TAUGHT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

VI EASTER SUNDAY - Acts 15:1-2,22-29

Jesus promised his disciples that 

“the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.” (Jn 14:26)

And throughout the ages, we have witnessed the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, guiding, protecting and teaching her the ways of the Lord. However, human beings have always a way of twisting things, and we have seen as well many people going astray, while claiming to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Even nowadays there are great numbers of people who claim to be anointed with the Holy Spirit, but who speak words and teach doctrines that have very little to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are people who confuse their dreams and their inner desires with the voice and inspiration of the Spirit. We must be aware that Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who always guides to Jesus Christ and helps us to listen to his word and understand it. What falls outside of the Word is not from the Spirit.

The book of the Apostles reports an extraordinary meeting held in Jerusalem with the presence of all the Apostles and the elders of the community to discuss a very urgent matter that was troubling the first Christians outside Palestine and was becoming a source of conflict. The issue at hand was: should the Christians of Gentile origin be circumcised or was it enough to believe in Jesus Christ? 

In the end, when they reached a solution, they were convinced that the Holy Spirit guided them in their deliberations. To reach a conclusion, they debated at length the issue at hand, realising that the Christian Gentiles’ way of life showed clearly the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Then, they avoided radical and fundamentalist positions, choosing to compromise so that the doors  are not closed on anybody, without betraying what they considered essential. However, one can notice that some of what they considered essential derived from the need to compromise, like the staying away “from blood, from the meat of strangled animals”, which are cultural aspects and have nothing to do with faith.

In spite of the compromise, the struggle went on and sometimes it became nasty and even violent. It was a struggle between two positions: on one side, stood Paul, Barnabas and the christians of Gentile origin defending that we only need faith in Jesus Christ to be saved; on the other side, there were the Jews, mainly the ones of the pharisaic group, who claimed that one must be circumcised and obey the law of Moses in order to be saved. In Paul, we had a position of openness and inclusiveness; while in the pharisaic camp, there was na attitude of exclusivism and fundamentalism.

In spite of having reached a compromise in the Council of Jerusalem, the fundamentalist group would not abide by the agreement, refusing to share their faith with the other Christians.

A fundamentalist attitude always separates us from the others, making it impossible to listen to the Holy Spirit and to be taught by him.

The second reading, from the book of Revelation, is full of insight into the Kingdom of God and the Church. At the end of times - the time of fulfilment and the time for a new order - the holy city, the heavenly city will be like a bride prepared for the Lamb. That city has twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. We cannot forget where we come from. We are the descendants of Abraham, and we must pass the gates of the prophets and learn with that people that was guided by God for many centuries. The Messiah comes from them. Although we have inherited the promises, we cannot forget that they were made to them.

However, the city is built on the foundation of the Apostles of the Lamb. That’s why the Church is called apostolic. They are the witnesses of Jesus’ death and resurrection. So we cannot separate ourselves from them. We must be faithful to the teaching of the Apostles.

The number twelve (12) plays a crucial role in this city. It is built on twelve stone foundations and it has twelve gates, three to each of the four cardinal points of the earth, meaning its universality and its completeness. The city is a perfect square measuring twelve thousand stadia (a Greek measure) and the walls measured one hundred and forty four cubits (which is twelve times twelve). The gates of the city are always open, so that all peoples can come in. There is no temple in the city, because God himself and the Lamb are the Temple. The gates are open to all, but only those who follow the Lamb and have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life will go in.