Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 12, 2018 - 6th Week of Easter - Sat
[Acts 18:23-28 and John 16:23b-28]SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2018 SATURDAY IN THE SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Acts 18:23-28 and John 16:23b-28] “For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” [John] The theme of coming and going echos continually in the Farewell Address. Jesus has a mission to fulfill and part of that mission is to return to the Father and then the Advocate will come. That seems simple enough, but a great controversy erupted in the early church over whether the Advocate was sent only by the Father or by both the Father and the Son! We encounter the result of the controversy every Sunday when we recite the Nicene Creed. Our brothers and sisters of the Orthodox churches still disagree with us to some extent over this, but the matter isn’t hotly debated any more. I want to call attention to the words “have come to believe.” This process appears over and over again in the Gospel According to John. Consider the Samaritan Woman, the Royal Official, the Man Born Blind, “Doubting Thomas,” Martha, the sister of Lazarus. In our efforts to share our faith with others, it is important to recognize that “coming to faith” can take awhile and be a struggle, but if our own faith in Jesus as the One whom God has sent is strong, the. Process for others will slowly but surely occur. Jesus will be praying for us, as we will see next week. Stay tuned. AMEN