JOHN 14:15-21
I JUST GOT BACK FROM A SHORT VACATION WITH MY WIFE, MY 13 GRANDCHILDREN, SIX CHILDREN, THREE SONS IN LAW, AND ONE MAYBE SOMEDAY SON IN LAW. IT WAS A REALLY GREAT TIME, AND I HOPE WE CAN DO IT AGAIN IN TEN YEARS OR SO. WE WENT TO OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND, JUST IN TIME TO EXPERIENCE RAINSTORMS AND ARCTIC WINDS, SO WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME INDOORS. AND POSSIBLY BECAUSE GRANDMA AND GRANDPA'S ROOM WAS CLEAN AND RELATIVELY EMPTY, AND OF COURSE BECAUSE IT HAD LOTS OF FOOD AND LIQUID REFRESHMENT AND A PLACE TO WATCH TELEVISION WITHOUT YOUR PARENTS GETTING MAD, IT ACTED AS A MAGNET FOR GRANDCHILDREN. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT MY VACATION.
SERIOUSLY, I LIKE TO WATCH MY DAUGHTERS AND THEIR HUSBANDS INTERACT WITH THEIR CHILDREN. THE LITTLEST ONES FALL AND ARE IMMEDIATELY SCOOPED UP. THE SLIGHTLY OLDER ONES GET OUT OF LINE AND GET DISCIPLINED, BUT IN A WAY THAT IS BOTH FIRM AND LOVING. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE PARENTS FORCE THE OLDER KIDS TO DO SOMETHING THEY REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO – LIKE A DAY TRIP TO ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, OR A WALK ON THE BOARDWALK, OR A VISIT TO RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT. AND THE CHILDREN COME BACK EXCITED, HAVING LEARNED SOMETHING, HAVING EXPERIENCED SOMETHING NEW. AND I WATCH MY DAUGHTERS AND THEIR HUSBANDS PATIENTLY WATCHING THEIR CHILDREN AS THEY ENJOY THE POOL, ON THE LOOKOUT FOR TROUBLE; I WATCH THEM AS THEY KEEP A VIGILANT EYE ON THE KIDS RUNNING AROUND ON THE BEACH, LOOKING FOR SHELLS. AND I SEE THEM MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE SOME ACTUAL NUTRITION AT SUPPER, NOT JUST THE ICE CREAM.
THE GREEK WORD THAT ST JOHN USES IS PARACLETOS, THE ENGLISH VERSION OF WHICH IS PARACLETE. THE WORD MEANS “SOMEONE WHO STANDS BESIDE” AND WAS USED TO DESCRIBE A PERSON WHO PLEADED YOUR CASE IN COURT, OR A PERSON WHO TUTORED YOU IN SOME SKILL, OR A PERSON WHO GUARANTEED THAT YOU WOULD PAY A DEBT. JESUS IS SENDING THIS PARACLETE SO THAT HIS DISCIPLES, YOU AND I, WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO STAND BESIDE US – IN SHORT, A SORT OF PARENT, TO COMFORT US, TO DISCIPLINE US, TO TEACH US, TO PROTECT US, AND EVEN TO NOURISH US WITH TRUTH, THINGS JESUS DID WITH HIS APOSTLES.
JESUS HAD TO BECOME A PARTICULAR MAN AT A PARTICULAR TIME, BORN OF A PARTICULAR MOTHER, LIVING IN A PARTICULAR PLACE. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT HE COULD BE TRULY, FULLY HUMAN. BUT SOMETHING HAD TO CHANGE SO THAT HE COULD BE WITH EACH OF US, ALL HIS DISCIPLES, DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, LOVING US. THE TRUTH THAT THE SPIRIT REVEALS TO US IS THAT JESUS, ALTHOUGH NO LONGER VISIBLE TO US, HAS LIFE, THE LIFE THAT HE GIVES US; AND THAT THE PRESENCE OF JESUS IS THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER, SINCE HE IS IN THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER IS IN HIM. THE FATHER IS LIKE THE AIR WE BREATHE, HE IS FULLY PRESENT TO US IN THE DEEPEST PART OF OUR BEING. AND THE SPIRIT REVEALS THAT PRESENCE, AND THE SPIRIT TAKES US UP INTO THE HEART OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND THE FATHER. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE IDEA!
HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THOSE POPULAR BOOKS BY PROMINENT ATHEISTS? THEY HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN IDEA OF GOD. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT GOD IS NOT A THING, NOT A BEING LIKE YOU AND I; WE ARE IN THIS FATHER, AS JESUS IS IN THE FATHER; BUT THE FATHER IS IN JESUS, SO HE IS IN US AS WELL. AND THIS HAS TO BE EXPERIENCED, AND ONCE EXPERIENCED, ALL THE ARGUMENTS IN THE WORLD WILL NOT CONVINCE US THAT GOD DOES NOT EXIST.
BUT ALAS, THERE IS A CONDITION FOR ENTERING INTO THIS INCREDIBLE RELATIONSHIP; IT IS TO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS. SO WHAT ARE THEY? WELL, PROBABLY YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT THE GREAT COMMANDMENT, TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF. BUT THERE ARE MANY MORE -- LISTEN: FEED THE HUNGRY, GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY, CLOTHE THE NAKED, AND SO ON. GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND TEACH ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM; IF SOMEONE STRIKES YOU ON THE CHEEK, OFFER HIM THE OTHER CHEEK. IF YOU GO TO OFFER SACRIFICE ON THE ALTAR AND YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A BROTHER, GO AND SETTLE THAT PROBLEM FIRST. LET THE LITTLE ONES COME TO ME. SOMEDAY WHEN I RETIRE, I AM GOING TO MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE “COMMANDS” THAT JESUS IS RECORDED AS GIVING TO US. EVEN THOUGH THEY ALL DO BOIL DOWN TO LOVING GOD AND LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR, JESUS GIVES US EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE OF WHAT HE MEANS BY THAT GREATEST COMMANDMENT, AND THE SECOND ONE LIKE UNTO THE FIRST.
SO IF WE WANT TO RECEIVE THE GIFTS THAT JESUS HAS FOR US – THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, THE GIFT OF LIFE LIKE JESUS' OWN LIFE, THE VERY PRESENCE OF THE FATHER, THE REVELATION OF JESUS TO US, THEN WE MUST LOVE JESUS AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.
AS I WATCH MY DAUGHTERS AND THEIR HUSBANDS, I AM STRUCK BY THE WONDERFUL PLAN OF THE GOD; A YOUNG COUPLE GETS MARRIED, -- AND IF YOU ARE HONEST, YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE DON'T GET MARRIED FOR PURELY UNSELFISH REASONS – I CERTAINLY DIDN'T. BUT CHILDREN COME ALONG, AND RIGHT AWAY FROM DAY ONE, THE PARENTS, IF THEY RESPOND TO THEIR SPECIAL GRACE OF THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY, BEGIN TO BE SAINTS, THEY BEGIN TO DO ALL THE COMMANDMENTS THAT JESUS GAVE. AND IF ADDED TO THAT THEY HAVE A LOVE FOR JESUS, THEY BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE IN THEIR OWN LIVES ALL THE PROMISES THAT JESUS MAKES – AND THAT SPURS THEM ON TO GREATER LOVE, FOR EACH OTHER AND FOR THEIR CHILDREN, AND BEING A PARENT MAKES IT EASIER FOR YOU TO GRADUALLY EMPTY YOURSELF OF ALL THOSE SELFISH DESIRES AND ATTACHMENTS, TO BE REPLACED BY THE LIFE THAT JESUS PROMISES, AND THE LOVE THAT HE OFFERS. AND THE GOING IS TOUGH, NO QUESTION. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE MARRIED COUPLES GET 15 TO 30 YEARS IN WHICH WE PRACTICE THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS ON THE CHILDREN WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN, AND BY THEN, WE ARE IN THE GROOVE, WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY TO SAINTHOOD, AND ALL THOSE DIFFICULT TIMES WE HAD ARE JUST SO MUCH DUST.
SO TODAY, IF YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT, REMEMBER YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER, AND YOUR CHILDHOOD, AND THAT IS SOMETHING LIKE THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE PARACLETE. AND IF YOU ARE A PARENT, THINK OF YOUR SITUATION AND SEE IN IT, NOT A BURDEN, NOT SOMETHING THAT KEEPS YOU FROM YOUR FULL POTENTIAL, BUT RATHER, A VERY REAL PATHWAY TO SAINTHOOD.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Fifth Sunday of Easter, cycle A
JOHN 14:1-12
JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME, I SYMPATHIZE WITH THOMAS AND PHILIP. TODAY'S GOSPEL IS PART OF A MUCH LONGER PASSAGE CALLED “THE LAST DISCOURSE” WHICH ENDS IN THE “HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER” OF JESUS, AND IT IS VERY “THEOLOGICAL”. WHEN YOU REMEMBER THAT THE APOSTLES WERE MOSTLY ILLITERATE FISHERMEN, SOMETIMES JESUS SAID THINGS THAT MADE THEIR HEADS SWIM. SOMETIMES THEY MAKE MY HEAD SWIM.
AFTER ASSURING THE APOSTLES THAT HE IS GOING TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR THEM, AND WILL COME BACK FOR THEM, HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY KNOW THE WAY TO WHERE HE IS GOING. “WAIT A MINUTE, LORD!” SAYS THOMAS, WHO HAS BEEN LISTENING CAREFULLY AND THINKS MAYBE HE MISSED SOMETHING. “WE DON'T KNOW THAT!” AND THEN JESUS SAYS HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. AND JUST TO CONFUSE THEM FURTHER, HE TELLS THEM THAT FROM THIS TIME ON THEY KNOW THE FATHER, THEY HAVE SEEN HIM. “WAIT A MINUTE, LORD!” SAYS PHILIP. “JUST SHOW US THE FATHER, AND THAT WILL BE ENOUGH!” AND THEN JESUS SAYS, “IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME, YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER.”
I'M SURE THE APOSTLES WERE HOPING THERE WOULDN'T BE A TEST. I KNOW THAT WOULD BE MY HOPE.
THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN RAISED CATHOLICS MIGHT TAKE REFUGE IN DOCTRINES AND DOGMAS. JESUS IS THE WAY BECAUSE HE DIED AND ROSE AGAIN SO WE COULD LIVE; HE IS THE TRUTH BECAUSE HE TAUGHT US HOW TO LIVE; HE IS LIFE BECAUSE HE GIVES US LIFE; IF WE SEE HIM, WE SEE THE FATHER, BECAUSE OF COURSE HE AND THE FATHER ARE ONE. ONE GOD, THREE PERSONS. WE KNOW THE ANSWERS. TOO BAD THOSE APOSTLES DIDN'T TAKE CCD OR STUDY THEIR BALTIMORE CATECHISMS.
BUT WHAT DID THE APOSTLES BELIEVE? IF JESUS HAD JUST TOLD YOU HE WAS GOING TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS GOING SOMEWHERE, MAYBE ACROSS THE JORDAN, MAYBE BACK IN CAPARNUM. AND IT IS AGAINST THIS IDEA THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE IS THE WAY, AND THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER IS THROUGH HIM.
MANY GREAT RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAVE PROPOSED WAYS. THE BUDDHA TALKED ABOUT THE EIGHTFOLD PATH; MOHAMMED DESCRIBED THE FIVE PILLARS. MOSES GAVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. JESUS IS THE ONLY RELIGIOUS LEADER WHO DID NOT LEAVE DIRECTIONS AS TO HOW TO PLEASE GOD AND WIN SALVATION. INSTEAD, HE SAID THAT FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR SALVATION, FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR ETERNAL HAPPINESS, IS A RELATIONSHIP, THE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. AND THIS IS A REAL RELATIONSHIP. ALL THE SACRAMENTS, ALL THE DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH, THE ENTIRE BIBLE, AS WONDERFUL AS THEY ARE, AS SACRED AS THEY ARE, ARE NOT WORTH ANYTHING IF THEY DON'T CREATE AND BUILD THIS RELATIONSHIP. AND THERE IS A SIMPLE WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS. JESUS IS THE ONE WHO DIES, AND RISES AGAIN. JESUS IS THE ONE WHO SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GO TO THE FATHER IS THE ONE WHO CAME FROM THE FATHER – JESUS SAID THAT, NOT ME. BUT JESUS MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR EACH OF US TO BECOME PART OF HIS BODY, AND THAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ENTER INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THERE IS A CONSTANT REFRAIN; YOU HAVE TO DIE TO YOURSELF, AND RISE IN CHRIST; IF YOU WANT THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, YOU HAVE TO SELL EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO PURCHASE IT.
NOW MOST OF US ARE NOT ENTIRELY THERE. I HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, AS I'M SURE YOU DO. BUT I CERTAINLY AM NOT WHERE I WANT TO BE. I AM STILL ATTACHED TO THINGS, MY DESIRE TO BE ONE WITH CHRIST CONFLICTS WITH MY DESIRE TO BE COMFORTABLE, TO HAVE STUFF, TO ENJOY BEING WITH MY WIFE AND CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN – AND IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, IF I KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE TOMORROW, I WOULD HAVE A LOT OF REGRETS ABOUT WHAT I WOULD LEAVE BEHIND, EVEN THOUGH MY FAITH TELLS ME THAT I WOULD HAVE EVERYTHING I COULD POSSIBLY WANT TO BE HAPPY IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS. NO WONDER I NEED PURGATORY.
EVERY TIME WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, WHICH IS THE TRUE BODY OF CHRIST, NOT BREAD, WE ACT OUT WHAT OUR SOULS DESIRE – TO BECOME ONE WITH JESUS. BUT VERY FEW PEOPLE GET ALL THE WAY THERE IN THIS LIFETIME.
WELL ENOUGH FOR THOMAS' PROBLEM. WHAT ABOUT PHILIP? PHILIP KNOWS WHAT THE FATHER SHOULD BE LIKE. A PILLAR OF FIRE, A MAJESTIC POWER THROWING LIGHTNING BOLTS FROM HEAVEN, A WARRIOR SMITING THE PEOPLE WHO OPPRESS THE JEWS. IN SHORT, SOMEONE WHO MAKES YOU QUAKE IN YOUR SANDALS JUST TO LOOK AT HIM. AFTER ALL, WHAT DID HE TELL MOSES? NO ONE CAN LOOK ON MY FACE AND LIVE. BUT NO, JESUS SAYS, IF YOU SEE ME, YOU SEE THE FATHER. THE FATHER IS WHEREVER HIS WORKS ARE, AND JESUS DOES HIS WORKS, AND SO CAN YOU AND SO CAN I, EVEN GREATER WORKS THAN JESUS DID. AGAIN, ITS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP. THE FATHER IS FATHER OF THE SON, FATHER OF THE UNIVERSE, FATHER OF YOU AND I. BEING A FATHER IS NOT ONE OF THE QUALITIES OF GOD; FATHER DEFINES GOD, JUST AS LOVE DEFINES GOD, JUST AS THE WORKS OF GOD DEFINE GOD. IT HURTS THE BRAIN, IT IS A MYSTERY, WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT – BUT JESUS TELLS US, WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FURTHER THAN HIM TO SEE THE FATHER. AND BY THE WAY, THAT'S THE REASON WE AND THE ORTHODOX VENERATE THE BLESSED MOTHER AND THE SAINTS. BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONE THE WORK OF THE FATHER, WE CAN SEE THE FATHER IN THEM AS WELL, ALTHOUGH NOT IN THE SAME SENSE AS WE SEE THE FATHER IN JESUS.
SO JESUS MAKES TWO VERY PROFOUND AND YET VERY SIMPLE POINTS TODAY, AND WHAT HE SAYS MAY TAKE US A LIFETIME TO UNDERSTAND; IT CERTAINLY TOOK A LONG TIME FOR THE APOSTLES TO UNDERSTAND IT. IF WE WANT TO FULFILL OUR HUMAN DESTINY WHICH IS TO BE WITH JESUS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE IN THE PLACE HE HAS PREPARED FOR US, WE MUST BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. IF WE WANT TO TRULY UNDERSTAND THE FATHER, WE MUST KNOW JESUS. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE BRILLIANT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SINLESS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO GREAT THINGS OR WRITE GREAT BOOKS. BUT YOU DO HAVE TO KNOW JESUS AND ENTER INTO THE RELATIONSHIP HE OFFERS YOU.
OUR CHURCH SAYS THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS SOMETHING AVAILABLE TO EVERY HUMAN BEING. CERTAINLY WE CAN SEE EXAMPLES OF PROFOUND HOLINESS EVERYWHERE WE GO IN THIS WORLD. GOD IS SO GENEROUS. BUT OUR CHURCH TEACHES, AND I BELIEVE ITS TRUE, THAT WE CATHOLICS HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO KNOW JESUS AND BE ONE WITH HIM. AND WHAT A WORLD IT WOULD BE IF OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS STRONG ENOUGH, DEEP ENOUGH, SO THAT WE COULD DO THE WORKS THAT JESUS DID, EVEN GREATER ONES?
THIS WEEK LET US EXAMINE OUR OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, AND SEEK OUT WAYS TO MAKE IT STRONGER.
JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME, I SYMPATHIZE WITH THOMAS AND PHILIP. TODAY'S GOSPEL IS PART OF A MUCH LONGER PASSAGE CALLED “THE LAST DISCOURSE” WHICH ENDS IN THE “HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER” OF JESUS, AND IT IS VERY “THEOLOGICAL”. WHEN YOU REMEMBER THAT THE APOSTLES WERE MOSTLY ILLITERATE FISHERMEN, SOMETIMES JESUS SAID THINGS THAT MADE THEIR HEADS SWIM. SOMETIMES THEY MAKE MY HEAD SWIM.
AFTER ASSURING THE APOSTLES THAT HE IS GOING TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR THEM, AND WILL COME BACK FOR THEM, HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY KNOW THE WAY TO WHERE HE IS GOING. “WAIT A MINUTE, LORD!” SAYS THOMAS, WHO HAS BEEN LISTENING CAREFULLY AND THINKS MAYBE HE MISSED SOMETHING. “WE DON'T KNOW THAT!” AND THEN JESUS SAYS HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. AND JUST TO CONFUSE THEM FURTHER, HE TELLS THEM THAT FROM THIS TIME ON THEY KNOW THE FATHER, THEY HAVE SEEN HIM. “WAIT A MINUTE, LORD!” SAYS PHILIP. “JUST SHOW US THE FATHER, AND THAT WILL BE ENOUGH!” AND THEN JESUS SAYS, “IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME, YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER.”
I'M SURE THE APOSTLES WERE HOPING THERE WOULDN'T BE A TEST. I KNOW THAT WOULD BE MY HOPE.
THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN RAISED CATHOLICS MIGHT TAKE REFUGE IN DOCTRINES AND DOGMAS. JESUS IS THE WAY BECAUSE HE DIED AND ROSE AGAIN SO WE COULD LIVE; HE IS THE TRUTH BECAUSE HE TAUGHT US HOW TO LIVE; HE IS LIFE BECAUSE HE GIVES US LIFE; IF WE SEE HIM, WE SEE THE FATHER, BECAUSE OF COURSE HE AND THE FATHER ARE ONE. ONE GOD, THREE PERSONS. WE KNOW THE ANSWERS. TOO BAD THOSE APOSTLES DIDN'T TAKE CCD OR STUDY THEIR BALTIMORE CATECHISMS.
BUT WHAT DID THE APOSTLES BELIEVE? IF JESUS HAD JUST TOLD YOU HE WAS GOING TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS GOING SOMEWHERE, MAYBE ACROSS THE JORDAN, MAYBE BACK IN CAPARNUM. AND IT IS AGAINST THIS IDEA THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE IS THE WAY, AND THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER IS THROUGH HIM.
MANY GREAT RELIGIOUS LEADERS HAVE PROPOSED WAYS. THE BUDDHA TALKED ABOUT THE EIGHTFOLD PATH; MOHAMMED DESCRIBED THE FIVE PILLARS. MOSES GAVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. JESUS IS THE ONLY RELIGIOUS LEADER WHO DID NOT LEAVE DIRECTIONS AS TO HOW TO PLEASE GOD AND WIN SALVATION. INSTEAD, HE SAID THAT FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR SALVATION, FUNDAMENTAL TO OUR ETERNAL HAPPINESS, IS A RELATIONSHIP, THE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. AND THIS IS A REAL RELATIONSHIP. ALL THE SACRAMENTS, ALL THE DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH, THE ENTIRE BIBLE, AS WONDERFUL AS THEY ARE, AS SACRED AS THEY ARE, ARE NOT WORTH ANYTHING IF THEY DON'T CREATE AND BUILD THIS RELATIONSHIP. AND THERE IS A SIMPLE WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS. JESUS IS THE ONE WHO DIES, AND RISES AGAIN. JESUS IS THE ONE WHO SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN GO TO THE FATHER IS THE ONE WHO CAME FROM THE FATHER – JESUS SAID THAT, NOT ME. BUT JESUS MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR EACH OF US TO BECOME PART OF HIS BODY, AND THAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ENTER INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THERE IS A CONSTANT REFRAIN; YOU HAVE TO DIE TO YOURSELF, AND RISE IN CHRIST; IF YOU WANT THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, YOU HAVE TO SELL EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO PURCHASE IT.
NOW MOST OF US ARE NOT ENTIRELY THERE. I HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, AS I'M SURE YOU DO. BUT I CERTAINLY AM NOT WHERE I WANT TO BE. I AM STILL ATTACHED TO THINGS, MY DESIRE TO BE ONE WITH CHRIST CONFLICTS WITH MY DESIRE TO BE COMFORTABLE, TO HAVE STUFF, TO ENJOY BEING WITH MY WIFE AND CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN – AND IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, IF I KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE TOMORROW, I WOULD HAVE A LOT OF REGRETS ABOUT WHAT I WOULD LEAVE BEHIND, EVEN THOUGH MY FAITH TELLS ME THAT I WOULD HAVE EVERYTHING I COULD POSSIBLY WANT TO BE HAPPY IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS. NO WONDER I NEED PURGATORY.
EVERY TIME WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, WHICH IS THE TRUE BODY OF CHRIST, NOT BREAD, WE ACT OUT WHAT OUR SOULS DESIRE – TO BECOME ONE WITH JESUS. BUT VERY FEW PEOPLE GET ALL THE WAY THERE IN THIS LIFETIME.
WELL ENOUGH FOR THOMAS' PROBLEM. WHAT ABOUT PHILIP? PHILIP KNOWS WHAT THE FATHER SHOULD BE LIKE. A PILLAR OF FIRE, A MAJESTIC POWER THROWING LIGHTNING BOLTS FROM HEAVEN, A WARRIOR SMITING THE PEOPLE WHO OPPRESS THE JEWS. IN SHORT, SOMEONE WHO MAKES YOU QUAKE IN YOUR SANDALS JUST TO LOOK AT HIM. AFTER ALL, WHAT DID HE TELL MOSES? NO ONE CAN LOOK ON MY FACE AND LIVE. BUT NO, JESUS SAYS, IF YOU SEE ME, YOU SEE THE FATHER. THE FATHER IS WHEREVER HIS WORKS ARE, AND JESUS DOES HIS WORKS, AND SO CAN YOU AND SO CAN I, EVEN GREATER WORKS THAN JESUS DID. AGAIN, ITS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP. THE FATHER IS FATHER OF THE SON, FATHER OF THE UNIVERSE, FATHER OF YOU AND I. BEING A FATHER IS NOT ONE OF THE QUALITIES OF GOD; FATHER DEFINES GOD, JUST AS LOVE DEFINES GOD, JUST AS THE WORKS OF GOD DEFINE GOD. IT HURTS THE BRAIN, IT IS A MYSTERY, WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT – BUT JESUS TELLS US, WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FURTHER THAN HIM TO SEE THE FATHER. AND BY THE WAY, THAT'S THE REASON WE AND THE ORTHODOX VENERATE THE BLESSED MOTHER AND THE SAINTS. BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONE THE WORK OF THE FATHER, WE CAN SEE THE FATHER IN THEM AS WELL, ALTHOUGH NOT IN THE SAME SENSE AS WE SEE THE FATHER IN JESUS.
SO JESUS MAKES TWO VERY PROFOUND AND YET VERY SIMPLE POINTS TODAY, AND WHAT HE SAYS MAY TAKE US A LIFETIME TO UNDERSTAND; IT CERTAINLY TOOK A LONG TIME FOR THE APOSTLES TO UNDERSTAND IT. IF WE WANT TO FULFILL OUR HUMAN DESTINY WHICH IS TO BE WITH JESUS IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE IN THE PLACE HE HAS PREPARED FOR US, WE MUST BE IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. IF WE WANT TO TRULY UNDERSTAND THE FATHER, WE MUST KNOW JESUS. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE BRILLIANT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SINLESS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO GREAT THINGS OR WRITE GREAT BOOKS. BUT YOU DO HAVE TO KNOW JESUS AND ENTER INTO THE RELATIONSHIP HE OFFERS YOU.
OUR CHURCH SAYS THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS SOMETHING AVAILABLE TO EVERY HUMAN BEING. CERTAINLY WE CAN SEE EXAMPLES OF PROFOUND HOLINESS EVERYWHERE WE GO IN THIS WORLD. GOD IS SO GENEROUS. BUT OUR CHURCH TEACHES, AND I BELIEVE ITS TRUE, THAT WE CATHOLICS HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO KNOW JESUS AND BE ONE WITH HIM. AND WHAT A WORLD IT WOULD BE IF OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS STRONG ENOUGH, DEEP ENOUGH, SO THAT WE COULD DO THE WORKS THAT JESUS DID, EVEN GREATER ONES?
THIS WEEK LET US EXAMINE OUR OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, AND SEEK OUT WAYS TO MAKE IT STRONGER.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle A
JOHN 10:1-10
MY LIFE IS NEVER DULL. I PRACTICE MEDICINE, I SUPERVISE OTHER PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE WORKERS, I ACT AS A DEACON, I FUNCTION AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER AND GRANDFATHER. BUT THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN WEEKS HAVE BEEN A REAL KILLER. IT STARTED OUT WHEN I MADE A PREVIOUSLY PLANNED TRIP TO THE WEST COAST TO ATTEND A MEETING AND VISIT MY MOTHER. NATURALLY WHEN I GOT BACK ALL THE WORK I HAD NOT DONE WAS SQUEEZED INTO WHATEVER SPOTS IT COULD BE. THEN WE HAD HOLY WEEK. THAT IS PRETTY BUSY FROM A DEACON'S STANDPOINT. ON EASTER AS I HAD PROMISED MANY WEEKS BEFORE, MY WIFE AND I DROVE DOWN TO VISIT HER AGING FATHER. WHEN I GOT BACK, THEY HAD TAKEN ALL THE WORK I MISSED AND CRAMMED IT INTO WHATEVER SPACE THEY COULD FIND. I WAS PARTICIPATING IN TEACHING A COURSE OVER FIVE WEEKS. AND THEN MY 90 YEAR OLD MOTHER PASSED AWAY, AND IT WAS OFF TO THE WEST COAST AGAIN.
ONE EVENING AS I WAS TRYING TO CATCH MY BREATH, I HEARD THAT OLD SONG, “SOFTLY AND TENDERLY JESUS IS CALLING, CALLING FOR YOU AND FOR ME...” AND I BEGAN TO REFLECT ON TODAY'S GOSPEL.
JESUS TALKS ABOUT HIS SHEEP HEARING HIS VOICE. IN JESUS' TIME SHEPHERDS LIVED WITH THEIR SHEEP. THEY KNEW THEM AS INDIVIDUALS. AT NIGHT THE SHEEP BELONGING TO EACH SHEPHERD WOULD BE LED INTO A COMMON ENCLOSURE, AND ONE OF THE SHEPHERDS WOULD LIE ACROSS THE ENTRANCE. HE WAS THE SHEEPGATE THAT JESUS COMPARES HIMSELF TO IN THE SECOND PART OF THE GOSPEL. IN THE MORNING THE SHEPHERDS WOULD STAND OUTSIDE THE ENCLOSURE AND CALL THEIR SHEEP, WHO WOULD PROMPTLY GO OUT TO THEIR PARTICULAR SHEPHERD. WHEN THE SHEEP WERE GRAZING IN THE PASTURES, THE SHEPHERD WOULD USUALLY SING AND PLAY A SET OF PIPES. THIS HAD THE EFFECT OF CALMING THE SHEEP AND WHEN THEY WANDERED TOO FAR AWAY, THE WOULD COME BACK TO BE WITHIN THAT COMFORTING RANGE OF THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE.
IF I AM GOING TO BE ONE OF JESUS' SHEEP, THEN I NEED TO KNOW HIS VOICE. IN ORDER TO DO THAT, I NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM. I CAN'T SPEND TIME WITH HIM WHEN THE NOISE OF THE WORLD DROWNS OUT HIS VOICE, AND THAT IS WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO ME DURING THE PAST FEW WEEKS. JESUS, AS THE OLD SONG SAYS, SPEAKS SOFTLY AND TENDERLY. CNN AND ESPN AND SIXTY MINUTES ALL SPEAK LOUDLY AND RATHER COARSELY. THEY DROWN OUT THE VOICE OF JESUS.
JESUS SPEAKS SOFTLY BECAUSE HE DOES NOT COMPEL US. HE OFFERS US HIS COMPANIONSHIP, HIS LEADERSHIP, HIS PROTECTION, BUT NEVER FORCES IT UPON US. HE RESPECTS OUR FREEDOM, MORE THAN WE OURSELVES RESPECT IT. FREEDOM, AFTER ALL, IS ONE OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN BEINGS THAT IS TRULY GOD-LIKE; THE MORE FREE WE ARE, THE MORE LIKE GOD.
JESUS SPEAKS TENDERLY BECAUSE HE LOVES US. THE SHEPHERD IS ONE WHO KNOWS EACH SHEEP, SEES THAT THEY ARE FED, BINDS UP WOUNDS, PULLS OUT SPLINTERS, GETS THEM INTO SHELTER WHEN IT RAINS, AND IN A VERY REAL SENSE, GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR HIS SHEEP. A SHEPHERD HAS TO HAVE LOVE FOR HIS CHARGES. YOU COULDN'T BE A SHEPHERD OTHERWISE. WE SHEEP MAY NOT BE OVERLY BRIGHT, WE MAY BE GIVEN TO FOLLOWING OUR APPETITES, WE MAY BE VERY SHORT-SIGHTED WHEN IT COMES TO SPIRITUAL REALITIES, BUT FOR SOME REASON, JESUS OUR SHEPHERD LOVES US.
THE SHEPHERD SPEAKS TO EACH SHEEP, HE IS CALLING TO YOU AND TO ME. HE KNOWS EACH OF US BY NAME.
THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE SHEEP IS TO KNOW THE SHEPHERD AND KNOW HIS VOICE. AMONG REAL SHEEP, THAT STARTS OUT WHEN THE LAMB IS BORN; THE LAMB BEGINS BY FOLLOWING ITS MOTHER. AS IT GROWS OLDER, IT LEARNS THAT THERE ARE DEFINITE ADVANTAGES TO FOLLOW THE SHEPHERD RATHER THAN WANDER OFF ON ONE'S OWN. AND EVENTUALLY THE SHEEP BEGINS TO IDENTIFY ITSELF WITH THE SHEPHERD; IT SEES ITSELF AS BELONGING TO, BEING UNITED WITH, THE SHEPHERD. AMONG US, WE ALSO BEGIN OUR JOURNEY LEARNING FROM OUR PARENTS AND OTHERS ABOUT JESUS, AND THEN WE BEGIN TO SEE THAT THERE ARE ADVANTAGES TO HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. BUT HOW MANY OF US GO ON TO IDENTIFY WITH JESUS, TO BECOME TRULY PART OF HIM?
IT BOILS DOWN TO THIS. WE HAVE TO EACH MAKE TIME TO LISTEN, WE HAVE TO FIND EVEN A FEW MINUTES OF OUR BUSY DAYS TO SIT IN SILENCE, SIT IN DARKNESS, PERHAPS; TURN OFF THE NEWS, CELLPHONES, AND LISTEN. WE LISTEN, WE SPEAK, WE ENTER INTO A DIALOG. AND IF WE REGULARLY DO THIS, THE VOICE OF JESUS, HIS CALL TO ME, WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE CLEAR.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG, IT WAS COMMON FOR US KIDS FROM THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL TO DROP IN TO THE CHURCH TO “MAKE A VISIT”. IN OUR CHURCH YOU COULD ALWAYS SEE TEN OR FIFTEEN PEOPLE, NOT ALL OF THEM ELDERLY, SITTING IN THE SILENCE SAYING THE ROSARY, READING FROM A PRAYER BOOK, OR PERHAPS JUST SITTING. WE USED TO HAVE FORTY HOURS DEVOTION, WHEN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT WAS EXPOSED FROM FRIDAY EVENING TO SUNDAY MORNING. DURING THAT TIME, SOMEONE WOULD ALWAYS BE PRESENT. AND YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE THERE DURING THE DAY.
WE CAN STILL MAKE TIME IN OUR DAY TO SPEND TIME WITH JESUS, WE CAN STILL MAKE VISITS, WE CAN STILL WORSHIP JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, BUT WE DON'T. AND WE RUN THE RISK OF NOT RECOGNIZING HIS VOICE, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO KNOW HIM, WE HAVE NOT LISTENED FOR HIM. AND THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME FOR US IS TIME LIKE I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH, TIME WHEN IT SEEMS THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO IS IMPORTANT, SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT REALLY MATTERS, WHICH IS LISTENING FOR THE VOICE OF OUR SHEPHERD.
SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO LISTEN THIS WEEK? HOW AM I? REMEMBER, SOFTLY AND TENDERLY, JESUS IS CALLING, CALLING FOR YOU AND FOR ME....
MY LIFE IS NEVER DULL. I PRACTICE MEDICINE, I SUPERVISE OTHER PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH CARE WORKERS, I ACT AS A DEACON, I FUNCTION AS A HUSBAND AND FATHER AND GRANDFATHER. BUT THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN WEEKS HAVE BEEN A REAL KILLER. IT STARTED OUT WHEN I MADE A PREVIOUSLY PLANNED TRIP TO THE WEST COAST TO ATTEND A MEETING AND VISIT MY MOTHER. NATURALLY WHEN I GOT BACK ALL THE WORK I HAD NOT DONE WAS SQUEEZED INTO WHATEVER SPOTS IT COULD BE. THEN WE HAD HOLY WEEK. THAT IS PRETTY BUSY FROM A DEACON'S STANDPOINT. ON EASTER AS I HAD PROMISED MANY WEEKS BEFORE, MY WIFE AND I DROVE DOWN TO VISIT HER AGING FATHER. WHEN I GOT BACK, THEY HAD TAKEN ALL THE WORK I MISSED AND CRAMMED IT INTO WHATEVER SPACE THEY COULD FIND. I WAS PARTICIPATING IN TEACHING A COURSE OVER FIVE WEEKS. AND THEN MY 90 YEAR OLD MOTHER PASSED AWAY, AND IT WAS OFF TO THE WEST COAST AGAIN.
ONE EVENING AS I WAS TRYING TO CATCH MY BREATH, I HEARD THAT OLD SONG, “SOFTLY AND TENDERLY JESUS IS CALLING, CALLING FOR YOU AND FOR ME...” AND I BEGAN TO REFLECT ON TODAY'S GOSPEL.
JESUS TALKS ABOUT HIS SHEEP HEARING HIS VOICE. IN JESUS' TIME SHEPHERDS LIVED WITH THEIR SHEEP. THEY KNEW THEM AS INDIVIDUALS. AT NIGHT THE SHEEP BELONGING TO EACH SHEPHERD WOULD BE LED INTO A COMMON ENCLOSURE, AND ONE OF THE SHEPHERDS WOULD LIE ACROSS THE ENTRANCE. HE WAS THE SHEEPGATE THAT JESUS COMPARES HIMSELF TO IN THE SECOND PART OF THE GOSPEL. IN THE MORNING THE SHEPHERDS WOULD STAND OUTSIDE THE ENCLOSURE AND CALL THEIR SHEEP, WHO WOULD PROMPTLY GO OUT TO THEIR PARTICULAR SHEPHERD. WHEN THE SHEEP WERE GRAZING IN THE PASTURES, THE SHEPHERD WOULD USUALLY SING AND PLAY A SET OF PIPES. THIS HAD THE EFFECT OF CALMING THE SHEEP AND WHEN THEY WANDERED TOO FAR AWAY, THE WOULD COME BACK TO BE WITHIN THAT COMFORTING RANGE OF THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE.
IF I AM GOING TO BE ONE OF JESUS' SHEEP, THEN I NEED TO KNOW HIS VOICE. IN ORDER TO DO THAT, I NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM. I CAN'T SPEND TIME WITH HIM WHEN THE NOISE OF THE WORLD DROWNS OUT HIS VOICE, AND THAT IS WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO ME DURING THE PAST FEW WEEKS. JESUS, AS THE OLD SONG SAYS, SPEAKS SOFTLY AND TENDERLY. CNN AND ESPN AND SIXTY MINUTES ALL SPEAK LOUDLY AND RATHER COARSELY. THEY DROWN OUT THE VOICE OF JESUS.
JESUS SPEAKS SOFTLY BECAUSE HE DOES NOT COMPEL US. HE OFFERS US HIS COMPANIONSHIP, HIS LEADERSHIP, HIS PROTECTION, BUT NEVER FORCES IT UPON US. HE RESPECTS OUR FREEDOM, MORE THAN WE OURSELVES RESPECT IT. FREEDOM, AFTER ALL, IS ONE OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF HUMAN BEINGS THAT IS TRULY GOD-LIKE; THE MORE FREE WE ARE, THE MORE LIKE GOD.
JESUS SPEAKS TENDERLY BECAUSE HE LOVES US. THE SHEPHERD IS ONE WHO KNOWS EACH SHEEP, SEES THAT THEY ARE FED, BINDS UP WOUNDS, PULLS OUT SPLINTERS, GETS THEM INTO SHELTER WHEN IT RAINS, AND IN A VERY REAL SENSE, GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR HIS SHEEP. A SHEPHERD HAS TO HAVE LOVE FOR HIS CHARGES. YOU COULDN'T BE A SHEPHERD OTHERWISE. WE SHEEP MAY NOT BE OVERLY BRIGHT, WE MAY BE GIVEN TO FOLLOWING OUR APPETITES, WE MAY BE VERY SHORT-SIGHTED WHEN IT COMES TO SPIRITUAL REALITIES, BUT FOR SOME REASON, JESUS OUR SHEPHERD LOVES US.
THE SHEPHERD SPEAKS TO EACH SHEEP, HE IS CALLING TO YOU AND TO ME. HE KNOWS EACH OF US BY NAME.
THE ONLY HOPE FOR THE SHEEP IS TO KNOW THE SHEPHERD AND KNOW HIS VOICE. AMONG REAL SHEEP, THAT STARTS OUT WHEN THE LAMB IS BORN; THE LAMB BEGINS BY FOLLOWING ITS MOTHER. AS IT GROWS OLDER, IT LEARNS THAT THERE ARE DEFINITE ADVANTAGES TO FOLLOW THE SHEPHERD RATHER THAN WANDER OFF ON ONE'S OWN. AND EVENTUALLY THE SHEEP BEGINS TO IDENTIFY ITSELF WITH THE SHEPHERD; IT SEES ITSELF AS BELONGING TO, BEING UNITED WITH, THE SHEPHERD. AMONG US, WE ALSO BEGIN OUR JOURNEY LEARNING FROM OUR PARENTS AND OTHERS ABOUT JESUS, AND THEN WE BEGIN TO SEE THAT THERE ARE ADVANTAGES TO HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. BUT HOW MANY OF US GO ON TO IDENTIFY WITH JESUS, TO BECOME TRULY PART OF HIM?
IT BOILS DOWN TO THIS. WE HAVE TO EACH MAKE TIME TO LISTEN, WE HAVE TO FIND EVEN A FEW MINUTES OF OUR BUSY DAYS TO SIT IN SILENCE, SIT IN DARKNESS, PERHAPS; TURN OFF THE NEWS, CELLPHONES, AND LISTEN. WE LISTEN, WE SPEAK, WE ENTER INTO A DIALOG. AND IF WE REGULARLY DO THIS, THE VOICE OF JESUS, HIS CALL TO ME, WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE CLEAR.
WHEN I WAS YOUNG, IT WAS COMMON FOR US KIDS FROM THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL TO DROP IN TO THE CHURCH TO “MAKE A VISIT”. IN OUR CHURCH YOU COULD ALWAYS SEE TEN OR FIFTEEN PEOPLE, NOT ALL OF THEM ELDERLY, SITTING IN THE SILENCE SAYING THE ROSARY, READING FROM A PRAYER BOOK, OR PERHAPS JUST SITTING. WE USED TO HAVE FORTY HOURS DEVOTION, WHEN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT WAS EXPOSED FROM FRIDAY EVENING TO SUNDAY MORNING. DURING THAT TIME, SOMEONE WOULD ALWAYS BE PRESENT. AND YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE THERE DURING THE DAY.
WE CAN STILL MAKE TIME IN OUR DAY TO SPEND TIME WITH JESUS, WE CAN STILL MAKE VISITS, WE CAN STILL WORSHIP JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, BUT WE DON'T. AND WE RUN THE RISK OF NOT RECOGNIZING HIS VOICE, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO KNOW HIM, WE HAVE NOT LISTENED FOR HIM. AND THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME FOR US IS TIME LIKE I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH, TIME WHEN IT SEEMS THAT EVERYTHING YOU DO IS IMPORTANT, SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT REALLY MATTERS, WHICH IS LISTENING FOR THE VOICE OF OUR SHEPHERD.
SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO LISTEN THIS WEEK? HOW AM I? REMEMBER, SOFTLY AND TENDERLY, JESUS IS CALLING, CALLING FOR YOU AND FOR ME....
Monday, April 7, 2008
Third Sunday of Easter, cycle A
LUKE 24:13-35
IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK, THERE IS MENTION OF TWO DISCIPLES WHO MET JESUS AND REPORTED THAT FACT TO THE APOSTLES. ST. LUKE, WRITING ABOUT 20 YEARS LATER, AND HAVING MARK'S GOSPEL IN FRONT OF HIM, ELABORATES ON THAT STORY FROM ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. BUT LUKE IS NOT JUST TELLING US A STORY. THERE IS METHOD HERE. LUKE, AFTER ALL, HAS BEEN A CHRISTIAN FOR MANY YEARS, AND IF WE ARE TO SAY THAT THIS LUKE IS THE SAME LUKE MENTIONED IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND PAUL'S EPISTLES, THEN HE HAS BEEN LIVING IN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES FOR AT LEAST THIRTY YEARS. SO EVERYTHING LUKE WRITES HAS TO BE COLORED BY THE FACT THAT HE HAS BEEN A CHRISTIAN FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE.
WE KNOW FROM OTHER SOURCES THAT IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH THE MEMBERS OF A COMMUNITY WOULD GATHER ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, AND WOULD SING HYMNS AND SACRED SONGS, THEN WOULD READ FROM THE SCRIPTURES OR THE LETTERS OF THE APOSTLES, AND THEN THE LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY, USUALLY THE BISHOP, WOULD DISCUSS THOSE READINGS. AFTERWARDS THEY WOULD GIVE THANKS AND WOULD MEMORIALIZE THE LAST SUPPER, OFFERING BREAD AND WINE, AND SPEAKING THE WORDS OF JESUS OVER THEM. THEN ALL THE MEMBERS WOULD PARTAKE OF THE BREAD AND WINE, AND THE DEACONS WOULD BE GIVEN SOME OF THE BREAD TO TAKE TO THE SICK AND IMPRISONED AND OTHERS WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT. THE CONGREGATION WOULD THEN BE DISMISSED. THIS IS ALL WRITTEN DOWN IN A DOCUMENT FROM THE SECOND CENTURY, IN A LETTER WRITTEN BY A CHRISTIAN WRITER TO A PAGAN RULER. IT IS PART OF AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHAT CHRISTIANS DO, AND WHO THEY ARE.
I THINK THE STORY THAT WE HEARD TODAY IS AN EVEN EARLIER REFLECTION ON THIS PRIMAL ACT OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. THINK ABOUT IT. WE HAVE TWO DISCIPLES, POSSIBLY A MAN AND WIFE – THE MAN IS NAMED, THE OTHER PERSON IS NOT, WHICH WOULD BE A CUSTOM IN AN ERA WHEN WOMEN WERE SEEN AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS, BUT IN THE CHRISTIAN WORLD, THEY WERE CONSIDERED DISCIPLES – AND THEY ARE DESPONDENT, HEARTBROKEN, AND THEY HAVE LEFT THE LITTLE COMMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS OF JESUS BACK IN JERUSALEM.. THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN. A STRANGER JOINS THEM AND ASKS WHY THE LONG FACES? THEY ANSWER, AND THE IMPORTANT POINT OF THEIR ANSWER IS THAT THEY HAD HOPED THAT JESUS WAS GOING TO BE THE ONE TO SAVE ISRAEL. THEY HAD HOPED THAT HE WOULD BE THE GREAT POLITICAL LEADER WHO WOULD OVERTHROW THE ROMANS AND RE-ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. JESUS THEN REPRIMANDS THEM, PROBABLY WITH A SMILE, AND PROCEEDS TO GO INTO THE SCRIPTURES AND EXPLAIN “WHY THE MESSIAH HAD TO SUFFER”. THEN WHEN THEY COME TO THE END OF THE JOURNEY, THEY INVITE HIM IN, AND HE BREAKS THE BREAD AND GIVES IT TO THEM, THEY RECOGNIZE HIM, AND THEY BECOME JOYFUL, AND THEIR FIRST IMPULSE IS TO RUSH BACK TO THE COMMUNITY WHICH THEY HAD LEFT, TO PROCLAIM THAT JESUS IS RISEN.
LUKE'S READERS, WHO WERE PROBABLY LIKE YOU AND I, HAD GOTTEN COMPLACENT AND BORED WITH THE WEEKLY CELEBRATION – WHICH WE KNOW FROM OTHER SOURCES WENT ON A LOT LONGER THAN THE 45 MINUTES OR SO THAT OURS DOES. AND LUKE CONSTRUCTS HIS STORY TO REMIND THEM WHY THEY DO WHAT THEY DO EVERY SUNDAY.
AND WE CAN TAKE THAT REMINDER TO HEART OURSELVES.
WE ARE HUMAN, WE WANDER AWAY FROM OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH. WE FORGET WHY WE WERE BAPTIZED, WHAT IT ALL MEANS. AND WE EVEN FORGET, HEAVEN HELP US, WHY JESUS CAME TO THE EARTH. OUR TENDENCY IS TO SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO IS THERE TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, TO MEET OUR NEEDS, TO FIGHT THE ROMANS AND RESTORE THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. AND THEN WE HEAR THE SCRIPTURES TOGETHER – AND LET ME DIVERGE FOR A MINUTE. IT IS A GOOD THING TO GET IN THE HABIT OF LISTENING TO THE SCRIPTURES BEING READ, INSTEAD OF READING THEM WHILE THEY ARE BEING READ OUT LOUD. I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE A LITTLE DEAF, LIKE ME, BUT WHEN WE ARE LISTENING TO SOMETHING, THE PART OF OUR MIND THAT WE USE IN DECIPHERING THOSE BLACK MARKS ON THE PAGE IS SILENT, AND THAT ALLOWS US TO BETTER HEAR WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS US TO HEAR. HEARING THE WORDS READ ALSO ENGAGES US AT AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL; THAT'S WHY WE LISTEN TO MUSIC, NOT READ IT ON A PAGE, WHICH WE COULD DO. AFTER WE HEAR THE SCRIPTURES, THERE IS AN INTERPRETATION GIVEN TO THEM BY THE HOMILIST, JUST AS JESUS INTERPRETED THE SCRIPTURES WHICH HE HAD CALLED TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DISCIPLES. AFTER THAT, THE EUCHARIST IS CELEBRATED, AND JESUS IS WITH US, AND HE COMES TO LIVE IN US, AND TRANSFORMS US. AND ALL OF US WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THIS EUCHARIST BECOME ONE BECAUSE THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CAN NEVER AGAIN BE DIVIDED. AND WHEN WE LEAVE THE EUCHARIST, WE ARE GIVEN THE GRACE TO BECOME MORE UNITED WITH OUR COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS, MORE INVOLVED, MORE ACTIVE; AND WE ARE GIVEN THE POWER TO PROCLAIM THAT THE LORD IS RISEN TO OUR FELLOW BELIEVERS AND TO THE WHOLE WORLD, THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS.
SO THE STORY LUKE TELLS REMINDS HIS READERS WHY THEY GO THROUGH THIS SET OF ACTIONS EVERY SUNDAY. AND IT SHOULD REMIND US AS WELL. FOR MORE THAN 2000 YEARS CHRISTIANS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER AND ESSENTIALLY DONE WHAT WE ARE DOING TODAY, WHAT WE HAVE DONE FROM THE BEGINNING. AND FOR MORE THAN 2000 YEARS, THEY HAVE PERIODICALLY BECOME BORED AND COMPLACENT AND PERHAPS WONDERED WHAT THEY WERE DOING THERE EVERY SUNDAY? AND THE STORY OF EMMAUS HAS BEEN THERE TO REMIND THEM THAT WE FALL INTO ERROR WHEN WE LEAVE OUR COMMUNITY; BUT JESUS IS THERE ON OUR JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE, AND THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES CORRECTS OUR ERRORS AND MISCONCEPTIONS, AND THROUGH THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD, RENEWS OUR DESIRE TO PROCLAIM THE RESURRECTION IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD.
TODAY YOU HAVE HEARD THE SCRIPTURES, YOU HAVE HEARD AN INTERPRETATION OF ONE OF THE READINGS; AND SOON OUR PRIEST WILL SAY THE BLESSING OVER THE BREAD AND WINE, AND JESUS WILL BECOME THAT BREAD AND WINE, AND OUR PRIEST WILL RE-ENACT THAT MOMENT OF THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD, AND WE WILL RECOGNIZE OUR RISEN LORD. AND LET US PRAY, AS WE TAKE THAT BREAD AND WINE INTO OURSELVES, AS WE AGAIN WALK THAT ROAD TO EMMAUS AS WE DO EVERY WEEK, THAT OUR HEARTS WILL BURN WITHIN US, SO THAT WE ARE RENEWED AND SO THAT WE WILL LEAVE THIS CHURCH TO PROCLAIM THE RISEN LORD ONCE AGAIN.
IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK, THERE IS MENTION OF TWO DISCIPLES WHO MET JESUS AND REPORTED THAT FACT TO THE APOSTLES. ST. LUKE, WRITING ABOUT 20 YEARS LATER, AND HAVING MARK'S GOSPEL IN FRONT OF HIM, ELABORATES ON THAT STORY FROM ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. BUT LUKE IS NOT JUST TELLING US A STORY. THERE IS METHOD HERE. LUKE, AFTER ALL, HAS BEEN A CHRISTIAN FOR MANY YEARS, AND IF WE ARE TO SAY THAT THIS LUKE IS THE SAME LUKE MENTIONED IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND PAUL'S EPISTLES, THEN HE HAS BEEN LIVING IN CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES FOR AT LEAST THIRTY YEARS. SO EVERYTHING LUKE WRITES HAS TO BE COLORED BY THE FACT THAT HE HAS BEEN A CHRISTIAN FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE.
WE KNOW FROM OTHER SOURCES THAT IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH THE MEMBERS OF A COMMUNITY WOULD GATHER ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, AND WOULD SING HYMNS AND SACRED SONGS, THEN WOULD READ FROM THE SCRIPTURES OR THE LETTERS OF THE APOSTLES, AND THEN THE LEADER OF THE ASSEMBLY, USUALLY THE BISHOP, WOULD DISCUSS THOSE READINGS. AFTERWARDS THEY WOULD GIVE THANKS AND WOULD MEMORIALIZE THE LAST SUPPER, OFFERING BREAD AND WINE, AND SPEAKING THE WORDS OF JESUS OVER THEM. THEN ALL THE MEMBERS WOULD PARTAKE OF THE BREAD AND WINE, AND THE DEACONS WOULD BE GIVEN SOME OF THE BREAD TO TAKE TO THE SICK AND IMPRISONED AND OTHERS WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT. THE CONGREGATION WOULD THEN BE DISMISSED. THIS IS ALL WRITTEN DOWN IN A DOCUMENT FROM THE SECOND CENTURY, IN A LETTER WRITTEN BY A CHRISTIAN WRITER TO A PAGAN RULER. IT IS PART OF AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHAT CHRISTIANS DO, AND WHO THEY ARE.
I THINK THE STORY THAT WE HEARD TODAY IS AN EVEN EARLIER REFLECTION ON THIS PRIMAL ACT OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. THINK ABOUT IT. WE HAVE TWO DISCIPLES, POSSIBLY A MAN AND WIFE – THE MAN IS NAMED, THE OTHER PERSON IS NOT, WHICH WOULD BE A CUSTOM IN AN ERA WHEN WOMEN WERE SEEN AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS, BUT IN THE CHRISTIAN WORLD, THEY WERE CONSIDERED DISCIPLES – AND THEY ARE DESPONDENT, HEARTBROKEN, AND THEY HAVE LEFT THE LITTLE COMMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS OF JESUS BACK IN JERUSALEM.. THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN. A STRANGER JOINS THEM AND ASKS WHY THE LONG FACES? THEY ANSWER, AND THE IMPORTANT POINT OF THEIR ANSWER IS THAT THEY HAD HOPED THAT JESUS WAS GOING TO BE THE ONE TO SAVE ISRAEL. THEY HAD HOPED THAT HE WOULD BE THE GREAT POLITICAL LEADER WHO WOULD OVERTHROW THE ROMANS AND RE-ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. JESUS THEN REPRIMANDS THEM, PROBABLY WITH A SMILE, AND PROCEEDS TO GO INTO THE SCRIPTURES AND EXPLAIN “WHY THE MESSIAH HAD TO SUFFER”. THEN WHEN THEY COME TO THE END OF THE JOURNEY, THEY INVITE HIM IN, AND HE BREAKS THE BREAD AND GIVES IT TO THEM, THEY RECOGNIZE HIM, AND THEY BECOME JOYFUL, AND THEIR FIRST IMPULSE IS TO RUSH BACK TO THE COMMUNITY WHICH THEY HAD LEFT, TO PROCLAIM THAT JESUS IS RISEN.
LUKE'S READERS, WHO WERE PROBABLY LIKE YOU AND I, HAD GOTTEN COMPLACENT AND BORED WITH THE WEEKLY CELEBRATION – WHICH WE KNOW FROM OTHER SOURCES WENT ON A LOT LONGER THAN THE 45 MINUTES OR SO THAT OURS DOES. AND LUKE CONSTRUCTS HIS STORY TO REMIND THEM WHY THEY DO WHAT THEY DO EVERY SUNDAY.
AND WE CAN TAKE THAT REMINDER TO HEART OURSELVES.
WE ARE HUMAN, WE WANDER AWAY FROM OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH. WE FORGET WHY WE WERE BAPTIZED, WHAT IT ALL MEANS. AND WE EVEN FORGET, HEAVEN HELP US, WHY JESUS CAME TO THE EARTH. OUR TENDENCY IS TO SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO IS THERE TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, TO MEET OUR NEEDS, TO FIGHT THE ROMANS AND RESTORE THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. AND THEN WE HEAR THE SCRIPTURES TOGETHER – AND LET ME DIVERGE FOR A MINUTE. IT IS A GOOD THING TO GET IN THE HABIT OF LISTENING TO THE SCRIPTURES BEING READ, INSTEAD OF READING THEM WHILE THEY ARE BEING READ OUT LOUD. I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE A LITTLE DEAF, LIKE ME, BUT WHEN WE ARE LISTENING TO SOMETHING, THE PART OF OUR MIND THAT WE USE IN DECIPHERING THOSE BLACK MARKS ON THE PAGE IS SILENT, AND THAT ALLOWS US TO BETTER HEAR WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS US TO HEAR. HEARING THE WORDS READ ALSO ENGAGES US AT AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL; THAT'S WHY WE LISTEN TO MUSIC, NOT READ IT ON A PAGE, WHICH WE COULD DO. AFTER WE HEAR THE SCRIPTURES, THERE IS AN INTERPRETATION GIVEN TO THEM BY THE HOMILIST, JUST AS JESUS INTERPRETED THE SCRIPTURES WHICH HE HAD CALLED TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DISCIPLES. AFTER THAT, THE EUCHARIST IS CELEBRATED, AND JESUS IS WITH US, AND HE COMES TO LIVE IN US, AND TRANSFORMS US. AND ALL OF US WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THIS EUCHARIST BECOME ONE BECAUSE THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CAN NEVER AGAIN BE DIVIDED. AND WHEN WE LEAVE THE EUCHARIST, WE ARE GIVEN THE GRACE TO BECOME MORE UNITED WITH OUR COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS, MORE INVOLVED, MORE ACTIVE; AND WE ARE GIVEN THE POWER TO PROCLAIM THAT THE LORD IS RISEN TO OUR FELLOW BELIEVERS AND TO THE WHOLE WORLD, THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS.
SO THE STORY LUKE TELLS REMINDS HIS READERS WHY THEY GO THROUGH THIS SET OF ACTIONS EVERY SUNDAY. AND IT SHOULD REMIND US AS WELL. FOR MORE THAN 2000 YEARS CHRISTIANS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER AND ESSENTIALLY DONE WHAT WE ARE DOING TODAY, WHAT WE HAVE DONE FROM THE BEGINNING. AND FOR MORE THAN 2000 YEARS, THEY HAVE PERIODICALLY BECOME BORED AND COMPLACENT AND PERHAPS WONDERED WHAT THEY WERE DOING THERE EVERY SUNDAY? AND THE STORY OF EMMAUS HAS BEEN THERE TO REMIND THEM THAT WE FALL INTO ERROR WHEN WE LEAVE OUR COMMUNITY; BUT JESUS IS THERE ON OUR JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE, AND THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES CORRECTS OUR ERRORS AND MISCONCEPTIONS, AND THROUGH THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD, RENEWS OUR DESIRE TO PROCLAIM THE RESURRECTION IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD.
TODAY YOU HAVE HEARD THE SCRIPTURES, YOU HAVE HEARD AN INTERPRETATION OF ONE OF THE READINGS; AND SOON OUR PRIEST WILL SAY THE BLESSING OVER THE BREAD AND WINE, AND JESUS WILL BECOME THAT BREAD AND WINE, AND OUR PRIEST WILL RE-ENACT THAT MOMENT OF THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD, AND WE WILL RECOGNIZE OUR RISEN LORD. AND LET US PRAY, AS WE TAKE THAT BREAD AND WINE INTO OURSELVES, AS WE AGAIN WALK THAT ROAD TO EMMAUS AS WE DO EVERY WEEK, THAT OUR HEARTS WILL BURN WITHIN US, SO THAT WE ARE RENEWED AND SO THAT WE WILL LEAVE THIS CHURCH TO PROCLAIM THE RISEN LORD ONCE AGAIN.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Second Sunday of Easter, cycle A (Mercy Sunday)
JOHN 20:19-31
I HAVE A SOFT SPOT IN MY HEART FOR THOMAS. I ALWAYS HAVE, AND WHEN I HAD TO SELECT A NEW NAME FOR MY CONFIRMATION WHEN I WAS IN SEVENTH GRADE, I CHOSE THOMAS. OF COURSE I WAS THINKING OF THOMAS AQUINAS AS WELL, BUT I FIGURED TWO THOMAS' FOR THE PRICE OF ONE COULDN'T BE ALL BAD.
WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THOMAS. HE SPEAKS FOUR TIMES IN THE SCRIPTURES. WHEN JESUS TELLS HIS APOSTLES THAT HE IS GOING TO GO TO JUDEA TO HEAL LAZARUS, THEY ALL GET UPSET, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT JESUS IS A WANTED MAN IN JUDEA. BUT THOMAS FINALLY SAYS, “LET US GO AND DIE WITH HIM.” AT THE LAST SUPPER, JESUS TELLS HIS APOSTLES “WHERE I AM GOING, YOU KNOW” AND THOMAS SAYS, “NO WE DON'T, TELL US WHERE YOU ARE GOING?” WE HEAR THE OTHER TWO INSTANCES IN THIS GOSPEL: “UNLESS I PUT MY FINGERS IN THE HOLES IN HIS HANDS, AND MY HAND IN HIS SIDE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE!” AND FINALLY, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”
AFTER PENTECOST, WE ARE PRETTY SURE THAT THOMAS TRAVELED TO JEWISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE ARABIAN PENINSULA, AND ULTIMATELY GOT TO INDIA. INFORMATION FROM THE SECOND CENTURY DESCRIBES HOW THOMAS MET AN INDIAN RULER AND CONVERTED HIM AND HIS PEOPLE. THOMAS WAS A CARPENTER, AND LEGEND HAS IT THAT HE BUILT SEVEN CHURCHES. FINALLY ANOTHER RULER WHO KEPT HIS PEOPLE IN ABJECT POVERTY, ASKED HIM TO COME AND BUILD A CHURCH IN HIS TERRITORY. THOMAS TOOK THE MONEY AND USED IT FOR THE POOR AND ULTIMATELY THIS LEAD TO HIS MARTYRDOM. THERE ARE STILL CHRISTIANS IN INDIA WHO WERE THERE AT LEAST SINCE THE THIRD CENTURY, WHO INSIST THAT THEIR CHURCH WAS FOUNDED BY THOMAS; AND UP UNTIL THE 15TH CENTURY, THERE WERE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ARABIAN SEA WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE BEEN FOUNDED BY THOMAS. PAUL GOT A LOT OF PRESS BECAUSE OF ALL THE LETTERS THAT HE WROTE, AND ALL THE TERRITORY THAT HE WENT TO IN MISSION; BUT THOMAS SEEMS TO HAVE RIVALED PAUL IN TERMS OF HIS TRAVELS AND HIS FOUNDING OF CHURCHES.
SO THOMAS IS NO SLOUCH, THOMAS LIVED A LIFE OF HEROIC FAITH. AND I THINK I KNOW WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH THOMAS' MIND WHEN HE TOLD THE OTHER APOSTLES THAT HE WOULD NOT BELIEVE UNLESS.... THOMAS KNEW THAT IF THE RESURRECTION REALLY HAPPENED, IT WOULD MEAN THAT HIS ENTIRE LIFE HAD TO CHANGE. THOMAS WOULD NOT JUST BELIEVE SOMETHING; HE KNEW THAT REAL BELIEF HAD CONSEQUENCES, AND BEFORE HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR SOMETHING, HE NEEDED TO BE SURE THAT THE SOMETHING WAS WORTHY OF THAT GIFT. I DOUBT THE OTHER APOSTLES HAD GIVEN AS MUCH THOUGHT TO THIS AS THOMAS – CERTAINLY IN THE EXAMPLES IN WHICH HE SPOKE BEFORE THE RESURRECTION, HE DOES THINK THINGS THROUGH, AND HE DOES ASK QUESTIONS WHEN HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND. ADMIRABLE TRAITS.
I DON'T THINK JESUS IS PUTTING THOMAS DOWN. AFTER ALL, ALL THE FIRST CHRISTIANS HAD WITNESSED THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, EVEN HIS MOTHER. PAUL TELLS US THAT ABOUT 500 PEOPLE HAD SEEN THE RISEN CHRIST. JESUS JUMP-STARTED HIS CHURCH WITH THOSE APPEARANCES. BUT AFTER THAT, AFTER HE ASCENDS INTO HEAVEN, HE LEAVES HIS CHURCH WITH THE GIFT OF FAITH, AND THAT IS THE REFERENCE TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN, BUT HAVE BELIEVED. WE ARE THE BLESSED ONES.
BUT I THINK JESUS MEANS BELIEF IN THE SAME WAY THAT THOMAS DID. IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION, THEN YOUR LIFE BETTER CHANGE, YOU BETTER LIVE LIKE JESUS IS YOUR LORD AND YOUR GOD. AND MOST OF US, ESPECIALLY MYSELF, HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.
THIS IS MERCY SUNDAY. SAINT FAUSTINA SAID THAT GOD'S GREATEST ATTRIBUTE IS HIS UNFATHOMABLE MERCY.
HERE IN THIS GOSPEL JESUS SHOWS THAT MERCY, WHEN HE COMES TO THE APOSTLES, FRIGHTENED AND HIDING IN THE THE ROOM, THE APOSTLES WHO DESERTED HIM AND LEFT HIM TO DIE ON THE CROSS, THE LEADER OF THE APOSTLES WHO LIED ABOUT KNOWING WHO HE WAS, AND THERE IS NO WORD ABOUT THAT, JUST JESUS GIVING THEM HIS PEACE. JESUS SHOWS HIS MERCY WHEN HE GIVES THE APOSTLES THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS. GOD'S MERCY IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF HIS FOLLOWERS. JESUS SHOWS THAT MERCY WHEN HE APPEARS TO THOMAS, AND MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR THOMAS TO BELIEVE. HAD THAT SECOND APPEARANCE BEEN TO SCOLD THOMAS, I DOUBT THAT HE WOULD HAVE OFFERED TO FULFILL THOMAS' STATED CONDITIONS. AND JESUS CONTINUES TO SHOW HIS FATHER'S MERCY TO YOU AND I, WHO HAVE THE GIFT OF FAITH, GIVEN AT BAPTISM, REINFORCED AT CONFIRMATION, AND STRENGTHENED THROUGH THE HOLY EUCHARIST THAT IS OUR FOOD AND DRINK, AND THROUGH THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE, THAT FORGIVES OUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND GIVES US STRENGTH TO OVERCOME WHAT HOLDS US DOWN. AND WE BELIEVE, AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR MANY OF US THAT'S WHERE IT STOPS. OUR BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION IS FILED BACK THERE WITH OUR BELIEF IN GLOBAL WARMING OR IN THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION OR THAT TWO AND TWO IS FOUR. FOR MANY OF US, THE RESURRECTION HASN'T CHANGED OUR LIVES TO THE EXTENT THAT IT SHOULD. BECAUSE OF THIS, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I DEFINITELY NEED ALL THE MERCY I CAN GET.
SO TODAY LET US PRAY FOR MERCY, THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY, AND ASK SAINT THOMAS TO HELP US LIVE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION SO THAT WE CAN SAY WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, MY LORD AND MY GOD.
I HAVE A SOFT SPOT IN MY HEART FOR THOMAS. I ALWAYS HAVE, AND WHEN I HAD TO SELECT A NEW NAME FOR MY CONFIRMATION WHEN I WAS IN SEVENTH GRADE, I CHOSE THOMAS. OF COURSE I WAS THINKING OF THOMAS AQUINAS AS WELL, BUT I FIGURED TWO THOMAS' FOR THE PRICE OF ONE COULDN'T BE ALL BAD.
WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THOMAS. HE SPEAKS FOUR TIMES IN THE SCRIPTURES. WHEN JESUS TELLS HIS APOSTLES THAT HE IS GOING TO GO TO JUDEA TO HEAL LAZARUS, THEY ALL GET UPSET, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT JESUS IS A WANTED MAN IN JUDEA. BUT THOMAS FINALLY SAYS, “LET US GO AND DIE WITH HIM.” AT THE LAST SUPPER, JESUS TELLS HIS APOSTLES “WHERE I AM GOING, YOU KNOW” AND THOMAS SAYS, “NO WE DON'T, TELL US WHERE YOU ARE GOING?” WE HEAR THE OTHER TWO INSTANCES IN THIS GOSPEL: “UNLESS I PUT MY FINGERS IN THE HOLES IN HIS HANDS, AND MY HAND IN HIS SIDE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE!” AND FINALLY, “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”
AFTER PENTECOST, WE ARE PRETTY SURE THAT THOMAS TRAVELED TO JEWISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE ARABIAN PENINSULA, AND ULTIMATELY GOT TO INDIA. INFORMATION FROM THE SECOND CENTURY DESCRIBES HOW THOMAS MET AN INDIAN RULER AND CONVERTED HIM AND HIS PEOPLE. THOMAS WAS A CARPENTER, AND LEGEND HAS IT THAT HE BUILT SEVEN CHURCHES. FINALLY ANOTHER RULER WHO KEPT HIS PEOPLE IN ABJECT POVERTY, ASKED HIM TO COME AND BUILD A CHURCH IN HIS TERRITORY. THOMAS TOOK THE MONEY AND USED IT FOR THE POOR AND ULTIMATELY THIS LEAD TO HIS MARTYRDOM. THERE ARE STILL CHRISTIANS IN INDIA WHO WERE THERE AT LEAST SINCE THE THIRD CENTURY, WHO INSIST THAT THEIR CHURCH WAS FOUNDED BY THOMAS; AND UP UNTIL THE 15TH CENTURY, THERE WERE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ARABIAN SEA WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE BEEN FOUNDED BY THOMAS. PAUL GOT A LOT OF PRESS BECAUSE OF ALL THE LETTERS THAT HE WROTE, AND ALL THE TERRITORY THAT HE WENT TO IN MISSION; BUT THOMAS SEEMS TO HAVE RIVALED PAUL IN TERMS OF HIS TRAVELS AND HIS FOUNDING OF CHURCHES.
SO THOMAS IS NO SLOUCH, THOMAS LIVED A LIFE OF HEROIC FAITH. AND I THINK I KNOW WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH THOMAS' MIND WHEN HE TOLD THE OTHER APOSTLES THAT HE WOULD NOT BELIEVE UNLESS.... THOMAS KNEW THAT IF THE RESURRECTION REALLY HAPPENED, IT WOULD MEAN THAT HIS ENTIRE LIFE HAD TO CHANGE. THOMAS WOULD NOT JUST BELIEVE SOMETHING; HE KNEW THAT REAL BELIEF HAD CONSEQUENCES, AND BEFORE HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR SOMETHING, HE NEEDED TO BE SURE THAT THE SOMETHING WAS WORTHY OF THAT GIFT. I DOUBT THE OTHER APOSTLES HAD GIVEN AS MUCH THOUGHT TO THIS AS THOMAS – CERTAINLY IN THE EXAMPLES IN WHICH HE SPOKE BEFORE THE RESURRECTION, HE DOES THINK THINGS THROUGH, AND HE DOES ASK QUESTIONS WHEN HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND. ADMIRABLE TRAITS.
I DON'T THINK JESUS IS PUTTING THOMAS DOWN. AFTER ALL, ALL THE FIRST CHRISTIANS HAD WITNESSED THE RESURRECTED CHRIST, EVEN HIS MOTHER. PAUL TELLS US THAT ABOUT 500 PEOPLE HAD SEEN THE RISEN CHRIST. JESUS JUMP-STARTED HIS CHURCH WITH THOSE APPEARANCES. BUT AFTER THAT, AFTER HE ASCENDS INTO HEAVEN, HE LEAVES HIS CHURCH WITH THE GIFT OF FAITH, AND THAT IS THE REFERENCE TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN, BUT HAVE BELIEVED. WE ARE THE BLESSED ONES.
BUT I THINK JESUS MEANS BELIEF IN THE SAME WAY THAT THOMAS DID. IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION, THEN YOUR LIFE BETTER CHANGE, YOU BETTER LIVE LIKE JESUS IS YOUR LORD AND YOUR GOD. AND MOST OF US, ESPECIALLY MYSELF, HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.
THIS IS MERCY SUNDAY. SAINT FAUSTINA SAID THAT GOD'S GREATEST ATTRIBUTE IS HIS UNFATHOMABLE MERCY.
HERE IN THIS GOSPEL JESUS SHOWS THAT MERCY, WHEN HE COMES TO THE APOSTLES, FRIGHTENED AND HIDING IN THE THE ROOM, THE APOSTLES WHO DESERTED HIM AND LEFT HIM TO DIE ON THE CROSS, THE LEADER OF THE APOSTLES WHO LIED ABOUT KNOWING WHO HE WAS, AND THERE IS NO WORD ABOUT THAT, JUST JESUS GIVING THEM HIS PEACE. JESUS SHOWS HIS MERCY WHEN HE GIVES THE APOSTLES THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS. GOD'S MERCY IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE COMMUNITY OF HIS FOLLOWERS. JESUS SHOWS THAT MERCY WHEN HE APPEARS TO THOMAS, AND MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR THOMAS TO BELIEVE. HAD THAT SECOND APPEARANCE BEEN TO SCOLD THOMAS, I DOUBT THAT HE WOULD HAVE OFFERED TO FULFILL THOMAS' STATED CONDITIONS. AND JESUS CONTINUES TO SHOW HIS FATHER'S MERCY TO YOU AND I, WHO HAVE THE GIFT OF FAITH, GIVEN AT BAPTISM, REINFORCED AT CONFIRMATION, AND STRENGTHENED THROUGH THE HOLY EUCHARIST THAT IS OUR FOOD AND DRINK, AND THROUGH THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE, THAT FORGIVES OUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND GIVES US STRENGTH TO OVERCOME WHAT HOLDS US DOWN. AND WE BELIEVE, AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR MANY OF US THAT'S WHERE IT STOPS. OUR BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION IS FILED BACK THERE WITH OUR BELIEF IN GLOBAL WARMING OR IN THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION OR THAT TWO AND TWO IS FOUR. FOR MANY OF US, THE RESURRECTION HASN'T CHANGED OUR LIVES TO THE EXTENT THAT IT SHOULD. BECAUSE OF THIS, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I DEFINITELY NEED ALL THE MERCY I CAN GET.
SO TODAY LET US PRAY FOR MERCY, THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY, AND ASK SAINT THOMAS TO HELP US LIVE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION SO THAT WE CAN SAY WITH ALL OUR HEARTS, MY LORD AND MY GOD.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Holy Thursday, cycle A
John 20:1-9
I WONDER HOW JESUS REALLY FELT ON THAT HOLY THURSDAY, THE END OF HIS LAST FULL DAY ON EARTH? JESUS KNEW WHAT WAS COMING, WE SEE THAT ALL THROUGH THE GOSPELS; BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE GOD TO KNOW YOU WERE IN TROUBLE. HE HAD OFFENDED THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES WHEN HE RAISED LAZARUS; HE HAD OFFENDED THE ROMAN AUTHORITIES WHEN HE ENTERED JERUSALEM IN A TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION WHICH NOT ONLY STIRRED THE CROWDS INTO A NEAR RIOT, BUT WAS ALSO A SORT OF MOCKERY OF A ROMAN TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION; ONLY THE ROMAN GENERAL WOULD BE ON A MAJESTIC HORSE OR PULLED IN A WAR CHARIOT, NOT RIDING ON THE BACK OF A DONKEY. AND HE HAD NEARLY CAUSED A RIOT WHEN HE CLEANSED THE TEMPLE – AND THAT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGH HOLY DAYS, RIGHT WHEN THE CITY WAS FULL OF PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE, CELEBRATING THEIR LIBERATION FROM SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAD ENSLAVED THEM, THE PHARAOH OF EGYPT.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME TO GO INTO HIDING. BUT JESUS CELEBRATES THE PASSOVER WITH HIS DISCIPLES.
HOW LONELY HE MUST HAVE FELT. NONE OF THEM REALLY BELIEVED WHAT WAS TO COME; AND INDEED SO FAR THE AUTHORITIES HAD BEEN CURIOUSLY QUIET. HE LOOKED OVER THESE PEASANTS WHO WERE HIS CLOSEST DISCIPLES, THESE MEN WHO TIME AND TIME AGAIN HAD NOT SEEMED TO GET IT. HIS TIME WAS NEARLY OVER, AND THEY WERE GOING TO CARRY ON? BUT IT WAS PASSOVER, AND A TIME FOR BEING JOYFUL. THE WINE WAS FLOWING, AND THERE WAS MEAT ON THE TABLE, AND HIS FRIENDS WERE TALKING AND LAUGHING AS THEY CELEBRATED.
AND THEN JESUS DOES A STRANGE THING. HE STRIPS OFF HIS OUTER GARMENT, THROWS A TOWEL OVER HIS SHOULDER, AND STOOPS TO WASH THEIR FEET.
WE SEE THIS RITUAL EVERY HOLY THURSDAY. WE PICK A FEW PEOPLE FROM THE CONGREGATION, AND FATHER POURS WATER OVER FEET WHICH HAVE PROBABLY BEEN RECENTLY WASHED. BUT THINK ABOUT THE ACTUAL EVENT. FIRST, WASHING FEET WAS ALMOST A NECESSITY. PEOPLE THREW THEIR TRASH, INCLUDING HUMAN WASTE, IN THE STREETS. THERE WEREN'T TRASH COLLECTORS AND GARBAGE DISPOSALS. OTHER PEOPLE AND ANIMALS WALKED OVER THE REFUSE – AND THE ANIMALS CONTRIBUTED MORE TO THE GENERAL STINK AND FILTH. AND MOST PEOPLE EITHER RAN AROUND BAREFOOT OR WORE SANDALS, WHICH WERE LITTLE MORE THAN A PIECE OF LEATHER HELD ONTO THE FOOT WITH A FEW LACES. YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT FEET GOT FILTHY FAST.
SO AT A BIG DINNER PARTY, SOMEONE HAD TO WASH THE FEET. AND THAT SOMEONE WAS USUALLY A SLAVE, OR A POOR GENTILE HIRED FOR THAT PURPOSE. BECAUSE YOU BECAME RITUALLY UNCLEAN COMING INTO CONTACT WITH ALL THAT FILTH. AND WASHING THE FEET WAS REALLY WASHING, NOT A SYMBOLIC STREAM OF WARM WATER.
AND WHY DOES JESUS DO THIS? HE TELLS US THAT HE WANTS TO GIVE US AN EXAMPLE. BUT ON A DEEPER LEVEL, JESUS DOES THIS BECAUSE HE IS JESUS. HE CAME TO SERVE, HE STOOPED TO BECOME ONE OF US, HE EMPTIED HIMSELF OUT FOR US. IT IS JUST WHAT JESUS DOES – HE BECOMES A SLAVE TO US, AS ST. PAUL TELLS US IN HIS EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
HOLY THURSDAY IS THE DAY JESUS INSTITUTED THE EUCHARIST. IT IS THE DAY WHEN THE APOSTLES BECAME THE FIRST PRIESTS. WE HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THESE TWO MAJOR EVENTS IN THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, BUT NOTHING IN THE GOSPEL. JUST THIS STRANGE STORY OF JESUS WASHING THE FILTH OFF THE FEET OF PETER, WHO WOULD DENY HE EVER KNEW HIM, OF JUDAS, WHO WOULD SELL HIM OUT FOR A FEW COINS; AND ALL THE REST, WHO WOULD LEAVE HIM ALONE ON THE CROSS, MOCKED BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ONLY A SHORT TIME AGO WERE WELCOMING HIM INTO JERUSALEM WITH PALM BRANCHES AND CRIES OF “HOSANNA, SON OF DAVID!”
TOMORROW WE WILL REMEMBER THE TERRIBLE DEATH JESUS ENDURED. ON SATURDAY, WE WILL THINK ABOUT HOW DEATH AND EVIL ALMOST WON THE BATTLE. AND ON SUNDAY, WE WILL CELEBRATE HIS RESURRECTION, WHEN HE PROVED ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT HIS RAISING OF LAZARUS WAS NO FLUKE; HE CONQUERED DEATH, FOREVER.
AND IN THAT GREAT SET OF EVENTS, WE MAY BE TEMPTED TO THINK THAT IT ALL CAME DOWN TO THIS, THIS GREAT PASSAGE FROM SUFFERING TO DEATH TO RESURRECTION, AND WE MAY FORGET THAT JESUS LIVED TO SERVE, THAT HE WASHED THE FILTH FROM THE FEET OF HIS FRIENDS, AND STILL SEEKS TO DO THAT FOR YOU AND I. AND IN HIS EXAMPLE TO US, HE SHOWS US THAT FOR MOST OF US, IT WILL NOT BE A MARTYR'S TRIUMPHANT DEATH AND ENTRY INTO HEAVEN; IT WILL NOT BE SOME GLORIOUS WORK LIKE FOUNDING A RELIGIOUS ORDER OR CONVERTING A NATION OF PAGANS, OR WRITING A DEATHLESS MASTERPIECE OF THEOLOGY OR DEVOTION.
NO, FOR MOST OF US, IT WILL BE WASHING EACH OTHER'S FEET, PUTTING UP WITH THE FILTH THAT CONTAMINATES ALL OF US, EACH IN DIFFERENT WAYS; RECOGNIZING THAT I AM THE WORST OF SINNERS AND AM LUCKY TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM A HUMBLE SERVICE FOR MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS; THAT I IMITATE JESUS MOST CLOSELY WHEN I FORGET MYSELF, AND SERVE MY NEIGHBOR IN THE WAY HE NEEDS ME TO SERVE HIM, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.
AND AFTER JESUS WASHED THEIR FEET, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT IT IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS TELL US THAT HE TOOK BREAD, AND BROKE IT, AND GAVE IT AWAY, AND SAID “EAT THIS, IT IS MY BODY”, AND HE TOOK THE CUP, AND BLESSED IT AND SAID, “DRINK THIS, IT IS MY BLOOD” AND HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT IN THE EATING OF HIS BODY AND THE DRINKING OF HIS BLOOD, THERE IS A NEW AGREEMENT BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, ONE THAT WILL LAST FOREVER; AND THAT AGREEMENT IS THAT WHEN WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, HE WILL LIVE IN US, AND CHANGE US, IF WE LET HIM, AND THROUGH US CONTINUE TO BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM. BUT IT IS NOT A KINGDOM OF TRIUMPH AND GLORY, WHERE ALL HIS ENEMIES WILL BE CAST DOWN AND ALL HIS FRIENDS WILL ENJOY THAT HEAVENLY FEAST – AT LEAST NOT YET. IT IS A KINGDOM WHERE THE GREATEST WILL WASH THE FILTH OFF OF THE FEET OF THE LEAST, AND THE LEAST WILL DO THE SAME FOR THE GREATEST, AND IF YOU WANT TO SEE JESUS IN ACTION, LOOK FOR PEOPLE WASHING THE FEET OF THEIR NEIGHBOR. AND IF YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THE KINGDOM, LOOK FOR SOMEONE'S FEET TO WASH.
I WONDER HOW JESUS REALLY FELT ON THAT HOLY THURSDAY, THE END OF HIS LAST FULL DAY ON EARTH? JESUS KNEW WHAT WAS COMING, WE SEE THAT ALL THROUGH THE GOSPELS; BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE GOD TO KNOW YOU WERE IN TROUBLE. HE HAD OFFENDED THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES WHEN HE RAISED LAZARUS; HE HAD OFFENDED THE ROMAN AUTHORITIES WHEN HE ENTERED JERUSALEM IN A TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION WHICH NOT ONLY STIRRED THE CROWDS INTO A NEAR RIOT, BUT WAS ALSO A SORT OF MOCKERY OF A ROMAN TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION; ONLY THE ROMAN GENERAL WOULD BE ON A MAJESTIC HORSE OR PULLED IN A WAR CHARIOT, NOT RIDING ON THE BACK OF A DONKEY. AND HE HAD NEARLY CAUSED A RIOT WHEN HE CLEANSED THE TEMPLE – AND THAT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGH HOLY DAYS, RIGHT WHEN THE CITY WAS FULL OF PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE, CELEBRATING THEIR LIBERATION FROM SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAD ENSLAVED THEM, THE PHARAOH OF EGYPT.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME TO GO INTO HIDING. BUT JESUS CELEBRATES THE PASSOVER WITH HIS DISCIPLES.
HOW LONELY HE MUST HAVE FELT. NONE OF THEM REALLY BELIEVED WHAT WAS TO COME; AND INDEED SO FAR THE AUTHORITIES HAD BEEN CURIOUSLY QUIET. HE LOOKED OVER THESE PEASANTS WHO WERE HIS CLOSEST DISCIPLES, THESE MEN WHO TIME AND TIME AGAIN HAD NOT SEEMED TO GET IT. HIS TIME WAS NEARLY OVER, AND THEY WERE GOING TO CARRY ON? BUT IT WAS PASSOVER, AND A TIME FOR BEING JOYFUL. THE WINE WAS FLOWING, AND THERE WAS MEAT ON THE TABLE, AND HIS FRIENDS WERE TALKING AND LAUGHING AS THEY CELEBRATED.
AND THEN JESUS DOES A STRANGE THING. HE STRIPS OFF HIS OUTER GARMENT, THROWS A TOWEL OVER HIS SHOULDER, AND STOOPS TO WASH THEIR FEET.
WE SEE THIS RITUAL EVERY HOLY THURSDAY. WE PICK A FEW PEOPLE FROM THE CONGREGATION, AND FATHER POURS WATER OVER FEET WHICH HAVE PROBABLY BEEN RECENTLY WASHED. BUT THINK ABOUT THE ACTUAL EVENT. FIRST, WASHING FEET WAS ALMOST A NECESSITY. PEOPLE THREW THEIR TRASH, INCLUDING HUMAN WASTE, IN THE STREETS. THERE WEREN'T TRASH COLLECTORS AND GARBAGE DISPOSALS. OTHER PEOPLE AND ANIMALS WALKED OVER THE REFUSE – AND THE ANIMALS CONTRIBUTED MORE TO THE GENERAL STINK AND FILTH. AND MOST PEOPLE EITHER RAN AROUND BAREFOOT OR WORE SANDALS, WHICH WERE LITTLE MORE THAN A PIECE OF LEATHER HELD ONTO THE FOOT WITH A FEW LACES. YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT FEET GOT FILTHY FAST.
SO AT A BIG DINNER PARTY, SOMEONE HAD TO WASH THE FEET. AND THAT SOMEONE WAS USUALLY A SLAVE, OR A POOR GENTILE HIRED FOR THAT PURPOSE. BECAUSE YOU BECAME RITUALLY UNCLEAN COMING INTO CONTACT WITH ALL THAT FILTH. AND WASHING THE FEET WAS REALLY WASHING, NOT A SYMBOLIC STREAM OF WARM WATER.
AND WHY DOES JESUS DO THIS? HE TELLS US THAT HE WANTS TO GIVE US AN EXAMPLE. BUT ON A DEEPER LEVEL, JESUS DOES THIS BECAUSE HE IS JESUS. HE CAME TO SERVE, HE STOOPED TO BECOME ONE OF US, HE EMPTIED HIMSELF OUT FOR US. IT IS JUST WHAT JESUS DOES – HE BECOMES A SLAVE TO US, AS ST. PAUL TELLS US IN HIS EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS.
HOLY THURSDAY IS THE DAY JESUS INSTITUTED THE EUCHARIST. IT IS THE DAY WHEN THE APOSTLES BECAME THE FIRST PRIESTS. WE HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THESE TWO MAJOR EVENTS IN THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, BUT NOTHING IN THE GOSPEL. JUST THIS STRANGE STORY OF JESUS WASHING THE FILTH OFF THE FEET OF PETER, WHO WOULD DENY HE EVER KNEW HIM, OF JUDAS, WHO WOULD SELL HIM OUT FOR A FEW COINS; AND ALL THE REST, WHO WOULD LEAVE HIM ALONE ON THE CROSS, MOCKED BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO ONLY A SHORT TIME AGO WERE WELCOMING HIM INTO JERUSALEM WITH PALM BRANCHES AND CRIES OF “HOSANNA, SON OF DAVID!”
TOMORROW WE WILL REMEMBER THE TERRIBLE DEATH JESUS ENDURED. ON SATURDAY, WE WILL THINK ABOUT HOW DEATH AND EVIL ALMOST WON THE BATTLE. AND ON SUNDAY, WE WILL CELEBRATE HIS RESURRECTION, WHEN HE PROVED ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT HIS RAISING OF LAZARUS WAS NO FLUKE; HE CONQUERED DEATH, FOREVER.
AND IN THAT GREAT SET OF EVENTS, WE MAY BE TEMPTED TO THINK THAT IT ALL CAME DOWN TO THIS, THIS GREAT PASSAGE FROM SUFFERING TO DEATH TO RESURRECTION, AND WE MAY FORGET THAT JESUS LIVED TO SERVE, THAT HE WASHED THE FILTH FROM THE FEET OF HIS FRIENDS, AND STILL SEEKS TO DO THAT FOR YOU AND I. AND IN HIS EXAMPLE TO US, HE SHOWS US THAT FOR MOST OF US, IT WILL NOT BE A MARTYR'S TRIUMPHANT DEATH AND ENTRY INTO HEAVEN; IT WILL NOT BE SOME GLORIOUS WORK LIKE FOUNDING A RELIGIOUS ORDER OR CONVERTING A NATION OF PAGANS, OR WRITING A DEATHLESS MASTERPIECE OF THEOLOGY OR DEVOTION.
NO, FOR MOST OF US, IT WILL BE WASHING EACH OTHER'S FEET, PUTTING UP WITH THE FILTH THAT CONTAMINATES ALL OF US, EACH IN DIFFERENT WAYS; RECOGNIZING THAT I AM THE WORST OF SINNERS AND AM LUCKY TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM A HUMBLE SERVICE FOR MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS; THAT I IMITATE JESUS MOST CLOSELY WHEN I FORGET MYSELF, AND SERVE MY NEIGHBOR IN THE WAY HE NEEDS ME TO SERVE HIM, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.
AND AFTER JESUS WASHED THEIR FEET, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT IT IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS TELL US THAT HE TOOK BREAD, AND BROKE IT, AND GAVE IT AWAY, AND SAID “EAT THIS, IT IS MY BODY”, AND HE TOOK THE CUP, AND BLESSED IT AND SAID, “DRINK THIS, IT IS MY BLOOD” AND HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT IN THE EATING OF HIS BODY AND THE DRINKING OF HIS BLOOD, THERE IS A NEW AGREEMENT BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, ONE THAT WILL LAST FOREVER; AND THAT AGREEMENT IS THAT WHEN WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, HE WILL LIVE IN US, AND CHANGE US, IF WE LET HIM, AND THROUGH US CONTINUE TO BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM. BUT IT IS NOT A KINGDOM OF TRIUMPH AND GLORY, WHERE ALL HIS ENEMIES WILL BE CAST DOWN AND ALL HIS FRIENDS WILL ENJOY THAT HEAVENLY FEAST – AT LEAST NOT YET. IT IS A KINGDOM WHERE THE GREATEST WILL WASH THE FILTH OFF OF THE FEET OF THE LEAST, AND THE LEAST WILL DO THE SAME FOR THE GREATEST, AND IF YOU WANT TO SEE JESUS IN ACTION, LOOK FOR PEOPLE WASHING THE FEET OF THEIR NEIGHBOR. AND IF YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THE KINGDOM, LOOK FOR SOMEONE'S FEET TO WASH.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Palm Sunday, 2008
THE PASSION OF MATTHEW
THIS IS THE SUNDAY I USED TO DREAD WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID. IT WAS THE SUNDAY WHEN THEY READ THE PASSION. FOR SOME REASON, IT WAS A LOT HARDER TO SIT THROUGH THE SUNDAY READING THAN THE GOOD FRIDAY READING. ON GOOD FRIDAY, YOU HAD THE OPTION OF NOT BEING THERE. SUNDAY YOUR HAD TO BE THERE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? IT HASN'T GOTTEN ANY SHORTER SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID. BUT I DO LISTEN MORE ATTENTIVELY. I TRY TO GET INTO IT, I TRY TO SEE THE EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLD. BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T HURT ANY OF US ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS WAS A REAL HUMAN BEING, THAT HE WAS BETRAYED BY A FRIEND, THAT HE WAS DESERTED BY OTHER FRIENDS, THAT HE WAS BEATEN, SCOURGED, HUMILIATED, AND PUT TO DEATH. THIS REALLY HAPPENED; IT ISN'T A LEGEND.
BUT I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY FOR A MINUTE. AFTER THE SUPPER, JESUS, PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN GO TO THE GARDEN OF GESTHEMENE. THERE JESUS POURS OUT HIS HEART IN PRAYER TO THE FATHER. THERE IS A FAMOUS PICTURE OF JESUS PRAYING IN THE GARDEN, THAT MOST OF US HAVE SEEN. IN IT HE IS KNEELING, LEANING ON A ROCK, LOOKING UP TO HEAVEN, AND THERE IS A LIGHT SHINING DOWN ON HIM. VERY DIGNIFIED, VERY SERENE. AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN LIKE THAT AT ALL. JESUS SAYS THAT HIS HEART IS NEARLY BROKEN WITH SORROW. I'VE BEEN THERE, AND SO HAVE YOU. YOU LEARN THAT SOMEONE YOU LOVE HAS TERMINAL CANCER. YOU GET THE NEWS THAT YOUR SON IS GETTING DIVORCED AFTER TEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE. YOU LOSE YOUR JOB AND IN THIS ECONOMY, YOU HAVEN'T MUCH CHANCE OF GETTING ANOTHER, AND IF YOU DO, IT WON'T PAY NEARLY AS WELL. YOU ARE CONFRONTED BY THE IRS WITH A HUGE BACK TAXES BILL; AND SO ON, AND SO FORTH.
I THINK OF ELIOT SPITZER, THE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, THIS PAST WEEK. GRANTED, HE BROUGHT IT ALL ON HIMSELF, AND I NEVER PARTICULARLY THOUGHT MUCH OF HIM, BUT I FELT HIS AGONY WHEN HE HAD TO STAND UP IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY AND HIS WIFE, AND ADMIT HIS GUILT AND RESIGN FROM THE OFFICE THAT HE HAD SPENT MUCH OF HIS LIFE TRYING TO WIN-- NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE HAD TO GIVE UP THE CAREER THAT HE HAD SINGLEMINDEDLY PURSUED. IN A FEW YEARS, HE MIGHT HAVE HAD A REAL SHOT AT THE PRESIDENCY. BUT NOW ITS ALL ASHES.
WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN WITH SORROW, FOR WHATEVER REASON, WE DON'T THINK STRAIGHT. THE ADRENALIN RUSHES AROUND IN OUR BODIES; WE SWEAT, OUR HEARTS RACE, WE'D RATHER BE ANYWHERE BUT WHERE WE ARE. AND YOU CAN BE SURE JESUS FELT THE SAME; HE KNEW WHAT WAS COMING, AND HE KNEW THERE WAS NO GETTING OUT OF IT. LIKE ALL OF US IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION, WE LONG FOR SOMEONE TO HELP US BEAR OUR BURDEN. JESUS DID ALSO, BUT WHEN HE WENT TO HIS THREE BEST FRIENDS, THEY WERE ASLEEP.
SO JESUS SHOWS US HOW WE ARE TO RESPOND WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE NEARLY BROKEN WITH SORROW. CERTAINLY WE CAN PRAY THAT OUR SITUATION BE RELIEVED AS HE DID -- OUR PROBLEM REDUCED, OUR TRAGEDY AVERTED. AND SOMETIMES GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYER THE WAY WE WANT HIM TO. BUT THE REAL KEY IS IN THE WORDS OF JESUS, “MY FATHER, IF THIS CANNOT PASS BY ME WITHOUT MY DRINKING IT, YOUR WILL BE DONE.” BECAUSE WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE NEARLY BROKEN WITH SORROW, HOWEVER WE GOT THERE, OUR FAULT, SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT, NO ONE'S FAULT, IF WE MUST PASS THROUGH THE SORROW, LET US PRAY THAT GOD'S WILL BE DONE, THAT IN SOME WAY OUR TRAGEDY WILL LEAD TO SOMETHING GOOD, THAT THIS SORROW THAT LOOKS SO MALIGNANT AND MEANINGLESS WILL IN SOME WAY UNITE US TO THE CROSS OF CHRIST, AND IN THAT WE CAN FIND JOY.
SO PRAY ON THIS PALM SUNDAY THAT WHEN YOU HAVE TO FACE THAT NEXT TRAGEDY IN LIFE, THAT MOMENT WHEN YOUR HEART ALMOST BREAKS WITH SORROW, YOU WILL REMEMBER THE PRAYER OF JESUS, AND PRAY IT AS HE DID.
THIS IS THE SUNDAY I USED TO DREAD WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID. IT WAS THE SUNDAY WHEN THEY READ THE PASSION. FOR SOME REASON, IT WAS A LOT HARDER TO SIT THROUGH THE SUNDAY READING THAN THE GOOD FRIDAY READING. ON GOOD FRIDAY, YOU HAD THE OPTION OF NOT BEING THERE. SUNDAY YOUR HAD TO BE THERE.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? IT HASN'T GOTTEN ANY SHORTER SINCE I WAS A LITTLE KID. BUT I DO LISTEN MORE ATTENTIVELY. I TRY TO GET INTO IT, I TRY TO SEE THE EVENTS AS THEY UNFOLD. BECAUSE IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T HURT ANY OF US ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS WAS A REAL HUMAN BEING, THAT HE WAS BETRAYED BY A FRIEND, THAT HE WAS DESERTED BY OTHER FRIENDS, THAT HE WAS BEATEN, SCOURGED, HUMILIATED, AND PUT TO DEATH. THIS REALLY HAPPENED; IT ISN'T A LEGEND.
BUT I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY FOR A MINUTE. AFTER THE SUPPER, JESUS, PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN GO TO THE GARDEN OF GESTHEMENE. THERE JESUS POURS OUT HIS HEART IN PRAYER TO THE FATHER. THERE IS A FAMOUS PICTURE OF JESUS PRAYING IN THE GARDEN, THAT MOST OF US HAVE SEEN. IN IT HE IS KNEELING, LEANING ON A ROCK, LOOKING UP TO HEAVEN, AND THERE IS A LIGHT SHINING DOWN ON HIM. VERY DIGNIFIED, VERY SERENE. AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN LIKE THAT AT ALL. JESUS SAYS THAT HIS HEART IS NEARLY BROKEN WITH SORROW. I'VE BEEN THERE, AND SO HAVE YOU. YOU LEARN THAT SOMEONE YOU LOVE HAS TERMINAL CANCER. YOU GET THE NEWS THAT YOUR SON IS GETTING DIVORCED AFTER TEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE. YOU LOSE YOUR JOB AND IN THIS ECONOMY, YOU HAVEN'T MUCH CHANCE OF GETTING ANOTHER, AND IF YOU DO, IT WON'T PAY NEARLY AS WELL. YOU ARE CONFRONTED BY THE IRS WITH A HUGE BACK TAXES BILL; AND SO ON, AND SO FORTH.
I THINK OF ELIOT SPITZER, THE GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, THIS PAST WEEK. GRANTED, HE BROUGHT IT ALL ON HIMSELF, AND I NEVER PARTICULARLY THOUGHT MUCH OF HIM, BUT I FELT HIS AGONY WHEN HE HAD TO STAND UP IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY AND HIS WIFE, AND ADMIT HIS GUILT AND RESIGN FROM THE OFFICE THAT HE HAD SPENT MUCH OF HIS LIFE TRYING TO WIN-- NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE HAD TO GIVE UP THE CAREER THAT HE HAD SINGLEMINDEDLY PURSUED. IN A FEW YEARS, HE MIGHT HAVE HAD A REAL SHOT AT THE PRESIDENCY. BUT NOW ITS ALL ASHES.
WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN WITH SORROW, FOR WHATEVER REASON, WE DON'T THINK STRAIGHT. THE ADRENALIN RUSHES AROUND IN OUR BODIES; WE SWEAT, OUR HEARTS RACE, WE'D RATHER BE ANYWHERE BUT WHERE WE ARE. AND YOU CAN BE SURE JESUS FELT THE SAME; HE KNEW WHAT WAS COMING, AND HE KNEW THERE WAS NO GETTING OUT OF IT. LIKE ALL OF US IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION, WE LONG FOR SOMEONE TO HELP US BEAR OUR BURDEN. JESUS DID ALSO, BUT WHEN HE WENT TO HIS THREE BEST FRIENDS, THEY WERE ASLEEP.
SO JESUS SHOWS US HOW WE ARE TO RESPOND WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE NEARLY BROKEN WITH SORROW. CERTAINLY WE CAN PRAY THAT OUR SITUATION BE RELIEVED AS HE DID -- OUR PROBLEM REDUCED, OUR TRAGEDY AVERTED. AND SOMETIMES GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYER THE WAY WE WANT HIM TO. BUT THE REAL KEY IS IN THE WORDS OF JESUS, “MY FATHER, IF THIS CANNOT PASS BY ME WITHOUT MY DRINKING IT, YOUR WILL BE DONE.” BECAUSE WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE NEARLY BROKEN WITH SORROW, HOWEVER WE GOT THERE, OUR FAULT, SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT, NO ONE'S FAULT, IF WE MUST PASS THROUGH THE SORROW, LET US PRAY THAT GOD'S WILL BE DONE, THAT IN SOME WAY OUR TRAGEDY WILL LEAD TO SOMETHING GOOD, THAT THIS SORROW THAT LOOKS SO MALIGNANT AND MEANINGLESS WILL IN SOME WAY UNITE US TO THE CROSS OF CHRIST, AND IN THAT WE CAN FIND JOY.
SO PRAY ON THIS PALM SUNDAY THAT WHEN YOU HAVE TO FACE THAT NEXT TRAGEDY IN LIFE, THAT MOMENT WHEN YOUR HEART ALMOST BREAKS WITH SORROW, YOU WILL REMEMBER THE PRAYER OF JESUS, AND PRAY IT AS HE DID.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
