Sunday Reading

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (Cycle A)

In those years, when the Lord's Ascension is celebrated on the Sunday after the Sixth Sunday of Easter, the Second Reading and the Gospel Reading for the Seventh Sunday of Easter can be read on the Sixth Sunday.

Readings:
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Psalm 66:1-3a, 4-7a, 16, 20
1 Peter 3:15-18
John 14:15-21

All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).

God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The Theme of this Sunday's Readings: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. He is distinct from the Father and the Son but one in being, coequal, and coeternal with them because, like them, He is God in the fullest sense. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit during His homily at the Last Supper, calling Him the "Paraclete" (Advocate) and "the Spirit of Truth" (Jn 14:16-16). The Holy Spirit's mission is to fill and indwell every baptized member of the Body of Christ who is in a state of grace. He is present not only through the gifts of grace, which He dispenses but also by His uncreated divine nature. His indwelling manifests the love of God the Father and the Son appropriate to the Holy Spirit. He has the power to bind the people of God in the unity of faith through "life in the Spirit," making it possible for Christ to be present in the lives of the faithful of His Body, the Church.

The First Reading addresses the second stage in the expansion of the Church according to the command Jesus gave His disciples at His Ascension (Acts 1:8). The first stage was the baptism of the Church in Jerusalem with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday (Acts 1:4, 2:1-11). The second stage was the spread of the Gospel throughout Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:5, 40). Finally, the third stage started with the founding of the Church in Gentile lands like Antioch, Syria (Acts 11:20), and from there, reaching "to the ends of the earth" (Mt 28:19-20).

In the Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist speaks of the salvation of God's people as a unified covenant nation and as individuals. The Psalm begins with an invitation to all the earth to proclaim the glory of the Divine Name. Next, he mentions what God did for Israel in the Exodus liberation before turning from what God has done for Israel to what God has done for him. Finally, he blesses God, who hears his prayers and extends His mercy to the psalmist.

In the Second Reading, St. Peter wrote that God the Holy Spirit is the reason for our hope as the Church moves into the third stage of her mission to evangelize the world. He urged the faithful to sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope (1 Pt 3:15, NABRE). St. Peter eloquently stated the mission of Christian witness, which he urged the communities of the Church spread across Asia Minor to accept. Christians must always be ready to give a defense or testimony of the Gospel, which is their hope of salvation, even when confronted with persecution and suffering.

In our Gospel Reading from Jesus's discourse at the Last Supper, He told His disciples that He would not remain visibly among them. However, He assured them He would be with them through the mission of the Holy Spirit, whom He would send to be their Advocate, Counselor, and Defender. Jesus identified God the Holy Spirit as a person, not merely a force. He referred to the Holy Spirit using the masculine pronoun "He" and used three prepositions in the Greek text to describe the Spirit's relationship to the believer. Jesus said He would be "with you always," He "remains with/by you," and "will be in you," meaning dwelling within you. Jesus assured every believer that God the Holy Spirit would be "with you" as your companion in fellowship, "by you" in His position as your advocate and counselor, and "in you" as the indwelling personal God who is your source of supernatural life.

The First Reading Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 ~ Reception of the Holy Spirit
5 Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. 6 With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. 8 There was great joy in that city. [...] 14 Now when the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

This event took place in the second stage of the expansion of the Church according to the command Jesus gave His disciples at His Ascension (Acts 1:8). The first stage was establishing the Church in Jerusalem. The second stage was the spread of the Gospel throughout Judea and Samaria, and the third stage would be the founding of the Church in the Gentile lands of Antioch (Syria) in Acts 11:20 and proclaiming the Gospel "to the ends of the earth."

Philip the deacon was the first representative of the Church sent to Samaria to proclaim Jesus's Gospel of salvation. It was the capital city of the former Northern Kingdom of Israel; however, after the Assyrian conquest of Israel in the 8^th century BC, the Assyrians sent the Israelite population into exile. Then they brought five Gentile groups into the territory, renaming it the Province of Samaria (2 Kng 17:24). At the time Philip evangelized in Samaria in the first century AD, the region was a Roman province ruled by the Roman governor whose residence was in Caesarea Maritima on the coast. The Samaritans were not friendly with the Jews, and the Jews despised the Samaritans, whom they considered to be either apostate, mixed-race Jews or heretical former pagans who perverted the Law of Moses. The Samaritans did not worship at the Jerusalem Temple but built an illicit temple on Mt. Gerizim (Jn 4:20, 22; 2 Kng 17:6; 24-33). They only accepted their revised version of the Torah of Moses as canonical Scripture (the first five books of the Bible). They rejected all other sacred texts, including prophets, histories, and wisdom literature.

Philip was one of the seven deacons ordained by the Apostles in Acts 8:2-14. He could not be Philip the Apostle because Acts records that the Apostles remain in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). The people of Samaria welcomed Philip's healings and his Gospel message, for they too were expecting the coming of the Messiah (Jn 4:25). In Luke 9:51-53, the people of a Samaritan village would not welcome Jesus or the disciples because they were on their way to Jerusalem. Now that the Jerusalem Jews had rejected Jesus's emissaries and the Jerusalem Temple authorities declared their hostility toward Jesus's Apostles and disciples, the Samaritans were ready to welcome them.

Acts 8:14-17 ~ Now the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
These verses record a distinction between baptism "in the name of Jesus" and the reception of God the Holy Spirit that completes and perfects baptism. The same distinction appears in Acts 10:44-48 and 19:1-9. The Apostles Peter and John imposing their hands upon those baptized by Philip confirm the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. Perhaps despite the baptism by Philip in the Trinitarian formula as prescribed by Christ (Mt 28:19), the new mission needed to be certified by the higher authority of Church leadership. St. Peter is the Church's first Vicar/Pope and would become Bishop of Rome. St. John the Apostle would fill the office of Bishop for communities in Asia Minor. The Church teaches that the "original minister of Confirmation is the bishop" (CCC 1312), and this was the spirit of the mission of Saints Peter and John in Samaria.

The Church defines the difference between the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation (CCC 1315-17). In the Sacrament of Baptism, one receives the Holy Spirit. However, the Sacrament of Confirmation perfects baptismal grace by rooting the Christian more deeply in divine filiation (sonship) through the Holy Spirit. This divine filiation is accomplished by the Holy Spirit incorporating the Christian more firmly into Christ, strengthening the bond with the Church by associating the believer more closely with the Church's mission and giving the spiritual strength to bear witness to the Christian faith through words and deeds. Baptism and Confirmation "imprints a spiritual mark or indelible character on the Christian's soul" (CCC 1317). For this reason, the Sacrament of Confirmation, like Baptism, can only be received once in a person's life.

Responsorial Psalm 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 ~ God's Mighty Works of Salvation
The response is: "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy." Or "Alleluia."

1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, 2 sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. 3a Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds! ...."
Response
4 "Let all the earth worship and sing praise to you, sing praise to your name!" 5 Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
Response
6 He has changed the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot; therefore let us rejoice in him. 7a He rules by his might forever, .... [...].
Response
16 Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me. [...]. 20 Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or his kindness!
Response:

In Psalm 66, the psalmist focused on the salvation of God's people as a unified covenant nation and as individuals. The Psalm begins with an invitation to all the earth to proclaim the glory of the Divine Name (verses 1-4). Then, with the words "Come and see" in verse 5, he invites humanity to come to faith by recognizing God's mighty works for humanity's salvation. Next, he mentions the miracle of God parting the waters for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea to escape the Egyptians (Ex 14:26-31) and drying up the waters of the Jordan River so the covenant people could cross over into the Promised Land of Canaan in verse 6 (Josh 3:14-17). Then, in verses 16-20, the psalmist turned from what God did for Israel in the past to what God has done for him. The invitation for all who fear offending God to "Come and hear" of verse 16 connects to the "Come and see" of verse 5. Finally, he blesses God, who hears his prayers and extends His mercy to the psalmist.

Through the Incarnation of God the Son, God the Father extends His Divine Mercy to humankind. In the work of Jesus Christ, we are invited to both "come and see" and "come and hear" the mighty works of God on behalf of humanity's eternal salvation. Jesus has defeated sin and death and has made it possible for all who accept God's gift of salvation to cross the great void of death into the Promised Land of Heaven. Those who both love and fear offending God will embrace His gift and will cry out in joy: "Alleluia," in Hebrew, "Hallelujah," "Praise God, Yahweh!"

The Second Reading 1 Peter 3:15-18 ~ Life in the Spirit
15 Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, 16 but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once, and righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.

St. Peter sent this letter to the Christian communities located in the five provinces of Asia Minor, which included areas evangelized by St. Paul (1 Pt 1:1; Acts 16:6-7; 18:23). He encouraged Christians living in those communities to remain faithful despite threats of persecution and to proclaim the Gospel of salvation fearlessly. Christians must bear witness to their hope in Christ to the Gentiles, who previously had no hope because their pagan beliefs could not offer eternal salvation.

Peter wrote: Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope (verse 15b). This is one of the most frequently quoted verses from St. Peter's letter, which eloquently states the mission of the Christian witness that Peter urged the communities of the Church to accept. Christians must always be ready to give a defense or testimony of the Gospel, which is their hope of salvation, even when confronted with persecution and suffering. The word "explanation," translated from the Greek word apologia, can be used in a legal sense as a "defense" of one's position as in giving one's "testimony." It is the origin of the word "apologetics," the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of information. Early Christian writers who defended the Christian faith against critics and gave testimony concerning their faith to others were called "apologists." Is it the same word used in Luke 12:11-12 when Jesus told the disciples they would have to defend themselves before rulers/authorities. It also appears in Acts 22:1, where St. Paul gave a legal defense of his belief in Jesus Christ to the Jewish Sanhedrin, and in Acts 25:16, when St. Paul defended his Christian beliefs to the Roman governor Felix and King Agrippa of Judea. But in this verse, St. Peter uses the word more generally, writing, "to anyone who asks you."

Next, St. Peter focused on how one offers his Christian defense/testimony. Peter advised 16 but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. If one behaves badly in presenting a defense, the bad conduct will reflect not only on all Christians but on Christ Himself, whereas good behavior is a credit to Christ and His Church.

17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once, and righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit.
By His suffering and death, the righteous Jesus Christ saved the unrighteous. By His Resurrection, He received new life in the Spirit, which He now communicates to the faithful through the Sacrament of Baptism. In Christian Baptism, the believer dies to sin and resurrects to a new life in the Spirit. Therefore, Christians do not need to fear but should rejoice in suffering for the sake of the Gospel because their hope of salvation is in Christ, and their lives become sanctified by the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.

How many opportunities do you have during the week to present your apologia of Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior? When those opportunities arise, follow Jesus's advice. He told His disciples: "... do not worry about how or what your defense [apologia] will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say" (Lk 12:11b-12). See the document "Catholic Apologetics Resource".

The Gospel of John 14:15-21 ~ The Eternal Presence of God the Holy Spirit
Jesus said to His disciples: 15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [Paraclete/ parakletos] to be with you always, 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with [by] you, and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 In a little while, the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." [...] = IBGE, vol. IV, page 298.

Jesus told the disciples that we demonstrate our love for Him by obeying His commandments. He made this point twice in verses 15 and 21. His commandments included everything He taught us. We must exhibit love in action! St. John the Apostle wrote: Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth" (1 Jn 3:18), and, For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith (1 Jn 5:3-4).

The "other" Advocate Jesus promised to send is God the Holy Spirit, who is, for the first time, revealed as the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. The people of the Sinai Covenant or the earlier covenants did not have the revelation of the Trinitarian nature of God. In Hebrew, the word ruah/ruach means wind, breath, air, or soul/spirit, and in Scripture is often expressed as the "spirit" or "divine wind" of God (i.e., Gen 1:2). Ruah can denote human breath (the air humans breathe to stay alive that is a sign of life, or the absence of which indicates death). However, the use of this word in association with Yahweh is the very breath or spirit that comes forth from the "mouth" of the Living God (Gen 2:7) that is His living power (see Ps 33:6). It is the "breath of God" that inspired the holy prophets and was received by the Davidic kings of Israel at their coronations as Yahweh's anointed (Is 11:2). In the Greek translation of the Old Testament and New Testament, the Hebrew word ruah is usually translated by the Greek word pneuma and used to identify the God the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus called the Comforter and Advocate (Paraclete).

The word "Paraclete" is an anglicized transliteration of the Greek word parakletos, a term only found five times in Sacred Scripture, only in St. John's Gospel and in St. John's First Epistle (see Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; and 1 Jn 2:1). The word parakletos can have various meanings. For example, it can mean advocate, intercessor, counselor, protector, or supporter. The literal Greek entomology is from para = "beside" + kalein = "to call or summon." Therefore, the word means "to be called to someone's side to accompany, console, protect, and defend that person" (Catholic Dictionary, page 309).

In this passage, Jesus says: 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [Paraclete/ parakletos] to be with you always.... In John 15:26, Jesus continued telling the Apostles about the coming of the Holy Spirit when He said, "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me." Then in John 16:7c, Jesus reassured the Apostles: "I will send him (the Holy Spirit) to you," and after the Resurrection, the glorified Jesus, God the Son, would breathe on the Apostles in the Upper Room and will say "Receive the Holy Spirit" (see Jn 20:22).

These passages do not contradict each other; they establish the procession of the Most Holy Trinity, as we affirm in the Nicene Creed. But why did Jesus speak of God the Holy Spirit as "another advocate" in John 14:16? The Church received the Holy Spirit in Christ's place as Advocate, Defender, and Teacher because Jesus ascended to Heaven to take His place with the Father forty days after His Resurrection. But the Advocate the Father sent was not different from Christ; instead, He is another similar to Himself (see Mt 6:24). He sent the Spirit after His Ascension in Acts Chapter 2 on Pentecost Sunday when God the Holy Spirit came fill and indwell the Church.

In John 14:16-17, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit the title "the Spirit of Truth." In verse 17, John made a grammatical error that may be bad Greek but is good Christian theology. The Greek word for wind or spirit is pneuma. In Greek, it is neuter and does not take the masculine pronoun John gave it, but John is using good Christian theology. God the Holy Spirit is a person and not merely a force. John identified the Holy Spirit as "he" three times in verse 16. The Greek text also used three prepositions in verses 16-17 to describe the Spirit's relationship to the believer (in bold type in the quotation): 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [Paraclete/ parakletos] to be with you always, 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with [by] you, and will be in you. Jesus assured every believer that the Third Person (He) of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit:

"with you" as your companion in fellowship,
"by you" in His position as your advocate and counselor, and
"in you" as the indwelling personal God who is your source of supernatural life.

When Jesus ascended to the Father, He promised that the disciples would continue to have Him with them. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Jesus remains with His disciples in every generation. He is with us in the miracle of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, and whenever we call upon Him in prayer, He fulfills the promise He made when He said, "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28:20). This promise is for all believers who walk in Jesus's footsteps throughout their earthly life. We have His assurance that we will see Him at the end of our faith journey through this earthly life. At our individual/particular judgment, He will stand beside us as our Advocate (CCC 1021-22). We can also be confident that we will be with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven if we persevere in faith (CCC 1023, 1026). St. Paul assured faithful Christians: If then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him (Rom 6:8, NABRE).

Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Acts 8:14-17 (CCC 1315-17); 8:15-17 (CCC 1288*)

1 Peter 3:18 (CCC 632*)

John 14:16-17 (CCC 729*, 2615); 14:16 (CCC 692); 14:17 (CCC 243*, 687, 2466, 2671*); 14:18 (CCC 788*)

Christ's prayer at the Last Supper (CCC 2746*, 2747*, 2748*, 2749*, 2750*, 2751*)

The Holy Spirit as Advocate/Consoler (CCC 243*, 388*, 692*, 729*, 1433*, 1848*)

Invoking the Holy Spirit (CCC 1083*, 2670*, 2671*, 2672)