Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders
about this question.
The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.
John 14:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John 14:23-29
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Our scripture passages from The Acts of the Apostles the past two Sundays describe some of the
events of the first missionary journey of St. Paul. The passages chronicled the journey of Paul
and Barnabas to Antioch in Pisidia and then back to Antioch of Syria where their journey began.
Scholars date this sojourn from AD 46 to 49.
Paul and Barnabas gathered the Church together and encouraged them by revealing all that God
had done through them, especially how God had opened the door to the Gentiles. This had to be
very encouraging for all of them. Now there are some of the brothers who have come from Jerusalem
preaching that unless these new Gentile converts be circumcised and obey the strict Jewish
Laws, i.e., become Jewish, they will not be saved. This was very disconcerting to many of these
new Christian converts.
The Gentile question prompted Paul and Barnabas and some of the leaders at Antioch to journey
to Jerusalem to seek council with the Peter and the Apostles. This is commonly referred to as the
First Jerusalem Council. After much discussion Peter proclaimed: “Brethren, you know that in the
early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of
the Gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy
Spirit just as He did to us; and made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their
hearts by faith.” (Acts 15: 7-9).
James acquiesced with Peter and added: “And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is
written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; I will
rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up, that the rest of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles
who are called by my name, says the Lord, who has made these known from of old.’” (Acts 15:
16-18). James is quoting from the vision of the Prophet Amos. (See Amos 9: 11-12). During the
time of David and later under the rule his son Solomon the Kingdom grew and prospered such
that many gentile nations were attracted to the wisdom of Solomon and the power and faithfulness
of Yahweh. Even the Queen of Sheba traveled to hear the wisdom of Solomon. (See 1
Kings 10: 1-13). Space was made in the temple for Gentiles to gather. Israel had become a light
to the nations. James sees this restoration of the thrown of David in the Christ and His Church
which must now become the light to the nations, i.e., to the Gentiles.
In his travels Paul found synagogues in many of the towns that he visited. Many of these places
of Jewish worship were built during the diaspora. The Roman historian Josephus mentions that
many Gentiles, who were referred to as God fearing people, would gather in the synagogues to
hear the Word of God. This custom already in place would become a natural means to spread the
Gospel to the Gentiles.
At the Council of Jerusalem, guided by the Holy Spirit, they drafted a letter for Paul and Barnabas
to bring to the young Church in Antioch. Their conscious awareness of the influence and
guidance of the Holy Spirit in this process is noteworthy. They begin their letter by acknowledging
the influence of the Holy Spirit: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on
you any burden beyond these necessities…” (Acts 15: 28-29). Over the years the Jewish leaders
had promulgated 613 laws that they imposed upon the people. This often led to a very legalistic
view of right worship before God.
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
Psalm 67 consists of just eight verses. It is titled Harvest Thanks and Petition.
Many exegetes surmise that it is a song of thanksgiving to God for a bountiful harvest, probably
composed and sung to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Others have surmised that it was song
of blessing for a good agricultural season, in that it is asking for God’s blessing. In any event it is
a prayer both petitioning God’s blessing and giving of thanks and praise to God for His goodness.
Ultimately the song is inviting the whole world to revere God for His bountiful gifts.
The psalm begins with a prayer of petition that God be gracious and bless us and that He let His
face shine upon us. The Hebrew word for bless is Baruch. It is the word used in Numbers to describe
the Lord’s instruction to Moses. “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons
and tell them: This is how you are to bless the Israelites, Say to them: The Lord bless you and
keep you! The Lord let His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon
you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke My name upon the Israelites, and I will bless
them.’” (Num 6: 22-27).
The petition that God shine His face on us appears also in The Book of Daniel. “Hear, therefore,
O God, the prayer and petition of Your servant; and for Your own sake, O Lord, let Your face
shine upon Your desolate sanctuary.” (Dan 9: 17). Some suggest that this is a request for God to
smile upon us. The Hebrew word for shine is ower which quite literally means to illuminate or
cast light upon.
May all the peoples praise you, O Lord. May all the nations praise you. The Hebrew word translated
as peoples is am. The Hebrew word translated as nations is leam. Am is typically singular
as its primary use describes a paternal uncle or paternal kin. It also describes a specific group of
people with shared connections, such as a community. It is used to describe the Israelite people,
for example. The word all moves this to plural and all inclusive in nature. Leam is also plural
and all inclusive, e.g., all the nations of the earth, all human beings.
The Hebrew word translated here as praise is yadah. Yadah speaks of an outward expression of
gratitude and is often translated as thanksgiving, or to give thanks. It is important to note that it
describes a very strong external expression of thanks and praise, i.e., to verbalize in proclamation
or song.
Verse seven, which is excluded from our passage, reveals the emphasis of the psalmist, which is
an expression of gratitude and praise for an abundant harvest. “The earth has yielded its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.” (Ps 67: 7).
May God bless us and may all the ends of the earth fear Him. Our final verse is again calling for
all of humankind to revere God. The Hebrew word translated here as fear is yarae. It can mean
fear as in craven fear. Most often describing our human relationship with God, however, it means
to be in a state of awe or reverence before God. Many translations use the word revere in this
final verse of Psalm 67.
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
Our pericope is part of the seventh vision in the final series of visions of John. The vision is
focused on the promise of salvation fulfilled. It is the promise of the Prophet Isaiah fulfilled:
“Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be
remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what
I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I shall rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in My people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be there, or the
sound of crying.” (Is 65: 17-19).
Section VI of Revelation covering Chapters 21 and 22 is titled The New Creation. Our selected
passage is part of a sub-section titled The New Jerusalem. Our pericope is introduced
by the immediately preceding verse: “One of the seven angels… came and said to me,
‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” (Rev 21: 9). The imagery of
God desiring to espouse His people is prevalent in Sacred Scripture especially through the
Prophets Isaiah and Hosea. John introduces the image of the Church as the bride of Christ
earlier in Chapter 19: “The Lord has established His reign, our God, the almighty. Let us
rejoice and be glad and give Him glory. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, his bride
has made herself ready.” (Rev 19: 6-7).
Whereas it may seem like this is a vision from a mountain top looking down on a city, the
city is on the mountain itself. It is the fulfillment of the vision of Isaiah: “The Lord came
upon me and brought me in divine visions to the land of Israel, where He sat me down on a
very high mountain. On it there seemed to be a city being built before me.” (Ez 40: 1-2).
The vision is of a city coming down from heaven. It reflects the words of Jesus as He speaks
of coming down from heaven: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come
down from heaven, the Son of Man.” (Jn 3: 13).
In his vision of the glory of God the vision of John reflects the fulfillment of the prophecy of
Isaiah: “Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth, the thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord
shines, and over you appears His glory. Nations shall walk by Your light, and kings by Your
shining radiance.” (Is 60: 1-3). (See also Ezek 43:2).
The twelve gates fulfill the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel: “These are the exits of the City,
the gates of which are named after the tribes of Israel… The name of the City shall henceforth
be The Lord is Here.” (Ez 48: 30, 35). Like the vision of Ezekiel, John sees three gates
facing in each of the four directions. In John’s vision he sees twelve foundations as well
with the names of the twelve apostles engraved, one on each of them. Unlike Ezekiel, who
saw the gates as exits, John views the gates as ports of entry. All traffic is now coming into
the City. (See vs. 24, 26, and 27).
The City does not require a temple. The City is the temple.
John again envisions the fulfillment of a prophesy of Isaiah: “No longer shall the sun be your
light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night. No longer shall your
sun go down, or your moon withdraw, for the Lord will be your light forever.” (Is 60: 19-
20). In the beginning God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” Jesus came into
our world as the Light of the World. Now there is no more need of sun or moon, because
God is the light, forever!
John 14:23-29
This weekend’s Gospel is taken from the Last Supper Discourse of John’s Gospel. Jesus
has just gotten up from the table and washed the feet of His disciples. When finished He
began to speak to His disciples. After the brief introduction, our entire passage today is a
direct quote from Jesus, every word comes directly from His mouth. These are important
parting words of Jesus. Our pericope is under a portion of the Discourse that is titled The
Promise of the Holy Spirit, or The Advocate.
“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.” The Greek word for love throughout his
section of the Gospel is agape. As this word evolves through the NT it is clearly recognized
as absolute self-giving love. John would later write in his First Letter, “God is
love (agape).” Therefore, God is the source of this love. Only in God can we love as
He first loved us. This union with God, His indwelling presence, is available to all who
open themselves to Him by keeping His word in fidelity and in faith. It is important to
note the Trinitarian nature of this indwelling gift of divine life. Jesus is talking of the
indwelling presence of the Spirit and the Father and promising, We will come to him.
Through the Pascal Mystery, God promises to abide with us here on earth so that we
may one day abide in God. (See Rev 21-22).
“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all
that I told you.” The expression the Holy Spirit, appears only once in Sacred Scripture,
and is a promise of Jesus in this passage. The gift of the Holy Spirit will enlighten our
hearts and minds with all things of God.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it
to you.” Jesus is offering to the world His peace. The Greek word for peace here is
eirenen. The Hebrew/Aramaic word for peace translated to eirenen is shalom. The
connotation of the word shalom is much deeper than lack of war or discord. It is seen
as a gift from God. In fact, Scripture foretells the Messiah to be the bringer of shalom.
“For a child is born to us, a son given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him
Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace (Shalom). His dominion is
vast and forever peaceful.” (Is 9: 5-6). “Peace (shalom), peace to the far and near, says the
Lord; and I will heal them. (Is 57: 19). “Greater will be the future glory of this house than
the former says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of
Hosts.” (Hag 2: 9).
“And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
John ends the body of his Gospel with the words: “These (words) are written
that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that
through this belief you may have life in His name.” (Jn 21: 31). Belief is necessary to
possess eternal life. Faith is both gift and response. The indwelling Spirit unites us
with God, as Jesus and the Father are one, by the bond of the Holy Spirit, the bond of
love.
I remember my grandfather in the mid 60’s turning off the evening news and saying, “The world is going crazy.” I am referring to the chaos of the assassinations, the race riots, the escalation of the cold war, etc. etc. I can only imagine if he were living today, what he would say. It seems to me in my lifetime that things have become more and more chaotic. Yet, my grandfather lived through the horrors of the Second World War and the great de-pression and all of the turmoil of the last century. Chaos is certainly a part of life as we ex-perience it. It would seem that we were made for something more. The yearning for peace is one of the deepest longings of the human heart.
In the beginning God transformed the primordial chaos into the beauty of creation. It was the Mighty Wind, the Holy Spirit that hovered over the chaotic waters that breathed peace, shalom, into our world. With sin, chaos and death became a reality of human life. God sent His only Son into the murky waters of our life to bring God’s peace. As Jesus came out of the waters of the Jordan River at His baptism, the heavens were opened and the Mighty Wind, the Holy Spirit was seen coming down upon Him. That same Spirit led Him into the desert and the Devil tempted Him and attempted to take away His inner peace. Jesus would confront evil and chaos as He walked this earth. The confrontation of good versus evil, of light versus darkness, of peace versus chaos would culminate with His Passion and death when the earth itself trembled, and darkness covered the land.
Our Gospel for this weekend is taken from the famous Last Supper Discourse of John’s Gospel. So, remember the setting. Jesus is about to walk out into the Garden of Geth-semani. Chaos and darkness will come before peace and light. Jesus makes the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit and says, “Peace I will leave with you, My peace I give you.” (Jn. 14:27) The promise is fulfilled on that first Easter Sunday evening as the disciples cow-ered in the Upper Room in fear, “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you… and He breathed on them and said receive the Holy Spirit.’”(Jn. 20:21) St. Paul teaches us that “The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22)
God reveals to us that real peace comes from Him. He is the source of real and lasting peace. Only with the indwelling of God’s Spirit can we experience true peace in this world. As the Body of Christ, it is clear that we are called to breathe a little peace into our troubled and chaotic world. As the serenity prayer reminds us it will never be freedom from the storms of life, but peace amid the storms. Perhaps if we all breathed a little peace together, we could calm more of the storms. So come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of us Your faithful and enkindle is us the fire of Your Love. Amen.
Peace be with you,
As many of you know, I am a second career vocation. I spent the first 19 years of my adult life working as a Certified Public Accountant. It was a very fast-paced and hectic life, especially during tax season. I found myself working 70 to 80 hours per week in a highly stressful environment. It was not a peaceful life. Although I enjoyed my work and found if fulfilling, there was something missing in my life. It was love and joy and peace that I was missing. It was God that was missing in my life. It was I who strayed from God by being overly preoccupied with the things of this world.
I have shared often my own personal experiences of God throughout my life. Some of those experiences have been more dramatic than others. One of the most profound experi-ences occurred in my early thirties as I was really struggling and searching for something more in my life. I was strongly encouraged by a close friend to attend a Cursillo weekend retreat. I agreed to go after weeks of encouragement (harassment) on his part. One of the evenings of that retreat included a penance service. For the first time in my life, I believe that I made a perfect confession. I poured out my heart and my soul to God and begged for his forgiveness. From there I walked into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray. As I knelt before the Lord, I was overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. In a moment of Grace God melted the hardened shield that I had built around my heart and the Holy Spirit rushed in. At that moment I knew that I was a priest, that that was my true identity. Before that I had had little thoughts of becoming a priest. Life changed in an instant. I often describe it as moving from a black and white picture to a vibrant high-definition colorful world. All the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit were alive in me. I was experiencing love, joy and peace to a level that I had never experienced.
Perhaps the most striking phenomenon that I experienced, however, was a spiritual clarity that I had not felt possible. It was as if my faith evolved into knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I would later discover that St. Augustine referred to this gift as divine illumination. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is wisdom and understanding. I believe that this is what Jesus is talking about when He challenged Peter and us to think as God thinks and to under-stand as God understands.
Our readings this weekend, especially the Gospel, encourage us to open our hearts to the gift of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. At the Last Supper when Jesus promised the gift of the Paraclete He talked plainly of His indwelling, abiding presence. With that presence comes the gift of wisdom and understanding and peace. It is through this lens of spiritual clarity that we see the world through the prism of love and joy and peace. We are able to love effortlessly because it is Christ who loves through us. Our capacity for love and joy and peace and wisdom has no bounds because we are connected to the eternal source. This is what St. Paul refers to as putting on the heart and the mind of Christ. The banquet has been preprepared for us, so come to the table of plenty; the fullness of life, life eternal, awaits.
