We consider three more parables this week. We’ll follow the same principles of interpretation we did when we reflected on last week’s parable of the sower. In these three parables Jesus announces the theme. “The kingdom of God may be likened to…”

So we’re thinking about the kingdom, Jesus’ primary teaching. In the one and only prayer that he taught his disciples Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The kingdom he speaks of isn’t a place; it’s a state of being that’s in perfect harmony with the will of God. The kingdom that Jesus speaks of is already present in the world, but it’s a work in progress. Keep this in mind as we focus the three images of the kingdom Jesus used in the Gospel passage today.

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat.” Here we have the image of the incomplete kingdom. The parable introduces a hostile element into this kingdom scenario. The householder’s enemy has made an attempt to destroy the wheat crop; he secretly sowed weeds among the wheat.

This image of treachery suggests that the kingdom will not bring the world into harmony with God’s will all that easily. Because the household was asleep, the enemy was able to do his destructive work. Peter, in his second letter, cautioned his flock about this. “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to

devour.” (2 Peter 5:8) The wheat field has been compromised by the presence of the weeds. The servants suggest going out and pulling up all the weeds so that the wheat can grow uninhibited. But the householder is wise. Pulling up the weeds will also uproot the wheat. “Let them grow together until harvest; then I will tell the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barns.’”

Once again, this week, the Gospel passage ends with a commentary on the parable. It’s an interpretation that found its way into the Gospel. It’s not the only interpretation possible. Take the time to sit with the images for a while. Come up with your own interpretation. Who is the householder? Who are the slaves? Who is the enemy? What does the wheat mean for you? What do the weeds mean for you? Why are the weeds allowed to grow along with the wheat? In light of this parable, what is your personal understanding of the “kingdom of heaven?”

The second parable we all know by heart. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when it is full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”

Don’t let the simplicity of this parable tempt you to brush over its interpretation. Spend time with this image of the “smallest of all the seeds.” Hiding in this little seed is “the largest of all the plants.” The plant becomes so large that the birds will build their nests among its branches. I again invite you to personalize the parable. What does it mean for you, very personally? Try to open your heart to the parable. Don’t think about it too much. Try to feel its message. What is the message it’s speaking to your heart?

The third parable is also a familiar one. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat until the whole batch was leavened.” Could a teaching be any more simple? How could this short sentence contain Jesus’ central teaching, the kingdom of God? I’ll leave that for you to discover. I just want to note two things that might be useful to know.

Wheat is common for us. However, in Jesus’ day it was quite special. It was difficult to grow in the arid climate, and so was expensive. Barley, on the other hand, was hardy and easy to grow. It could withstand very dry weather. The poor would bake with barley flour because it was inexpensive.

Yeast is a product we buy at the supermarket. It comes dried in packets or in organic cubes. In Jesus’ day yeast was made by mixing water and flour. The mixture was kept in a dark place for several days until it began to spoil. Then some of the mixture was removed and more water added to the original liquid. After a period of time it would begin to bubble. This would be used to leaven flour. Leaven was considered a product of death because the mixture had to spoil. For this reason unleavened bread was used for the Passover. There was to be no element of death present is that celebration of renewed life.

Think about wheat. Think about leaven. Go back and ponder the parable. Remember to move the process from your head to your heart.

Jesus ended this series of parables with an invitation. “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

In the first reading in this Sunday’s liturgy, one sentence taken from the prophet Isaiah, has been chosen as an introduction to the Gospel passage, the parable of the sower. Isaiah’s teaching is about God’s communication with the human family. He uses the image of God’s greatest gift, and our most essential commodity, water. It comes from heaven in the snow and rain that water the earth “making it fertile and fruitful.” It’s the source of all life. Without water nothing can live or grow. Without water there can be no food, no “bread to the one who eats.” In a similar way the word of God is essential to our lives. It makes our lives fruitful and fertile – truly alive.

Jesus’ parable of the sower also looks at the dynamic of God’s communication with us, but he has a different take from Isaiah. God is presented as a sower who is lavishly tossing seeds across a varied landscape. Some seeds fall on a footpath, some on rocky ground, some among thorns and some on fertile soil.

The first thing we need to note in interpreting this parable is the caprice of the sower. A typical farmer would be cautious with the seeds he sows. Seeds are costly; they’re the farmer’s investment for a fruitful harvest. He needs to get as much bang from his buck as possible. A farmer would avoid casting seeds on the footpath or rocky soil or among the thorn bushes. He would make sure that they fell on fertile ground. Jesus’ sower isn’t the typical farmer, however. He scatters the seeds everywhere. It’s almost as if he’s consecrating the entire earth with the seeds he casts. It makes no difference to him where they might fall.

The second thing we need to note is that most of the seeds that the sower casts take root. Those that fall on rocky soil only live a short while because they can’t take root fast enough, and so the sun scorches the seedlings. The seeds that fall among the thorn bushes can’t get a start because the thorns choke them. They don’t have much of a chance to take root. They try, but have only a short life. Others fall on a footpath, but have no chance to take root because the birds immediately swoop down and eat them up. But some seeds fall on fertile soil and “produce fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Let’s get into Jesus’ mind as we continue interpreting this parable. I don’t think it’s all that useful to read the ending of this passage that gives an interpretation to each set of seeds. Biblical scholars tend to agree that this interpretation is a commentary added later to the Gospel. The interpretation isn’t bad, but it’s just one person’s interpretation. Each of us needs to read the parable, and allow it to speak directly to our hearts.

I suggest that as you read the parable you keep in mind Jesus’ image of a sower who sows with capricious abandon. The seeds go everywhere, like God’s word represented by the snow and rain in today’s passage from the prophet Isaiah. Keep in mind, also, that most of these seeds experience life, if only a short one. Even the seeds that are eaten by the birds have a purpose; they’re food for the birds.

Please don’t be frustrated because I didn’t tell you what the parable means. A parable is meant to be interpreted very personally. We have one interpretation at the end of the Gospel passage. That’s enough. And don’t be thrown off by it. It’s only one person’s interpretation. Rabbis used the medium of the parable to teach. They would simply present the parable leaving it for the disciple to interpret – to discover its deeper, very personal, meaning.

Instead of giving you my personal interpretation, I want to invite you to journey into the parable by yourself. In this Sunday’s liturgy we have two excellent passages that can be used to set us on a good track for a personal interpretation. Reread that one, wonderful, sentence of Isaiah and reflect for a while on its message. Here it is.

“Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

Now, read the Responsorial Psalm. After you’ve given some time to reflect on both passages return to the parable. Then, give yourself time to listen – listen to God’s word for you. Here’s Responsorial Psalm.

Psalm 65

“You have visited the land and watered it; greatly have you enriched. God’s watercourses are filled; you have prepared the grain. Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up it’s clods, softening it with showers, blessing it’s yield. You have crowned the year with your bounty, and your paths overflow with a rich harvest; the untilled meadows overflow with it, and rejoicing clothes the hills. The fields are garmented with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain. They shout and sing for joy.”

What is God’s message to you today.

A LETTER FROM THE PASTOR

Dear Friends, In two weeks, we’ll begin the celebration of the 144th Annual Novena to Saint Anne. This will be the 26th time I’ve conducted the Novena, and I can personally attest that it’s a very powerful time of prayer and spiritual renewal.

It’s serendipitous that in today’s gospel reading Jesus personally invites us to begin a spiritual journey. “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give your rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

Hopefully, you can take part in the Novena this year. It begins on July 17th and concludes on St. Anne’s Feast Day, July 26th. We celebrate two Novena Masses every weekday for your convenience, 7:30 am and Noon. We also celebrate a special Blessing of Children and Grandparents on Sunday, July 19th and a Communal Anointing of the Sick on Saturday on July 25th.

Contemplative prayer has an important role during the Novena. At Saint Jean’s, we afford the opportunity to adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament every day from 9:00am until 5:30pm. On St. Anne’s feast day, July 26th we celebrate with a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament at the 7:30pm Mass. It’s during this procession that we’re invited to commit ourselves to continue our spiritual journey, walking with Jesus the Risen Lord.

If you can’t join us, you’re invited to send us your intentions. We’ll place them at the Shrine

of St. Anne and encourage everyone in attendance to keep them in their prayers. During the novena we pray for healing not only for ourselves, friends, and relatives, but also for the world. So we reach out and pray for global healing and universal peace and prosperity for all people.

St. Anne has interceded for us for many years, bringing healing and blessings to us. Join us for all or part of the Novena to St. Anne. God bless you, your families and your friends.

Rev. John A. Kamas, SSS Pastor

Before focusing our reflection on the Gospel passage, I would like to recall the first scripture for today, the account of Elisha and the Shunammite woman.

The First and Second Book of Kings covers a period in Jewish history before the horrific Babylonian invasion of 538 BC, and the mass deportations that followed. The Books weave the lives of the great prophet Elijah and his successor Elisha into the political history that spanned their lifetimes.

This story about Elisha teaches a beautiful moral which Jesus will carry into his teaching in today’s Gospel passage. The story is a simple one. A “woman of influence” invited Elisha to dine in her home. As time went on he stayed with her and her husband many times. Eventually the woman was given permission to construct a guest room for Elisha and his servant Gehazi on her rooftop so that the prophet would have a comfortable place to stay whenever he came to the area.

Elisha was touched by her generosity, and her desire to care for his welfare. He was, what might be called, “the court prophet.” He was God’s representative to the king and his generals. He would offer them advice and deliver God’s messages to them. So in appreciation, Elisha asked the woman if he could say a good word to the king on her behalf – a political reward. She replied that she had no need for such a reward. So Elisha asked Gehazi what he thought could be done to reward her. Gehazi answered his question; “She has no son and her husband is getting on in years.” Gehazi was then asked to bring the woman to Elisha. She reverently stood outside the door of his room. He then made a spectacular announcement to her, “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.”

This story mirrors the story of Abraham in the Book of Genesis. He gave hospitality to three men who were walking by his tent during the heat of the day. He invited them in, washed their feet, gave them something to drink, and cooked a banquet for them. After the dinner they announced to him that he would have a son even though he was old, and Sarah was well beyond childbearing age. The moral of both stories is quite clear. Selfless hospitality will reap an unimaginable reward from God.

In the second part of today’s Gospel passage Jesus builds upon this moral. “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” (Matthew 10:41) Jesus doesn’t specify the reward but implies that it will be like Abraham’s, Sarah’s and the Shunammite woman’s. God will touch that part of their lives that is unfulfilled. Selflessness will always reap a profound reward from God.

But Jesus is not merely moralizing about hospitality, he’s extending the principle in order to define the spiritual prerequisites for discipleship. The first part of the passage enumerates them. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves daughter or son more then me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37) The selflessness of the disciple must be rooted in an expansive love that transcends even the powerful bonds of family. It must be a selflessness like that of Jesus himself. “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)

Jesus is demanding a radical response from us, his disciples. We must be brave enough to lose ourselves, to abandon our ego, to empty ourselves, to love ourselves out of existence. “Whoever finds his life will loose it, and whoever looses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

In last week’s Gospel passage from the same chapter 10, Jesus told the disciples three times, “Do not be afraid!” We’re all afraid, aren’t we? Look what he’s asking of us. In John’s Gospel Jesus put it this way. “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (John 12:24) The only way we can become who we truly are, who God created us to be, is to abandon our false self – to let it die so that the true self can emerge. This is a universal mystical principle. Many people think that it’s only part of Hindu and Buddhist spiritual teaching, but Jesus understood very well this teaching of the sages. However, for him, this was only a platform from which to leap to a reality none of the sages could ever have imagined!

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40) Here Jesus is telling his disciples, his messengers, who have been called, and have accepted to carry his teaching, that their work is so much more than repetition of his teachings. Because they have died to themselves he is living in them. They have become his real presence. “Whoever receives you receives me.” In us, he continues to draw the world to himself. In him, with him, and through him, the world is consecrated and selflessly offered to the Father.

When we speak of the Eucharist, we refer to the “real presence of Christ,” the abiding presence of the resurrected Lord under the appearance of bread and wine. Jesus is telling us that we are his “real presence,” so that through us the work of redemption continues.

Don’t be afraid to die – to give the gift of your self to the Father as Jesus did. Always keep clearly in your mind Jesus’ words at the supper before he accepted the cross. “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” (John 15:16)

Reflect often on the last three verses of Matthew’s Gospel. We have been chosen to offer his life to everyone and anyone who might accept it. Don’t be afraid to show them the way – don’t be afraid to die to self. Don’t be afraid to bear much fruit.

“All power in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Today’s reflection focuses on seven verses from the tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. What’s so interesting about this short passage is that Jesus tells his Apostles not to be afraid three times. To shed some light on this triple entreaty let’s put these verses into the greater context of the chapter.

Chapter nine concludes with these words, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so, ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-8) Jesus sees the Kingdom before him, ripe for the harvest. It’s time to gather workers to assist him.

Chapter ten then immediately recounts the commissioning of the Apostles. We’re told that Jesus “gave them authority over unclean spirits and every disease.” Jesus was passing his own power to these men. They were to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.” (Matthew 10:8) Matthew then listed the names of the men in this special group. Jesus called them the Twelve because he wanted them to be the foundation of the New Israel.

Jesus chose a surprising group of men, each flawed in their own way. There was Simon, not Simon Peter. This Simon was a member of a political faction called the Zealots that strongly opposed the Roman occupation. The Zealots were often involved in assassinations and violent uprisings. In the opinion of the Jewish people Matthew was a traitor because he extorted taxes from them to give to Rome. There were four simple fishermen, Simon Peter, who was to deny Jesus three times, and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother

John. There were Bartholomew, Philip, another James, Thaddaeus, Thomas who doubted the resurrection, and, of course, Judas who betrayed him. An interesting group of men to say the least!

Jesus then gave them guidelines for their work. He told them not to be concerned about preaching to the pagans, but to first bring his message to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(Matthew 10:6) They were to place their trust completely in God, and take no money with them, no extra clothing, and no sack to take up collections. He told them, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Matthew 10:8b)

He continued with a series of warnings. He told them that they would be taken to court, arrested and scourged; they would even be betrayed by their relatives. When they experienced persecution, they were to flee and continue preaching in other towns. These persecutions would benefit the dissemination of the Gospel. “Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23b)

Beginning with verse 26, Jesus began cautioning them to not give in to fear. “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the rooftops.” (Matthew 10:26-27) They were to be the messengers of the Truth. Even in the darkest days, Jesus would be with them strengthening them to fearlessly carry his light. They would hear his voice whispering to them. They were to pro- claim his message of truth from the rooftops.

Let’s bring this Gospel passage into our world of 2026. Christian persecution continues throughout the world but is especially vicious in Sun-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Middle East. A shocking 98% of Palestinian Christians have fled Israel.

None of us can foretell the future. All we can acknowledge right now is that there are millions of Middle Eastern Christians in search of safety. Many are wandering. Many are trapped in refugee camps. Many have managed to find asylum in European countries. If the horrible and traumatic persecutions of the first three centuries of our Christian history can teach us anything, it’s that persecutions can enable the Gospel to be spread throughout the world. The persecutions didn’t destroy the faith; they strengthened it.

Christianity has been in a gradual downward spiral in Europe, North America and Australia. However, it’s blossoming in Asia, Africa and Central and South America in spite of the persecutions. Those continents are already sending missionaries to the United States and Europe. Perhaps the migrations of Christians will serve as a new foundation for a renewed Christianity in countries that have lost their connection to the Gospel. The faith of men and women who have survived persecution is deep and powerful. Perhaps when Pope John Paul II called for a re-evangelization of the Church he was prophetically pointing to this infusion of a deeply committed faith in countries that have lost the faith. The great exodus of Christians may just be the first step of his vision.

If there’s any lesson we can glean from this Gospel passage, it’s “do not be afraid.” To reinvigorate our own faith, we can’t be afraid of what friends, relatives or co-workers think of what we believe. If we remain strong, we’ll grow closer to Christ, strengthen each other’s faith, and perhaps even plant the seed of faith in those who don’t believe, or are mediocre believers.

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” How often have we heard this quote?! Is there a vocation poster anywhere that doesn’t use it? It’s almost a cliché. I think that, if we’re to get the true message of this teaching, we would do well to detach it from these vocation posters that evoke sad and disheartening reactions. What’s going to happen to the Church when there aren’t any priests left? There aren’t enough religious to run the few Catholic schools we have left! Let’s stop to look closely at the Gospel.

Jesus’ heart is filled with pity when he looks at all the disciples following him. He should be happy, no? What’s wrong?

Thirty years ago, I went to Corsica to visit friends and managed to almost drown my first day there. I was flown to the hospital in Ajaccio where I spent the night hooked up to an IV drip of antibiotics. My roommate was an elderly Corsican with a heart problem.

My friends told him I was a priest.

We spoke a lot after my friends left – he in French – I in the French equivalent of “See Spot run. Run. Run. Run.” He shared some problems he had with the Church. I had some problems, too. We talked about praying and what we got out of it. After my friends drove me back to their home, they told me that the Corsican told them he was returning to the Church.

Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus telling the twelve apostles. “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive our demons!” What does “the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few” mean? It means stop complaining! Get out there. Every moment of the day brings an opportunity to let Jesus preach and teach through each and every one of us, young, old, hospitalized, healthy – the guy in back of me in the queue. “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” How often have we heard this quote?! Is there a vocation poster anywhere that doesn’t use it? It’s almost a cliché. I think that, if we’re to get the true message of this teaching, we would do well to detach it from these vocation posters that evoke sad and disheartening reactions. What’s going to happen to the Church when there aren’t any priests left? There aren’t enough religious to run the few Catholic schools we have left! Let’s stop to look closely at the Gospel.

Jesus’ heart is filled with pity when he looks at all the disciples following him. He should be happy, no? What’s wrong?

Thirty years ago, I went to Corsica to visit friends and managed to almost drown my first day there. I was flown to the hospital in Ajaccio where I spent the night hooked up to an IV drip of antibiotics. My roommate was an elderly Corsican with a heart problem. My friends told him I was a priest.

We spoke a lot after my friends left he in French – I in the French equivalent of “See Spot run. Run. Run. Run.” He shared some problems he had with the Church. I had some problems, too. We talked about praying and what we got out of it. After my friends drove me back to their home, they told me that the Corsican told them he was returning to the Church.

Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus telling the twelve apostles. “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out the demons!” What does “the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few” mean? It means stop complaining! Get out there. Every moment of the day brings an opportunity to let Jesus preach and teach through each and every one of us, young, old, hospitalized, healthy – the guy in back of me in the queue. “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

The Pastor’s Reflections

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 316-17)

Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin who would visit him under the cover of darkness. Jesus revealed to him that if he were not born again he would not enter the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus was puzzled by that teaching.

However, after the death of Jesus, Nicodemus found new courage and assisted Joseph of Arimathea in the burial of Jesus. They buried the light only to discover that it would not be extinguished. Three days later the light stepped out of the darkness, the firstborn from the tomb.

That day, Nicodemus came to understand that belief in Jesus meant more than accepting his teachings. It meant personally experiencing his love. When he truly understood that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” he would be reborn. From that moment on, God would be his Father, and the life of the Eternal One would abide within him.

I’m celebrating my 51st anniversary of ordination today. They’ve been rich, wonderful years. I’ve met and worked with many good people. But I’ve had one consistent challenge. It stems from the fact that I believe God loves each of us unconditionally. I haven’t been very successful in convincing people of this. I’m surprised how many Catholics believe that God is a harsh judge preparing to deliver a sentence on each of us. Sometimes people say that this is what they were taught as children. I can understand that, and have had my fair share of that kind of negative teaching. But at some point in the course of our lives we need to assess what we have been taught. Today’s quote from the Gospel gives us an opportunity to do so. Let’s think a bit about Jesus’ life.

Jesus pitted himself against the religious legalists of his day, the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. They argued a great deal, and they despised Jesus for his seeming disregard for the religious laws. Here are two examples. Jesus was once walking along a field of wheat with his disciples. They plucked grains off the shoots as they walked and popped them into their mouths. This rubbed the religious leaders the wrong way. By plucking the grains the disciples were breaking the Sabbath law of rest. Jesus reminded them that, “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) They had created so many laws to govern the Sabbath that the “day of rest” had become a burden to everyone. He pushed them further when he would cure on the Sabbath.

One day he cured a man with dropsy, what we would diagnose as body swelling due to congestive heart failure. One of the Pharisees took him to task. Jesus’ response was quick and practical. “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull them out on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 14:5) In other words, charity trumps the law.

Think of the parable of the Prodigal Son in which the loving father overlooks everything that his youngest son did without the slightest judgment against him. Think of the woman who was caught in adultery. The Scribes and Pharisees said that according to the law she should be stoned to death. His response cut them to the heart. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) They walked away one by one. Then Jesus spoke to the woman. “Has no one condemned you?…Neither do I. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” John 8:10-11)

Before he died Jesus gave one last tremendous teaching. From the cross he prayed, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) How could Jesus teach compassion and forgiveness to the extent he did if he weren’t convinced of God’s unconditional love for each of us? The primacy of love was Jesus’ message! “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (John13:34”)

In order to follow his command to love, it is essential that we first realize, and feel with every cell in our bodies, God’s unconditional love. That love will help us push aside all our self-judgment. That love will heal our hearts of negativity.

Our love of one another has to flow from the love of God that has been poured into us. Think of God’s love for you often. Start every day, and end every night, with a short prayer acknowledging God’s love for you. Remember Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. Meditate on his words to him. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” Why did God give his Son? Because he loved us! When that sinks into our hearts we’ll begin to see life, and ourselves, as disciples of Jesus in a different way. We’ll have to be born again. We’ll experience God as our loving Father. We’ll live “in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21)

The Pastor’s Reflections

he Pentecost account begins with a seemingly simple statement, “When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled they were all together in one place.” Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, is making reference to the Jewish Feast of Weeks, Shavu’ot, also called Pentecost. He’s giving a framework for the event that he is about to present. What’s this feast all about?

The Feast of Weeks was given that name because it took place seven weeks, a week of weeks, after the feasts of Passover and Firstfruits. The biblical Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the early barley harvest, and was held on the Sunday after the Sabbath following the Passover. The Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, was celebrated fifty days after Passover and commemorated the wheat harvest.

Luke was making an important point with this simple reference to these three Jewish feasts, Passover, Firstfruits and Pentecost. Jesus was the Passover lamb whose blood redeemed us from the death our sins merited. He rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. On Pentecost, fifty days after his resurrection, the wheat harvest was celebrated. Luke was presenting those who were gathered in the upper room as the first harvest of the redeemed world, the Church.

“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.” This is the foundation Luke used for his account of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. He built on it by adding several wonderful and rich images.

After the death of Jesus the disciples had either fled Jerusalem, or went into hiding. The Jewish feast had just concluded but there were still many pilgrims in Jerusalem. Suddenly the disciples, and the people milling about outside, heard the sound of “a strong driving wind.” It seemed to fill the entire room where they were. This sound harkened back to the first moment of creation when a mighty wind swept over the waters of chaos. The sound of the wind announced the beginning of a new creation.

The sound of the wind was followed by the appearance of “tongues as of fire which parted and came to rest on each one of them.” Fire was often associated with God in the Old Testament. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and later appeared in fire on Mount Sinai when God gave him the Law. The fiery power of God came to rest on each one of the disciples, “and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

The sound of the wind was loud, as was the proclamation of the disciples. “There were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” We can now begin to pull together the imagery of the Jewish Pentecost and the Christian Pentecost that Luke combined in this account.

Luke, in his magnificent recounting of the Pentecost event, unfolded the dynamic of the Paschal Mystery. Jesus died a horrible and ignominious death, but it was the first necessary step to his resurrected life. Three days after his death his disciples saw him alive and glorious. For forty days he appeared to them, ate with them, and instructed them. He was preparing them for a life-changing event. Jesus told them that he would soon rise in ascension to take his place with the Father. But he assured them that he would not abandon them like orphans. He promised that he would send the Spirit to them.

They waited for ten days after his ascension. The Spirit indeed came to them in the dramatic majesty of fire. God’s Spirit divided itself among them imparting to each of them the divine energy to continue the mission of Jesus. Through his life, death and resurrection Jesus eternally bonded himself to the human family. He experienced all that we would experience in life – pain and suffering, joy and sorrow, hope and desperation. Having passed through the darkness of death, he ascended to a new and resurrected life. Through the Spirit’s descent he stretched out his helping hand as an invitation for all to follow after him. The effects of the Spirit’s descent were immediate.

The disciples “began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” When God first reached out to the human family, he told Abraham that he would make his descendants “as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.” He wasn’t speaking of one specific group of people. The day would come when that promise would break out of the confines of the chosen people and extend to the entire world. All people, for all time, would be invited to hear the Good News of salvation. Everyone would be called to enter the Paschal Event and ascend to the Father.

All of the disciples of Jesus, the first small group and all who were to follow them, became missionaries that Pentecost day. Each of us have been commissioned to take up the mission of Jesus. We are to teach, and heal, and comfort, and pass on the fire of the Spirit to others. We are to “set fire on the earth.”

With the Feast of Pentecost we’ve come to the conclusion of fifty days of prayer and deep reflection on the Paschal Mystery, Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension. But we mustn’t move on to “ordinary time” without remembering the word of the angels to the disciples who witnessed Jesus’ ascension, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” The angels were telling them to get their heads out of the clouds – to come back down to earth! To let Jesus ascend and to pick up the work he began. For us, “ordinary time” is the time of the Spirit. It’s everyday time. As disciples of Jesus we’ve been anointed with the fire of the Spirit. We’ve been commissioned to continue the mission. It’s not a time to say we’re Christians. It’s the time for us to be Christ in the world – to channel the brilliant fire of the Spirit into every dark corner of the world. It’s the time for us to continue to build the new world Jesus began. For us Christians, that’s ordinary time!

The Pastor’s Reflections

We have only a few more days before we conclude the glorious week of weeks, the Easter Season, forty-nine days of resurrection joy! Next Sunday we’ll be celebrating the Feast of Pentecost. This Sunday provides us with an interesting and beautiful reflection to end the Easter Season; we read the conclusion of Jesus’ Last Supper discourse. It ends chapter seventeen of John’s Gospel. Chapter eighteen begins the account of the Passion with the arrest of Jesus. However, the ending of the discourse is a perfect segue to the Feast of Pentecost and the beginning of “Ordinary Time.” The ending of this discourse is a prayer that Jesus addresses to the Father. Before we ponder the prayer it will be helpful to recount what came before.

At the Last Supper, Jesus imparted his most important teachings to his disciples. He washed their feet in an act of profound humility, taking on the task of a slave. He asked them to follow his example, to leave their pride behind and to devote their lives to one another. He focused this teaching by giving them a new commandment: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” By washing their feet he impressed on them the nature of his love. It was a sacrificial love. He was asking them to follow him by offering their lives in loving service to one another.

He continued by announcing to them that, though he was leaving them and going back to his Father, he would prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. It was at this point that Jesus began to introduce the second theme of his discourse, unity. “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” He continued, “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.”

Jesus, developing the themes of service and unity, used a metaphor to enforce his teaching. “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” He followed this by twice repeating, “love one another as I have loved you.”

Several times during the discourse Jesus mentioned the coming of another Advocate. “The holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name – he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” “When the Advocate comes whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” The promise of the Advocate was an important element in Jesus’ farewell discourse. Jesus was returning to the Father. He was now commissioning the disciples to take up the work he had begun. They would be enlightened, and strengthened by the Advocate that he would send them. Having concluded his discourse Jesus raised his eyes in a prayer to his Father. This is the passage we contemplate today.

“Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all that you gave him.” (John 17: 1-2) John the evangelist named his account of the Last Supper and Passion, the Book of Glory, and used the words “glory” and “glorify” twenty-six times in his Gospel. Jesus changed water into wine “and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.” (John 2:11) When Lazarus’ sister told Jesus not to open the tomb because her brother had been dead four days, he said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40) Glory is God’s manifested majesty. Through the works he performed, Jesus glorified the Father. In this prayer he asked the Father to glorify him “with the glory that I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5) But his prayer didn’t conclude there. His prayer continued in a most extraordinary way.

He reminded the Father of the depth of his relationship with his disciples. “I revealed your name to those you gave me out of the world.” (John 17:6) The revelation of a name implies tremendous intimacy with a person. It means knowing who the person really is. Jesus opened the door to the Father. All those who believed in Jesus have seen the Father’s glory. They witnessed it in the person of Jesus, in the works he performed, and the message he shared with them. He went on to remind the Father that he “has been glorified in them.”(John 17:10) Lastly, he consecrated the disciples’ mission. “I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world.” (John17:11)

These last words of Jesus pull together the entire Last Supper teaching. Jesus’ disciples, from that day on, have been consecrated to carry on his mission. We’re to remain after him as the leaven of the Kingdom in a world that moves contrary to God. In the world, personal glory is achieved through the accumulation of wealth, and the exercise of power over others. The disciples of Jesus discover the glory of God through their dedicated and loving service to the poor, the outcast and the powerless. The Advocate, Jesus’ eternal gift to us, is with us, and in us, giving us the power to counteract the world and its false and dehumanizing values.

The coming Feast of Pentecost is our yearly reminder that we have accepted to carry on the mission of Jesus to conquer the world. Loving service is to be our weapon. Harmony with God and one another is the power behind our service. At the Last Supper Jesus clearly told his disciples, “I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)