Photo by Oriento on Unsplash
Easter 6 C
John 14:23-29
We are a culture-bearing primate called homo sapiens. This month is the Asian Heritage Month, which gives all Canadians an opportunity to reflect on and recognize contributions of Asians to the growth of Canada throughout our history.
The theme for this year, according to the Government of Canada, is “Continuing a legacy of greatness,” a reminder for all Canadians to come together to combat anti-Asian racism and discrimination in all forms.
It is important to raise awareness of challenges and to confront and denounce all forms of racism and discrimination faced by communities of different ethnic groups. Yet, here is a more important question: What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of comfort – the comfort that you have eternal life through all the combat you have had, against all painful memories, including discriminatory culture?
A pupil in Heidelberg Catechism class would answer: First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.
We search for an answer about who we are as a person and how we can become happy.
Homo sapiens, this anthropological term for the species to which all modern human beings belong means wise human – homo in Latin meaning human and sapiens derived from a Latin word that means wise.
Certainly, we humans are an incredible species, able to use our experience and knowledge in order to make sensible decisions and judgments. Our ancestors had overcome huge challenges over many epidemic episodes. With enhanced medical technology, we are able to combat against our unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, we even unveil the mystery of the blackhole. Undoubtedly, however, it will be an inaccurate description of ourselves to lay claim to be a wise being because we fail to act wisely over and over.
Despite progress in arms reduction and promotion of green environment, we continue to destroy a great many things and to trade something invaluable for the sake of money and short-term benefits. It is self-delusional and even dangerous to believe humans are wise.
In his play As You Like It, William Shakespeare puts it poignantly: “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” But we do have a source of knowledge – the Bible!
The Word of God is a treasure box to be opened up every day so that we can increase the knowledge of God and receive wisdom from Him. God’s Word helps us to have a better understanding of who we are in our relationships to our Creator, and it guides us towards the way we are supposed to walk.
“The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me,” says Jesus in today’s Gospel passage (Jn 14:24b). And, Jesus goes on to say: “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 14:26).
Jesus left these words as He was going away with His promise to return for His people.
Brothers and sisters . . .
The first and foremost reason why we gathered here today is to worship God, meditate on His Word, and examine our hearts. We are here to deepen our personal experience of meeting with our Lord through our collective worship and to share our faith, hope, and love with one another. And, when we have God in us, we should also be able to see God in each other’s face and in the exchange of conversations.
Then here is a question: How much do we grasp the meaning of God’s Word? Knowing the Scripture is not necessarily corelated to one’s understanding. A further question is if our understanding is reflected in our actions.
Proverb 2 advises us to turn our ear to wisdom, apply our heart to understanding, search for it like treasures. We must dig the treasures in the Scripture, but some people have a tendency to find a quick solution. It is easier to turn to friends for biased opinions that sound sweet to us or to use substances that make us feel good in the short term, but which will only cause damage to us in the long term.
Many of you will remember this vow:
I _____ take you _____ to be my husband (or wife), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy law, and this is my solemn vow.
In this world, vows can be broken, and things can go the way we do not want. When our roads are bumpy, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or health, we need to hold onto God’s Word. But, first we need to discipline ourselves.
The three-year cycle lectionary we are using do not cover the entire Bible. How much of the Bible is included in the lectionary for Mass is not as much as you think. Research tells us that current lectionary for Sundays and major feasts covers only 3.7% of the Old Testament and 40.8% of the New Testament. If you include weekdays, the percentage goes up to 13.5% and 71.5% respectively (https://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Statistics.htm ).
Today, I’d like to propose to you to read the Bible daily, following the one-year Bible reading plan. There are two options: 1) reading one book at a time and 2) reading from four separate places in the Scripture every day. I will give these two kinds of planners for you to take home.
Whichever option you choose, you can begin at any point of the year. The first day you start is Day 1, and you may check off checkbox as you go to stay on track. This daily task is not easy because you cannot skip any sections even if there are too many boring details, rule after rule, painful detail after painful detail.
But, as David says in Psalm 19, “they are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb” (v.10).
Is King David telling us that the laws in Leviticus are sweeter than honey? Perhaps few people in the Old Testament period understood what God was doing, and so do people today. But, God gave His people all kinds of rules to govern their behaviours and to protect them when they did not know how to protect themselves.
Some of you experienced tragedy and hardships in your life. It is love that motivates you to pick things up again. God who loves you gives you strength to carry on. God is calling you to a deeper relationship with Him.
Judas, not Iscariot who betrayed Jesus but another disciple, asks an excellent question: “How is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, not to the world?”
Jesus has little time left before He is sacrificed, but He leaves peace with His disciples, promising that the Holy Spirit whom God the Father will send in His name will teach them everything.
His peace is not like the peace of escape that comes from the avoidance of trouble or from refusing to face challenges. His peace is not an empty farewell but a real peace filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. His peace is unfearful in spite of all the suffering. And the continuing work of the Holy Spirit would look like the character of Jesus, bearing the fruit in you who believe in Him: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5).
In closing, let me share a short story about a university professor who came to a Zen master to ask him about Zen. The Zen master served him tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. “It is over-full. No more will go in!” The Zen master said, “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I teach you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Let us pray to God to help us to empty ourselves, whatever is in us that is worldly, that keeps us from the Advocate; also pray to God to fill us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit that Jesus has left as He departed.
The good news is this promise of Jesus for every believer that the Holy Spirit brings God’s Word to our remembrance.
God bless!