Pentecost, 2012

PENTECOST SUNDAY, 2012

JOHN 15:26-27; 16:12-15

SOMETHING MOMENTOUS HAPPENED THIS LAST WEEK, AT LEAST, MOMENTOUS TO MY EXTENDED FAMILY. MY UNCLE PAUL KLEFFNER PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 95. HE'D BEEN ONE OF TWELVE CHILDREN, TWO OF WHOM DIED IN INFANCY. HE WAS THE LAST OF HIS GENERATION TO GO.

HE AND HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAD A STRONG SENSE OF FAMILY. THEY LOOKED OUT FOR EACH OTHER. ANOTHER UNCLE OF MINE HAD LEFT THE CHURCH MANY YEARS AGO; HAD BEEN MARRIED AND DIVORCED SEVERAL TIMES. WHEN HE WAS DYING, MY UNCLE PAUL TRAVELED FROM MONTANA TO CALIFORNIA TO SIT WITH HIM AND ULTIMATELY PERSUADE HIM TO RECEIVE THE LAST SACRAMENTS. ALTHOUGH HE HAD EIGHT CHILDREN OF HIS OWN, HE WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO LISTEN TO MY PROBLEMS AND GIVE ME GOOD ADVICE WHEN I WAS GROWING UP – AND I WAS ONLY ONE OF HIS NIECES AND NEPHEWS WHO HAD THAT EXPERIENCE.

AND NOW HE'S GONE. BUT HIS FAMILY LIVES ON. WHEN WE OLDER COUSINS GET TOGETHER, ONE OF US WILL SAY SOMETHING OR DO SOMETHING, AND THE OTHERS WILL OFFER THE OPINION THAT THAT IS A TYPICAL KLEFFNER THING TO SAY OR DO. WHEN I WAS ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD, SOMEONE TOLD ME I HAD THE KLEFFNER SENSE OF HUMOR – AND I WAS GLAD TO HEAR IT, BECAUSE I REALLY ADMIRED THAT SENSE OF HUMOR IN MY MOTHER, MY UNCLES AND MY AUNTS. AND MANY OF MY COUSINS AND THEIR CHILDREN HAVE “GREEN THUMBS” AND SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH GROWING PLANTS. ONE OF MY NON-KLEFFNER AUNTS ONCE OBSERVED THAT KLEFFNERS WERE HAPPIEST WHEN THEIR HANDS WERE DEEP IN THE DIRT.

MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO JOSEPH KLEFFNER AND CLARA BOGNER, FIRST GENERATION AMERICANS OF GERMAN STOCK, GOT MARRIED AND BEGAN TO FORM A FAMILY. BUT EVEN THERE, THEY WERE PART OF THEIR OWN FAMILIES. IN A SENSE, THE KLEFFNER FAMILY GOES WAY BACK, AND GOES FORWARD. IT WON'T ALWAYS LOOK THE SAME, OR HAVE THE SAME NAME, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING REAL HERE, EVEN THOUGH WE CAN'T PUT OUR FINGER ON IT.

THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM WE CELEBRATE TODAY, IS SOMETHING LIKE THE ESSENCE OF A FAMILY. IN A HUMAN FAMILY, ALTHOUGH WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS, WE SHARE A COMMON STORY; WE HAVE TRAITS THAT IDENTIFY US AS MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY, LIKE A SENSE OF HUMOR OR A LOVE FOR GREEN PLANTS; WE HANG TOGETHER EVEN THOUGH IF WE WEREN'T RELATED, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER; AND WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.

GOD THE FATHER GENERATES THE SON; THE LOVE THEY HAVE FOR EACH OTHER, THEIR RELATIONSHIP, IS THE HOLY SPIRIT, A PERSON EQUAL TO THE FATHER AND THE SON IN ALL WAYS EXCEPT FOR HIS PLACE IN THE TRINITY. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALWAYS AT WORK BUILDING UP THIS FAMILY. SAINT PAUL CALLS HIM THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION – BECAUSE HE WORKS TO MAKE SONS AND DAUGHTERS FOR THE FATHER OUT OF LOWLY HUMAN BEINGS. ONLY CHRISTIANS REFER TO GOD AS FATHER, AND WE HAVE THAT RIGHT BECAUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THROUGH WHOM THE FATHER LOOKS UPON EACH OF US AS HIS OWN BELOVED CHILD.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. HE REMINDS US OF OUR FAMILY HISTORY, OF HOW OUR OLDER BROTHER JESUS DIED FOR US. HE LIVES IN THE CHURCH JESUS FOUNDED SO THAT WE CAN BE SURE ITS TEACHINGS ARE FROM GOD. HE HELPS US DEVELOP THOSE FAMILY TRAITS WHICH MARK US AS CHRISTIANS, AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS. YOU HEARD THOSE FAMILY TRAITS TODAY: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL.

HE IS THE SPIRIT OF LIFE. SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT THE SAME SPIRIT WHO RAISED UP JESUS FROM THE DEAD, WILL RAISE US UP AS WELL.

AND HE IS THE SPIRIT OF GLORY. GLORY BELONGS TO GOD ALONE; BUT THE SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN US GIVES US A SHARE IN THAT GLORY. AND THERE IS GREAT CONSOLATION FOR A CHRISTIAN IN REMEMBERING THAT THE GREATEST GLORY COMES IN SUFFERING – NOWHERE DID JESUS SHOW GOD'S GLORY MORE PROFOUNDLY THAN ON THE CROSS.

MY UNCLES AND AUNTS ALWAYS ENJOYED GETTING TOGETHER, EVEN INTO THEIR OLD AGES. THEY WOULD GATHER OVER A MEAL, TEASE EACH OTHER, TELL STORIES, MAKE JOKES; THE YEARS WOULD FALL AWAY. THAT IS A TRAIT OF HAPPY FAMILIES. WHEN I VISIT MY COUSINS OR MY SISTERS, ITS THE SAME; AND I SEE MY OWN CHILDREN DOING THIS AS WELL; THEY ARE PART OF THE KLEFFNER FAMILY, BUT A NEW FAMILY AS WELL, ONE JOAN AND I STARTED BACK IN 1966. WE FEEL OUR FAMILY TIES THE STRONGEST WHEN WE GATHER TOGETHER. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT DRAWS US TOGETHER IN HOLY MASS, WHERE WE EAT TOGETHER, WHERE WE PRAISE OUR FATHER, WHERE WE LISTEN TO THE TEACHINGS OF OUR BROTHER JESUS. A PERSON BECOMES MORE THAN HIMSELF IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS FAMILY, AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE REASON THE SPIRIT BRINGS US TOGETHER – TO MAKE US MORE THAN WE COULD EVER BE BY OURSELVES ALONE.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE UNIVERSE, THE FATHER WHO CANNOT BE FATHER WITHOUT THE SON, AND THE SON WHO CANNOT BE SON WITHOUT THE FATHER, ARE BOUND IN THE RELATIONSHIP CALLED THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS TO CALL US INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD, THE TRINITY.

SO ON THIS FEAST OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, LET US ASK HIM THAT THOSE FAMILY TRAITS BELONGING TO THE FATHER AND THE SON WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE RECOGNIZEABLE IN US. LET US ASK THAT OUR SENSE OF FAMILY, OUR SENSE OF KINSHIP WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH JESUS AND MARY AND THE SAINTS, WILL GROW STRONGER, SO THAT WE WILL ALWAYS BE CONSCIOUS OF OUR RELATIONSHIP, SO THAT WE WILL AVOID WORDS OR ACTIONS WHICH REFLECT BADLY ON OUR FAMILY. AND LET US ASK HIM TO SHOW SOME OF GOD'S GLORY TO OTHERS THROUGH US, ESPECIALLY AT THE TIME WE SUFFER, AS WE ALL MUST SUFFER SOONER OR LATER. BECAUSE HE IS THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, AND ETERNAL LIFE IS OUR FAMILY INHERITANCE.

MY UNCLE PAUL HAS PASSED AWAY, THE LAST OF HIS GENERATION; HIS FAMILY LIVES ON, BUT WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE DILUTED AS HIS CHILDREN AND NIECES AND NEPHEWS BUILD THEIR OWN FAMILIES. BUT THE ESSENCE OF GOD'S FAMILY, THE HOLY SPIRIT, MAKES ALL THINGS NEW, AND KNITS ALL OF US INTO THE CHANGELESS FAMILY OF THE TRINITY. COME, HOLY SPIRIT, COME!

Seventh Sunday in Easter, Cycle B

JOHN 17:11-19

IF YOU WERE A MORMON MAN, YOU WOULD WEAR A GARMENT MADE OF LINEN WHICH LOOKED LIKE BOXER SHORTS BUT WITH LONGER LEGS. YOU WOULD TRY TO KEEP THIS TOUCHING YOU EVEN WHEN YOU WERE TAKING A BATH, AND WHEN YOU WANTED TO CHANGE IT, YOU WOULD TAKE ANOTHER GARMENT AND PUT IT ON WHILE REMOVING THE FIRST. SILLY, YES?

IF YOU WERE AN ORTHODOX JEW, YOU WOULD GROW A BEARD AND WEAR YOUR SIDEBURNS IN RINGLETS, AND ALWAYS HAVE YOUR HEAD COVERED. YOU WOULD HAVE TWO SETS OF DISHES, SO THAT IF YOU HAD A MEAL MADE WITH MILK OR CHEESE YOU'D USE ONE, AND IF IT WAS MEAT, YOU'D USE THE OTHER. STRANGE, ISN'T IT?

MEMBERS OF THE SIKH RELIGION WEAR TURBANS AND ALWAYS CARRY A LITTLE DAGGER. AND IF YOU WERE AMISH, YOU'D HAVE NO CLOTHING WITH ZIPPERS; EVERYTHING WOULD BE HOOK AND EYE.

ALL OF THESE CUSTOMS HAVE RATIONAL EXPLANATIONS, ASSUMING YOU BELONG TO THE COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WHO PRACTICE THEM. THEY ARE BASED ON THEIR SCRIPTURES AND ON LONG STANDING CUSTOMS. WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON, THOUGH, IS THAT THEY ARE CONSTANT REMINDERS TO THOSE PRACTICING THEM THAT THEY ARE A PEOPLE SET APART, THAT THOUGH THEY MAY BE IN THE WORLD, THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD.

JESUS TELLS US THAT WE HIS FOLLOWERS DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN HE DID. WHEN WE RECEIVED HIS WORD, WE BECOME CONSECRATED, AND THAT MEANS, MADE HOLY, SET ASIDE FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL. AND OF COURSE JESUS PROMISES THAT IF WE REALLY ACCEPT WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US, THE WORLD WILL HATE US, JUST AS IT HATED HIM.

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN WE CATHOLICS KNEW WE WERE CONSECRATED, WHEN WE KNEW WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OF THIS WORLD. AND INDEED, A TIME WHEN WE WERE HATED IN THIS COUNTRY, BECAUSE WE WERE CATHOLICS. IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO THAT JOHN KENNEDY PROMISED THE MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION OF GREATER HOUSTON THAT IF HE BECAME PRESIDENT, HE WOULD NOT PUT A DIRECT PHONE LINE IN TO THE VATICAN; HE WOULD NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM THE POPE – BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN IF A CATHOLIC BECAME PRESIDENT.

WE KNEW WE WERE CONSECRATED BECAUSE MOST OF US WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. WE WENT TO CONFESSION ON SATURDAYS. WE FASTED FROM MIDNIGHT BEFORE RECEIVING COMMUNION ON SUNDAY MORNING. GIVEN THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE THE RISK OF ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOWING TOOTHPASTE, BAD BREATH WAS AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD FOR OUR PRIESTS. AND OF COURSE, WE AVOIDED MEAT ON FRIDAY, AND REFERRED TO OURSELVES AS “MACKEREL SNAPPERS”. AND WE WORE SCAPULARS, AND CARRIED ROSARIES IN OUR POCKETS AND PURSES. EVERY TIME WE TURNED AROUND, WE WOULD BE REMINDED THAT WE WERE A CONSECRATED PEOPLE, A PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OF THIS WORLD.

WELL, WE'VE GOTTEN RID OF ALL THAT STUFF. SOME OF US OLD CATHOLICS STILL KEEP A FEW OF THESE CUSTOMS, BUT IT SURE ISN'T TRUE OF YOUNGER CATHOLICS. JOAN AND I GIVE OUT ROSARIES TO THE YOUNG COUPLES WHO COME TO OUR PRE-CANA CLASSES, AND ONLY ABOUT HALF KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, AND THE MAJORITY HAVEN'T SAID A ROSARY DURING THEIR ADULT LIFE. THE WORLD CAN NO LONGER TELL THAT WE ARE CONSECRATED, THAT WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD. AND WE CAN'T, EITHER. OUR COMMUNITY IS NO LONGER DEFINED BY OUR CHURCH; WE ARE DEFINED BY OUR SECULAR WORLD, AND MOST OF OUR ASSOCIATIONS ARE WITH PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR PROFESSION, OR OUR SPORTS, OR OUR HOBBIES; AND EVEN WHEN THESE PEOPLE ARE ALSO CATHOLIC, THAT FACT AND THOSE CONSEQUENCES ALMOST NEVER ENTER IN TO OUR DISCOURSE.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THIS CHANGE IS GOOD OR BAD. BEING OLD, I LEAN TOWARDS BAD, BECAUSE WE OLD PEOPLE DON'T LIKE CHANGE AS MUCH AS YOUNG PEOPLE. BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT.

GIVEN THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE A SET OF CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES THAT DEFINE US, I THINK WE NEED TO FIND OTHER WAYS FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN TO BE REMINDED DAY AFTER DAY THAT WE ARE CALLED TO BE NOT OF THIS WORLD, THAT WE ARE CONSECRATED IN TRUTH. NOTICE IN THE GOSPEL PASSAGE THAT JESUS REPEATS HIMSELF; SO IT MUST REALLY BE IMPORTANT. HE SAYS TWICE, “THEY DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN I BELONG TO THE WORLD. IF WE ARE IN SOLIDARITY WITH JESUS, WE NEED TO KEEP THIS FACT BEFORE US AT ALL TIMES.

THERE IS SUCH A THING AS CATHOLIC CULTURE. IT REVOLVES AROUND THE MASS, WHICH IS CENTRAL TO OUR WEEK. IT HAS TO DO WITH REVERENCE TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, WHICH IS JESUS' PRESENCE IN WHAT WAS ONCE BREAD. THE ROSARY, THE MORNING OFFERING, GRACE BEFORE AND AFTER MEALS, WEARING A SCAPULAR OR A RELIGIOUS MEDAL – INVOKING GOD'S PRESENCE DURING OUR DAY BY WHAT WE USED TO CALL “ASPIRATIONS” – JESUS, I LOVE YOU; MARY MY MOTHER, HELP ME BE LIKE JESUS; LORD, I TRUST IN YOU – THESE AND OTHER SHORT PRAYERS SHOULD COME AS NATURALLY AS BREATHING.

IF YOU ARE PARENTS, AND YOU AREN'T HELPING YOUR CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, YOU MAY LOSE THEM WHEN THEY GROW UP AND SEE NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND THEIR FRIENDS. IF YOU ARE GRANDPARENTS, I HOPE YOUR GRANDCHILDREN SEE THAT ROSARY BY YOUR CHAIR AND ASK YOU WHAT IT IS FOR. AND WHATEVER YOU ARE, SINGLE, MARRIED, OLD, YOUNG – FIND WAYS TO REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, NO MORE THAN JESUS IS. HOW CAN YOU TELL WHEN YOU HAVE IT RIGHT? WELL, THE WORLD STARTS TO HATE YOU. YOU MIGHT GET A FUNNY LOOK HERE AND THERE WHEN YOU MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AND SAY A SILENT GRACE BEFORE EATING IN A RESTAURANT. SOMEONE MAY NOTICE YOUR SCAPULAR WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES IN THE LOCKER ROOM AND LAUGH AT YOUR SUPERSTITION. AND TRY TO FORM FRIENDSHIPS WITH OTHER CATHOLICS BECAUSE YOU ARE CATHOLIC, NOT BECAUSE YOU BOTH LIKE TO GOLF OR YOU BOTH HAVE KIDS IN THE SAME GRADE SCHOOL CLASS, AND TALK ABOUT YOUR FAITH AND YOUR DOUBTS, RATHER THAN KEEPING EVERYTHING HIDDEN WITHIN. WHEN WE DISCUSS OUR FAITH WITH EACH OTHER, WE ALSO STRENGTHEN EACH OTHER.

IF WE REMIND OURSELVES AND OTHERS THAT WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, THERE MAY BE CONSEQUENCES WE DON'T PARTICULARLY LIKE; BUT IT WILL HELP REMIND US THAT WE BELONG TO JESUS, WHICH IS ALL THAT MATTERS IN THE LONG RUN.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

JOHN 15:9-17

THE OTHER DAY I WAS WATCHING MY TWO OLDEST GRANDDAUGHTERS, WHO AT THIS MOMENT ARE BOTH ELEVEN. THEY LIVE ABOUT 400 MILES APART, SO THEY DON'T GET TOGETHER VERY OFTEN. BUT WHEN THEY DO, YOU CAN ALMOST SEE THE BUBBLE THAT FORMS AROUND THEM. IN A MINUTE THEY LOSE TRACK OF EVERYTHING BUT EACH OTHER. THEY SEEM TO TALK ENDLESSLY. NORMALLY THEY ARE REASONABLY DOCILE AND OBEDIENT; BUT IN EACH OTHER'S PRESENCE, THEIR PERSONALITIES SEEM TO CHANGE, AND IT'S A LOT HARDER TO GET THEIR ATTENTION. THEY TRY TO ESCAPE THE REST OF THE FAMILY AND GO SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY CAN BE PRIVATE.

WHEN I WAS A KID, I HAD A BEST FRIEND. I THINK THAT'S A COMMON EXPERIENCE. WE FIND SOMEONE WHO RESONATES WITH US, A SOUL MATE. I MET MY BEST FRIEND WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL WHEN I WAS IN THE FIRST GRADE. WE REMAINED BEST FRIENDS THROUGH BOY SCOUTS, BEING ALTAR SERVERS, PLAYING BASEBALL TOGETHER – ALL THE WAY TO HIGH SCHOOL, WHEN OUR INTERESTS STARTED TO DIVERGE, AND GRADUALLY THAT INTENSE AND SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP KIND OF DIED AWAY. I HAVEN'T BEEN IN TOUCH WITH HIM FOR MANY YEARS. A FEW YEARS AGO WE EXCHANGED A FEW EMAILS AND SOON FOUND THAT OUR POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES WERE TOO MUCH TO OVERCOME.

BEING IN A FRIENDSHIP IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING MARRIED. CERTAINLY IT'S WONDERFUL WHEN DEEP FRIENDSHIP EXISTS IN A MARRIAGE, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO. THERE ARE PLENTY OF MARRIAGES IN WHICH THE COUPLE ARE CONTENT, BUT NOT REALLY CLOSE FRIENDS. THEY EACH HAVE THEIR OWN SPACE, THEIR OWN FRIENDS, AND AS LONG AS EACH KEEPS TO WHAT IS HIS OR HERS, THINGS ARE OK. I'VE KNOWN MUSLIM COUPLES LIKE THIS. I KNOW A LADY WHO HAD MET HER HUSBAND FOR THE FIRST TIME THE DAY BEFORE THEIR ARRANGED MARRIAGE IN PAKISTAN. THEY ARE GOING ON THEIR 25^TH YEAR, FOUR CHILDREN. I TOLD HER I COULDN'T IMAGINE THIS KIND OF MARRIAGE IN OUR SOCIETY, WHERE WE PUT SUCH AN EMPHASIS ON ROMANTIC LOVE. SHE LOOKED AT ME WITH A PUZZLED EXPRESSION AND REPLIED, “OH, I LIKE HIM FINE.”

HERE IS A DEFINITION OF FRIENDSHIP FROM THE BOOK COMRADES, BY STEPHEN E. AMBROSE. “FRIENDSHIP IS DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER RELATIONSHIPS. UNLIKE ACQUAINTANCESHIP, IT IS BASED ON LOVE.... IT IS FREE OF JEALOUSY..... IT KNOWS NEITHER CRITICISM NOR RESENTMENT. FRIENDSHIP HAS NO STATUS IN LAW. BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS ARE BASED ON A CONTRACT. SO IS A MARRIAGE. PARENTS ARE BOUND BY THE LAW, AS ARE CHILDREN. BUT FRIENDSHIP IS FREELY ENTERED INTO, FREELY GIVEN, FREELY EXERCISED. FRIENDS NEVER CHEAT EACH OTHER, OR TAKE ADVANTAGE, OR LIE. FRIENDS DO NOT SPY ON ONE ANOTHER, YET THEY HAVE NO SECRETS. FRIENDS GLORY IN EACH OTHER'S SUCCESSES AND ARE DOWNCAST BY THE FAILURES. FRIENDS MINISTER TO EACH OTHER, NURSE EACH OTHER. FRIENDS GIVE TO EACH OTHER, WORRY ABOUT EACH OTHER, STAND READY TO HELP. PERFECT FRIENDSHIP IS RARELY ACHIEVED, BUT AT ITS HEIGHT IS AN ECSTASY."

PEOPLE PAID A LOT MORE ATTENTION TO FRIENDSHIP AS SUCH IN THE TIME OF JESUS. ARISTOTLE, FOR EXAMPLE, WROTE A GREAT DEAL ABOUT FRIENDSHIP, NOTING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE DEVELOPED FRIENDS MUCH MORE READILY THAN ELDERLY PEOPLE; AND THAT WHILE FRIENDSHIP COULD BE BASED ON USEFULNESS OR PLEASURE, THE BEST FRIENDSHIP WAS WHEN EACH FRIEND DESIRED THE GOOD OF THE OTHER. A COMMON DESCRIPTION OF FRIENDSHIP IN THOSE DAYS WAS TO SAY THAT YOU AND YOUR FRIEND HAD ONE SOUL.

JESUS CALLS US FRIENDS TODAY. WE ARE NO LONGER SERVANTS – A RELATIONSHIP BASED ON WHAT WE CAN DO FOR HIM. NO, WE ARE NOW OFFERED FRIENDSHIP LIKE THAT DESCRIBED BY AMBROSE; A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS FREELY ENTERED IN TO, BASED ON LOVE. JESUS, OUR FRIEND, DOES NOT CRITICIZE US. HE HAS NO SECRETS FROM US. HE WORRIES ABOUT US, MINISTERS TO US, STANDS READY TO HELP.

FOR SOME OF US, IT'S HARD TO ACCEPT THIS. WE SEE JESUS AS LORD, RULING OUR LIVES; OR WE SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO JUDGES US, WHOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH US DEPENDS ON HOW GOOD WE ARE, HOW MUCH WE PRAY, HOW MUCH WE GIVE. BUT IF YOU'VE EVER EXPERIENCED A REAL FRIENDSHIP, ESPECIALLY ONE LIKE YOU HAD WHEN YOU WERE SMALL, WHEN YOU PERHAPS HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL FRIENDSHIP YOU'VE EVER HAD, THAT IS THE KIND OF FRIENDSHIP JESUS HAS WITH US.

JESUS GIVES US A COMMANDMENT TODAY – LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU. THIS IS ACTUALLY A CALL TO FRIENDSHIP. WE CAN'T LOVE IN THE ABSTRACT. A REAL FRIEND LOOKS AT YOU, SEES WHAT YOU NEED, AND THEN TRIES TO FULFILL THAT NEED. IF WE AREN'T DOING THAT WITH EACH OTHER, WE ARE NOT LOVING EACH OTHER, WE ARE NOT FULFILLING THE ONE COMMANDMENT JESUS GAVE US.

AND ONE OTHER THING TO THINK ABOUT. GOD WHO IS LOVE CANNOT NOT LOVE US. EVEN IF WE ULTIMATELY CHOOSE TO REJECT HIS LOVE AND FIND OURSELVES IN HELL, WHICH OF COURSE IS WHEN GOD ACCEPTS OUR DECISION AND LEAVES US COMPLETELY ALONE, HE CONTINUES TO LOVE US. IN LOVING US, HE WOULD NEVER GIVE US A COMMANDMENT THAT WOULD NOT BE FOR OUR GREATER GOOD. AND HE TELLS US IN ANOTHER PASSAGE, “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE YOU.” IT'S EASY TO LOVE WHEN YOU ARE LOVED BACK; BUT HOW HARD IT IS TO LOVE THOSE WHO HATE US. AND THAT IS THE REAL CHALLENGE OF CHRISTIANS TODAY. WE WILL NEVER CONVERT THE WORLD UNLESS WE LOVE THOSE WHO HATE US, WHO RIDICULE US, WHO WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH US. AND REMEMBER, LOVE IS NOT ABSTRACT, LOVE REQUIRES ACTION, OR IT IS NOT LOVE.

THIS OF COURSE IS MOTHER'S DAY. DID YOUR MOTHER LOVE YOU? I AM REMINDED OF TOM MONAGHAN'S BIOGRAPHY. THE FOUNDER OF DOMINO'S PIZZA, THE FOUNDER OF AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY, THE MAN WHO STARTED THE LEGATUS ORGANIZATION – HIS MOTHER PUT HIM AND HIS BROTHER IN AN ORPHANAGE WHEN THEY WERE BOTH SMALL AND SELDOM SAW THEM AGAIN. AND I'M REMINDED OF SAINT GIANNA MOLLA, WHO DIED IN 1962 OF CANCER, HAVING CHOSEN TO BEAR HER CHILD RATHER THAN SUBMIT TO AN OPERATION THAT MIGHT HAVE CURED HER BUT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN AN ABORTION. WHICH MOTHER LOVED HER CHILD THE MOST? LOVE IS NOT A FEELING; LOVE ACTS.

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, CYCLE B

JOHN 15:1-8

MY UNCLE PHIL PASSED AWAY A FEW MONTHS AGO. HE WAS THE YOUNGEST OF TEN CHILDREN, AND NEVER GOT MARRIED. HE WAS A PROFESSIONAL CARPENTER, BUT WHEN HE TURNED 50 HE DECIDED TO CHANGE PROFESSIONS AND BECOME A PLUMBER, AND INDEED, HE BECAME A MASTER PLUMBER. HE SPENT TWO YEARS AS MAYOR OF HIS TOWN, DURING WHICH TIME HE ARRANGED TO DREDGE THE CREEK THAT RAN THROUGH THE TOWN AND PERIODICALLY FLOODED EVERYONE'S BASEMENT. AFTER HIS SINGLE TERM HE REFUSED TO RUN AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH HE COULD HAVE WON IN A WALK.

SO FOR SOMEONE WHO WASN'T TOO GOOD AT BOOKS, AS HE ADMITTED HIMSELF, HE DID PRETTY WELL. BUT HE HAD A HOBBY THAT CONSUMED HIM; HE WAS AN AVID GARDENER, AND ON A RELATIVELY SMALL PLOT OF LAND, HE GREW ENOUGH FOOD TO MAKE A SIZABLE DENT IN THE GROCERY BILL FOR HIMSELF AND HIS SISTER, WHO LIVED WITH HIM.

WHEN I WAS YOUNG, HE SHOWED ME AN APPLE TREE IN HIS BACK YARD. HE POINTED OUT ONE BRANCH THAT HAD DELICIOUS APPLES, AND ANOTHER THAT HAD SOME WINESAP, AND STILL ANOTHER THAT BORE MACINTOSH. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. BUT WHAT HE HAD DONE WAS GRAFT BRANCHES FROM DIFFERENT KINDS OF APPLE TREES ONTO THAT ONE APPLE TREE. HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS PLANNING TO SEE IF HE COULD GRAFT A PEAR BRANCH ONTO THE APPLE TREE. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER HE EVER DID THAT.

UNCLE PHIL IS GONE NOW, AND I WONDER IF ANYONE IS TAKING CARE OF HIS GARDEN, OF HIS GOOSEBERRY BUSHES AND RHUBARB PLANTS AND THAT APPLE TREE?

I IMAGINE IF JESUS HAD LIVED IN BELT, MONTANA, AND KNOWN MY UNCLE, HE MIGHT HAVE COMPARED HIMSELF TO THAT APPLE TREE, AND US TO THE BRANCHES.

IT'S A GOOD COMPARISON. THE APPLE TREE IS ROOTED IN THE EARTH AND DRAWS WATER UP FROM THE GROUND. THE BRANCHES, CAREFULLY GRAFTED ONTO THE TRUNK OF THE TREE, TAKE WATER AND OTHER NUTRIENTS INTO THEMSELVES. WHEN YOU GRAFT A BRANCH ONTO A TREE, YOU HAVE TO VERY CAREFULLY ALIGN THE BARK OF THE BRANCH WITH THE BARK OF THE TREE. THE LIFE-GIVING FLUIDS PASS INTO THE BRANCH LIKE A SIPHON, SO IF THERE IS ANY SPACE BETWEEN THE TREE BARK AND THE BARK OF THE BRANCH, THE BRANCH WITHERS AND DIES. WE BRANCHES WILL FLOURISH THE CLOSER WE ARE TO JESUS. BUT A LOT OF US LIKE TO KEEP HIM AT A DISTANCE. WE TEND TO BRING HIM INTO OUR LIVES WHEN THERE IS AN EMERGENCY, OR WHEN WE REALLY NEED SOMETHING, BUT WHEN WE ARE MORE OR LESS CONTENT AND SATISFIED, WE'D JUST AS SOON HE KEEP HIS DISTANCE. IN FACT, I THINK SOME CATHOLICS COME TO MASS A FEW TIMES A YEAR HOPING THAT HE WILL LEAVE THEM ALONE THE REST OF THE TIME. JESUS DISTURBS US WHEN HE SPEAKS TO US, WHEN WE DRAW TOO CLOSE; BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE HIS LIFE IN ABUNDANCE IF YOU KEEP YOUR DISTANCE.

MY UNCLE'S TREE HAD ANOTHER INTERESTING FEATURE. THE BRANCHES THAT WERE GIVEN LIFE BY BEING GRAFTED INTO THE TREE DID NOT LOSE THEIR INDIVIDUALITY. THEY STILL BORE THE FRUIT OF THE TREE FROM WHICH THEY HAD COME. AND THAT'S IN A WAY AN INCREDIBLE MIRACLE, EVEN MORE SO FOR HUMAN BEINGS WHO ARE GRAFTED INTO JESUS. IF YOU READ ABOUT GREAT CHRISTIANS THEY ARE ALL REALLY AND TRULY THEMSELVES; THEY AREN'T TRYING TO BE SOMEONE ELSE, THEY AREN'T GOODY-TWO-SHOES, THEY AREN'T PALE SICKLY CREATURES WHO STARE INTO THE HEAVENS WITH A SAD EXPRESSION ON THEIR FACES. REAL SAINTS LEAVE A MARK. THE LIFE OF JESUS THAT FLOWS INTO THEM HEIGHTENS THEIR INDIVIDUALITY, PERFECTS IT, AND THEY BEAR FRUIT AS A RESULT, FRUIT THAT ONLY THEY CAN BEAR. THE LIFE OF JESUS FLOWING THROUGH THEM PERFECTS THEIR INDIVIDUALITY, THEIR UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS.

IF YOU LET AN ORDINARY APPLE TREE ALONE, IT BEARS ONE KIND OF APPLE. WE HUMAN BEINGS GRAVITATE TOWARDS PEOPLE LIKE US. AFTER BEING ON THIS EARTH FOR ABOUT 250,000 YEARS, WE ARE STILL TRIBAL PEOPLE, WE STILL SORT OURSELVES OUT BY LANGUAGE, SKIN COLOR, SOCIAL CLASS, RELIGION, POLITICS – IN FACT, ONE OF THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE INTERNET IS THAT MORE AND MORE PEOPLE GET ALL THEIR NEWS FROM THE NET, AND SINCE THERE ARE NEWS SOURCES TO SUIT EVERY POLITICAL FLAVOR, FROM NAZI TO COMMUNIST, FROM UNFETTERED CAPITALIST TO SOCIALIST, WE AMERICANS AREN'T READING AND DISCUSSING THE SAME THING. IN THE OLDEN DAYS THERE WERE THREE NETWORKS AND A COUPLE OF NEWS MAGAZINES, AND THE DAILY PAPERS DEPENDED ON TWO SOURCES OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS. THAT MEANT THAT EVERYONE WAS ON THE SAME PAGE. NOT TRUE ANYMORE.

BUT ON MY UNCLE'S APPLE TREE, YOU COULD FIND SEVERAL VARIETIES OF APPLE ALL GROWING PEACEFULLY TOGETHER. AND THAT IS A CONSEQUENCE OF JESUS' LIFE FLOWING THROUGH US. WE RECOGNIZE HIS LIFE IN EACH OTHER, AND HIS LIFE CROSSES ALL THOSE BARRIERS WE PUT BETWEEN OURSELVES AND THOSE NOT QUITE LIKE US. IN THIS DAY OF INCREASING DESTRUCTION OF THE THINGS THAT HOLD US TOGETHER, JESUS IS ABOUT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN UNITE US, IF WE ARE GRAFTED INTO HIM.

THERE WAS ANOTHER THING ABOUT MY UNCLE'S TREE. IN ORDER TO GRAFT A BRANCH ONTO THE TREE, YOU HAD TO CUT OFF ONE OF IT'S OWN BRANCHES. THAT WAY YOU COULD MATCH THE SURFACES OF THE BARK MUCH BETTER. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE A FEW NATIVE BRANCHES ON THE TREE, IF MY UNCLE HAD HIS WAY, HE WOULD EVENTUALLY HAVE GRAFTED AS MANY BRANCHES ON THAT TREE AS HE COULD GET. AND HERE MAYBE THE IMAGE OF THE VINE AND BRANCHES IS MORE TO THE POINT. IN CALIFORNIA, THE WONDERFUL GRAPES THAT MAKE THOSE FINE WINES COME FROM PLANTS THAT HAVE BEEN GRAFTED ONTO ROOTS DERIVED FROM NATIVE GRAPE VARIETIES. ALL THOSE IMPORTED VINES HAD NO RESISTANCE TO A ROOT-DESTROYING FUNGUS, BUT THE WILD GRAPES THAT GREW ON THIS CONTINENT DID. JESUS LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US, GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR US, DIED ON THE CROSS FOR US, AND CONTINUES TO PROTECT US, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE HIS LIFE.

WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU AND I? WITH JESUS' PROMISES TO US, AND THE EXAMPLE OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN HIM UP ON THOSE PROMISES, YOU WOULD THINK WE WOULD BE SPENDING EVERY MINUTE TRYING TO GET CLOSER TO HIM, TRYING TO DRAW FROM HIM ALL THE LIFE WE POSSIBLY CAN. LET US RESOLVE TODAY TO BEGIN TO CHANGE OUR LIVES, TO ALLOW HIS LIFE TO FLOW IN US MORE ABUNDANTLY. SOMEDAY IT WILL BE TOO LATE.

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

JOHN 10:11-18

THIS IS GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY. CHRISTIANS ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE READING THIS SAME GOSPEL PASSAGE, AND PRIESTS AND DEACONS AND PASTORS AND MINISTERS ARE PREACHING ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS. AND EVERY SERMON WILL BE DIFFERENT. BECAUSE THE IMAGE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD IS VERY RICH, AND ALMOST INEXHAUSTIBLE. WE COULD TALK FOREVER ABOUT THE SHEPHERD. GOOD SHEPHERDS WERE EVERYTHING TO THEIR SHEEP; THEY LED THEM TO FOOD AND SHELTER; THEY WERE THEIR DOCTOR AND NURSE AND BARBER AND THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON. BUT SHEPHERDS WERE PROBABLY ONLY DIMLY APPRECIATED BY THE SHEEP THEY SERVED; SHEEP AREN'T SMART, AND AFTER ALL, THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT LIFE WOULD BE LIKE WITHOUT A SHEPHERD, JUST AS WE CHRISTIANS SELDOM THINK ABOUT HOW THE WORLD WOULD BE WITHOUT CHRIST. WE COULD TALK ABOUT THE SHEEP, CREATURES WHO IN REAL LIFE ARE DIRTY, NOISY, UNRULY, AND NOT OVERLY BRIGHT – PROBABLY FROM HANGING AROUND HUMAN BEINGS FOR THE LAST FIFTEEN THOUSAND YEARS. JESUS TOLD A PARABLE ONCE ABOUT THE SHEPHERD THAT ABANDONS THE 99 TO RESCUE THE ONE WHO WAS LOST. IN JESUS' TIME, SHEPHERDS CONTROLLED THEIR FLOCKS LARGELY BY TRAINING THE ANIMALS TO FOLLOW THEM. WHEN LAMBS WERE BORN, THEY HAD DISTINCT PERSONALITIES, JUST LIKE PEOPLE. IF A LAMB LOOKED AS THOUGH IT WAS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE THAT WANDERED OFF AND DIDN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO THE SHEPHERD, THE SHEPHERD HAD A TRICK; HE WOULD BREAK ONE OF THE BONES IN THE BACK LEG SO THAT THE CREATURE COULDN'T GET VERY FAR, AND OF COURSE HE WOULD HAVE TO CARRY THE LAMB AROUND WHEN THEY MOVED FROM PASTURE TO PASTURE. WHEN THE LAMB HAD HEALED UP THE BREAK, IT WOULD HAVE BONDED WITH THE SHEPHERD. HAVE YOU EVER HAD THE GOOD SHEPHERD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO YOU? SOMETIMES WE NEED GOD TO DO SOMETHING DRASTIC TO US SO THAT WE WILL GET BACK ON THE PATH HE WANTS FOR US. SHEPHERDS HAD ANOTHER TRICK AS WELL; WHEN A LAMB LOOKED HOPELESS AND TOTALLY UNTRAINABLE, WELL, THERE WAS ALWAYS LAMB STEW.

BUT JESUS SAYS SOME OTHER THINGS IN THIS GOSPEL. HE TALKS ABOUT LAYING DOWN HIS LIFE AND TAKING IT UP AGAIN. WE KNOW HE IS TALKING ABOUT HIS RESURRECTION. BUT I THINK THERE IS A GREAT IMAGE HERE. THERE IS A STORY ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO TOLD HIS LITTLE BROTHER THAT HE WAS GOING AWAY FOR A WHILE. WHERE ARE YOU GOING, SAID THE BROTHER. I AM GOING TO THE SEMINARY. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? AND THE LITTLE BROTHER REPLIED, “OF COURSE I DO. THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE GO WHEN THEY ARE DEAD.” AND THERE IS SOME TRUTH IN THAT. A YOUNG MAN GOES TO A SEMINARY; HE DIES TO HIS FORMER SELF, AND BECOMES A NEW SELF; HE CUTS OFF CHOICES HE COULD HAVE MADE, AND IN DOING SO, HE ENTERS A NEW LIFE. AND THIS STORY OF OUR SHEPHERD, THAT HE LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE AND TAKES IT UP AGAIN, IS OUR STORY AS WELL, BECAUSE OUR LIVES ARE NEVER STILL; WE ARE ALWAYS MOVING, WE ARE ALWAYS MAKING CHOICES, AND SOMETIMES THE CHOICES ARE MOMENTOUS; GETTING MARRIED, CHOOSING HOW TO SPEND LARGE SUMS OF MONEY AND TIME IN PREPARATION FOR A CAREER; LEAVING ONE'S HOME AND FAMILY TO TAKE UP A NEW LIFE SOMEWHERE ELSE – HARD CHOICES, BUT CHOICES IN WHICH WE DIE AND RISE AGAIN, IN WHICH WE LAY DOWN OUR LIVES AND TAKE THEM UP AGAIN.

AND SOMETIMES THESE MOMENTS OF DYING AND RISING ARE NOT OF OUR CHOICE. AN ACCIDENT OR ILLNESS THAT LEAVES US IMPAIRED FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES; LOSS OF A JOB AND THE NECESSITY TO RADICALLY CHANGE OUR LIFE STYLE; LOSS OF A LOVED ONE, SEPARATION FROM A SPOUSE – GETTING OLD. THESE ARE NOT AT FIRST GLANCE CHOICES; THEY HAPPEN TO US. THINK ABOUT MARY, WHEN THE ANGEL APPEARED TO HER. WE CATHOLICS OFTEN SAY THAT MARY WAS GIVEN A CHOICE, AND SHE SAID YES; BUT IN REALITY, SHE WAS TOLD THAT SHE WOULD BE THE MOTHER OF THE MESSIAH, AND SHE SAID, “YOUR WILL BE DONE!” AND IF YOU HAD LOOKED AT JESUS BEING NAILED TO THE CROSS, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE SEEN THE CHOICE THERE EITHER; BUT EVEN THERE, WHEN HE IS THE PRISONER OF THE ROMANS, WHEN THERE IS NO ONE WHO COULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF WHAT WAS TO HAPPEN, HE CAN STILL FREELY CHOOSE TO ENTER INTO THIS DEATH, AND HE CAN FREELY CHOOSE TO RISE AGAIN, TO TAKE UP HIS LIFE AGAIN. AND WHILE WE CHRISTIANS CAN BE ASSURED THAT THERE IS A RESURRECTION, THERE IS LIFE AFTER THIS LIFE, WE CAN ALSO BE ASSURED THAT WHEN WE MAKE MOMENTOUS CHOICES, OR WHEN MOMENTOUS CHOICES ARE MADE FOR US, WE HAVE THE POWER TO TAKE UP OUR LIVES AGAIN, KNOWING THAT OUR SHEPHERD AWAITS US IN THE NEW LIFE, JUST AS HE WAS WITH US IN THE OLD LIFE.

I LOVE TO READ THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS. GREAT OR SMALL, MARTYRED OR DYING OF OLD AGE, THEY HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON; THEY HAVE RECOGNIZED THAT THEY, LIKE THEIR MASTER, HAVE THE POWER TO LAY DOWN THEIR LIVES AND TAKE THEM UP AGAIN. THERE IS NOTHING IN HUMAN EXPERIENCE, EVEN DEATH ITSELF, THAT HAS REAL POWER OVER THEM; AND BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT, THEY DO NOT FEAR, THEY MOVE ON, THEY COME THROUGH HARDSHIP AND PERSECUTION. AND WHEN THE ORIGINAL PLANS DON'T WORK OUT, THEY CHEERFULLY MOVE ON TO THE NEW LIFE AND SAY GOODBYE TO THE OLD ONE. SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA LOVED THE MILITARY LIFE, AND HIS READING WAS CONFINED TO STORIES OF BATTLE AND HEROISM. HE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED IN A BATTLE, AND WHILE HE WAS RECOVERING HE RAN OUT OF GOOD STUFF TO READ, SO IN DESPERATION, PICKED UP A BOOK CALLED “THE LIFE OF CHRIST”. HIS INJURY MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO RETURN TO HIS FORMER LIFE ANYWAY, BUT HE EMBRACED A NEW LIFE WITHOUT LOOKING BACK, NEVER REGRETTING WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIM; IN OTHER WORDS, HE CHOSE WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO HIM; HE ALIGNED HIS OWN WILL WITH GOD'S WILL.

REAL CHRISTIANS DON'T CLING TO THE PAST; THEY DON'T LET RESENTMENT AND ANGER GOVERN THEIR LIVES; THEY DON'T CONSTANTLY THINK ABOUT HOW THINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN IF ONLY.... LIKE THEIR SHEPHERD, THEY EMBRACE THE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE, THE GOOD ONES AND THE BAD ONES, THE CHANGES THAT WILL INEVITABLY COME INTO EVERY HUMAN LIFE, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THERE IS LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CHANGE. LIKE THEIR SHEPHERD, THEY TOO HAVE THE POWER TO LAY DOWN THEIR LIVES AND TAKE THEM UP AGAIN, EVEN WHEN THEY LAY THEM DOWN FOR THE LAST TIME IN THIS LIFE. THEY HAVE BEEN ASSURED THAT THEIR SHEPHERD KNOWS THEM, AND CARES FOR THEM, AND LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THEM, AND WILL NEVER ABANDON THEM.

Third Sunday of Easter, cycle B

LUKE 24:35-48

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, ABOUT EVERY FEW WEEKS WE KIDS WOULD BE SITTING DOWN WITH OUR COUSINS AT ANOTHER SUPPER COMMEMORATING SOME OCASSION IN OUR EXTENDED FAMILY – SOMETIMES NO OCCASION AT ALL, JUST THE FACT THAT SOMEONE WE HADN'T SEEN FOR A WHILE HAD BLOWN INTO TOWN. MY MOTHER WAS NOT THE GREATEST COOK IN THE WORLD, EXCEPT FOR HER BAKING SKILLS, AND AS MY DAD GOT HIS MEAT AND POTATOES, EVERYBODY WAS HAPPY. BUT WHEN WE ATE IN THE HOME OF A RELATIVE, THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING DELICIOUS. MOST OF MY RELATIVES WERE FARMERS OR HAD FARMING ROOTS, AND GERMAN AND EASTERN EUROPEAN INFLUENCES COLORED THE CUISINE. BEING A GROWING BOY, I ALWAYS LOOKED FORWARD TO THESE OCASSIONS.

BUT YOU ALL KNOW THAT SHARING FOOD WITH FRIENDS AND RELATIVES CHANGES REFUELING THE BODY INTO A TRULY HUMAN EXPERIENCE. WHEN I GO AWAY FOR A CONFERENCE, IF I HAVE TO EAT ALONE, I GENERALLY BUY SOMETHING IN THE LOCAL 7-11 AND TAKE IT BACK TO MY HOTEL ROOM. THERE'S NO SENSE IN GOING OUT TO A RESTAURANT AND WORKING MY WAY THROUGH A REGULAR MEAL IF THERE ISN'T SOMEONE TO SHARE IT WITH.

THIS WEEK WE ARE HAVING AN INTERFAITH CONVOCATION AT SAINT MARY'S, AND AS A SYMBOL OF SOLIDARITY AND MUTUAL RESPECT, WE WILL SHARE A MEAL WITH MUSLIMS AND JEWS AND OTHER CHRISTIANS AND MEMBERS OF THE B'HAI FAITH. THE SHARING OF FOOD PUTS A SEAL OF AUTHENTICITY ON WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO.

I KNOW MANY MEMBERS OF SAINT MARY'S PARISH EAT MOST OF THEIR MEALS ALONE. I GUESS YOU CAN GET USED TO THAT, BUT IT'S SAD TO MISS THAT HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF SHARING A MEAL.

TODAY JESUS APPEARS IN THE MIDST OF HIS DISCIPLES ONCE AGAIN; AND THEY ARE STARTLED AND TERRIFIED ONCE AGAIN. JESUS HAS BEEN MURDERED. HIS HEART HAS BEEN IMPALED ON A SPEAR JUST TO MAKE SURE HE WAS DEAD. HE WAS BURIED IN THE GROUND, WRAPPED IN A SHROUD. AND HE RISES FROM THE DEAD. THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. THE MOST MOMENTOUS EVENT IN HISTORY, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, HAS TAKEN PLACE. GOD WAS PUT TO DEATH AND MAN ROSE FROM THE DEAD, AND GOD AND MAN WERE ONE IN THIS JESUS. AND JESUS ASKS, “HAVE YOU ANYTHING TO EAT?”

WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT, JESUS? I IMAGINE THAT DYING AND RISING FROM THE DEAD CAN MAKE YOU PRETTY HUNGRY – BUT STILL....

IT'S POSSIBLE TO READ THIS STATEMENT AS A WAY FOR JESUS TO SHOW HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE IS FLESH AND BONE, NOT A GHOST. BUT REMEMBER THAT IN THE SECTION OF THE GOSPEL JUST BEFORE THIS ONE, HE WAS SITTING AT THE TABLE SHARING A MEAL WITH THE TWO DISCIPLES WHO HAVE JUST TOLD THE APOSTLES ABOUT THEIR OWN MEETING WITH JESUS.

I THINK INSTEAD THAT JESUS WANTED TO EAT WITH HIS DISCIPLES AGAIN; THE DESIRE TO SHARE FOOD WITH FRIENDS IS PERHAPS A MUCH STRONGER SIGN OF BEING HUMAN THAN HAVING A BODY OF FLESH AND BONE.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT INTIMACY MANY OF US THINK IN SEXUAL TERMS; BUT EATING WITH OTHER PEOPLE IS AN INTIMATE ACT, AND NOT AN EXCLUSIVE ONE. MOST OF US WHO ARE MARRIED BEGAN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MEALS TOGETHER – USUALLY THESE WOULD BEGIN WITH SHARING FOOD AND DRINK AT A PARTY OR A DANCE, GRADUALLY PROGRESSING TO THAT FIRST DELIBERATE MEAL TOGETHER IN A NICE RESTAURANT. AND GETTING AWAY TO EAT TOGETHER IS STILL A WAY WE RENEW OUR RELATIONSHIP.

THE QUAKERS HAVE AN INSIGHT WHICH I THINK ALL OF US CAN APPRECIATE; UNLIKE MOST CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS, THEY DO NOT CELEBRATE THE LORD'S SUPPER, THE EUCHARIST, HOLY COMMUNION – ALL TERMS WHICH HAVE TO DO WITH A SYMBOLIC MEAL OF BREAD AND WINE, WHICH WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE BECOMES THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. THE QUAKERS, THOUGH, BELIEVE THAT WHEREVER TWO OR MORE PEOPLE SHARE A MEAL, IT IS A SACRED MEAL. GOD IS PRESENT IN A SPECIAL WAY. WE CAN SEE THE ROOTS OF THE IDEA IN THE STATEMENT JESUS MADE, “WHEREVER TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, THERE I AM.”

WHEN JESUS APPEARED AMONG HIS DISCIPLES, THEY WERE FRIGHTENED AND EVEN TERRIFIED. WHEN HE ASKED THEM FOR SOMETHING TO EAT, THEY WERE REASSURED BECAUSE THEY HAD HEARD WORDS LIKE THAT FROM HIM SO MANY TIMES BEFORE WHEN THEY WALKED WITH HIM THROUGH THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF ISRAEL. NO DOUBT THEY REMEMBERED THE LITTLE GIRL WHOM JESUS HAD RAISED FROM THE DEAD. AS HE HANDED HER TO HER PARENTS, HIS WORDS TO THEM WERE “YOU GIVE HER SOMETHING TO EAT.” AFTER HE RAISES HIS FRIEND LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD, THE NEXT SCENE HAS JESUS AT A SUPPER BEING HELD IN THE HOME OF MARTHA, MARY, AND LAZARUS. ON THE SHORE OF THE LAKE AFTER HIS RESURRECTION HE STARTS A CHARCOAL FIRE AND COOKS SOME FISH, AND CALLS HIS APOSTLES: COME, HAVE BREAKFAST.

IN OUR WORLD WE ARE LOSING SOMETHING THAT MAKES US HUMAN. WE RUSH THROUGH MCDONALDS. IN MANY HOMES EVERYONE EATS WHEN THEIR SCHEDULE PERMITS. AND WHEN THERE IS AN ATTEMPT TO GET EVERYBODY TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER, THERE IS OFTEN SOMEONE WHO FEELS PUT OUT BECAUSE THEY WILL BE LATE FOR THE NEXT EVENT.

WHEN WE EAT WITH EACH OTHER, WE MAKE OURSELVES VULNERABLE; WE OPEN OURSELVES UP IN MORE WAYS THAN OPENING OUR MOUTHS. WE CAN'T REALLY EAT WITH OTHER PEOPLE UNLESS WE CONVERSE, EVEN IF WE TALK ABOUT NOTHING BUT THE WEATHER. IF WE DON'T SPEAK, WE ARE EATING ALONGSIDE THEM, NOT WITH THEM.

IT'S IMPORTANT, I THINK, FOR US TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO RECAPTURE THE ACT OF EATING TOGETHER, AT LEAST NOW AND THEN. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR HUMANITY, IT'S IMPORTANT TO OVERCOME ALIENATION AND LONILINESS. AND IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR APPRECIATION OF THE EUCHARIST, WHICH, AFTER ALL, IS A MEAL, A MEAL IN COMMON, A MEAL IN WHICH WE SHARE THE BREAD AND WINE AND SPEAK WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH OUR FATHER, ALL IN RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION OF JESUS: TAKE AND EAT THIS, ALL OF YOU, FOR THIS IS MY BODY.”

SO YOU'VE JUST HEARD A SERMON ABOUT EATING, ABOUT SHARING A MEAL. MAYBE YOU FEEL IT'S A SMALL MATTER. BUT I FIGURE IF JESUS ASKED FOR SOMETHING TO EAT AFTER CHANGING HISTORY, OPENING THE GATES OF HEAVEN, OVERCOMING DEATH, AND WINNING OUR SALVATION, IT ISN'T A SMALL MATTER AT ALL.

Second Sunday of Easter, cycle B

JOHN 20:19-31

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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