Sixth Sunday of EasterActs 8:5-8,14-17
1 Pt 3:15 - 18
Jn 14:15-21
The disciples are not into running the race alone, they don't want to cross the finish line alone.
We all have been in similar circumstances. We will do womething as long as we have someone to help us with it. If we have to do it alone, forget it.
In Sunday's Gospel the disciples see Jesus as their team leader. They signed on because they believed that God would be present in their lives, that God was trustworthy, that God was Someone who could be counted on.
Suddenly, things happen that seem to suggest that God is not with there. That Jesus has indeed left us “orphaned."
What a powerful image: orphaned. It’s the feeling that your own parents have rejected and abandoned you. Your parents! Or perhaps the parents are no longer present because of a tragedy. You are orphaned! You do not have even your closest blood relatives alive to support and encourage you.
Jesus told his disciples that he would not leave them “orphaned."
We belong to Jesus Christ, and his Spirit gives us life. This is good news for any of us who find ourselves
alone or feeling abandoned.
The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of love. “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me,” says Jesus to his disciples; “and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” The love between God and Jesus is never limited to a supernatural Father-Son relationship — it spills over into our lives and saturates us with unconditional acceptance and affection.
The Spirit of truth leads us into a life of love, thus comforting us and carrying us through anything life throws at us. “I’m here,” says Jesus, in every time and place and situation.
