Second Sunday of Easter, cycle B

JOHN 20:19-31

ONE SUMMER DURING MY COLLEGE YEARS I HAD A JOB WITH THE MONTANA STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT. THIS INVOLVED WORKING IN A LAB TAKING SAMPLES OF PAVEMENT AND BREAKING THEM DOWN TO SEE IF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SELLING THE STUFF TO THE STATE WERE HONEST. IT WAS PRETTY DULL. SO I AND THE OTHER LAB TECH, ANOTHER COLLEGE STUDENT, PASSED THE TIME DEBATING ABOUT THINGS. RELIGION WAS ONE OF THEM. I WAS A HARD-CORE CATHOLIC GOING TO A CATHOLIC COLLEGE AND I HAD ALL THE ANSWERS. HE WAS A NOMINAL EPISCOPALIAN WHO WAS AGNOSTIC, AND HE HAD ALL THE ANSWERS. SO THE SUMMER PASSED, AND AT THE END, NEITHER OF US HAD BEEN SWAYED FROM OUR BASIC POSITION. YEARS WENT BY AND I RAN INTO HIM AGAIN, BOTH OF US WELL INTO OUR CAREERS, ME MARRIED WITH CHILDREN AND HIM ON HIS SECOND MARRIAGE. AND HE WAS A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN, VERY ACTIVE IN HIS CHURCH, AND APPARENTLY HAD MET HIS SECOND WIFE THROUGH THEIR CHURCH. I REMINDED HIM OF THOSE HOURS IN THE LAB WHERE HE HAD PRETTY MUCH BEEN A CONVINCED AGNOSTIC, AND ASKED WHAT HAD CHANGED? AROUND THE TIME OF THE END OF HIS FIRST MARRIAGE HE HAD GONE THROUGH SOME PRETTY SEVERE DEPRESSION, GOTTEN INTO ALCOHOL IN A BIG WAY, LOST HIS JOB AS A LAWYER, AND HIT A DEAD END. AROUND THAT TIME HIS LANDLORD TOOK HIM UNDER HIS WING; ALLOWED HIM TO STAY WITHOUT PAYING THE RENT; SAW THAT HE GOT A FEW GOOD MEALS, AND TOOK HIM TO A FEW EVENTS AT HIS CHURCH. THERE HE HAD A CONVERSION EXPERIENCE, AND THE REST WAS HISTORY.

THOMAS, LIKE THE OTHER APOSTLES, HAD WALKED THE HILLS OF GALILEE AND THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM WITH JESUS. HE HAD HEARD JESUS PREACH, HE HAD HEARD HIM PREDICT HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. LIKE THE OTHERS, HE HAD WITNESSED MIRACLES; LIKE THE OTHERS, HE HAD WATCHED FROM AFAR WHILE JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED. AND WHEN THE OTHERS TOLD HIM THEY HAD SEEN THE LORD, HE REFUSED TO BELIEVE. WORDS, EVEN FROM THOSE YOU LOVE AND TRUST, ARE NEVER ENOUGH TO REALLY CHANGE YOUR HEART. THE MOST WORDS CAN DO IS RAISE POSSIBILITIES, OPEN DOORS, CAST A LITTLE LIGHT ON THINGS. WE HAD SPENT A SUMMER TOSSING WORDS BACK AND FORTH, AND OTHER THAN SHARPENING OUR DEBATING SKILLS, MADE NO IMPACT ON EACH OTHER.

BUT THOMAS ENCOUNTERED THE RISEN LORD, AND SUDDENLY FAITH RUSHED IN TO FILL THE EMPTY VOID. SUDDENLY HE DID CHANGE, AND SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN LANDS FAR FROM HOME. IT WASN'T LOGIC, IT WASN'T THEOLOGY, IT WASN'T RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT CHANGED HIS HEART. IT WASN'T EVEN THE WORDS OF HIS DEAREST FRIENDS. IT WAS THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS.

YOU MAY THINK THAT IF THE RISEN LORD APPEARED TO ANYONE, THEY WOULD RECOGNIZE HIM AND BE CONVERTED. BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE CASE. SOMETHING ELSE WAS NEEDED; IN ALL THE APPEARANCES AFTER THE RESURRECTION, THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF SURPRISE, AN ELEMENT OF MYSTERY. FOR MARY MAGDALINE, HE MUST CALL HER NAME; FOR THE APOSTLES IN THE UPPER ROOM, THEY MUST BE GIVE HIS PEACE, FOR THEY BELIEVED THEY SAW A GHOST. FOR THE DISCIPLES ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS, IT WAS THE BREAKING OF THE BREAD THAT GAVE HIM AWAY; AND FOR THE APOSTLES FISHING IN GALILEE, IT WAS THE MIRACLE OF CATCHING ALL THOSE FISH AFTER A NIGHT OF NOT CATCHING ANYTHING.

CONVERSION SEEMS TO REQUIRE NOT ONLY THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE RISEN LORD, BUT SOMETHING ELSE, SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY COME FROM GOD.

MY FRIEND WAS OFFERED LOVE BY HIS LANDLORD AND BY THE CONGREGATION OF A LITTLE CHURCH IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHERE HE LIVED AT THAT TIME. IN THAT, HE ENCOUNTERED THE RISEN LORD, THE LORD WHO OFFERS PEACE, WHO SHOWS THE WAY, WHO SPEAKS THE TRUTH, WHO CAUSES OUR HEARTS TO BURN WITHIN US. THE REST WAS UP TO GOD, WHO GIVES THE GIFT OF FAITH.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE STORY OF THOMAS? I DON'T THINK WE CAN FEEL SUPERIOR BECAUSE WE BELIEVE AND HE DIDN'T. ONCE THOMAS BELIEVED, HE WAS ON FIRE; HE COULDN'T WAIT TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN. WE BELIEVE BUT WE DON'T SEEM TO BE ON FIRE.

I DO THINK WE CAN LEARN FROM THE STORY THAT WHAT WE CAN DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WHEN PEOPLE ENCOUNTER US, THEY MEET JESUS. BECAUSE, AFTER ALL, GOD IS LOVE, AND WHEN WE LOVE, WHEN LOVE JESUS IN THE PEOPLE WE MEET, WE CAN BE THE WAY THEY ENCOUNTER JESUS. THAT'S WHAT SEEMS TO HAVE HAPPENED WITH MY FRIEND. AT A TIME WHEN HE DESPERATELY NEEDED LOVE, HE FOUND IT BECAUSE OF THE LANDLORD AND A SMALL GROUP OF CHRISTIANS WHO TOOK JESUS AT HIS WORD.

I GUESS WE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE MET THE RISEN LORD AND WERE NOT CHANGED. SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT THERE WERE ABOUT 500 EYEWITNESSES TO THE RESURRECTION, AND WHEN HE WROTE THIS, HE ADDED THAT MANY WERE STILL ALIVE. BUT DID THEY ALL HAVE A CONVERSION LIKE THOMAS? PROBABLY NOT; WE KNOW THAT VERY EARLY IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO BECAME CHRISTIAN, BUT UNDER PRESSURE FROM THE GOVERNMENT OR THEIR FAMILIES, THEY LEFT THE CHURCH. ALL THOSE WONDERFUL MARTYRS WHO DID NOT GIVE IN TO THE PRESSURE SIMPLY TELL US THAT THOSE KINDS OF PRESSURES MUST HAVE WORKED OFTEN ENOUGH FOR THE ROMAN RULERS TO KEEP USING THEM.

MY FRIEND ENCOUNTERED THE RISEN LORD AMONG SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS 20 CENTURIES LATER. AND GOD ADDED WHAT HE NEEDED TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN, A CHRISTIAN WHO WHEN I LAST SAW HIM, HAD BEEN ONE FOR ELEVEN YEARS, AND LIVED HIS LIFE BY HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOSPEL – AN UNDERSTANDING NOT THAT DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN, I MIGHT ADD.

THE ONLY WAY PEOPLE WILL ENCOUNTER THE RISEN LORD IS THROUGH YOU AND I. WE ARE, AFTER ALL, THE BODY OF CHRIST, WE ARE HIS MEMBERS, WE ARE HIS HANDS AND FEET AND VOICE; AND WE CAN CHOOSE TO LIVE SO THAT EVERYONE WHO MEETS US WILL BE TOUCHED BY HIS LOVE, WHICH EACH OF US CAN GIVE. AND HOW WONDERFUL TO BE INSTRUMENTS OF GOD, TO BE SHARERS IN HIS WORK! MAY HE USE US TO SHOW HIMSELF TO THOSE WHO WE LOVE, OUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, OUR CHILDREN, OUR CO-WORKERS – AND WE CAN HOPE THAT IF WE DO OUR PART, GOD WILL DO HIS, AND BRING THESE ONES WE LOVE INTO HIS KINGDOM.

SO LET US BE CONSCIOUS OF THIS WONDERFUL BURDEN GOD GIVES US – TO SHOW THE WORLD THROUGH HOW WE LIVE AND LOVE THE RISEN LORD.

Easter 2012

JOHN 20:1-9

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE. EASTER IS THE GREATEST CELEBRATION FOR CHRISTIANS.

I THINK IF YOU GREW UP IN THIS COUNTRY, AS I DID, YOU WENT THROUGH A TIME WHEN YOU BELIEVED CHRISTMAS WAS THE GREATEST CELEBRATION. IN MY FAMILY BACK IN MONTANA, EASTER ALWAYS SEEMED A PALE IMITATION OF CHRISTMAS. THERE WERE THE PURPLE AND WHITE COLORS; THERE WERE THE FLOWERS; THERE WAS THE EASTER SUPPER WITH FAMILY GATHERED AROUND; BUT THERE WEREN'T MANY PRESENTS, AND THEY TENDED TO BE NEW CLOTHES, EGGS, AND CANDY. THE EASTER BUNNY COULDN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO SANTA CLAUS.

BUT AS WE GET OLDER, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE GET REALLY OLD, LIKE ME, EASTER BEGINS TO SHOW IT'S TRUE COLORS. IT IS, AFTER ALL, THE REASON CHRISTMAS MEANS ANYTHING; IT IS, AFTER ALL, WHY PENTECOST IS CELEBRATED. WITHOUT EASTER, NONE OF THE OTHER FEASTS WE CELEBRATE AS CHRISTIANS, NOT EVEN OUR SUNDAY SERVICES, WOULD MEAN A THING.

AND EVERY EASTER WE REMEMBER SOMETHING WE CAN HARDLY BELIEVE, THAT SOMEONE WHO WAS DEAD, REALLY DEAD, ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

WE HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING OUR MINDS AROUND THIS. MANY CHRISTIANS SIMPLY DENY A PHYSICAL RESURRECTION. THEY SAY THINGS LIKE “THE APOSTLES BECAME AWARE OF HIS PRESENCE AND IT CHANGED THEM.” OTHER CHRISTIANS SAY THAT JESUS RETURNED IN A GHOSTLY FORM. HE COULD WALK THROUGH WALLS, AND APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR, AND CERTAINLY THOSE CAN'T BE DONE BY A REGULAR BODY, RIGHT? BUT I THINK THAT MOST CHRISTIANS WOULD ADMIT TO BELIEF IN A REAL RESURRECTION. BUT I THINK IT IS MUCH HARDER TO BELIEVE IN A REAL DEATH. AFTER ALL, JESUS IS GOD; CAN GOD DIE? WHEN THE BODY OF JESUS BREATHED IT'S LAST, DIDN'T THE SOUL OF JESUS, THE DIVINE PART, PROCEED TO THE AFTERLIFE, WHERE THE SOULS OF THE JUST WERE, SO THAT HE COULD SET THEM FREE? AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHAT WE SAY IN THE APOSTLE'S CREED. IT'S AS THOUGH FOR JESUS DYING ON THE CROSS, HORRIBLE AS IT WAS, WAS JUST AN INCONVENIENCE.

THE EARLY CHRISTIANS DIDN'T THINK LIKE WE DO, IN TERMS OF BODIES AND SOULS. THERE WAS A LOT OF SPECULATION AMONG THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU DIED. EVEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, IT ISN'T CLEAR. THE PATRIARCHS BELIEVED THAT WHEN YOU WERE DEAD, YOU WERE DEAD, AND YOU LIVED ON IN YOUR CHILDREN. AT THE TIME OF KING SAUL, THERE WAS BELIEF THAT SOME PART OF YOU LIVED ON; AFTER ALL, SAUL SUMMONED THE SPIRIT OF SAMUEL TO TELL HIS FUTURE. LATER ON THE PROPHETS, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE LIKE EZECHIEL AND DANIEL, BEGAN TO TALK ABOUT RESURRECTION; PEOPLE BEING BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD TO A BODILY EXISTENCE. JESUS HIMSELF DOESN'T MAKE THINGS CLEAR; HE DOES ALLUDE TO PARADISE WHEN HE TELLS THE THIEF ON THE CROSS “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE”. HE REFERS TO GOING AWAY TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR HIS FOLLOWERS. HE TALKS ABOUT HIS SECOND COMING, COMING FROM HEAVEN WITH ANGELS AND TRUMPET BLASTS; AND HE IMPLIES THAT HE BELIEVES IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD WHEN HE SPEAKS WITH MARTHA ABOUT THE DEATH OF LAZARUS.

BUT WHATEVER WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE, THERE ARE TWO THINGS WE DO BELIEVE. JESUS REALLY DIED, AND HE REALLY ROSE FROM THE DEAD. HIS DEATH HAD TO BE LIKE OUR OWN; NOT A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO A GLORIOUS AFTERLIFE, BUT THE LITERAL LOSS OF SELF THAT WE ALL WILL EXPERIENCE WHEN WE DIE. AND OF COURSE THERE IS NO WAY YOU AND I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW GOD CAN DIE, BUT IF HE DIDN'T DIE LIKE WE DIE, THEN HE WASN'T LIKE US IN ALL THINGS BUT SIN. AND THAT IS WHY HE CRIED OUT ON THE CROSS, “MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” THOSE OF US WHO ARE BELIEVERS CAN RELATE TO THAT. NO MATTER WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT DEATH AND THE LIFE TO COME, WE WILL FEEL GOD'S SEEMING ABANDONMENT WHEN WE LOSE OUR VERY SELVES, WHEN DEATH COMES.

BUT JESUS ROSE AGAIN. AND THEOLOGIANS HAVE SPECULATED AS TO WHETHER HE ROSE UNDER HIS OWN POWER OR WAS “RAISED UP” BY THE FATHER, BUT THIS DOESN'T MATTER MUCH. THE REAL POINT IS THAT YOU CANNOT READ THE NEW TESTAMENT WITHOUT SEEING WHAT A STRIKING, EARTH-SHAKING, STUPENDOUS EVENT THIS WAS TO THE PEOPLE WHO WITNESSED IT. IT WAS NO MORE EASY TO BELIEVE THEN THAN IT IS NOW. MARY MAGDALINE, WHO KNEW HIM VERY WELL, COULD NOT RECOGNIZE HIM UNTIL HE CALLED HER NAME. THOMAS REFUSED TO BELIEVE UNTIL JESUS HELD OUT HIS HANDS AND ASKED HIM TO PROBE THE NAIL HOLES. THE APOSTLES IN THE UPPER ROOM WERE NEARLY FRIGHTENED OUT OF THEIR MINDS WHEN HE APPEARED AMONG THEM. THE DISCIPLES ON THE WAY TO EMMAEUS THOUGHT HE WAS JUST ANOTHER TRAVELER UNTIL HE BROKE THE BREAD – BECAUSE YOUR MIND WILL DENY THE EVIDENCE OF YOUR SENSES IF THE EVIDENCE MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL. ALL THESE APPEARANCES OF JESUS HAVE IN COMMON THAT HE WAS A SURPRISE, HE WAS UNEXPECTED, HE WAS MIND-BOGGLING, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD PREDICTED THAT HE WOULD RISE FROM THE DEAD.

SO WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH US, ANYWAY? FIRST, IT PROVES THAT WHAT JESUS SAID BEFORE HE DIED WAS TRUE. HE REALLY CAN GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR HIS FOLLOWERS; HE REALLY WON'T LEAVE US ORPHANS; HE REALLY WILL CALL US FORTH, LIKE HE DID LAZARUS.

SECOND, HE OVERCAME DEATH BECAUSE OF LOVE. SCRIPTURE TELLS US THAT LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH, AND JESUS TALKED ABOUT THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL, THE LOVE IN WHICH ONE LAYS DOWN ONE'S LIFE FOR A FRIEND. AND SAINT PAUL OBSERVES “VERY RARELY WILL ANYONE DIE FOR A RIGHTEOUS MAN, THOUGH FOR A GOOD MAN SOMEONE MIGHT POSSIBLY DARE TO DIE.” AND HE GOES ON TO MARVEL THAT JESUS DIED FOR US WHEN WE WERE NOT AT ALL GOOD, WHEN WE WERE STILL IN SIN.

JESUS LOVES US WITH A LOVE STRONG ENOUGH TO OVERCOME OUR DEATH. HE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS THAT HE WOULD BE IN THEM, AND THEY WOULD BE IN HIM. AND HE TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY OBEYED HIS COMMANDMENTS, THEY WOULD LIVE IN HIS LOVE, JUST AS HE LIVED IN HIS FATHER'S LOVE. JESUS' LOVE IS SO STRONG IT CAN GIVE US LIFE.

SO EASTER IS THE CELEBRATION OF NOT ONLY THE FACT THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, BUT THAT YOU AND I WILL AS WELL. BECAUSE LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH, AND JESUS LOVES YOU AND I SO MUCH THAT HE WAS WILLING TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US. AND THAT IS THE REASON WE CAN SAY TO EACH OTHER “HAPPY EASTER!”

Good Friday, 2012

JOHN 18:1 – 19:42

BY DEFINITION CHRISTIANS BELIEVE CERTAIN THINGS. THEY BELIEVE THAT CHRIST WAS GOD AND MAN, AND THEY BELIEVE THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE ONLY SAVED BECAUSE OF HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS. AND IN OUR PRAYERS, WE SAY THINGS LIKE “DYING, HE DESTROYED OUR DEATH”. GREAT THEOLOGIANS HAVE COME UP WITH MANY DIFFERENT THEORIES ABOUT HOW THIS WORKS. THE TWO BIG ONES ARE FIRST, THAT JESUS RANSOMS US FROM SATAN, WHO OWNS US AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE. SATAN ACCEPTS THIS TRADE, BUT IS FOOLED BECAUSE HE CAN HAVE NO HOLD ON JESUS, WHO IS SINLESS. THE SECOND IS THAT JESUS DIES IN OUR PLACE, BECAUSE THAT SATISFIES GOD THE FATHER FOR THE SINS WE HAVE COMMITTED. I'M NOT SURE I LIKE EITHER THEORY. THE FIRST IMPLIES THAT SATAN IS THE RIVAL OF GOD, WHEN EVEN IN HELL HE IS STILL GOD'S CREATURE, AND CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT GOD'S PERMISSION; THE SECOND SUGGESTS THAT THE FATHER IS LIKE ONE OF THOSE VOLCANO GODS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC, DEMANDING A HUMAN SACRIFICE IN ORDER TO KEEP HIS TEMPER UNDER CONTROL. BUT IT IS A GOOD QUESTION. HOW IS IT THAT THE DEATH OF CHRIST, THIS HORRIBLE DEATH WHICH WE'VE JUST HEARD ABOUT, SOMEHOW MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO ENTER ETERNAL LIFE?

I GREW UP IN MONTANA, AND OUR CATHEDRAL WAS NAMED AFTER SAINT HELENA. IT HAD IN A RELIQUARY A FRAGMENT OF THE TRUE CROSS. AS YOU MAY KNOW, SAINT HELENA, THE MOTHER OF CONSTANTINE, SPENT A LOT OF MONEY AND TIME IN AN ATTEMPT TO FIND THE TRUE CROSS. SHE EVENTUALLY RETURNED HOME WITH A LARGE PIECE OF WOOD WHICH SHE HAD FOUND, AND THE AUTHORITIES AGREED THAT IT WAS THE TRUE CROSS, AND SMALL FRAGMENTS WERE DETACHED AND SENT ALL OVER THE WORLD. SOMEONE ONCE REMARKED THAT IF ALL THE FRAGMENTS COULD BE GATHERED TOGETHER AND REASSEMBLED, THE CROSS WOULD BE TALLER THAN THE TALLEST REDWOOD. BUT THE IMPULSE TO HAVE AT HAND A RELIC OF THE CROSS IS A GOOD ONE; IN SOME WAY IT PUTS US IN TOUCH WITH JESUS.

AND THAT'S WHY WE VENERATE THIS CROSS TODAY – IT IS A SYMBOL OF THE CROSS ON WHICH JESUS DIED.

BUT THERE MAY BE BETTER SYMBOLS. IF YOU GO DOWN ALONG THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, YOU MIGHT FIND A LEAN-TO MADE OF DISCARDED BOARDS IN WHICH A BROTHER LIVES. THAT'S THE CROSS. IF THROUGH YOUR SELFISHNESS OR ANGER OR NEGLECT YOU'VE CAUSED SOMEONE YOU LOVE TO SUFFER, WELL, THERE'S THE CROSS. IF YOU'VE BEEN TOO BUSY TO VISIT SOMEONE WHO IS SICK OR SHUT IN OR LONELY, SOMEONE YOU USED TO KNOW AND LOVE, THERE'S THE CROSS AGAIN.

MAYBE OUR CHURCH IS THE CROSS. YOU AND I HAVE NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE BEEN MADE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF CHRIST THROUGH BAPTISM, NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE RECEIVED JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE DROPPED OUT AND NO LONGER GATHER TOGETHER WITH US AROUND THIS ALTAR. WHEN WE DON'T CARE, WHEN WE DON'T ASK WHY, WHEN WE DON'T INVITE THEM BACK, THERE'S THE CROSS.

MAYBE WE'VE VOTED FOR SOMEONE WHO PROMISES ALL THE RIGHT THINGS EXCEPT TO BE IN FAVOR OF ABORTION; AND WE SAY, THE GOOD OUTWEIGHS THE BAD. MAYBE AMONG THOSE CHILDREN WHO WILL NEVER LIVE, NEVER KNOW LOVE, MAYBE IF WE LOOK HARD, WE WILL SEE THAT THERE IS THE CROSS.

JESUS SPENT MANY YEARS OF HIS LIFE AS A CHILD, A YOUNG MAN, A CARPENTER; THAT DID NOT SAVE US. JESUS SPENT HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY TEACHING AND HEALING AND GATHERING TOGETHER A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO LATER BECAME THE CHURCH; THAT DID NOT SAVE US. BUT WHEN JESUS WAS CONDEMNED AND NAILED TO THE CROSS, WHEN HE WAS HELPLESS AND WRITHING IN PAIN, WHEN HE KNEW WITH CERTAINTY THAT HE WOULD DIE, REALLY DIE, AND WHEN HE DID DIE, BE DEAD AS DEAD CAN BE, NOT SORT OF HOVERING OVER A DEAD BODY LIKE A GHOST, NOT RETIRING INTO THE TRINITY TO AWAIT THE RESURRECTION – THAT WAS WHEN JESUS SAVED US.

IT SAYS IN OUR CREED THAT HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. WE ARE TOLD THAT THE WORD REALLY MEANT THE AFTERLIFE, WHERE THE SOULS OF THE JUST AWAITED HIM. BUT I THINK HE REALLY DID DESCEND INTO AN ALL TOO FAMILIAR HELL, THE HELL OF TORMENT, OF NEGLECT, OF NOT HAVING ENOUGH TO EAT, OF BEING TORTURED, OF BEING IMPRISONED, OF BEING A REFUGEE, A RAPE VICTIM, A TEENAGER WHO IS BULLIED INTO COMMITTING SUICIDE, A WIFE OR HUSBAND IN A LOVELESS MARRIAGE, THE HELL OF A PARENT WHO LOSES A CHILD.

JESUS TOLD PHILIP “IF YOU SEE ME, YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER”. AND HE ALSO TELLS US THAT WHAT WE DO FOR THE LEAST OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WE DO FOR HIM.

SO HOW DOES JESUS SAVE? IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. FROM THE CROSS HE INVITES US TO JOIN HIM. HE CALLS US TO COME TO HIM. HE SAYS, “WHERE I AM, THERE MY SERVANT SHALL BE.” HE TELLS US THAT THE MEASURE WITH WHICH WE MEASURE, THAT WILL BE THE MEASURE THAT WILL BE USED FOR US. HE LOOKS DOWN FROM THE CROSS AT OUR LACK OF CONCERN, OUR BLINDNESS TOWARDS THE POOR, THE SUFFERING, THE UNBORN, THE LONELY, THE AGED, AND HE SAYS “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY DO.”

JESUS BECOMES MAN, BUT NOT JUST ANY MAN. JESUS BECOMES MAN WHO IS REJECTED, WHO IS IN PAIN, WHO IS CUT OFF, WHO IS HUNGRY AND THIRSTY AND WITHOUT SHELTER, WHO IS PUT TO DEATH BEFORE BEING BORN. THAT MAN ON THE CROSS IS ALL THAT. WE ARE SO USED TO OUR BEAUTIFUL CRUCIFIXES THAT WE FORGET THE REALITY, THE REPULSIVENESS OF HIS DEATH, NAKED, BLEEDING, WRITHING, CRYING OUT IN PAIN; THE SWEAT OF DEATH POURING DOWN OVER HIS FACE.

AND HE SAYS, “COME TO ME, EASE MY PAIN, MY SUFFERING, RELIEVE MY LONELINESS, HOLD ME AS I AM DYING – JOIN ME ON MY CROSS – AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU WILL RISE WITH ME.” AND THAT IS HOW HE SAVES US.

Palm Sunday, 2012

PALM SUNDAY, 2012

MARK 14:1 – 15:47

I'M SURE MOST OF YOU ARE AWARE OF THE TRADITION THAT JESUS SPOKE SEVEN “SAYINGS” FROM THE CROSS. WE COULD EVEN RECITE SOME OF THEM: “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.” “FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT.” “WOMAN, BEHOLD YOUR SON. SON, BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER.” "TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE."

BUT THE GOSPEL OF MARK, THE OLDEST GOSPEL, REMEMBERS ONLY ONE SAYING: “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN EXPLAINING AWAY THIS CRY FROM THE HEART OF JESUS. BUT IT IS NOT TO BE EXPLAINED. IT IS A MYSTERY.

THE PASSION ACCORDING TO MARK HAS TO DO WITH ABANDONMENT.

HE IS ABANDONED BY HIS FRIEND, JUDAS. WE DON'T KNOW WHY. JUDAS TURNED HIM OVER FOR THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, BUT SURELY THAT COUDN'T HAVE BEEN THE ONLY REASON. YOU DON'T FOLLOW JESUS FOR THREE YEARS ONLY TO GET HIM TO TRUST YOU SO THAT YOU CAN SELL HIM. WE CAN ONLY WONDER, WHAT MOVED JUDAS TO DO THIS? IF YOU LIVE LONG ENOUGH, YOU WILL EXPERIENCE BEING ABANDONED BY A FRIEND. ONE DAY THE WHOLE RELATIONSHIP CHANGES – OR PERHAPS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME YOU JUST DRIFT APART. AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT LOSING A FRIEND FOR ANY REASON IS PAINFUL.

HE IS ABANDONED BY HIS RELIGION; THE AUTHORITIES OF THE JEWISH RELIGION ACCUSE HIM OF BLASPHEMY AND DECIDE HE DESERVES DEATH. MANY OF US HAVE GONE THROUGH FEELING ABANDONED BY OUR RELIGION. SOMETIMES THE CHANGES IN THE CHURCH ARE JUST TOO MUCH TO TAKE. SOMETIMES WE FEEL BETRAYED BY OUR PRIESTS AND BISHOPS. SOME HAVE FELT ABANDONED WHEN THE CHURCH THEY HAVE BEEN ATTENDING FOR MOST OF THEIR LIVES IS CLOSED AND TORN DOWN. SOMETIMES WE FEEL TORN BETWEEN A CHURCH THAT SAYS ONE THING AND A WORLD THAT SAYS ANOTHER, AND WE WONDER WHO TO FOLLOW.

THEIR IS THE ABANDONMENT BY PILATE, THE EMBODIMENT OF THE LAW OF ROME. PILATE RECOGNIZES JESUS' INNOCENCE, AND MAKES AN EFFORT TO TAKE HIS SIDE AGAINST THE CROWD. BUT IN THE END HE WITHDRAWS HIS PROTECTION AND THE PROTECTION PEOPLE WERE ACCORDED BY ROMAN LAW. IN OUR COUNTRY WE PRIDE OURSELVES THAT WE ARE A SOCIETY OF LAWS. BUT HARDLY A DAY GOES BY WHEN WE DON'T READ ABOUT SOMEONE WHO HAS BROKEN THE LAW AND IS NOT PUNISHED, OR SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN MISTAKENLY PUNISHED, AND AFTER YEARS IN PRISON IS FINALLY RELEASED. AND WE KNOW THAT THE LAW HAS DISCRIMINATED AND WILL DISCRIMINATE AGAIN, BASED ON THINGS LIKE THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN, OR WHETHER YOU HAVE AN ACCENT, OR WHETHER YOU CAN AFFORD A LAWYER.

HE IS ABANDONED BY PETER. WE DON'T KNOW WHY JUDAS ABANDONED HIM; BUT WE DO KNOW WHY PETER DID. PETER WAS AFRAID. AND WE ARE OFTEN AFRAID – AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT WHAT'S RIGHT, AFRAID TO PUT OURSELVES ON THE LINE TO PROTEST THE EVILS IN OUR SOCIETY; LIKE PETER, WE DON'T WANT TO BE NOTICED; LIKE PETER WE DON'T WANT ANYONE TO THINK WE TAKE JESUS AND HIS CHURCH SERIOUSLY.

HE IS ABANDONED BY ALL HIS DISCIPLES, INCLUDING THE THRONGS THAT WELCOMED HIM INTO THE CITY OF JERUSALEM. IN MARK'S ACCOUNT, NONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS ARE WITH HIM. WE KNOW THAT JESUS IS THERE WITH THE POOR, THE ABANDONED, THE LONELY, THE SICK, THE IMPRISONED. BUT WE AREN'T THERE. WE ARE IN OUR COMFORTABLE HOMES, DRIVING OUR LATE-MODEL CARS, GETTING THREE SQUARE MEALS A DAY, WORRYING ABOUT BEING OVERWEIGHT – AND SOMEWHERE THERE IS ANOTHER PERSON, LOVED BY GOD JUST AS MUCH AS WE ARE, WHO HAS A CLAIM ON OUR STUFF – BECAUSE THOSE WHO HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH ABANDON THE CHRIST IN THOSE WHO HAVE LESS THAN THEY NEED.

AND FINALLY, THERE ON THE CROSS, HE IS ABANDONED BY HIS FATHER. IT IS A REAL ABANDONMENT, ONE WHICH THE SAINTS SPEAK OF, A DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. IT IS A MOMENT WHEN THE ABIDING PRESENCE OF GOD – WHICH SOME FEEL VERY STRONGLY, BUT OTHERS ONLY WHEN IT IS MISSED – THAT COMFORTING AND UPLIFTING PRESENCE IS SUDDENLY GONE, AND THE SOUL GAZES INTO THE BLACKEST OF PITS. IT IS A MOMENT YOU MAY HAVE FELT WHEN YOU'VE LOST A LOVED ONE, OR FOUND YOURSELF SUDDENLY OUT OF WORK, OR CONFRONTED THAT MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS THAT MEANS YOU WILL NEVER BE WHAT YOU ONCE WERE. THE MYSTICS TELL US THAT GOD DOES THIS TO STRENGTHEN OUR DESIRE FOR HIM, TO ENLARGE OUR SOUL. BUT THOSE WHO GO THROUGH THIS CANNOT EVEN PUT THEIR HOPES IN THAT POSSIBILITY, BECAUSE PART OF THE DARK NIGHT IS DOUBT.

WE CAN'T GET THROUGH OUR LIVES WITHOUT BEING ABANDONED. IF NOTHING ELSE, SOONER OR LATER WE WILL REACH THE POINT WHERE THE WORK THAT DEFINED US CAN NO LONGER BE DONE, AND WE BECOME IRRELEVANT; THE CHILDREN THAT NEEDED US DON'T NEED US ANYMORE; THE BODY WE COULD DEPEND ON BECOMES FRAIL, AND THE MIND BEGINS TO LOSE MEMORIES.

AND FOR ALL OF US, THE MOMENT WILL COME WHEN WE TOO WILL CRY OUT, “MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” FOR EACH PERSON HAS TO FACE THAT MOMENT, HAS TO LIVE THROUGH IT. BUT THE KNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS WAS THERE WHERE WE ARE, THAT JESUS CONTINUES TO BE THERE IN THOSE MOMENTS, KEEPS US FROM SINKING INTO UTTER DESPAIR. BECAUSE JUST AS THE RESURRECTION FOLLOWED FOR HIM, OURS WILL AS WELL, BECAUSE OF HIM.

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Cycle B

JOHN 12:20 -33

IT'S INTERESTING TO READ THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS. THERE ARE THOSE LIKE AUGUSTINE, WHO WAS LIVING QUITE WELL, ALMOST LIKE A PAGAN – AND THEN HE MADE A COMPLETE ABOUT FACE AND BECAME A CHRISTIAN. THERE ARE THOSE LIKE PAUL, WHO WENT FROM PERSECUTING THE CHURCH TO BEING IT'S FORMOST APOSTLE. AND THEN THERE ARE SAINTS LIKE THOMAS AQUINAS AND PADRE PIO, SEEMINGLY SAINTS FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD. THERE NEVER WAS A TIME WHEN THEIR HOLINESS WAS IN DOUBT.

BUT THE MOST INTERESTING SAINTS, I THINK, ARE THE ONES WHO WERE GOING ALONG LIVING GOOD LIVES, EVEN BLAMELESS LIVES. AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED. MOTHER THERESA WAS LIKE THAT. SHE WAS RELATIVELY HAPPY BEING A NUN, BUT FELT IMPELLED TO SOMETHING MORE, AND LEFT HER ORDER TO TAKE CARE OF THE POOREST OF THE POOR. SAINT THERESA OF AVILLA WAS WELL ESTABLISHED AS A SISTER IN HER CARMELITE CONVENT, AND THEN FELT GOD'S CALL TO REFORM THE CARMELITE MOVEMENT.

SO WE HAVE SAINTS WHO MADE A DRAMATIC CONVERSION; SAINTS WHO SEEM NEVER TO HAVE TO BE CONVERTED, AND THEN THE ONES WHO WERE ALREADY LIVING THE GOSPEL, BUT WERE CALLED TO SOMETHING MORE RADICAL, SOMETHING DEEPER.

I THINK MOST OF US CAN IDENTIFY WITH THIS THIRD GROUP – NOT BECAUSE WE'VE MADE THAT LEAP FROM PRETTY GOOD TO BEING A SAINT, BUT BECAUSE WE KNOW WE ARE MAKING AN EFFORT, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT WE CAN DO BETTER. I THINK REAL CHRISTIANS CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL THE CALL TO GO BEYOND WHERE THEY ARE, TO DO JUST A LITTLE MORE.

JESUS IS TALKING TO US TODAY – THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY HIS FOLLOWERS. EVEN THOUGH THE GOSPEL IS A LITTLE LONG AND TYPICAL OF SAINT JOHN, A LITTLE HARD TO FOLLOW, JESUS TELLS US FOUR THINGS.

FIRST, HE SAYS, “VERY TRULY, I TELL YOU, UNLESS A GRAIN OF WHEAT FALLS INTO THE EARTH AND DIES, IT REMAINS JUST A SINGLE GRAIN; BUT IF IT DIES, IT BEARS MUCH FRUIT". THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE. A GRAIN OF WHEAT DOES NOT REALLY DIE WHEN IT FALLS INTO THE EARTH; WHAT IS IN IT AS POTENTIAL BECOMES ACTUAL. BUT THE WHEAT PLANT CAN ONLY GROW IF THE GRAIN GIVES ITSELF UP. YOU AND I ALL HAVE WITHIN US A GREAT SAINT; WHAT IS KEEPING THAT SAINT FROM DEVELOPING IS SIMPLY THE FACT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO CHANGE, WE DON'T WANT TO INVEST THE TIME AND ENERGY, WE DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP THE PLEASURES AND FAMILIARITIES IN OUR LIVES.

SECOND, HE SAYS, “THOSE WHO LOVE THEIR LIFE WILL LOSE IT, BUT THOSE WHO HATE THEIR LIFE IN THIS WORLD WILL KEEP IT FOR ETERNAL LIFE.” IF I HAVE TO HATE MY LIFE, I'M IN TROUBLE; I LIKE MY LIFE. THE OLDER I GET, THE MORE GRATEFUL I AM FOR ALL THAT GOD HAS GIVEN ME. JESUS THOUGH, MEANS THAT I HAVE TO LEARN TO LOOK BEYOND THIS LIFE, TO FIRMLY BELIEVE WITH MY WORDS AND ACTIONS THAT THIS LIFE IS JUST THE FRONT PORCH OF ETERNAL LIFE. IF I AM CONVINCED OF THIS, IF I TRULY TAKE JESUS AT HIS PROMISES, THEN SOME PART OF ME CAN'T WAIT TILL I GET THERE. AND IF I HAVE THAT PERSPECTIVE, THEN WHAT I TREASURE ABOUT THIS LIFE COMES INTO PERSPECTIVE. YES, ENJOY LIFE, ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS – BUT LET GO IF THEY ARE GETTING IN THE WAY.

THIRD, HE SAYS, “WHOEVER SERVES ME MUST FOLLOW ME. WHERE I AM, THERE WILL MY SERVANT BE ALSO.” IF WE ARE REALLY GOING TO SERVE JESUS WE HAVE TO GO WHERE HE IS. AND WE KNOW WHERE THAT IS. HE IS IN THE EUCHARIST. HE IS IN SCRIPTURES. HE IS IN THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH. HE IS WHEREVER TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN HIS NAME. HE IS WITH THE POOR, AND THE SICK, AND ORPHANS AND WIDOWS. IT ISN'T HARD TO FIND OUT WHERE HE IS; HE TOLD US. IT IS HARD TO GO WHERE HE IS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT ISN'T CONVENIENT, OR WHEN WE HAVE TOO MUCH ON OUR PLATES. BUT YOU AND I HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES – ARE WE WHERE HE IS? BECAUSE IF WE AREN'T WE CAN'T CALL OURSELVES SERVANTS, CAN WE?

AND FINALLY HE SAYS SOMETHING TRULY MARVELOUS. “WHOEVER SERVES ME, THE FATHER WILL HONOR.” WE ARE HERE IN THIS CHURCH HONORING THE FATHER – THAT'S WHAT WE DO WHEN WE CELEBRATE MASS. THE MAIN WAY WE HONOR HIM IS TO OFFER HIS SON TO HIM – SOMETHING MADE POSSIBLE BY THE SON, WHO GAVE HIMSELF TO US ON THE CROSS, AND WHO GAVE OUR PRIESTS THE GIFT OF TRANSFORMING BREAD AND WINE INTO THE REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS, INTO HIS OWN BODY AND BLOOD. WE OFFER WHAT WE CAN OFFER – COMMON FOOD AND DRINK – AND JESUS BECOMES SACRAMENTALLY PRESENT. AND THIS IS THE GREATEST HONOR WE CAN GIVE THE FATHER, GREATER THAN THAT OF THE ANGELS – BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN WHAT WE OFFER.

AND YOU AND ARE PROMISED THAT WE WILL BE HONORED BY THIS SAME FATHER IF WE CAN COUNT OURSELVES AMONG THOSE WHO SERVE THE SON. SAINT PAUL SAID THAT “EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR HAS EAR HEARD … WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT IT WILL BE SOMETHING WONDERFUL – TO HEAR THOSE WORDS, “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, NOW ENTER YOUR MASTER'S JOY.”

IT IS IN OUR HANDS TO BE GREAT SAINTS. JESUS TELLS US IN THESE FOUR STATEMENTS HOW TO TELL WHO IS HIS SERVANT – AND OF COURSE, HOW TO BE HIS SERVANT IF WE CHOOSE THAT. LET US LEAVE MASS TODAY WITH NEW DETERMINATION IN OUR HEARTS TO GO FROM PRETTY GOOD TO SAINTHOOD.

Fourth Sunday in Lent, Cycle B

JOHN 3:14-21

I'M SURE THOSE OF US WHO WATCH SPORTING EVENTS HAVE SEEN SIGNS HELD UP IN THE CROWD WITH JOHN 3:16 ON THEM. THAT REFERS TO THE BIBLE VERSE WE HEAR TODAY. IT IS A VERSE THAT MOST PEOPLE COULD QUOTE IF GIVEN THE FIRST FEW WORDS, “GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, SO THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.” AND IT'S A WONDERFUL SENTIMENT; IT SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT GOD REALLY, REALLY LOVES THE WORLD. BUT IF YOU READ THE WHOLE GOSPEL TODAY AND THINK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, I THINK THERE MAY BE A MORE PROFOUND MEANING HERE.

FIRST, JESUS REFERS TO AN EVENT THAT TOOK PLACE WHEN THE JEWS WERE WANDERING IN THE DESERT. GOD HAD JUST HELPED THEM CONQUER AN ENEMY, AND NOW THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE FOOD GOD WAS PROVIDING THEM. GOD SENT SERPENTS AMONG THEM, AND MANY DIED. THE ISRAELITES REPENTED OF THEIR SINS AND ASKED MOSES TO INTERCEDE. GOD TOLD MOSES TO MAKE A BRONZE SERPENT AND MOUNT IT ON A POLE, AND PEOPLE WHO WERE BITTEN COULD LOOK UPON IT AND BE HEALED.

I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT GOD USED SUCH A ROUNDABOUT WAY TO HEAL THOSE WHO WERE BITTEN. A PERSON WHO WANTED TO BE HEALED HAD TO DO SOMETHING – HE HAD TO LOOK AT THE DEVICE MOSES MADE. I WONDER IF THERE WERE SOME ISRAELITES WHO CHOSE NOT TO DO THIS – EVEN AT THE RISK OF LOSING THEIR LIVES.

NOW JESUS REFERS TO THIS EVENT, AND GOES ON TO SAY, IN A BETTER TRANSLATION, GOD LOVED THE WORLD IN THIS WAY. JESUS COMES INTO THE WORLD LIKE THE BRONZE SERPENT. YOU CAN BE SAVED IF YOU BELIEVE IN HIM. BUT YOU NEED NOT BELIEVE. GOD SENT HIS SON SO THAT SALVATION WOULD BE AVAILABLE, BUT ALWAYS LEAVES US WITH OUR FREEDOM, AND JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT DESPITE GOD'S INTERVENTION, PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO CONDEMN THEMSELVES, BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE WHO PREFER DARKNESS TO LIGHT.

JESUS' STATEMENT SEEMS TO DIVIDE THE WORLD INTO TWO CAMPS, THOSE WHO PREFER THE DARKNESS AND THOSE WHO PREFER THE LIGHT. BUT IT ISN'T THAT SIMPLE. THE POINT IS THAT ALL OF US, EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES, IS CALLED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT. OR PERHAPS MORE CONCRETELY, WE MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN WHAT WE SHOULD DO AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO. I HAVE MOMENTS LIKE THAT EVERY DAY, AND I'M SURE YOU DO AS WELL. USUALLY IT'S SOMETHING SMALL AND NO-ACCOUNT. I MAY HAVE A TASK TO DO BUT IT'S LATE IN THE EVENING AND I CAN GET TO IT TOMORROW, AND IT'S EASIER TO JUST VEG OUT IN FRONT OF THE TV SET. WHO CAN LAME ME? I WORK HARD, I DESERVE A BREAK. I MAY DECIDE TO HAVE THAT EXTRA HELPING OF PIE AFTER SUPPER, EVEN THOUGH I KNOW I SHOULD BE WATCHING MY WEIGHT. WE MAKE DECISIONS LIKE THIS ALL DAY LONG – BETWEEN WHAT WE SHOULD DO AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO. AND WHEN I CHOOSE WHAT I WANT TO DO OVER WHAT I SHOULD DO, IT IS SELDOM ANY BIG DEAL BY ITSELF. BUT THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES. BY CONTINUING TO PUT OUR WANTS OVER OUR SHOULDS, WE FORM HABITS, AND PRETTY SOON WE ARE PREFERRING THE DARKNESS TO THE LIGHT. AND THIS CAN SNEAK UP ON US, SO THAT WHEN THINGS REALLY WE CHOOSE WRONGLY, AND PERHAPS THINK NOTHING OF IT.

JESUS BRINGS LIGHT. HE IS THE MEASURE BY WHICH WE CAN JUDGE OUR CHOICES. HOW DO OUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS STACK UP AGAINST THE CROSS?

BEING A CHRISTIAN IS NOT EASY, IT TAKES WORK, AND CONSTANT VIGILANCE. WE SOMETIMES THINK IF WE GO TO CHURCH ON SUNDAYS AND LIVE A DECENT LIFE WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY. BUT JESUS IS ALWAYS CALLING US TO CHOOSE; HE TELLS US TO BE PERFECT AS HIS FATHER IS PERFECT; HE REMINDS US THAT JUST CRYING OUT “LORD, LORD,” IS NEVER ENOUGH.

THERE IS A WONDERFUL IMAGE IN THE STORY BY C.S. LEWIS CALLED “THE GREAT DIVORCE”. THE CENTRAL CHARACTER FINDS HIMSELF IN A FEATURELESS TOWN, WHERE EVERYONE HAS A PLACE TO LIVE, BUT IT IS JOYLESS AND CRAMPED. THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE, AND NOTHING TO DO. EVERY NOW AND THEN A BUS COMES TO THAT TOWN AND SOME PEOPLE GET ON IT. THE AUTHOR OF THE STORY CHOOSES TO DO SO. AS HE RIDES ALONG HE HEARS THE STORIES OF THE OTHER PASSENGERS; ALL OF THEM HAVING NOT REALLY MEASURED UP DURING THEIR LIVES, AND HE REALIZES HE IS DEAD. FINALLY THE BUS COMES TO THE END OF THE LINE. AS THE PASSENGERS GET OFF, THERE ARE TWO POSSIBILITIES; ONE IS TO GO DOWN INTO THE GROUND ON A WIDE AND COMFORTABLE ROAD, WHERE THERE IS MUSIC AND SOUNDS OF PARTYING GOING ON. YOU CAN SMELL FIND FOODS AND HEAR THE CLINKING OF GLASSES. MOST OF THE PASSENGERS CHOOSE THAT DIRECTION. THE OTHER ROAD IS NARROW, SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH UP THE MOUNTAIN, SOMETIMES BEING ALMOST NON-EXISTENT. IN THE DISTANCE ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN YOU CAN SEE A CROSS, PARTLY COVERED BY STORM CLOUDS, AND OTHERWISE LOOKING FAIRLY UNINVITING. THE AUTHOR JOINS A FEW OTHERS AS THEY BEGIN THE TRECK UP THE MOUNTAIN.

JESUS, HAVING GIVEN HIS LIFE UP FOR US ON THE CROSS, IS NOT A PARTICULARLY INVITING SIGHT. OUR CRUCIFIXES ARE WHITEWASHED, AND THERE IS SORT OF A BEAUTY TO THEM. BUT IF YOU IMAGINE IN YOUR MIND HOW IT MUST HAVE REALLY BEEN – A NAKED MAN WITH NAILS THROUGH HIS ARMS AND LEGS, WRITHING IN PAIN, NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND A POSITION WHICH WOULD REDUCE THE DISCOMFORT, GETTING MORE AND MORE SHORT OF BREATH, GASPING FOR AIR, CRYING OUT IN PAIN – CHRISTIANS IN THE EARLY YEARS NEVER DEPICTED JESUS ON A CROSS. THE MEMORY WAS TOO CLOSE, AND IN THOSE DAYS THEY SAW ENOUGH OF CRUCIFIXIONS.

BUT A CHRISTIAN MUST CONFRONT THE CROSS. JESUS CALLS US TO CHOOSE – TO CHOOSE DARKNESS, TO CLOSE OURSELVES OFF, TO REJECT THIS ADMITTEDLY HORRIBLE SIGHT; OR TO CHOOSE LIGHT, TO STRUGGLE UP THE MOUNTAIN, TO MEASURE EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES BY THE CROSS. JESUS CAME TO SAVE, NOT TO CONDEMN. BUT HE LEAVES US THE CHOICE WHETHER TO LOOK UPON HIS SUFFERING AND DEATH, OR WHETHER TO TURN AWAY.

GOD LOVED THE WORLD IN THAT MANNER, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON SO THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

Third Sunday in Lent, Cycle B

JOHN 2:13-25

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP I ATTENDED CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FROM GRADE SCHOOL ON. WE WERE TAUGHT MOSTLY BY NUNS, THE SISTERS OF CHARITY OF LEAVENWORTH, AND THEY WORE HABITS, AND LIVED IN A CONVENT. THEY WOULD ADMINISTER A SHARP WRAP TO THE KNUCKLES WITH WOODEN RULER NOW AND THEN, AND ONCE I WITNESSED A WELL-AIMED ERASER STOP THE BAD BEHAVIOR OF ONE OF MY CLASSMATES DEAD IN ITS TRACKS. AND AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, OFTEN MORE FREQUENTLY, WE WOULD BE MARCHED FROM THE SCHOOL TO THE CHURCH, WHERE WE WOULD PERFORM SOME RITE – MAYBE MASS, MAYBE CONFESSION, MAYBE A ROSARY OR A NOVENA. AND EVEN THE MOST UNRULY CATHOLIC CHILD, BY THE TIME HE OR SHE HIT THIRD GRADE, KNEW THAT THE INSIDE OF THE CHURCH WAS A SPECIAL PLACE, WHERE YOU NEVER TALKED ABOVE A WHISPER, WHERE YOU NEVER LOUNGED ON THE PEWS, AND WHERE YOU GENUFLECTED WHEN YOU WALKED PAST THE TABERNACLE. ALL THESE LITTLE CUSTOMS REINFORCED OUR SENSE THAT THIS WAS A SACRED SPACE, A PLACE SET APART FROM THE WORLD.

AND IF YOU ARE OLD LIKE ME, YOU MAY REMEMBER THE CUSTOM OF VISITING THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. MY FATHER MADE IT A POINT TO STOP IN THE CHURCH ON HIS WAY HOME NOW AND THEN. WE KIDS IN GRADE SCHOOL WOULD DO THE SAME BEFORE WE WALKED HOME FROM SCHOOL. THE STILLNESS AND SPECIAL PRESENCE OF GOD WAS GOOD FOR OUR SOULS EVEN THEN.

WHEN WE CATHOLICS THINK ABOUT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO ARE JEWISH, WE MIGHT GET THE IMPRESSION THAT THEIR SYNAGOGUES ARE SOMETHING LIKE OUR CHURCHES. BUT TO THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME, THERE WAS ONLY ONE SACRED SPACE, AND THAT WAS THE TEMPLE. EVEN THOUGH JEWS LIVED THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND HAD SYNAGOGUES WHEREVER THEY LIVED, THEY ALL LOOKED TO THE TEMPLE AS THE ONE PLACE WHERE GOD WAS PRESENT IN A SPECIAL WAY. WE EVEN SEE THAT STILL GOING ON IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES, WHEN THE HIGH PRIEST ZACHARY RECEIVES A REVELATION AND A PUNISHMENT WHEN HE GOES INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES. THE TEMPLE CONSISTED ROUGHLY OF CONCENTRIC AREAS. AT THE VERY CENTER WAS THE HOLY OF HOLIES, WHERE A PRIEST WOULD ENTER ONCE A YEAR. AROUND THAT WAS THE AREA WHERE SACRIFICES WERE OFFERED. THEN THERE WAS THE COURT FOR JEWISH MEN, THEN THE ONE FOR JEWISH WOMEN, AND THEN THERE WAS THE COURT OF THE GENTILES, WHERE NON-JEWS COULD WORSHIP. AND IT WAS IN THIS AREA WHERE YOU WOULD PURCHASE ANIMALS FOR SACRIFICE, AT HIGHLY INFLATED RATES, OF COURSE.

JESUS' ACTION HAS BEEN EXPLAINED IN MANY WAYS – WAS HE UPSET OVER COMMERCE GOING ON IN THE TEMPLE? PROBABLY NOT, SINCE IT WAS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED A SERVICE TO PROVIDE UNBLEMISHED ANIMALS TO OFFER TO GOD. WAS HE UPSET BECAUSE MANY OF THE MERCHANTS WERE OVERCHARGING THEIR CUSTOMERS? MAYBE SOMEWHAT, BUT HIS ACTIONS SEEMED TO INDICATE THAT HE HATED ALL OF IT. BUT WE GET A CLUE THAT THIS IS REALLY A SYMBOLIC ACTION WHEN THOSE AROUND QUESTION HIM AND SAY “WHAT SIGN CAN YOU SHOW US FOR DOING THIS?” IF YOU READ THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS, THEY WOULD DO SOMETHING STRANGE, AND WHEN ENOUGH PEOPLE HAD BEGAN TO WONDER WHAT WAS GOING ON, THEY WOULD EXPLAIN THEIR ACTIONS IN TERMS OF GOD'S RELATIONSHIP TO ISRAEL. JEREMIAH BROKE A POT, EZECHIEL LAY ON ONE SIDE FOR A VERY LONG TIME, HOSIAH MARRIED A PROSTITUTE ALL AT GOD'S COMMAND, AND LATER EXPLAINED WHAT THE ACTION MEANT.

AND JESUS TELLS THOSE AROUND HIM: DESTROY THIS TEMPLE AND IN THREE DAYS I WILL RAISE IT UP. AND LATER, THE APOSTLES WOULD REALIZE THAT HE WAS REFERRING TO HIS RESURRECTION. SO THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE WAS ABOUT JESUS' RESURRECTION. THIS MOST SACRED SPACE, HE SEEMED TO BE SAYING, WOULD BE SUPERSEDED BY SOMETHING ELSE. GOD WOULD NO LONGER DWELL ONLY IN THE INMOST PART OF THE TEMPLE, BUT JESUS HIMSELF WOULD BE THE TEMPLE.

YOU AND I ARE TEMPLES AS WELL, BECAUSE WE ARE PART OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. IF WE ARE IN THE STATE OF GRACE, THEN JESUS DWELLS WITHIN US. SOMETIMES, OF COURSE, WE DON'T FEEL MUCH LIKE TEMPLES; SOMETIMES THE STILLNESS AND PEACE IN OUR HEARTS, THERE BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, IS UNDETECTABLE, BECAUSE OF EXTERNAL DISTRACTIONS – GETTING AND SPENDING, LAYING WASTE THE WORLD, AS A GREAT POET PUT IT. THERE ARE INTERNAL DISTRACTIONS AS WELL, THE WORRIES WE HAVE, THE FEAR OF THE FUTURE AND THE REGRETS OF THE PAST. THERE ARE SOME OF US WHO SPEND SO MUCH TIME IN THE FUTURE OR IN THE PAST THAT WE HAVE NO TIME FOR THE PRESENT, WHICH, OF COURSE, IS THE ONLY PLACE WE WILL ENCOUNTER GOD.

LENT, OF COURSE, IS ABOUT GETTING MORE ACQUAINTED WITH THAT STILLNESS AND PEACE IN OUR HEARTS. BUT WHILE THAT'S A GOOD THING, IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU NEED TO BUILD TIME INTO YOUR DAY AND YOUR WEEK TO RENEW THAT ATTENTION TO YOUR CENTER, THE PART WHERE GOD DWELLS.

IT'S A WONDERFUL THING THAT YOU COME HERE EVERY WEEK TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR SUNDAY LITURGY. SADLY, LESS THAN A QUARTER OF OUR PARISHIONERS DO THAT. THE PURPOSE OF MASS IS TO WORSHIP GOD, TO PRAY TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY, AND TO BRING JESUS INTO OUR MIDST. IT IS NOT THE TIME TO ENTER INTO THE STILLNESS THAT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR OUR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE BUILDING UP OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.

BUT OUR CHURCH IS NOT JUST FOR MASS AND SACRAMENTS. IT IS A PLACE WHERE MOST OF THE TIME ANYONE CAN COME IN AND ENJOY THE PEACE AND SILENCE. JESUS IS HERE AS WELL, AND READY TO LISTEN TO US AND SPEAK TO OUR HEARTS. LENT IS A GOOD TIME TO GET IN THE HABIT OF STEPPING OUT OF THE WORLD INTO THIS SANCTUARY ON A REGULAR BASIS

IF YOU HAVE TIME, WE AT ST. MARY'S HAVE A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY. EVERY TUESDAY, THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IS EXPOSED FROM 9:00 TO 3:30. YOU CAN COME IN FOR A VISIT, TO A PLACE WHERE EVERYTHING IS STILL AND JESUS IS PRESENT ON THE ALTAR, AND YOU CAN RECAPTURE THAT PEACE THAT SHOULD BE INSIDE YOU. AND IF YOU COME AT ABOUT 3:00, THE CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY IS SUNG, FOLLOWED BY BENEDICTION AND A BRIEF REFLECTION. IT;S ALL VERY LOW-KEY, AND A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY.

IN CLEANSING THE TEMPLE, JESUS REMINDS US THAT EVEN OUR SACRED SPACE CAN BECOME CLUTTERED AND DISTORTED, AND EVEN UNRECOGNIZABLE. AND THERE HAS TO BE AN EFFORT ON OUR PARTS TO FOCUS ON WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT, TO ALLOW JESUS TO CLEANSE US WHO BECAUSE OF OUR BAPTISM, BECOME TEMPLES OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE AS HE IS HIMSELF.

JESUS, COME IN TO OUR HEARTS AND DRIVE OUT EVERYTHING THAT DISTRACTS US FROM YOURSELF.