Seventh Sunday of Easter (C)
I will not leave you orphans; I will come back to you. John 14:18
The readings for this Sunday provide ample opportunities for preachers to “should” all over their congregations – with only the best intentions, of course!
The first reading gives us Stephen, the first martyr: so tranquil, so trusting in the Lord, so forgiving of those who seek to kill him. “Oh”, the preacher says, “We should be just like Stephen!” Everyone nods in agreement, because they know that this is what they should do. Then they walk away sad, not knowing how they can do this.
The second reading, coming at the very end of the Book of Revelation, offers us a wonderful invitation: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let the hearer say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water!” Again, the preacher says, “We should hear the call of the Lord! We should answer Him wholeheartedly!” Again, everyone dutifully nods in agreement. Again, many walk away sad, not believing that this message can be for them.
In the glorious Gospel reading, we hear some of Jesus’ prayer to the Father for us – for all those who will come to believe in Him through the word of the Apostles and others. Jesus prays that we all may be one, “that the world may believe that you sent me”. So, the preacher exhorts the congregation that they should put aside all that divides them and to be one in Christ. Everyone nods in agreement. Many walk away sad, not knowing how this can happen in our day. They feel more estranged from the Lord after all these ‘shoulds’, rather than feeling closer to Him. They feel unworthy and unloved, even by God. Feeling so unworthy and unloved, they seek some kind of solace. They become far more vulnerable to temptations to sin, to behave in ways that are ultimately destructive to them and to others.
What is happening? What is wrong? Why is there a sense that, very often, preacher and congregation are not connecting?
When Jesus began His public ministry, His message was this: “The Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe in the Good News!”
In preaching and teaching, clergy have often focused on the “Repent!” part. They seek to help people identify sins and turn away from them. This is good and necessary. It is often very difficult for us to acknowledge our own sins and to reach out in repentance and forgiveness. But what we can fail to see is that it can be just as difficult for people to believe in the Good News. It can be very difficult for people to believe that the Kingdom of God is in their midst, that God would visit them, remain with them, and love them. In fact, failing to believe in the Good News can be as dangerous – if not more dangerous – for people than any temptation to sin might be.
Let’s use an example and see how this happens. Imagine that, one day, you have been feeling very stressed, sad and hurt. You may have had to deal with someone who is falsely accusing you of something. You may be very worried about a loved one who is ill or who is making bad decisions. Just when you need it the most – and when you least expect it – someone you barely know shows up unexpectedly and says something you really needed to hear. Your heart says, “It is the Lord! You have been graced by God!” Immediately, another voice chimes in. “It was only a coincidence. Miracles don’t happen; or, at least, not to you. You’re not worthy.” And so on. The enemy tries to snatch away the seed of grace you have just been given.
But there is more. The enemy does not use his own voice. He speaks in a voice you recognize. He sounds like the parent or sibling or classmate who told you that you would never amount to anything. He sounds like the person who has always tried to control you, to dominate you, to belittle you. He sounds like the person you were taught to trust and believe. It is very, very hard to resist this voice. You have been persuaded by it for so long. You believed it. The enemy uses this voice so that you will not believe that God has truly visited you. The enemy knows well that, if you believe that God visits you, you will no longer trust that other voice. You will have encountered genuine love. Genuine love will expose the domination or abuse that was sold to you as “love” as being false, fake, counterfeit. The enemy would lose the battle.
What is still more dangerous to the enemy is if you not only believe that God has visited you, but if you then have the courage to tell someone else about it. Someone who shares your faith; someone who gets it; someone who will, then, tell you what God did for him or her. What happens then? Think of that wondrous Feast of the Visitation that we just celebrated on Friday. Mary has been given the news that she has been chosen to be the Mother of the Messiah. She then goes in haste to the only one she knows who will understand fully: Elizabeth, who has also been given a gift she did not expect: that she would be the mother of the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Once these two women meet, Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, and Mary in turn overflows with joy as she praises God in that great song we now call the Magnificat. But that song was made possible only through the grace both women received as they told each other of what God had done for them. Joy multiplies, increases exponentially, when it is shared. That is why Jesus prayed that His disciples might be one. A community of believers, sharing with one another the news of what God is doing for each of them, will overflow with joy and become a beacon to lead others to Christ. The enemy does not want this, and will fight against it at all costs. But once anyone has tasted such joy, the enemy’s threats and deceptions become exposed as unappealing lies. Nothing less than God will do for our hearts.
The calling of all ministers of the Gospel, then, is twofold: to help our people recognize (and believe it) when God has visited them, and to encourage them to share that news with other believers. Once people learn to recognize God’s visitation in their daily lives, they will perceive Him even more clearly and powerfully in the Eucharist and the other Sacraments; in other people; in the Scriptures; in creation; and wherever else God may reveal Himself to us. Once we learn how to tune in to God’s frequency, we start picking up His messages all over the place. We realize, with Gerard Manley Hopkins, that the world is “charged with the grandeur of God”. We light up with the light of Christ Himself. We become, by the awesome love of God, a light for the world. All because we learned to recognize when God visits us, and to share that Good News with anyone who will listen!