6th Sunday of Easter

Our readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter are:

1. Acts 10: 25-26, 34-34, 44-48
   
2. Psalm 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4
   
3. 1 John 4: 7-10
   
4. John 15: 9-17
   

• Being nimble
  
• I'm sure that Peter had a lovely speech ready for the occasion when he entered Cornelius' house.  But the Holy Spirit unexpectedly fell upon the gathered assembly and rewrote the agenda for that encounter.  I'm impressed by how quickly Peter got on board.
  
• Has God ever surprised you by His generosity to someone else?
• How did that generosity make you feel at the time?
• How gracious were you about accepting that God would be that generous?
  

• Revelation in our time
  
• In one sense, we Catholics claim that the deposit of faith closed with the death of the last apostle. At that point, there was no longer anyone alive who had observed Jesus first hand, seen His works, heard His voice.  But in a very real sense God continues to reveal Himself to us in new ways every day.
• Who are some of the folks who have revealed God to you?
• How did that happen in your life?
• How did that revelation change/deepen your relationship to that other person?
• How did that revelation change/deepen your relationship to God?
• Do you think that you might be that light of the Gospel to anyone else?
  

• Incarnational emptying
  
• True love for another seeks the good of the other above all else.  And the greatest good that we can wish for in another is that they draw closer to God, step more fully into their ultimate destiny as a child of God.  To do that, we first have to set aside our own expectations of the other, our own narrative and seek to help the other to hear God's voice in their lives.  Sort of like Ignatian spiritual direction.
• Have you ever had a hard time listening empathically, really listening to another?
• What was holding you back?  Was it your own desires, expectations, lack of time, lack of patience, ...?
• How did you eventually get past that?
  

• Finding joy
  
• I think that joy might be defined as "finding yourself in just the right place, at the right time, doing that which you were born for, finding the culmination of your life up to that point, and stepping boldly into all that the future holds."  As such, joy is not an event, it does not depend really on what is happening around us.  All that a life of joy asks of us is to follow Jesus with all our hearts.
• What are some times when you have found true joy?
• How did you get there?
• Why do you think that came to an end (if it ever did)?
• Do you feel that we can be full of joy at all times?
• Why?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to face a rewrite of my world view?
   
2. Where might God be revealing Himself to me that I am not sensitive to?
   
3. Where is God calling me to set aside my own agenda?
   
4. Where might God be inviting me into greater joy?

Shalom!