The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Sunday, May 10, 2026
St. James Cathedral
As we move closer to the great feast of Pentecost, now just two Sundays
away, there is more and more talk in the readings about the Holy Spirit. A
good thing, because sometimes the Holy Spirit gets short shrift!
Today, in the reading from
Acts, we got the story of Philip going to Samaria, a hotbed of heretics
(according to the Jews). Samaria is the place which, when the people didn’t
welcome Jesus, his disciples wanted to destroy by raining down fire from
heaven. Things are very different now. Philip preaches there and works
wonders, driving out unclean spirits and healing lame and crippled people,
and the Samaritans listen to him and believe. And when word of this reaches
‘headquarters’ in Jerusalem, they respond by sending two of the apostles,
Peter and John, to Samaria so they can do what only the apostles can do: lay
hands on these new believers for an outpouring of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit.
This laying on of hands for
imparting the gifts of the Holy Spirit was the practice of the early Church,
and it is the practice of the Church to this day. It happens during the
sacrament of Confirmation; it happens, too, at the ordination of priests and
bishops as well as in the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Actual
physical touch is important. The outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit
through the prayerful laying on of hands has, down through the ages until
now, brought believers into contact with the apostles who touched the Risen
Lord – ate and drank with him. The laying on of hands makes present that
touch of theirs, and it allows believers like us to in a sense touch Christ
as we receive the gifts of his life-giving Spirit.
But it’s worth
observing that in today’s reading from John’s gospel, part of the Last
Supper discourse, we got a different view of how people receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. Jesus says nothing at all about the role of apostles or of
the laying on of hands. Instead, he speaks only about love. He says
love is what makes the Holy Spirit present. Listen again: “If you love me,
he says, “you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.”
In John’s gospel love is the occasion for the imparting – the outpouring –
of the Holy Spirit. Love, and the keeping of Jesus’ commandments, the
greatest of which is love.
So, does that mean that Luke
and John are at odds with each other? It might seem so, but that would be to
overlook their different purposes in writing and the different communities
they were writing for. Luke, with the physical and hierarchical laying on of
hands, stressed the need for order and structure in the community; John, on
the other hand, was all about the centrality of love. But order and love are
not in opposition. They just need to be in balance because we need both!
Why make a point of this?
Well, I think it’s timely. Why? Because of this moment in the life of
the Church - this ‘Pope Leo moment, so much in continuity with Pope Francis.
There was a time when the Church put almost exclusive emphasis on the
organizational side, the hierarchical, carefully ordered side of things. And
so, when it came to describing the ways the Holy Spirit becomes present and
works in the Church, the hierarchical structure came first, and the Church
came to be seen as something of a pyramid, with bishops and priests at the
top and everyone else below them. It’s kind of a a ‘trickle-down’ view of
the Church, if you will. It conveys a truth, for sure, but it is not the
whole truth!
Pope Leo, and Pope Francis
before him, - taking their lead from the Second Vatican Council - start at a
different place: with the whole Church – all the People of God together: lay
people, priests, vowed religious, bishops – each with different roles but
all animated by the Holy Spirit through baptism. For both Pope Leo and Pope
Francis the great dream is to awaken all of us to our shared call to be
disciples - our call to live and preach the Gospel. Jesus was speaking not
just to the apostles but to the whole Church when he said, “I will ask the
Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the
Spirit of truth…. You know [this Spirit] because he remains with you and is
in you.”
My friends, the point is not
an academic one. It’s a very practical one and has practical implications.
It explains, for instance, the emphasis on becoming what we have come to
call a synodal church, a church that listens as well as speaks: listens
to the Spirit speaking through all God’s holy people (lay people, bishops,
priests) whenever we come together in love and prayerfully, patiently,
painstakingly share our concerns, hopes, struggles, and dreams. It’s a
realization of the words of Jesus: “I will ask the Father and he will give
you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.”
My friends, the Spirit is present –
alive - in the Church through the laying on of hands, yes, and the Spirit
is also alive in the love we have for one another – love that is itself the
Spirit’s gift, the Spirit’s very presence. We will celebrate this presence
with great joy on the coming feast of Pentecost, but the truth is that we
should celebrate it – and awaken to it – every day. Including today!
Father Michael G. Ryan
Pastor Emeritus
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