Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 15: 12, 22-29; Rev 21: 20-24. 22-23; John 14: 23-29
By Deacon Larry Brockman
The common theme in today’s scriptures is the Church.
First we have a description of a Church with divisions among the participants. Some people were saying that the most important thing to maintain membership in the Church is following all the rules. And the rules they advocated were the rules they brought with them from their Jewish heritage. They were do’s and don’ts and detailed ritual rules. Follow the rules and you are “in”; break the rules and you are “out”. Others were saying that the rules have changed by virtue of Jesus and the opening of the Church to the Gentiles. What is important is following the Gospel that Jesus taught, a rule of love and openness to all people.
So, Paul and Barnabas return to Jerusalem and get a reading from the Church leaders of the time on which interpretation is correct. Should the Church carryover the old Mosaic law with Jesus teaching added to it; or should the rules be changed to emphasize the teachings of Jesus and an openness to all? Notice that the feedback from Jerusalem includes a unanimous vote from the leaders, but it also includes the “decision of the Holy Spirit”. This is kind of like the first Papal Action, because the decision of the Apostles is validated by the Holy Spirit. God has spoken!
And the decision is to abandon the detailed rituals such as circumcision and strict dietary laws in favor of what is reasonable for ritual practice supplemented with the teachings of Jesus on internalization of the Gospel message. The ritual practice that Jesus left- the breaking of the bread and the opening of the word of God, were adopted. But make no mistake about it. The concept of the “Church” was validated. We all need to belong to a Church to strengthen our faith and worship God communally.
This point is validated by the second reading from Revelation, which describes how the Church will ultimately evolve into the Kingdom of God. Most Bible scholars agree that the New Jerusalem described in the book of Revelation is the new Church, the heavenly one. It has three gates on each of four sides because it is universal, accepting all peoples from all regions of the earth. It has high walls to protect all of the members and provide a safe haven from any harm. And, there is no need for a temple or lights because of the presence of God forever, who provides heavenly light and is the center of all worship.
It is the objective of all of us to be part of that Church, one where we are in the presence of God continuously for ever and ever, and one where we share that presence with all of our loved ones communally, and participate in God’s Glory. That is what is known as the Communion of Saints.
Just how do we guarantee that we will gain entrance to that Church? Well, Jesus tells us very plainly in the Gospel: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” So, all of us must love God and keep His word to dwell with him.
But then Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that even though he will be leaving this world in his human form, he will not abandon us; rather, he will send: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name— He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” So, the Spirit will guide us on how we should interpret and implement Jesus teaching.
Every so often in the history of the Church the Church has gone through reformation and revision. I think Pope Francis is reminding us today that we need to go back to our roots, kind of like the Early Churches went back to Jerusalem for a reading from those who were Jesus’ contemporaries. Francis’ exhortation on the Family talks about maintaining all of the traditional teachings of the Church on family matters, including marriage and divorce; homosexuality; abortion and birth control. But Francis is reminding us that our attitude towards all of God’s people must be one of love, forgiveness, and mercy. Francis wants all of us to exhibit these properties rather than emphasize rules and regulations. That’s why he has called on the Church leaders to use proper discernment in all of their pastoral decisions.
We need to welcome sinners as Jesus welcomed sinners and convert them by our love, not by our rule of law because we want all to join us in the heavenly Church, the New Jerusalem