The readings today point us to the fact that God is knitting a diverse community centred in Christ Jesus. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in this community is the life and binding factor of the community. 

The reading from Acts shows that Paul had a dream to respond to a call to minister in Macedonia. Paul discerned that God’s salvific act is not confined to the people he served hitherto. The Psalm says, let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.  There is no distinction as to who can praise and worship God. It is for all peoples. 

The reading from Revelation is a picture of new Jerusalem. Life is restored to God’s expectation. The river of life flows as stream from God’s throne to water the fruit trees. And the leaves of the trees are for healing of all nations. 

The gospel is about Jesus responding to a question from one of the disciples Judas (not Iscariot), “Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus unpacks the Messianic expectation. Jesus promises that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead you into all truth. Jesus leaves some parts for the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit to discern those things. 

We observe the last Sunday of the season of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Ascension will be on Thursday this week. Then we wait for ten days for the Pentecost on which the Holy Spirit was given to all people of all languages. The promise is that when the Holy Spirit comes, he will reveal God’s purpose for all nations. 

In all of God’s actions past, present, and yet to come, God is knitting together a diverse community. 

We live in an era of social networking and digital connectivity, where technology binds us together. The world seems so small that we can look at each other’s face and talk to some one on the other side of the world. The unfortunate side of the development is, we tend to forget who our neighbour is or our extended family in the next city. 

However, the world that God loves and sends God’s son to save is knitting a community of all peoples in God’s way. The good news of God’s grace is for everyone. It has no boundaries even though the early Apostles thought it was confined to the territories of the Israelites. The book of Revelation speaks to us to ensure that all nations will be healed by the leaves from the twelve trees of life. 

The new life, assured through the Holy Spirit, reveals a world far greater than the one we have known thus far. And the life in that world is by the power of Holy Spirit bound with love and peace. 

Jesus instructed the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to reveal all of it. The disciples in turn received the Holy Spirit, they extended their boundaries to go into all the world to share God’s love revealed in Jesu Christ. This is how God continues Gods knitting of God’s diverse community. You and I are strands being knitted into God’s community irrespective of who we are and what ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, or what language we speak at home. 

The arrival of the Holy Spirit ushers the community into a life of fullness—both in the present and in the life to come. When we become part of God’s knitted community, we tend to experience and realise the preview of how life will be at its fullest in the life after death. 

As God’s knitted community, what is our call? We are invited to be the reflections of what God is doing in the world with God’s action of knitting around Christ. We have to do more. That is because the world around us, or rather the neighbourhood around us is daunted by their compactions and isolations. Nations are afraid of the cultural and religious pluralisation. We hear of political agendas to convert countries into mono cultural, mono religious nation and all others to leave the country. 

In the midst of these, God is calling Christ’s disciples like you and me to exhibit the divine difference that is hopeful, hospitable, and evangelical to spread the love of God. Like Paul’s vision calling him to Macedonia, we too may be invited to broaden our circles. We need to discern our own calls of Macedonia dream. 

People, particularly the teenagers are looking to find communities that embrace them. Those who are not welcome at the homogenous table, those outside the formal borders, those who look or act differently from our comfort zones, look to the church to find new life. This is how God is knitting God’s diverse community. In that community all will enjoy God’s abundant life.