In the Pentecost Day reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul notes the different kinds of abilities and forms of service each member of the Christian community has. His point, however, is that all these gifts come from one place, “the same God,” and that they all exist for one purpose: the benefit of the community.

At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles Jesus did not ascend immediately; he spent a highly symbolic 40 days speaking to the apostles “about the kingdom of God.”

Have you invited God into all your decisions? If not, don’t bet on a positive outcome!

Scripture’s powerful messages about love offer a number of opportunities for reflection.

What’s implied when we believe in and speak in the name of Jesus? Do Christ’s “words remain in you”? Do you “love not in word or speech but in deed and truth”?

This Sunday the focus is on leadership and the difference between good and bad leadership. People tend to think of leadership as something that goes either up or down the line: Those in charge want others to follow them, while those getting the directions praise or blame their leaders for the job they’re doing. In this way of seeing things, both sides are looking only at the performance of the other, not themselves.

How does a person become a disciple of Jesus? The First Letter of John has an answer: You first have to know him. And how do you know him? By keeping his commandments and “his word.”

The readings this week remind listeners that the Easter season is about both celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus and doing something about it: They are full of messages about call, sending, mission. The Book of Acts speaks of how “with great power the apostles bore witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” The First Letter of John commands the children of God to love. And in the gospel Jesus sends out his disciples with his Spirit in a ministry of forgiveness.

In John’s gospel, confusion reigned at the empty tomb of Jesus. Mary of Magdala thought the body had been taken. Peter could not understand what was happening. Only the “disciple whom Jesus loved” grasped the meaning of the situation. For the “beloved disciple,” it seems, the burial cloth neatly rolled in a corner merely confirmed what he or she already suspected: Christ would be raised from the dead. You can sympathize with Mary’s jumping to a conclusion or Peter’s mystification, but what about the other disciple? Do you think that love can open your heart and mind to both faith and knowledge? How?

On the Mount of Olives Jesus said three things would happen: His disciples would flee; one of his closest disciples, Peter, would deny knowing him not once but three times; and after his Resurrection he would go ahead of his band of followers to Galilee.