Mid-Pentecost Wednesday, 2020 Acts 14:6-18 John 7:14-30
Christ is Risen!
God is truly a mystery to us creatures. In this Gospel people claimed to know God better than Jesus. Some scoffed at the son of a carpenter and wanted him to keep quiet and go away. Others were amazed at the miracle but couldn’t understand what Jesus was teaching.
Has humanity really changed? We still have people who claim the Gospel is fable; others claim Christianity but don’t know why it conflicts so much with society. Others say they are disciples but judge others. Like those in the Gospel, we don’t seem to distinguish the contrast between God and Man; we want to bring ourselves up by bringing God down to conform to our liking. It is difficult to accept the gift of Theosis when we fail to bow to God’s will.
We are stained by sin….every sin of every human, whether it be a “white lie,” abortion of the most defenseless, or mass murder…sin harms humanity and Creation. One should not wonder why we have a global pandemic which is becoming a worldwide depression with mass starvation. God doesn’t send punishment; we inflict it upon ourselves because we succumb to the evil one instead of accepting God’s call for us to be absorbed in his Love.
The Epistle readings in this Pascal season are from Acts of the Apostle. Christ promised a Paraclete to the Apostles who assembled in cenacles of prayers. Through the Divine Name of Jesus people were healed from the passing shadow of Peter. The Holy Trinity’s inspiration brought salvation to Gentiles, reaching to the four corners of the earth. In the city where people demanded that Jesus be crucified, 500 people were converted to Christianity with just one sermon from Peter.
Can you see the relationship of these events to that of today? Despair was prevalent at the burial of Jesus, just as we are a despairing people today. Christ’s Resurrection from the dead; the then-unknown Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and the world was renewed. God offers the same to us now, for God is unchanging. Through the despair of the destruction of the status quo, God grants us the inspiration to create a NEW JUBILEE, a renewed Creation under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit.
It is time for leadership to turn despair into hope; to change destruction to re-creation; to dismantle the upper and lower classes and to respect each human life as an IMAGE OF GOD. But first, ponder this …….Will we hear the Holy Spirit?
Christos voskrese!