HOMILY: Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 14: 15-21
The Spirit of Truth
In the gospel passage from St. John this Sunday, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His imminent departure. He must leave them soon to return to the Father. This is why He gives His disciples some very important reminders prior to His departure. To further assure them of His continued presence among them, He says that when “The Advocate”, the Spirit of truth comes, He will testify on Jesus’ behalf. In other biblical translations the Holy Spirit is referred to as a ‘Counsellor’, ‘Comforter’, ‘Helper’, ‘Intercessor’, ‘Advocate’, and ‘Strengthener’. The Greek word is parakletos, from which comes the English word ‘Paraclete’. The Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son will keep on speaking the truths which Jesus first spoke. This same Holy Spirit will also strengthen the Apostles in the difficult task of proclaiming the Good News especially to hostile territories. We see these credible and effective gospel witnesses in the persons of Paul, Barnabas, Silas and Luke among others in the early church who through the power of the Holy Spirit were able to bring many people to embrace the faith and witness to it with courage even in the face of death. St. Peter reminds us: “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:17)
Brothers and sisters, this truth must be something which we ourselves are convinced about. We believe in this truth. It is our life and the very path we take as Jesus’ followers. We can speak about it and we live it out with compelling conviction. As Christians, we are called upon to be the martyrs of our faith even in our everyday witnessing to the truth. Thus, today’s readings invite us to ask ourselves: Are we true witnesses of Christ? May God give us the courage and strength through the Holy Spirit to be living witnesses, credible, and faithful witnesses of Jesus in our world!
For the full text of the homily, please click or tap on link below:
https://frrickmontanez.wordpress.com/…/the-spirit-of…/
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