The Last Intermediary

Homily for Saturday of the Sixth Week in Easter

When Adam disobeyed in the garden of Eden, he and Eve were banished. God then stationed one of the cherubim with a fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life. We generally think that this original sin is what brought about our experience of death. However, in the Hebrew Scriptures, death is equated with the idea of living without God. Because we are not able to enter the garden, we have lost access God.

From that time forward, having set a plan in motion to redeem humankind, God sent intermediaries who would facilitate human access to God. Moses was the first of these intermediaries and was followed by other leaders, kings, and prophets who would speak in God’s name. The last of these intermediaries was Jesus.

The Gospel passage which we proclaim today indicates that the time of intermediaries is finished. Jesus tells his disciples that they are now able to ask God directly for their needs. Anything that they ask in his name will be granted to them. Because we have come to believe that Jesus is the one sent by the Father, we have once again been given access to God. Thus, through faith, we have been justified and saved and have been returned to our former state.

In addition to being able to ask God directly for our needs, we have also been given the task of sharing the Good News with others, of teaching them how to ask the Father for their needs. While the fact that Jesus is no longer physically present in our world may cause the disciples to grieve and mourn their loss, the Holy Spirit will teach them that it was only possible to regain our access if Jesus, the intermediary, returns to the Father. The gift of the Eucharist is proof that God is in our midst in the Body and Blood of Jesus. This pledge of God’s love is the greatest gift we have been given.