All’s Well

Seeing how the Holy Spirit authors our life

06/04/2022

Jn 21:20-25 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.” So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?” It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.

In 1623 Shakespeare published one of his lesser-known plays that was a comedy called “All’s Well That Ends Well”. Have you read it? Well, why not? It was a rather bizarre romantic comedy that had a happy ending. Shakespeare’s point, I suppose, was that no matter how strange life is, what matters most is how we end things: hopefully we end on a happy note.

They also taught us this in the seminary when we write homilies: all homilies are well that end well. And one way to end a homily well is to return to the theme with which you began. In other words, you create two “bookends” – a beginning and an end that are similar. That produces the effect of tying the whole homily together. When a homily ends where it began, it sort of comes full-circle, and you don’t have a lot of loose threads or loose thoughts, and in that way, “all’s well that ends well.”

Our readings today are really the endings of two books of the bible: the Acts of the Apostles and the gospel of John. But did you notice how they ended? They followed the advice of my seminary homiletics professor: at the end, go back to the beginning and create two bookends. And this is exactly what both Luke and John do. How so?

At the beginning of Acts of the Apostles, we have the Ascension of Jesus. There, before he rises to heavenly glory, Jesus says: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And by the time we get to Acts 28, Paul has arrived in Rome and preaches the Good News. “Rome” symbolized the whole world, the “ends of the earth”. In Acts “all’s well that ends well” because Luke goes back to the beginning.

How does the gospel of John end in chapter 21? Again, John, a good homilist and preacher, goes back to the beginning. His gospel opened with showing Jesus was God, and a man named John the Baptist came to give testimony to him. And how does John’s gospel end? He touches the theme of Jesus’ divinity, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world could contain the books that would be written.”

And he also touches the topic of a man named “John” who testifies to Jesus: “It is this disciple who testifies to these things, and has written them, and his testimony is true.” In other words, a great book, like an effective homily, ends where it begins, it sort of comes full circle, and thus, “all’s well that ends well.”

My friends, how is the homily or the book of your life coming along? Are you at the beginning (a teen or twenty-something), or middle-aged and in the full-flower of manhood or womanhood (like me!), or in the autumn of your life enjoying your golden years and retirement? I have had conversations with elderly parishioners who really struggle with growing older.

They are facing their physical limitations, and loss of freedom. They often feel depressed and useless to themselves and to others. Maybe you have parents or grandparents that feel this way. In other words, they don’t know how to end the homily that is their life, or write the last chapter of their autobiography.

May I offer you the same sage advice that my seminary professor gave to me? Go back to the beginning and rediscover the main themes that run like a golden thread through your life. One way to do that is to try to remember your childhood: your home, parents and siblings, your old neighborhood, your friends, and elementary school. What were your first experiences of faith and religion? Share these stories with your children and grandchildren, or maybe write them down, in a diary or an autobiography.

Just like St. Luke went back to Acts chapter one to find material for chapter 28, and St. John returned to John one to complete John 21, so, too, we would do well to return to chapter one of our lives to see what we should write for the final chapter. Hopefully, we will discover that we have not been the only author of the homily or the book of our life. Rather, the real Author was the Holy Spirit.

In other words, your whole life was not some random collection of events and experiences, Shakespearean comedies and tragedies. The Holy Spirit has been writing your story with a divine plot: open your eyes and ears, your head and your heart, to see the real point and purpose of your life. The beginning will give you a clue to the end, and then you too can say: “all’s well that ends well.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!