Another Paraclete
Sixth Sunday of Easter - A
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21
The liturgy of the Word prepares us for the feasts of the Ascension of the Lord and the Pentecost. Jesus goes to the Father (John 14:12) to ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit for the Church (John 14:16). Then, the apostles pray that those who believe in Christ "might receive the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:15). But first Jesus talks about something else.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). In the book of Deuteronomy, the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-21) precede the commandment of loving God (Deut. 6:4-5). "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me" (John 14:21). Then, in the book of Leviticus, the commandment of loving one's neighbor (Lev. 19:18) is preceded by God's call to holiness (Lev. 19:2). "In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy" (1 Pet. 3:15). Obedience to God's commandments expresses our love for God and our commitment to a holy living (1 Pet. 3:15-17).
"And I will ask the Father to give you another Paraclete" (John 14:16). Until now, Jesus was the "Paraclete" in the life of his disciples. He taught them how to preach the Gospel, gave them the power to do miracles, and protected them from all harm. But Jesus' physical presence was confined to Galilee and Judea. What about the rest of the world that waits for the Gospel? The Holy Spirit takes the role of the Paraclete. He is our Advocate in the courts (Mark 13:11), the one who intercedes for us during our prayer (Rom. 8:26) and directs us in our mission (Acts 8: 39-40; 16: 6-7).
"I will not leave you as orphans" (John 14:18). On Good Friday the world saw Jesus for the last time but the disciples would see him again (John 14:19). Their separation was short. The risen Lord who came and breathed on them "the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). "Shout for joy to God, all the earth" (Ps 66:1). Jesus truly lives and we shall also live (John 14:19). “There was much joy in that city" (Acts 8:8). The one who is the Truth (John 14:6) gives us the "Spirit of Truth" to unites us to himself and to the Father (John 14:20).
"Philip went down to the city of Samaria" (Acts 8:5) because "a great persecution" arose in Jerusalem after the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8:1-4). But God turned that suffering into an opportunity to preach the Gospel (Acts 8:4). Philip could proclaim what Peter wrote that Jesus Christ, the righteous one suffered "for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). The Samaritans believed and were baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:16). The phrase "in the name of the Lord Jesus" was used in the early Church to distinguish Christian baptism from John's baptism of repentance (Acts 19:3-4).
Just as the Spirit is a bond of love between the Father and the Son, so he also unites Christians into one body (1 Cor. 12:12-13). The new community of believers in Samaria had to be in communion with the church in Jerusalem and put under the authority of the apostles. And so, Peter and John were sent to Samaria (Acts 8:14). When Jesus laid his holy hands, the sick were healed and the dead brought back to life (Luke 4:40, Matt. 9: 18.25). When the apostles lay their hands, the Holy Spirit, Lord, and the Giver of Life descends upon newly baptized Christians (Acts 8: 15-17; 19: 5-6) to be with them forever (John 14:15). Today we experience the same when bishops, the successors of the apostles, lay their hands upon us, administering the sacrament of confirmation.
"The Old Testament proclaimed the Father clearly, but the Son more obscurely. The New Testament revealed the Son and gave us a glimpse of the divinity of the Spirit. Now the Spirit dwells among us and grants us a clearer vision of himself" (St. Gregory of Nazianzus in CCC, 684).