HOMILY FOR THE 6th SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR C

1. Acts15:1-2, 22-29

2. Rev 21: 10-14,22-23

Gospel: John14:23-29

                              " Let the peace of Christ reign in our lives"

Dear brothers and sisters, today we are celebrating the sixth Sunday of Easter. This Sunday comes just before the Lord's ascension. It marks Jesus' last presence with His disciples. We hear from the gospel reading Jesus' farewell discourse to his disciples. The gospel starts with the very beautiful statement: " If anyone loves me, he will keep my word."

Jesus will go away but His departure will not mark the end of His ministry and of His mission to bring people back to God. In fact His death and resurrection will be the culmination of His work. 

Moreover, He will also mark a different kind of His presence among us. He will no longer walk with His disciples as the Rabbi of Nazareth. He will be the glorious but invisible Lord.

He will not leave them orphans. He will send the Holy Spirit as their helper, Paraclete, that is, their consoler, advocate, inspirer and one who will teach them everything about Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they will certainly be capable of continuing the Master's work: to announce the good news of salvation to the whole world.

During His earthly ministry Jesus taught His disciples for a long time. They know all they should know but still he does not abandon them because He love them including us. He knows the road is long and rough. With Him as a trusted friend at their side, they may feel confident to reach their destination. He gives them His Spirit. The Spirit reminds them of all things He taught them.

When Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit, he also mentions peace. What do we mean by peace? St. Augustine has a beautiful definition of peace. According to him, peace means: " Serenity of the mind, simplicity of heart and tranquility of soul."

Let us have an explanation to each of the above definitions of peace:

On the first definition, serenity of the mind, it means that we have this if we do not exaggerate our fears and when we don't worry too much. Somebody once said that 80% of the things we worry about never happen and 15% of the misfortunes we worry about don't take place as seriously as expected. The remaining 5% are manageable and easy to handle. And because we worry so much, we have sleepless nights as we toss ourselves in bed.

The second definition is simplicity of  heart which means that the absence of this is we let our emotions run wild. We get angry and we get envious. This also means contentment. So we have to simply our wants, desires and needs.

The third meaning is tranquility of soul, it means that we are not at peace because our life is spiritually messy and topsy-turvy ( growing without controlled intention). This happens if the guilty still remains in our hearts because of the sins we committed.

Some other theologians would say that peace is a meaningful relationship with God resulting from forgiveness, reconciliation and union. This work of peace and love is still in force until today even though two thousand years had passed.

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