Scripture Reflections for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
Year C, Lectionary 57
When we let Jesus abide in us we are welcoming God's kingdom into the world. When we love and welcome others into God's community we are helping to unite Heaven and Earth. We move beyond excluding others and prioritizing ourselves and move into making God the center of life. Through Christ we can all enter into communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Hate feeling lost on Sundays at church? Searching for a better explanation of the Bible than what you hear from your pastor's sermon? Check out the following collection of audio, video, and text commentaries from various Christian experts for a better understanding of today's scripture that deal with: Baptism • Change • Church • Communion • Courage • Divinity • Dwell • Eucharist • Farewell • Fire • Food • Forgive • Generosity • Gospel • Growth • Guide • Heaven • Holy • Holy Spirit • Home • Hope • Humanity • Interpretation • Jerusalem • Kingdom • Light • Listen • Love • Mary • Mission • Paul • Peace • Praise • Prayer • Prepare • Presence • Relationship • Renewal • Revelation • Sacrament • Salvation • Spirit • Temple • Tradition • Trinity • Unity • Violence • Wall •
“it's an excellent example of how we really do need the Magisterium of the Church, the bishops and the Pope, to guide us in the interpretation of difficult passages like Acts 15”
“we can dare to open the door and start a life of reconciliation and encounter everywhere we are. We can lead the kingdom of God here and now with the conviction that God is present not just up in heaven, not just in the temple, but here between us, with us in his creation.”
“So if there's no salvation outside of the heavenly Jerusalem then it follows that there's no salvation outside of the apostolic church, because the new Jerusalem is nothing other than the church which Christ has founded on the 12 apostles”
“The concept of shalom is deeply rooted in the covenant relationship between God and his people, where peace is seen as a divine gift resulting from obedience to God's laws”
“Christianity is not about taking the easy way, it's about taking on the burdens of one another so that nobody is being crushed by anything but all of us are being raised up together”
“Maybe when we go through a difficult time...maybe Jesus isn't keeping a secret, he's not trying be, to play games with us, it's just that he can't explain it because...we're simply not able to grasp this cosmic plan of God”
“what does hope do, people of God? It shows you and I that things are possible, we just have to wait sometimes.”
“The peace Jesus gives is the peace that comes not from avoiding the storm, it is the peace that comes from his presence in the storm”
“He's not saying the Father's greater than him with reference to his divine nature but the Father is greater than him with reference to his humanity, to his human nature, which is the focus of these words”
“Suffering and death, hope and resurrection are always part of the same story. Jesus calls us to move through the crosses of our lives with courage. Courage does not erase suffering, rather courage recognizes human hardship and says, 'move forward anyway.'”
“The peace that Jesus has given to us is no longer a promise, he has already given it to us, it has been fulfilled. The challenge he is posing before us now is to trust and connect to that peace.”
“when we share God with one another we're actually sharing God's love with his very own body on Earth. For as we know we are the living body of Christ.”
“In listening to God's story, we're reminded that we have to be God's story for others in this noisy world, not just by speaking but by listening”
“Can we realize that when we allow the spirit of God and the fire of that spirit to unite each of us in love, that we truly bring the light of glory to God, to every corner of every community all over the world?”
“To love God, to love Christ, or to be receptive to the Holy Spirit is to embrace a fellowship that transcends the confines of human tradition and expectation”
“You can't be at peace with Jesus unless you're first at peace with one another”
“We can pray unceasingly and live the gospel if we find sustenance in remembering that we are engulfed in God’s loving embrace. In that embrace we can find the peace that he gives and that we so desire.”
“Don't think just because you are Christian you won't have problems. In fact, if you're truly living the gospel you will have problems because oftentimes the Word and the world are at odds.”
“although the Temple in this case, our churches in our case, cannot contain God, it's still very important I think to reserve sacred spaces. Places where we gather specifically for this definitive purpose in our lives to give God glory together.”
