Jesus is Always Present: Reflection on the 6th Sunday of Easter

Beloved parishioners,

Imagine that your best friend is leaving town and there is no way to change things. How would you feel? What would you do with your sorrow? This seems to be the scene in this weekend’s gospel. Jesus is comforting his disciples because he is moving, not just to a different town, but away from this world. His departure is certain and there is nothing the disciples can do about it. The setting of our Gospel is akin to the experience at the funeral of a loved one. While we might sometimes be glad that our beloved no longer experiences pain or sickness, we are nonetheless saddened by their demise. We feel burdened by their departure, and lonely. But Jesus does not leave his disciples without hope of his return. He promises them that he will come back to them. He encourages them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid... I am going away and I will come back to you.” Of course, his presence with us is everlasting, because he is Immanuel - God with us. He never leaves us. Although we might not see him in his corporeal existence in our everyday experience, he is present to us more than we realize. His absence makes him much closer than he was before. He is returning to the Father, and from there he sends us his Spirit. This should be a cause for joy.

The function of the Spirit, as we read in the Gospel, is to “teach you everything, and remind you of all that I told you.” The Spirit does not manufacture new truths, but makes intelligible what Jesus had revealed through his life and teaching. “He will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14). This Holy Spirit is alive and active in the Church today. It is the Spirit who gives impetus to our pastoral ministry, work of charity, evangelization efforts, and social action. This Spirit who once moved over the formless void at creation continues to renew creation through the ministry and action of believers.

As we begin what we know to be the oldest of Novenas, in anticipation of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (from May 27 – June 4), let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal who Jesus truly is to us, and to help us love him daily more and more. Come Holy Spirit!

Christos Anesti… Alithos Anesti!