Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Sixth Sunday of Easter

I learned to drive on a farm vehicle at a high school seminary in Goshen NY in the mid-1980s. My driving instructor, Brother John, was a heavy-set religious brother with a thick New York accent, a quick wit, a hearty laugh, and a club foot. It was the first and last time I would drive a stick. I had just arrived in the country probably a month before. Everything was new and exciting and scary. I spoke English, but what I heard still sounded foreign. And I’m sure I sounded just as foreign to everyone else. It was like learning to walk all over again. But this time I was aware of what I was doing. So, I paid attention to the details, asked questions, and prepared for what happens next. And as I got more comfortable and more confident, I was more willing to explore on my own. The following year I got my driver’s license on the first try in New Jersey.

But those early years of driving were not uneventful. We didn’t have a car growing up, and I was not particularly interested in how they worked, just that they did. I was a college student in a religious community, with access to a fleet of vehicles owned by the religious order. And all the driving I did back then was into town, to the mall a half hour away, and the high school seminary back in NY to help out with weekend retreats. I enjoyed most driving the back roads after dark between the college in New Jersey and the high school in New York. I did nothing dangerous, I don’t think, but I loved the view out the windshield in winter. It was like flying the Millennium Falcon in hyperdrive. I also drove up a few times to High Point State Park and down the NY Thruway to Bear Mountain. Now I’m not going to tell you what all I did, but suffice it to say, I didn’t want my religious superiors to know all the details either.

My first car was a pre-owned bluish-green 2-door Buick Skylark. I washed and vacuumed that car more times than I ever have any car since. And it was a sad day indeed when I traded it in. But it was even more exciting getting a new car, and I’ve had a few. Now getting in the driver’s seat is probably the closest I have ever felt to total control of my destiny. I imagine pilots can surpass that feeling easily. Car owners will not be reckless on purpose. We watch more closely for potholes, trees, and pedestrians. We wash and vacuum regularly at first. And although we hope to never get a ticket, it happens. But we face the music, learn our lesson, and move on. We don’t sulk, or blame the weather, or vow to never get behind the wheel ever again. We don’t question the legitimacy of traffic laws to fit our driving style. We don’t take lessons on improving how to talk our way out of tickets. We get directions, check the gas, and hit the road.

When the early church was first getting organized, they weren’t prepared for many of the challenges up ahead. They would never have known what lay ahead to start with. What we read today from the Acts of the Apostles recounts the challenges faced by non-Jewish converts to Christianity, and whether they had to observe Jewish ways before becoming Christian. More than the outcome they reached in conclusion, we need to pay attention to the process they used to resolve the issue. Paul and Barnabas had been proclaiming the gospel to the gentiles. But certain Jewish members insisted on keeping their traditions. Paul and Barnabas consulted with the leaders in Jerusalem, who discussed the issue, listened to all sides, listened to the Holy Spirit, and came to a decision. They then sent a pastoral letter to the church in Antioch, requiring of the converts no more than was necessary. This process brought peace to all concerned, and they returned to their ongoing witness in faith to the mercy and goodness of God.

This was nothing like the glorious city in Revelation, radiant, holy, and lovely to behold. With its description of unparalleled wealth and solid construction, we can imagine its inhabitants were nothing less than holy women and men, innocent and upright beyond reproach. An interesting detail in that description was that the gates of the holy city opened in all directions. That meant that all were welcome from wherever they came, and everyone had a place. But how could this glorious city be filled with the same people who grappled with the very real issues of their day, debating, arguing, even threatening, so to discern God’s voice? Yet it is truly the very same people, this glorious vision of the church in heaven, just that a distance in time separated the two. Our current condition is marked by struggle. Yet in the eternal city, God’s peace reigns.

Jesus himself knew to prepare his disciples for his departure. He tells us our love for him will assure our keeping of his word. And if we keep his word, we keep the word of the Father who sent him. Now the church will likely struggle still in the days ahead, as her members discuss and argue the finer points of faithful discipleship. Each will claim their deep and abiding love for Jesus and his gospel. But on occasion they will find themselves on opposing sides, while they insist strongly that God approves. So as the leaders in Jerusalem listened impartially to all sides of the issue at hand, as well as to the living voice of the Holy Spirit, so our pastors and leaders today should follow their example. Jesus assures us that the Father will send the Holy Spirit in his name. It is that assurance of our faithfulness to Jesus’ voice that ensures the gift of his peace among us. “Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”

Now as each of us travels the journey of faithful discipleship, we will encounter doubts and questions, and we will struggle to listen for the Holy Spirit’s voice amid the flurry of other voices, debating, arguing, threatening to be heard. But as we relish the freedom that comes with sitting in the driver’s seat, so we must attend to the details of our own spiritual journey to keep our focus and remain faithful. We cherish the unchanging Word that Jesus entrusted to us and to his church. We pay heed to the circumstances of our specific time and place. We listen for the unwavering voice of the Holy Spirit who will teach us everything and remind us what Jesus had told us. We acknowledge our role in the unfolding journey of our own spiritual lives, alongside our life in common as God’s church. We cannot walk away from our own lives. Instead, we embrace the struggle confidently, joyfully even. We put faith in what Jesus taught us, and in the Holy Spirit who still has much to tell us.

Our ongoing struggle to arrive at faith will not always go without a hitch. We must be willing to explore what we believe, to grasp the heart and mind of God, and to go courageously where God takes us. We must be attentive to the Holy Spirit’s voice. Though we might prefer to be in the driver’s seat ourselves, we really need to surrender to the Holy Spirit’s lead. And the Holy Spirit does not need our permission to open new paths to us on our journey, a journey at once inspiring, and challenging, and amazing.

Rolo B Castillo © 2025