The fall of man in the Garden of Eden was orchestrated by the sin of pride. Man wanted to be like God, in fact, to be God unto himself and this led humanity to disobedience. It was only through the humility of Christ, who though was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, was all humanity gifted redemption.

The Readings this weekend emphasize the universality of God’s reign, the Divine intent to replace the inadequate worship of God by ethnic Israel with perfect worship by all humanity in the future, and the absolute necessity of suffering of some kind as a means of self-training for acceptance into heaven.

Most times, truth is not popular and those who stand for and live by the truth experience unpleasant encounters with those who choose to resist or reject it. In the First Reading, the Prophet Jeremiah is labeled unpatriotic and considered a traitor for advising Israel to surrender to the Babylonians who had surrounded and technically conquered Jerusalem but were yet to destroy it.

The theme of “waiting” runs across the three readings this weekend. We are accustomed to listening to readings themed with this concept at the beginning of Advent each year when the Church invites us to watch and pray as we wait for the coming of Christ. However, the sudden appearance of the Savior’s directive to wait underscores the essential nature of spiritual vigilance in the life of every Christian.

In his quest to sieve out meaning in life, Qoheleth, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes mentally interrogated pleasure, wealth, knowledge, labor and other noble endeavors, and came to the sad conclusion that all these were temporary, fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying. He therefore decided that all earthly appendages amount to vanity. This conclusion renders the primitive accumulation and senseless hoarding of earthly possessions, presumed earthly guarantees of security, a complete exercise in futility. True happiness and peace can never be obtained from what we have or achieve.

Last Sunday, we heard in the fi rst reading how Abraham showed kindness to three mysterious travelers and was rewarded for his goodness. In the fi rst reading today, which is a continuation of that same story from Genesis, the destination and mission of the travelers was revealed to Abraham. They were Angels of the Lord, sent to destroy the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. We are told the sin of immorality of the people was so bad that God decided to destroy the cities by fire. The sin of sodomy is named after this town of Sodom. The Book of Genesis 19:1-29 gives accounts of the nature of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The theme of hospitality runs through the first reading and the Gospel today. In the first reading, Abraham showed hospitality to strangers not knowing that they were messengers of God. It turned out that the visitors were angels of God who came in human form. They were happy with Abraham and assured him that God would bless him and his wife, Sarah, with a son. In the Gospel, we heard that Jesus visited the family of Mary and Martha. We are told that the two sisters used two different approaches in expressing their hospitality to Jesus. While Martha was very busy trying to prepare food for Jesus, Mary was sittng at the feet of Jesus, listening to him.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan that we heard in the Gospel today is one of the most popular stories in the Bible. I read that the United States and many countries in the world have some form of a law called “The Good Samaritan Law.” These laws are focused on the obligation to help someone in urgent need while legally protecting the helper, or “good samaritan.”

In the Gospel, we heard how Jesus sent his 72 disciples to go out and preach the Good News to everyone, to cure the sick and cast out evil spirits. In preparing them for the mission, Jesus told them that he is sending them out like sheep among wolves and told them not to worry about their personal needs for protection and support but to rely on the generosity of the people they will visit and the protection from God.

Our scripture readings today are centered on our call to a total commitment to discipleship. Jesus warns His followers that following Him would require a total commitment that involves sacrificing everything else and putting God first as the highest priority in our lives.

Growing up, one of the traditions I found very interesting in the Catholic Church, which I believe is true for most converts to the Church, is the use of different symbols to represent Christ, the Church, and the Eucharist. Symbols such as grapes, wheat, fish, Chi Rho, etc., may be found mostly on stained glass windows, vestments, and sacred vessels. One of the oldest symbols for Jesus Christ in Christian art is the pelican. It may not be a pretty bird, but it’s known as a symbol of self-sacrifice. Pelicans feed on fish but when a mother pelican cannot find fish to feed her broods, it bites deep into its own flesh and feeds its brood with her blood until the next food can be found. This is precisely what Christ does for us. Jesus did not wait for an emergency like the pelican. Rather, He gives Himself to us every day in the Eucharist. Jesus promised He would not leave us orphans (John 14:18). He has kept His word by giving himself to us as the Bread of Life.

Central to Catholic Theology is the Doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity: the union of God the Father (Creator), God the Son (the Redeemer) and God the Holy Spirit (the Sanctifier), three persons in One God. The Father pre-existed everything and created all things out of love, the Son is begotten and not made, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the love of the Father and the Son. In the Most Holy Trinity, God the Father is what God the Son is and what God the Holy Spirit is; yet, God the Father is neither God the Son nor is He God the Holy Spirit. The same is true of the Son and the Holy Spirit, they are three distinct persons united in love as one God.

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus had directed His Apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He assured them that His going to the Father would produce a pleasant consequence as He would send to them the Advocate, who would reveal to them the mysteries of the kingdom, empower them and guide His nascent Church to witness faithfully to the reign of God on earth. This promise was fully fulfilled on Pentecost, fifty days after Easter and ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven. We celebrate this outpouring of the Spirit on the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday this weekend.