Pass It On
In a parish community I visited recently, I witnessed what can
only be called an Easter moment. Sophie, a beautiful five year
old girl, was to receive her First Communion on that Sunday,
the day before she was to have yet another surgery in her battle
with cancer. That faith community, prompted by one woman of
deep faith, created a quilt of many pieces of fabric gathered
from the people.
When the quilt was completed, the people of the parish were
invited to sign the various panels. Eventually hundreds of
signatures and prayerful messages covered the quilt. The quilt
was presented to the child and her parents at that Sunday liturgy
in the hope that the child would be wrapped in the quilt before
and after the surgery, a symbol of the community’s compassion
and love.
I call this an Easter moment because it is patterned after so many of the Scriptures of this season of joy, especially today’s. What happened in Samaria through the ministry of the newly appointed deacon Philip is what took place in that parish community. What Philip said and did was a witness to the power of the risen Christ, and that witness had the power to effect healing. That’s the power of the Easter moments in our lives. The simple act of living the message and mission of Jesus has power. The significance of this kind of healing power is that it portends a new way of living, where the effects of the human condition are transformed into a new creation rooted in hope.
What we do and say in the spirit of the risen Christ gives witness to our faith and at the same time strengthens that faith. The Samaritan community’s faith in the promise of the Christ was reinforced by the words and deeds of Philip. What you and I do and say in the spirit of our faith in Christ not only gives a witness that can heal others, it reinforces our own faith life. This is what has been happening throughout the events recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: faith begets faith and faith begets hope! The letter of Peter offers us the encouragement to offer that witness regardless of the cost. The response of Sophie’s faith community wasn’t particularly risky, though, in a way, it was heartbreaking.
There are times, however, when our witness to the Gospel will involve a greater cost. It may require us stepping up to witness our belief in the sanctity of all human life in ways that are anything but “safe,” such as did that faith community in Florida who last week offered a Eucharistic liturgy for Osama bin Laden. It may even mean going beyond praying about our pro-life beliefs to actively championing the quality of life available to the poor and the least among us. This witness of the spirit of the risen Christ can also involve a personal cost, as when we are called to heal a relationship by seeking or offering forgiveness. Peter believes that these kinds of “suffering” are essential to witnessing our reason for hope.
In his farewell address to his disciples, embodied in today’s Gospel, we see Jesus comforting his disciples with that hope even at the prospect of his leaving them.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
That’s how our witness to the message and mission of Jesus will be possible. What was happening in Samaria with Philip, what was happening in little Sophie’s faith community, and what Peter is challenging us with is summed up in our relationship with the Christ. His promise is that he will always be with us.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
It’s about love witnessed by our obedience to his commandments: when we speak as he spoke, when we do as he did, he will be with us. We will be one with him and be empowered to be his presence in the world.
As we approach the end of this Easter season, we are reminded that we are not alone. Jesus promised an Advocate, his spirit, to be with us always. In the Eucharist we celebrate each week, we become witnesses of that spirit alive in us. Like the Samaritans, like little Sophie, the presence of that Spirit is the very hope that can transform our lives. That’s the message of Easter. Pass it on!
