HOMILY FOR THE 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C
THEME: TRUST AND OBEY FOR THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO BE HAPPY IN JESUS!
BY: Fr. Augustine Ikechukwu Opara
HOMILY FOR SUNDAY MAY 22 2022
(ACTS 15:1-2,22-29; REVELATION 21:10-14,22-23; JOHN 14:23-39)
Today is the 6th and the last Sunday of Easter. The Gospel Reading of today from St. John continues the Farewell Discourse of Jesus. Ideally situated in the liturgical year to anticipate the coming feasts of Ascension and Pentecost, the reading tells both of Jesus’ immanent departure and his promise of the Paraclete. Jesus is preparing his disciples in advance for his absence so that they will continue to believe in him and not feel all alone after his return to the Father. After the initial excitement of his Easter appearances, Jesus will remain with his followers in a very different way throughout the centuries. The Christian’s life is not shaped by Jesus’ absence but by God’s abiding presence; God’s presence overcomes anxiety about God’s absence; and the present holds in it the seeds of a fresh future shaped by love and not fear.
God, the Father also promised us the riches of heaven through His Son Jesus Christ. Moreover, God always keeps His Promises. And still, some of us live as if we do not believe His promise. Since eternity, this has been the desire of God – to be close to us, to be in us. That is precisely the reason for the Mystery of Incarnation. The Eternal Son of God took on the human nature to be one of us and to dwell in us. Unfortunately, instead of looking inside ourselves and discover the presence of God, the source of true and lasting peace and happiness, we look for them elsewhere. This is ultimately why lasting peace, pure contentment and true happiness in life elude us. In looking for these in wealth, power and prestige, we end up more frustrated and discouraged than ever. But what is needed is only to obey God in love, and God will dwell in us.
As Christ was about ascending back to his father, he promised to send the Advocate to his disciple.
The Holy Spirit is the power of Jesus and yet, a Person in the Trinity. However, this does not mean that His era was coming to an end, because He is always Lord. Rather, it implies that He is not leaving us orphans. Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit will teach and remind us of all that, He himself had taught us. So, all we need to do is to remain docile to the counsel of the Holy Spirit. We need to be attentive to him if we must be able to read the signs of our time and succeed in our mission into our world today.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. (John 14:23). If we must survive the perils of our time, we must make the Holy Spirit our Advocate and our Partner. At no time in the history of the world has the need to listen to the Holy Spirit been more important than at our own time. As Christians, there are so many intrigues, perplexities, and dilemmas that we must contend with in our world today. Only those who pay attention to the Holy Spirit can understand the reasons for these and where they are leading us to. Hence, this time calls for a special relationship with the Holy Spirit.
In conclusion my dear brothers and sisters, today’s readings are full of promises – the promise of divine indwelling, the promise of the gift of peace, the promise of the Paraclete, and finally, the promise of the New Jerusalem. If You want to have these promises fulfilled, there is a beautiful invitation from Jesus today, Love Jesus, keep his word, and Jesus will come to you and live with you. When you have Jesus, you have the type of peace the world cannot give you and that will take you to the new Jerusalem.
God bless you!
Fr. Augustine Ikechukwu Opara