6th Sunday of Easter A - Homily 1

Homily 1 - 2005

What is today’s gospel about?  John situates Jesus’ discourse within the context of the Last Supper. He has Jesus talking around the table with his apostles before his crucifixion and glorification.  But I think the whole passage is John’s effort to give words, as it were, to the risen Christ, the Christ whom he, and his Christian community among whom he lived, were in deep relationship with.

They have had time and have checked out, as it were, their own experience, and the risen Christ somehow now in their midst is saying to them: “You will see me because I live,  and you will live... “You will understand that I am in you and you are in me...  “Anyone who loves me I shall love and show myself to... “My Father will give you the spirit of truth....”  So ... “Anyone who loves me will keep my commandments, (will treasure, as it were, my values...)  We tend, after all, to become like the one we love.  I remember my mother and father telling me as a child: “Birds of a feather flock together.”

John’s effort is a wonderful invitation to us all to try to put words around our own experience of where we stand in relation to this man who was executed two thousand years ago, but who somehow exerts unquestionable influence on us, and on millions of others like us, now, today.

I expect we could all say that we admire him – his message – it makes eminent sense to us.  We admire his consistent living out that message.  We may also admire many things about Mahatma Gandhi; Perhaps some of us admire the courageous and enlightened stand of Martin Luther King and commitment of both to change: non-violent change.  But to me, Jesus leaves them for dead: for the broad sweep of his teaching, and his total integrity, his courage, his single-mindedness, his warmth – and his presence.

Perhaps more fascinating than admiring him – we feel proud of him, proud to be his disciples.  We can live with my own deficient courage, integrity, warmth and compassion because he loves us, so he accepts us unconditionally in all our inadequacy.  Though we might feel uncomfortable about our own response to his love, we know that his heart is a big heart.

We may also have noticed that, as we have grown closer to him; we have become more understanding, wiser persons.  To the extent that we have absorbed his Spirit, we have changed for the better and grown in our humanity.  We can and do love him, and know in our bones that we are wanted by him, chosen, even that he likes us.  As that popular hymn puts it:  “Come as you are: that’s how I love you; Come as you are, feel quite at home!”  That goes for any of us here. Being chosen is not a call into an exclusive club, but is equally available to all without for a moment losing anything of the singularity of our relationship.

I think that that is what Jesus’ resurrection has made possible.  He is certainly no longer confined to a where or when – to Galilee, around the year 30 A.D.  He is alive.  He is with God,  He is with me/you.  Somehow we seem to interpenetrate.  He influences our life, our direction and our goals, our hopes, our values, what we are capable of.

Let’s listen again to how John, under the inspiration of the Spirit of truth, gives words to the risen Christ: “You will see me because I live, and you will live.  You will understand that I am in you and you are in me…  “Anyone who loves me I shall love and show myself to…  “My Father will give you the spirit of truth....  So ... “Anyone who loves me will keep my commandments.”