Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter
24 May 2025
Readings: 15:1-2, 22-29; Psalm 67; Apocalypse 21:10-14;22-23; John 14:23-29
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In today’s gospel, Jesus says: ‘Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.’ Scripture scholar Frank Moloney tells us: ‘Jesus’ gift of peace is “from God,” a gift that the quantifiable and fragile peace produced by the politics of this world can never match. In this peace inspired and enlightened by the Spirit of Truth, … a community of disciples will perform “greater works” than Jesus himself, continuing the revelation of the Father and the Son’.[1]
Last Sunday we witnessed Pope Leo’s joyful celebration of the mass marking the commencement of his papacy. He addressed us with great immediacy setting out his agenda in the wake of Francis’s papacy which, for all its profound outreach to the world and to those on the peripheries, was increasingly marked by division within the ranks. Leo said: ‘Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.’
Addressing the conflict in the world, he said:
‘In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest. 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!’[2]
When the conflict in our world seems all too much, when our hearts are both troubled and afraid, we are being called back to reflect on what is achievable by us as the people of God, being simply a leaven for a reconciled world, ‘a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world’.
Let’s hope that Leo speaks for all of us as he did in his first general audience when he declared: ‘The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly worrying and painful. I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entry of dignified humanitarian aid and to put an end to the hostilities, the heart-rending price of which is being paid by children, the elderly and the sick.’[3]
For 18 months we have been confronted with a situation in Gaza where both sides of the conflict have little, if any, regard for the lives, dignity and well being of innocent non-combatants. Both sides of this conflict are convinced that the 1948 partition of land between the river and the sea is unjust and unworkable. Outside worldly forces are impotent to create a situation which is just and workable, acceptable to both sides of the conflict. Presently, there is no worldly solution.
Let’s pray for all our world leaders and their advisers who are committed to finding what they call a two state solution, given that at this time there is no agreement about what the proposed process for bringing both parties to the table would be and not even any agreement about what the proposed boundaries of the two states might be. Being so far from ‘a new world where peace reigns’, Pope Leo tells us: ‘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.’ He is so bold as to declare that ‘this is the hour for love!’ If only it were the hour for love for those innocent people suffering so much from the conflict in Gaza at this time.
Here at home, we are about to celebrate the annual Reconciliation Week which commences on Tuesday with the anniversary of the successful 1967 referendum which removed from our Constitution the two adverse references to Aboriginal Australians. Since then we have been living with an uncomfortable constitutional silence which erupted destructively with the overwhelming defeat of the 2023 Voice Referendum. Approaching Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) with the theme Bridging Now to Next, the nation is aware that there is still unfinished business on the national agenda when it comes to the due recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
When Prime Minister Albanese launched his proposal for the Voice referendum at Garma in July 2022, he acknowledged the need for bipartisanship and reminded us: ‘Back in 1967, not a single member of the House of the Representatives or the Senate voted against the referendum provisions. In the same spirit – I hope that the Opposition and the crossbench will support the proposal, join the campaign for a Yes vote and bring their supporters to the cause.’[4]
Sadly, this time, no adequate process was set in place for designing a proposal capable of winning Opposition and cross bench support, with the result that only three members of the Opposition supported the government’s proposal. The loss to our nation, and especially to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, has been great. If only there were a forum for learning the lessons for ‘bridging now to next’. If only as a leaven of unity, we could all commit to bipartisanship, inclusion, education and trust.
There is no doubt that Mr Albanese risked great political capital in his first term by pursuing a constitutional amendment without following the usual processes for winning bipartisan support. Those who despair should take heart from the new leaf turned by Mr Albanese at his first press conference after this month’s election when he said: ‘My door is open to members of any political party, or none, who are elected as members of the House of Representatives or the Senate. They all deserve to be treated with respect. If people have good ideas, we’re up for hearing them.’[5] In the Albanese Government’s second term, could we not commit to a process for determining a proposal for constitutional recognition sought by Indigenous leaders and supported by all major political parties? We should not give up on the nation’s unfinished business.[6]
Approaching Reconciliation Week in the wake of the thumping Albanese electoral victory, it may be time to focus on three issues: first, the nation’s undoubted commitment to some form of constitutional recognition; second, the government’s newly stated commitment to engagement with all members of parliament; third, and the deflated Liberal Party’s restatement of its commitment to its fundamental values. Obviously nothing would be contemplated without broad Indigenous support. But is it really beyond us to be ‘a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity’ for Terra Australis, the Great Southern Land of the Holy Spirit?
O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may God’s face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
O God, let all the nations praise you!
[1] Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John, Sacra Pagina Series (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998), 410.
[2] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2025/documents/20250518-inizio-pontificato.html
[3] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/audiences/2025/documents/20250521-udienza-generale.html
[4] Anthony Albanese, Speech at Garma, 30 July 2022, https://www.pm.gov.au/media/address-garma-festival
[5] Anthony Albanese, Press Conference, 5 May 2025, at https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-canberra-23
[6] See https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/bridging-now-to-next
