JOHN 6:51-58
WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL, I READ A BOOK CALLED “MR. BLUE” BY MILES CONNOLLY. THE TIME WAS THE FAR FUTURE, AND THE ENTIRE WORLD WAS LIKE THE OLD SOVIET UNION IN SPADES. EVERYONE'S LIFE WAS PLANNED AND THERE WAS LITERALLY NO FREEDOM. PEOPLE WERE NOURISHED ON A TASTELESS ARTIFICIAL SUBSTANCE AND GIVEN WATER FROM RUNNING PIPES. THE BOOK OPENS WHEN THE VERY LAST HOLD-OUTS HAD BEEN CAPTURED AND ADDED TO WHAT WAS BASICALLY A WORLD-WIDE CONCENTRATION CAMP. MR. BLUE SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS NOT LOST HIS SPIRIT. HE GOES ABOUT HIS CRUSHING PHYSICAL LABOR CHEERFULLY. HE SINGS UNDER HIS BREATH. HE CHEERS UP HIS COMRADES. HE TEASES THE GUARDS. AND NOW AND THEN HE GETS BEATEN. IN HIS RARE MOMENTS WHEN HE IS LEFT TO HIMSELF, HE GOES TO AN AREA BEHIND A CLUMP OF ROCKS. ONE DAY, MR. BLUE TAKES A FEW GRAINS OF WHEAT WHICH HE HAS MANAGED TO GROW AND GRINDS THEM INTO A PASTE WHICH HE ALLOWS TO DRY OUT IN THE SUN. HE HAS A SMALL CLUMP OF GRAPES WHICH HE SQUEEZES, AND ALLOWS THE LIQUID TO FERMENT. AND WHEN EVERYTHING IS READY, HE BEGINS THOSE ANCIENT PRAYERS, AND WHEN HE PRONOUNCES THE WORDS OF CONSECRATION, THE SKIES DARKEN AND THE HEAVENLY HOST DESCEND, AND JESUS COMES IN ALL HIS GLORY TO JUDGE THE WORLD AND BRING ABOUT THE END OF TIME. FOR MR. BLUE WAS THE LAST PRIEST ON EARTH.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT WE AND THE ORTHODOX, AND A FEW OTHER CHRISTIAN BODIES, MAKE JESUS TRULY PRESENT WHEN OUR PRIESTS CELEBRATE THE EUCHARISTIC LITURGY, BECAUSE WE HAVE MAINTAINED THE PRIESTHOOD INSTITUTED BY JESUS. WE ALSO BELIEVE, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, THAT WHEN JESUS BECOMES PRESENT, THE BREAD AND WINE ARE NO LONGER PRESENT. ALTHOUGH EVERYTHING LOOKS AND TASTES AND FEELS THE SAME AS BEFORE, THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN THE SUBSTANCE. WE TAKE LITERALLY THAT JESUS MEANT WHAT HE SAID WHEN HE TOLD HIS APOSTLES TO TAKE BREAD AND PROCLAIM THAT IT WAS HIS BODY, AND WINE WAS HIS BLOOD. JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT TO US IN THIS SACRAMENT, JUST AS HE WAS TO THE DISCIPLES AT THE LAST SUPPER, JUST AS HE WAS TO THE WORLD AT THE END OF TIME WHEN THE LAST MASS IS SAID BY THE LAST PRIEST, MR. BLUE.
I DO NOT AT ALL QUESTION THIS TEACHING. TO ME THE EUCHARIST IS THE REASON TO BE A CATHOLIC. FLANNERY O'CONNOR, A CATHOLIC WRITER DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE LAST CENTURY, WAS CHALLENGED BY A FRIEND OF HERS WHO SAID THAT THE EUCHARIST WAS A USEFUL SYMBOL. SHE REPLIED “IF IT IS A SYMBOL, THEN TO HELL WITH IT.” I AGREE. I HAVE NO USE FOR MERE SYMBOLS, AND YOU SHOULDN'T EITHER.
BUT LET'S FACE IT. I CAN SAY THAT THE EUCHARIST IS THE REAL PRESENCE, BUT DO I REALLY BELIEVE IT? I THINK THE ANSWER IS THAT MOST CATHOLICS DON'T. THERE ARE MANY CATHOLICS WHO GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY AND PARTICIPATE IN THE LIFE OF THEIR PARISH WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN THE “REAL PRESENCE”. THAT'S BEEN SHOWN BY POLLS. BUT THERE ARE MANY MORE WHO WOULD SAY THAT THEY DO BELIEVE, BUT THEIR ACTIONS WOULD ARGUE DIFFERENTLY. SOME OF US MAKE NO PREPARATION FOR RECEIVING THE HOLY EUCHARIST. IT IS JUST ANOTHER ROUTINE; WE STAND IN LINE AND GET OUR COMMUNION BARELY THINKING ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING. SOME OF US TAKE COMMUNION AND WALK OUT THE DOOR NOT EVEN BOTHERING TO FINISH PARTICIPATING IN MASS. SOME OF US RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST EVERY SUNDAY BUT HAVEN'T BEEN TO CONFESSION IN YEARS.
IT TAKES EFFORT TO APPRECIATE AND BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE. AS HUMAN BEINGS, WHAT WE DO WITH OUR BODIES INFLUENCES OUR SOULS. IF WE PREPARE TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST BY ASKING FORGIVENESS FOR OUR SINS AND OFFERING OURSELVES TO JESUS; IF WE RECEIVE THE HOLY EUCHARIST AND SPEAK TO JESUS IN OUR HEARTS AFTERWARD; IF WE GO OUT OF THE CHURCH IN TUNE WITH THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN CHANGED BY THIS MIRACLE, WE WILL FIND THAT WE WILL GRADUALLY ENTER INTO THIS MYSTERY. IT NEEDS CULTIVATION. THE GREAT SAINTS KNEW THIS, AND STRUCTURED THEIR LIVES AROUND THE HOLY EUCHARIST. POPE JOHN PAUL, POPE BENEDICT, MOTHER THERESA, AND SO MANY OTHERS WHO ARE SAINTS OR NEAR-SAINTS THOUGHT IT ESSENTIAL TO SPEND TIME EVERY DAY BEFORE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. AND YET, EXCEPT FOR SATURDAY EVENING AND SUNDAY MORNING THIS CHURCH IS LIKE AN EMPTY CAVERN – AND YET WE SAY THAT WE BELIEVE JESUS IS HERE, REALLY PRESENT.
JESUS SAID THAT WE MUST EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD IF WE WOULD HAVE LIFE. HE HAS GIVEN US THE MEANS TO DO THIS. BUT EATING HIS BODY AND DRINKING HIS BLOOD IN THIS SACRAMENT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM US, TO BRING US INTO THAT NEW LIFE, ONLY IF WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING. AND IF WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING, WE CAN'T HELP BUT PREPARE, WE CAN'T HELP BUT SPEAK TO JESUS AFTER RECEIVING HIM; WE CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL UNWORTHY THAT WE ARE BEING GIVEN THIS GREAT PRIVILEGE WHICH IS NOT AVAILABLE TO MOST PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. AND IF WE REALLY BELIEVE, DOESN'T BEING IN JESUS PRESENCE FOR A FEW MINUTES NOW AND THEN BEAT EVERYTHING ELSE WE CAN THINK OF ? IF A LONG-LOST FRIEND CALLED ME AND TOLD ME THAT HE WAS STAYING IN THE SHERATON TONIGHT AND COULD I JOIN HIM FOR A DRINK AND A LITTLE CATCHING UP, I WOULD CHANGE MY PLANS TO DO SO. BUT IF THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE LOVER OF MY SOUL IS PRESENT IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST, AND EXPOSED TO MY VIEW ON TUESDAYS AND FIRST FRIDAY HERE AT SAINT MARY'S, ALMOST ANYTHING I CAN THINK OF IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN TO COME AND SPEND SOME TIME IN HIS PRESENCE.
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY OUR PREACHERS AND THEOLOGIANS, SAINTS AND POPES, HAVE INSISTED THAT JESUS IS PRESENT, REALLY PRESENT IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST. MANY OF OUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS CANNOT BELIEVE THIS; THEY DON'T ACCEPT THAT THERE IS A MIRACLE HERE. WHEN THEY SEE HOW CATHOLICS REACT TO THE EUCHARIST, THEY COULD EASILY SAY, “YOU DON'T BELIEVE EITHER, BECAUSE IF YOU DID, YOU WOULDN'T BE WATCHING THE NEWS WHEN YOU COULD BE IN HIS PRESENCE. YOU WOULDN'T BEGRUDGE AN HOUR A MONTH TO SIT IN HIS PRESENCE AND SPEAK TO HIM. YOU WOULDN'T RECEIVE HIM INTO YOUR OWN BODY AND FORGET WHAT HAPPENED A FEW MINUTES LATER AS YOU DIVE BACK INTO THE WORLD.
SAINT THOMAS WAS ONCE ASKED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF A MOUSE CONSUMED A CRUMB OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST. HE REPLIED, “NOTHING” BECAUSE A MOUSE HAS NO CAPACITY TO BE CHANGED, A MOUSE HAS NO ABILITY TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS. MAY YOU AND I CULTIVATE A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THE REAL PRESENCE THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS. MAY YOU AND I NOT BE MICE WHERE THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS CONCERNED.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Trinity Sunday, year A
JOHN 3:16-18
TODAY'S GOSPEL IS INTERESTING. IN ONE BREATH JESUS TELLS US THAT GOD SO LOVED US THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY SON SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. HE DID NOT DO THIS TO CONDEMN US, BUT SO THAT WE MIGHT BE SAVED THROUGH HIM. AND THEN, IN THE NEXT BREATH, HE SAYS THAT IF WE BELIEVE IN HIM, WE WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED, BUT IF WE DON'T, WE ARE ALREADY CONDEMNED.
I SUSPECT THAT IF YOU ARE A GOOD, CHURCH-GOING CHRISTIAN, AND YOU ARE, YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM BELIEVING THE FIRST PROPOSITION – THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY SON. YOU BELIEVE THAT THROUGH JESUS WE WILL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. BUT I SUSPECT THAT IF YOU ARE A GOOD CHURCH-GOING CHRISTIAN, YOU MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE PROBLEM WITH THE SECOND PROPOSITION – THAT WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN HIM – AND JESUS EVEN SAYS, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF THE ONLY SON OF GOD; OTHERWISE, WE ARE ALREADY CONDEMNED.
MUCH OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY IS TAKEN UP WITH TRYING TO RESOLVE THESE TENSIONS. IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE ONLY WAY WE CAN AVOID CONDEMNATION, THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN BE SAVED, IS BY BELIEVING IN HIS NAME. OF COURSE WE UNDERSTAND THE WORD “BELIEVE” TO BE MORE THAN JUST AGREEING WITH A PARTICULAR PROPOSITION. AFTER ALL, SATAN, THE GREATEST OF THE ANGELS, SURELY BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. AS JESUS DRIVES OUT DEMONS THEY CRY OUT THAT FACT. BELIEVING, IN GOSPEL LANGUAGE, MEANS THAT WE AGREE WITH OUR WHOLE BEING, NOT JUST OUR MINDS. AND IF WE AGREE WITH OUR WHOLE BEING, THAN OUR CONDUCT REFLECTS THAT WE BELIEVE IN JESUS AND WHAT JESUS TAUGHT. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T BELIEVE? WE ALL KNOW GOOD PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD WELCOME INTO OUR CHURCH WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS. HOW DO THEY AVOID CONDEMNATION? HOW ARE THEY SAVED?
SAINT AUGUSTINE SAID THAT WE ALL DESERVE CONDEMNATION, BUT GOD, IN HIS MERCY CHOOSES SOME TO BE SAVED. FOR SAINT AUGUSTINE, NO ONE WHO HAD NOT BEEN BAPTIZED STOOD A CHANCE. AND JOHN CALVIN, THE GREAT PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN, BELIEVED THIS AS WELL, AND INSISTED THERE WAS NOTHING ANYONE COULD DO ABOUT IT IF YOU WERE CONDEMNED. IT MAY SOUND UNJUST, BUT REMEMBER, EVEN NEWBORN BABIES ARE BORN IN ORIGINAL SIN. MANY THEOLOGIANS AND PHILOSOPHERS THOUGHT THAT CALVIN AND AUGUSTINE WERE TOO HARSH. SO AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM ARE THEOLOGIANS LIKE RAHNER, WHO SAID THAT, YES, YOU HAVE TO BE SAVED THROUGH JESUS, BUT THERE IS SUCH A THING AS AN ANONYMOUS CHRISTIAN, WHO DOES HIS BEST TO FOLLOW THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD WRITTEN IN HIS HEART. AND THAT IDEA SEEMS MORE IN KEEPING WITH OUR MODERN SENSIBILITIES. AFTER ALL, I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT MY JEWISH AND MUSLIM AND HINDU FRIENDS, AND EVEN MY ATHEIST FRIENDS, TO GO TO HELL. I HOPE THAT BY LEADING GOOD LIVES, THE WILL BE SAVED THROUGH THIS ESCAPE CLAUSE.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW. THE CHURCH ALLOWS THAT SALVATION IS POSSIBLE TO THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS, BUT HOW POSSIBLE? COMMON? RARE? SHE DOESN'T SAY. OBVIOUSLY, ITS HARD ENOUGH WHEN YOU ARE A MEMBER OF CHRIST'S OWN CHURCH.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE TRINITY SUNDAY. GOD IS THE FATHER WHO IS AT THE HEART OF THE UNIVERSE, UNKNOWABLE, BEYOND UNDERSTANDING. AND YET HE REVEALS HIMSELF TO US IN JESUS, THE SON. BUT EVEN THOUGH JESUS REVEALS THE FATHER, FOR YOU AND I TO ACCEPT THIS REVELATION, THERE MUST BE THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO REVEALS ALL THAT IS TRUE. YOU WILL SOMETIMES HEAR PEOPLE SAY THAT WE ALL BELIEVE IN THE SAME GOD. I REMEMBER A DISCUSSION WITH A HINDU FRIEND WHO INSISTED THAT EVEN THOUGH HINDUS HAVE TEMPLES TO THOUSANDS OF GODS THROUGHOUT INDIA, THEY ARE REALLY JUST AS MUCH ONE-GOD PEOPLE AS CHRISTIANS, JEWS AND MUSLIMS. FOR A HINDU, ALL THE “GODS” ARE JUST WAYS THAT THE GOD SHOWS HIMSELF. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WE DON'T ALL BELIEVE IN THE SAME GOD. ONLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO IS THREE PERSONS IN ONE BEING. ONLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT SO THAT HE CAN TAKE ON OUR HUMANITY AND REDEEM IT. ONLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO HAS CHOSEN TO SUFFER AND DIE IN OUR PLACE AND ACCEPT OUR PUNISHMENT FOR SIN.
I HOPE MY NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED. I HOPE THAT CARL RAHNER IS RIGHT AND NOT AUGUSTINE AND CALVIN. BUT TODAY'S GOSPEL TELLS US THAT WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS; THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. IF I AM TO BELIEVE IN HIM, I BETTER DO ALL I CAN TO KNOW HIM. IF I WANT TO KNOW JESUS, THE BEST WAY TO KNOW HIM IS TO START WITH HIS LIFE AND HIS TEACHINGS, AND THE EFFECT HE HAD ON THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS. IF WE STUDY SCRIPTURE AND PRAY THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT ENLIGHTEN US, ALLOW US TO RECEIVE THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER BROUGHT TO US BY JESUS, IT WILL HAPPEN.
THE SECOND BEST WAY TO KNOW JESUS IS TO KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN MOLDED IN HIS SHAPE. OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO ARE SAINTS ARE ICONS OF JESUS; WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT THEM, WE SEE THAT JESUS SHINES THROUGH. THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS AND THEIR WRITINGS HELP US TO KNOW JESUS.
BUT I DOUBT THAT MY NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS CAN BE PERSUADED TO READ MY BIBLE OR STUDY THE SAINTS. SO THAT MEANS THAT IF I WANT THEM TO BELIEVE IN JESUS, IF I WANT THEM TO KNOW JESUS, IT IS UP TO ME TO LIVE A LIFE THAT REFLECTS JESUS. SOMEONE SAID THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE, THE ONLY BIBLE THEY WILL EVER READ IS YOU AND I.
MAYBE NEARLY EVERYONE GETS TO HEAVEN. MAYBE GETTING TO HEAVEN HARDLY EVER HAPPENS. BUT JESUS SAID THAT WE WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED IF WE BELIEVE IN HIM, AND TO BELIEVE IN HIM WE HAVE TO KNOW HIM. SO AT LEAST I KNOW THAT MUCH. BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT I MAY BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SALVATION AND CONDEMNATION FOR MY FRIENDS WHO DON'T KNOW JESUS. THROUGH MY BAPTISM I BECOME ONE WITH HIM. AND JUST AS JESUS REVEALS THE FATHER TO THOSE WHO ARE PREDISPOSED TO THIS REVELATION BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, IT'S MY JOB AS WELL TO REVEAL THE FATHER.
TODAY ON TRINITY SUNDAY LET US THANK GOD THAT HE HAS SHOWN US SOMETHING ABOUT HIMSELF, SHOWN US WHAT KIND OF GOD WE HAVE. AND LET US TAKE JESUS SERIOUSLY; MAY OUR LIVES BE BIBLES FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND US.
TODAY'S GOSPEL IS INTERESTING. IN ONE BREATH JESUS TELLS US THAT GOD SO LOVED US THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY SON SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. HE DID NOT DO THIS TO CONDEMN US, BUT SO THAT WE MIGHT BE SAVED THROUGH HIM. AND THEN, IN THE NEXT BREATH, HE SAYS THAT IF WE BELIEVE IN HIM, WE WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED, BUT IF WE DON'T, WE ARE ALREADY CONDEMNED.
I SUSPECT THAT IF YOU ARE A GOOD, CHURCH-GOING CHRISTIAN, AND YOU ARE, YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM BELIEVING THE FIRST PROPOSITION – THAT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY SON. YOU BELIEVE THAT THROUGH JESUS WE WILL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. BUT I SUSPECT THAT IF YOU ARE A GOOD CHURCH-GOING CHRISTIAN, YOU MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE PROBLEM WITH THE SECOND PROPOSITION – THAT WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN HIM – AND JESUS EVEN SAYS, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF THE ONLY SON OF GOD; OTHERWISE, WE ARE ALREADY CONDEMNED.
MUCH OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY IS TAKEN UP WITH TRYING TO RESOLVE THESE TENSIONS. IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE ONLY WAY WE CAN AVOID CONDEMNATION, THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN BE SAVED, IS BY BELIEVING IN HIS NAME. OF COURSE WE UNDERSTAND THE WORD “BELIEVE” TO BE MORE THAN JUST AGREEING WITH A PARTICULAR PROPOSITION. AFTER ALL, SATAN, THE GREATEST OF THE ANGELS, SURELY BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. AS JESUS DRIVES OUT DEMONS THEY CRY OUT THAT FACT. BELIEVING, IN GOSPEL LANGUAGE, MEANS THAT WE AGREE WITH OUR WHOLE BEING, NOT JUST OUR MINDS. AND IF WE AGREE WITH OUR WHOLE BEING, THAN OUR CONDUCT REFLECTS THAT WE BELIEVE IN JESUS AND WHAT JESUS TAUGHT. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T BELIEVE? WE ALL KNOW GOOD PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD WELCOME INTO OUR CHURCH WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS. HOW DO THEY AVOID CONDEMNATION? HOW ARE THEY SAVED?
SAINT AUGUSTINE SAID THAT WE ALL DESERVE CONDEMNATION, BUT GOD, IN HIS MERCY CHOOSES SOME TO BE SAVED. FOR SAINT AUGUSTINE, NO ONE WHO HAD NOT BEEN BAPTIZED STOOD A CHANCE. AND JOHN CALVIN, THE GREAT PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN, BELIEVED THIS AS WELL, AND INSISTED THERE WAS NOTHING ANYONE COULD DO ABOUT IT IF YOU WERE CONDEMNED. IT MAY SOUND UNJUST, BUT REMEMBER, EVEN NEWBORN BABIES ARE BORN IN ORIGINAL SIN. MANY THEOLOGIANS AND PHILOSOPHERS THOUGHT THAT CALVIN AND AUGUSTINE WERE TOO HARSH. SO AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM ARE THEOLOGIANS LIKE RAHNER, WHO SAID THAT, YES, YOU HAVE TO BE SAVED THROUGH JESUS, BUT THERE IS SUCH A THING AS AN ANONYMOUS CHRISTIAN, WHO DOES HIS BEST TO FOLLOW THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD WRITTEN IN HIS HEART. AND THAT IDEA SEEMS MORE IN KEEPING WITH OUR MODERN SENSIBILITIES. AFTER ALL, I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT MY JEWISH AND MUSLIM AND HINDU FRIENDS, AND EVEN MY ATHEIST FRIENDS, TO GO TO HELL. I HOPE THAT BY LEADING GOOD LIVES, THE WILL BE SAVED THROUGH THIS ESCAPE CLAUSE.
BUT WE DON'T KNOW. THE CHURCH ALLOWS THAT SALVATION IS POSSIBLE TO THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN JESUS, BUT HOW POSSIBLE? COMMON? RARE? SHE DOESN'T SAY. OBVIOUSLY, ITS HARD ENOUGH WHEN YOU ARE A MEMBER OF CHRIST'S OWN CHURCH.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE TRINITY SUNDAY. GOD IS THE FATHER WHO IS AT THE HEART OF THE UNIVERSE, UNKNOWABLE, BEYOND UNDERSTANDING. AND YET HE REVEALS HIMSELF TO US IN JESUS, THE SON. BUT EVEN THOUGH JESUS REVEALS THE FATHER, FOR YOU AND I TO ACCEPT THIS REVELATION, THERE MUST BE THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO REVEALS ALL THAT IS TRUE. YOU WILL SOMETIMES HEAR PEOPLE SAY THAT WE ALL BELIEVE IN THE SAME GOD. I REMEMBER A DISCUSSION WITH A HINDU FRIEND WHO INSISTED THAT EVEN THOUGH HINDUS HAVE TEMPLES TO THOUSANDS OF GODS THROUGHOUT INDIA, THEY ARE REALLY JUST AS MUCH ONE-GOD PEOPLE AS CHRISTIANS, JEWS AND MUSLIMS. FOR A HINDU, ALL THE “GODS” ARE JUST WAYS THAT THE GOD SHOWS HIMSELF. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WE DON'T ALL BELIEVE IN THE SAME GOD. ONLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO IS THREE PERSONS IN ONE BEING. ONLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT SO THAT HE CAN TAKE ON OUR HUMANITY AND REDEEM IT. ONLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO HAS CHOSEN TO SUFFER AND DIE IN OUR PLACE AND ACCEPT OUR PUNISHMENT FOR SIN.
I HOPE MY NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED. I HOPE THAT CARL RAHNER IS RIGHT AND NOT AUGUSTINE AND CALVIN. BUT TODAY'S GOSPEL TELLS US THAT WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS; THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. IF I AM TO BELIEVE IN HIM, I BETTER DO ALL I CAN TO KNOW HIM. IF I WANT TO KNOW JESUS, THE BEST WAY TO KNOW HIM IS TO START WITH HIS LIFE AND HIS TEACHINGS, AND THE EFFECT HE HAD ON THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS. IF WE STUDY SCRIPTURE AND PRAY THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT ENLIGHTEN US, ALLOW US TO RECEIVE THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER BROUGHT TO US BY JESUS, IT WILL HAPPEN.
THE SECOND BEST WAY TO KNOW JESUS IS TO KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN MOLDED IN HIS SHAPE. OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO ARE SAINTS ARE ICONS OF JESUS; WHEN WE LEARN ABOUT THEM, WE SEE THAT JESUS SHINES THROUGH. THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS AND THEIR WRITINGS HELP US TO KNOW JESUS.
BUT I DOUBT THAT MY NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS CAN BE PERSUADED TO READ MY BIBLE OR STUDY THE SAINTS. SO THAT MEANS THAT IF I WANT THEM TO BELIEVE IN JESUS, IF I WANT THEM TO KNOW JESUS, IT IS UP TO ME TO LIVE A LIFE THAT REFLECTS JESUS. SOMEONE SAID THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE, THE ONLY BIBLE THEY WILL EVER READ IS YOU AND I.
MAYBE NEARLY EVERYONE GETS TO HEAVEN. MAYBE GETTING TO HEAVEN HARDLY EVER HAPPENS. BUT JESUS SAID THAT WE WILL NOT BE CONDEMNED IF WE BELIEVE IN HIM, AND TO BELIEVE IN HIM WE HAVE TO KNOW HIM. SO AT LEAST I KNOW THAT MUCH. BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT I MAY BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SALVATION AND CONDEMNATION FOR MY FRIENDS WHO DON'T KNOW JESUS. THROUGH MY BAPTISM I BECOME ONE WITH HIM. AND JUST AS JESUS REVEALS THE FATHER TO THOSE WHO ARE PREDISPOSED TO THIS REVELATION BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, IT'S MY JOB AS WELL TO REVEAL THE FATHER.
TODAY ON TRINITY SUNDAY LET US THANK GOD THAT HE HAS SHOWN US SOMETHING ABOUT HIMSELF, SHOWN US WHAT KIND OF GOD WE HAVE. AND LET US TAKE JESUS SERIOUSLY; MAY OUR LIVES BE BIBLES FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND US.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Pentecost, 2011
JOHN 20:19-23
WHEN WE HEAR THE FIRST READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, IT'S VERY EXCITING. A MIGHTY WIND, TONGUES OF FIRE, BEING ABLE TO SPEAK IN ANY LANGUAGE AND BE UNDERSTOOD. ILLITERATE HILLBILLIES FROM GALILEE SUDDENLY BECOMING GIFTED PREACHERS, AND 3000 PEOPLE BECAME CHRISTIAN THAT DAY. IT MAKES ME JEALOUS. WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD DO THAT FOR US? IF SOMEONE GOT SICK, WELL, THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD HEAL HIM. IF SOMEONE NEEDED SOMETHING, WELL, THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, LED BY THE SPIRIT, WOULD PROVIDE. AND ALL OF US WOULD LIVE IN HARMONY. THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS, THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD SEE THAT EVERY EFFORT WE MADE WOULD BE BLESSED WITH SUCCESS.
BUT IF YOU READ FURTHER IN ACTS, AND IF YOU READ THE LETTERS PAUL WROTE, AND PETER AND JOHN AND JAMES, A DIFFERENT PICTURE EMERGES. AFTER THE INITIAL EXCITEMENT, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY PROBLEMS BEGAN TO DEVELOP. JESUS HAD TOLD HIS DISCIPLES TO GO TO GALILEE TO WAIT FOR HIM. WHEN THEY GOT THERE, I IMAGINE THEY LOOKED AROUND AND SAW THOSE FAMILIAR BOATS, AND THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES. THEIR THREE YEARS ON THE ROAD NOW SEEMED LIKE A DREAM, AND THEY HAD RETURNED TO THEIR COMFORTABLE REALITY. PETER COULD HARDLY WAIT. HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS, AND IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE, “I'M GOING FISHING”. BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD OTHER IDEAS, AND THE TWELVE HAD TO LEAVE THEIR COMFORTABLE FAMILIAR LIVES FOREVER, AND WANDER THROUGH THE WORLD PREACHING AND TEACHING AND BEING PERSECUTED, PETER AND PAUL TO ROME, JAMES TO SPAIN, THOMAS TO INDIA, MATTHIAS TO ARMENIA, AND SO ON. AND ALL WERE MARTYRED IN STRANGE LANDS FAR FROM HOME.
AND WE READ ABOUT PROBLEMS IN THOSE EARLY COMMUNITIES. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE GREEK WIDOWS WHO WEREN'T GETTING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THE COMMON GOODS. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE GENTILE CHRISTIANS, WHO DIDN'T SEE THE POINT OF GIVING UP PORK CHOPS AND SHRIMP. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THOSE CORINTHIAN CHRISTIANS WHO HAD COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT ONCE YOU WERE BAPTIZED, YOU WERE SAVED, SO IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DID – AND PAUL WAS HORRIFIED AND WROTE A LONG LETTER TRYING TO SET THEM STRAIGHT.
YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD CREATED PROBLEMS RATHER THAN SOLVED THEM.
AND YOU CAN READ ABOUT HOW PETER THE FIRST POPE, DECIDED THAT HE WAS GOING TO QUIT EATING WITH THE GENTILE CHRISTIANS BECAUSE HE WAS A JEW AND DECIDED TO KEEP THE DIETARY LAWS. BUT PAUL GAVE HIM A STERN LECTURE AND THE EARLY COMMUNITY DECIDED THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO FOLLOW JEWISH RULES TO BE A CHRISTIAN. AND YOU CAN SEE HOW PAUL COULDN'T MAKE ANY HEADWAY WITH THE ATHENIANS. HE GOT OUT HIS BEST PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS, AND AFTER HE AND THE ATHENIANS HAD A WONDERFUL DEBATE IN THE TOWN SQUARE, HE DIDN'T MAKE ANY CONVERTS; BUT THEY TOLD HIM THEY ENJOYED THE DEBATE AND WOULD BE BACK TO DEBATE MORE. KIND OF LIKE ONE OF THOSE REALITY SHOWS ON TELEVISION I GUESS. AND WE CAN SEE PAUL AND MARK, ONCE OFF ON MISSION TOGETHER, AND THEN APPARENTLY HAVING SOME KIND OF DISAGREEMENT THAT LED MARK TO LEAVE PAUL. AND PETER AND JOHN BEING BEATEN; AND PAUL BEING STONED AND SHIPWRECKED, AND THE EARLY COMMUNITY OF CHRISTIANS BEING DRIVEN OUT OF JERUSALEM.
YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS LEADING THOSE EARLY CHRISTIANS TO FAILURE AFTER FAILURE.
IF YOU THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT CAUSES PROBLEMS, IF YOU THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US INTO FAILURE, YOU ARE RIGHT. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS, AFTER ALL, THE SPIRIT OF JESUS. AND AS JESUS WENT ABOUT DOING HIS FATHER'S WILL, HE HAD PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM. HE HAD APOSTLES WHO WEREN'T ALL THAT SWIFT; HE HAD PHARISEES WHO FOLLOWED HIM AROUND IN THE BEGINNING OUT OF CURIOSITY, THEN IN THE HOPES OF TRYING TO SILENCE HIM, AND FINALLY, PLOTTING TO KILL HIM. THE MORE HE PREACHED AND TAUGHT AND HEALED, THE MORE PROBLEMS WERE CREATED, THE MORE BARRIERS WERE THROWN UP FOR HIM TO OVERCOME. AND FAILURE? THERE WAS A MOMENT THERE, WHEN JESUS WAS HANGING ON THE CROSS, DESERTED BY ALL BUT HIS MOTHER AND JOHN, WHEN HE MUST HAVE FELT A COMPLETE FAILURE, AND HIS FOLLOWERS WOULDN’T HAVE DISAGREED.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ONLY INTERESTED IN ONE THING – THAT IS TO MAKE US INTO OTHER CHRISTS. IF THE SPIRIT GAVE BIRTH TO THE CHURCH, IT ISN'T BECAUSE THIS WAS HIS GOAL; THE CHURCH IS ONLY ONE OF THE WAYS HE USES TO TURN US INTO CHRIST. AND JUST AS CHRIST FACED MORE AND MORE PROBLEMS AS HE WORKED TO DO HIS FATHER'S WILL, AND JUST AS HE FAILED SPECTACULARLY ON THE CROSS, THAT WILL BE OUR FATE AS WELL. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, READ THE LIFE OF JUST ABOUT ANY SAINT. PROBLEMS, FAILURES. THE TOOLS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
BECAUSE PROBLEMS SHAPE US; AS WE CONFRONT THEM, WE BECOME STRONGER, WE BECOME MORE CAPABLE OF DOING GOD'S WILL AND AVOIDING SIN; AND THE STRONGER WE ARE, THE BIGGER THE PROBLEMS HE WILL GIVE US. AND FAILURES? THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US TO FAILURE AND SOMETIMES, TO SUCCESS. TO HIM, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE FAIL OR SUCCEED. HE WILL ACCOMPLISH THE WILL OF THE FATHER, WHETHER WE FAIL OR SUCCEED. HE CAN USE ANYBODY AND ANYTHING TO BRING ABOUT THE FATHER'S PLAN; MY FAILURE DOESN'T BOTHER GOD, ONLY MY FAITHFULNESS MATTERS.
AND IN A WAY, KNOWING HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS IN OUR LIVES IS LIBERATING AND BRINGS JOY. WHEN I CONFRONT A BARRIER, WHEN I FACE A PROBLEM, I REALIZE HE IS SHAPING ME, WORKING WITHIN ME, TO MAKE ME MORE LIKE JESUS. AND IF I START OUT TO DO SOMETHING I MAY FAIL, SOMETIMES I MAY GO DOWN IN FLAMES; BUT I KNOW THAT FAILURE HAS A CONNECTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO WILL SEE TO IT THAT GOD'S WILL IS DONE AND GOD'S PLAN SUCCEEDS WHETHER OR NOT I FAIL. IF I SET OUT TO GET RID OF HUNGER, I KNOW I CAN'T DO IT, I WILL FAIL, BUT I CAN START. IF I SET OUT TO BRING CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES INTO A WORLD WHICH PROUDLY CALLS ITSELF “POST CHRISTIAN” I'M NOT LIKELY TO SEE THE FRUITS OF MY EFFORTS, BUT I CAN START, BECAUSE I AM ALLOWED TO FAIL. IF I DECIDE TO SPEND MY LIFE TRYING TO END ABORTION, I MAY DIE FEELING LIKE A FAILURE, BUT JESUS DIED FEELING LIKE A FAILURE, CRYING OUT, “MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME?”
IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOUR LIFE WILL BE ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER. YOU WILL FAIL MANY TIMES MORE THAN YOU SUCCEED, IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR DUTIES AS A CHRISTIAN. AND THAT'S OK, THAT'S THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO TURNS CRUCIFIXION INTO RESURRECTION FOR EACH OF US, THROUGH OUR PROBLEMS AND OUR FAILURES. THE SPIRIT OF JESUS IS STILL AT WORK IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD, MAKING YOU AND I INTO BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS CHRIST. AND THE MORE PROBLEMS, THE MORE FAILURE HE BRINGS INTO OUR LIVES, THE MORE WE TAKE ON THAT FAMILY RESEMBLANCE, THE MORE WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THAT PERSONAL EASTER SUNDAY WHEN HE WILL RAISE US UP IN TRIUMPH. COME, HOLY SPIRIT.
WHEN WE HEAR THE FIRST READING FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, IT'S VERY EXCITING. A MIGHTY WIND, TONGUES OF FIRE, BEING ABLE TO SPEAK IN ANY LANGUAGE AND BE UNDERSTOOD. ILLITERATE HILLBILLIES FROM GALILEE SUDDENLY BECOMING GIFTED PREACHERS, AND 3000 PEOPLE BECAME CHRISTIAN THAT DAY. IT MAKES ME JEALOUS. WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD DO THAT FOR US? IF SOMEONE GOT SICK, WELL, THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD HEAL HIM. IF SOMEONE NEEDED SOMETHING, WELL, THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, LED BY THE SPIRIT, WOULD PROVIDE. AND ALL OF US WOULD LIVE IN HARMONY. THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS, THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD SEE THAT EVERY EFFORT WE MADE WOULD BE BLESSED WITH SUCCESS.
BUT IF YOU READ FURTHER IN ACTS, AND IF YOU READ THE LETTERS PAUL WROTE, AND PETER AND JOHN AND JAMES, A DIFFERENT PICTURE EMERGES. AFTER THE INITIAL EXCITEMENT, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY PROBLEMS BEGAN TO DEVELOP. JESUS HAD TOLD HIS DISCIPLES TO GO TO GALILEE TO WAIT FOR HIM. WHEN THEY GOT THERE, I IMAGINE THEY LOOKED AROUND AND SAW THOSE FAMILIAR BOATS, AND THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES. THEIR THREE YEARS ON THE ROAD NOW SEEMED LIKE A DREAM, AND THEY HAD RETURNED TO THEIR COMFORTABLE REALITY. PETER COULD HARDLY WAIT. HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS, AND IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE, “I'M GOING FISHING”. BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD OTHER IDEAS, AND THE TWELVE HAD TO LEAVE THEIR COMFORTABLE FAMILIAR LIVES FOREVER, AND WANDER THROUGH THE WORLD PREACHING AND TEACHING AND BEING PERSECUTED, PETER AND PAUL TO ROME, JAMES TO SPAIN, THOMAS TO INDIA, MATTHIAS TO ARMENIA, AND SO ON. AND ALL WERE MARTYRED IN STRANGE LANDS FAR FROM HOME.
AND WE READ ABOUT PROBLEMS IN THOSE EARLY COMMUNITIES. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE GREEK WIDOWS WHO WEREN'T GETTING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF THE COMMON GOODS. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE GENTILE CHRISTIANS, WHO DIDN'T SEE THE POINT OF GIVING UP PORK CHOPS AND SHRIMP. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THOSE CORINTHIAN CHRISTIANS WHO HAD COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT ONCE YOU WERE BAPTIZED, YOU WERE SAVED, SO IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DID – AND PAUL WAS HORRIFIED AND WROTE A LONG LETTER TRYING TO SET THEM STRAIGHT.
YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD CREATED PROBLEMS RATHER THAN SOLVED THEM.
AND YOU CAN READ ABOUT HOW PETER THE FIRST POPE, DECIDED THAT HE WAS GOING TO QUIT EATING WITH THE GENTILE CHRISTIANS BECAUSE HE WAS A JEW AND DECIDED TO KEEP THE DIETARY LAWS. BUT PAUL GAVE HIM A STERN LECTURE AND THE EARLY COMMUNITY DECIDED THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO FOLLOW JEWISH RULES TO BE A CHRISTIAN. AND YOU CAN SEE HOW PAUL COULDN'T MAKE ANY HEADWAY WITH THE ATHENIANS. HE GOT OUT HIS BEST PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS, AND AFTER HE AND THE ATHENIANS HAD A WONDERFUL DEBATE IN THE TOWN SQUARE, HE DIDN'T MAKE ANY CONVERTS; BUT THEY TOLD HIM THEY ENJOYED THE DEBATE AND WOULD BE BACK TO DEBATE MORE. KIND OF LIKE ONE OF THOSE REALITY SHOWS ON TELEVISION I GUESS. AND WE CAN SEE PAUL AND MARK, ONCE OFF ON MISSION TOGETHER, AND THEN APPARENTLY HAVING SOME KIND OF DISAGREEMENT THAT LED MARK TO LEAVE PAUL. AND PETER AND JOHN BEING BEATEN; AND PAUL BEING STONED AND SHIPWRECKED, AND THE EARLY COMMUNITY OF CHRISTIANS BEING DRIVEN OUT OF JERUSALEM.
YOU MIGHT EVEN THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS LEADING THOSE EARLY CHRISTIANS TO FAILURE AFTER FAILURE.
IF YOU THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT CAUSES PROBLEMS, IF YOU THINK THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US INTO FAILURE, YOU ARE RIGHT. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS, AFTER ALL, THE SPIRIT OF JESUS. AND AS JESUS WENT ABOUT DOING HIS FATHER'S WILL, HE HAD PROBLEM AFTER PROBLEM. HE HAD APOSTLES WHO WEREN'T ALL THAT SWIFT; HE HAD PHARISEES WHO FOLLOWED HIM AROUND IN THE BEGINNING OUT OF CURIOSITY, THEN IN THE HOPES OF TRYING TO SILENCE HIM, AND FINALLY, PLOTTING TO KILL HIM. THE MORE HE PREACHED AND TAUGHT AND HEALED, THE MORE PROBLEMS WERE CREATED, THE MORE BARRIERS WERE THROWN UP FOR HIM TO OVERCOME. AND FAILURE? THERE WAS A MOMENT THERE, WHEN JESUS WAS HANGING ON THE CROSS, DESERTED BY ALL BUT HIS MOTHER AND JOHN, WHEN HE MUST HAVE FELT A COMPLETE FAILURE, AND HIS FOLLOWERS WOULDN’T HAVE DISAGREED.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ONLY INTERESTED IN ONE THING – THAT IS TO MAKE US INTO OTHER CHRISTS. IF THE SPIRIT GAVE BIRTH TO THE CHURCH, IT ISN'T BECAUSE THIS WAS HIS GOAL; THE CHURCH IS ONLY ONE OF THE WAYS HE USES TO TURN US INTO CHRIST. AND JUST AS CHRIST FACED MORE AND MORE PROBLEMS AS HE WORKED TO DO HIS FATHER'S WILL, AND JUST AS HE FAILED SPECTACULARLY ON THE CROSS, THAT WILL BE OUR FATE AS WELL. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, READ THE LIFE OF JUST ABOUT ANY SAINT. PROBLEMS, FAILURES. THE TOOLS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
BECAUSE PROBLEMS SHAPE US; AS WE CONFRONT THEM, WE BECOME STRONGER, WE BECOME MORE CAPABLE OF DOING GOD'S WILL AND AVOIDING SIN; AND THE STRONGER WE ARE, THE BIGGER THE PROBLEMS HE WILL GIVE US. AND FAILURES? THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US TO FAILURE AND SOMETIMES, TO SUCCESS. TO HIM, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE FAIL OR SUCCEED. HE WILL ACCOMPLISH THE WILL OF THE FATHER, WHETHER WE FAIL OR SUCCEED. HE CAN USE ANYBODY AND ANYTHING TO BRING ABOUT THE FATHER'S PLAN; MY FAILURE DOESN'T BOTHER GOD, ONLY MY FAITHFULNESS MATTERS.
AND IN A WAY, KNOWING HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS IN OUR LIVES IS LIBERATING AND BRINGS JOY. WHEN I CONFRONT A BARRIER, WHEN I FACE A PROBLEM, I REALIZE HE IS SHAPING ME, WORKING WITHIN ME, TO MAKE ME MORE LIKE JESUS. AND IF I START OUT TO DO SOMETHING I MAY FAIL, SOMETIMES I MAY GO DOWN IN FLAMES; BUT I KNOW THAT FAILURE HAS A CONNECTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO WILL SEE TO IT THAT GOD'S WILL IS DONE AND GOD'S PLAN SUCCEEDS WHETHER OR NOT I FAIL. IF I SET OUT TO GET RID OF HUNGER, I KNOW I CAN'T DO IT, I WILL FAIL, BUT I CAN START. IF I SET OUT TO BRING CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES INTO A WORLD WHICH PROUDLY CALLS ITSELF “POST CHRISTIAN” I'M NOT LIKELY TO SEE THE FRUITS OF MY EFFORTS, BUT I CAN START, BECAUSE I AM ALLOWED TO FAIL. IF I DECIDE TO SPEND MY LIFE TRYING TO END ABORTION, I MAY DIE FEELING LIKE A FAILURE, BUT JESUS DIED FEELING LIKE A FAILURE, CRYING OUT, “MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME?”
IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOUR LIFE WILL BE ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER. YOU WILL FAIL MANY TIMES MORE THAN YOU SUCCEED, IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR DUTIES AS A CHRISTIAN. AND THAT'S OK, THAT'S THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO TURNS CRUCIFIXION INTO RESURRECTION FOR EACH OF US, THROUGH OUR PROBLEMS AND OUR FAILURES. THE SPIRIT OF JESUS IS STILL AT WORK IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD, MAKING YOU AND I INTO BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS CHRIST. AND THE MORE PROBLEMS, THE MORE FAILURE HE BRINGS INTO OUR LIVES, THE MORE WE TAKE ON THAT FAMILY RESEMBLANCE, THE MORE WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THAT PERSONAL EASTER SUNDAY WHEN HE WILL RAISE US UP IN TRIUMPH. COME, HOLY SPIRIT.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
JOHN 17:1-11
I'VE BEEN TO A FEW FUNERALS IN MY LIFE. IT'S AT FUNERALS THAT I AM MOST UNCOMFORTABLE. IF I KNEW AND LOVED THE PERSON WHO HAS DIED, I FEEL GRIEF, BUT OFTEN A SENSE OF RELIEF AS WELL. AND GRIEF AND RELIEF TOGETHER EQUALS GUILT. GRIEF BECAUSE I'LL NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT PERSON AGAIN IN THIS LIFE; AND RELIEF, SOMETIMES, THAT THE SUFFERING IS OVER, THAT THE BURDEN ON THE LOVED ONES HAS BEEN LIFTED. BUT BOTH OF THESE FEELINGS PRESUPPOSE THE END OF THE PERSON, AND CERTAINLY AS A SCIENTIST I KNOW THAT WHAT IS ME RESIDES IN MY BRAIN, AND IF YOU BLOCK THE BLOOD FLOW TO A FRONTAL LOBE MY PERSONALITY WILL CHANGE; IF I DEVELOP NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES IN MY BRAIN, IF I GET ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, I MAY REACH A POINT WHERE I LOSE MY WHOLE SELF, WHERE EVERY MEMORY I HAVE VANISHES. AND WHEN THE BRAIN DIES, WHAT BECOMES OF ME?
I'VE BEEN TO FUNERALS WHERE SOMEONE, USUALLY A SON OR DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED, TELLS THE ASSEMBLED MOURNERS THAT DAD IS UP IN HEAVEN, GETTING READY TO TEE OFF ON THE ETERNAL GOLF COURSE, OR THAT GRANDMA IS NOW REUNITED WITH GRANDPA, AND THEY ARE SITTING ON A PORCH TOGETHER JUST LIKE WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE. IT'S COMFORTING TO IMAGINE OUR LOVED ONES GOING THROUGH A GENTLE TRANSITION, TO TAKE UP LIFE AGAIN JUST LIKE BEFORE, EXCEPT NOW WITHOUT ALL THE BAD STUFF. ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES WAS OF MY FATHER SINGING A FEW LINES FROM A SONG WHICH WAS POPULAR IN THOSE DAYS, “BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN”. IT'S A VISION OF HEAVEN WHERE THERE ARE CIGARETTE TREES, LEMONADE SPRINGS, LAKES OF STEW, STREAMS OF ALCOHOL – THE DREAM OF A HOMELESS HOBO.
BUT AS I WAS READING TODAY'S GOSPEL, I WAS STRUCK BY SOMETHING JESUS HIMSELF SAID: “ETERNAL LIFE IS THIS: TO KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND HIM WHOM YOU HAVE SENT, JESUS CHRIST.” I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT AT FIRST GLANCE, THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ANY HEAVEN THAT I'VE EVER IMAGINED.
WE THINK OF HEAVEN AS LASTING FOREVER, AND OF COURSE JESUS DID SAY THAT THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM WILL NEVER DIE. BUT ETERNAL LIFE IS NOT ABOUT TIME, IT SEEMS; NOT ABOUT GOODIES, AND NOT HAVING TO STRUGGLE ANYMORE. JESUS IS SAYING THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS ESSENTIALLY ABOUT RELATIONSHIP. LAST WEEK HE DESCRIBED THAT RELATIONSHIP. HE SAID “I AM IN THE FATHER AND YOU ARE IN ME AND I AM IN YOU.” IN ANOTHER PLACE HE SAYS, “PROTECT THEM IN YOUR NAME THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, SO THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE ONE.”
THERE ARE MANY OTHER PASSAGES IN WHICH JESUS TRIES TO PUT INTO HUMAN LANGUAGE A MYSTERY THAT WE CAN BARELY GRASP: WE CAN BE IN GOD, WE CAN BE IN EACH OTHER, WE CAN BE ONE. AND THAT IS THE GOAL OF HUMAN LIFE – TO BE ONE WITH GOD AND ONE WITH EACH OTHER.
SAINT THERESA OF AVILA WAS GIVEN A VISION OF HELL. IT WAS NOT A PLACE OF FIRE WHERE DEMONS PRODDED YOU WITH PITCHFORKS. SHE DESCRIBED IT AS AN EXPERIENCE OF UTTER SILENCE, OF BLACKNESS, WHERE HERE WAS NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO HEAR, SMELL, TOUCH OR TASTE; WHERE THERE WAS NO PAST OR FUTURE, JUST A HORRIBLE NOW OF EMPTINESS. HELL WAS THE COMPLETE LACK OF RELATIONSHIP.
SO ON THE ONE HAND THERE IS ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH MEANS A DEEP, DEEP RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON, A RELATIONSHIP OF ONENESS. AND ON THE OTHER HAND, AN ETERNAL NOW WITH NO RELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER, NOT EVEN WITH A HEARTBEAT OR A BREATH. AND THE WONDER IS THAT WE ARE ALREADY HALF-WAY THERE. ETERNAL LIFE IS OURS TO LOSE. JESUS IN HIS PRAYER SAYS THAT WE BELONG TO HIM AND WHAT BELONGS TO HIM BELONGS TO THE FATHER. JESUS TALKS ABOUT GLORY, AND WHATEVER GLORY IS, I WANT IT AND YOU WANT IT, ESPECIALLY IF JESUS WANTS IT, AND HE SAYS HERE THAT HE DOES. GLORY IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE THEOLOGICAL WORDS THAT YOU CAN'T QUITE DEFINE. IN THE END IT S A MYSTERY, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING THAT DESCRIBES THE RISEN CHRIST. IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE POOR HUMANS CAN GIVE TO GOD, JUST AS JESUS GIVES GLORY TO HIS FATHER. IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SAY ABOUT THE BLESSED MOTHER AND THE SAINTS. AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SAID OF YOU AND I AS WELL. GLORY CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS, BUT I THINK THE BEST DEFINITION IS THAT IT MEANS REVEALING GOD. GLORY, THEN, IS THERE WHEN THAT RELATIONSHIP IS THERE; GOD SHINES THROUGH US SOMEHOW WHEN WE ARE IN THAT ONENESS THAT JESUS PRAYED WOULD BE OURS.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE LAST POINT. SAINT PETER TELLS US TO REJOICE WHEN WE SHARE CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS, BECAUSE IT IS HERE THAT GLORY WILL REALLY BE REVEALED. IF WE WANT GLORY, WE HAVE TO SUFFER. NOW WE ALL SUFFER, WE CAN'T ESCAPE THAT, MUCH AS WE TRY. EVERY DAY AND EVERY MOMENT THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN WHAT WE KNOW WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE ARE; SOMETIMES IT'S A TINY GAP, SOMETIMES ITS HUGE. IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE LACK OF FREEDOM; THERE IS NO TIME IN ANYONE'S LIFE WHEN HE OR SHE CAN HONESTLY SAY, “IT CAN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS.” AND SUFFERING CAN BE WASTED. WE CAN CURL UP IN A BALL AND WAIT FOR IT TO PASS; WE CAN SUFFER LIKE A DUMB ANIMAL; WE CAN BE ANGRY WITH GOD BECAUSE WE SUFFER. BUT THERE WAS ONCE A MAN WHO WAS SUFFERING, WHO WAS DYING IN GREAT PAIN; AND HE LOOKED TO HIS SIDE AND SAW ANOTHER MAN SUFFERING WITH HIM, AND SAID, “LORD, REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM”. AND THAT OTHER MAN ANSWERED, “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
IF YOU WOULD TRULY ENTER INTO THAT MYSTERIOUS RELATIONSHIP THAT IS ETERNAL LIFE, IF YOU WOULD TRULY ENTER INTO THE GLORY THAT BELONGS TO CHRIST AND THE FATHER, THE GLORY THAT IS SHARED BY THE SAINTS, IF YOU WOULD TRULY LOOK FOR THOSE MOMENTS IN YOUR LIFE WHEN JESUS IS CLOSEST TO YOU, WHEN HE IS MOST ONE WITH YOU, IT IS WHEN YOU ARE SUFFERING. AND THAT IS A GREAT MYSTERY, AND IT'S SCARY, AND IT TURNS EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN, BECAUSE WE SORT OF THINK THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS THE ABSENCE OF SUFFERING.
BUT ETERNAL LIFE, JESUS SAYS, IS TO KNOW THE ONE TRUE GOD AND THE CHRIST WHOM HE HAS SENT. AND IT WAS IN HIS SUFFERING THAT JESUS GLORIFIED THE FATHER AND WAS GLORIFIED. AND WE WHO ARE GIVEN TO JESUS BY THE FATHER ARE ALSO GIVEN THE GIFT OF SUFFERING, SO THAT WE CAN BECOME ONE WITH JESUS AND HE WITH US.
WHAT A MYSTERY! BUT WHAT A PROMISE. IF GOD CAN TURN SUFFERING INTO GLORY, THEN WHAT CAN'T HE DO?
LET US PRAY, NOT THAT GOD REMOVE SUFFERING FROM OUR LIVES, BUT THAT WHEN SUFFERING COMES, WE WILL SEE HOW CLOSE WE ARE IN THOSE MOMENTS TO JESUS.
I'VE BEEN TO A FEW FUNERALS IN MY LIFE. IT'S AT FUNERALS THAT I AM MOST UNCOMFORTABLE. IF I KNEW AND LOVED THE PERSON WHO HAS DIED, I FEEL GRIEF, BUT OFTEN A SENSE OF RELIEF AS WELL. AND GRIEF AND RELIEF TOGETHER EQUALS GUILT. GRIEF BECAUSE I'LL NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT PERSON AGAIN IN THIS LIFE; AND RELIEF, SOMETIMES, THAT THE SUFFERING IS OVER, THAT THE BURDEN ON THE LOVED ONES HAS BEEN LIFTED. BUT BOTH OF THESE FEELINGS PRESUPPOSE THE END OF THE PERSON, AND CERTAINLY AS A SCIENTIST I KNOW THAT WHAT IS ME RESIDES IN MY BRAIN, AND IF YOU BLOCK THE BLOOD FLOW TO A FRONTAL LOBE MY PERSONALITY WILL CHANGE; IF I DEVELOP NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES IN MY BRAIN, IF I GET ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, I MAY REACH A POINT WHERE I LOSE MY WHOLE SELF, WHERE EVERY MEMORY I HAVE VANISHES. AND WHEN THE BRAIN DIES, WHAT BECOMES OF ME?
I'VE BEEN TO FUNERALS WHERE SOMEONE, USUALLY A SON OR DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED, TELLS THE ASSEMBLED MOURNERS THAT DAD IS UP IN HEAVEN, GETTING READY TO TEE OFF ON THE ETERNAL GOLF COURSE, OR THAT GRANDMA IS NOW REUNITED WITH GRANDPA, AND THEY ARE SITTING ON A PORCH TOGETHER JUST LIKE WHEN THEY WERE ALIVE. IT'S COMFORTING TO IMAGINE OUR LOVED ONES GOING THROUGH A GENTLE TRANSITION, TO TAKE UP LIFE AGAIN JUST LIKE BEFORE, EXCEPT NOW WITHOUT ALL THE BAD STUFF. ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES WAS OF MY FATHER SINGING A FEW LINES FROM A SONG WHICH WAS POPULAR IN THOSE DAYS, “BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN”. IT'S A VISION OF HEAVEN WHERE THERE ARE CIGARETTE TREES, LEMONADE SPRINGS, LAKES OF STEW, STREAMS OF ALCOHOL – THE DREAM OF A HOMELESS HOBO.
BUT AS I WAS READING TODAY'S GOSPEL, I WAS STRUCK BY SOMETHING JESUS HIMSELF SAID: “ETERNAL LIFE IS THIS: TO KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND HIM WHOM YOU HAVE SENT, JESUS CHRIST.” I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT AT FIRST GLANCE, THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE ANY HEAVEN THAT I'VE EVER IMAGINED.
WE THINK OF HEAVEN AS LASTING FOREVER, AND OF COURSE JESUS DID SAY THAT THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM WILL NEVER DIE. BUT ETERNAL LIFE IS NOT ABOUT TIME, IT SEEMS; NOT ABOUT GOODIES, AND NOT HAVING TO STRUGGLE ANYMORE. JESUS IS SAYING THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS ESSENTIALLY ABOUT RELATIONSHIP. LAST WEEK HE DESCRIBED THAT RELATIONSHIP. HE SAID “I AM IN THE FATHER AND YOU ARE IN ME AND I AM IN YOU.” IN ANOTHER PLACE HE SAYS, “PROTECT THEM IN YOUR NAME THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, SO THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE ONE.”
THERE ARE MANY OTHER PASSAGES IN WHICH JESUS TRIES TO PUT INTO HUMAN LANGUAGE A MYSTERY THAT WE CAN BARELY GRASP: WE CAN BE IN GOD, WE CAN BE IN EACH OTHER, WE CAN BE ONE. AND THAT IS THE GOAL OF HUMAN LIFE – TO BE ONE WITH GOD AND ONE WITH EACH OTHER.
SAINT THERESA OF AVILA WAS GIVEN A VISION OF HELL. IT WAS NOT A PLACE OF FIRE WHERE DEMONS PRODDED YOU WITH PITCHFORKS. SHE DESCRIBED IT AS AN EXPERIENCE OF UTTER SILENCE, OF BLACKNESS, WHERE HERE WAS NOTHING TO SEE, NOTHING TO HEAR, SMELL, TOUCH OR TASTE; WHERE THERE WAS NO PAST OR FUTURE, JUST A HORRIBLE NOW OF EMPTINESS. HELL WAS THE COMPLETE LACK OF RELATIONSHIP.
SO ON THE ONE HAND THERE IS ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH MEANS A DEEP, DEEP RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON, A RELATIONSHIP OF ONENESS. AND ON THE OTHER HAND, AN ETERNAL NOW WITH NO RELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER, NOT EVEN WITH A HEARTBEAT OR A BREATH. AND THE WONDER IS THAT WE ARE ALREADY HALF-WAY THERE. ETERNAL LIFE IS OURS TO LOSE. JESUS IN HIS PRAYER SAYS THAT WE BELONG TO HIM AND WHAT BELONGS TO HIM BELONGS TO THE FATHER. JESUS TALKS ABOUT GLORY, AND WHATEVER GLORY IS, I WANT IT AND YOU WANT IT, ESPECIALLY IF JESUS WANTS IT, AND HE SAYS HERE THAT HE DOES. GLORY IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE THEOLOGICAL WORDS THAT YOU CAN'T QUITE DEFINE. IN THE END IT S A MYSTERY, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING THAT DESCRIBES THE RISEN CHRIST. IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE POOR HUMANS CAN GIVE TO GOD, JUST AS JESUS GIVES GLORY TO HIS FATHER. IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN SAY ABOUT THE BLESSED MOTHER AND THE SAINTS. AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SAID OF YOU AND I AS WELL. GLORY CAN MEAN A LOT OF THINGS, BUT I THINK THE BEST DEFINITION IS THAT IT MEANS REVEALING GOD. GLORY, THEN, IS THERE WHEN THAT RELATIONSHIP IS THERE; GOD SHINES THROUGH US SOMEHOW WHEN WE ARE IN THAT ONENESS THAT JESUS PRAYED WOULD BE OURS.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO THE LAST POINT. SAINT PETER TELLS US TO REJOICE WHEN WE SHARE CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS, BECAUSE IT IS HERE THAT GLORY WILL REALLY BE REVEALED. IF WE WANT GLORY, WE HAVE TO SUFFER. NOW WE ALL SUFFER, WE CAN'T ESCAPE THAT, MUCH AS WE TRY. EVERY DAY AND EVERY MOMENT THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN WHAT WE KNOW WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE ARE; SOMETIMES IT'S A TINY GAP, SOMETIMES ITS HUGE. IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE LACK OF FREEDOM; THERE IS NO TIME IN ANYONE'S LIFE WHEN HE OR SHE CAN HONESTLY SAY, “IT CAN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS.” AND SUFFERING CAN BE WASTED. WE CAN CURL UP IN A BALL AND WAIT FOR IT TO PASS; WE CAN SUFFER LIKE A DUMB ANIMAL; WE CAN BE ANGRY WITH GOD BECAUSE WE SUFFER. BUT THERE WAS ONCE A MAN WHO WAS SUFFERING, WHO WAS DYING IN GREAT PAIN; AND HE LOOKED TO HIS SIDE AND SAW ANOTHER MAN SUFFERING WITH HIM, AND SAID, “LORD, REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM”. AND THAT OTHER MAN ANSWERED, “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
IF YOU WOULD TRULY ENTER INTO THAT MYSTERIOUS RELATIONSHIP THAT IS ETERNAL LIFE, IF YOU WOULD TRULY ENTER INTO THE GLORY THAT BELONGS TO CHRIST AND THE FATHER, THE GLORY THAT IS SHARED BY THE SAINTS, IF YOU WOULD TRULY LOOK FOR THOSE MOMENTS IN YOUR LIFE WHEN JESUS IS CLOSEST TO YOU, WHEN HE IS MOST ONE WITH YOU, IT IS WHEN YOU ARE SUFFERING. AND THAT IS A GREAT MYSTERY, AND IT'S SCARY, AND IT TURNS EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN, BECAUSE WE SORT OF THINK THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS THE ABSENCE OF SUFFERING.
BUT ETERNAL LIFE, JESUS SAYS, IS TO KNOW THE ONE TRUE GOD AND THE CHRIST WHOM HE HAS SENT. AND IT WAS IN HIS SUFFERING THAT JESUS GLORIFIED THE FATHER AND WAS GLORIFIED. AND WE WHO ARE GIVEN TO JESUS BY THE FATHER ARE ALSO GIVEN THE GIFT OF SUFFERING, SO THAT WE CAN BECOME ONE WITH JESUS AND HE WITH US.
WHAT A MYSTERY! BUT WHAT A PROMISE. IF GOD CAN TURN SUFFERING INTO GLORY, THEN WHAT CAN'T HE DO?
LET US PRAY, NOT THAT GOD REMOVE SUFFERING FROM OUR LIVES, BUT THAT WHEN SUFFERING COMES, WE WILL SEE HOW CLOSE WE ARE IN THOSE MOMENTS TO JESUS.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
JOHN 14:15-21
JOAN AND I ATTENDED A CONCERT IN HOLYOKE LAST NIGHT. IT WAS PUT ON BY THE RIGHT TO LIFE GROUP AT OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PARISH. THIS PARISH IS IN THE OLDER PART OF HOLYOKE AND AS PARISHES GO, IS PRETTY POOR. BUT THEY HAVE A STRONG RIGHT TO LIFE GROUP. AT THE NATIONAL MARCH FOR LIFE IN WASHINGTON DC THIS YEAR, THERE WERE NINE BUSES FROM OUR DIOCESE CARRYING PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE. TWO OF THEM CAME FROM OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PARISH.
AT THE CONCERT A YOUNG LADY NAMED KEILA RAMON WAS THE FEATURED SINGER, ALONG WITH DAN KANE ON THE SYNTHESIZER, AND SOME OF THE OTHER DAN KANE SINGERS HELPING OUT. AND I HAD THAT OLD FEELING AGAIN, WHEN I SEE REALLY GREAT MUSICIANS. I WISH THAT I COULD SING, OR PLAY, LIKE THEY DO. I WISH THAT I COULD MAKE A SYNTHESIZER SOUND LIKE A SWING BAND FROM THE 20'S OR A ROCK AND ROLL BAND FROM THE 90'S. I WISH THAT I HAD A VOICE THAT COULD ALMOST HYPNOTIZE THE PEOPLE WHO LISTENED, OR STAGE PRESENCE LIKE THESE PERFORMERS HAD. BUT I DON'T, AND I NEVER WILL.
TODAY IN THE GOSPEL, JESUS CONTINUES TO SPEAK FROM HIS HEART TO HIS DISCIPLES AND TO US. IF YOU READ THE SECTION OF JOHN'S GOSPEL FROM WHICH TODAY'S READING IS TAKEN, YOU WILL SEE THAT IT IS FULL OF PROMISES. "I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER ADVOCATE." WE DON'T HAVE A TRANSLATION FOR THE GREEK WORD PARACLETE. A PARACLETE WAS SOMEONE WHO INTERCEDED FOR SOMEONE ELSE, OR SOMEONE WHO TOOK YOUR PART IN A DISPUTE, OR SOMEONE WHO HELPED YOU MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION. BUT SOMEONE WHO ENCOURAGED YOU TO DO THE RIGHT THING, THAT WAS ANOTHER WAY OF USING THE WORD, AND PERHAPS THAT'S THE BEST ONE HERE.
HE MAKES ANOTHER PROMISE: "I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS, I WILL COME TO YOU." AND WHEN HE COMES, HE PROMISES, "YOU WILL REALIZE THAT I AM IN MY FATHER, AND YOU ARE IN ME, AND I AM IN YOU."
AND FINALLY, HE PROMISES: WHOEVER LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY THE FATHER, AND I WILL LOVE HIM, AND REVEAL MYSELF TO HIM."
WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL, I SANG IN A BOY'S CHOIR. I WAS TOLD BY OUR DIRECTOR THAT I HAD A VERY GOOD VOICE AND I SHOULD TAKE LESSONS. I NEVER DID. IN HIGH SCHOOL I WAS A MEMBER OF THE BAND. OUR MUSIC TEACHER WAS VERY AMBITIOUS AND NOT ONLY DID WE LEARN TO PLAY WHILE WE MARCHED AT FOOTBALL GAMES AND PARADES, BUT SHE WOULD HAVE US PLAY CONCERT MUSIC AS WELL. SHE TOLD ME I HAD TALENT AND HOPED I WOULD KEEP WORKING ON MY MUSICAL SKILLS. I HAVEN'T TOUCHED A CLARINET FOR FIFTY YEARS. SO WHEN I LISTEN TO REALLY GOOD MUSICIANS, I HAVE A SENSE OF REGRET. I WASN'T TONE DEAF, I COULD CARRY A TUNE, I COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT -- BUT I CHOSE A DIFFERENT PATH. I'M NOT SORRY, BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A LITTLE PART OF ME THAT WONDERS WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE TO BE A SKILLED MUSICIAN.
JESUS MAKES SOME REALLY FANTASTIC PROMISES. BUT THEY ARE CONTINGENT, THEY START WITH THE WORDS, "IF YOU LOVE ME". MOST OF US IN THIS CHURCH WOULD REPLY, IF WE WERE ASKED THAT QUESTION, "I DO LOVE JESUS, OF COURSE I LOVE HIM." BUT JESUS MAKES IT VERY CLEAR WHAT HE MEANS. "IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS." AND HE ALSO SAYS, "WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDMENTS AND OBSERVES THEM IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME."
JESUS, BY THE WAY, DOESN'T MEAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. IN ANOTHER PLACE HE IS ASKED, "WHICH OF THE COMMANDMENTS IS THE GREATEST?" HE SPEAKS ABOUT "MY COMMANDMENTS". DO YOU KNOW WHAT HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE?
I'VE BEEN IN LOVE AND STILL AM. BUT I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST FELL IN LOVE, AND PERHAPS FALLING IN LOVE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN BEING IN LOVE. WHEN I FELL IN LOVE, MY LIFE CHANGED. IT CHANGED IN VERY CONCRETE WAYS. I STOPPED EATING SUPPER WITH MY FRATERNITY BROTHERS SO I COULD HANG OUT WITH MY BELOVED BEFORE SHE DROVE HOME. I CHANGED MY STUDY ROUTINE SO I COULD SPEND TIME SITTING AND TALKING WITH HER. I AM NOT A VERY SOCIAL PERSON, NOR AM I SKILLED AT DANCING, BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN I WAS GOING TO MIXERS AND EVEN DANCING, BECAUSE IT WAS AN EXCUSE TO BE WITH HER. IF YOU ARE IN LOVE, YOU ARE WILLING TO MAKE REAL CHANGES, EVEN PAINFUL ONES.
IF YOU AND I LOVE JESUS, WE WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. WELL, WHAT ARE THEY? WE'VE HEARD A FEW OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS: "DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME." "JUST AS I HAVE WASHED YOUR FEET, YOU ARE TO WASH EACH OTHERS FEET." "LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU". "UNLESS YOU DENY YOURSELVES AND TAKE UP YOUR CROSS, YOU CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE". "DO NOT LAY UP TREASURES ON EARTH ... BUT BUILD UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN." SOME PEOPLE HAVE MADE LISTS OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS. ONE LIST HAS 38 STATEMENTS. ANOTHER THAT I FOUND THANKS TO THE INTERNET AND GOOGLE, HAS 147 "COMMANDMENTS". THE POINT OF COURSE IS NOT THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE LISTS OR MEMORIZE STATEMENTS THAT JESUS MADE, BUT IF WE LOVE HIM, WE SHOULD WANT TO LISTEN TO HIM AND EXAMINE OUR LIVES IN LIGHT OF THOSE STATEMENTS HE GIVES TO HIS FOLLOWERS; TO THINK ABOUT HOW HIS COMMANDMENTS APPLY TO OUR CIRCUMSTANCES; AND TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES IN OUR OWN HABITS AND ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES, WITH THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT WHO IS ALWAYS URGING US ON, URGING US TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, WHAT IS GOOD FOR US. IF WE DON'T MAKE THIS EFFORT, THEN WHATEVER WE FEEL TOWARDS JESUS, IT IS NOT LOVE THE WAY HE DEFINES LOVE. BUT IF WE CHANGE OURSELVES, WITH THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, WE WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS, AND THE PROMISES JESUS MAKES WILL BE OURS, BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE PROVEN THAT WE LOVE HIM.
I COULD HAVE BEEN A MUSICIAN, POSSIBLY EVEN A GOOD ONE. BUT WHERE MUSIC IS CONCERNED, I'LL ALWAYS BE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN. I HOPE THAT I WILL NEVER SAY, "I COULD HAVE RECEIVED THE PROMISES JESUS MADE TO THOSE WHO LOVED HIM AND SHOWED IT BY KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. BUT I HAD OTHER THINGS TO DO, AND I DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO LEARN WHAT THOSE COMMANDMENTS ARE. "
JOAN AND I ATTENDED A CONCERT IN HOLYOKE LAST NIGHT. IT WAS PUT ON BY THE RIGHT TO LIFE GROUP AT OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PARISH. THIS PARISH IS IN THE OLDER PART OF HOLYOKE AND AS PARISHES GO, IS PRETTY POOR. BUT THEY HAVE A STRONG RIGHT TO LIFE GROUP. AT THE NATIONAL MARCH FOR LIFE IN WASHINGTON DC THIS YEAR, THERE WERE NINE BUSES FROM OUR DIOCESE CARRYING PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE. TWO OF THEM CAME FROM OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PARISH.
AT THE CONCERT A YOUNG LADY NAMED KEILA RAMON WAS THE FEATURED SINGER, ALONG WITH DAN KANE ON THE SYNTHESIZER, AND SOME OF THE OTHER DAN KANE SINGERS HELPING OUT. AND I HAD THAT OLD FEELING AGAIN, WHEN I SEE REALLY GREAT MUSICIANS. I WISH THAT I COULD SING, OR PLAY, LIKE THEY DO. I WISH THAT I COULD MAKE A SYNTHESIZER SOUND LIKE A SWING BAND FROM THE 20'S OR A ROCK AND ROLL BAND FROM THE 90'S. I WISH THAT I HAD A VOICE THAT COULD ALMOST HYPNOTIZE THE PEOPLE WHO LISTENED, OR STAGE PRESENCE LIKE THESE PERFORMERS HAD. BUT I DON'T, AND I NEVER WILL.
TODAY IN THE GOSPEL, JESUS CONTINUES TO SPEAK FROM HIS HEART TO HIS DISCIPLES AND TO US. IF YOU READ THE SECTION OF JOHN'S GOSPEL FROM WHICH TODAY'S READING IS TAKEN, YOU WILL SEE THAT IT IS FULL OF PROMISES. "I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER ADVOCATE." WE DON'T HAVE A TRANSLATION FOR THE GREEK WORD PARACLETE. A PARACLETE WAS SOMEONE WHO INTERCEDED FOR SOMEONE ELSE, OR SOMEONE WHO TOOK YOUR PART IN A DISPUTE, OR SOMEONE WHO HELPED YOU MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION. BUT SOMEONE WHO ENCOURAGED YOU TO DO THE RIGHT THING, THAT WAS ANOTHER WAY OF USING THE WORD, AND PERHAPS THAT'S THE BEST ONE HERE.
HE MAKES ANOTHER PROMISE: "I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS, I WILL COME TO YOU." AND WHEN HE COMES, HE PROMISES, "YOU WILL REALIZE THAT I AM IN MY FATHER, AND YOU ARE IN ME, AND I AM IN YOU."
AND FINALLY, HE PROMISES: WHOEVER LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY THE FATHER, AND I WILL LOVE HIM, AND REVEAL MYSELF TO HIM."
WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL, I SANG IN A BOY'S CHOIR. I WAS TOLD BY OUR DIRECTOR THAT I HAD A VERY GOOD VOICE AND I SHOULD TAKE LESSONS. I NEVER DID. IN HIGH SCHOOL I WAS A MEMBER OF THE BAND. OUR MUSIC TEACHER WAS VERY AMBITIOUS AND NOT ONLY DID WE LEARN TO PLAY WHILE WE MARCHED AT FOOTBALL GAMES AND PARADES, BUT SHE WOULD HAVE US PLAY CONCERT MUSIC AS WELL. SHE TOLD ME I HAD TALENT AND HOPED I WOULD KEEP WORKING ON MY MUSICAL SKILLS. I HAVEN'T TOUCHED A CLARINET FOR FIFTY YEARS. SO WHEN I LISTEN TO REALLY GOOD MUSICIANS, I HAVE A SENSE OF REGRET. I WASN'T TONE DEAF, I COULD CARRY A TUNE, I COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT -- BUT I CHOSE A DIFFERENT PATH. I'M NOT SORRY, BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A LITTLE PART OF ME THAT WONDERS WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE TO BE A SKILLED MUSICIAN.
JESUS MAKES SOME REALLY FANTASTIC PROMISES. BUT THEY ARE CONTINGENT, THEY START WITH THE WORDS, "IF YOU LOVE ME". MOST OF US IN THIS CHURCH WOULD REPLY, IF WE WERE ASKED THAT QUESTION, "I DO LOVE JESUS, OF COURSE I LOVE HIM." BUT JESUS MAKES IT VERY CLEAR WHAT HE MEANS. "IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS." AND HE ALSO SAYS, "WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDMENTS AND OBSERVES THEM IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME."
JESUS, BY THE WAY, DOESN'T MEAN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. IN ANOTHER PLACE HE IS ASKED, "WHICH OF THE COMMANDMENTS IS THE GREATEST?" HE SPEAKS ABOUT "MY COMMANDMENTS". DO YOU KNOW WHAT HIS COMMANDMENTS ARE?
I'VE BEEN IN LOVE AND STILL AM. BUT I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST FELL IN LOVE, AND PERHAPS FALLING IN LOVE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN BEING IN LOVE. WHEN I FELL IN LOVE, MY LIFE CHANGED. IT CHANGED IN VERY CONCRETE WAYS. I STOPPED EATING SUPPER WITH MY FRATERNITY BROTHERS SO I COULD HANG OUT WITH MY BELOVED BEFORE SHE DROVE HOME. I CHANGED MY STUDY ROUTINE SO I COULD SPEND TIME SITTING AND TALKING WITH HER. I AM NOT A VERY SOCIAL PERSON, NOR AM I SKILLED AT DANCING, BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN I WAS GOING TO MIXERS AND EVEN DANCING, BECAUSE IT WAS AN EXCUSE TO BE WITH HER. IF YOU ARE IN LOVE, YOU ARE WILLING TO MAKE REAL CHANGES, EVEN PAINFUL ONES.
IF YOU AND I LOVE JESUS, WE WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. WELL, WHAT ARE THEY? WE'VE HEARD A FEW OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS: "DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME." "JUST AS I HAVE WASHED YOUR FEET, YOU ARE TO WASH EACH OTHERS FEET." "LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU". "UNLESS YOU DENY YOURSELVES AND TAKE UP YOUR CROSS, YOU CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE". "DO NOT LAY UP TREASURES ON EARTH ... BUT BUILD UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN." SOME PEOPLE HAVE MADE LISTS OF THE COMMANDMENTS OF JESUS. ONE LIST HAS 38 STATEMENTS. ANOTHER THAT I FOUND THANKS TO THE INTERNET AND GOOGLE, HAS 147 "COMMANDMENTS". THE POINT OF COURSE IS NOT THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE LISTS OR MEMORIZE STATEMENTS THAT JESUS MADE, BUT IF WE LOVE HIM, WE SHOULD WANT TO LISTEN TO HIM AND EXAMINE OUR LIVES IN LIGHT OF THOSE STATEMENTS HE GIVES TO HIS FOLLOWERS; TO THINK ABOUT HOW HIS COMMANDMENTS APPLY TO OUR CIRCUMSTANCES; AND TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES IN OUR OWN HABITS AND ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES, WITH THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT WHO IS ALWAYS URGING US ON, URGING US TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT, WHAT IS GOOD FOR US. IF WE DON'T MAKE THIS EFFORT, THEN WHATEVER WE FEEL TOWARDS JESUS, IT IS NOT LOVE THE WAY HE DEFINES LOVE. BUT IF WE CHANGE OURSELVES, WITH THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, WE WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE JESUS, AND THE PROMISES JESUS MAKES WILL BE OURS, BECAUSE WE WILL HAVE PROVEN THAT WE LOVE HIM.
I COULD HAVE BEEN A MUSICIAN, POSSIBLY EVEN A GOOD ONE. BUT WHERE MUSIC IS CONCERNED, I'LL ALWAYS BE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN. I HOPE THAT I WILL NEVER SAY, "I COULD HAVE RECEIVED THE PROMISES JESUS MADE TO THOSE WHO LOVED HIM AND SHOWED IT BY KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS. BUT I HAD OTHER THINGS TO DO, AND I DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO LEARN WHAT THOSE COMMANDMENTS ARE. "
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle A
JOHN 14:1-12
YOU MAY REMEMBER THE STORY IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS ABOUT THE TIME MOSES WENT UP ON THE MOUNTAIN AND THE ISRAELITES PERSUADED AARON TO MAKE A GOLDEN CALF FOR THEM SO THEY WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO WORSHIP. AND OF COURSE, GOD BECAME VERY ANGRY AND IT WAS ALL MOSES COULD DO TO PERSUADE GOD NOT TO DESTROY THEM. SOMETIMES WE THINK THAT THE GOLDEN CALF WAS A FALSE GOD, A PAGAN DEITY; BUT ANTHROPOLOGISTS WHO STUDY THESE THINGS AREN'T SO SURE. SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE ISRAELITES WERE SIMPLY IMITATING THE EGYPTIANS, WHO HAD EACH OF THEIR GODS REPRESENTED BY SOME KIND OF ANIMAL. SO THEY JUST WANTED TO BE LIKE OTHER PEOPLE AND HAVE A REPRESENTATION OF GOD. BUT OF COURSE THE GOLDEN CALF WAS DESTROYED AND NEVER AGAIN, EVEN TO THIS DAY, HAVE THE JEWISH PEOPLE TRIED TO PORTRAY GOD. NOT SO WE CATHOLICS. OUR CHURCHES ARE FULL OF IMAGES WHICH DEPICT GOD. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JESUS, NOW. BUT GOD THE FATHER HAS BEEN AN OLD MAN WITH A LONG WHITE BEARD FOR A LONG TIME – ON THE CEILING OF THE POPE'S OWN CHAPEL HE REACHES DOWN FROM THE CLOUDS TO TOUCH THE FINGER OF ADAM AND GIVE HIM LIFE. AND THE SAME IS TRUE OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT – A DOVE, A TONGUE OF FLAME – WE KNOW THE CODE.
BUT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T DEPICT GOD, OR EVEN DESCRIBE HIM. AN OLD MYSTICAL TRADITION IS TO SIT QUIETLY AND THINK ABOUT GOD, AND EVERY TIME WE FORM A PICTURE, WE BLOT IT OUT. SOONER OR LATER, THE WORD “GOD” WILL NO LONGER BE ASSOCIATED WITH PICTURES, AND WHEN OUR MINDS REACH THIS POINT, WE BEGIN TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOD. A BEGINNING, OF COURSE, NEVER TO BE COMPLETED UNTIL WE'VE GONE ON TO THE NEXT LIFE; AND EVEN THERE WE WILL SPEND AN ETERNITY NEVER COMPLETELY GRASPING WHO GOD IS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL PHILIP SAYS, “MASTER, SHOW US THE FATHER, AND THAT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR US.” THE QUESTION SEEMS TO COME OUT OF THE BLUE. BUT JESUS HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE FATHER, AND SPEAKING ABOUT HIM IN SUCH A PERSONAL WAY, THAT PHILIP COULD BE FORGIVEN IF HE HAD CONCLUDED THAT JESUS HAD SOME SORT OF SECRET KNOWLEDGE. AFTER ALL, JESUS HAD JUST SAID IN REFERENCE TO THE FATHER, “FROM NOW ON YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM.” JESUS GOES ON TO SAY, “BELIEVE ME THAT I AM IN THE FATHER AND THE FATHER IS IN ME, OR ELSE, BELIEVE BECAUSE OF THE WORKS THAT I DO.”
SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS SAID THE GOD WAS PURE ACT. YOU AND I ARE CAPABLE OF ACTING BUT OUR ACTIONS ARE NOT IDENTICAL TO OUR SELVES. NOT SO WITH GOD; YOU CAN'T SAY “THERE IS GOD, AND THERE IS HIS ACTION.” GOD IS ACTION, JUST AS GOD IS LOVE.
JESUS SEEMS TO BE SAYING THAT IF YOU SEE HIS WORKS, YOU WILL SEE GOD; AND THAT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE THE WORKS OF JESUS ARE THE WORKS OF THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE ONE, AND THAT ONE IS PURE ACT. IT'S HARD TO GET OUR MINDS AROUND BUT IT'S TRUE, IF YOU BELIEVE AQUINAS.
IF PHILIP WANTS TO SEE THE FATHER, HE NEEDS TO LOOK AT JESUS; BUT NOT JUST THAT, AT JESUS ACTING, CARRYING OUT THE WORKS THAT ORIGINATE WITH THE FATHER. AND THAT HAS IMMENSE IMPLICATIONS FOR YOU AND I.
WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL TO SEE GOD? HEAVEN, AFTER ALL, IS WHAT WE ALL DESIRE, AND IN HEAVEN WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY GAZING ON GOD, IN A SENSE, AND NEVER BEING BORED, NEVER BEING UNHAPPY, ALWAYS BEING COMPLETELY FULFILLED – IN THAT ETERNAL NOW ALL OUR QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED, ALL THAT WE LACKED ON EARTH WILL BE GIVEN TO US, AND IT WILL ALL BE IN THAT MYSTERIOUS MOMENT WHEN WE GAZE UPON GOD. BUT WE CAN BEGIN THAT MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. THINK ABOUT WHAT ELSE JESUS SAYS: “THE MAN WHO HAS FAITH IN ME WILL DO THE WORKS THAT I DO, AND EVEN GREATER THAN THESE.” IF ULTIMATELY WE SEE GOD IN THE WORKS OF JESUS, AND IF IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THE ONE WHO HAS FAITH IN JESUS DOES THE WORKS OF JESUS, THEN WHEN WE SEE THOSE WORKS, WE ARE SEEING THE FATHER, WE ARE SEEING GOD, IF ONLY DIMLY.
SHOULD WE ALL RUN OUT AND LOOK FOR ANOTHER MOTHER THERESA, OR MAYBE STUDY SISTER OLGA WHO CAME TO OUR PARISH A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS? SHOULD WE SEEK OUT HOLY PEOPLE DOING THE WORKS OF JESUS, SO THAT WE CAN SEE SOME GLIMPSE OF THE FATHER?
WELL, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE MISSING THE POINT. CERTAINLY WE SHOULD REJOICE WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE DOING THE WORKS OF JESUS; IT'S A SIGN THAT GOD IS NOT IN SOME FAR-OFF HEAVEN, BUT RATHER, THAT HE IS IN OUR MIDST. WHEN WE SEE STREET PEOPLE BEING FED, WHEN WE SEE CHILDREN BEING TAUGHT THE FAITH AND MAKING THEIR FIRST COMMUNION, WHEN WE SEE THE SICK BEING VISITED – THERE ARE SO MANY PLACES WE CAN SEE THE FATHER IN ACTION IF WE JUST OPEN OUR EYES. AND IN THOSE ACTIONS WE CAN CATCH A GLIMPSE OF GOD.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE, SOMETHING THAT SAINT FRANCIS, AMONG OTHERS, UNDERSTOOD. IF YOU WANT TO SEE GOD, YOU LOOK AT THE WORKS OF JESUS. BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO ONE MORE STEP AND EXPERIENCE GOD, YOU YOURSELF DO THE WORKS OF GOD. FRANCIS, AND MANY OTHER SAINTS, SET OUT TO CONSCIOUSLY IMITATE JESUS – FRANCIS PROBABLY MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE. AND EVERYONE WHO KNEW FRANCIS, AND ALL HIS FOLLOWERS DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS, EVEN TO TODAY, SEE SOMETHING OF GOD IN THE WORKS OF FRANCIS, AND EXPERIENCE SOMETHING OF GOD IN THEIR OWN IMITATION OF THEIR FOUNDER. THE SAME OF COURSE COULD BE SAID OF SO MANY OTHER SAINTS.
SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE GOD, GO FIND WHERE THE WORKS OF JESUS ARE BEING CARRIED OUT. BUT IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE GOD, DO THE WORKS OF JESUS. YOU WILL BE SETTING ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN, AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT, MORE WORTHWHILE.
AND IF YOU DO THE WORKS OF JESUS, YOU WILL BE SHOWING OTHERS THE FATHER.
GOD SHOWS HIMSELF TO US IN THE WORKS OF JESUS; SOME OF THOSE WHO SEE THOSE WORKS CHOOSE TO DO THEM THEMSELVES, AND EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF GOD; AND WHEN SOME CHOOSE TO DO THE WORKS OF GOD, OTHERS SEE GOD. THE REASON FOR THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN THOSE EARLY DAYS WAS BECAUSE CHRISTIANS WERE SHOWING GOD TO THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM. AND IT CAN BE SO TODAY. GO OUT AND DO THE WORKS OF JESUS.
YOU MAY REMEMBER THE STORY IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS ABOUT THE TIME MOSES WENT UP ON THE MOUNTAIN AND THE ISRAELITES PERSUADED AARON TO MAKE A GOLDEN CALF FOR THEM SO THEY WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO WORSHIP. AND OF COURSE, GOD BECAME VERY ANGRY AND IT WAS ALL MOSES COULD DO TO PERSUADE GOD NOT TO DESTROY THEM. SOMETIMES WE THINK THAT THE GOLDEN CALF WAS A FALSE GOD, A PAGAN DEITY; BUT ANTHROPOLOGISTS WHO STUDY THESE THINGS AREN'T SO SURE. SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THE ISRAELITES WERE SIMPLY IMITATING THE EGYPTIANS, WHO HAD EACH OF THEIR GODS REPRESENTED BY SOME KIND OF ANIMAL. SO THEY JUST WANTED TO BE LIKE OTHER PEOPLE AND HAVE A REPRESENTATION OF GOD. BUT OF COURSE THE GOLDEN CALF WAS DESTROYED AND NEVER AGAIN, EVEN TO THIS DAY, HAVE THE JEWISH PEOPLE TRIED TO PORTRAY GOD. NOT SO WE CATHOLICS. OUR CHURCHES ARE FULL OF IMAGES WHICH DEPICT GOD. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JESUS, NOW. BUT GOD THE FATHER HAS BEEN AN OLD MAN WITH A LONG WHITE BEARD FOR A LONG TIME – ON THE CEILING OF THE POPE'S OWN CHAPEL HE REACHES DOWN FROM THE CLOUDS TO TOUCH THE FINGER OF ADAM AND GIVE HIM LIFE. AND THE SAME IS TRUE OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT – A DOVE, A TONGUE OF FLAME – WE KNOW THE CODE.
BUT WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T DEPICT GOD, OR EVEN DESCRIBE HIM. AN OLD MYSTICAL TRADITION IS TO SIT QUIETLY AND THINK ABOUT GOD, AND EVERY TIME WE FORM A PICTURE, WE BLOT IT OUT. SOONER OR LATER, THE WORD “GOD” WILL NO LONGER BE ASSOCIATED WITH PICTURES, AND WHEN OUR MINDS REACH THIS POINT, WE BEGIN TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF GOD. A BEGINNING, OF COURSE, NEVER TO BE COMPLETED UNTIL WE'VE GONE ON TO THE NEXT LIFE; AND EVEN THERE WE WILL SPEND AN ETERNITY NEVER COMPLETELY GRASPING WHO GOD IS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL PHILIP SAYS, “MASTER, SHOW US THE FATHER, AND THAT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR US.” THE QUESTION SEEMS TO COME OUT OF THE BLUE. BUT JESUS HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE FATHER, AND SPEAKING ABOUT HIM IN SUCH A PERSONAL WAY, THAT PHILIP COULD BE FORGIVEN IF HE HAD CONCLUDED THAT JESUS HAD SOME SORT OF SECRET KNOWLEDGE. AFTER ALL, JESUS HAD JUST SAID IN REFERENCE TO THE FATHER, “FROM NOW ON YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM.” JESUS GOES ON TO SAY, “BELIEVE ME THAT I AM IN THE FATHER AND THE FATHER IS IN ME, OR ELSE, BELIEVE BECAUSE OF THE WORKS THAT I DO.”
SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS SAID THE GOD WAS PURE ACT. YOU AND I ARE CAPABLE OF ACTING BUT OUR ACTIONS ARE NOT IDENTICAL TO OUR SELVES. NOT SO WITH GOD; YOU CAN'T SAY “THERE IS GOD, AND THERE IS HIS ACTION.” GOD IS ACTION, JUST AS GOD IS LOVE.
JESUS SEEMS TO BE SAYING THAT IF YOU SEE HIS WORKS, YOU WILL SEE GOD; AND THAT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE THE WORKS OF JESUS ARE THE WORKS OF THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE ONE, AND THAT ONE IS PURE ACT. IT'S HARD TO GET OUR MINDS AROUND BUT IT'S TRUE, IF YOU BELIEVE AQUINAS.
IF PHILIP WANTS TO SEE THE FATHER, HE NEEDS TO LOOK AT JESUS; BUT NOT JUST THAT, AT JESUS ACTING, CARRYING OUT THE WORKS THAT ORIGINATE WITH THE FATHER. AND THAT HAS IMMENSE IMPLICATIONS FOR YOU AND I.
WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL TO SEE GOD? HEAVEN, AFTER ALL, IS WHAT WE ALL DESIRE, AND IN HEAVEN WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY GAZING ON GOD, IN A SENSE, AND NEVER BEING BORED, NEVER BEING UNHAPPY, ALWAYS BEING COMPLETELY FULFILLED – IN THAT ETERNAL NOW ALL OUR QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED, ALL THAT WE LACKED ON EARTH WILL BE GIVEN TO US, AND IT WILL ALL BE IN THAT MYSTERIOUS MOMENT WHEN WE GAZE UPON GOD. BUT WE CAN BEGIN THAT MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. THINK ABOUT WHAT ELSE JESUS SAYS: “THE MAN WHO HAS FAITH IN ME WILL DO THE WORKS THAT I DO, AND EVEN GREATER THAN THESE.” IF ULTIMATELY WE SEE GOD IN THE WORKS OF JESUS, AND IF IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THE ONE WHO HAS FAITH IN JESUS DOES THE WORKS OF JESUS, THEN WHEN WE SEE THOSE WORKS, WE ARE SEEING THE FATHER, WE ARE SEEING GOD, IF ONLY DIMLY.
SHOULD WE ALL RUN OUT AND LOOK FOR ANOTHER MOTHER THERESA, OR MAYBE STUDY SISTER OLGA WHO CAME TO OUR PARISH A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS? SHOULD WE SEEK OUT HOLY PEOPLE DOING THE WORKS OF JESUS, SO THAT WE CAN SEE SOME GLIMPSE OF THE FATHER?
WELL, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE MISSING THE POINT. CERTAINLY WE SHOULD REJOICE WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE DOING THE WORKS OF JESUS; IT'S A SIGN THAT GOD IS NOT IN SOME FAR-OFF HEAVEN, BUT RATHER, THAT HE IS IN OUR MIDST. WHEN WE SEE STREET PEOPLE BEING FED, WHEN WE SEE CHILDREN BEING TAUGHT THE FAITH AND MAKING THEIR FIRST COMMUNION, WHEN WE SEE THE SICK BEING VISITED – THERE ARE SO MANY PLACES WE CAN SEE THE FATHER IN ACTION IF WE JUST OPEN OUR EYES. AND IN THOSE ACTIONS WE CAN CATCH A GLIMPSE OF GOD.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE, SOMETHING THAT SAINT FRANCIS, AMONG OTHERS, UNDERSTOOD. IF YOU WANT TO SEE GOD, YOU LOOK AT THE WORKS OF JESUS. BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO ONE MORE STEP AND EXPERIENCE GOD, YOU YOURSELF DO THE WORKS OF GOD. FRANCIS, AND MANY OTHER SAINTS, SET OUT TO CONSCIOUSLY IMITATE JESUS – FRANCIS PROBABLY MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE. AND EVERYONE WHO KNEW FRANCIS, AND ALL HIS FOLLOWERS DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS, EVEN TO TODAY, SEE SOMETHING OF GOD IN THE WORKS OF FRANCIS, AND EXPERIENCE SOMETHING OF GOD IN THEIR OWN IMITATION OF THEIR FOUNDER. THE SAME OF COURSE COULD BE SAID OF SO MANY OTHER SAINTS.
SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE GOD, GO FIND WHERE THE WORKS OF JESUS ARE BEING CARRIED OUT. BUT IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE GOD, DO THE WORKS OF JESUS. YOU WILL BE SETTING ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN, AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT, MORE WORTHWHILE.
AND IF YOU DO THE WORKS OF JESUS, YOU WILL BE SHOWING OTHERS THE FATHER.
GOD SHOWS HIMSELF TO US IN THE WORKS OF JESUS; SOME OF THOSE WHO SEE THOSE WORKS CHOOSE TO DO THEM THEMSELVES, AND EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF GOD; AND WHEN SOME CHOOSE TO DO THE WORKS OF GOD, OTHERS SEE GOD. THE REASON FOR THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE CHURCH IN THOSE EARLY DAYS WAS BECAUSE CHRISTIANS WERE SHOWING GOD TO THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM. AND IT CAN BE SO TODAY. GO OUT AND DO THE WORKS OF JESUS.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle A
JOHN 10:1-10
DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO CAN'T SIT STILL? I HAVE AN ACQUAINTANCE WHO HOLDS DOWN TWO FAIRLY DEMANDING JOBS, AND WHEN HE ISN'T WORKING, HE'S HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS, AND WHEN HE IS ALONE, HE'S NOT REALLY ALONE; HE'S ON FACEBOOK, OR WRITING AND READING EMAILS, OR IF HE CAN'T FIND SOMEONE TO EMAIL, HE WATCHES A MOVIE. HE DOESN'T GET NEARLY ENOUGH SLEEP; EACH DAY HE DRIVES HIMSELF UNTIL HE SORT OF FALLS INTO A COMA, AND GETS UP THE NEXT MORNING TO DO THE SAME THING. I DON'T THINK HE'S HAPPY, BUT HE DOESN'T WANT TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT HIS LIFE AND HIS FUTURE; IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO EVERYTHING HE CAN TO AVOID THINKING, MEDITATING, PLANNING.
AND I COULD TELL YOU ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON I KNOW. SHE GETS UP IN THE MORNING, AND HER WHOLE DAY IS PLANNED TO THE LAST DETAIL. SHE PLANS HER LUNCH THE DAY BEFORE; HER DAY CONSISTS OF WORK, EATING, EXERCISE, AND SPENDING THE EVENING WITH HER COMPUTER. HER ROUTINE HARDLY EVER VARIES, AND SHE TENDS TO GET UPSET WHEN SHE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT IS HAPPENING.
AND I GUESS WE ARE ALL A LITTLE LIKE THAT. WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE WALLS THAT KEEP OUT UNCERTAINTY AND DANGER. WE LIKE ROUTINE, WHETHER IT IS BORING, REPETITIVE ROUTINE, OR FRENETIC ACTIVITY THAT REFUSES TO LOOK AT THE FUTURE OR LEARN FROM THE PAST. AND WE MAY KNOW WE AREN'T PARTICULARLY HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE, BUT WE ARE CONTENT, AT LEAST ENOUGH NOT TO WANT CHANGE.
BUT THERE ARE DANGERS. ONE IS THAT TIME SLIPS AWAY, AND SOMEDAY WE DISCOVER THAT WE HAVE RUN OUT OF TIME. WE'VE SPENT OUR LIFE GETTING UP IN THE MORNING, GOING THROUGH OUR ROUTINE, AND GOING TO SLEEP. WE'VE MISSED THE BEST THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER. ANOTHER IS THAT A LIFE OF ROUTINE NECESSARILY KEEPS US FROM FORMING AND DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, INCLUDING OUR LORD. MY GRANDMOTHER USED TO TELL ME THAT FRIENDS ARE LIKE SILVER, BUT OLD FRIENDS ARE GOLD. I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE I CONSIDERED CLOSE FRIENDS WHEN I WAS YOUNG? I'M ASHAMED TO SAY THAT I HAVEN'T KEPT UP WITH MOST OF THE FRIENDS I'VE MADE DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. MY LIFE IS TOO BUSY; IT'S TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO NURTURE ALL THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, WE HEAR THE WORDS: WHEN THE SHEPHERD HAS DRIVEN OUT ALL OF HIS OWN, HE GOES AHEAD OF THEM. OUR IMAGINATION FOCUSES ON THE SHEPHERD CALMLY LEADING HIS SHEEP; BUT BEFORE HE CAN DO THIS, HE HAS TO FORCE THE SHEEP OUT OF THE SHEEPFOLD. THE WORD USED HERE IS THE SAME WORD USED WHEN JESUS DRIVES THE MONEY-CHANGERS OUT OF THE TEMPLE, OR THE DEMONS OUT OF THE MAN POSSESSED. SHEEP DO NOT LIKE TO LEAVE THE SHEEPFOLD. THEY RESIST BEING DRIVEN OUT.
WE SHEEP WHO BELONG TO JESUS ARE LIKE THAT. WE KNOW HIS VOICE; WE PERK UP OUR EARS WHEN HE CALLS US BY NAME. WHEN WE HEAR HIS WORDS IN THE SCRIPTURES, WHEN WE REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT HIS CHURCH TELLS US, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE FEEL THE HOLY SPIRIT URGING US ON, BUT WE RESIST; WE LIKE OUR SHEEPFOLD.
ONCE WHEN THE DISCIPLES WERE SENT TO CARRY OUT THE WORK OF JESUS, THEY CAME BACK SO EXCITED; THEY HAD LAID HANDS ON PEOPLE AND SEEN THEM BE HEALED. THEY HAD DRIVEN OUT DEMONS. THEY HAD OPENED THEIR MOUTHS AND LISTENED IN AMAZEMENT TO THE WORDS THAT CAME OUT. AND THEY RUSHED BACK TO JESUS. AND HE SAID TO THEM, “COME AWAY WITH ME FOR A WHILE AND REST.” THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SHEEPFOLD. BUT THE SHEPHERD CALLS US OUT, AND BRINGS US BACK.
THAT SHOULD BE THE RHYTHM OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. IF WE FOLLOW OUR SHEPHERD WE WILL SPEND TIME RESTING, BEING WATCHED OVER, BEING TENDED TO. BUT WE HAVE TO LET HIM LEAD US OUT AS WELL, BECAUSE WE BELONG IN THE WORLD, WE HAVE BEEN MADE TO TRANSFORM IT, TO BUILD THE KINGDOM. SOME OF US SEE OUR RELIGION AS AN INWARD THING, BETWEEN ME AND GOD. OTHERS NEGLECT THEIR PRAYER LIFE, THEIR MEDITATION, THEIR SPIRITUAL READING, FEELING THAT RELIGION IS BEST PRACTICED BY ACTION. BUT THE SHEPHERD LEADS US IN AND OUT OF THE SHEEPFOLD.
DID YOU NOTICE IN THE GOSPEL READING THAT JESUS DOES NOT COMPARE HIMSELF TO A SHEPHERD; HE CALLS HIMSELF A GATE. LATER IN THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE HE WILL SAY THAT HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD, BUT WHAT DOES HE MEAN, HERE, THAT HE IS THE GATE?
A CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO COME IN TO THE SAFETY OF THE SHEEPFOLD AND GO OUT INTO THE WORLD TO GROW THE KINGDOM. BUT THE ONLY WAY THIS WILL WORK IS IF THIS MOVEMENT ALWAYS INVOLVES JESUS. THERE ARE RELIGIONS, NOBLE AND GREAT RELIGIONS LIKE BUDDHISM, WHERE A PERSON STRUGGLES TO BECOME ONE WITH THE DIVINE. THIS IS DONE BY ONESELF, WITHOUT HELP. NO WONDER SO FEW EVEN ATTEMPT IT. AND SO MUCH EFFORT IS TAKEN UP IN THAT STRUGGLE THAT THERE IS NO ROOM TO BUILD THE KINGDOM. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS FOR THEM, AN ILLUSION THAT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER. AND THERE ARE OTHER RELIGIONS, MORE MODERN ONES, PERHAPS, WHERE INNER GROWTH ISN'T IMPORTANT. SOME STRAINS OF ISLAM ARE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WHAT MAKES YOU A RELIGIOUS PERSON IS WHAT YOU DO TO SUBJECT THE WORLD TO THE KORAN AND SHARIA LAW. YOUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON JIHAD, STRUGGLE, CONQUEST OF YOURSELF AND THE WORLD. YOU CAN BLOW YOURSELF UP IF IT HELPS. ENTERING INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD CAN WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT LIFE.
CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION OF BALANCE, AND THE BALANCE IS JESUS. IN THE SHEEPFOLD, WE GET TO KNOW HIM, WE STUDY HIS WORDS, WE SPEAK TO HIM AND LET HIM SPEAK TO US. WE ACCEPT HIS FORGIVENESS AND LEARN TO FORGIVE OTHERS. WE ARE NOURISHED, CLEANSED, ENLIGHTENED. AND WHEN WE GO OUT, WE KEEP OUR EYES ON THE SHEPHERD, WE FOLLOW HIM, AND WE DON'T WANDER OFF. WE DO THE WORKS HE WOULD DO, AND WE LOOK FOR WAYS TO HELP THOSE ALREADY DOING HIS WORKS. OUTSIDE THE SHEEPFOLD OUR EGOS HAVE TO BE CAST ASIDE, BECAUSE UNLESS WE FOLLOW OUR SHEPHERD, ALL OUR EFFORTS ARE USELESS.
WE GO IN AND OUT THROUGH JESUS.
OUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS TO EXAMINE OURSELVES. ARE WE SPENDING ENOUGH TIME IN THE SHEEPFOLD? ARE WE SPENDING TIME IN THE WORLD; AND ARE WE GOING IN AND OUT THROUGH JESUS? AND IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE THINGS MEAN FOR US, ARE WE ASKING SOMEONE WHO KNOWS TO HELP US GROW AS CHRISTIANS?
JESUS, AFTER ALL, CAME SO THAT WE SHEEP WOULD HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY. ABUNDANT LIFE IS A LIFE OF SURPRISES, GOOD AND BAD, A LIFE WHICH DOES NOT SURRENDER TO ROUTINE. LET US NOT LET SUCH A LIFE PASS US BY.
DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO CAN'T SIT STILL? I HAVE AN ACQUAINTANCE WHO HOLDS DOWN TWO FAIRLY DEMANDING JOBS, AND WHEN HE ISN'T WORKING, HE'S HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS, AND WHEN HE IS ALONE, HE'S NOT REALLY ALONE; HE'S ON FACEBOOK, OR WRITING AND READING EMAILS, OR IF HE CAN'T FIND SOMEONE TO EMAIL, HE WATCHES A MOVIE. HE DOESN'T GET NEARLY ENOUGH SLEEP; EACH DAY HE DRIVES HIMSELF UNTIL HE SORT OF FALLS INTO A COMA, AND GETS UP THE NEXT MORNING TO DO THE SAME THING. I DON'T THINK HE'S HAPPY, BUT HE DOESN'T WANT TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT HIS LIFE AND HIS FUTURE; IT'S MUCH EASIER TO DO EVERYTHING HE CAN TO AVOID THINKING, MEDITATING, PLANNING.
AND I COULD TELL YOU ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON I KNOW. SHE GETS UP IN THE MORNING, AND HER WHOLE DAY IS PLANNED TO THE LAST DETAIL. SHE PLANS HER LUNCH THE DAY BEFORE; HER DAY CONSISTS OF WORK, EATING, EXERCISE, AND SPENDING THE EVENING WITH HER COMPUTER. HER ROUTINE HARDLY EVER VARIES, AND SHE TENDS TO GET UPSET WHEN SHE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT IS HAPPENING.
AND I GUESS WE ARE ALL A LITTLE LIKE THAT. WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE WALLS THAT KEEP OUT UNCERTAINTY AND DANGER. WE LIKE ROUTINE, WHETHER IT IS BORING, REPETITIVE ROUTINE, OR FRENETIC ACTIVITY THAT REFUSES TO LOOK AT THE FUTURE OR LEARN FROM THE PAST. AND WE MAY KNOW WE AREN'T PARTICULARLY HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE, BUT WE ARE CONTENT, AT LEAST ENOUGH NOT TO WANT CHANGE.
BUT THERE ARE DANGERS. ONE IS THAT TIME SLIPS AWAY, AND SOMEDAY WE DISCOVER THAT WE HAVE RUN OUT OF TIME. WE'VE SPENT OUR LIFE GETTING UP IN THE MORNING, GOING THROUGH OUR ROUTINE, AND GOING TO SLEEP. WE'VE MISSED THE BEST THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER. ANOTHER IS THAT A LIFE OF ROUTINE NECESSARILY KEEPS US FROM FORMING AND DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, INCLUDING OUR LORD. MY GRANDMOTHER USED TO TELL ME THAT FRIENDS ARE LIKE SILVER, BUT OLD FRIENDS ARE GOLD. I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE I CONSIDERED CLOSE FRIENDS WHEN I WAS YOUNG? I'M ASHAMED TO SAY THAT I HAVEN'T KEPT UP WITH MOST OF THE FRIENDS I'VE MADE DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. MY LIFE IS TOO BUSY; IT'S TOO MUCH TROUBLE TO NURTURE ALL THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, WE HEAR THE WORDS: WHEN THE SHEPHERD HAS DRIVEN OUT ALL OF HIS OWN, HE GOES AHEAD OF THEM. OUR IMAGINATION FOCUSES ON THE SHEPHERD CALMLY LEADING HIS SHEEP; BUT BEFORE HE CAN DO THIS, HE HAS TO FORCE THE SHEEP OUT OF THE SHEEPFOLD. THE WORD USED HERE IS THE SAME WORD USED WHEN JESUS DRIVES THE MONEY-CHANGERS OUT OF THE TEMPLE, OR THE DEMONS OUT OF THE MAN POSSESSED. SHEEP DO NOT LIKE TO LEAVE THE SHEEPFOLD. THEY RESIST BEING DRIVEN OUT.
WE SHEEP WHO BELONG TO JESUS ARE LIKE THAT. WE KNOW HIS VOICE; WE PERK UP OUR EARS WHEN HE CALLS US BY NAME. WHEN WE HEAR HIS WORDS IN THE SCRIPTURES, WHEN WE REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT HIS CHURCH TELLS US, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE FEEL THE HOLY SPIRIT URGING US ON, BUT WE RESIST; WE LIKE OUR SHEEPFOLD.
ONCE WHEN THE DISCIPLES WERE SENT TO CARRY OUT THE WORK OF JESUS, THEY CAME BACK SO EXCITED; THEY HAD LAID HANDS ON PEOPLE AND SEEN THEM BE HEALED. THEY HAD DRIVEN OUT DEMONS. THEY HAD OPENED THEIR MOUTHS AND LISTENED IN AMAZEMENT TO THE WORDS THAT CAME OUT. AND THEY RUSHED BACK TO JESUS. AND HE SAID TO THEM, “COME AWAY WITH ME FOR A WHILE AND REST.” THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE SHEEPFOLD. BUT THE SHEPHERD CALLS US OUT, AND BRINGS US BACK.
THAT SHOULD BE THE RHYTHM OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. IF WE FOLLOW OUR SHEPHERD WE WILL SPEND TIME RESTING, BEING WATCHED OVER, BEING TENDED TO. BUT WE HAVE TO LET HIM LEAD US OUT AS WELL, BECAUSE WE BELONG IN THE WORLD, WE HAVE BEEN MADE TO TRANSFORM IT, TO BUILD THE KINGDOM. SOME OF US SEE OUR RELIGION AS AN INWARD THING, BETWEEN ME AND GOD. OTHERS NEGLECT THEIR PRAYER LIFE, THEIR MEDITATION, THEIR SPIRITUAL READING, FEELING THAT RELIGION IS BEST PRACTICED BY ACTION. BUT THE SHEPHERD LEADS US IN AND OUT OF THE SHEEPFOLD.
DID YOU NOTICE IN THE GOSPEL READING THAT JESUS DOES NOT COMPARE HIMSELF TO A SHEPHERD; HE CALLS HIMSELF A GATE. LATER IN THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE HE WILL SAY THAT HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD, BUT WHAT DOES HE MEAN, HERE, THAT HE IS THE GATE?
A CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO COME IN TO THE SAFETY OF THE SHEEPFOLD AND GO OUT INTO THE WORLD TO GROW THE KINGDOM. BUT THE ONLY WAY THIS WILL WORK IS IF THIS MOVEMENT ALWAYS INVOLVES JESUS. THERE ARE RELIGIONS, NOBLE AND GREAT RELIGIONS LIKE BUDDHISM, WHERE A PERSON STRUGGLES TO BECOME ONE WITH THE DIVINE. THIS IS DONE BY ONESELF, WITHOUT HELP. NO WONDER SO FEW EVEN ATTEMPT IT. AND SO MUCH EFFORT IS TAKEN UP IN THAT STRUGGLE THAT THERE IS NO ROOM TO BUILD THE KINGDOM. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS FOR THEM, AN ILLUSION THAT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER. AND THERE ARE OTHER RELIGIONS, MORE MODERN ONES, PERHAPS, WHERE INNER GROWTH ISN'T IMPORTANT. SOME STRAINS OF ISLAM ARE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WHAT MAKES YOU A RELIGIOUS PERSON IS WHAT YOU DO TO SUBJECT THE WORLD TO THE KORAN AND SHARIA LAW. YOUR SALVATION DEPENDS ON JIHAD, STRUGGLE, CONQUEST OF YOURSELF AND THE WORLD. YOU CAN BLOW YOURSELF UP IF IT HELPS. ENTERING INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD CAN WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT LIFE.
CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION OF BALANCE, AND THE BALANCE IS JESUS. IN THE SHEEPFOLD, WE GET TO KNOW HIM, WE STUDY HIS WORDS, WE SPEAK TO HIM AND LET HIM SPEAK TO US. WE ACCEPT HIS FORGIVENESS AND LEARN TO FORGIVE OTHERS. WE ARE NOURISHED, CLEANSED, ENLIGHTENED. AND WHEN WE GO OUT, WE KEEP OUR EYES ON THE SHEPHERD, WE FOLLOW HIM, AND WE DON'T WANDER OFF. WE DO THE WORKS HE WOULD DO, AND WE LOOK FOR WAYS TO HELP THOSE ALREADY DOING HIS WORKS. OUTSIDE THE SHEEPFOLD OUR EGOS HAVE TO BE CAST ASIDE, BECAUSE UNLESS WE FOLLOW OUR SHEPHERD, ALL OUR EFFORTS ARE USELESS.
WE GO IN AND OUT THROUGH JESUS.
OUR CHALLENGE THIS WEEK IS TO EXAMINE OURSELVES. ARE WE SPENDING ENOUGH TIME IN THE SHEEPFOLD? ARE WE SPENDING TIME IN THE WORLD; AND ARE WE GOING IN AND OUT THROUGH JESUS? AND IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THESE THINGS MEAN FOR US, ARE WE ASKING SOMEONE WHO KNOWS TO HELP US GROW AS CHRISTIANS?
JESUS, AFTER ALL, CAME SO THAT WE SHEEP WOULD HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY. ABUNDANT LIFE IS A LIFE OF SURPRISES, GOOD AND BAD, A LIFE WHICH DOES NOT SURRENDER TO ROUTINE. LET US NOT LET SUCH A LIFE PASS US BY.
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