JOHN 15:1-8
I'M SURE MOST OF YOU ADULTS HAVE BEEN TO A GATHERING WHERE WHITE ZINFANDEL WINE WAS SERVED. AND YOU MAY HAVE TASTED IT. A LITTLE LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN GRAPEFRUIT AND APPLE JUICE, ONLY NOT AS MUCH FLAVOR. THERE ARE VINEYARDS IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA WHERE ZINFANDEL GRAPES ARE GROWN, AND THE VINES ARE TRULY PROLIFIC; THE VINE GROWERS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN SUBTLE FLAVORS, JUST VOLUME.
BUT IF YOU GO UP INTO THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS THAT SEPARATE CALIFORNIA FROM NEVADA ,YOU WILL FIND SMALL WINERIES WHICH PRODUCE EXQUISITE ZINFANDEL WINES. THEY ARE DEEP RED, FULL OF COMPLEX FLAVORS, AND A RIVAL TO ANYTHING PRODUCED BY FRANCE. THE GRAPES COME FROM VINES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR 75 TO 150 YEARS. THEY ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE IMAGINE AS A GRAPE VINE. THE VINE PART IS LIKE A SMALL TREE TRUNK; THE BRANCHES COME OFF OF IT AND ARE TRAINED ALONG TRELLISES RATHER THAN FENCES. A SINGLE VINE CAN PRODUCE A LARGE AMOUNT OF GRAPE JUICE. WINE DEPENDS ON SOIL, THE CLIMATE, THE LENGTH OF THE GROWING SEASON, THE AMOUNT OF MOISTURE – BUT IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE VINE. SO IF YOU SEE AN “OLD VINE” ZINFANDEL WINE THE NEXT TIME YOU ARE SHOPPING, TRY IT AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK.
THE KIND OF VINE JESUS WAS THINKING ABOUT WAS LIKE ONE OF THESE “OLD VINES”. A TREE TRUNK REACHING DEEP INTO THE EARTH, SOLID, IMPOSSIBLE TO ROOT OUT. AND EVERY YEAR, EVERY GROWING SEASON, THE BRANCHES WOULD ERUPT FROM THE VINE AND BE TRAINED ALONG AN ARBOR. THE VINE DRESSER WOULD INSPECT THE VINE EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS, AND WHEN THE LITTLE FLOWERS BEGIN TO SPROUT, HE WOULD LOP OFF THE BRANCHES THAT DID NOT HAVE FLOWERS. THEIR LEAVES, SO PLUMB AND GREEN, WOULD ALMOST INSTANTLY WITHER. BUT THE BRANCHES HE CHOSE TO SAVE WOULD BE BOUND TO A FRAMEWORK. THEIR LEAVES AND SHOOTS WOULD BE TRIMMED, SO THAT AS MUCH OF THE ENERGY OF THE VINE AS POSSIBLE WOULD BE FORCED INTO THE DEVELOPING GRAPES. AND ONCE THE HARVEST CAME, ALL THE BRANCHES WOULD BE TRIMMED BACK TO WAIT FOR A NEW GROWING SEASON.
TODAY JESUS TALKS ABOUT HOW IF WE ARE NOT GRAFTED ONTO HIM, ALL OUR EFFORTS WILL COME TO NOTHING; WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BEAR FRUIT, FRUIT WHICH MATTERS. WHEN WE ARE BRANCHES OF AN “OLD VINE”, WHATEVER FRUIT WE BEAR WILL LARGELY BE BECAUSE OF THE VINE; ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS REMAIN ATTACHED.
SO HOW DO WE DO THIS? HOW DO WE REMAIN IN JESUS, AND JESUS IN US, SO THAT WE CAN BEAR MUCH FRUIT? JESUS TWICE REMARKS THAT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS WORDS. HE SAYS THAT HIS DISCIPLES HAVE ALREADY BEEN PRUNED, BECAUSE OF THE WORD HE SPOKE TO THEM; AND HE SAYS “IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND MY WORDS REMAIN IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WANT AND IT WILL BE DONE TO YOU.” JESUS' WORDS TO US IN THE GOSPELS ARE PRETTY CLEAR. THEY COVER THREE GENERAL TOPICS. THE FIRST IS PRAYER. HE TEACHES US TO PRAY WHEN HE TEACHES THE OUR FATHER. HE TELLS US TO PRAY ALWAYS. HE TELLS US THAT WHEN WE PRAY, WE SHOULD GO TO OUR ROOM, CLOSE THE DOOR, AND PRAY TO THE FATHER, WHO IS UNSEEN. YES, JESUS THOUGHT PRAYER WAS VERY IMPORTANT. PRAYER IS DIALOGUE WITH GOD, AND IT LITERALLY CAN GO ON ALL DAY LONG.
JESUS ALSO TALKED A LOT ABOUT FASTING. HE BEGAN HIS MINISTRY BY HIS 40 DAY FAST IN THE DESERT. FASTING IS NOT ONLY ABSTAINING FROM FOOD; IT IS DISCIPLINE. IF YOU DO ANYTHING TO SUBDUE YOUR BODY, TO CONQUER YOUR BAD HABITS, TO BUILD UP YOUR INNER STRENGTH, THAT'S FASTING. THE PURPOSE OF FASTING IS TO FREE YOURSELF FROM ALL THOSE THINGS, OFTEN VERY GOOD, WHICH HOLD YOU BACK FROM THE SUPREME GOOD, WHICH IS GOD. WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK FROM GOD?
FINALLY, JESUS TALKS ABOUT ALMSGIVING. MAYBE NOT IN SO MANY WORDS. BUT HE DOES TELL US THAT WHATEVER WE DO FOR THE LEAST OF OUR BROTHERS, THAT WE DO FOR HIM. HE COMMENDS THE WIDOW WHO DROPS HER SMALL COIN INTO THE TEMPLE TREASURY. HE CONDEMNS THE RICH MAN WHO DOESN'T NOTICE THE POOR BEGGAR LAZARUS ON HIS OWN DOORSTEP. ALMSGIVING MEANS THAT WE TAKE CARE OF THE NEEDS OF EACH OTHER. WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE IN NEED, WE SHOULD FEEL AN OBLIGATION TO MEET THAT NEED, AND DO WHAT WE CAN FOR THAT PURPOSE.
PRAYER – WHAT WE OWE TO GOD; FASTING – WHAT WE MUST DO TO OURSELVES; ALMSGIVING-- OUR OBLIGATION TO OUR NEIGHBOR. THESE ARE THE THREE PILLARS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. THESE ARE THE WORDS THAT JESUS SPEAKS TO US, THE WORDS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO LIVE IN US, THE WORDS THAT CONNECT US TO THE VINE.
WE HAVE CONTROL OVER WHETHER WE PRAY, WHETHER WE FAST, WHETHER WE GIVE ALMS. WE CAN DO A LITTLE OR A LOT. BUT IT IS WITHIN OUR GRASP. AND THE REST IS UP TO JESUS, THE VINE. MAYBE WE WON'T BE ANOTHER MOTHER THERESA, OR FRANCIS OF ASSISI. YES, THEY BORE MUCH FRUIT, THEY SEEMED TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE. BUT WHAT THEY DID WAS WHAT YOU AND I CAN DO; THEY PRAYED, THEY FASTED, AND THEY GAVE ALMS. AND THEY DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT THE FRUIT. THAT WAS ENTIRELY UP TO GOD.
MAYBE WE WON'T BE ANOTHER MOTHER THERESA OR FRANCIS OF ASSISI; BUT MAYBE WE WILL BE ANOTHER MARY OR ANOTHER JOSEPH. THEY PRAYED, THEY FASTED, AND THEY GAVE ALMS. AND THE ONLY FRUIT THEY BORE WAS TO BRING JESUS INTO THE WORLD, TO SHAPE HIM, TO CARE FOR HIM, AND TO BUILD IN HIM HIS HUMAN CHARACTER. AND ALL OF US CAN BRING JESUS INTO THE WORLD, AND THAT IS AFTER ALL, THE ONE DEEP, TRUE DESIRE OF THE FATHER.
THE OLD VINE IS ROOTED DEEP IN THE EARTH. WE ARE BRANCHES, WE COME AND GO, OUR TIME FOR BEARING FRUIT IS BRIEF, AND THE FRUIT WE BEAR WILL DEPEND ON THE FATHER'S INTENTION, HIS WORK IN US. OUR ONLY DUTY IS TO DEEPEN OUR CONNECTION TO THE VINE, TO ALLOW THE LIFE-BLOOD OF THE VINE TO FLOW FREELY THROUGH US. AND IF WE REMAIN IN HIM AND HE REMAINS IN US, WE CAN DO ANYTHING.
SO TODAY EXAMINE YOURSELF. DO YOU PRAY? DO YOU PRAY ALWAYS? IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE STRONGER NOW THAN A YEAR AGO? DO YOU FAST? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU SHOULD DO TO SMOOTH OFF THE ROUGH EDGES? ARE THERE HABITS YOU WORK TO BREAK, OR HABITS YOU WORK TO ACQUIRE? ARE YOU TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR SHAPING YOUR CHARACTER TO BE A BETTER INSTRUMENT OF GOD? AND DO YOU GIVE ALMS? ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO CANNOT ALLOW A FELLOW HUMAN BEING TO BE IN NEED, IF YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?
TODAY IS MOTHER'S DAY. CERTAINLY A GOOD MOTHER SHOWS IN HER OWN LIFE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GRAFTED ONTO CHRIST, AND TO BEAR MUCH FRUIT. SO FROM ALL OF US, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle b
JOHN 10:11-18
WHEN I HEAR JESUS COMPARE HIMSELF TO A GOOD SHEPHERD, MY MIND PULLS UP A PICTURE FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK I HAD WHEN I WAS VERY LITTLE; JESUS IS WALKING TOWARDS ME, A LAMB DRAPED AROUND HIS NECK, FOLLOWED BY THREE OR FOUR VERY PLACID SHEEP. THERE IS A CRYSTAL CLEAR STREAM, A FEW TREES, AND THE GROUND IS COVERED WITH LUSH GRASS. THE PICTURE WAS GREAT FOR A LITTLE KID; THERE WAS A SENSE OF PEACE, OF PROTECTION, OF REST.
BUT LAST WEEK I SAW A PATIENT WHO WAS IN HER LATE FIFTIES. SHE HAD DIABETES, HAD HAD A HEART OPERATION, HAD BLOOD VESSEL PROBLEMS IN HER LEGS AS WELL. THAT WAS ALL INHERITED. A FEW YEARS AGO SHE HAD BLADDER CANCER, AND WITH THE TREATMENT SHE RECEIVED, HAD A 90% CHANCE OF CURE. I HAD SEEN HER BECAUSE SHE WAS IN THE 10% WHO DEVELOP METASTATIC DISEASE. SHE HAD GONE FOR A VERY MINOR SURGICAL PROCEDURE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO GIVE HER CHEMOTHERAPY WITHOUT STICKING NEEDLES IN HER ARMS ALL THE TIME, AND SHE HAD SUFFERED FROM A COLLAPSED LUNG, SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, ONE IN 500 TIMES WHEN THE PROCEDURE IS DONE. SHE WAS AWARE OF GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY COMING UP, AND REMARKED THAT SHE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SHE HAD A VERY GOOD SHEPHERD.
HUMANS AND SHEEP HAVE BEEN TOGETHER LONGER THAN ANY OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMAL – DOGS, COWS, CATS, CHICKENS – SOME ESTIMATE THAT PEOPLE WERE HERDING SHEEP AS LONG AS 15,000 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST. COWS, DOGS, CATS, AND CHICKENS CAN ACTUALLY GET ALONG IN THE WILD; BUT NOT DOMESTIC SHEEP. YES, THERE ARE MOUNTAIN SHEEP, AND A FEW OTHER SPECIES WHICH ARE RELATED, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY DISTANT COUSINS. DOMESTIC SHEEP LITERALLY NEED HUMANS TO LIVE. FOR ONE THING, GIVING BIRTH WITHOUT THE HELP OF A HUMAN BEING IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM; EVEN WITH HELP, IT ISN'T UNCOMMON FOR A MOTHER SHEEP TO DIE DURING LAMBING SEASON.
OLD TIME SHEPHERDS WOULD HAVE A RELATIVELY SMALL FLOCK; A SINGLE SHEPHERD COULD ONLY HANDLE SO MANY SHEEP. AND FOR A SHEPHERD, HIS FLOCK WAS HIS WORK, HIS BANK ACCOUNT, HIS SAVINGS FOR OLD AGE. THOSE SHEEP WERE HIS. THERE WERE RICH MEN WHO HIRED OTHERS TO CARE FOR THEIR SHEEP, BUT THE KIND OF SHEPHERD JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT OWNS THE SHEEP.
AND BEING A SHEEP WAS NOT ALL GREEN MEADOWS AND FRESH WATER. THE SHEPHERD MADE THE SHEEP GO WHERE SOMETIMES THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN A WELL PLACED BLOW WOULD BE DELIVERED TO A SHEEP GETTING OUT OF LINE. AND WHILE A MEMBER OF THE FLOCK MIGHT LIVE WITH THE SHEPHERD FOR UP TO 20 YEARS, LAMBS THAT WERE BORN WOULD USUALLY BE SOLD FOR SACRIFICE OR SUNDAY DINNER – AND WE KNOW THAT MOTHER SHEEP FEEL THAT SEPARATION. AND WHEN YOU SEE JESUS CARRYING THE LAMB, REMEMBER THAT SOME SHEPHERDS, WHEN A LAMB SHOWED TOO MUCH INDEPENDENCE, WOULD BREAK A FORELEG SO THAT IT COULDN'T WANDER OFF. THE LEG WOULD KNIT IN TWO OR THREE WEEKS, BUT DURING THAT TIME THE LAMB WOULD HAVE TO BE CARRIED, AND THAT CONTACT USUALLY TAMED THE ANIMAL. AND, YOU KNOW, THE SHEEP DON'T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHY THE SHEPHERD DOES THINGS – WHY SOMETIMES THEY ARE HAPPY AND RESTED AND WELL FED, AND OTHER TIMES THEY ARE IN PANIC BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THE SHEPHERD IS DOING TO THEM. BUT WHAT ALLOWS THE WHOLE SYSTEM TO WORK IS THAT THE SHEEP KNOW THEY BELONG TO THE SHEPHERD, AND THEY PUT THEIR TOTAL TRUST IN HIM.
HUMAN EXPERIENCE TODAY IS LIKE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN. WE HAVE MOMENTS WHEN EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL, WHEN WE ARE SO HAPPY AND FULFILLED THAT WE CAN'T IMAGINE ANYTHING BETTER. MOST OF THE TIME, THOUGH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THINGS COULD BE BETTER; SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT, AND SOMETIMES A WHOLE LOT. AND HOVERING OVER ALL OUR MOMENTS IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE WILL DIE. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF WHY WE CAN IMAGINE HOW THINGS SHOULD BE, AND YET THINGS AREN'T THAT WAY.
THE QUESTION THAT TROUBLES US AND NEVER WILL BE FULLY ANSWERED IN THIS LIFE, IS, IF THERE IS A GOOD GOD WHO IS ALL POWERFUL AND WHO LOVES HIS CREATURES, WHY IS THERE SUFFERING, WHY IS THE WORLD WE IMAGINE SO DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE WE LIVE IN? THE BUDDHISTS AND HINDUS SAY THAT THIS WORLD IS JUST AN ILLUSION, A DREAM, FROM WHICH WE WILL SOME DAY WAKE UP. THE HUMANISTS SAY THAT THIS IS THE ONLY WORLD, AND WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LIVE IN IT AND MAKE OUR TIME ON EARTH AS PLEASANT AS POSSIBLE. SOME CHRISTIANS INSIST THAT WE LIVE IN A FALLEN WORLD, A WORLD THAT HAS BEEN SHAPED BY SIN, THE SIN OF MEN, THE SIN THAT WE INHERIT FROM OUR FIRST PARENTS. ALL THE EVIL IN THE WORLD IS OUR FAULT.
JESUS' ANSWER IS PERSONAL AND SATISFYING. HE IS THE SHEPHERD; WE ARE THE SHEEP. SHEEP HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE SHEPHERD DOES WHAT HE DOES. BUT THEY TRUST, AND THEY FOLLOW. JESUS PROMISES THAT HE CARES FOR US, HE LEADS US, HE PROTECTS US, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE. AND HE PROMISES THAT JUST AS HE CAN RAISE HIMSELF FROM DEATH, HE CAN RAISE US UP AS WELL.
AND THIS ANSWER TO MAN'S AGE OLD PROBLEM, WHY IS THERE EVIL IN THE WORLD IF GOD IS GOOD, IF GOD IS ALL POWERFUL, IS PERHAPS THE BEST ANSWER. BECAUSE IT RECOGNIZES THAT EVIL IS REAL; IT RECOGNIZES THAT THE WORLD CAN BE BETTER. WHAT GOD MADE IS BASICALLY GOOD, AND GOODNESS WILL EMERGE AND TRIUMPH. AND IT RECOGNIZES THAT YOU AND I WLL BE THERE WHEN THIS ALL HAPPENS, WHEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD BREAKS THROUGH INTO OUR LIVES ONCE AND FOR ALL.
DOWN THROUGH THE AGES PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMFORTED BY THE IMAGE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. BUT THE SHEPHERD DOES NOT JUST PROVIDE REST AND GREEN PASTURES. THE SHEPHERD ACTIVELY SHAPES US AND MOVES US, SOMETIMES WITH A SHARP BLOW, SOMETIMES WITH A BROKEN BONE, SOMETIMES WITH SEPARATION FROM LOVED ONES, SOMETIMES WITH GENTLENESS AND LOVE; BUT WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT IF WE LET HIM LEAD, IF WE LISTEN FOR HIS VOICE, IF WE FOLLOW, WE WILL BECOME WHAT HE WANTS US TO BECOME. AND THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT REALLY MATTERS.
WHEN I HEAR JESUS COMPARE HIMSELF TO A GOOD SHEPHERD, MY MIND PULLS UP A PICTURE FROM A CHILDREN'S BOOK I HAD WHEN I WAS VERY LITTLE; JESUS IS WALKING TOWARDS ME, A LAMB DRAPED AROUND HIS NECK, FOLLOWED BY THREE OR FOUR VERY PLACID SHEEP. THERE IS A CRYSTAL CLEAR STREAM, A FEW TREES, AND THE GROUND IS COVERED WITH LUSH GRASS. THE PICTURE WAS GREAT FOR A LITTLE KID; THERE WAS A SENSE OF PEACE, OF PROTECTION, OF REST.
BUT LAST WEEK I SAW A PATIENT WHO WAS IN HER LATE FIFTIES. SHE HAD DIABETES, HAD HAD A HEART OPERATION, HAD BLOOD VESSEL PROBLEMS IN HER LEGS AS WELL. THAT WAS ALL INHERITED. A FEW YEARS AGO SHE HAD BLADDER CANCER, AND WITH THE TREATMENT SHE RECEIVED, HAD A 90% CHANCE OF CURE. I HAD SEEN HER BECAUSE SHE WAS IN THE 10% WHO DEVELOP METASTATIC DISEASE. SHE HAD GONE FOR A VERY MINOR SURGICAL PROCEDURE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO GIVE HER CHEMOTHERAPY WITHOUT STICKING NEEDLES IN HER ARMS ALL THE TIME, AND SHE HAD SUFFERED FROM A COLLAPSED LUNG, SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, ONE IN 500 TIMES WHEN THE PROCEDURE IS DONE. SHE WAS AWARE OF GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY COMING UP, AND REMARKED THAT SHE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SHE HAD A VERY GOOD SHEPHERD.
HUMANS AND SHEEP HAVE BEEN TOGETHER LONGER THAN ANY OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMAL – DOGS, COWS, CATS, CHICKENS – SOME ESTIMATE THAT PEOPLE WERE HERDING SHEEP AS LONG AS 15,000 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST. COWS, DOGS, CATS, AND CHICKENS CAN ACTUALLY GET ALONG IN THE WILD; BUT NOT DOMESTIC SHEEP. YES, THERE ARE MOUNTAIN SHEEP, AND A FEW OTHER SPECIES WHICH ARE RELATED, BUT THEY ARE ACTUALLY DISTANT COUSINS. DOMESTIC SHEEP LITERALLY NEED HUMANS TO LIVE. FOR ONE THING, GIVING BIRTH WITHOUT THE HELP OF A HUMAN BEING IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM; EVEN WITH HELP, IT ISN'T UNCOMMON FOR A MOTHER SHEEP TO DIE DURING LAMBING SEASON.
OLD TIME SHEPHERDS WOULD HAVE A RELATIVELY SMALL FLOCK; A SINGLE SHEPHERD COULD ONLY HANDLE SO MANY SHEEP. AND FOR A SHEPHERD, HIS FLOCK WAS HIS WORK, HIS BANK ACCOUNT, HIS SAVINGS FOR OLD AGE. THOSE SHEEP WERE HIS. THERE WERE RICH MEN WHO HIRED OTHERS TO CARE FOR THEIR SHEEP, BUT THE KIND OF SHEPHERD JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT OWNS THE SHEEP.
AND BEING A SHEEP WAS NOT ALL GREEN MEADOWS AND FRESH WATER. THE SHEPHERD MADE THE SHEEP GO WHERE SOMETIMES THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GO. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN A WELL PLACED BLOW WOULD BE DELIVERED TO A SHEEP GETTING OUT OF LINE. AND WHILE A MEMBER OF THE FLOCK MIGHT LIVE WITH THE SHEPHERD FOR UP TO 20 YEARS, LAMBS THAT WERE BORN WOULD USUALLY BE SOLD FOR SACRIFICE OR SUNDAY DINNER – AND WE KNOW THAT MOTHER SHEEP FEEL THAT SEPARATION. AND WHEN YOU SEE JESUS CARRYING THE LAMB, REMEMBER THAT SOME SHEPHERDS, WHEN A LAMB SHOWED TOO MUCH INDEPENDENCE, WOULD BREAK A FORELEG SO THAT IT COULDN'T WANDER OFF. THE LEG WOULD KNIT IN TWO OR THREE WEEKS, BUT DURING THAT TIME THE LAMB WOULD HAVE TO BE CARRIED, AND THAT CONTACT USUALLY TAMED THE ANIMAL. AND, YOU KNOW, THE SHEEP DON'T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHY THE SHEPHERD DOES THINGS – WHY SOMETIMES THEY ARE HAPPY AND RESTED AND WELL FED, AND OTHER TIMES THEY ARE IN PANIC BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THE SHEPHERD IS DOING TO THEM. BUT WHAT ALLOWS THE WHOLE SYSTEM TO WORK IS THAT THE SHEEP KNOW THEY BELONG TO THE SHEPHERD, AND THEY PUT THEIR TOTAL TRUST IN HIM.
HUMAN EXPERIENCE TODAY IS LIKE IT'S ALWAYS BEEN. WE HAVE MOMENTS WHEN EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL, WHEN WE ARE SO HAPPY AND FULFILLED THAT WE CAN'T IMAGINE ANYTHING BETTER. MOST OF THE TIME, THOUGH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THINGS COULD BE BETTER; SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT, AND SOMETIMES A WHOLE LOT. AND HOVERING OVER ALL OUR MOMENTS IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE WILL DIE. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE ALWAYS TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF WHY WE CAN IMAGINE HOW THINGS SHOULD BE, AND YET THINGS AREN'T THAT WAY.
THE QUESTION THAT TROUBLES US AND NEVER WILL BE FULLY ANSWERED IN THIS LIFE, IS, IF THERE IS A GOOD GOD WHO IS ALL POWERFUL AND WHO LOVES HIS CREATURES, WHY IS THERE SUFFERING, WHY IS THE WORLD WE IMAGINE SO DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE WE LIVE IN? THE BUDDHISTS AND HINDUS SAY THAT THIS WORLD IS JUST AN ILLUSION, A DREAM, FROM WHICH WE WILL SOME DAY WAKE UP. THE HUMANISTS SAY THAT THIS IS THE ONLY WORLD, AND WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LIVE IN IT AND MAKE OUR TIME ON EARTH AS PLEASANT AS POSSIBLE. SOME CHRISTIANS INSIST THAT WE LIVE IN A FALLEN WORLD, A WORLD THAT HAS BEEN SHAPED BY SIN, THE SIN OF MEN, THE SIN THAT WE INHERIT FROM OUR FIRST PARENTS. ALL THE EVIL IN THE WORLD IS OUR FAULT.
JESUS' ANSWER IS PERSONAL AND SATISFYING. HE IS THE SHEPHERD; WE ARE THE SHEEP. SHEEP HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE SHEPHERD DOES WHAT HE DOES. BUT THEY TRUST, AND THEY FOLLOW. JESUS PROMISES THAT HE CARES FOR US, HE LEADS US, HE PROTECTS US, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE. AND HE PROMISES THAT JUST AS HE CAN RAISE HIMSELF FROM DEATH, HE CAN RAISE US UP AS WELL.
AND THIS ANSWER TO MAN'S AGE OLD PROBLEM, WHY IS THERE EVIL IN THE WORLD IF GOD IS GOOD, IF GOD IS ALL POWERFUL, IS PERHAPS THE BEST ANSWER. BECAUSE IT RECOGNIZES THAT EVIL IS REAL; IT RECOGNIZES THAT THE WORLD CAN BE BETTER. WHAT GOD MADE IS BASICALLY GOOD, AND GOODNESS WILL EMERGE AND TRIUMPH. AND IT RECOGNIZES THAT YOU AND I WLL BE THERE WHEN THIS ALL HAPPENS, WHEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD BREAKS THROUGH INTO OUR LIVES ONCE AND FOR ALL.
DOWN THROUGH THE AGES PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMFORTED BY THE IMAGE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. BUT THE SHEPHERD DOES NOT JUST PROVIDE REST AND GREEN PASTURES. THE SHEPHERD ACTIVELY SHAPES US AND MOVES US, SOMETIMES WITH A SHARP BLOW, SOMETIMES WITH A BROKEN BONE, SOMETIMES WITH SEPARATION FROM LOVED ONES, SOMETIMES WITH GENTLENESS AND LOVE; BUT WE CAN BE ASSURED THAT IF WE LET HIM LEAD, IF WE LISTEN FOR HIS VOICE, IF WE FOLLOW, WE WILL BECOME WHAT HE WANTS US TO BECOME. AND THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT REALLY MATTERS.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Third Sunday of Easter, cycle b
LUKE 24:35-48
WHEN I WAS ABOUT FIVE, I REMEMBER MY GRANDPARENTS GAVE MY PARENTS A LARGE BIBLE. IT HAD GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS – FAMOUS PAINTINGS. EACH BOOK STARTED WITH BEAUTIFUL LETTERING. THERE WERE MAPS OF PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF JESUS, AND MOSES, AND ABRAHAM. I REMEMBER HOW I USED TO OPEN IT UP AND LOOK AT IT WITH WONDER. AND IT SAT ON OUR COFFEE TABLE, AND IN ABOUT TWO OR THREE MONTHS, IT WAS NOT BEING OPENED UP AT ALL BY THAT CURIOUS FIVE YEAR OLD, AND I DON'T THINK IT HAD EVER BEEN OPENED UP BY MY PARENTS. EVENTUALLY IT GOT MOVED TO THE TOP SHELF IN MY PARENT'S CLOSET SO THAT IT WOULDN'T BE RUINED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO IT TO THIS DAY.
I MIGHT HAVE NEVER KNOWN WHAT THE INSIDE OF A BIBLE LOOKS LIKE HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR A MORMON. IN THE SUMMER OF MY 17TH YEAR I WORKED WITH A MORMON GUY MY AGE. WE WERE BOTH GOING OFF TO COLLEGE, ME TO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, AND HIM TO BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IN UTAH. WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT RELIGION, WE BOTH KNEW WHAT OUR RESPECTIVE CHURCHES TAUGHT, BUT HE COULD BACK UP HIS STATEMENTS BY QUOTING SCRIPTURE. MY GRANDMOTHER GAVE ME AN OLD BIBLE SHE HAD, AND MOST EVENINGS I WOULD READ FROM IT. BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, I AT LEAST WAS ABLE TO GO BACK TO THE BIBLE AND FIND THAT A LOT OF WHAT HE SAID WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT.
TODAY WE HEAR THE APOSTLES INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE PREACHING. THEY WERE SPEAKING AS IF THEY KNEW SOMETHING, WITH AUTHORITY. AND IN THE GOSPEL, WE FIND OUT WHERE THIS CAME FROM. JESUS, APPEARING IN THEIR MIDST AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION, OPENED THEIR MINDS SO THAT THEY COULD UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURE. AND WHY DID HE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURE? SO THAT THEY WOULD BE WITNESSES TO THE FACT THAT “THE CHRIST HAD TO SUFFER AND RISE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY SO THAT REPENTANCE, FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, WOULD BE PREACHED IN HIS NAME TO ALL THE NATIONS, BEGINNING FROM JERUSALEM.” JESUS KNEW THAT THE APOSTLES, WHO WERE PRETTY SIMPLE PEOPLE, WERE OVERCOME WITH SURPRISE AND WERE EXPERIENCING GREAT JOY AT WHAT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE – THAT JESUS, WHOM THEY HAD SEEN NAILED TO A CROSS, WAS ALIVE AND AMONG THEM. BUT THE ONLY WAY THE APOSTLES COULD MAKE SENSE OF THIS AMAZING FACT, THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD COMMUNICATE THIS TO OTHERS, WAS TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANT, AND THAT REQUIRED THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES PROPERLY, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THEM IN THE LIGHT OF THE TEACHINGS, LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS.
THE SCRIPTURES TO WHICH JESUS REFERRED WERE THE OLD TESTAMENT. THE LIVING CHURCH EVENTUALLY TOOK OTHER WRITINGS, AND AFTER DEBATE AND PRAYER AND SOMETIMES ANGER AND BITTERNESS AND EVEN EXCOMMUNICATION, THEY SETTLED ON THE BOOKS OF THE SO-CALLED NEW TESTAMENT. EACH BOOK HAD TO MEET CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS; IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN APOSTOLIC – TRACEABLE TO THE APOSTLES OR AT LEAST THOSE EARLY CHURCH LEADERS WHO HAD BEEN TAUGHT BY THE APOSTLES. IT HAD TO BE UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE MAJOR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES AS BEING INSPIRED. IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN USED IN LITURGY – THAT IS, READ ALONG WITH OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS DURING THE CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST; AND IT HAD TO BE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE LIVING, BREATHING CHURCH KNEW TO BE TRUE. SOME BOOKS FOR EXAMPLE WERE REJECTED BECAUSE THEY IMPLIED THAT JESUS WAS NOT REALLY A HUMAN BEING; SOME WERE REJECTED BECAUSE THEY IMPLIED THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS A FORCE, NOT A PERSON.
DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS, THE BIBLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CENTRAL TO CHRISTIANITY. IT HAS BEEN THE ONE THING ALL CHRISTIANS AGREE UPON, BUT IT HAS ALSO BEEN THE MOST DIVISIVE THING IN CHRISTIANITY. WHY IS THAT? ST. JEROME SAID THE IGNORANCE OF THE SCRIPTURES WAS IGNORANCE OF CHRIST. I THINK WE SEE THAT JESUS WOULD PROBABLY ADD THE PHRASE, PROPERLY INTERPRETED, TO THAT STATEMENT; WE NEED TO HAVE OUR MINDS OPENED BY JESUS IF WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES PROPERLY.
FUNDAMENTALLY, THE BIBLE IS A LENS WHICH ALLOWS US TO SEE JESUS, AND TO KNOW HIM AND UNDERSTAND HIM. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE UNIVERSITY WHICH FORMED HIM; AS A JEW, HE LEARNED TO READ AND WRITE AND REASON, HE LEARNED MORALS AND HUMAN WISDOM, HE LEARNED THE HISTORY OF GOD'S LONG LOVE AFFAIR WITH MAN FROM THE SCRIPTURES. AND THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHOSE ORIGINS ARE WITH THOSE WHO WITNESSED THAT HE HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD, TELL US ABOUT THE COMMUNITY THAT CAME TOGETHER SO IMPROBABLY, SO MIRACULOUSLY, AS A RESULT OF HIS LIFE, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION; THE COMMUNITY THAT CONTINUES TO PREACH REPENTANCE AND THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
YES, WE HEAR SOME OF THE SCRIPTURES READ EVERY SUNDAY. YES, WE ENCOUNTER THE RISEN LORD IN THE SACRAMENTS, ESPECIALLY THE EUCHARIST. YES, WE OURSELVES ARE LIVING BIBLES, SHOWING JESUS TO OTHER PEOPLE, AND SEEING JESUS IN EACH OTHER. BUT THERE IN THE PAGES OF THE BIBLE LOVINGLY AND THOUGHTFULLY READ, PONDERED, AND PRAYED OVER, WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THE RISEN LORD, OUR OLDER BROTHER, OUR HIGH PRIEST, AND OUR SHEPHERD. AND AS WE SEE MORE, WE KNOW MORE, AND AS WE KNOW MORE, WE FALL MORE AND MORE IN LOVE.
DOES YOUR BIBLE GATHER DUST ON THE SHELF? HAVE YOU EVER SAT DOWN AND READ EVEN ONE BOOK IN THE BIBLE FROM BEGINNING TO END? DO YOU KNOW WHY CHRISTIANS HAVE BECOME DIVIDED OVER CERTAIN THINGS IN SCRIPTURE, AND HOW THE CHURCH SPEAKS TO THOSE DIVISIONS? DO YOU PRAY WITH THE PRAYERS THAT JESUS AND THE APOSTLES USED, THE PSALMS? DO YOU PRACTICE “LECTIO DIVINA”, THE TIMELESS WAY OF MEDITATION THAT IS SO MUCH RICHER THAN ANYTHING FROM THE RELIGIONS OF THE EAST? IF YOU ANSWER “NO”, YOU ARE DEPRIVING YOURSELF OF SOMETHING INFINITELY RICH.
PRAY TO JESUS THAT HE WILL OPEN OUR MINDS TO THE SCRIPTURES, SO THAT WE CAN BE BETTER WITNESSES OF HIS RESURRECTION.
WHEN I WAS ABOUT FIVE, I REMEMBER MY GRANDPARENTS GAVE MY PARENTS A LARGE BIBLE. IT HAD GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS – FAMOUS PAINTINGS. EACH BOOK STARTED WITH BEAUTIFUL LETTERING. THERE WERE MAPS OF PALESTINE IN THE TIME OF JESUS, AND MOSES, AND ABRAHAM. I REMEMBER HOW I USED TO OPEN IT UP AND LOOK AT IT WITH WONDER. AND IT SAT ON OUR COFFEE TABLE, AND IN ABOUT TWO OR THREE MONTHS, IT WAS NOT BEING OPENED UP AT ALL BY THAT CURIOUS FIVE YEAR OLD, AND I DON'T THINK IT HAD EVER BEEN OPENED UP BY MY PARENTS. EVENTUALLY IT GOT MOVED TO THE TOP SHELF IN MY PARENT'S CLOSET SO THAT IT WOULDN'T BE RUINED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO IT TO THIS DAY.
I MIGHT HAVE NEVER KNOWN WHAT THE INSIDE OF A BIBLE LOOKS LIKE HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR A MORMON. IN THE SUMMER OF MY 17TH YEAR I WORKED WITH A MORMON GUY MY AGE. WE WERE BOTH GOING OFF TO COLLEGE, ME TO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, AND HIM TO BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY IN UTAH. WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT RELIGION, WE BOTH KNEW WHAT OUR RESPECTIVE CHURCHES TAUGHT, BUT HE COULD BACK UP HIS STATEMENTS BY QUOTING SCRIPTURE. MY GRANDMOTHER GAVE ME AN OLD BIBLE SHE HAD, AND MOST EVENINGS I WOULD READ FROM IT. BY THE END OF THE SUMMER, I AT LEAST WAS ABLE TO GO BACK TO THE BIBLE AND FIND THAT A LOT OF WHAT HE SAID WAS TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT.
TODAY WE HEAR THE APOSTLES INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE PREACHING. THEY WERE SPEAKING AS IF THEY KNEW SOMETHING, WITH AUTHORITY. AND IN THE GOSPEL, WE FIND OUT WHERE THIS CAME FROM. JESUS, APPEARING IN THEIR MIDST AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION, OPENED THEIR MINDS SO THAT THEY COULD UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURE. AND WHY DID HE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND SCRIPTURE? SO THAT THEY WOULD BE WITNESSES TO THE FACT THAT “THE CHRIST HAD TO SUFFER AND RISE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY SO THAT REPENTANCE, FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, WOULD BE PREACHED IN HIS NAME TO ALL THE NATIONS, BEGINNING FROM JERUSALEM.” JESUS KNEW THAT THE APOSTLES, WHO WERE PRETTY SIMPLE PEOPLE, WERE OVERCOME WITH SURPRISE AND WERE EXPERIENCING GREAT JOY AT WHAT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE – THAT JESUS, WHOM THEY HAD SEEN NAILED TO A CROSS, WAS ALIVE AND AMONG THEM. BUT THE ONLY WAY THE APOSTLES COULD MAKE SENSE OF THIS AMAZING FACT, THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD COMMUNICATE THIS TO OTHERS, WAS TO KNOW WHAT IT MEANT, AND THAT REQUIRED THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES PROPERLY, THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THEM IN THE LIGHT OF THE TEACHINGS, LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS.
THE SCRIPTURES TO WHICH JESUS REFERRED WERE THE OLD TESTAMENT. THE LIVING CHURCH EVENTUALLY TOOK OTHER WRITINGS, AND AFTER DEBATE AND PRAYER AND SOMETIMES ANGER AND BITTERNESS AND EVEN EXCOMMUNICATION, THEY SETTLED ON THE BOOKS OF THE SO-CALLED NEW TESTAMENT. EACH BOOK HAD TO MEET CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS; IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN APOSTOLIC – TRACEABLE TO THE APOSTLES OR AT LEAST THOSE EARLY CHURCH LEADERS WHO HAD BEEN TAUGHT BY THE APOSTLES. IT HAD TO BE UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED BY THE MAJOR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES AS BEING INSPIRED. IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN USED IN LITURGY – THAT IS, READ ALONG WITH OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS DURING THE CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST; AND IT HAD TO BE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT THE LIVING, BREATHING CHURCH KNEW TO BE TRUE. SOME BOOKS FOR EXAMPLE WERE REJECTED BECAUSE THEY IMPLIED THAT JESUS WAS NOT REALLY A HUMAN BEING; SOME WERE REJECTED BECAUSE THEY IMPLIED THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS A FORCE, NOT A PERSON.
DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS, THE BIBLE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CENTRAL TO CHRISTIANITY. IT HAS BEEN THE ONE THING ALL CHRISTIANS AGREE UPON, BUT IT HAS ALSO BEEN THE MOST DIVISIVE THING IN CHRISTIANITY. WHY IS THAT? ST. JEROME SAID THE IGNORANCE OF THE SCRIPTURES WAS IGNORANCE OF CHRIST. I THINK WE SEE THAT JESUS WOULD PROBABLY ADD THE PHRASE, PROPERLY INTERPRETED, TO THAT STATEMENT; WE NEED TO HAVE OUR MINDS OPENED BY JESUS IF WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES PROPERLY.
FUNDAMENTALLY, THE BIBLE IS A LENS WHICH ALLOWS US TO SEE JESUS, AND TO KNOW HIM AND UNDERSTAND HIM. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE UNIVERSITY WHICH FORMED HIM; AS A JEW, HE LEARNED TO READ AND WRITE AND REASON, HE LEARNED MORALS AND HUMAN WISDOM, HE LEARNED THE HISTORY OF GOD'S LONG LOVE AFFAIR WITH MAN FROM THE SCRIPTURES. AND THE NEW TESTAMENT, WHOSE ORIGINS ARE WITH THOSE WHO WITNESSED THAT HE HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD, TELL US ABOUT THE COMMUNITY THAT CAME TOGETHER SO IMPROBABLY, SO MIRACULOUSLY, AS A RESULT OF HIS LIFE, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION; THE COMMUNITY THAT CONTINUES TO PREACH REPENTANCE AND THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
YES, WE HEAR SOME OF THE SCRIPTURES READ EVERY SUNDAY. YES, WE ENCOUNTER THE RISEN LORD IN THE SACRAMENTS, ESPECIALLY THE EUCHARIST. YES, WE OURSELVES ARE LIVING BIBLES, SHOWING JESUS TO OTHER PEOPLE, AND SEEING JESUS IN EACH OTHER. BUT THERE IN THE PAGES OF THE BIBLE LOVINGLY AND THOUGHTFULLY READ, PONDERED, AND PRAYED OVER, WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THE RISEN LORD, OUR OLDER BROTHER, OUR HIGH PRIEST, AND OUR SHEPHERD. AND AS WE SEE MORE, WE KNOW MORE, AND AS WE KNOW MORE, WE FALL MORE AND MORE IN LOVE.
DOES YOUR BIBLE GATHER DUST ON THE SHELF? HAVE YOU EVER SAT DOWN AND READ EVEN ONE BOOK IN THE BIBLE FROM BEGINNING TO END? DO YOU KNOW WHY CHRISTIANS HAVE BECOME DIVIDED OVER CERTAIN THINGS IN SCRIPTURE, AND HOW THE CHURCH SPEAKS TO THOSE DIVISIONS? DO YOU PRAY WITH THE PRAYERS THAT JESUS AND THE APOSTLES USED, THE PSALMS? DO YOU PRACTICE “LECTIO DIVINA”, THE TIMELESS WAY OF MEDITATION THAT IS SO MUCH RICHER THAN ANYTHING FROM THE RELIGIONS OF THE EAST? IF YOU ANSWER “NO”, YOU ARE DEPRIVING YOURSELF OF SOMETHING INFINITELY RICH.
PRAY TO JESUS THAT HE WILL OPEN OUR MINDS TO THE SCRIPTURES, SO THAT WE CAN BE BETTER WITNESSES OF HIS RESURRECTION.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Second Sunday of Easter, cycle b
JOHN 20:19-31
TODAY IS DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY. SISTER FAUSTINA, NOW SAINT FAUSTINA, WROTE IN HER DIARY IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY THAT JESUS HAD REVEALED TO HER THESE WORDS: “ON THAT DAY THE VERY DEPTHS OF MY TENDER MERCY ARE OPEN. I POUR OUT A WHOLE OCEAN OF GRACES UPON THOSE SOULS WHO APPROACH THE FOUNT OF MY MERCY. THE SOUL THAT WILL GO TO CONFESSION AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION SHALL OBTAIN COMPLETE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND PUNISHMENT. ON THAT DAY ALL THE DIVINE FLOODGATES THROUGH WHICH GRACE FLOW ARE OPENED. LET NO SOUL FEAR TO DRAW NEAR TO ME, EVEN THOUGH ITS SINS BE AS SCARLET. MY MERCY IS SO GREAT THAT NO MIND, BE IT OF MAN OR OF ANGEL, WILL BE ABLE TO FATHOM IT THROUGHOUT ALL ETERNITY.”
THE HISTORY OF THIS FEAST DAY IS ALMOST MIRACULOUS. SISTER FAUSTINA, AN UNEDUCATED POLISH WOMAN, TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO ENTER A CONVENT BEFORE SHE WAS FINALLY ACCEPTED. SHE RECEIVED LOCUTIONS FROM JESUS WHICH SHE RECORDED IN HER DIARY. NOW A LOCUTION MEANS THAT A PERSON HAS THE SENSE THAT HE OR SHE IS BEING SPOKEN TO BY JESUS OR MARY, OR PERHAPS A SAINT OR AN ANGEL. IT NEED NOT MEAN “A VOICE IN THE HEAD” NOR IS IT NECESSARILY A DICTATED STATEMENT. AND THE REAL QUESTION, OF COURSE, IS WHETHER IT IS AUTHENTIC, OR PERHAPS A SIGN OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS, OR JUST PLAIN LYING. WORKING WITH HER SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND IN RESPONSE TO THESE LOCUTIONS, SHE HAD THE PICTURE OF DIVINE MERCY PAINTED, AND INTRODUCED THE CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY. AFTER HER DEATH IN 1934, HER SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR SPREAD THE DEVOTION AND ENCOURAGED THE READING OF HER DIARY. IN 1966, HER DIARY WAS TRANSLATED INTO ITALIAN AND SUBMITTED TO ROME, WHERE IT WAS PROMPTLY PUT ON THE INDEX OF FORBIDDEN BOOKS, AND ONLY IN 1978, DID THE CHURCH FINALLY DECIDE THAT THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE DIARY WHICH WAS AGAINST THE CHURCH'S DOCTRINE.
THE SECOND PART OF THIS STORY HAS TO DO WITH THE MARIANS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, WHO CHAMPION THE DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MERCY WHICH FAUSTINA HAD DESCRIBED. THE MARIANS WERE FOUNDED IN THE 17TH CENTURY. EVENTUALLY POLAND CAME UNDER CZARIST RULE, AND THERE WAS A PERSECUTION AGAINST ROMAN CATHOLICS. THE ORDER WAS SUPPRESSED FOR 20 YEARS, AND THEN WAS ALLOWED TO RECONSTITUTE ITSELF. BUT OVER THE NEXT 200 YEARS, THEY CONTINUED TO BE PERSECUTED, AND THERE CAME A TIME WHEN THERE WAS EXACTLY ONE MEMBER OF THE MARIAN ORDER STILL ALIVE. FATHER SEKOWSKI AND A PRIEST FROM LITHUANIA, FR. MATULAITIS, REFOUNDED THE ORDER IN SECRET, AND IT GREW. IN 1942, ONE OF THE MEMBERS, A PRIEST NAMED JOSEPH JARZEBOWSKI, MET TWO POLISH PRIESTS WHO HAD BEEN STUDENTS OF SISTER FAUSTINA'S SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. HE LEARNED OF THE DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION FROM THEM. HIS JOURNEY ACROSS RUSSIA AND JAPAN TO THE UNITED STATES SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT PLOT FOR A MOVIE. HE AND HIS FELLOW MARIANS RESOLVED TO SPREAD THE DEVOTION BUT STOPPED DURING THE TIME SISTER FAUSTINA'S DIARY WAS FORBIDDEN. THEY WORKED TO HAVE HER WORK RE-EXAMINED, AND EVENTUALLY THEY BECAME THE MAIN PROMOTERS OF THE DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION. OF COURSE WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE SHRINE AT STOCKBRIDGE.
THE THIRD PART OF THE STORY HAS TO DO WITH JOHN PAUL II, WHO WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN HAVING SISTER FAUSTINA'S WRITINGS RE-EXAMINED (IN THE ORIGINAL POLISH) WHEN HE WAS A CARDINAL. THIS RESULTED IN LIFTING THE BAN ON HER WRITINGS, AND IN 2000, AS POPE HE DECLARED FAUSTINA A SAINT AND DESIGNATED THE SECOND SUNDAY OF THE EASTER SEASON AS DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY.
FINALLY, HE SPENT HIS FIRST DAY IN HEAVEN ON DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY – HE PASSED AWAY THE EVENING BEFORE THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER IN 2005.
I PUT THIS ALL BEFORE YOU TO SHOW YOU HOW IMPROBABLE THIS ALL SEEMS TO BE, HOW MANY SETBACKS AND COINCIDENCES, IF YOU WANT TO CALL THEM THAT, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PARTICULAR FEAST; AND I HOPE YOU TOO WILL SEE THE HAND OF GOD IN THIS.
THE GOSPEL TODAY IS ABOUT MERCY; THE FIRST THING JESUS DID WHEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD WAS GO TO HIS DISCIPLES AND GIVE THEM THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS. NOW MOST OF US HAVEN'T GOT MUCH OF A SENSE OF SIN. IF I WERE TO ASK YOU IF YOU EXPECT TO GO TO HEAVEN, I BET EVERYONE WOULD PUT THEIR HANDS UP IN THE AIR. I HOPE THAT WILL BE THE CASE. BUT OUR ANCESTORS IN THE FAITH, INCLUDING THE GREATEST SAINTS, WERE MUCH MORE AWARE OF HOW FRAGILE OUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH REALLY IS. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE CLOSER THEY GOT TO GOD, THE MORE AWARE OF THEIR SINFULNESS THEY WERE. AND WHAT A WONDERFUL, MERCIFUL GIFT JESUS GAVE HIS PEOPLE; WHOSE SINS YOU SHALL FORGIVE, HE TOLD HIS FIRST PRIESTS, THEY WILL BE FORGIVEN.
THE SECOND GREAT ACT OF MERCY IS ALSO DESCRIBED IN THIS GOSPEL. THERE WAS THOMAS, THE MAN WHOSE HEART WAS BROKEN, WHO WOULD NOT PUT HIS TRUST IN JESUS AGAIN, NOT WITHOUT SOLID PROOF. AND IN THIS ATTITUDE OF REJECTION, OF WALLING HIMSELF OFF, OF CYNICISM AND DISBELIEF, JESUS COMES TO HIM. A LOCKED DOOR CANNOT KEEP JESUS AWAY FROM THOSE HE LOVES; NOR CAN A BITTER AND BROKEN HEART; JESUS COMES, JESUS IS THERE, AND HE SHOWS US THROUGH THOMAS THAT HE GIVES EACH OF US EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO ENTER INTO HIS FRIENDSHIP. AND HE WOULD HAVE DONE THIS FOR JUDAS AS WELL, BUT JUDAS DID WHAT WE ALL CAN DO – HE TURNED DOWN THE MERCY JESUS OFFERED, AND AS JESUS SAID OF HIM, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER HAD HE NEVER BEEN BORN.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, YOU ARE A SINNER. MAKE NO MISTAKE, YOU DON'T DESERVE HEAVEN. IN FACT, I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT ITS TRUE, THE BLESSED MOTHER DID NOT DESERVE HEAVEN. I HAVE A FRIEND. SHE ISN'T WELL, AND SHE HAS VERY LITTLE IN THIS WORLD. WHEN YOU SAY HOW ARE YOU? SHE REPLIES, “BETTER THAN I DESERVE TO BE.” SHE GETS IT.
BUT JESUS, IN HIS GREAT MERCY, LEFT US WITH THE FREE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND SHOWED US THAT HIS MERCY IS THERE FOR US, NO MATTER HOW FAR AWAY FROM HIM WE MAY FEEL.
PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SPECIAL GRACES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TODAY. IF YOU GO TO CONFESSION WITHIN 20 DAYS OF THIS DAY, AND RECEIVE COMMUNION TODAY, AND SAY THE OUR FATHER AND THE CREED IN FRONT OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, ALONG WITH A PRAYER SUCH AS “MERCIFUL JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU,” OUR CHURCH PROMISES THAT THE SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS WILL BE ELIMINATED. BECAUSE JESUS POURS OUT AN OCEAN OF GRACES TO US TODAY, IF WE WISH TO HAVE THEM.
TODAY IS DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY. SISTER FAUSTINA, NOW SAINT FAUSTINA, WROTE IN HER DIARY IN THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH CENTURY THAT JESUS HAD REVEALED TO HER THESE WORDS: “ON THAT DAY THE VERY DEPTHS OF MY TENDER MERCY ARE OPEN. I POUR OUT A WHOLE OCEAN OF GRACES UPON THOSE SOULS WHO APPROACH THE FOUNT OF MY MERCY. THE SOUL THAT WILL GO TO CONFESSION AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION SHALL OBTAIN COMPLETE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND PUNISHMENT. ON THAT DAY ALL THE DIVINE FLOODGATES THROUGH WHICH GRACE FLOW ARE OPENED. LET NO SOUL FEAR TO DRAW NEAR TO ME, EVEN THOUGH ITS SINS BE AS SCARLET. MY MERCY IS SO GREAT THAT NO MIND, BE IT OF MAN OR OF ANGEL, WILL BE ABLE TO FATHOM IT THROUGHOUT ALL ETERNITY.”
THE HISTORY OF THIS FEAST DAY IS ALMOST MIRACULOUS. SISTER FAUSTINA, AN UNEDUCATED POLISH WOMAN, TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO ENTER A CONVENT BEFORE SHE WAS FINALLY ACCEPTED. SHE RECEIVED LOCUTIONS FROM JESUS WHICH SHE RECORDED IN HER DIARY. NOW A LOCUTION MEANS THAT A PERSON HAS THE SENSE THAT HE OR SHE IS BEING SPOKEN TO BY JESUS OR MARY, OR PERHAPS A SAINT OR AN ANGEL. IT NEED NOT MEAN “A VOICE IN THE HEAD” NOR IS IT NECESSARILY A DICTATED STATEMENT. AND THE REAL QUESTION, OF COURSE, IS WHETHER IT IS AUTHENTIC, OR PERHAPS A SIGN OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS, OR JUST PLAIN LYING. WORKING WITH HER SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND IN RESPONSE TO THESE LOCUTIONS, SHE HAD THE PICTURE OF DIVINE MERCY PAINTED, AND INTRODUCED THE CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY. AFTER HER DEATH IN 1934, HER SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR SPREAD THE DEVOTION AND ENCOURAGED THE READING OF HER DIARY. IN 1966, HER DIARY WAS TRANSLATED INTO ITALIAN AND SUBMITTED TO ROME, WHERE IT WAS PROMPTLY PUT ON THE INDEX OF FORBIDDEN BOOKS, AND ONLY IN 1978, DID THE CHURCH FINALLY DECIDE THAT THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE DIARY WHICH WAS AGAINST THE CHURCH'S DOCTRINE.
THE SECOND PART OF THIS STORY HAS TO DO WITH THE MARIANS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, WHO CHAMPION THE DEVOTION TO THE DIVINE MERCY WHICH FAUSTINA HAD DESCRIBED. THE MARIANS WERE FOUNDED IN THE 17TH CENTURY. EVENTUALLY POLAND CAME UNDER CZARIST RULE, AND THERE WAS A PERSECUTION AGAINST ROMAN CATHOLICS. THE ORDER WAS SUPPRESSED FOR 20 YEARS, AND THEN WAS ALLOWED TO RECONSTITUTE ITSELF. BUT OVER THE NEXT 200 YEARS, THEY CONTINUED TO BE PERSECUTED, AND THERE CAME A TIME WHEN THERE WAS EXACTLY ONE MEMBER OF THE MARIAN ORDER STILL ALIVE. FATHER SEKOWSKI AND A PRIEST FROM LITHUANIA, FR. MATULAITIS, REFOUNDED THE ORDER IN SECRET, AND IT GREW. IN 1942, ONE OF THE MEMBERS, A PRIEST NAMED JOSEPH JARZEBOWSKI, MET TWO POLISH PRIESTS WHO HAD BEEN STUDENTS OF SISTER FAUSTINA'S SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. HE LEARNED OF THE DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION FROM THEM. HIS JOURNEY ACROSS RUSSIA AND JAPAN TO THE UNITED STATES SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT PLOT FOR A MOVIE. HE AND HIS FELLOW MARIANS RESOLVED TO SPREAD THE DEVOTION BUT STOPPED DURING THE TIME SISTER FAUSTINA'S DIARY WAS FORBIDDEN. THEY WORKED TO HAVE HER WORK RE-EXAMINED, AND EVENTUALLY THEY BECAME THE MAIN PROMOTERS OF THE DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION. OF COURSE WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE SHRINE AT STOCKBRIDGE.
THE THIRD PART OF THE STORY HAS TO DO WITH JOHN PAUL II, WHO WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN HAVING SISTER FAUSTINA'S WRITINGS RE-EXAMINED (IN THE ORIGINAL POLISH) WHEN HE WAS A CARDINAL. THIS RESULTED IN LIFTING THE BAN ON HER WRITINGS, AND IN 2000, AS POPE HE DECLARED FAUSTINA A SAINT AND DESIGNATED THE SECOND SUNDAY OF THE EASTER SEASON AS DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY.
FINALLY, HE SPENT HIS FIRST DAY IN HEAVEN ON DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY – HE PASSED AWAY THE EVENING BEFORE THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER IN 2005.
I PUT THIS ALL BEFORE YOU TO SHOW YOU HOW IMPROBABLE THIS ALL SEEMS TO BE, HOW MANY SETBACKS AND COINCIDENCES, IF YOU WANT TO CALL THEM THAT, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PARTICULAR FEAST; AND I HOPE YOU TOO WILL SEE THE HAND OF GOD IN THIS.
THE GOSPEL TODAY IS ABOUT MERCY; THE FIRST THING JESUS DID WHEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD WAS GO TO HIS DISCIPLES AND GIVE THEM THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS. NOW MOST OF US HAVEN'T GOT MUCH OF A SENSE OF SIN. IF I WERE TO ASK YOU IF YOU EXPECT TO GO TO HEAVEN, I BET EVERYONE WOULD PUT THEIR HANDS UP IN THE AIR. I HOPE THAT WILL BE THE CASE. BUT OUR ANCESTORS IN THE FAITH, INCLUDING THE GREATEST SAINTS, WERE MUCH MORE AWARE OF HOW FRAGILE OUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH REALLY IS. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE CLOSER THEY GOT TO GOD, THE MORE AWARE OF THEIR SINFULNESS THEY WERE. AND WHAT A WONDERFUL, MERCIFUL GIFT JESUS GAVE HIS PEOPLE; WHOSE SINS YOU SHALL FORGIVE, HE TOLD HIS FIRST PRIESTS, THEY WILL BE FORGIVEN.
THE SECOND GREAT ACT OF MERCY IS ALSO DESCRIBED IN THIS GOSPEL. THERE WAS THOMAS, THE MAN WHOSE HEART WAS BROKEN, WHO WOULD NOT PUT HIS TRUST IN JESUS AGAIN, NOT WITHOUT SOLID PROOF. AND IN THIS ATTITUDE OF REJECTION, OF WALLING HIMSELF OFF, OF CYNICISM AND DISBELIEF, JESUS COMES TO HIM. A LOCKED DOOR CANNOT KEEP JESUS AWAY FROM THOSE HE LOVES; NOR CAN A BITTER AND BROKEN HEART; JESUS COMES, JESUS IS THERE, AND HE SHOWS US THROUGH THOMAS THAT HE GIVES EACH OF US EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO ENTER INTO HIS FRIENDSHIP. AND HE WOULD HAVE DONE THIS FOR JUDAS AS WELL, BUT JUDAS DID WHAT WE ALL CAN DO – HE TURNED DOWN THE MERCY JESUS OFFERED, AND AS JESUS SAID OF HIM, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER HAD HE NEVER BEEN BORN.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, YOU ARE A SINNER. MAKE NO MISTAKE, YOU DON'T DESERVE HEAVEN. IN FACT, I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT ITS TRUE, THE BLESSED MOTHER DID NOT DESERVE HEAVEN. I HAVE A FRIEND. SHE ISN'T WELL, AND SHE HAS VERY LITTLE IN THIS WORLD. WHEN YOU SAY HOW ARE YOU? SHE REPLIES, “BETTER THAN I DESERVE TO BE.” SHE GETS IT.
BUT JESUS, IN HIS GREAT MERCY, LEFT US WITH THE FREE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND SHOWED US THAT HIS MERCY IS THERE FOR US, NO MATTER HOW FAR AWAY FROM HIM WE MAY FEEL.
PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SPECIAL GRACES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TODAY. IF YOU GO TO CONFESSION WITHIN 20 DAYS OF THIS DAY, AND RECEIVE COMMUNION TODAY, AND SAY THE OUR FATHER AND THE CREED IN FRONT OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, ALONG WITH A PRAYER SUCH AS “MERCIFUL JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU,” OUR CHURCH PROMISES THAT THE SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS WILL BE ELIMINATED. BECAUSE JESUS POURS OUT AN OCEAN OF GRACES TO US TODAY, IF WE WISH TO HAVE THEM.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Sunday, 2009
JOHN 20:1-9
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE VERY REASON THAT WE CHRISTIANS EXIST AS A RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT. SOMEWHERE IN AN OBSCURE CORNER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE SOMETHING HAPPENED, SOMETHING THAT MADE A SMALL GROUP OF ILLITERATE, LOWER CLASS, MARGINALIZED MEN AND WOMEN BECOME FIRMLY CONVINCED THAT A MAN WHOM THEY SAW PUT TO DEATH ON A CROSS HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD. THEY DID NOT EXPECT IT, THEY DID NOT EVEN HOPE FOR IT; IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. BUT BECAUSE OF THIS EVENT, THEY WERE TRANSFORMED; THEY SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND BEYOND, TIRELESSLY TELLING OTHERS OF WHAT THEY HAD WITNESSED. OTHERS WHO MET THEM COULD SEE THAT THEIR LIVES HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED; IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY, THEY HAD CERTAINTY; IN A WORLD OF WAR, THEY HAD PEACE; IN A WORLD OF POVERTY, THEY WERE RICH; AND WHERE EVERYONE JEALOUSLY GUARDED THEIR LIVES, THEY THREW THEM AWAY, BECAUSE THEY HAD SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE. AND THOSE WHO MET THEM BECAME THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THE MOVEMENT GREW AND GREW, UNTIL TODAY ONE IN EVERY THREE HUMAN BEINGS ON EARTH ARE FOLLOWERS OF THAT CRUCIFIED MAN.
SOMETHING HAPPENED. I'M NOT SURE WE REALLY GET WHAT HAPPENED BY READING THE GOSPELS. EVERY ONE OF THEM IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHEN IT COMES TO THIS EVENT. IN MARK THREE WOMEN ARE MET BY A YOUNG MAN WHO ANNOUNCES THAT JESUS IS RISEN; IN MATTHEW, TWO WOMEN GO TO THE TOMB, AND AN ANGEL ROLLS BACK THE STONE AND SENDS THEM OFF TO TELL THE DISCIPLES THE GOOD NEWS. IN LUKE, SOME WOMEN GO TO THE TOMB, AND MEET TWO MEN WHO ARE DRESSED IN CLOTHES THAT GLEAMED LIKE LIGHTNING. AND WE HAVE JUST HEARD THE STORY FROM JOHN, WHERE ONLY MARY MAGDALENE FIRST CONFRONTS THE TOMB, AND CONCLUDES THAT THE BODY OF JESUS HAS BEEN STOLEN.; BUT PETER AND JOHN ARE THE ONES WHO GO INTO THE TOMB AND SEE THAT IT IS EMPTY. WHAT THE STORIES HAVE IN COMMON, THOUGH, ARE THAT A WOMAN, WHO IN THOSE DAYS COULD NOT BE A RELIABLE WITNESS IN A COURT OF LAW, FOUND AN EMPTY TOMB. AFTER THAT, ALL THE GOSPELS, THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, THE EPISTLES OF PAUL, ALL ATTEST TO THE APPEARANCES OF JESUS AFTER HIS DEATH – PAUL REFERS TO ABOUT 500 WITNESSES, AND ADDS THAT MANY, WHEN HE WROTE HIS LETTER, WERE STILL ALIVE.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? SOME WRITERS SAY THAT THE RESURRECTION IS A METAPHOR; IT IS A POETIC WAY OF SAYING THAT AFTER JESUS DIED, HIS DISCIPLES DISCOVERED THAT THE HIS SPIRIT WAS STILL WITH THEM, AND THAT GAVE THEM STRENGTH TO GO FORTH AND PREACH HIS MESSAGE. AND THEY TELL US THAT IF WE LOOK INSIDE OURSELVES, WE TOO CAN FIND THE SPIRIT OF JESUS, AND WE TOO CAN BECOME BETTER PERSONS. OR THAT IT IS ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN, OR THAT GOD CAN TRANSFORM EVEN THE WORST SINNER, INTO A SAINT, EVEN THE MOST TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE INTO A GOOD THING. AND THIS IS A GOOD MESSAGE; IT REMINDS US THAT THE HUMAN SPIRIT IS POWERFUL, THAT WE CAN HAVE HOPE THAT WE CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER.
SOME LOOK AT THE RESURRECTION EVENT AND SEE THAT IT HAS POWER, POWER TO TRANSFORM SOCIETY, POWER TO MAKE THE POOR RICH, THE WEAK STRONG; AND THEY ARE INSPIRED TO FOUND POLITICAL OR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, WHICH HAVE RELIGIOUS OVERTONES, LIKE ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, OR LIBERATION THEOLOGY, OR CHRISTIAN FEMINISM, OR SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT. AND THESE ARE GOOD THINGS. IF THE RESURRECTION INSPIRES PEOPLE TO WORK FOR WHAT OUR WORLD DESPERATELY NEEDS, WONDERFUL.
YES, WHEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE RESURRECTION, MANY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED, AND NOT JUST CHRISTIANS. BUT IF THE RESURRECTION IS A METAPHOR, AN INSPIRATION, A SIGN OF HOPE AND NOTHING MORE, THEN WE MIGHT AS WELL ALL GO HOME.
A WOMAN, OR SOME WOMEN, CONFRONT AN EMPTY TOMB. IN EACH GOSPEL ACCOUNT, THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE BODY HAS MERELY BEEN STOLEN IS RULED OUT; WHO WOULD STRIP OFF THE BURIAL CLOTHES AND NEATLY ROLL UP THE HEAD COVERING IF THE BODY WERE BEING STOLEN; WHO COULD LOOK INTO A TOMB THAT HELD A DEAD MAN AND FIND ANGELS? AND SO THERE IS ONLY ONE POSSIBILITY, THAT THE OCCUPANT OF THE TOMB THREW OFF DEATH AND ROSE AGAIN; SOMEHOW THAT MOST BASIC OF FACTS, THAT DEATH IS THE END, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE A LIE. AND THAT IS WHY THE MARTYRS JOYFULLY EMBRACED DEATH, WHY HERMITS WENT INTO THE DESERT, WHY MONKS CREATED COMMUNITIES BEHIND WALLS WHERE THEY TRIED TO ANTICIPATE A LIFE WHERE DEATH DID NOT MATTER. THAT IS WHY SAINTS SERVED THE POOR, SPREAD THE GOSPEL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, SPENT THEIR LIVES FORMING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THEMSELVES AND IN THEIR SURROUNDINGS. THAT IS WHY OUR PRIESTS LIVE TO SERVE OUR PEOPLE, WHY OUR FAMILIES STRUGGLE DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO CREATE PLACES WHERE LOVE REALIZES ITSELF IN THE BOND BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE, IN THE FORMATION OF CHILDREN. THAT IS WHY SINGLE PEOPLE DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO SERVING THE COMMUNITY TO WHICH THEY BELONG.
BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF THESE PERSONS WHO LIVES A CHRISTIAN LIFE, WHETHER HIDDEN OR FAMOUS, LITTLE OR GREAT, HAS PEERED INTO THE TOMB AND SEEN FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF THAT IT IS EMPTY, THAT THE ONE WHO WAS BEATEN AND TORTURED AND PUT TO DEATH ON A CROSS CANNOT BE IMPRISONED BY DEATH, CANNOT BE CONFINED TO A TOMB. AND WE REMEMBER HIS WORDS TO US, “WHERE I AM, THERE MY SERVANT MUST BE.”
SOMETHING HAPPENED 2000 YEARS AGO IN AN OUTPOST OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AMIDST A PEOPLE WHO COULD NOT EVEN CALL THEIR LAND THEIR OWN. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE EXPLANATION FOR IT, AND FOR WHAT FOLLOWED, FOR WHAT CHANGED THE WHOLE WORLD, FOR WHAT IS NOT JUST A METAPHOR, IS NOT JUST AN INSPIRATION. AND THAT IS THAT GOD BROKE INTO HUMAN HISTORY, AND CONTINUES TO BREAK IN, AND NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME AGAIN, AND DEATH WILL NO LONGER BE AN OBSTACLE TO WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR HUMAN BEINGS.
LOOK INTO THE EMPTY TOMB. DO YOU FEEL IT? DO YOU SENSE THE SACRED? DOES THE WORLD TAKE ON A HALO, A GLEAM OF HOLINESS? THE EMPTY TOMB MEANS THAT THE RISEN JESUS WALKS AMONG US STILL.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE VERY REASON THAT WE CHRISTIANS EXIST AS A RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT. SOMEWHERE IN AN OBSCURE CORNER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE SOMETHING HAPPENED, SOMETHING THAT MADE A SMALL GROUP OF ILLITERATE, LOWER CLASS, MARGINALIZED MEN AND WOMEN BECOME FIRMLY CONVINCED THAT A MAN WHOM THEY SAW PUT TO DEATH ON A CROSS HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD. THEY DID NOT EXPECT IT, THEY DID NOT EVEN HOPE FOR IT; IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. BUT BECAUSE OF THIS EVENT, THEY WERE TRANSFORMED; THEY SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND BEYOND, TIRELESSLY TELLING OTHERS OF WHAT THEY HAD WITNESSED. OTHERS WHO MET THEM COULD SEE THAT THEIR LIVES HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED; IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY, THEY HAD CERTAINTY; IN A WORLD OF WAR, THEY HAD PEACE; IN A WORLD OF POVERTY, THEY WERE RICH; AND WHERE EVERYONE JEALOUSLY GUARDED THEIR LIVES, THEY THREW THEM AWAY, BECAUSE THEY HAD SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE. AND THOSE WHO MET THEM BECAME THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THE MOVEMENT GREW AND GREW, UNTIL TODAY ONE IN EVERY THREE HUMAN BEINGS ON EARTH ARE FOLLOWERS OF THAT CRUCIFIED MAN.
SOMETHING HAPPENED. I'M NOT SURE WE REALLY GET WHAT HAPPENED BY READING THE GOSPELS. EVERY ONE OF THEM IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHEN IT COMES TO THIS EVENT. IN MARK THREE WOMEN ARE MET BY A YOUNG MAN WHO ANNOUNCES THAT JESUS IS RISEN; IN MATTHEW, TWO WOMEN GO TO THE TOMB, AND AN ANGEL ROLLS BACK THE STONE AND SENDS THEM OFF TO TELL THE DISCIPLES THE GOOD NEWS. IN LUKE, SOME WOMEN GO TO THE TOMB, AND MEET TWO MEN WHO ARE DRESSED IN CLOTHES THAT GLEAMED LIKE LIGHTNING. AND WE HAVE JUST HEARD THE STORY FROM JOHN, WHERE ONLY MARY MAGDALENE FIRST CONFRONTS THE TOMB, AND CONCLUDES THAT THE BODY OF JESUS HAS BEEN STOLEN.; BUT PETER AND JOHN ARE THE ONES WHO GO INTO THE TOMB AND SEE THAT IT IS EMPTY. WHAT THE STORIES HAVE IN COMMON, THOUGH, ARE THAT A WOMAN, WHO IN THOSE DAYS COULD NOT BE A RELIABLE WITNESS IN A COURT OF LAW, FOUND AN EMPTY TOMB. AFTER THAT, ALL THE GOSPELS, THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, THE EPISTLES OF PAUL, ALL ATTEST TO THE APPEARANCES OF JESUS AFTER HIS DEATH – PAUL REFERS TO ABOUT 500 WITNESSES, AND ADDS THAT MANY, WHEN HE WROTE HIS LETTER, WERE STILL ALIVE.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? SOME WRITERS SAY THAT THE RESURRECTION IS A METAPHOR; IT IS A POETIC WAY OF SAYING THAT AFTER JESUS DIED, HIS DISCIPLES DISCOVERED THAT THE HIS SPIRIT WAS STILL WITH THEM, AND THAT GAVE THEM STRENGTH TO GO FORTH AND PREACH HIS MESSAGE. AND THEY TELL US THAT IF WE LOOK INSIDE OURSELVES, WE TOO CAN FIND THE SPIRIT OF JESUS, AND WE TOO CAN BECOME BETTER PERSONS. OR THAT IT IS ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN, OR THAT GOD CAN TRANSFORM EVEN THE WORST SINNER, INTO A SAINT, EVEN THE MOST TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE INTO A GOOD THING. AND THIS IS A GOOD MESSAGE; IT REMINDS US THAT THE HUMAN SPIRIT IS POWERFUL, THAT WE CAN HAVE HOPE THAT WE CAN MAKE THINGS BETTER.
SOME LOOK AT THE RESURRECTION EVENT AND SEE THAT IT HAS POWER, POWER TO TRANSFORM SOCIETY, POWER TO MAKE THE POOR RICH, THE WEAK STRONG; AND THEY ARE INSPIRED TO FOUND POLITICAL OR SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, WHICH HAVE RELIGIOUS OVERTONES, LIKE ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, OR LIBERATION THEOLOGY, OR CHRISTIAN FEMINISM, OR SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT. AND THESE ARE GOOD THINGS. IF THE RESURRECTION INSPIRES PEOPLE TO WORK FOR WHAT OUR WORLD DESPERATELY NEEDS, WONDERFUL.
YES, WHEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE RESURRECTION, MANY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED, AND NOT JUST CHRISTIANS. BUT IF THE RESURRECTION IS A METAPHOR, AN INSPIRATION, A SIGN OF HOPE AND NOTHING MORE, THEN WE MIGHT AS WELL ALL GO HOME.
A WOMAN, OR SOME WOMEN, CONFRONT AN EMPTY TOMB. IN EACH GOSPEL ACCOUNT, THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE BODY HAS MERELY BEEN STOLEN IS RULED OUT; WHO WOULD STRIP OFF THE BURIAL CLOTHES AND NEATLY ROLL UP THE HEAD COVERING IF THE BODY WERE BEING STOLEN; WHO COULD LOOK INTO A TOMB THAT HELD A DEAD MAN AND FIND ANGELS? AND SO THERE IS ONLY ONE POSSIBILITY, THAT THE OCCUPANT OF THE TOMB THREW OFF DEATH AND ROSE AGAIN; SOMEHOW THAT MOST BASIC OF FACTS, THAT DEATH IS THE END, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE A LIE. AND THAT IS WHY THE MARTYRS JOYFULLY EMBRACED DEATH, WHY HERMITS WENT INTO THE DESERT, WHY MONKS CREATED COMMUNITIES BEHIND WALLS WHERE THEY TRIED TO ANTICIPATE A LIFE WHERE DEATH DID NOT MATTER. THAT IS WHY SAINTS SERVED THE POOR, SPREAD THE GOSPEL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, SPENT THEIR LIVES FORMING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THEMSELVES AND IN THEIR SURROUNDINGS. THAT IS WHY OUR PRIESTS LIVE TO SERVE OUR PEOPLE, WHY OUR FAMILIES STRUGGLE DAY IN AND DAY OUT TO CREATE PLACES WHERE LOVE REALIZES ITSELF IN THE BOND BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE, IN THE FORMATION OF CHILDREN. THAT IS WHY SINGLE PEOPLE DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO SERVING THE COMMUNITY TO WHICH THEY BELONG.
BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF THESE PERSONS WHO LIVES A CHRISTIAN LIFE, WHETHER HIDDEN OR FAMOUS, LITTLE OR GREAT, HAS PEERED INTO THE TOMB AND SEEN FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF THAT IT IS EMPTY, THAT THE ONE WHO WAS BEATEN AND TORTURED AND PUT TO DEATH ON A CROSS CANNOT BE IMPRISONED BY DEATH, CANNOT BE CONFINED TO A TOMB. AND WE REMEMBER HIS WORDS TO US, “WHERE I AM, THERE MY SERVANT MUST BE.”
SOMETHING HAPPENED 2000 YEARS AGO IN AN OUTPOST OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AMIDST A PEOPLE WHO COULD NOT EVEN CALL THEIR LAND THEIR OWN. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE EXPLANATION FOR IT, AND FOR WHAT FOLLOWED, FOR WHAT CHANGED THE WHOLE WORLD, FOR WHAT IS NOT JUST A METAPHOR, IS NOT JUST AN INSPIRATION. AND THAT IS THAT GOD BROKE INTO HUMAN HISTORY, AND CONTINUES TO BREAK IN, AND NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME AGAIN, AND DEATH WILL NO LONGER BE AN OBSTACLE TO WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR HUMAN BEINGS.
LOOK INTO THE EMPTY TOMB. DO YOU FEEL IT? DO YOU SENSE THE SACRED? DOES THE WORLD TAKE ON A HALO, A GLEAM OF HOLINESS? THE EMPTY TOMB MEANS THAT THE RISEN JESUS WALKS AMONG US STILL.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Holy Thursday, 2009
JOHN 13:1-15
LITURGY. WE CATHOLICS USE THAT WORD, BUT I DON'T THINK WE OFTEN CONSIDER WHAT IT MEANS. IN ANCIENT GREECE, LEITURGICOS HAPPENED WHEN A WEALTHY MAN BUILT A SHRINE TO ONE OF THE GODS, OR PUT UP THE MONEY FOR A WARSHIP TO HELP DEFEND THE CITY. IT MEANT SOMETHING LIKE “PUBLIC DUTY”, OR “A WORK FOR THE PEOPLE.” OF COURSE WE USE THE WORD TO REFER TO PUBLIC ACTS OF WORSHIP, AND SOMETIMES, MORE SPECIFICALLY, TO OUR MASS.
THE LITURGY ON HOLY THURSDAY IS SPECIAL. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE ATTACH THE RITE OF FOOT WASHING TO OUR MASS, BUT IN REALITY, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN WE RE-ENACT THE WHOLE LAST SUPPER. BECAUSE AT THAT LAST SUPPER, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEAL, THE MEAL IN WHICH JESUS WOULD SAY THOSE WORDS FOR THE FIRST TIME, “TAKE AND EAT, THIS IS MY BODY” AND “THIS IS MY BLOOD,” JESUS GOT UP FROM THE SUPPER AND BEGAN TO WASH HIS DISCIPLE'S FEET.
WE CHRISTIANS ARE A WANDERING PEOPLE. WE ARE DESCENDED FROM ABRAHAM, WHO SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE WANDERING; WE TRACE OUR HERITAGE TO THOSE SLAVES OF EGYPT WHO BECAME A PEOPLE AS THEY WANDERED IN THE DESERT. AFTER ONLY A SHORT PERIOD OF SETTLING DOWN IN THE PROMISED LAND, THEY WERE UPROOTED ONCE AGAIN, AND SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CIVILIZED WORLD; AND ONLY A FEW CAME BACK TO LIVE IN A LAND WHICH BELONGED TO THE PERSIAN KING, THEN THE GREEKS, AND FINALLY, CAESAR. THEY WERE STILL WANDERERS, IN A SENSE, THEY IN FACT HAD NO HOME THEY COULD REALLY CALL THEIR OWN.
EACH OF US IS A WANDERER; I HAVE A HOME, A HOME THAT I LOVE, BUT I CAME FROM A HOME THAT I LOVED AS WELL, A HOME THAT WILL NEVER BE AGAIN, AND WHICH IN A SENSE DEFINES “HOME” TO ME. AND YOU ALL ARE THE SAME, EVEN IF YOU LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE IN WHICH YOU WERE BORN. SOMEWHERE IN THE PAST YOU REMEMBER BEING A CHILD, HAVING A LOVING MOTHER WHO HELD YOU AND COMFORTED YOU AND FED YOU, AND A STRONG FATHER WHO SEEMED CAPABLE OF ANYTHING. AND THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF HOME IN YOUR MIND, AND TRY AS WE MIGHT, WE CAN'T QUITE RECREATE THAT. A HOME, AT LEAST TO ME, IS NOT NECESSARILY A PLACE; WHEN I WAS LITTLE, WE WOULD GO TO GRANDMA'S, BECAUSE WHERE GRANDMA WAS, THERE WAS HER HOME. A HOME FOR ME IS A PLACE WHERE I CAN PUT DOWN THE BURDENS THAT I CARRY, AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
I ONCE WAS INVITED TO THE HOME OF SOMEONE I KNEW ONLY A LITTLE BIT, WHO RUNS A MASSIVE ORGANIZATION, AND ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE A REMOTE AND INTIMIDATING FIGURE. I KNOW HE MAKES ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY AND SELL ME, AND I EXPECTED THAT THE MEAL WOULD BE PREPARED BY HIS COOK, AND WE WOULD ALL SIT IN THE LIVING ROOM OVER DRINKS WHILE WE LISTENED RESPECTFULLY TO HIS WISDOM. BUT HE GREETED US AT THE DOOR, WEARING AN APRON; HE PERSONALLY REMOVED MY COAT AND HUNG IT IN THE CLOSET; HE INVITED US INTO THE KITCHEN WHERE WE CONVERSED AS HE PUT THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON THE SUPPER. AND DURING THE MEAL HE KEPT GETTING UP TO WAIT ON US. I FELT AT HOME; HE CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT FOR US IN WHICH EVERYTHING WAS TAKEN CARE OF; IT WAS A LITTLE OASIS OF PEACE IN OUR LIVES WHERE WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING.
THAT'S WHAT WE CELEBRATE TONIGHT, THAT IS THE GIFT THAT JESUS GIVES US. HOLY THURSDAY IS AN ANTICIPATION OF OUR TRUE HOME. WE READ THAT THE APOSTLES HAD BEEN ARGUING ABOUT WHO WAS GREATER IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE APOSTLES WOULD BETRAY JESUS, AND THE OTHERS WOULD DESERT HIM. BUT JESUS WASHES ALL OF THEIR FEET, HE DOES NOT DISTINGUISH THE GOOD FROM THE BAD, THE SINFUL FROM THE HOLY. IN WASHING THEIR FEET, HE WASHES AWAY THEIR SINS AS WELL. AND THEN, ALTHOUGH JOHN'S GOSPEL DOES NOT TELL US THIS, BUT THE OTHERS DO, HE PREPARES THE FOOD WITH HIS OWN HANDS, CHANGING BREAD INTO HIS BODY AND WINE INTO HIS BLOOD, AND FEEDS HIS DISCIPLES NOT JUST ANY FOOD, BUT HIMSELF. AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IT, THE DISCIPLES MUST HAVE FELT THAT THEY HAD COME HOME.
LITURGY IS A PUBLIC WORK. OUR WORK TONIGHT IS TO CREATE HERE IN THIS CHURCH, A MEMORY, A MEMORY OF OUR TRUE HOME, WHICH DOES NOT LIE IN THE DISTANT PAST, BUT IN THE GLORIOUS FUTURE. IT WILL BE A HOME THAT WE WILL INSTANTLY RECOGNIZE, A HOME WHERE WE ARE GREETED AT THE DOOR BY OUR HOST, AND FED THE BREAD OF HEAVEN AND THE WINE OF SALVATION, FOR ALL ETERNITY. AND WE WILL FINALLY REST; OUR WANDERING WILL BE OVER, OUR BURDENS PERMANENTLY RELIEVED.
AND AS WE LEAVE HERE TONIGHT, WE ALL HAVE BEEN GIVEN A COMMISSION. WE ARE TO GO OUT AND DO TO OTHERS AS JESUS HAS DONE TO US. WE ARE TO REMIND OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT THEY ARE WANDERERS, AND THAT THERE IS NO TRUE HOME ON THIS EARTH. WE ARE TO WASH THEIR FEET, TEND TO THEIR NEEDS, SEE THAT THEY ARE FED AND CLOTHED AND MADE COMFORTABLE. WE COULD CERTAINLY JUST GO OUT AND TELL THEM ABOUT THE HOME TO WHICH WE ARE CALLED, THE HOME WE REMEMBER TONIGHT; BUT HOW MUCH MORE IT WILL MEAN IF WE SHOW THEM WHAT THAT HOME IS GOING TO BE LIKE?
LITURGY IS A WORK, A WORK OF THE PEOPLE. OUR LITURGY MERELY BEGINS HERE, AND WE MUST CONTINUE IT WHEN WE LEAVE THE CHURCH TONIGHT.
LITURGY. WE CATHOLICS USE THAT WORD, BUT I DON'T THINK WE OFTEN CONSIDER WHAT IT MEANS. IN ANCIENT GREECE, LEITURGICOS HAPPENED WHEN A WEALTHY MAN BUILT A SHRINE TO ONE OF THE GODS, OR PUT UP THE MONEY FOR A WARSHIP TO HELP DEFEND THE CITY. IT MEANT SOMETHING LIKE “PUBLIC DUTY”, OR “A WORK FOR THE PEOPLE.” OF COURSE WE USE THE WORD TO REFER TO PUBLIC ACTS OF WORSHIP, AND SOMETIMES, MORE SPECIFICALLY, TO OUR MASS.
THE LITURGY ON HOLY THURSDAY IS SPECIAL. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE ATTACH THE RITE OF FOOT WASHING TO OUR MASS, BUT IN REALITY, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME OF THE YEAR WHEN WE RE-ENACT THE WHOLE LAST SUPPER. BECAUSE AT THAT LAST SUPPER, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MEAL, THE MEAL IN WHICH JESUS WOULD SAY THOSE WORDS FOR THE FIRST TIME, “TAKE AND EAT, THIS IS MY BODY” AND “THIS IS MY BLOOD,” JESUS GOT UP FROM THE SUPPER AND BEGAN TO WASH HIS DISCIPLE'S FEET.
WE CHRISTIANS ARE A WANDERING PEOPLE. WE ARE DESCENDED FROM ABRAHAM, WHO SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE WANDERING; WE TRACE OUR HERITAGE TO THOSE SLAVES OF EGYPT WHO BECAME A PEOPLE AS THEY WANDERED IN THE DESERT. AFTER ONLY A SHORT PERIOD OF SETTLING DOWN IN THE PROMISED LAND, THEY WERE UPROOTED ONCE AGAIN, AND SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CIVILIZED WORLD; AND ONLY A FEW CAME BACK TO LIVE IN A LAND WHICH BELONGED TO THE PERSIAN KING, THEN THE GREEKS, AND FINALLY, CAESAR. THEY WERE STILL WANDERERS, IN A SENSE, THEY IN FACT HAD NO HOME THEY COULD REALLY CALL THEIR OWN.
EACH OF US IS A WANDERER; I HAVE A HOME, A HOME THAT I LOVE, BUT I CAME FROM A HOME THAT I LOVED AS WELL, A HOME THAT WILL NEVER BE AGAIN, AND WHICH IN A SENSE DEFINES “HOME” TO ME. AND YOU ALL ARE THE SAME, EVEN IF YOU LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE IN WHICH YOU WERE BORN. SOMEWHERE IN THE PAST YOU REMEMBER BEING A CHILD, HAVING A LOVING MOTHER WHO HELD YOU AND COMFORTED YOU AND FED YOU, AND A STRONG FATHER WHO SEEMED CAPABLE OF ANYTHING. AND THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF HOME IN YOUR MIND, AND TRY AS WE MIGHT, WE CAN'T QUITE RECREATE THAT. A HOME, AT LEAST TO ME, IS NOT NECESSARILY A PLACE; WHEN I WAS LITTLE, WE WOULD GO TO GRANDMA'S, BECAUSE WHERE GRANDMA WAS, THERE WAS HER HOME. A HOME FOR ME IS A PLACE WHERE I CAN PUT DOWN THE BURDENS THAT I CARRY, AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE WHILE.
I ONCE WAS INVITED TO THE HOME OF SOMEONE I KNEW ONLY A LITTLE BIT, WHO RUNS A MASSIVE ORGANIZATION, AND ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE A REMOTE AND INTIMIDATING FIGURE. I KNOW HE MAKES ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY AND SELL ME, AND I EXPECTED THAT THE MEAL WOULD BE PREPARED BY HIS COOK, AND WE WOULD ALL SIT IN THE LIVING ROOM OVER DRINKS WHILE WE LISTENED RESPECTFULLY TO HIS WISDOM. BUT HE GREETED US AT THE DOOR, WEARING AN APRON; HE PERSONALLY REMOVED MY COAT AND HUNG IT IN THE CLOSET; HE INVITED US INTO THE KITCHEN WHERE WE CONVERSED AS HE PUT THE FINISHING TOUCHES ON THE SUPPER. AND DURING THE MEAL HE KEPT GETTING UP TO WAIT ON US. I FELT AT HOME; HE CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT FOR US IN WHICH EVERYTHING WAS TAKEN CARE OF; IT WAS A LITTLE OASIS OF PEACE IN OUR LIVES WHERE WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING.
THAT'S WHAT WE CELEBRATE TONIGHT, THAT IS THE GIFT THAT JESUS GIVES US. HOLY THURSDAY IS AN ANTICIPATION OF OUR TRUE HOME. WE READ THAT THE APOSTLES HAD BEEN ARGUING ABOUT WHO WAS GREATER IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE APOSTLES WOULD BETRAY JESUS, AND THE OTHERS WOULD DESERT HIM. BUT JESUS WASHES ALL OF THEIR FEET, HE DOES NOT DISTINGUISH THE GOOD FROM THE BAD, THE SINFUL FROM THE HOLY. IN WASHING THEIR FEET, HE WASHES AWAY THEIR SINS AS WELL. AND THEN, ALTHOUGH JOHN'S GOSPEL DOES NOT TELL US THIS, BUT THE OTHERS DO, HE PREPARES THE FOOD WITH HIS OWN HANDS, CHANGING BREAD INTO HIS BODY AND WINE INTO HIS BLOOD, AND FEEDS HIS DISCIPLES NOT JUST ANY FOOD, BUT HIMSELF. AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT IT, THE DISCIPLES MUST HAVE FELT THAT THEY HAD COME HOME.
LITURGY IS A PUBLIC WORK. OUR WORK TONIGHT IS TO CREATE HERE IN THIS CHURCH, A MEMORY, A MEMORY OF OUR TRUE HOME, WHICH DOES NOT LIE IN THE DISTANT PAST, BUT IN THE GLORIOUS FUTURE. IT WILL BE A HOME THAT WE WILL INSTANTLY RECOGNIZE, A HOME WHERE WE ARE GREETED AT THE DOOR BY OUR HOST, AND FED THE BREAD OF HEAVEN AND THE WINE OF SALVATION, FOR ALL ETERNITY. AND WE WILL FINALLY REST; OUR WANDERING WILL BE OVER, OUR BURDENS PERMANENTLY RELIEVED.
AND AS WE LEAVE HERE TONIGHT, WE ALL HAVE BEEN GIVEN A COMMISSION. WE ARE TO GO OUT AND DO TO OTHERS AS JESUS HAS DONE TO US. WE ARE TO REMIND OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS THAT THEY ARE WANDERERS, AND THAT THERE IS NO TRUE HOME ON THIS EARTH. WE ARE TO WASH THEIR FEET, TEND TO THEIR NEEDS, SEE THAT THEY ARE FED AND CLOTHED AND MADE COMFORTABLE. WE COULD CERTAINLY JUST GO OUT AND TELL THEM ABOUT THE HOME TO WHICH WE ARE CALLED, THE HOME WE REMEMBER TONIGHT; BUT HOW MUCH MORE IT WILL MEAN IF WE SHOW THEM WHAT THAT HOME IS GOING TO BE LIKE?
LITURGY IS A WORK, A WORK OF THE PEOPLE. OUR LITURGY MERELY BEGINS HERE, AND WE MUST CONTINUE IT WHEN WE LEAVE THE CHURCH TONIGHT.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Palm Sunday,cycle b
MARK 14:1-15:47 (THE PASSION OF OUR LORD)
WE'VE JUST TAKEN PART IN AN ANCIENT TRADITION – THE READING OF THE PASSION. OUR CELEBRANT READS THE PARTS WHERE JESUS SPEAKS, AND WE HAVE A NARRATOR, AND WE HAVE SOMEONE ELSE WHO DOES ALL THE OTHER PARTS. AND THEN WE HAVE THE CHORUS – THAT IS YOU AND I. WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR PART, IT ISN'T MUCH, BUT IT DOES SERVE AS KIND OF AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE.
IN OUR FIRST PART, WE SPEAK FOR THE PRIESTS AND SCRIBES, WHO SEEK TO ARREST JESUS – BUT WE SAY, “NOT DURING THE FESTIVAL, FOR FEAR THAT THERE MAY BE A RIOT AMONG THE PEOPLE.” HOW OFTEN DO WE FAIL TO DO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BECAUSE WE FEAR SOME REACTION FROM THOSE AROUND US?
“WHY HAS THERE BEEN THIS WASTE OF PERFUMED OIL? IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOLD FOR MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED DAYS WAGES AND THE MONEY GIVEN TO THE POOR.” WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE ELSE DOING GOOD, DO WE THANK GOD FOR THAT? OR PERHAPS, OUT OF ENVY, WE CRITICIZE, WE FIND FAULT.
“WHERE DO YOU WANT US TO GO AND PREPARE FOR YOU TO EAT THE PASSOVER?” THE APOSTLES SAID THIS TO JESUS. I IMAGINE JESUS MIGHT HAVE SAID TO HIMSELF, “DO I HAVE TO THINK OF EVERYTHING?” ARE THERE TIMES WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRES US TO STEP OUT AND TAKE INITIATIVE, BUT WE HOLD BACK, WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO LEAD?
THE NEXT TIME WE IN THE CHORUS SPEAK, WE ARE SOME OF THE FALSE WITNESSES AGAINST JESUS. “WE HEARD HIM SAY, “I WILL DESTROY THIS TEMPLE MADE WITH HANDS AND WITHIN THREE DAYS I WILL BUILD ANOTHER NOT MADE WITH HANDS.” WHEN JESUS MADE THIS STATEMENT, THOSE WHO HEARD HIM KNEW HE WAS SPEAKING FIGURATIVELY. NO ONE WHO WAS THERE REALLY BELIEVED THAT JESUS WAS GOING TO TEAR DOWN THE TEMPLE AND BUILD ANOTHER, NOT IN THREE DAYS, NOT WITHOUT HUMAN LABOR. BUT THE WORDS JESUS SPOKE ARE TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT AND USED AGAINST HIM. DO WE DO THIS? DO WE ISOLATE THINGS SOMEONE MAY HAVE SAID AND USE THOSE WORDS TO CHARACTERIZE HIM? DO WE SNEER AT THE POPE FOR SAYING THAT CONDOMS PROMOTE AIDS BUT NEVER GO TO THE TROUBLE TO ACTUALLY READ WHAT THE POPE ACTUALLY SAID?
“PROPHECY” WE SAY, WITH THE SOLDIERS WHO TORTURE JESUS. DO WE STOP UP OUR EARS WHEN SOMEONE WHO IS NOT ONE OF US SPEAKS THE TRUTH TO US? DO WE THINK THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO LEARN FROM OTHER RELIGIONS, OTHER RACES, OTHER SOCIAL CLASSES?
“YOU TOO WERE WITH THE NAZARENE, JESUS”, AND “SURELY YOU ARE ONE OF THEM, FOR YOU TOO ARE A GALILEAN.” HAVE WE EVER JUDGED SOMEONE BECAUSE OF THE COMPANY HE OR SHE KEEPS? DO WE LABEL PEOPLE, MAKING THEM “THINGS” IN OUR OWN EYES, SO THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF THEIR UNIQUENESS, THEIR INDIVIDUALITY, THE FACT THAT THEY ARE LOVED WITH A DIVINE LOVE?
“CRUCIFY HIM!” IS THERE ANYONE, A BOSS, A POLITICAL LEADER, A RELIGIOUS LEADER, -- ANYONE WHO IS A THORN IN MY SIDE – THAT I REALLY WISH WOULD GET WHAT IS COMING TO HIM OR HER; THAT I WOULD NOT SHED A TEAR OVER IF I HEARD THAT THAT PERSON HAD BEEN IN A CAR ACCIDENT?
“HAIL, KING OF THE JEWS.” THESE WORDS MOCKED JESUS. MOCKERY IS A GOOD WAY TO AVOID TAKING SOMEONE SERIOUSLY, OR TO KEEP FROM ENGAGING IN HONEST DIALOG WITH SOMEONE.
“YOU WHO WOULD DESTROY THE TEMPLE AND REBUILD IT IN THREE DAYS, SAVE YOURSELF BY COMING DOWN FROM THE CROSS!” HAVE YOU AND I EVER STOOD BY AND WATCHED AS SOMEONE ELSE SUFFERED? IF WE HAVEN'T BEEN GENEROUS TO THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED, WE HAVE.
“HE SAVED OTHERS, HE CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF. LET CHRIST, THE KING OF ISRAEL, COME DOWN NOW FROM THE CROSS, THAT WE MAY SEE AND BELIEVE.” WHAT DO WE NEED BEFORE WE COMMIT OURSELVES? STILL ANOTHER MIRACLE?
“LOOK, HE IS CALLING ELIJAH!” JESUS IN HIS DYING AGONY CALLED OUT TO GOD. THOSE LISTENING CHOSE TO HEAR HIM CALL ON ELIJAH, THE PROPHET, TO RESCUE HIM. DO WE DELIBERATELY MISINTERPRET WHAT WE HEAR SO THAT WE WON'T HAVE TO FACE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON?
THESE AREN'T ALL THE THINGS WE HUMANS ARE GUILTY OF. BUT ITS A START. THANK GOD THAT JESUS HAS GUARANTEED OUR FORGIVENESS.
WE'VE JUST TAKEN PART IN AN ANCIENT TRADITION – THE READING OF THE PASSION. OUR CELEBRANT READS THE PARTS WHERE JESUS SPEAKS, AND WE HAVE A NARRATOR, AND WE HAVE SOMEONE ELSE WHO DOES ALL THE OTHER PARTS. AND THEN WE HAVE THE CHORUS – THAT IS YOU AND I. WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR PART, IT ISN'T MUCH, BUT IT DOES SERVE AS KIND OF AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE.
IN OUR FIRST PART, WE SPEAK FOR THE PRIESTS AND SCRIBES, WHO SEEK TO ARREST JESUS – BUT WE SAY, “NOT DURING THE FESTIVAL, FOR FEAR THAT THERE MAY BE A RIOT AMONG THE PEOPLE.” HOW OFTEN DO WE FAIL TO DO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD BECAUSE WE FEAR SOME REACTION FROM THOSE AROUND US?
“WHY HAS THERE BEEN THIS WASTE OF PERFUMED OIL? IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOLD FOR MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED DAYS WAGES AND THE MONEY GIVEN TO THE POOR.” WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE ELSE DOING GOOD, DO WE THANK GOD FOR THAT? OR PERHAPS, OUT OF ENVY, WE CRITICIZE, WE FIND FAULT.
“WHERE DO YOU WANT US TO GO AND PREPARE FOR YOU TO EAT THE PASSOVER?” THE APOSTLES SAID THIS TO JESUS. I IMAGINE JESUS MIGHT HAVE SAID TO HIMSELF, “DO I HAVE TO THINK OF EVERYTHING?” ARE THERE TIMES WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRES US TO STEP OUT AND TAKE INITIATIVE, BUT WE HOLD BACK, WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO LEAD?
THE NEXT TIME WE IN THE CHORUS SPEAK, WE ARE SOME OF THE FALSE WITNESSES AGAINST JESUS. “WE HEARD HIM SAY, “I WILL DESTROY THIS TEMPLE MADE WITH HANDS AND WITHIN THREE DAYS I WILL BUILD ANOTHER NOT MADE WITH HANDS.” WHEN JESUS MADE THIS STATEMENT, THOSE WHO HEARD HIM KNEW HE WAS SPEAKING FIGURATIVELY. NO ONE WHO WAS THERE REALLY BELIEVED THAT JESUS WAS GOING TO TEAR DOWN THE TEMPLE AND BUILD ANOTHER, NOT IN THREE DAYS, NOT WITHOUT HUMAN LABOR. BUT THE WORDS JESUS SPOKE ARE TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT AND USED AGAINST HIM. DO WE DO THIS? DO WE ISOLATE THINGS SOMEONE MAY HAVE SAID AND USE THOSE WORDS TO CHARACTERIZE HIM? DO WE SNEER AT THE POPE FOR SAYING THAT CONDOMS PROMOTE AIDS BUT NEVER GO TO THE TROUBLE TO ACTUALLY READ WHAT THE POPE ACTUALLY SAID?
“PROPHECY” WE SAY, WITH THE SOLDIERS WHO TORTURE JESUS. DO WE STOP UP OUR EARS WHEN SOMEONE WHO IS NOT ONE OF US SPEAKS THE TRUTH TO US? DO WE THINK THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO LEARN FROM OTHER RELIGIONS, OTHER RACES, OTHER SOCIAL CLASSES?
“YOU TOO WERE WITH THE NAZARENE, JESUS”, AND “SURELY YOU ARE ONE OF THEM, FOR YOU TOO ARE A GALILEAN.” HAVE WE EVER JUDGED SOMEONE BECAUSE OF THE COMPANY HE OR SHE KEEPS? DO WE LABEL PEOPLE, MAKING THEM “THINGS” IN OUR OWN EYES, SO THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF THEIR UNIQUENESS, THEIR INDIVIDUALITY, THE FACT THAT THEY ARE LOVED WITH A DIVINE LOVE?
“CRUCIFY HIM!” IS THERE ANYONE, A BOSS, A POLITICAL LEADER, A RELIGIOUS LEADER, -- ANYONE WHO IS A THORN IN MY SIDE – THAT I REALLY WISH WOULD GET WHAT IS COMING TO HIM OR HER; THAT I WOULD NOT SHED A TEAR OVER IF I HEARD THAT THAT PERSON HAD BEEN IN A CAR ACCIDENT?
“HAIL, KING OF THE JEWS.” THESE WORDS MOCKED JESUS. MOCKERY IS A GOOD WAY TO AVOID TAKING SOMEONE SERIOUSLY, OR TO KEEP FROM ENGAGING IN HONEST DIALOG WITH SOMEONE.
“YOU WHO WOULD DESTROY THE TEMPLE AND REBUILD IT IN THREE DAYS, SAVE YOURSELF BY COMING DOWN FROM THE CROSS!” HAVE YOU AND I EVER STOOD BY AND WATCHED AS SOMEONE ELSE SUFFERED? IF WE HAVEN'T BEEN GENEROUS TO THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED, WE HAVE.
“HE SAVED OTHERS, HE CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF. LET CHRIST, THE KING OF ISRAEL, COME DOWN NOW FROM THE CROSS, THAT WE MAY SEE AND BELIEVE.” WHAT DO WE NEED BEFORE WE COMMIT OURSELVES? STILL ANOTHER MIRACLE?
“LOOK, HE IS CALLING ELIJAH!” JESUS IN HIS DYING AGONY CALLED OUT TO GOD. THOSE LISTENING CHOSE TO HEAR HIM CALL ON ELIJAH, THE PROPHET, TO RESCUE HIM. DO WE DELIBERATELY MISINTERPRET WHAT WE HEAR SO THAT WE WON'T HAVE TO FACE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON?
THESE AREN'T ALL THE THINGS WE HUMANS ARE GUILTY OF. BUT ITS A START. THANK GOD THAT JESUS HAS GUARANTEED OUR FORGIVENESS.
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