The Gift of Faith in God's Presence

May 16, 2004 (Sixth Sunday of Easter)

by Victor Sarrazin

- Acts 14:8-18
- Psalm 67
- Revelation 21:22-22:5
- John 14:23-29

(From The Lectionary Page)

God is with us my sisters and brother, but what will we do about it?

In the lessons today we have three glimpses of how one might experience God being nearby. From Acts, we heard the story of Paul and Barnabas being mistaken for Hermes and Zeus. At the end of this dramatic story there is an important message for us today. We are reminded that God reveals God's self to all people in all cultures through the blessings of creation. So, however much knowledge of God people might lack from our Christian perspective, they have seen the hand of the true God, the all-powerful Creator. We also need to take note that we can likewise see the presence of God near us in the things of creation we encounter each day.

In the lesson from Revelations, we get a glimpse of paradise. A city so filled with the presence, and glory of God, that no other light is needed. There is no harm, hunger, fear, evil or corruption of any kind in this place and there is no church, because God's presence makes every corner of the city into sacred space. It's a beautiful snapshot of heaven.

In the lesson from John's gospel, we have a snippet from the famous Last Supper Discourse, Jesus' last speech and farewell to his Apostles before being arrested and crucified. They are frightened by Jesus' talk of dying and leaving them behind. They don't understand this business of "going away and coming back." The coming of the Holy Spirit and Jesus' gift of the Eucharist will make their lives much richer than they can guess but all they can see is the pain and loss. They, quite understandably, don't want things to change.

My brothers & sisters, the all-powerful Creator does dwell tenderly and intimately in our midst. But like the stories we just heard we can sometimes have a hard time with it. Sometimes, like the people of Lystra we can be so shocked by the discovery that God is close that we jump to all the wrong conclusions. We can miss the point. Other times, like the Apostles, we can get so comfortable with God's presence and action as we have come to know it that the thought of experiencing something new is terrifying. We feel like we have lost Jesus altogether even when Jesus is offering us a greater blessing that what we have known. Yet other times (we have that glimpse of the Heavenly Jerusalem) allowing us to see, feel and know that all is right with the universe. Nothing can harm us because we are safe in God's hands. Sometimes, we Christians simply want to enjoy the feeling of warmth and intimacy and safety that comes from believing in God's presence without doing anything else.

My brother and sisters, we are left with a question we must each answer for ourselves. How will we truly live in the presence of God? Will we receive the gift of faith and awareness in God's presence, and do nothing with it? Like a wedding present we place on a shelf and never take down and use. Or, we respond to the gift by putting it to use in a way that opens us to receive God's ongoing blessings. The Almighty does live here in and among us in a tender and intimate way. We can experience this in creation, through the movement of the Holy Spirit at Baptism, common worship, private prayer and in the Body and Blood of Christ. But, how we respond to this gift is up to us.  My sisters and brothers God, despite God's power, will allow us to keep at a distance. God also gave us the gift of free choice, we can receive graces and let fear of change keep us from acting on them. God will not force us to grow in the Holy Spirit.

Or, we can actively respond to God's presence in our lives by acting on it. This means seeking strength in our hardship, something I'm sure we all do and are comfortable with. It also means sharing the joy of good times with God who is always here, which most of us also are comfortable with. We gather week in and week out to worship God together, giving thanks and praise for all the joyful events in our lives, celebrating the goodness of God together. The next, the third step, is where it gets harder. It is about seeking guidance in our choices and allowing Divine guidance to change the way we do things, allowing the Holy Spirit to influence our behavior. This can be as frightening for us as the pending death of Jesus was for the Apostles. It can feel like we are giving away our autonomy. But in truth, God is offering us a deeper wisdom and insight that will guide us into a more holy life. If we let the Holy Spirit have this kind of influence on us, we will begin growing in the faith we have been given. We will grow, gradually, into better and better people -- closer and closer to that Heavenly Jerusalem. We will be remade by Christ.

My sisters & brothers, let us put trust in God's tender and powerful presence and allow the Holy transformations to begin!