Summary: One of the wonderful things about being your pastor is that I can usually set aside time every week to just sit with the Gospel. I hide out from the phone and the computer, and I just sit and wonder, listen and read, study a little about the words, the culture of those ancient days, the language, and finally, imagine what it is God is saying to us. I know that for you it is very different in your lives. You race around from one thing to the next, from work to home, from games to appointments, feeding children, cleaning up, doing laundry, and now the yard work has started. At 70 years of age, I’m not very good a double-tasking any more; but I watch all of you and realize that these few minutes might be all you get this week with the word of God. With the last days of the School year upon us and summer looming out of nowhere, I want you hear three things today from the three readings. In the first Reading from Acts of the Apostles there is a Pentecost. There are several in the New Testament, not just the one in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit “fell upon all who were listening to the word.” That is you and me, sitting here listening to the Word. You are filled with the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget that this week. In the second reading the message is loud and clear: “You are loved.” We never can hear that wonderful news enough. You are loved, my friends. Everyone of us is loved and loveable. Feel it! Believe it! Live like it! In the third reading: John’s Gospel, we hear one more wonderful piece of news: “You are my friends”, says Jesus. Now granted in a techno world where young people seem to measure their status and image by how many friends they have on “facebook”, this may not seem too exciting; but we’re talking about Jesus Christ, Son of God --- who says to us: “You are my friends.” I don’t know about you, but I’ll just settle that one and not be too worried about the list of facebook. “You are filled with the Holy Spirit. You are Loved. You are my friend.” There is something to think about this week while you’re running around from one thing to the next. As you do you might also remember a movie I think many of you may have seen last year. Made from a book I thought was more interesting and more in depth than the movie; there is a powerful image for all of this that came to my mind while I was sitting and thinking about the difference between a serant and a friend. In many ways, they do the same things, but for very different reasons. The book and movie was, THE HELP. It is a story about servants and friends. One of those servants, Aibileen is a maid who raises Mae Mobley, a little girl whose mother is disappointed in her daughter’s plain looks and seemingly slow ways. As a result, her mother ignores her child. The maid shows genuine affection and encourages the child’s self-esteem and growth with messages like: “You is kind.” “You is smart.” “You is important.” When little Mae Mobley gets old enough to speak, she repeats the triple affirmation to the maid and adds: “You is my real Mama, Aibee!” It seems to me that the mother more the servant: someone who out of obligation does only what they have to do. She provides food, clothing, and shelter for her child, and nothing more than a maid to do the chores. On the other hand, the maid is the friend who does the same things but not of out obligation or guilt but out of love and way more besides. As a friend of Jesus, we might reexamine what we do and why. No wonder it is so hard to be consistently faithful to Mass, when we’re just doing what we have to do or what someone said we “should” do. It would be a lot better if we were faithful out of love rather than out of duty. Realizing the friendship we have with Jesus Christ is sometimes the task of a lifetime, and sometimes it is the surest sign of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are loved. We are friends with Jesus Christ. What more do we need to know to live with Joy? What more do we need to know to live in Peace? What more do we need to know to begin to care for one another, affirm, encourage, build up hold up and lift up each other every single day?
