Homily For The 6th Sunday Of Easter Year A.

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Acts 8:5-8. 14-17; Psalm 66:1-7. 16.20; 1 Peter 3:15-18, John 14:15-21.

“PREPARING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·       The church celebrates today the sixth Sunday of Easter. For over six weeks now, the resurrected Lord has continuously manifested his power on the life and mission of the church through his apostles.

·       Today the Lord, through the readings, set our gaze on the eminency of the Holy Spirit and what we ought to be doing to dispose ourselves for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that spirit that makes us cry “Abba Father” (Gal. 4:6).

·       Dearly beloved in Christ, in a few days, the Lord will ascend to heaven in the full view of his disciples to make real his promise to them, “Unless I go, the advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come” (John 16:7).

·       The gospel reading (John 14:15-21) specifically tells us that it is only those who keep God’s commandment who will be beneficiaries of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We must realise that the Holy Spirit is not just the advocate, it is also the spirit of truth, and for all those who desire to receive him, we must let the truth be our guiding principle.

·       The condition for the reception and manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit is to love God and to remain in the love of God. To remain in the Love of God is to keep his commandments and let this love of God be felt by those around us because we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

·       Friends in Christ, it is this love of God that was poured into the heart of Philip in the first reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17), that he went about from town to town preaching the good news and winning souls. He cast out unclean spirits, cured the paralytics and the crippled, which brought so much relief and joy in the towns he visited. Because he was genuine and selfless, the Samaritans received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

·       Yes, we have indeed become Christians, but the outpouring of the Holy Spirit becomes the confirmation of the authenticity of our Christian commitment. Hence, we must hunger for it, we must dispose of it, and we must make our hearts ready for it by spreading love and kindness wherever we find ourselves.

·       The second reading (1 Peter 3:15-18) tells us that the best way to prepare for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is to reverence the Lord in our hearts and be convinced about his promises so that our hope in the Lord Jesus will be contagious and affective, and people will see and be hopeful.

·       Dear friends, living a life worthy and befitting for the reception of the Holy Spirit will surely come with its challenges and setbacks. People will tempt us, try to dissuade us and mock us for living life, but we must be adequately prepared to suffer for doing the right things.

·       We must be cheerful and count ourselves lucky for the privilege to share in the passion of Christ because that is a confirmation that our Christian practice is genuine and authentic. But when this happens, we must not be afraid because the Lord will send us the Advocate to help and to guide us.

·       The promises of God in the lives of those who love Him must come to pass. Therefore, we must keep preparing daily by doing right and living right so that when the Holy Spirit is poured out on us, then we will like the psalmist “Cry with Joy to the Lord all the earth” (Psalm 66:1). When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, then we must cry out and spread the message to the ends of the earth.

·       Dear friends in Christ, it is the Holy Spirit who helps us in our resolution to love God, and to love God is to keep his commandment and do his will. As we await the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we must go on loving our brothers and sisters because, unless we adequately love our fellow human beings whom we see, then we can love God whom we do not see.

·       May the Grace of the Holy Spirit be poured into our hearts and may it teach us how to love unconditionally and follow God’s commandments through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·       Happy Sunday!!!


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