6th
Sunday of Easter, Year A - May 10, 2026
Acts
8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21
Theme:
“If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments”
1. Historical and
Literary Contexts
This Gospel passage is taken from the section
about Jesus’ Farewell Discourses at the Last Supper (13:1–17:26). In this
section, Jesus prepared his disciples for the transition from the time they
spent with him physically to the time of the Church when they would experience
his permanent presence through the Holy Spirit and in the Sacrament of the
Eucharist. Immediately before our passage, Jesus told his disciples that they
should be where he is, in the “Father’s House,” the Church he had just founded
on this occasion of the Last Supper (14:1-14). Then, in our passage (including
vv. 22-31 that the lectionary has omitted), Jesus reassures his disciples of
the constant presence of an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, among them. The story of
the Vine and the Branches (15:1-17) immediately followed our text.
2.
Form, Structure, and Movement
Jesus
begins this Gospel story in v. 15 and ends it in v. 21 with a call to love him
and keep his commandments. In the main part of the text, he makes two promises
to his disciples: that he will pray to God to send them another Advocate (vv.
16-17), and that his disciples will not be left orphans (vv. 18-20).
3. Detailed Analysis
V. 15. Jesus links love for him with obeying
his commandments. These commandments consist mainly of what he has already told
his disciples in this part of his farewell to them at the Last Supper
(13:1–14:14). The disciples’ love for Jesus will motivate them to follow all
the words he has shared with them up to this point.
Vv. 16-17. The first thing Jesus promises his
disciples here is that he will pray to God to send them another “Advocate” who
will “be” and “remain” with them always. “Advocate” refers to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus uses the term “another Advocate” because he himself is the first
Advocate. He calls this Advocate the “Spirit of Truth,” as he identified
himself as “I am the truth” (see 14:6). This shows that Jesus and the Holy
Spirit are one.
Vv. 18-20. Jesus’ second promise is that his
disciples will not be left orphans because he will come to them. This coming is
not the Parousia, his second coming at the end of time. Instead, it is his
coming through the Holy Spirit, which he just mentioned in vv. 16-17, and his
permanent presence with his disciples in the “Father’s House,” the Church,
which he talked about in vv. 2-3. In a little while, the world will no longer
see Jesus physically, but the disciples will see his spiritual presence because
he lives in the Church, through the Holy Spirit, and in them. “I live and you
will live” (v. 19b) echoes v. 6, in which Jesus declared that he is the life,
meaning he is the unique way leading to eternal life. The disciples will live
because, after his death, Jesus will resurrect and live in them through the
Holy Spirit in the Church they will soon oversee. “On that day” (v. 20) refers
to the time when the disciples will lead the Church of Jesus and experience
communion with him, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and their fellow believers.
V. 21. Jesus concludes his speech as he began
it in v. 15: he associates love for him with keeping his commandments. Only the
disciples who have observed all that Jesus has taught so far in this section of
the farewell discourses can truly say that they love him. God will love those
who love Jesus, and Jesus will reveal himself only to those who love him.
4. Synthesis
Jesus begins and ends our Gospel story with a
call for his disciples to love him and follow all that he has taught them. In
the main part of the text, he makes two promises to his disciples. First, he
reassures them that he will ask God to send them another Advocate who will
always “be” and “remain” with them (vv. 16-17). Second, he promises not to
leave them orphans, as he will come to them through the Holy Spirit. They will
see his spiritual presence in the Church when they start overseeing it and experiencing
communion with him, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and their fellow believers in
the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
B. Pastoral Implications
1. Liturgical Context
We
will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord next Sunday and the solemnity of
Pentecost the following Sunday. Therefore, we are approaching the end of the
Easter season and preparing to return to Ordinary Time, a period for growth and
maturity for followers of Jesus. Since last Sunday, our Holy Mother Church has
encouraged us to meditate on “Jesus’ Last Super Discourse” in the Gospel of
John, chapter 14, to help us make this transition. Jesus prepared his disciples
to move from the time they spent with him physically to the time of the Church,
when they would relate to him spiritually. Similarly, the Church is guiding us
as we shift from the Easter season into Ordinary Time. Today’s Scripture
readings call us to love Jesus, observe his commandments (Gospel), and share
his message through words (first reading) and actions (second reading).
2. What
the Church Teaches us Today
Jesus
begins our Gospel passage by teaching us that we cannot pretend to love him if
we do not observe his commandments. First, these commandments are mainly the
words from his farewell discourses at the Last Supper (13:1–17:26), part of
which we reflected on last Sunday and today. He urges us not to let our hearts
be troubled because of his death or any other circumstance but to always trust
in him. He desires us to be in the Church, where he is permanently present in
the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. He wants us to believe he is the way,
the truth, and the life (14:1-14).
Second,
these commandments can include the Ten Commandments of God, which Jesus
summarized into two: loving God and loving neighbors as we love ourselves.
Third,
Jesus’ commandments also include the Five Precepts of the Church: (1) attend
Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, (2) confess our sins regularly,
(3) receive the Eucharist, (4) observe days of fasting and abstinence, and (5)
provide for the needs of the Church.
Fourth,
these commandments represent the mission that he will give us when he ascends
to heaven (next Sunday's liturgy). Therefore, to love him is to evangelize our
brothers and sisters in words, as Philip and the other disciples did in our
first reading, and in actions, as the sacred author of our second reading
encourages us.
Jesus
promises to do two things for us. First, he will ask God to give us “another”
Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to be with us always (vv. 16-17). He says
“another Advocate” because he himself is the first Advocate. The way the world
(the non-believers) failed to believe in Jesus, the “first Advocate,” is the
same way it cannot accept the Holy Spirit, the “another Advocate” (v. 17b).
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Spirit of truth” (v. 17a) as he identified
himself as “I am the truth” (see 14:6). Thus, vv. 16-17 show that the Holy
Spirit and Jesus are one. As Jesus’ earthly life comes to an end, we will
celebrate his Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit in the next two
Sundays. Then we will begin the age of the Church, when we experience his
permanent presence through the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments.
Second,
Jesus reassures us that he will not leave us orphans but will come to us, and
we will see him. Indeed, Jesus is with us at each Mass we attend; we hear him
through the Scripture readings and see and touch him in the Eucharist we
receive at Holy Communion. Every sacramental celebration we participate in
connects us to the communion of the Holy Trinity (v. 20).
God
will love those who love Jesus, and Jesus will reveal himself only to those who
love him (v. 21). May the liturgy of this Mass help us to love Jesus and follow
his commandments. Amen.
Fr. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family Church in Jackson, MS &
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
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