Today is a day simply to ponder the fact that in baptism we were claimed by God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The first reading from Deuteronomy prompts us to fix in our hearts the truth that God is the Lord of both heaven and earth and there is no other god. Saint Paul reminds us that, because we received the Spirit of adoption in baptism, we are now children of God.

Fifty days after Easter Sunday we celebrate the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the feast of Pentecost, a feast that has sometimes been called the birthday of the church. One last time we are reminded that we Christians have received the Holy Spirit, not for our own benefit, but to enable us to follow our Christian vocation.

Today we celebrate Christ’s ascension into heaven and his commissioning of the disciples to carry on his mission in the world. First, we hear Luke’s description of those events in the opening verses of the Acts of the Apostles. Next, we hear words of encouragement and guidance from the Letter to the Ephesians. Finally, we hear Mark’s account of the Ascension, foretelling the mighty words and acts the Christian community would do in Jesus’ name.

In the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter we are met with an extraordinary challenge: Jesus commands us to “love one another as I love you” (John 15:12). The letter from John echoes this command. Of course, we are to love those in our family, those we work with, those we like. But the scriptures make clear that we are also to love those we never notice, those we purposely avoid, and even those we are tempted to despise.