Sixth Sunday of Easter - Year A
Orphans No Longer
Rev. James A. Wickersham

St. Peter tells us today, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.”

So, what is the reason for your hope?

Maybe before we talk about that, we have to ask: what is hope? The Catechism teaches that hope is the virtue by which we desire heaven and eternal life, trusting in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the grace of the Holy Spirit. In other words, hope is not just feeling good because things are going well. Hope is what allows us to trust Christ when things are not going well.

I would wager that almost every adult in this church is worried about something right now. There is something that keeps you up at night or wakes you up first thing in the morning, and before your feet hit the floor, you are already thinking about it. When the anxieties of life rear their ugly heads, it can feel like they will last forever. They make us fearful of the future. They make us feel alone, as if we have to shoulder everything ourselves. And when fear takes over, we either want to run and hide, or attack and destroy whatever is in our way. Ultimately, anxiety makes us feel like we are orphans.

But let’s step back for a minute. Think about something you were anxious about last year, or six months ago, or even a few weeks ago. Something that kept you up at night or woke you up in the morning. Do you worry about it in the same way now? I bet you no longer worry about it as you once did. In the moment, the fear felt like it would be eternal. But fear is not eternal. Christ is eternal. Only Christ remains.

Now, I know this is easier to preach than it is to live. But the Lord tells us today, “I will not leave you orphans.” He does not promise that suffering will disappear or that every problem will be answered by tonight. What he promises is his presence, and his presence will not leave us. He sends us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, received in Baptism and strengthened in us through Confirmation. This is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Father and the Son poured into our hearts. And this is the reason for our hope.

In our first reading today, the early Church faces one of its greatest tests, and also one of its greatest anxieties: is the Gospel meant for people beyond the Jews? Today the Church receives her answer. The temptation was to keep the Gospel in Jerusalem, among familiar people, in familiar places. But what does the Lord do through the Holy Spirit? He sends the Church north. He sends Philip to Samaria.

And what was this place? Samaria had once been the land of the northern tribes of Israel. But over time, after conquest and exile, other religious beliefs and forms of worship had been mixed in. They worshiped the God of Israel, but they also brought in many pagan practices. Many Jews looked at Samaria and said, “That is a place to avoid.” You can see there was a lot of suspicion there, a long history of mistrust. Would the Holy Spirit even want to go there? Would the Holy Spirit rest on them as he rests upon us?

Philip goes to Samaria. He preaches the Gospel. They receive the word. And it turns out the Samaritans desire salvation and hope, too. Then Peter and John come down from Jerusalem. They pray over them, lay hands on them, and the Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit. And Scripture tells us, “There was great joy in that city.” Why great joy? Because Christ entered a place people thought was beyond hope.

Before Baptism, are we not all Samaritans in the eyes of grace? Sin puts us outside the life of God. We do not make ourselves Catholic by family history, ethnicity, nationality, or good intentions. Christ comes to us. In Baptism he washes us, brings us into his Body, and gives us the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful things about our Catholic faith is that it does not come by inheritance. It comes by gift. We are not Catholic because of our own human blood. We are Catholic because of Christ’s blood.

My friends, the Lord Jesus has us. So when we face the anxieties of today, of yesterday, and of tomorrow, let us ask ourselves the question: what is the reason for my hope? Do not believe the lie that we are orphans, left adrift on an ocean of fear. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We return to the Father in worship. We come to Mass. We confess our sins. We receive the sacraments. Then we go out strengthened by the Holy Spirit, ready to tell the truth, to forgive when it is hard, and to give a reason for our hope. This is how children of the Father live.

We are orphans no longer. So, what is the reason for your hope?