Homily:
Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A
Loving
God - Even In Times of Pandemic
Fr.
Udoekpo, Michael Ufok
v Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
v Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
v 1 Pet 3:15-18
v John14:15-21
In today’s Gospel reading (John 14:15-21) Christ says,
“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. This is the Spirit
of truth” (John 14:15-17).
This message from Christ comes to us on the eve of his
ascension to God the Father, which we celebrate on Thursday or next Sunday. As Christ
departs to the Father, he wants us to be consistent in our love for him, his teachings,
and in keeping God’s commandments. Sometimes it can be difficult, like in this
moment of pandemic, but this call to love and keep God’s precepts will be guided
by the Holy Spirit promised us by Christ as he ascends to God the Father.
It is this same Spirit that came upon the Samaritans when
Peter and John prayed and laid hands on them in the today’s first reading (Acts
8:5-8,14-17). But before Peter and John arrived to lay hands on them with the grace
of God, the Samaritans received healing because they paid attention to Christ Jesus,
the wounded healer, proclaimed by Philip. Christ heals those who listen to him,
and he brings the spirit of joy, happiness, and hope to those who pay attention
to him and his precepts.
This Spirit comes to us in various ways. It comes to us
in the readings we read, in the liturgy we celebrate, in the psalms and songs we
sing, and in the bread and cup we share. The Spirit of God comes to us on our journeys
in the people we meet, the peace we promote, and the justice we champion. It comes
in the sins we forgive and in the wrongs we put right.
I recall few years ago, around this month of May I led
a pilgrimage to Poland, retracing the footsteps of Saints Faustina, Maximillian
Kolbe, and John Paul II. It was a spirit-filled pilgrimage. We arrived at Warsaw
on May 13 and went to celebrate Holy Mass at Saint James Church. This is the very
church where Saint Faustina first went to pray when she arrived at Warsaw on
the way to join the Convent of the Holy Mercy Sisters. The following day, May 14,
we went to 39 Zytnia Street, where we celebrated Mass at the Convent of the Holy
Mercy Sisters.
Each of us on the journey could feel the Spirit of God,
the yearning for the love and truth that only God can give. On May 15 we proceeded
to Niepokalanow and celebrated Mass at the Franciscan Monastery of Maximillian.
We spent a great deal of time at the House and Museum of Maximillian Kolbe, who
taught us how to love our enemies and die for one another. On May 16 we visited
the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa, and celebrated Mass at the Holy Rosary
Chapel of the Basilica of Jasna Gora. We embraced there the spirit of a loving mother.
We went to Wadowice, where we retraced the origin of Saint John Paul II, who taught
us how to trust in God and keep his commandments, irrespective of our cultures.
We went to Auschwitz and Birkinau concentration camps. This was a sorrowful part
of the journey, seeing “man’s inhumanity to man.”
We were also at Zakopane, where we experienced the Spirit
of God on the mountains. At Krakow we visited the Wielicka’s Salt Mines and celebrated
Mass at Saint John’s Chapel, about 300 meters in the Salt Mines. There, we learned
we are called to be the salt of the earth, to preserve truth and God’s words. We
had private Mass at Saint Mary’s Church Legiewniki and in the Sanctuary of Divine
Mercy. All these we believe were guided by the Spirit of God, his love and divine
mercy
Each day of our lives, this Spirit enables us to defend
the truth, embrace our crosses, and prepare us with answers and explanations “to
anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you,” which Saint
Peter talks about in the second reading (1 Pet 3:15-18). It enables us to condemn
what Hitler did to the Jews. It brings hope wherever there is despair; it
brings joy in place of sadness; it brings patience whenever we are met with impatience.
With the gift of the Holy Spirit, may we joyfully continue
to stick with Christ, embrace our crosses, follow the examples of the saints (Faustina,
Kolbe, John Paul II), keep God’s commandments, remain in his love, and love our
neighbors as Christ has first loved us. Most importantly, may we allow the Spirit
to stimulate this love in us, especially in this time of pandemic and
uncertainties!
Reflection Questions
1. How often do you keep the commandments of the Lord
and encourage others to do the same, especially in moments of difficulties?
2. What challenges do you face in this regard?
3. Do you allow the Spirit of the Lord to guide you in
your decisions in this time of pandemic?
