I will not leave you as orphans; I will return to you

By Father Manuel Solorzano
Hispanic Apostolate
 

My dear brothers and sisters, the Gospel for this Sunday invites us to prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

This is present in the readings in a discreet but essential way. It is announced that we will not be left defenseless. We will have a defender, the Spirit of truth, who lives with us and is within us. “Soon, the world will not see me, but you will see me, and you will live, because I continue to live.” Well, it seems that Easter is coming to an end, but he is still present among us, through the Holy Spirit, who is the one who recreates the community. The Spirit carries out the communication between Jesus and us in love.

The one who guides, directs and develops the community is the Spirit of the risen Christ: Spirit of strength, of truth, of union and of love. If Easter is the birth of the community, it is the Spirit that gives it fullness and maturity.

It is clear in the first reading of Acts, Philip has filled the city of Samaria with joy of the Word of God; therefore, Peter and John are sent: “They went down there and prayed over the faithful, so that they would receive the Holy Spirit; he had not come down on any yet, for Peter and John were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Being a Christian is something more than being baptized; it is something more than fulfilling some precepts, such as attending the Eucharist each Sunday and living in the Spirit. It is giving this moment the value of a meeting with brothers and a commitment to everyone, especially the neediest. Living in the spirit is not just giving alms to the poor; it is giving of ourselves with everything we have, so that there may be justice in the world. As St. Peter says: “Glorify Christ the Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give reason for your hope to everyone who asks you for it.”

What does this Defender defend us from? It seems, first of all, from our annoyances and inconsistencies, of not fully understanding the meaning of the Gospel and the kingdom. From the fear that often dominates us and keeps us locked in, in our churches or temples, separating us from the world. From not being able to give a reason for our hope and being evangelizers, thinking that they persecute us, that they are against us and that everything is difficult.

Jesus teaches us to open paths, not to trust ourselves, nor in the power of our institutions. Misgivings, slander, defamation, discredit, bad intentions and manipulations in the media and many other things cannot lead us to see everything negatively. On the contrary, the solution is to make more space for the Spirit.

The Spirit of the Christian community is what distinguishes us from any other organization, it is the generous experience of brotherly love and service to brothers. What makes us go out in search of non-believers is that his presence also works in them, which makes us forgive, end all discrimination and fight for justice. The Spirit makes us see and understand what others do not see, discover what is beyond a reality that seems to prevail and cannot be transformed.

If we welcome him in silence and prayer, he will make us see ourselves in a different way.  Above all, through discernment, he will awaken the Church to the spring of Easter. Without the Spirit, community life cannot be understood. Couldn’t many of our problems lie here? St. Paul already told us: “Do not extinguish the Spirit.” The issue is the importance we give to the law, tradition and norms, against discerning in our community assemblies, what the Spirit asks of us in each historical situation.