Today is the 4th Sunday of Easter. As we enter the month of May, we are also grateful to the Blessed Mother Mary to whom we show our love and devotion this month. It is nice to return from my pilgrimage which was very spiritually uplifting. I have a new perspective of the gospel events and how Jesus, together with His chosen Apostles, were able to fulfill their mission to spread God’s love. Their own commitment, words and witnessing continue to lead people to God.
Today’s epistle from the book of James informs us that God has given every single good gift in life. He is the very source of all the good we crave. Everything is a gift from God, which we do not deserve. This is a great encouragement in order to strengthen our faith so that we can handle every trial of life. The Father of heavenly lights does not change for He has been, and will continue to be, good and perfect for all eternity.
In every situation, no matter how difficult, we trust in His goodness both in this life and the life to come. Therefore, no good and pleasant thing comes from any place other than God. Even when we work hard for something, we would be right to thank God for blessing the fruits of our labor. As well, no hard thing should be considered anything less than a perfect gift from God for our own good, and we should respond properly and faithfully. In this way, we will grow to be like Him.
The gospel, taken from John 16:5-14, expresses the disillusionment of the disciples by letting them know in advance that they will face persecution and even martyrdom as they seek to carry on His mission in the world after Jesus’ departure. It is also clear that, whatever the disciples may have thought about the course of future events, Jesus himself is well aware of the future course of history, even beyond the cross, which John has mentioned many times in his gospel.
With regard to the term, “His hour” it is not referring to Jesus’ time but rather to the disciples’ hour where they would be expelled from the synagogues and be put to death at the expense of their faith in following the Lord.
Jesus says, “I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?” I believe the Lord wants to arouse His disciple’s curiosity and attempts to make them aware and be interested in what is going to happen with Him. Instead, they think only about themselves and not about the result of His going away. This is precisely the tendency of every one of us. We are too concerned about our own little world, and so, as Jesus says, “Sorrow has filled your hearts.”
Having mature faith, we need to get out and be less preoccupied with thinking too much of ourselves, but the revelation and the impact of Christ’s resurrection must be upon us to know who we really are. What we need to cherish is the Holy Spirit because Jesus says, “For if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you.” The Holy Spirit will tremendously strengthen and encourage the disciples in order to be ready to face life with radiant faces and joy in their hearts. That is what the Spirit does. Indeed, to their advantage, and to ours, Jesus is promising an advocate to continue their mission and our mission as well. Go and be strengthened.
Brothers and sisters, how would you ever get to see Jesus in today’s world? By means of the Holy Spirit we have access to Him. The Holy Spirit is not coming to the world; He is coming to you, to the church and to our community, when He comes to convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment “because they believe not in Him.”
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa
