The Sixth Sunday of Easter
9th May 2010 9:00a.m. Sung Eucharist
Preacher: The Dean
To
learn we must reflect
‘But the Advocate, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and
remind you of all that I have said to you.’ (Jn 14: 23-26).
Two
of the important tasks of the Holy Spirit are to ‘teach’ and to ‘remind’. It
means that the Holy Spirit enable the disciples to 'learn' and to 'remember /
recollect' all that Jesus had told them.
However,
when we say that the Holy Spirit will teach us everything, we may ask whether Jesus
has forgotten to tell us something, so he needs to send the Holy Spirit to
teach us? According to the Bible, we all know that the good news Jesus tells us
is completed. He has not forgotten anything. But why then should the Spirit
need to ‘teach’?
Indeed,
Jesus could not detail all the consequences and concrete applications of his
message. But when the disciples encountered various setbacks in life they
recalled what Jesus had taught them, they made use of his teachings to direct
their lives and help them make important decisions. So their faith grew and
matured. Jesus' words had been internalized and had become their motivation and
direction for life.
In
John's first Epistle (1 Jn 1: 1-3) he describes the disciples as they went out
to spread Jesus' teaching: “What we have heard, what we have
seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and
testify to it – we declare to you what we have seen and heard.”
This is what we mean by 'pondering' over the Word of God. The initial hearing
may not be sufficient to allow the Word to become nourishment for life.
Yet,
the history of the Church would have brought up always new situations and
problems ever more complex. Think of the instance how many problems are now
waiting to be enlightened by the gospel : how to live in peace with people practicing
other religions or with the members of sects; how to behave with atheists; how
to limit the number of children so that they can all be cared and educated
properly; what stand to take on economic and political systems that keep so
many people in poverty or misery?
Jesus
is assuring his disciples that they will always find the suitable answer to
their questions, a reply in harmony with his teaching, if they keep listening
to his word and if they keep their heart open to the work of the Spirit. It
will take courage to observe his indications, since often this will require
very radical changes. But he will ‘only teach’ us the gospel of Jesus and
nothing else.
Faith
is not an object or an article. For example, we can pass a ball-pen around ten
times or a hundred, and it remains a ball-pen. If we spread the Word around, it
will certainly change. It is like a story, it will not remain the same once it
has been told several times. Faith, however, in the process of being handed
down, may change, not in spirit, but in the external form and method of
promulgation.
Let
us take the example of 'imitating Jesus'. When Jesus forgave those who had crucified
him, he prayed to his heavenly Father saying, “Father,
forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk
23: 34). Of course we must imitate Jesus, but we need not be hanged on the
cross or speak the same words that Jesus spoke.
There
are many ways to forgive others and a variety of circumstances. After children
have bickered with each other, by the next day they often have forgotten all
about it. They play together again happily. That is 'forgiving' and
'forgetting'. Parents and children disagree over something, and a warm greeting
the following morning is sufficient to mollify yesterday’s unpleasantness. If
two Christians sincerely and warmly greet each other at the Peace during the
Eucharist, grudges and ill feelings may dissolve altogether.
If
we but remember Jesus' words and recall his example, we surely can find our own
way to express forgiveness. The spirit is the same, but the style and content
can take many forms. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is why John says
in his Gospel that the Holy Spirit will teach us everything, and
remind us of all that he has said to us.
Let
talk another example of how the Holy Spirit remind us of the teaching of Jesus.
Up to a few years ago, many Christian distinguished between just wars and unjust
wars and even spoke of ‘holy wars’, approving the use of arms to defend one’s
rights. Now few people hold this, thank God. But why is it that the disciples
of Christ forgot for so long his very clear words forbidding any form of
violence against their fellows? It seems impossible but it has happened. Here
is then the Spirit ‘reminding’ us of the words of Jesus : ‘Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you.’ For many centuries the Christians closed their
ears to the calls of the Spirit, but now anybody trying to justify violence is
more and more pressed by the Spirit ‘reminding’ him / her of the words of
Jesus. When will our communities pick up courage and open wide their ears and
hearts to the gospel calls for the sharing of goods, reconciliation, harmony,
justice and peace?
Scripture
written more than two thousand years ago will not tell us about the actual
realities of today's society nor predict in detail the misfortunes we encounter
now. Still less will it provide us with concrete and detailed solutions to our
problems. We must reflect over and over, think of different analogies, reflect
in quiet on the example of Jesus and absorb his spirit. Then we will
internalize his teachings and allow his words to become alive in our hearts. We
can then discover our own unique way to meet life’s challenges. When we have
reached this stage, our faith life has become mature, with a maturity that is
moved and enkindled by the Spirit. Then we need to 'recall' the words of Jesus
and make them our very own.
Our
life span is short and our experience is limited. It is impossible for anyone
to experience personally every event or discover everything. We need to learn, and
by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, learn from other people, from Nature, and
even from the history and culture of other nations.
Jesus
is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He has the words of truth and the words of
eternal life. He tells us of the rich content of our lives, points out the
right direction for life, and more, leads us safely to eternal life. We need to
learn more and more from Jesus.
Merely
to learn however is not enough. That will not automatically make learning
become part of ourselves. But if we know how to reflect also, we will gradually
allow the experience and wisdom of others to transform us and become our own
wisdom.
In
this respect, we need to learn how we can grow by alternating between
reflection and implementation. We realize we must love others, so we carry out
this love in our lives. Having put them into practice, we have a deeper
understanding of how to love others. So in the process of loving others, we
become more enthused and advance one step further in our understanding of true
love.
In
this process the Holy Spirit plays a decisive role. The Spirit enables us to
put into practice all we have learned from Jesus, and in the practice deepen
our understanding of Jesus’ words. It is a process that spirals up and up, and
as it continues our faith life gradually matures. The faith we have learned and
heard from Jesus becomes our own faith.
May the Holy Spirit teach us and remind us of what
Jesus teaches us, so we may bear the witness of the love of our risen Lord.