Sunday Sermon for May 12, 2024, the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year B
Readings: Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26; 1 Jn 4:11-16; Jn 17:11b-19
In the first reading today, St. Peter addresses the congregation of the earliest Christians telling them that, based on what is written in Psalm 109, someone needs to be appointed to take the office abandoned by Judas in the Apostolic ministry. The word used for “office” is not the typical Greek word that would be translated that way, rather, the word used in Acts is episkopain. This may not strike us as being very important until we recall that the Greek word which is translated as “bishop” is episkopos. In the present form, speaking of the office of the bishop, it could be translated as “episcopate.”
What this shows is that from the earliest times the Apostles were bishops. This becomes important for our purposes, not merely due to their ministry as successors of the Apostles, but in light of the other readings for today, it has to do with the mission of the bishops. Great authority is given to the bishops as well as great responsibilities. However, if we look at the Greek word episkopos it literally means an overseer or, if translated into Latin, it would be supervisor.
So, the initial mission of the bishop is to oversee the proper functioning of the local Church. We can certainly understand this on the level of administration, clergy, doctrine, and Sacraments, but there is an even more foundational dimension to this that we find in the readings today: the bishop oversees the proper functioning of the local Church to ensure that individual members of the Church function properly in their spiritual lives.
In other words, the bishops (and the priests and deacons working with them) are to make sure that everything on the surface level is kept orderly so the people of God can go deeper spiritually without being distracted or shocked by the disorder of what is happening on the surface level. While this applies to all aspects of the Church’s life, for most Catholics, it is seen most profoundly at Mass.
One of the complaints we often hear is that Mass is boring and always the same. It is true that the Ordinary parts of the Mass are always the same, but it is anything but boring! It is boring only if one stays on the surface. If things are different every time, no one knows what to expect next, thus making it necessary to remain on the surface. This same principle applies when we expect to be entertained or if we are seeking, not a spiritual, but a sensory experience.
In order to understand this better, we can consider two points made in the readings today. In the Gospel, Jesus says He consecrates Himself so we may be consecrated in truth. Truth is objective and ordered. If we stray from the truth, we become disordered in the way we think and in the way we act. Worst of all, we become disordered in our prayer. God is truth, so if we have strayed from the truth, we have strayed from the true God. To whom, then, are we praying? With whom, then, are we seeking union?
The union we seek with God is described in the second reading where St. John reminds us that God is love and whoever remains in love remains in God and God remains in that person. So, love is a divine Person; this same Person is also Truth and Life. This should make it obvious that love is not an emotion, truth is not relative, and life is not disposable.
The more we conform ourselves to the truth and the more we unite ourselves to God in love, the more we participate in His life. This is what the spiritual life is all about. If we live in chaos, it will be very difficult to pray. If we fill our lives with noise, it will be very difficult to hear our Lord Who speaks in silence. Little by little, prayer will help to bring greater order into our lives. This order will be marked by greater simplicity and silence. By removing the anxiety and lack of peace that come from worldly distractions and noise, we can enter more deeply into our souls and the love of God.
The truth the Church teaches, the truth handed on from the Apostles to the bishops, will become more evident to us as we draw closer to God. The love we receive from God will become more profound, allowing us to love Him and those around us with greater abandonment. This, in turn, allows the life of God to radiate through us and touch the lives of others. This is why the ministry of the Bishops is so necessary: ultimately, to oversee the spiritual growth of the flock who are called to union with God.
Fr. Altier’s column appears regularly in The Wanderer, a national Catholic weekly published in St. Paul, Minn. For information about subscribing to The Wanderer, please visit www.thewandererpress.com.
