Tuesday, May 16, 2023

 Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)

In today’s gospel Jesus assures his disciples that the Holy Spirit will take his place.  This, he says, will be to their advantage.  Because physical presence limits him to one place at one time, he cannot be with everyone.  But the Spirit, who is everywhere at once, can be with the Church wherever it goes.  Reminding the disciples of Jesus, the Spirit will help them fulfill their responsibilities.

The Spirit acts as a lawyer who defends the Church by pointing out the shortcomings of its critics.  Today the Spirit convicts the world of individualism run awry.  People want privacy guarantees so that they can do whatever they wish without suffering loss of respect.  The Spirit further convicts the world of righteousness for ignoring the teachings of Jesus.  His emphasis on selfless love has been distorted into fulfilment of sexual desire at any cost.  Finally, the Spirit condemns the world for removing the strictures of sexual intercourse outside of marriage.  Casual sex ruins family bonds that are necessary for moral development and social cohesion.

“Has the Spirit itself likewise gone?” we may want to ask ourselves in this post-Christian age.  No, but it may be dormant if we do not pray for it and move with its promptings.  Within two weeks we will be celebrating the Holy Spirit.  Now is the time to offer ourselves to its control.

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

 Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)

The Holy Spirit in John’s gospel is often called “the Advocate.”  This rather technical term refers to a lawyer.  But he is not just an attorney for the defense.  He also acts as a prosecutor.  In today’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and condemnation.  What does he mean by this?

The word sin translates the Greek word hamartia which means to miss the mark.  Jesus is saying that the world will have missed the mark when it accuses him of sin.  He acts in accordance with God’s Law.  The Advocate will also convict the world of arrogance and hostility in prosecuting Jesus. He has shown righteousness in his care for others.  But his enemies will have displayed prejudice and injustice in bringing him to court.  Furthermore, the Advocate will show the world that it will have condemned the wrong man.  Jesus is not guilty, but the world will have him executed.

Perhaps we at times have been misjudged.  We may have been accused of showmanship when we only wanted to offer a toast for a friend.  Or perhaps we tried to defend someone apparently in distress and then were accused of meddling.  We should not stop doing the right thing.  Rather we should scrutinize our motives and our actions.  Then we proceed to do what is right. The Advocate will help us.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)

Television lawyer shows often picture defense attorneys acting as prosecutors.  In order to exonerate their clients, they uncover evidence that proves another guilty of the crime.  In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus tells how the Holy Spirit will perform this dual service. 

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, “the Advocate,” a fitting name for a defense attorney.  He says that the Advocate will convict the world “in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation.”  The Spirit will prove the world guilty of sin for refusing to follow the teaching and example of Jesus.  In doing so, it will show the righteousness of Jesus.  And it will condemn Satan, the prince of the world, for his pride and deceit.

Obviously, the Holy Spirit is a valuable ally in life.  It is a kind of free gift of membership in the discipleship of Jesus.  We want to treasure the Holy Spirit and make use of his assistance.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:11-15; John 16:5-11)

It is said that St. Augustine avoided preaching on today’s gospel because of its difficulty!  Still, the passage is not impossible to understand.  To do so, however, we should note that the word convict is too literal a translation of the Greek and does not fit well with each object.  It would be better to say that the Spirit Advocate proves the world wrong regarding sin, regarding righteousness, and regarding condemnation.

The world sees Christians as sinful for believing in Jesus.  This may seem odd since we have a sense that the world does not really care about what one believes.  But the Roman world, at least, had its deities to which people were expected to give homage.  Because of their ancient status, Jews were a recognized exception to this rule which gave Christians immunity for a while.  But when Christians were expelled from the synagogues, the Romans persecuted them as atheists.  The Spirit Advocate (really more a prosecuting attorney) will show the world that the Romans, not the Christians, worship false gods. 

The error of righteousness concerns the Jews’ putting Jesus to death for claiming to be God’s son.  The Spirit, moving Christians to love one another, shows them to be righteous, not those who crucified Jesus. The final error regards the condemnation of Satan, the prince of this world.  Since Jesus is vindicated by his resurrection, his adversary Satan is condemned.  We might ask, “Then how can Satan roam freely seeking our ruination?”  The gospel would reply that Satan is powerless over true believers; moreover, his limited domination will end once Jesus returns in glory.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

(Acts 16:11-15; John 16:5-11)

If we scratch our heads over Jesus’ meaning in the gospel today, we are in good company. It is said that St. Augustine avoided the passage because of its difficulty! Still, the passage is not impossible to understand. To do so, however, we should note that the word convict is too literal a translation of the Greek and does not fit well with each object. It would be better to say that the Spirit Advocate proves the world wrong regarding sin, righteousness, and condemnation.

The world sees Christians as sinful for believing in Jesus. This may seem odd since we have a sense that the world does not really care what one believes. But the Roman world, at least, had its deities to which people were expected to give homage. Because of their ancient status, Jews were a recognized exception to this rule. So when Christians were expelled from the synagogues, they were persecuted as atheists. The Spirit Advocate (really more a prosecuting attorney) will show the world that the Romans, not the Christians, worship false gods.

The error of righteousness concerns the Jews’ putting Jesus to death for claiming to be God’s son. The Spirit, moving Christians to love one another, shows them to be righteous, not those who crucified Jesus. The final error regards the condemnation of Satan, the prince of this world. Since Jesus is vindicated by his resurrection, his adversary Satan is condemned. We might ask, “Then how can Satan roam freely seeking our ruination?” The gospel would reply that Satan is powerless over true believers; moreover, his limited domination will end once Jesus returns in glory.

Homilette for Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Memorial of St. Catherine of Sine, virgin and doctor of the Church

(John 16:5-11)

If we are left scratching our heads over what Jesus means in the gospel today, we are in good company. It is said that St. Augustine avoided the passage because of its difficulty. But the passage is not impossible to understand. To do so, however, we should note that the word convict is too literal a translation of the Greek and does not fit well with each object. It would be better to say that the Spirit Advocate proves the world wrong regarding sin, righteousness, and condemnation.

The world sees Christians as sinful for believing in Jesus. But the Spirit Advocate’s presence among Christians, sent upon Jesus’ return to the Father, reveals that those who refuse to believe in Jesus are the real sinners. These include those who doubted Jesus’ relation to God after seeing him work a sign and those who still shake their heads after being told about Jesus’ resurrection. The error of righteousness concerns the Jews’ putting Jesus to death for claiming to be God’s son. The Spirit Advocate moving Christians to love one another shows them to be righteous, not those who crucified him. The final error regards the condemnation of Satan, the prince of this world. Since Jesus is vindicated by his resurrection and return to the Father, his adversary Satan is condemned. We might ask, how is it that Satan is at liberty to ensnare humans? The gospel would answer that Satan is powerless over true believers and his limited domination will last only until Jesus returns in glory.

We can see in the life of St. Catherine of Siena a person who exhorted other Christians to manifest the Spirit Advocate that is given to them. She famously convinced Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome after years of refuge in Avignon. Not so well known is her ministry to a condemned man who refused to see a priest for reconciliation. The convict asked Catherine to be present at his execution, which she was. He died surrendering his soul to God with the names “Jesus” and “Catherine” on his lips.