The demands of discipleship can be very difficult. The strength that is needed to continue on the chosen path despite its hardships can come only from God. Paul assures us that the gracious gift that God offers us is far greater that the transgressions brought on by sin. This gracious gift is Jesus Christ himself. The gift exceeds anything for which we might have hoped. He is the comfort that will carry us through our disappointments. He is the strength that will enable us to endure the misunderstanding and hardship that come with discipleship. We are called to acknowledge him before the world, and we are promised that if we do, he will acknowledge us before God. There is light even in the midst of darkness. There is hope even in the midst of suffering.
There is a lovely distinction in the gospel passage between disciples and apostles. Jesus calls his twelve disciples, commissions them and sends them out to continue his work. From then on, they are referred to as ‘apostles’. Disciples are followers, but apostles have been sent out. In our own lives we are called to accept the challenge of being apostles, not disciples. For we are not just followers, we have been sent out by Jesus to continue his work. To be a disciple is just the first step. Disciples follow a path; apostles take the initiative and forge their own path.
In the Eucharist, Christ is present, not simply in the consecrated bread and wine, but as the one who forgives, speaks, feeds, gathers together and makes present his offering on the Cross. In this fuller understanding of the Eucharist, Christ is present in the bread and wine because he is active in the Church. In the Eucharist he calls us to prayer and reverence. He also calls us to follow his way in feeding the poor and giving spirit to the excluded and in taking up our own cross.
In the gospel reading we are assured that God’s love for the world is so deep and so magnanimous that nothing is spared for the world’s salvation, not even God’s only Son. God gave/sent this Son first in the incarnation and again in his saving death. This Son was truly a gift from God. However, the Son had a sacred, all-encompassing mission to perform. The world, though created good, often stands in opposition to God and, consequently, is in need of being saved. It is this sinful world that God loved (v.16); it is into this sinful world that God’s only Son was sent (v.17).
The word Pentecost comes from the Greek for fiftieth day. Pentecost Sunday ends the season of Easter and comes as a Sabbath day after seven weeks of seven days. In Christian tradition, Pentecost is celebrated as the arrival of the Spirit, promised by Jesus, that animated the disciples to proclaim His Gospel to all nations.
In John’s Gospel, the Spirit is called ‘The Advocate’ or ‘The Paraclete,’ and the role of the Spirit is to teach and remind the disciples of Jesus’ words. These are functions that happen within a community where people gather to share stories, to ask questions, to try to find meaning in the events of their lives. Jesus promises that when Christians gather for this purpose they will not be alone. Jesus promises that he, and the God he calls ‘Father’, will make their home with us, and the Spirit will be there to guide and enlighten us.
The feast of the Ascension celebrates the exaltation of Jesus. Today we stand awestruck, watching Jesus ascend into the clouds of heaven, there to be enthroned at the right hand of God. Today we are overwhelmed by the reality of the divinity of the one whom we have known in his humanity. Like the conquering creator-god, he has overcome his enemy (death) and now reigns over his new creation (the church). Christ who ascended into heaven in his body carries on what he began on earth through his new body, the church. He teaches through its apostles and evangelists. He ministers through its prophets and pastors. In and through the church, Jesus continues to heal and to comfort; to forgive and to include. We have not been left alone; we have his power, the same power with which he performed marvels when he walked the earth. We have not been left alone; we have each other. Together we make up the new body of Christ. Together we await the fullness of this body. It is this new body that stands in between the times, secure in what we have, confident of what we will be given.
The essential idea behind ‘Paraclete’ is that of someone who stands beside you in time of difficulty, providing a comforting, supportive and encouraging presence. Though Jesus may no longer be physically present, the comfort and assurance his presence gave the disciples during his lifetime will continue in the presence of the Holy Spirit. In the face of constant trial and rejection from the world, the Paraclete will be for the disciples ‘the Spirit of Truth’ in the sense of imparting to them a conviction that what they believe and hold on to is indeed reality in the most profound sense. The Gospel begins and ends with the sense that believers ‘have entered into the same reciprocity of love that unites the Father and the Son’. Though the language may suggest it to be the case, the Gospel does not mean that God’s love is conditional upon human observance of the commandments. The essential commandment is that of love. What the Gospel is saying is that when the community is indeed one where love prevails, the atmosphere of love that it experiences is nothing other than a sharing in the communion of love that is the Godhead.
This Sunday Jesus says that it is through his death that he goes to God. However, it is as he is raised up in crucifixion that he is exalted. The author of the epistle declares him ‘chosen and precious in the sight of God’ but it is as the stone that was rejected that he is so honoured. If we ever wonder how the exaltation of Jesus will effect us, we have Jesus’ own words of explanation. He promises to go ahead of us and make arrangements for us to share in his exaltation in the house of the one he calls Father. All we need do is follow him. Today’s readings suggest that the exaltation of Jesus is most dramatically manifested in the character of the community of those called by his name. It is revealed in the way Christians settle their differences so that all parties are treated fairly. Jesus is the cornerstone upon which this community is built, and the community mirrors his influence in its life. Christians also participate in the exaltation of Jesus by spreading the good news to others. In Acts we see how the witness of life and the preaching of the word of God increased the number of believers.
The central idea and series of images used by Jesus in the Gospel is that of the intimate knowledge that should exist between a shepherd and sheep: he knows his sheep, they recognise his voice and willingly follow his call. Jesus contrasts a ‘good shepherd’ like this with others who come only to steal, harass, and ultimately destroy sheep that do not belong to them. Jesus identifies himself not only with the shepherd but also with the Gate of the sheepfold: ‘I am the Gate of the sheepfold.’ This adds a fresh dimension. If the sheep are to flourish, they have to come and go through the gate of the fold; if they stay within the fold, they will decline for lack of pasture. If they do not return to the fold but stay out in the hillsides all night, they will be at risk. So daily they have to come and go through the gate, which then becomes their means of access to both protection and growth. By describing himself as ‘the Gate of the sheepfold’ Jesus is indicating that only through vital and continual interaction with himself will members of the community find life and growth. In this sense he ‘has come that they may have life and have it to the full’, that is, beyond life as mere existence, to have the ‘eternal life’ that is a share in the undying life of God.
Perhaps the most important part of this week’s Gospel reading is the first sentence about the two disciples walking to Emmaus. These disciples had been told by Jesus, ‘Wait in Jerusalem’ and here they are, with their backs to Jerusalem, walking out on him. They’ve given up. As they later explain to the stranger who walks with them, they ‘had hoped’ that Jesus would be the great saviour, but things haven’t turned out how they wanted.
Jesus explains in this journey that God’s plan wasn’t the same as the disciples, that in fact their ‘had hopes’ were unreal. Jesus’ way of being the saviour, in some mysterious way included the event of his execution. God’s plan went way beyond mere political freedom which his disciples had wanted. Jesus journeys with them and opens up the scriptures in such a way that their vision of God is expanded.