SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR A

May 10, 2026

Saints Matthew and Mark, Barrington, R. I.

 

Acts 17:22-31

I Peter 3:13-22

John 14:15-21

 

A theme running through today’s lessons is that of bearing witness to our faith. In the epistle reading from First Peter, the apostle writes: “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you.” Those words amount to quite a challenge for us today.

 

We live in a time in which the Christian faith has become the target of much vilification and abuse. Atheist writers such as Richard Dawkins find a ready market for books attacking all forms of religious belief as not only irrational and superstitious but also as positively dangerous to the public good.

 

So, we need to ask ourselves: How prepared are we to make our defense before those who would call us to account for our hope? Suppose someone were to confront us: “Why do you go to church? I thought you were more sophisticated and better educated than that. How can you possibly believe all that stuff?”

 

How would we respond? What would we say? Would we be up to Saint Peter’s challenge to give an account of our faith, not angrily or defensively, but gently and lovingly?  

 

In our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul offers an example of faithful witness to Christ as he speaks to an audience of Greek philosophers in Athens. What’s fascinating about this speech is how different it is from the speeches Paul gives to Jewish audiences in the synagogues.

 

On those occasions, he uses scriptural arguments from the Old Testament to prove that the Messiah must suffer, die, and rise again, and that Jesus is the Messiah. But here, before a Gentile audience, Paul appeals instead to their experience of the created world to point to the existence of one God, Lord of heaven and earth. And how appropriate to have this reading on this Rogation Sunday, when we give thanks for the natural world and the fruits of the earth in their seasons.

 

To bear witness effectively, we must first establish some common ground with our hearers. When Paul preaches to Jews, he begins with the scriptures that both he and they accept as authoritative. But when he preaches to Gentiles, he begins with the natural creation and even quotes pagan poets. Paul thus exemplifies the art of understanding our audience and meeting them where they are before proceeding to the good news of Jesus Christ.

 

Yet gifted and talented as Paul undoubtedly is in adapting his message in this way, he’d be the first to admit that his effectiveness in witnessing to Christ comes not solely from his own natural abilities. He makes use of all his learning and cleverness, yes, but he first relies on the Holy Spirit for guidance and inspiration.

 

And that brings us to today’s Gospel. At the Last Supper, on the eve of his death, our Lord promises his disciples another Advocate to be with them forever, even the Spirit of truth.

 

The word advocate here translates the Greek word paraklētos, or in anglicized form, paraclete. An equally good translation is counselor. Advocate and counselor are both common courtroom terms for a lawyer. And, in the ancient world, the word paraclete had pretty much the same meaning: a learned and eloquent person who could speak up for you and persuasively present your case in a legal proceeding.

 

What would you think if you came into my office to explain a problem you were having, and my first response was, “I think you need a lawyer”? (In over 34 years of parish ministry, I think I’ve only ever said that twice.)

 

When we reach the point of saying, “I think I need a lawyer,” we’re really saying that the situation is sufficiently serious, complex, and dangerous that we cannot prudently handle it on our own. We need help. We need an advocate and a counselor.

 

Well, Jesus is telling his disciples something similar in today’s Gospel. Up to now, he’s been their teacher, guide, spokesman, and defender.

 

But now, two things are about to happen. First, he’s about to leave them—at least in his bodily incarnate presence. Second, they’ll be sent into the world to preach the Gospel to all nations. They’ll encounter opposition. They’ll come under attack. They’ll undergo persecution. Many will suffer martyrdom. They cannot possibly undertake this mission on their own. They need an advocate and a counselor.

 

And so, Our Lord promises his disciples that he won’t leave them orphaned. He will pray to his Father, who’ll send them the Holy Spirit to be their advocate and counselor. The Holy Spirit will give them the power, strength, courage, and eloquence they need to bear witness to Christ. When they speak, the Holy Spirit will guide and inspire them to make their case before an unbelieving and often hostile world. 

 

The same promise holds good for us today. The best way that we can rise to St. Peter’s challenge—always to be prepared to give an accounting for the hope that is in us—is to ask the Holy Spirit to assist us.

 

But that’s really only half the story. It’s a bit presumptuous to ask the Holy Spirit to be our advocate without acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is God’s advocate first. In other words, before the Holy Spirit will guide us in pleading our case before the world, we need the Holy Spirit to plead God’s case before us. In our fallen human condition, we’re often hard-hearted and slow to listen to what God is saying. But it’s the movement of the Holy Spirit within that opens our hearts and minds to God’s word.

 

So, when we ask the Holy Spirit to come to our aid, we need to listen first of all. We may need to face up to uncomfortable truths about ourselves that we’d rather avoid. The Holy Spirit will indeed empower us to bear witness to Christ in a way that will change the minds and hearts of others—but only if we’ve allowed our own minds and hearts to be changed first.