Readings Between the Lines

“The 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost are celebrated in joyful exultation as one feast day, or better as one "great Sunday" (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, no. 22). During May we observe Easter as one continuous celebration through Pentecost Sunday inclusive. As the Easter season progresses, however, it can be easy to lose our focus on Easter. We may be affected by the way our secular society celebrates festivals on the day they occur but then moves on from them. Even within the life of the church, however, there are challenges. While spiritual exercises such as “May Crowning” have their place in the church’s spiritual life, it is important to remember that they are done under the “umbrella” of the continuing Easter season. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 13, states, that “(Popular) devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far surpasses any of them.” In order to help us keep our focus on Easter, I am offering reflections on the Gospel readings which will be read on the four Sundays in May.
 
Fifth Sunday of Easter, John 14:1-12. This passage, as well as the next Sunday’s Gospel reading, both from John’s Last Supper Discourses (13:1-17:26), is read liturgically as if the risen Lord were giving final instructions to his disciples before he ascends to the Father. Jesus invites his disciples to reflect upon their ultimate destiny, their eternal union with him and the Father (14:2-3). That ultimate union is not unconnected to their current lives. Jesus in John’s Gospel declares that for the believer, eternal life begins now and continues into eternity (6:54; 11:25-26). We are to consider, then, that our lives are oriented toward eternity, and that our continual consciousness of our ultimate destiny of eternal union with God must shape our current lives. In 14:12, Jesus says that those who believe in him will do the works Jesus does and even greater ones. Through our participation in the sacraments, we have been both empowered and commissioned to continue Jesus’ work in today’s world.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, John 14:15-21. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading Jesus reassures his disciples that as he takes leave of them he does not abandon them. He declares that the “Spirit of truth” will dwell within the disciples. In 14:6, Jesus tells his disciples that he is “the way, the truth and the life.” Later, in 14:26, he says that “the Advocate” will teach and remind the disciples of what Jesus taught them, and in 16:13, Jesus informs them that the Spirit of truth will guide them to all truth. In other words, the “Advocate” (the Spirit) will dwell within the disciples and not only remind them of what Jesus taught them but also lead them to a deeper understanding of it. If Jesus is truth, and the Spirit leads them to truth, then the Spirit will lead the disciples to encounter the Lord dwelling within them. The experience of the Advocate’s presence within the disciples will result from love shown to the risen Lord by adhering to his commandments (14:15-16). In 14:18, Jesus confirms directly that he will dwell spiritually within the disciples.

The Easter season is a time for us to engage the Spirit of truth who dwells within us, as well as the risen Lord who is present within us through the truth of his teaching which we embrace. It is a time to recall what Jesus has said to us and to pray that the Spirit will enlighten us to the deeper implications that the truth the Lord has imparted to us has for our lives.

Ascension of the Lord, Matthew 28:16-20. In most of the dioceses of the United States the Solemnity of the Lord’s Ascension supplants the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Although this passage is assigned to the Solemnity, in the A-cycle of the Lectionary, Matthew has no ascension. The risen Lord sends his disciples on a universal evangelization mission to teach what he has “commanded” them, and to baptize, but the risen Lord remains with his church “until the end of the age” (28:20). Matthew depicts Jesus as the great teacher of the Law. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapters 5-7), Jesus provides deeper insights regarding certain aspects of the Torah. The key to interpreting the Law is to be found in the two great commandments of an all-consuming love for God and love for one’s neighbor (22:37-39). The risen Lord sends the disciples on a mission to “the nations” (or “the Gentiles) to present God’s commandments through the lens of Jesus’ explanation of the Law exclusively.

Matthew’s account of the Lord’s “Great Commission” (28:16-20) of the disciples applies to us as well as to the first disciples. The mission on which the Lord sends us is sanctioned by the universal divine authority given him as a result of his resurrection and exaltation. This Sunday’s Gospel passage provides us with the occasion to reflect on the way we heed the Lord’s command to bring what he has taught to the world around us, while maintaining consistency with his teaching. How do we go about making more disciples of Jesus?   

Pentecost, John 20:19-23. We saw above, on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, that Jesus promised his disciples that they would see him in a little while after he took leave of them. Although Jesus speaks of an indwelling spiritual presence in his risen state, the disciples first experience the risen Lord’s return to them in this Sunday’s Gospel reading when he appears to them. The promise to send “the Advocate” is fulfilled when he imparts the Holy Spirit with the symbolic act of breathing upon them. Jesus’ act of breathing upon the disciples recalls the ruach (wind/breath/spirit) which hovers over the chaotic waters of the earth (Genesis 1:2) and is engaged in God’s act of creating the cosmos. As we die and rise with Christ, we become new creations (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Easter is a time of renewal, not only a time to start living a renewed life after having experienced conversion during Lent, but to engage in the activity of cooperating with the Spirit to renew the face of the earth.

As you can see, the liturgies of the Easter season not only provide us with fodder for spiritual reflection, but with the challenge to ask ourselves how we are fulfilling the Lord’s command to continue in our day the mission he began.

Reflection Questions
● How do you encounter the indwelling presence of the Spirit and the risen Lord within you?

● What more can you do to grow into a deeper reflection upon the meaning of Easter for your life and the life of the church?

● Faith in Christ’s resurrection leads to mission. How is the renewal of that faith during this Easter season leading you to a reconsideration of the mission to which Christ calls you?