Sixth Sunday of Easter
When my wife and I first started dating, she introduced me to something that blew my mind. One weekend, we were hanging out at her parent’s house and started talking about which fast food places had the best fries. In my opinion, McDonald’s fries were the best, but she liked Wendy’s fries better. After debating for some time about this controversial topic, I declared that Wendy’s only recently became part of the running after they added sea salt and left the skin on their fries. Her next question changed the course of all my future Wendy’s drive-through experiences forever.
She asked, “Have you ever dipped your fries in their frosty?” Shocked about what I had just heard, the only words I could mutter were, “Wait, what?!” My wife proceeds to defend her statement and soon after, we found ourselves driving to Wendy’s to satiate my curiosity. Only then did I realize that the perfect blend of sweet and salty intersected within this incredible combination of foods. I was converted.
Now you might be saying to yourself: “That’s great Jan, but I don’t remember Jesus talking about fries in the readings?” To which I would say, you are absolutely correct. Though there is no mention of fries in John’s Gospel, he does speak about sending an advocate who will remind us of everything that He has taught us.
This week, we see Jesus preparing his disciples for when he leaves and rejoins God the Father in heaven. Keeping in mind that Jesus just died and rose from the dead a little while ago, I can imagine the disciples being worried about losing their leader once again. They must have been filled with anxiety at the thought of being by themselves and not having Jesus there to guide them. Jesus realizes this and reassures them that they won’t be alone in fulfilling the vocations that he called them to.
The readings remind us that, just like the early disciples, we also have the Holy Spirit to guide us in our own faith journey. Whenever our sins, doubts, or humanity get in the way of serving God, the Holy Spirit enables us to look outside of ourselves and our own situations so that we can give glory to God in everything we do.
I get the frosty fries every time we go to Wendy’s now. I was hesitant at first but was surprised to find out later that a few of our friends love the combination and swear by it too.
So this week, let’s challenge ourselves and invite the presence of the Holy Spirit into our daily lives. The Spirit has the power to transform our lives and provide us with whatever we need to keep walking in God’s footsteps. Just like how my wife was an advocate for the frosty fries that changed my Wendy’s routine, the Holy Spirit is our advocate for a faith filled and adventurous lives.
