Act 15:1-2, 22-29
Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
Rev 21:10-14, 22-23
Jn 14:23-29
You have all heard of some famous last words, and as one is about to die we always hope to hear some pithy little phrase to help us along in life or just something profound. Pierre Simon de Laplace, a French astronomer said, “What we know is not much. What we don’t know is enormous.” Some are funny, like Oscar Wilde on his deathbed, “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go.” And of course the good old country redneck: “Hey Billy! Watch this!” But on a more serious note, I remember as thousands gathered in the Vatican in his final hours, one of the last words of Blessed John Paul II was, "I have looked for you. Now you have come to me. And I thank you." One’s “last words” before they die has a certain finality to them. They are, in a way, how they will be remembered. Sometimes they are significant to us, sometimes they are not. However for Jesus we know that they are some of the most important words that He will say.
Our Gospel passage is in the midst of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse, leaving His faithful eleven disciples some final instructions and consolations. Five chapters of the Gospel of John is dedicated to what Jesus had to say; a summation of His teachings and revelation of His relationship with the Father. He was sent by the Father as an advocate on our behalf, to offer Himself for us. He would sacrifice Himself for the salvation of the world. But before this is all to take place, Jesus promises the disciples another Paraclete, an advocate: the Holy Spirit to be with them and to guide them when Jesus would be no longer walking beside them. For us this is important to remember – that it is the Holy Spirit that guided the Apostles and the bishops all the way down through the ages.
We see some of the immediate fruits of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the first Council of Jerusalem. The disciples were having some difficulties between the Jewish and pagan Gentile cultures. The question was whether or not circumcision was necessary for one to become a Christian. As circumcision was necessary for one to enter into covenant with God under Jewish law, it seemed like it would be necessary for the gentiles to do the same. Some argued for and others against. Besides being a very literally painful topic of discussion, the real issue at hand was how Christianity was going to move forward. As they received this revelation, the Holy Spirit’s guidance and inspiration, these apostles with Peter processed what had been given to them, deliberated, and came to some conclusions. Basically this new group of people, now called Christians who were demographically mostly Jews, would not bind those coming into the fold with Jewish Law. However, as far as the pagan influences of the gentiles were concerned, these had to be jettisoned and there needed to be a firm break with pagan practices. Therefore, the Church still had her roots in the Jewish faith, but would be bound under this New Covenant in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. These issues had not only to deal with matters of faith and morals but also it would shape how the Church would develop. I find it incredibly fascinating to see how these teachings developed in the early Church – [who said what and did what to get where we are]. But just as fascinating is seeing how the Church continues to develop after the second Vatican Council fifty years ago.
Our parish has been having many classes and courses in this Year of Faith and part of that is studying the documents of the second Vatican Council. But it’s more than just studying the source text itself, but rather also trying to see how the documents developed, the context and the circumstances in which the documents were written, and then try to interpolate and extrapolate the meaning in the texts. It is really quite fascinating to study and I encourage you to take up that enterprise in trying to see why we do what we do and maybe even question if what we are doing is what we are supposed to be doing. Believe it or not, it is probably easier to read the Vatican II documents than it is to read any legislation from Capitol Hill and better yet, you’ll probably have a better shot at saving your soul.
But back to the scriptures for today. We see this council of Jerusalem come together with a letter to be sent to the whole church conveying four simple rules – abstaining from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and unlawful marriage. These four rules were very basic and fundamental to the budding Jewish and Gentile communities of Christians. It broke from pagan practices and it did not oblige one to strictly follow the Jewish laws of purity.
But you also note how this letter was started, ‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us…’ Here we see the connection of the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus in His farewell discourse, and the building of the Church with the Apostles. The Apostles and leaders of the early Churches came together to discuss these issues, and there the Holy Spirit guided and inspired them. At Pentecost, which we will celebrate in two weeks, the Holy Spirit came down as tongues of fire on all present giving birth to the Church. The Holy Spirit’s presence has and will always be there to guide the Church so that the gates of Hell will never prevail against her.
As we read from Revelation the names of the twelve apostles are inscribed in the foundation stones of the heavenly Jerusalem. Some of the older churches, try to imitate that in having twelve pillars on the inside of the church. I think I counted twelve at the cathedral. But at least the altar had twelve pillars as part of the altar. At the beginning and the end we see the Apostles’ work in the Church as Truth is passed down through the ages. They were the first witnesses and received the special teachings of Christ; and through the mediation of the Holy Spirit they were able to put into writing the Sacred Scriptures and pass on orally what they had received. They never acted alone but were always moved to act through the Spirit.
Let us today realize that the authority and the teachings of the Church in the areas of faith and morals has always kept us united with the Church that Christ established through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is at same time challenging and comforting – it tests our experience and knowledge against generations of Sacred Tradition; it comforts us to know that this is not in hands of men but under the guidance of the spirit.
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