans live in God, move in God and derive
their existence (their being) from God
Finally he told them that God wanted them to repent and change their lives as he would be their
judge at the end of their existence on earth.
3. Earlier, I talked briefly about the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke. Todays
readings is from the 4
th
Gospel: John. The Gospel of John was probably written by
a Greek disciple of the Apostle John in Ephesus. The writer of John was aware of
the other 3 Gospels and did not try to retell the same story, but offered a more
philosophical reflection on Jesus actions and on his message.
Todays reading is part of Jesus farewell speech to his disciples before his passion and death.
In it John describes how the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will continue to
be with the disciples after Jesus death. Jesus mission on earth was about to end [in a little
while the world will no longer see me]. However, his death resurrection and ascension into
heaven would not mean that the disciples would be abandoned by God.

Sixth Sunday of Easter
To the contrary, God would send them the Holy Spirit, which John calls the Advocate (like a
lawyer to help them and speak for them), and also the Spirit of truth, to help them understand
what they had heard from Jesus but had been unable to grasp. That Spirit would be all around
them and in them.
The presence of the Spirit of God in his disciples would mean that the Holy Trinity is with them:
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus too would still continue to be with them, as
long as they keep his commandments.
John equates love of Jesus with keeping his commandments: if you love me, you will keep my
commandments.
4. The words of Paul and of John give us a glimpse of God:
God is the creator, and everything around us is produced by God. The scientists tell us that
the universe was generated by the big band and then evolved from there. If that is a fact then
God created the world using the big bang and evolution.
God is not hiding in some remote corner of the universe: God is all around us and in us,
supports us, and keeps creating and expanding our universe
God is not merely a spectator to human events, but while allowing us to make our choices, he
directs human events to the fulfillment of his purpose
Johns mention of God as Father, Son, and Spirit, hints at a complexity is God, which is beyond
our ability to understand. We know that God has been and continues to be present to us in
different ways: as creator he made the universe and each of us, as redeemer he entered
human history and reconciled us to himself, and as Holy Spirit he inspires, guides and supports
us and his church.
If we have faith, the Spirit of God is here among us, like Jesus was with his disciples. But faith
is not merely intellectual agreement with a set of doctrines. Faith is a commitment to obey
Jesus commandments to love God and love our neighbors.
The theme in John is: if you love me you will keep my commandments, and if you do that you
will be in harmony with Gods will, thus you could ask anything of God and it will be granted.