{"id":4164,"date":"2016-04-30T07:44:31","date_gmt":"2016-04-30T12:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/?p=4164"},"modified":"2016-04-30T07:47:34","modified_gmt":"2016-04-30T12:47:34","slug":"the-holy-spirit-will-teach-you-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/spiritual-reflections\/the-holy-spirit-will-teach-you-everything","title":{"rendered":"The Holy Spirit will teach you everything"},"content":{"rendered":"
A reflection by Fr. Dave Warren, S.F.M., for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. First Reading: Acts 15.1-2, 22-29; Second Reading: Revelations 21.10-14, 22-23; Gospel: John 14.23-29<\/em><\/p>\n I continue to be amazed at how often people use cell phones. I have a cell phone myself. I take it with me in the car in case my car breaks down and I have to call CAA. But I rarely make calls on it. I use my cell phone mostly as an alarm clock.<\/p>\n I see people talking on their cell phones while out walking, and even when they are crossing the street. I see people on their cell phones on the bus and on the train. I ask myself what it all means. Does it mean that people have a message that can\u2019t wait? Or does it mean that people can\u2019t bear to be alone with their own thoughts? Or does it simply mean that people want to connect with others?<\/p>\n There is no intimacy between persons without presence. But neither is there intimacy without absence. The cell phone service providers, of course, don\u2019t want us to know this. They would have us believe that intimacy demands instant communication anytime and anywhere. It doesn\u2019t. Intimacy demands a certain degree of absence.<\/p>\n Intimacy between persons is a rhythm of presence and absence. Married couples know this. They know that they need to spend time together, but they also need time apart. Friends also know this. Brothers and sisters know it, too. The branches all grow from the same trunk, but if you try to force them together, they will snap.<\/p>\n In today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus talks about absence and presence. Absence: \u201cI am going away.\u201d Presence: \u201cI am coming to you\u201d (John 14.28).<\/em><\/p>\n Jesus has<\/em> gone away (John 14.28).<\/em> We no longer know him in the flesh. We do not know Jesus as His contemporaries knew him. But we do <\/em>know him in a different way. St. Paul says, \u201cEven if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now\u201d (II Corinthians 5.16).<\/em> We know Jesus in the Spirit.<\/p>\n The people of Palestine in the first century knew Jesus in the flesh. They heard Him speak to the realities of life in 1st century Palestine. Jesus speaks to us of the realities of life in 21st century Canada. Jesus remains with us, the community of His disciples, as we journey through history, and as we encounter new questions and new problems. In today\u2019s Gospel, Jesus says, \u201cThe Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you\u201d (John 14.26).<\/em><\/p>\n We see the Advocate at work in today\u2019s first reading. His disciples encounter a question that had not arisen during the earthly life of Jesus. During his ministry in Palestine, Jesus preached only to Jewish people. After his resurrection, Gentiles\u2014that is to say, non-Jews\u2014wanted to become his followers. The question arose: Would these Gentile converts have to follow the entire Jewish law including circumcision and kosher <\/em>food? As we hear in today\u2019s first reading, the leaders of the Church decided that Gentile converts did not have to follow the entire Jewish law.<\/p>\n\n
Jesus remains with us, the community of His disciples, as we journey through history, and as we encounter new questions and new problems.<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n