Sunday 12th of May 2024 - Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1:15-17,20-26/ Psalm 102(103)/ 1 John 4:11-16/ John 17:11-19

Jesus has ascended into heaven, the promised arrival of the Holy Spirit has not yet occurred, we join the disciples in the period between the Ascension we celebrated on Thursday and Pentecost to come. In today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles Peter takes up the leadership conferred upon him by Jesus. The significance and importance of having twelve Apostles was clear to Peter. They represented the twelve tribes of Israel and marked out the New Jerusalem. Judas had relinquished his place and so a replacement was needed.

In the way Peter decided to appoint this replacement we see the human earth-based church in collaboration with the Holy Spirit even at this very early stage. A simple election among the group could have precluded a divine involvement so two names were put forward and they drew lots to indicate who was to be appointed. The earthly church put forward the names, but it was left to the Holy Spirit to indicate, through the apparent random drawing of lots, who was to be appointed to fill the vacancy.

Peter exercised his leadership role by laying down the criteria required to be named as a candidate. It was important that whoever they chose had been with them from the time Jesus was baptised by John until the day he was taken up from them, including being a witness to the resurrection. We do not know how many candidates there may have been that fulfilled these criteria but only two names were put forward. The important thing of note is the earthly governance exercised by Peter was shared by the group and the ultimate choice was left open to the actions of the Holy Spirit.

It is a human trait to want control, to seek security and certainty especially in matters of importance in life. This attitude risks cutting off any openness to the Holy Spirit to guide our lives. Pope Francis is calling the world, the Church, and individuals to work more collaboratively with each other and with the Holy Spirit. This unsettles some people who worry about the possibility of change to what they see as an ordered regulated life. The failure to cooperate with God’s will, exercised through the Holy Spirit, will not prevent it being achieved but might delay the plan a little longer. The account of the life, death and resurrection shows how God can and does work through human stubbornness and obstruction. Pilot, the leaders of the day, and even Judas thought they had control over events but the more they worked against the will of God the more God used their actions to achieve his plan. God can be seen to be working like this, despite our actions rather than because of them, often in our own lives, in the lives of the saints and throughout history. The building up of the Kingdom of God will be achieved because God wants it, but it would be more quickly accomplished with our cooperation than without it.

We can be sure that even if Jesus is absent from our sight this is compensated for by the experience of God dwelling within us. The signs that this is true come from the presence of the Holy Spirit, the mutual love we have for each other, and the faith we have and share with others. If any of these things are missing, then maybe we are not being as open to the Holy Spirit as we could be. God is the definition of love and love is a prerequisite of being a Christian. We know this because God has shown us his love in his son’s sacrifice. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus life is renewed and it continues to grow through our love for God and each other. Faith and love are inseparable, and both grow together. To believe in who Jesus is and what he did for us is to know him in terms of God the Father’s love. If we live in this mutual love for God and each other, we can be confident that God dwells within us. Love within a single person or entity is not real love. Love must be shared, given out and received. God is the image of pure love which is why God is made up of three persons in one God. The love of God flows through Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, spilling out into all of creation.

The prayer of Jesus recounted in the Gospel passage assures us that the returning of Jesus to heaven lead to the Holy Spirit filling the disciples with joy as they were set apart from the world. This setting apart, although filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, meant that the world would hate them as it hated Jesus. We are also set apart from the world, called to be disciples, called to the mission of spreading the gospel message of God’s love to the world. By being consecrated to this task we too can expect to be rejected and even hated by a world that does not want to hear God’s truth.

Jesus prays that we, who are sent into the world as his disciples, do not lose ourselves in the world. We are consecrated for our mission but there is always a danger in being in the world. We need to leave the door open to be guided by the Holy Spirit who is with us and active in the world until Jesus returns. Our faith and love will ensure that God remains with us as we follow Jesus who is our way, truth, and life.

God Bless Brendan.