Glass ceiling shattered

Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A

A glass ceiling is a common metaphor used to describe how certain invisible barriers are in place due to cultural norms and prejudices which would prevent a certain class of people from advancing upwards in the hierarchy of society. In the past, the metaphor was exclusively used for women who entered fields which were traditionally dominated by men. Today, (and here’s the irony) the expression is most often used to refer to transwomen (biological men who believe they are women) breaking new records in women sports. In other words, when men beat women in women sports, a new glass ceiling is broken. Try to wrap your head around this!

Today, we are getting ahead of the scene of the Ascension of the Lord, which we will celebrate this coming Thursday. The readings provide us with a demonstration of what will take place as a consequence of the Ascension and Pentecost and also an explanation by none other than the Lord Himself who will be the prime mover of this phenomenal thrust forward by the Church, which will shatter “glass ceilings” and even concrete ones, like never imagined before.

Immediately, in the aftermath of the Ascension, the angelic messengers provided the apostles with a series of deliberate instructions. The apostles were to wait for the Holy Spirit to come, for they would be immersed in power. They were not to set their hearts on times, timing, dates, but to know that when empowered by the promised Holy Spirit, they would be witnesses of God’s Kingdom, locally, nationally, and to the ends of the earth. In fact, the movement of the Holy Spirit will have a ripple effect - crossing boundaries, making new precedents and shattering glass ceilings: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In the first reading, we witness the breaking of the first cultural, religious and social barrier - the evangelisation of the Samaritans by the deacon Philip. The Samaritans’ long split from the Jews had lasted for centuries and there didn’t seem to be any hope that the riff would ever be healed since there was so much historical as well as religious-cultural baggage that prevented the two closely related communities and yet socially distant communities from reuniting. There was an expression among the Jews that if a Jew were to come across a leper and a Samaritan, the former was to be preferred over the latter. And yet, the message of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit was able to break this seemingly insurmountable barrier and bring together not just the Jews and the Samaritans but communities spread throughout “the ends of the earth.” It is interesting to note that at the end of the first reading, we have the first instance of the Sacrament of Confirmation where the apostles would come to lay hands, confer the Holy Spirit and confirm the initial conversion of these Samaritans.

In the second reading, we see Peter’s exhortation to a church facing persecution. One could regard the Christian way as distinctively unique from other religions of that time. There were certain religious adherents, for example the militant Jewish zealots, who took a military response to threats from the civil authorities and which were eventually annihilated by the latter when they rose in rebellion. There were still others who adopted a philosophy of accommodation and assimilation, adapting their teachings and practices in order to fit in with the dominant mainstream. There were still others, basically the mystery Gnostic religions, who adopted a secretive approach, hiding their practices and concealing their teachings behind a veneer of mystery. Christianity adopted none of these approaches.

The fact that Christianity was an evangelising religion that sought to publicly spread its teachings and expand its members, led to it being persecuted. But St Peter reminded Christians that their response to such persecution should not be violent or one where they should retreat into a secretive shell of safety but done by finding opportunities to expound and explain one’s faith, “always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience …” None of the other religions which adopted self-preserving methods have survived. Most of them eventually became extinct in the years and centuries which followed. Yet, Christianity not only survived but thrived in the midst of persecution, due to the fact that this is a movement not based on human innovation but on the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.

Finally, we come to the gospel and what our Lord wishes to tell us about the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth and promises that He “will be with you forever.” Our Lord Jesus was prophetic in telling His disciples that “the world can never receive (the Spirit) since it neither sees nor knows him.” You may have heard that we are currently living in a post-truth age, where objective truth is often vilified and subjective truth in the form of “lived experience” is made sacrosanct and inviolable. In other words, no one can question a man if one day he chooses to identify as a woman because no one can deny his “lived experiences” or preferred pronouns, even though it may be objectively delusional. Blaise Pascal once said: “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.”

More than ever, we need the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, as we stand against a bulwark of the enemies of truth. Just as God is immutable, so is truth. There is no such thing as new truth. All truth finds its source in God and is eternal—never changing. What is true today will remain true tomorrow—regardless of how our culture seeks to personalise truth or mould it according to its latest agenda. Ultimately, the Church must stand firm and remain a pillar and buttress of truth in an age of darkness and confusion.

Truth is under assault and many Christians do not appear to be ready for battle. The good news is that Christians are not on their own as they search for truth and seek to find ways to have answers “for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have”. Rather, you will be “guided into all truth” by the Spirit of God. And this is a wonderful comfort as we walk through the world, knowing that Jesus says: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32) and prays for those who follow Him: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Through His power, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). Stand firm, knowing that you have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth as your Advocate. With His power and inspiration, we will not only break “glass ceilings” but pass through humanly insurmountable barriers.