Sunday, May 21, 2017

Always be ready to explain the reason for your hope

For the sixth Sunday of the Easter season, the scriptures remind us of the encouragement that Jesus offered to his disciples, and of the hope that makes it possible for all of us to continue the work of sharing the good news that we have heard.


Account for the hope within you

Laurel and Denise Birch have been married for fifty years.  This weekend, they celebrated this milestone along with their family members, their friends and with this parish community.  Over the past five decades, they have experienced many moments of joy, moments worthy of celebration, but along with life’s joys there have also been moments of trial.  Such are the times that we would rather avoid if possible, but difficulties faced together can be overcome.  Anniversaries of marriage, birthdays and other such significant moments in life provide an opportunity for us to look back with gratitude, to celebrate the present, and to look forward to the future with hope.

As Jesus taught his disciples all the wisdom that he had learned from his Father, he knew that the bond that was created between them would endure because it was based on love.  Love is the result of the free gift of self.  It takes courage to offer love to someone else because the person who is offering it never knows whether his or her gift will be welcomed or not, yet we must take the risk to offer it, and if it is indeed accepted, it forms a bond that has the strength to withstand any storm that life can bring.  When we love someone else, our greatest happiness is his/her happiness, and we want to give of ourselves in order to make the other person happy.  If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever (Jn 14:15).

The Advocate that Jesus spoke about is the Holy Spirit.  God our Father sent the Holy Spirit as his gift at Pentecost, and since that time, it is this Spirit that continues to live among us, reminding us of God’s love for us, filling us with the gifts of God’s grace.

Strengthened by God’s grace and filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles went out into the world to tell others about Jesus.  Today’s first reading tells us that Philip – one of the disciples – went to Samaria.   This was the same land that Jesus had traveled through, the place where he had met the woman at the well.  That woman experienced the warmth of God’s love as she spoke with Jesus that day, and she shared the joy of her encounter with others of her village.  Philip continued the work that she had begun when he returned to proclaim Christ to them, and the crowds ... listened eagerly to what Philip said (Acts 8:6).

This work of proclaiming Christ, which Philip continued in the land of Samaria, is the work that we too continue even today.  In our families, among our friends, with our co-workers, at all moments of our lives, we should always be ready to share with others the gift of hope that is within us (cf 1 Peter 3:15).

Hope and love are God’s gifts, freely offered to his beloved people.  If we welcome them and find a place for them in our hearts, we will always be able to give thanks for what we have received, we will celebrate the present with gratitude and we will look forward to a future that is bright with promise.

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