Date: Sunday, May 29, 2022
Saying goodbye can be both sad and memorable -- to your child getting on the school bus for the first time and waving to you from her/his seat or to a son or daughter going off to college or to someone you love who is near death. This is certainly true for Jesus saying goodbye to his disciples when he returns to the Father in heaven. These goodbyes, farewell and ascending encounters between Jesus and his disciples are remembered differently by our evangelists Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. In the Gospel according to St. John, Jesus explains to his disciples that his going to the Father allows him to come to them in a new way. Jesus promises the Father will send the Advocate or Paraclete. “Paraclete” is a Greek word meaning “called to one’s side.” St. Luke, in his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles, gives us the imagery of the ascension of Jesus being lifted into heaven and of Jesus directing his disciples to stay in the city of Jerusalem and “wait for the promise of the Father.”
In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke tells us that the apostles, some women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the brothers, are gathered in the upper room devoted in prayer as they await the coming of Holy Spirit. We are assembled today between the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to help us make sense of two senseless acts of violence at the TOPS supermarket in Buffalo and in the elementary school in Texas. We are like the disciples trying to make sense of the crucifixion and death of Jesus on the cross and then discovering in their disbelief that their crucified savior has been raised and is still with them.
During the recent Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Vincent de Paul, Bishop Mike Fisher asked the teen and adult candidates what gift or fruit of the Holy Spirit they need to live out their baptismal faith as Catholics. Three or four of our teens raised their hands, stood up and responded to the Bishop’s question. One said, “Peace – because he felt peace at that moment.” Another, “Courage.” The other, “Fear of God.” We are inclined to soften “fear of God” by saying “awe or wonder of God.” But “fear of God” may be closer to the mark when we consider the state of our world, our personal and collective responsibility, and how we stand before the judgment of God. In a recent letter, Emeritus Pope Benedict wrote, “Quite soon, I shall find myself before the final judge of my life. Even though, as I look back on my long life, I can have great reason for fear and trembling, I am nonetheless of good cheer, for I trust firmly that the Lord is not only the just judge, but also the friend and brother who himself has already suffered for my shortcomings, and is thus also my advocate, my “Paraclete”.
As we ready for our commemoration of the feast of Pentecost next Sunday, I ask the same question as Bishop Mike of all of us here today, knowing the challenges we are facing and acknowledging our weakness and fears, what gift or fruit of the Holy Spirit do we need now at this time of crisis in our society and in the church?