The Sixth Sunday of Easter (2025)
In October of 2021, Pope Francis invited each of us to enter into a new chapter in the life of the Church when he announced a special synod of bishops focused on the theme of synodality.
At stake in this process was the question of who had a voice in the life of the Church: how and to whom do we listen?
There were many people who dismissed Pope Francis’ vision of how we could more effectively journey together as a Christian people, because of their fear that things they believed were essential might be lost.
But as we have seen, the experience of the Synod helped us to realize our call to be, as Pope Francis, “not a seated Church, but a Church on her feet. Not a silent Church, but a Church that embraces the cry of humanity. Not a blind Church, but a Church, enlightened by Christ, that brings the light of the Gospel to others. Not a static Church, but a missionary Church that walks with her Lord through the streets of the world” (Homily for the Conclusion of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops).
We see the same wisdom was at work in the First Reading of this Sunday’s Mass.
Over the past several weeks, we have been hearing Saint Luke’s account of the life of the Apostolic Church in the Acts of the Apostles. Luke presented that generation of believers as living an almost idyllic existence, devoting themselves to the Apostles’ teachings, “and the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers… All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need” (2:42, 44-45).
But this way of life didn’t last long.
After only a short time, the Church faced persecution and wrestled with questions of inclusivity and what should be expected of the growing number non-Jewish believers. While this might seem like a small issue for us today, this all-important question threatened to tear the Church apart.
Recognizing what was at stake, the community had to discern how to respond to the challenges they faced.
So, what did the leaders of the Church do? They came together as a community, prayed, and listened to one another.
Together they discerned how the Holy Spirit was at work in the Church—just as Jesus had promised it would be.
In the end, rather than closing ranks and opting for exclusivity, the Church’s first leaders imagined a new way forward and enlisted others to help them in their mission:
“The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones they chose were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers” (Acts 15:22).
In humility, the leaders recognized two realities. First, they came to understand their own limitations. But they also came to see the opportunities before them, the leaders looked beyond the enclosed circle of the Apostles to find new workers capable of responding to new needs.
In the homily he delivered only last Sunday during the Mass which marked the inauguration of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV reflected on this call to an expansive, inclusive vision of the Church, acknowledging that it was not only a hallmark of the Church at the time of the Apostles, but something should continue to be part of the life of the Church today:
For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one. This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!
Powerful words! But he didn’t stop there:
This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world. We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.
Crossing boundaries wasn’t only the work of the Church in the past. We continue to be a people that is called to go beyond the boundaries of our comfort and preferences.
Nothing less is expected of us.
In the end, what’s at stake in all of this is the mission of the Church. Mutual discernment and collaboration in ministry—as we see it at work in the Early Church—calls for me… for you to step up and own our faith, living out our unique vocation.
Remember… each one of us has a part to play.
This is what we’re called to do and to be and this is how we help the Church more perfectly reflect the beauty of that Heavenly Jerusalem (cf. the Second Reading), becoming more than we ever imagined that we could be. Amen.
Grant, almighty God,
that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy,
which we keep in honor of the risen Lord,
and that what we relive in remembrance
we may always hold to in what we do.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
Homily prepared for St. Charles Borromeo and Ss. Peter and Paul Churches in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
