Just a word before we go...Sixth Sunday of Easter...May 14, 2023

In their 1985 pop hit, the group Mister Mister sang “Kyrie Eleison, down the road that I must travel; Kyrie Eleison, through the darkness of the night; Kyrie Eleison, where I’m going will you follow; Kyrie Eleison, on a highway in the night.”  One can imagine that the disciples of Jesus were having thoughts similar to those expressed in this song, as they contemplated living in the aftermath of Jesus’ death.  While he told them that he would not leave them orphans, that he would send another, an Advocate, to remain with them always, to be the Spirit of Truth,  they naturally had difficulty accepting that as a reality.  They probably often prayed, “Lord, have mercy; Kyrie Eleison.” 

Without the physical presence of the Lord, the one who had kept them together, had formed their community, had given them hope and purpose, how were they to carry on? How were they to continue to believe and to act as Jesus taught them? 

What the early Christians did that kept them together and gave them hope was to gather in a community, listening attentively to the words Jesus left behind and trusting that the Spirit was leading them to follow the Lord’s desire for them. Our faith, handed down from these early believers, teaches us that Christ is present in the Eucharist, of course, but also in the gathered community itself. 

Thomas Merton has written that “we are all eternally one in the love of God.” Jesus invited the disciples, and invites us today, into that different, deeper, reality than the one presented to us by the world. This deeper reality, the really real as we say in spiritual direction, is that relationship with Jesus that transcends even death, one that sustains us and gives us life. Knowing that we are each loved incredibly leads to wanting to share that love with others.  The bond of love is made present and strengthened in community, and gives us strength to carry that love outside these walls into a world in great need.

Mister Mister also sings, “The wind blows hard against this mountainside, across the sea into my soul; it reaches into where I cannot hide, setting my feet upon the road.” This wind, this Holy Spirit, this Advocate sent to us by Jesus, was present to the disciples and is present to us today, to set our feet upon the road that follows Jesus...are we ready to follow?