Trinity Sunday, cycle C

JOHN 16:12-15
IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY, YOU WOULD FIND THAT A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF WRITINGS HAD TO DO WITH THE TRINITY. AND WHEN YOU READ THESE WRITINGS BY SOME OF THE GREATEST MINDS WHO EVER LIVED, YOU ARE LEFT MORE CONFUSED THAN BEFORE. PART OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT MUCH OF WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN AND IS STILL BEING WRITTEN IS BASED ON A WAY OF THINKING THAT STEMS BACK TO PLATO AND ARISTOTLE. AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THAT METHOD MAY HAVE HIT A WALL; AND MAYBE THAT IS THE REASON WE TRY NOT TO THINK OF THE TRINITY. AFTER ALL, THREE PERSONS, ONE GOD; THREE PERSONS WHO ALL SHARE THE SAME WILL, BUT ARE DIFFERENT; THREE PERSONS WHOSE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THEIR MODE OF GENERATION; BUT THEY ARE STILL EQUAL IN ALL OTHER RESPECTS; THREE PERSONS WHO ARE NOT SEPARATE BEINGS, BUT ARE ALSO NOT JUST DIFFERENT WAYS FOR GOD TO BE. WHEN OUR MOSLEM AND JEWISH FRIENDS HEAR THESE THINGS, NO WONDER THEY ARE CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT CHRISTIANS ACTUALLY WORSHIP.
BUT MAYBE WE ARE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE. MAYBE WE ARE TRYING TO GET BACK TO OUR BOOK OF PROVERBS READING WHERE THE AUTHOR IMAGINES WISDOM AS A CHILD WHO WAS THERE AT THE BEGINNING, PLAYING ON THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, AND FINDING DELIGHT IN THE HUMAN RACE. MAYBE WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THE CROSS.
JESUS SAYS TODAY, “EVERYTHING THAT THE FATHER HAS IS MINE”. OUTSIDE OF TIME, WHERE THERE IS NO BEGINNING NOR END, THE FATHER DOES SOMETHING ONLY GOD CAN DO, WHICH IS TO GIVE HIS ENTIRE SELF, HIS ENTIRE GOD-SELF, TO THE SON. YOU AND I COULD, PERHAPS, GIVE UP OUR LIVES FOR ANOTHER PERSON; BUT WE COULD NEVER GIVE UP OUR VERY SELVES. BUT THE FATHER CAN AND DOES. THE SON IS THEREFORE IDENTICAL TO THE FATHER, EXCEPT THAT HE IS GENERATED BY THE FATHER, WHO HIMSELF IS NOT GENERATED. IN SOME MYSTERIOUS WAY, THAT ACT OF GENERATION, WHICH HAS NO BEGINNING AND NO END, IS THE REASON FOR THE EXISTENCE OF ANGELS, AND OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. AS SCRIPTURE TELLS US IN REFERENCE TO JESUS, THE SON, “THROUGH HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED”.
BUT THE UNIVERSE IS NOT RIGHT; ON THE WHOLE ALL OF CREATION IS BEAUTIFUL AND WONDERFUL, BUT ULTIMATELY, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT WILL COME TO AN END. DEATH IS INSEPARABLE FROM CREATION. WHY IS THIS? WAS IT A REBELLION OF THE FALLEN ANGELS? WAS IT THE FIRST SIN OF ADAM AND EVE? MAYBE IT WAS THE ENTIRE BURDEN OF SIN THAT STARTED WITH ADAM AND EVE; OR MAYBE WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME WHEN THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE IS NOT YET COMPLETE, OR, TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, NOT REDEEMED.
AND OUTSIDE OF TIME, WHERE THERE IS NO BEGINNING OR END, SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED; WE HEAR ABOUT IT IN THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. “ALTHOUGH HE WAS IN THE LIKENESS OF GOD, HE DID NOT DEEM THAT SOMETHING TO BE GRASPED AT, BUT TOOK ON THE LIKENESS OF A SLAVE, AND BECAME HUMAN”. THE SON OF GOD, IN ORDER TO REDEEM THE UNIVERSE, AND ALL THAT IS IN IT, SEPARATED HIMSELF FROM THE FATHER, GAVE UP HIS GOD-SELF, AND MADE HIMSELF ONE WITH SIN AND DEATH. HE CROSSED THE IMMEASURABLE GAP BETWEEN GOD AND HIS CREATION, BECAME A HUMAN BEING, SUFFERED AND DIED, REALLY DIED. I THINK MOST OF US THINK ABOUT THAT TIME BETWEEN DEATH AND RESURRECTION, AND IMAGINE THAT JESUS WAS WANDERING AROUND IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD, GATHERING TOGETHER THE PROPHETS AND PATRIARCHS AND OTHER HOLY PEOPLE WHO HAD LIVED AND DIED BEFORE HE CAME. BUT THEY WERE DEAD, REALLY DEAD, AND JESUS WAS DEAD. BUT THE FATHER WOULD NOT LET HIS SON STAY DEAD, AND GAVE HIS GOD-SELF TO THE SON AND RESTORED HIM TO LIFE.
AND THE FATHER WHO MADE THE UNIVERSE AND THE SON WHO PAID THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION GIVE AWAY THEIR GOD-SELF ONCE AGAIN TO THIS UNIVERSE – AT THE VERY BEGINNING THE SPIRIT BROODS OVER THE WATERS; AND THE SPIRIT CONCEIVES JESUS IN THE WOMB OF MARY; AND THE SPIRIT COMES IN TO THE CHURCH, AND STILL DOES, TO GIVE US A SHARE IN GOD-SELF SO THAT ALL OF CREATION IS GIVEN THE MEANS TO ACCEPT REDEMPTION, TO BECOME WHAT GOD MEANS IT TO BE, THE NEW JERUSALEM. AND EACH OF US WHO POSSESSES THE SPIRIT BECOMES A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD, IS GIVEN THE PROMISE OF RESURRECTION AND ETERNAL LIFE, IS GIVEN A SHARE IN GOD-SELF.
YOU AND I LABOR IN TIME; WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE TRINITY, OUTSIDE OF TIME, WHERE THERE IS NO BEGINNING NOR END. BUT WE CAN LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX, AND WE CAN SEE THAT THE SON OF GOD TORE HIMSELF AWAY FROM THE FATHER, GAVE UP EVERYTHING THAT THE FATHER GAVE HIM, SO THAT HE COULD BECOME ONE WITH US, SO THAT HE COULD DIE, AND PUT HIMSELF AND ALL OF US IN THE HANDS OF THE MERCIFUL FATHER. “I WILL TAKE UP LIFE AGAIN ONLY IF YOU RAISE THESE BROTHERS AND SISTERS AS WELL,” HE TELLS THE FATHER. AND JESUS IS RAISED UP, AND IS THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THE PROMISE THAT GOD MADE TO MAN.
AND WHEN WE SEE THE BODY OF JESUS ON THE CROSS, AND WHEN WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, OUTSIDE OF TIME, WHERE THERE IS NO BEGINNING OR END, WE BEGIN TO NOTICE A CERTAIN BEAUTY, A BEAUTY THAT CAN TRANSFIX US IF WE LET IT; BEAUTY IS ALWAYS OF GOD, AND IN THE SIGN OF THE CROSS, BEAUTY SHINES FORTH, BEAUTY WHICH IS GLORY.
GOD REVEALS HIS INNER LIFE TO US, EVEN THOUGH WE CAN BARELY BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND IT, BECAUSE THE VERY NATURE OF GOD IS TO GIVE HIMSELF UP, THE FATHER TO THE SON. THE SON TO THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER AND THE SON TO THE UNIVERSE, WHERE GOD-SELF, THE HOLY SPIRIT, ACTS IN OUR LIVES. AND THE GREAT SAINTS UNDERSTOOD THIS; GIVING YOURSELF UP IS THE MOST GOD-LIKE THING YOU CAN DO, WHETHER IT IS THROUGH A SINGLE ACT OF MARTYRDOM, OR THOUSANDS OF LITTLE ACTS OF SELF-GIVING OVER A LIFETIME. SO LOOK AT THE CRUCIFIX AND SEE THE INNER LIFE OF THE TRINITY BURSTING THROUGH INTO OUR WORLD. AND BE CONSCIOUS OF THE GLORY THAT IS REALLY THE BEAUTY OF GOD, THERE MOST ASSUREDLY, BUT IN EVERY ASPECT OF REDEEMED CREATION, AND IN EVERY PERSON. AND WHEN YOU SEE GLORY, REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE SEEING GOD-SELF, WHO IS EVEN IN THAT MOMENT GIVING HIMSELF UP.

Pentecost, cycle C

JOHN 14: 14-16, 23B-26
THE HOLY SPIRIT! ON PENTECOST WE CELEBRATE THE GIVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS, AND BY EXTENSION WE CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT GOD CONTINUES TO GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO CHRISTIANS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON, WHICH MEANS TWO THINGS; WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH HIM, AND HE IS AN ACTOR, NOT ACTED UPON. THAT'S TRUE OF ALL PERSONS, THAT WE ARE ACTORS. BUT WE HUMAN BEINGS ARE ALSO ACTED UPON, THINGS HAPPEN TO US, THINGS CAUSE US TO CHANGE OUR MINDS AND OUR BODIES, AND SOMEDAY THINGS WILL ACT ON US AND CAUSE US TO DIE. THE PERSONS OF THE BLESSED TRINITY ARE NOT LIKE THAT; THEY ARE ALWAYS IN ACTION, THEY ARE ACTION. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE LOVE BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON. OUTSIDE THE TRINITY THE HOLY SPIRIT IS PURE GIFT. HE IS GIFT TO THE CHURCH, AND FORMS AND SUSTAINS THE CHURCH; AND HE IS GIFT TO EACH CHRISTIAN. THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT TODAY – WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON EACH OF US?
THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS ONE GOAL FOR US. IN BAPTISM HE HAS MADE US INTO SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE FATHER, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS, AND HEIRS OF HEAVEN. BUT THAT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. IF WE WANT TO REALIZE OUR TRUE POTENTIAL, WE HAVE TO COOPERATE WITH GOD'S GRACE. AND THAT IS WHERE THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES IN. HE WORKS WITH OUR HUMAN CAPACITIES TO HELP US MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS, AND TO DO THE RIGHT THINGS. THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH THOUGHT ABOUT THIS IN TERMS OF SEVEN GIFTS, FOUR OF WHICH HELP US KNOW HOW TO CARRY OUT GOD'S PLAN, AND THREE WHICH HELP US TO ACTUALLY CARRY THEM OUT.
OUR MOTHER MARY WAS PERFECT; UNAFFECTED BY ORIGINAL SIN. YOU AND I MAKE DECISIONS BASED ON EMOTIONS, MOST OF THE TIME. EVEN WHEN WE THINK WE ARE BEING REASONABLE, IF WE REALLY ARE HONEST WITH OURSELVES, WE OFTEN MAKE A DECISION AND THEN THINK OF A REASON AFTERWARDS. AND WHO HASN'T HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF CAREFULLY WEIGHING TWO CHOICES, CHOOSING ONE, AND THEN AT THAT MOMENT KNOWING THAT THE OTHER IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT. SOMETIMES WE ACTUALLY MAKE DECISIONS WITH REASON. WE THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT OUR CHOICES, LISTING PROS AND CONS, AND THEN DECIDING – WITHOUT EMOTION. USUALLY THOSE KINDS OF DECISIONS ARE MADE IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR JOBS. BUT IF WE WERE PERFECT, WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN, LIVING COMFORTABLY WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, OUR CHOICES WOULD BE MADE BY USING THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
MARY HAD THE GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE. WHEN SHE STUDIED THE WORD OF GOD, SHE LEARNED SOMETHING OF GOD'S PLAN FOR MANKIND. THAT IS WHY SHE COULD SAY, IN HER MAGNIFICAT, “HE CASTS DOWN THE MIGHTY FROM THEIR THRONES, AND RAISES UP THE LOWLY.” AND SHE DEVELOPED THIS GIFT; WE LEARN THAT SHE “PONDERED THESE THINGS IN HER HEART” WHEN GOD REVEALED HIS PLAN FOR HER THROUGH SIMEON AT THE PRESENTATION.
SHE HAD THE GIFT OF WISDOM. THIS ALLOWS US TO SEE THE DEEPER MEANING OF THINGS – THE EVENTS OF OUR LIVES, WHAT WE EXPERIENCE. WISDOM REVEALS GOD BEHIND THE BEAUTY OF NATURE. WHEN THE YOUNG COUPLE RAN OUT OF WINE AT THE WEDDING OF CANA, MARY SAW GOD IN HER SON, AND COULD SAY WITH CONFIDENCE, “SON, THEY HAVE NO WINE.”
SHE HAD THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING. THIS HELPS US TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ALL THE DIFFERENT VOICES WE HEAR IN OUR CULTURE, SO THAT WE CAN DISTINGUISH WHAT IS AUTHENTICALLY OF GOD. WHEN JOSEPH WOKE UP FROM A DREAM AND TOLD HER TO PACK UP, THEY WERE LEAVING FOR EGYPT, MARY UNDERSTOOD, AND WENT WITHOUT QUESTION.
SHE HAD THE GIFT OF COUNSEL. THIS HELPS US DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG. IT ALSO HELPS US SEE WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US WHEN THERE ARE SEVERAL POSSIBLE CHOICES. MARY COULD HAVE SAID NO, WHEN SHE WAS INVITED TO BE THE MOTHER OF GOD. THERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A DOWN SIDE. BUT THE GIFT OF COUNSEL SHOWED HER HOW TO ANSWER THE ANGEL'S INVITATION.
KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, AND COUNSEL – THESE ARE THE GIFTS FOR THE INTELLECT.
MARY HAD THE GIFT OF PIETY. SHE RECOGNIZED HER TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON GOD, AND HER DUTY TO WORSHIP AND LOVE HIM. SHE ACKNOWLEDGED THIS WHEN SHE SAID, “MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD, MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOUR.” IF WE RECOGNIZE OUR TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON GOD, IT CHANGES OUR WHOLE WAY OF LOOKING AT EVERYTHING.
MARY HAD THE GIFT OF “FEAR OF THE LORD”. BASICALLY, THIS MEANS “FEAR OF SEPARATING YOURSELF FROM GOD”. IT IS OUR WILL REACTING TO THE REALITY THAT GOD IS CENTER, AND WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT. AT THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION, EVEN MORE AT THE MOMENT OF CHRIST'S BIRTH, MARY CHOSE TO LET GOD TAKE OVER HER LIFE. NOTHING SHE COULD WANT, NOTHING SHE COULD DO, WOULD BE MORE THAN DUST IF IT WAS NOT GOD'S WILL.
MARY HAD THE GIFT OF FORTITUDE. SHE SAID TO THE ANGEL, “HOW CAN THIS BE WHEN I DO NOT KNOW MAN?” AND WHEN THE ANGEL ANSWERED, SHE SAID, “LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” A TEENAGER PREGNANT AND UNMARRIED, WITH A BOYFRIEND WHO WAS THINKING ABOUT NOT MARRYING HER. FORTITUDE IS THE COURAGE TO DO WHAT GOD WANTS, EVEN IF YOU ARE AFRAID, BECAUSE FORTITUDE OVERCOMES FEAR.
PIETY, FEAR OF THE LORD, AND FORTITUDE; THESE ARE THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR OUR WILLS.
THE GIFTS TO THE INTELLECT HELP US USE OUR MINDS TO UNDERSTAND GOD'S WILL FOR US; AND THE GIFTS TO THE WILL HELP US DESIRE WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US. TOGETHER THE GIFTS REALLY MEAN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IN A MARVELOUS AND MYSTERIOUS WAY HELPS US MAKE CHOICES THAT WOULD BE MADE BY JESUS IF HE WERE IN OUR SHOES. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES THIS WITHOUT COMPROMISING OUR FREE WILLS; HE LEAVES US TOTALLY FREE.
WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WE CAN IDENTIFY THEM IN OURSELVES, IF WE THINK ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON. WE CAN CHOOSE TO EXERCISE OUR OWN MIND AND WILL SO THAT WE ARE MORE IN TUNE WITH THE GIFTS, WHICH ARE REALLY THE GIFT, THE HOLY SPIRIT HIMSELF. AND OVER TIME, IF WE LISTEN, IF WE LOOK AT HOW WE REACT TO THE IMPULSES IN OUR HEARTS, THE IMPULSES THAT PUSH US IN ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER, THE IMPULSES WHICH MOVE US TO DO GOD'S WILL MORE AND MORE PERFECTLY, WE CAN BE MORE IN TUNE WITH THE SPIRIT, WE CAN COOPERATE MORE WITH THOSE GIFTS, WE CAN STRENGTHEN OUR SPIRITUAL SENSES, AND HE CAN CARRY OUT HIS MISSION IN US – TO LEAD US TO OUR SUPERNATURAL DESTINY, TO BECOME OTHER CHRISTS.

Seventh Sunday of Easter, cycle C

JOHN 17:20-26
THE GOSPEL READING WE JUST HEARD IS PART OF JESUS' FAREWELL ADDRESS – SOMETIMES CALLED THE HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER. IT IS A COMBINATION OF A PRAYER AND AN INSTRUCTION TO HIS DISCIPLES. IN THE PART YOU HEAR TODAY, JESUS IS ADDRESSING HIS REMARKS TO HIS FATHER, BUT HE IS SAYING THINGS THAT HE WANTS THE DISCIPLES TO HEAR, AND HOPEFULLY, CARRY OUT. HE PRAYS FOR UNITY AMONG THEM SO THAT THE WORLD WILL BE CONVINCED THAT JESUS WAS SENT BY THE FATHER INTO THE WORLD. HE PRAYS THAT WE MAY BE ONE SO THAT WE CAN USE HIS OWN GLORY FOR OUR PERFECTION, SO THAT THE WORLD WILL KNOW THE FATHER LOVES US EVEN AS HE LOVES HIS SON JESUS. HE CLAIMS US AS HIS OWN AND THROUGH US HE PROMISES TO MAKE KNOWN THE FATHER'S NAME, SO THAT THE VERY LOVE WHICH THE FATHER SHOWED JESUS WILL BE IN US, AND JESUS HIMSELF WILL LIVE IN US.
JESUS PRAYS THIS PRAYER, GIVES THIS FINAL INSTRUCTION, JUST BEFORE HE GOES OFF TO THE CROSS TO DIE. IT MUST REALLY BE IMPORTANT. AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH AT THE ROOT OF EVERYTHING IS THIS FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE OF UNITY, UNITY LIKE THAT BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE SON. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE UNIVERSE, THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH ALL CREATION EXISTS, WAS SO THAT JESUS WOULD COME INTO THE WORLD AND REDEEM IT – NOT JUST YOU AND I, NOT JUST THE HUMAN RACE, BUT EVERY ATOM, EVERY STAR, EVERY GALAXY. SAINT PAUL SAYS THAT ALL CREATION GROANS, WAITING FOR ITS REDEMPTION. AND THAT REDEMPTION, IN SOME WAY, DEPENDS ON UNITY.
WE AREN'T SO GOOD AT THAT. WE CAN LOOK AT THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT AND SEE THAT THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY, SOME VIOLENTLY HOSTILE TO EACH OTHER. BUT ALL READ THESE WORDS, “THAT THEY MAY ALL BE ONE, AS YOU, FATHER, ARE IN ME AND I IN YOU, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE IN US”. AND THAT IS A SCANDAL. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT THE WORLD OF CHRISTIANITY; WE CAN LOOK AT OUR OWN CHURCH, OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD, OUR OWN PARISH.
I WOULD GUESS THAT EACH OF US BELONGS TO ONE OR MORE GROUPS. WE MIGHT BE PART OF A READING CLUB, OR WE MIGHT GET TOGETHER WITH A FEW FRIENDS FOR A GOLF GAME. SOME OF US BELONG TO SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS. BUT THOSE TIMES WHEN WE ARE ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF OTHER PEOPLE, THOSE TIMES WHEN WE THINK WE ARE PRACTICING UNITY, WE REALLY AREN'T. BECAUSE WHEN WE SEEK REFUGE AMONG THOSE WHOSE INTERESTS ARE THE SAME AS OURS, WHO ARE LIKE US, WE ARE DIVIDING EACH OTHER, OR AT LEAST NOT WORKING TOWARDS THAT REAL UNITY THAT JESUS CALLS FOR. SO WHAT IS THAT UNITY?
WE CAN LOOK AT THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, AND THE LETTERS OF SAINT PAUL FOR AN IDEA. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WERE CHALLENGED BY JESUS' WORDS TO PRACTICE REAL UNITY, TO WORK TO BECOME ONE. AND THE CHARACTERISTIC OF THAT UNITY WAS PRECISELY THAT PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO BECOME ONE WHO IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER. GENTILES AND JEWS TRIED TO LIVE AS ONE COMMUNITY; RICH AND POOR, OUTCASTS AND CENTURIONS, WE MEET THOSE EARLY CHRISTIANS WHO COME FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF SOCIETY, WHO BELONG TO GROUPS THAT NORMALLY WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER, AND THEY CONSCIOUSLY SEEK TO BE BROTHER AND SISTER TO EACH OTHER, TO FORM A FAMILY, BORN INTO THE FAMILY BY BAPTISM, ENTITLED TO SIT AT THE FAMILY SUPPER OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS. AND IT WASN'T ANY EASIER THEN THAN IT IS TODAY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A BIBLE SCHOLAR TO SEE THAT PETER AND PAUL DID NOT HAVE A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER; THEY ARGUED FEROCIOUSLY. BUT PAUL DIDN'T GO OFF AND START A NEW CHURCH, IN FACT HE KNEW THAT THOSE CHRISTIANS BACK IN PALESTINE WERE OUTCASTS, SHUNNED BY THE JEWS AND PERSECUTED BY THE ROMANS, AND HE ACTIVELY SOLICITED MONEY FROM HIS CHURCHES TO SEND BACK THERE; THEY WERE AFTER ALL, ONE, THEY WERE SEEKING UNITY.
DOWN THE STREET THERE IS A CHURCH FULL OF FINE PEOPLE. THEY ARE A MUCH SMALLER CONGREGATION THAN OURS, BUT THEY ARE MORE GENEROUS; THEY SUPPORT TWO MINISTERS, ONE OF WHOM IS MARRIED AND RAISING A FAMILY. BUT THEY ARE SELF-SELECTED; THE PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO WORSHIP IN THAT CHURCH ARE THERE BECAUSE THEY FIND THAT THE CHURCH SATISFIES SOME NEED THEY HAVE. THEY ARE NOT WORKING TOWARDS UNITY; NOT THE UNITY OF THE EARLY CHURCH. WE PROBABLY AREN'T DOING SO WELL OURSELVES, BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT A CATHOLIC PARISH, THE CHURCH SAYS TO US, YOU LIVE IN THIS PARISH, AND THIS IS YOUR CHURCH; NOW IT'S YOUR JOB TO BECOME ONE WITH ALL THOSE PEOPLE YOU WOULDN'T NORMALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH. SO MEET EACH OTHER, WORK TOGETHER, PUT UP WITH PEOPLE WITH WHOM YOU HAVE VERY LITTLE IN COMMON. MAKE A REAL COMMUNITY.
THAT IS OUR CHARGE, REAL UNITY. BUT WE ARE GETTING TO BE MORE AND MORE LIKE THE PEOPLE DOWN THE STREET; IF WE DON'T LIKE THIS PARISH, WE GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, WHERE WE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE, OR WE STOP GOING TO CHURCH AT ALL, BECAUSE WE HAVE PLENTY OF OTHER OUTLETS WHERE WE FEEL A LOT MORE COMFORTABLE.
CREATING THE UNITY OF JESUS IS WORK, IT ISN'T EASY, AND IN FACT IT IS A LITTLE PAINFUL SOMETIMES. IT'S EASY TO TURN OUR BACKS ON THIS TASK AND HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST LIKE US. BUT IF WE HAD THE UNITY THAT JESUS WANTS US TO HAVE, PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT US AND BE AMAZED THAT WE WERE ONE, EVEN THOUGH IT WOULDN'T SEEM NATURAL. AND WHEN THEY SAW THIS, THEY WOULD SEE THE UNITY OF THE FATHER AND THE SON REFLECTED IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE WOULD SHOW FORTH THE GLORY OF GOD.
IN A SUBURBAN CHURCH WHERE ALL THE PEOPLE DRESSED UP IN THEIR SUNDAY BEST FOR SERVICES, A YOUNG MAN IN A TORN T-SHIRT AND JEANS WITH A SCRUFFY BEARD CAME IN AND LOOKED AROUND. THERE WERE NO SEATS AVAILABLE, SO HE WENT DOWN TOWARDS THE FRONT AND SAT ON THE FLOOR IN THE AISLE. PEOPLE WERE STARING AND THE ATMOSPHERE WAS TENSE. THEN A DIGNIFIED OLD GENTLEMAN GOT OUT OF HIS PEW AND MARCHED DOWN TOWARDS THE YOUNG MAN. PEOPLE WERE HOLDING THEIR BREATH; WHAT WAS HE GOING TO SAY? HOW WAS HE GOING TO GET RID OF THIS INTRUDER? BUT THE OLD MAN CAME UP TO THE STRANGER AND SAT DOWN ON THE FLOOR NEXT TO HIM, AND THERE THEY REMAINED UNTIL THE END OF THE SERVICE. AND IN THAT ACTION, A FEW PEOPLE SAW THE UNITY OF THE FATHER AND THE SON SHINING FORTH IN THOSE TWO WHO CHOSE TO BE ONE.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, cycle C

JOHN 14:23-29
JUST WHAT KIND OF PEACE IS THE PEACE JESUS CALLS “MY PEACE”? IS IT SOMETHING I WANT? WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT, ANYWAY?
FIRST, HE POINTS OUT THAT IT’S NOT THE WORLD’S IDEA OF PEACE. IF WE WANT PEACE BETWEEN COUNTRIES, WE MAKE TREATIES AND ARE VIGILANT ABOUT HONORING THEM AND MAKING SURE THE OTHER SIDE HONORS THEM. IF THAT DOESN’T WORK, WE MAKE THREATS. IF THAT STILL DOESN’T WORK, WE MAY GO TO WAR UNTIL ONE COUNTRY IS MORE DEVASTATED THAN THE OTHER AND THE FIGHTING COMES TO AN END. THEN THERE IS PEACE. OR WE MIGHT HAVE A SECTION OF THE INNER CITY WHERE CRIMINAL GANGS ROAM THE STREETS AND TERRORIZE THE CITIZENS. THIEVES BREAK INTO HOUSES AND CARS; ONCE IN A WHILE SOMEONE GETS SHOT, OR BEATEN TO DEATH. AND WE INCREASE THE POLICE PATROLS AND ENLIST THE HELP OF THE CITIZENS IN REPORTING CRIME, AND EVENTUALLY THE CRIMINALS GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND THERE IS PEACE, AT LEAST IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, FOR A WHILE. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH TO ACHIEVE PEACE IN THE WORLD, IN PLACES WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE, WE NEED STRENGTH, WE NEED POWER, AND SOMETIMES, WE EVEN NEED VIOLENCE.
THAT KIND OF PEACE IS GOOD; IT’S BETTER THAN WAR. BUT IT LEADS TO A LOGICAL CONCLUSION – NORTH KOREA, OR CUBA, WHERE THERE IS PROFOUND PEACE, BECAUSE THERE IS NO FREEDOM AT ALL. FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, THERE IS A DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN MORE PEACE ON THE ONE HAND, AND MORE FREEDOM ON THE OTHER, BECAUSE THE MORE HUMAN BEINGS ARE ALLOWED FREEDOM, THE MORE LIKELY SOME OF THEM WILL DISRUPT THE PEACE, AND IT DOESN’T TAKE A LOT OF PEOPLE TO DESTROY THE WORLD’S PEACE.
JESUS OFFERS HIS DISCIPLES HIS PEACE. WHAT KIND OF PEACE DO WE MEAN BY THAT? IF WE LOOK AT THE LIFE OF JESUS, HE LIVED IN A SOCIETY LIKE THAT OF NORTH KOREA OR CUBA. THE ROMAN RULERS PUT UP WITH VERY LITTLE AND WERE QUICK TO STAMP OUT UNREST. CRIMINALS WERE NOT JAILED, THEY WERE CRUCIFIED; AND AGITATION BY THE CITIZENS ENDED UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE ON THE STREETS. IN ORDER TO MAKE THEIR WORK A LITTLE EASIER, THE ROMANS ENLISTED THE LEADERS OF THE PEOPLE THEY RULED, AND GAVE THEM JUST ENOUGH AUTHORITY TO KEEP THEM ON THEIR SIDE. WITNESS THE HIGH PRIESTS, OR KING HEROD. AND THE ROMANS WERE VERY PROUD OF WHAT THEY CALLED PAX ROMANA, THE PEACE OF ROME, WHICH THEY WANTED TO EXTEND TO ALL THE WORLD. SO JESUS KNEW WHAT THE PEACE OF THE WORLD WAS ALL ABOUT.
BUT THE PEACE HE CALLED HIS OWN WAS A DIFFERENT KIND OF PEACE. IT WAS THE PEACE OF PERSPECTIVE. HE TOLD HIS DISCIPLES, “DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THOSE WHO CAN KILL THE BODY AND AFTER THAT CAN DO NO MORE. BUT I WILL ALSO SHOW YOU WHOM YOU SHOULD FEAR: FEAR HIM WHO, AFTER THE KILLING OF THE BODY HAS THE POWER TO THROW YOU INTO HELL.” HE SAID “BUT I SAY TO YOU, DO NOT RESIST AN EVIL PERSON; BUT WHOEVER SLAPS YOU ON YOUR RIGHT CHEEK, TURN THE OTHER TO HIM ALSO.” HE SAID, “DO NOT BE AFRAID, LITTLE FLOCK, FOR YOUR FATHER HAS CHOSEN GLADLY TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.” AND JESUS WASN’T ALL TALK, EITHER. EVEN STANDING BEFORE PILATE OR HEROD, HE SHOWED NO FEAR. JESUS HAD PEACE, BECAUSE HOW COULD IT BE OTHERWISE WHEN HE KNEW THAT HE HAD, AS HE SAID, “COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN NOT TO DO MY WILL BUT TO DO THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME.” COULD JESUS FEEL FEAR? OF COURSE. HE FEARED HIS DEATH, AND PRAYED THAT THE FATHER MIGHT CHANGE HIS MIND. BUT JESUS DID NOT FEAR OTHER PEOPLE, EVEN ARMIES. BECAUSE HE HAD THE PEACE OF PERSPECTIVE, THE PEACE THAT COMES FROM KNOWING THAT YOU ARE A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD, AND THE WORLD CAN’T DO A THING ABOUT THAT. AND THIS PEACE THAT JESUS CALLS HIS OWN IS NOT A PEACE THAT LEADS TO A WORLD LIKE NORTH KOREA OR CUBA. IT IS A PEACE WHERE YOU ARE TOTALLY FREE IN THE CORE OF YOUR BEING, EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT BE IN A PRISON, OR YOU MIGHT BE MARTYRED. IN THE FACE OF DEATH, JESUS SAID, “I LAY DOWN MY LIFE AND I TAKE IT UP AGAIN”. AND WE HAVE BEEN PROMISED THAT THAT IS OUR FATE AS WELL; WHEN WE LAY DOWN OUR LIVES, WE WILL BE RAISED AGAIN.
THAT’S THE PEACE JESUS WANTS TO GIVE US, THE PEACE OF THE RESURRECTION, THE PEACE OF EASTER, THE PEACE THAT NO EARTHLY POWER CAN DISTURB. AND WHILE THE WORLD’S PEACE COMES AT THE EXPENSE OF FREEDOM, FREEDOM INCREASES AS WE CLAIM THE PEACE OF JESUS.
THE PEACE JESUS WANTS TO GIVE US REQUIRES SOMETHING ON OUR PART. HE WOULD NEVER FORCE HIS GIFT UPON US. BUT WE CAN HAVE THIS PEACE IF WE ASK FOR IT, IF WE MAKE ROOM FOR IT IN OUR HEARTS. BECAUSE THERE ISN’T MUCH ROOM IN OUR HEARTS THESE DAYS, UNLESS WE SIT QUIETLY AND OPEN OURSELVES UP FOR A FEW MINUTES EVERY DAY. BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT.
IT’S MOTHER’S DAY, SO HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OUR MOTHERS. THE PEACE JESUS OFFERS IS SOMETHING LIKE THE PEACE A MOTHER OFFERS HER CHILDREN. WHEN I WAS ABOUT FOUR, WE LIVED IN A HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF TOWN, AND ACROSS THE STREET WAS A FIELD FULL OF WEEDS – WE KIDS CALLED IT THE “DEEP WEEDS”, BECAUSE YOU COULD HIDE THERE. ONE DAY I GOT VERY MAD AT MY MOTHER, AND TOLD HER I WAS GOING TO RUN AWAY. SHE TOLD ME TO GO AHEAD. SO I STORMED OUT OF THE HOUSE AND WENT OVER TO THE DEEP WEEDS TO HIDE OUT. AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE A LONG TIME, WITH ME FEELING VERY SORRY FOR MYSELF, AND WONDERING WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ME, MY MOTHER CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE AND WALKED OVER TO WHERE I WAS HIDING, AND ASKED IF I WOULD LIKE TO COME HOME FOR SUPPER. WITH GREAT RELIEF, I AGREED. MANY YEARS LATER I ASKED HER HOW SHE HAD FOUND ME. SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE NEVER LOST SIGHT OF ME, BECAUSE I WAS WEARING A RED BASEBALL CAP, SO I WAS EASY TO SPOT.
JESUS’ PEACE IS KNOWING THAT THE FATHER NEVER LOSES SIGHT OF US, AND IS ALWAYS READY TO COME TO OUR RESCUE, AND WILL BE WITH US THROUGH THE WORST PARTS OF OUR LIVES AND EVEN THROUGH OUR DEATHS – THE FATHER IS THE WAY A GOOD MOTHER WANTS TO BE WITH HER CHILDREN, NO MATTER HOW OLD THEY ARE, OR HOW OLD SHE IS.

Fifth Sunday of Easter, cycle C

JOHN 13: 31-33, 34-35
TODAY IS THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH, THE WORKER. IT'S ALSO THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH THAT THE CHURCH DEDICATES TO MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD AND THE PATRON OF THIS PARISH. IN FACT, THE NAME WE USE FOR THIS MONTH IS A NICKNAME FOR MARY; MY GRANDMOTHER'S NAME WAS MARY, AND SHE INSISTED THAT HER FRIENDS CALLED HER MAE. TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE GLORIFICATION OF CHRIST. AND CHRIST IS FIRST OF ALL GLORIFIED BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIS LIFE ON THE CROSS. BUT IT IS OUR DUTY, OUR RESPONSIBILITY, TO GLORIFY CHRIST OURSELVES.
ONE WAY WE DO THIS IS WHEN WE ALLOW JESUS TO WORK AND PRAY THROUGH US, AND WHEN WE SEE OUR JESUS IN OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS. AND YOU AND I DON'T DO A VERY GOOD JOB OF THIS. JESUS SAYS, “THIS IS HOW ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER.” HE DOESN'T MEAN A WARM FEELING; NO ONE CAN TELL WHAT MY FEELINGS ARE, SO I CAN HAVE A WARM FEELING, AND TO AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER, THERE IS NOTHING THERE. SO THE OBSERVER WILL NOT KNOW THAT I AM A DISCIPLE. HE DOESN'T MEAN ACTS OF CHARITY; ACTS OF CHARITY CAN COME FROM LOVE, IT IS TRUE, BUT THEY CAN COME FROM A DESIRE TO PLEASE, A DESIRE TO BE RESPECTED, EVEN A DESIRE TO GET SOMETHING FROM THE PERSON TO WHOM YOU ARE BEING CHARITABLE. THE OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER I AM A DISCIPLE BY AN ACT OF CHARITY.
IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD THERE IS A PERSON WHO IS DESPERATELY LONELY. MAYBE SOMEONE WHO IS VERY SHY, SOMEONE WHO IS ASHAMED OF THE WAY SHE LOOKS, SOMEONE WHO IS A LITTLE ODD AND OFF-PUTTING. IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD THERE IS SOMEONE WHO IS AT HER WIT'S END. HER HUSBAND IS LEAVING HER, AND SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW SHE IS GOING TO CARE FOR HER CHILDREN AND KEEP HER FULL-TIME JOB. IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE IS A FRAIL, ELDERLY PERSON WHO DEPENDS ON OTHERS TO GET TO THE STORE OR TO CHURCH, AND OFTEN IT'S EASIER TO MAKE A SUPPER OF CRACKERS AND PEANUT BUTTER THAN TO BOTHER PEOPLE TO DRIVE HIM SOMEWHERE. IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD THERE IS A PERSON STRUGGLING WITH AN ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL, WHO COULD TURN HIS LIFE AROUND IF HE DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE THE DIFFICULT JOURNEY BACK TO SOBRIETY ALONE. AND THEY ARE ALL CATHOLIC.
DO YOU KNOW WHO ELSE IS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? DO YOU KNOW THEIR SORROWS, THEIR NEEDS, THEIR EMPTINESS? IN THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE CHURCH, IN THE DAYS WHEN THE RESURRECTION WAS FRESH, IF YOU WERE A CHRISTIAN YOUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS LOOKED AFTER YOU; AND IF YOU WERE A CHRISTIAN YOU FOUND OUT WHAT OTHER CHRISTIANS NEEDED AND DID ALL YOU COULD TO HELP THEM OUT. THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT THE APOSTLES APPOINTED THE FIRST DEACONS WHOSE JOB IT WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAD WHAT THEY NEEDED. PRAYER AND PREACHING WERE IMPORTANT, OF COURSE; BUT CHRISTIANS HAD PUT ON CHRIST, AND IN SERVING THE NEEDS OF YOUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS, YOU WERE SERVING CHRIST YOURSELF. IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH, PEOPLE KNEW WHO WAS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THERE WOULD NOT BE PEOPLE LIKE THOSE I MENTIONED; IT WOULD HAVE BROUGHT SHAME ON THE WHOLE COMMUNITY, IF THEY DID NOT LOOK AFTER EACH OTHER.
DO YOU AND I LIVE SO THAT AN OUTSIDER WILL KNOW THAT WE ARE JESUS' DISCIPLES? NOT IF THERE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF OURS RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES WHO ARE ABANDONED, LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES, WHILE WE HAVE THE MEANS TO HELP THEM BUT CHOOSE NOT TO. DO YOU AND I LIVE SO THAT THE PAGANS OF OUR TIME LOOK AT US AND SAY, AS THEY DID IN THOSE DAYS, “SEE HOW THESE CHRISTIANS LOVE ONE ANOTHER!”
ANOTHER WAY WE GLORIFY CHRIST IS TO LISTEN TO HIM, AND TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY. DURING THIS MONTH OUR ATTENTION IS CALLED TO MARY'S PRAYER, THE ROSARY. MARY CARRIED JESUS IN HER WOMB, HELD HIM IN HER ARMS WHEN HE WAS A BABY; PLAYED WITH HIM, CHANGED HIS DIAPERS, SAW HIS FIRST SMILE, HELD OUT HER ARMS AS HE TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS. SHE WORRIED WHEN HE LEFT THE TRADE JOSEPH HAD TAUGHT HIM AND BECAME A WANDERING PREACHER; SHE EVEN WORRIED THAT SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG WITH HIM. SHE WATCHED AS HE DIED ON THE CROSS, AND SHE WEPT AS SHE HELD HIS LIFELESS BODY. HER HEART WAS BROKEN AS HE WAS PLACED IN THE TOMB, AND THE STONE ROLLED OVER THE ENTRANCE; AND HER HEART BECAME RADIANT WHEN HE APPEARED AFTER THE RESURRECTION. SHE FELT THE WIND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THAT FIRST PENTECOST. MARY KNEW JESUS, KNEW HIM BETTER THAN ANYONE, BEFORE OR AFTER. AND MARY LONGS TO SHOW YOU THE JESUS SHE KNOWS. THE ROSARY IS HER GIFT. THE 20 MYSTERIES SHOW US THE GOSPEL, AND YOU CAN SPEND A LIFETIME THINKING ABOUT EACH OF THEM; THROUGH THE MYSTERIES, IF WE LISTEN, WE HEAR JESUS SPEAKING TO US. IN BETWEEN THE MYSTERIES, WE CHANT THE MANTRA “HAIL MARY”, AND IN THAT RHYTHM WE OPEN OURSELVES TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO BUILDS UP CHRIST IN US, JUST AS HE CONCEIVED CHRIST IN MARY. WE PRAY THE PRAYER OUR SAVIOR TAUGHT US; WE GIVE GLORY TO THE HOLY TRINITY. WE RECITE THE CREED OF OUR FAITH AND CALL TO MIND WHAT WE BELIEVE AND THOSE THINGS FOR WHICH WE HOPE.
THE ROSARY, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, IS NOT A PRAYER TO MARY. THE ROSARY IS MARY'S MEDITATION ON JESUS, AND OUR HAIL MARYS ARE WORDS OF LOVE FOR THIS MOTHER OF OURS, WHO WAS GIVEN TO US BY JESUS HIMSELF ON THAT FIRST GOOD FRIDAY.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY THE ROSARY TO BE A CATHOLIC. IT ISN'T LIKE THE OBLIGATION TO ATTEND SUNDAY MASS, TO GET MARRIED IN THE CHURCH, TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR, TO CONFESS YOUR SINS AT LEAST WHEN YOU ARE IN THE STATE OF SERIOUS SIN. BUT SINCE THE ROSARY BEGAN TO BE RECITED 1000 YEARS AGO, AND BECAME A UNIVERSAL PRAYER OF THE WESTERN CHURCH ABOUT 500 YEARS AGO, THERE ARE NO SAINTS WHO DID NOT LOVE THE ROSARY. EVERY MODERN POPE HAS WRITTEN ON THE ROSARY. GREAT THEOLOGIANS AND ILLITERATE TRIBESMEN, PEOPLE FULL OF YEARS AND LITTLE CHILDREN, HAVE LOVED THE ROSARY, HAVE PRAYED WITH MARY TO JESUS. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE IN FATIMA, OR LOURDES, OR ANY OF THE OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF MARY IN RECENT TIMES TO BE A CATHOLIC; BUT AMONG THOSE APPARITIONS APPROVED BY THE CHURCH, HOW OFTEN DOES MARY ASK THAT HER ROSARY BE SAID? THAT SHOULD GIVE US PAUSE.
SAINT PADRE PIO, A MIRACLE WORKER OF OUR OWN TIMES, WORKED HIS MIRACLES THROUGH THE POWER OF THE ROSARY. AND OUR POOR COUNTRY AND OUR DAMAGED WORLD NEED SOME MIRACLES. PLEASE RESOLVE TO SAY AT LEAST ONE ROSARY THIS MONTH, SLOWLY AND THOUGHTFULLY. AND IF YOU WANT TO SAY A FEW MORE, MAYBE YOU CAN SPARE FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY FOR THIS WONDERFUL DEVOTION, AND LET MARY SHOW YOU HER JESUS.
AND YOU WILL BE GIVING GLORY TO JESUS, AND IN SO DOING, TO GOD THE FATHER.

Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle C

JOHN 10:27-30
TODAY WE HEAR A VERY SHORT GOSPEL, BUT ITS MESSAGE IS SO IMPORTANT. LOOK AT THOSE PROMISES! IF YOU ARE ONE OF HIS SHEEP, HE WILL GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE. IF YOU ARE ONE OF HIS SHEEP, NO ONE CAN TAKE YOU OUT OF HIS HAND. IF YOU ARE ONE OF HIS SHEEP, NO ONE CAN TAKE YOU OUT OF THE FATHER'S HAND. SO IT BECOMES A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH FOR YOU AND I TO KNOW WHETHER WE ARE HIS SHEEP, RIGHT?
JESUS GIVES US A CLUE; HIS SHEEP HEAR HIS VOICE.
JESUS WAS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING HE MUST HAVE WITNESSED MANY TIMES WHEN HE WAS OUT WALKING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. EVERY SHEPHERD HAD A FEW SHEEP. EVERY DAY THE SHEPHERD WOULD TAKE HIS SHEEP OUT LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO GRAZE. AT NIGHT, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THE SHEEP WERE SAFE AND THE SHEPHERD COULD GET SOME SLEEP, EACH SHEPHERD WOULD MEET UP WITH SEVERAL OTHERS, AND THEY WOULD PUT ALL THEIR SHEEP IN A PLACE WHERE THEY COULDN'T GET TOO FAR, AND ONE OF THEM WOULD SIT GUARD FOR A WHILE, THEN WAKE UP ANOTHER, AND SO ON, THROUGH THE NIGHT. IN THE MORNING EACH SHEPHERD WOULD CALL HIS SHEEP, AND THEY WOULD COME OUT AND FOLLOW HIM OFF TO NEW FEEDING GROUNDS. IT WAS FLAWLESS; THE SHEEP SORTED THEMSELVES OUT BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZED THEIR SHEPHERD.
NOW WHEN A NEWBORN LAMB JOINED THE FLOCK, THERE WAS ONLY ONE VOICE HE HEARD – HIS MOTHER'S. LAMBS WOULD WANDER OFF FROM THE FLOCK AND ONLY THE MOTHER COULD CALL THEM BACK. SO HOW DID A LAMB LEARN TO HEAR THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE? AS THEY GOT OLDER, THEY LEARNED FROM THE OTHER SHEEP, THAT THE SHEPHERD WAS DEPENDABLE, LED THEM TO FOOD AND WATER, SAW TO IT THAT THEIR INJURIES WERE PATCHED UP, WATCHED OVER THEM WHILE THEY GRAZED, OCCASIONALLY FOUGHT OFF WILD DOGS AND SOMETIMES HUMANS. EVEN FOR A DUMB SHEEP, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT IT WAS A LOT BETTER TO FOLLOW THE SHEPHERD THAN TO GO OFF ON YOUR OWN.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO HUMAN BEINGS. MOST OF US ARE STILL LAMBS, AT LEAST WE AREN'T FULL GROWN SHEEP. AND THERE ARE MANY VOICES OUT THERE. WE HEAR PLENTY OF VOICES. HOW CAN WE TELL THE VOICE OF OUR SHEPHERD? REMEMBER, THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION. IF A LAMB DOESN'T LEARN IT'S SHEPHERD'S VOICE, IT WILL DIE. IT WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF A BIRD IN THE FOREST AND FOLLOW THAT – RIGHT TO A WOLF. SO MAYBE OUR BEST BET IF WE WANT TO LEARN TO HEAR THE VOICE OF OUR SHEPHERD IS TO LOOK HARD AND FIND PEOPLE WHO DO HEAR HIS VOICE.
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE AN INNER SENSE THAT WE WERE GIVEN BY GOD. WE CAN TELL WHEN SOMEONE IS HOLY. WE KNOW THIS ON AN ALMOST INSTINCTUAL LEVEL. IN THE MIDDLE AGES, PEOPLE COMPARED THIS SENSE TO THE SENSE OF SMELL – THEY CALLED IT “THE ODOR OF SANCTITY”. BUT LIKE ANY SENSE WE DON'T USE MUCH, WE HAVE TO TRAIN IT A BIT. WE NEED TO ASSOCIATE WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE SEARCHING FOR THE VOICE, SOME WHO HEAR IT A LITTLE BIT, SOME A LITTLE MORE. FINDING OUR SHEPHERD'S VOICE IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DO ALONE. WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER, AND WE HAVE TO LET OURSELVES BE HELPED.
IF YOUR RELIGIOUS LIFE IS CONFINED TO 45 MINUTES ON THE WEEKEND; IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO DOESN'T REALLY LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS, IF YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY SOMEONE WHO IS A POTENTIAL ROLE MODEL, AN EXAMPLE FOR YOU TO FOLLOW, YOU MIGHT RISK NEVER HEARING HIS VOICE, AND BEING LOST.
BECOMING ONE OF HIS SHEEP, BECOMING A MATURE CHRISTIAN, REQUIRES WORK. THE WORK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF DOING. IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR JOB, YOUR KIDS, YOUR SPOUSE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEGLECT THESE OTHER IMPORTANT PARTS OF YOUR LIFE, BUT YOU BETTER MAKE TIME FOR BECOMING A SHEEP. YOU BETTER HAVE A PLAN.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOME REGULAR INTERACTION WITH OTHERS WHO ARE SEARCHING FOR THE VOICE, FIND AN OPPORTUNITY OR MAKE ONE. IN SOME PARISHES, AND IN SOME PROTESTANT CHURCHES, PEOPLE FORM BASE COMMUNITIES – A FEW FAMILIES WHO MEET REGULARLY FOR BIBLE STUDY, CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR PURSUIT OF HOLINESS, OPPORTUNITIES TO BOUNCE IDEAS OFF OF EACH OTHER. IF YOU FEEL CALLED TO FORM SUCH A COMMUNITY, GET IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE ON THE PARISH STAFF AND WE'LL HELP – I'LL HELP. IF YOU FEEL A NEED FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION, OR WANT TO TRY IT OUT, CALL ONE OF US AND WE'LL FIND YOU A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR IS NOT SOMEONE WHO IS HOLIER THAN YOU, IT'S SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP YOU SEE WHERE YOU ARE ON YOUR JOURNEY TO CHRIST, AND HELP YOU SEE WHERE YOU SHOULD GO NEXT.
THEN THERE ARE GROUPS WHO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO A RULE OF LIFE – THIRD ORDER GROUPS, LIKE THIRD ORDER FRANCISCANS, OR DOMINICANS, OR CARMELITES. AND THERE ARE CHARISMATIC GROUPS. I HOPE BY NEXT SUNDAY YOU WILL HAVE LOOKED AT YOUR LIFE AND MADE A DECISION ABOUT PUTTING MORE EFFORT INTO HEARING YOUR SHEPHERD'S VOICE.
THERE IS A STORY ABOUT A PAIR OF OLD COWBOYS SITTING BY A DYING CAMPFIRE; THERE WERE JUST A FEW RED COALS SCATTERED AROUND. ONE OF THE COWBOYS SAID, “I DON'T NEED OTHER PEOPLE TO FIND GOD. I JUST GO OFF BY MYSELF AND PRAY.” THE OTHER COWBOY GOT TO HIS FEET AND SLOWLY KICKED THE GLOWING COALS TOGETHER. TN A FEW MOMENTS THEY BURST INTO FLAME.
IN THE WEEK AFTER EASTER WE HEAR THAT WONDERFUL GOSPEL ABOUT THE TWO DISCIPLES GOING TO EMMAUS. JESUS JOINS THEM, AND THEY CONVERSE WITH EACH OTHER. IT IS TRUE THAT JESUS TEACHES, BUT IT IS BACK AND FORTH, QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, COMMENTS, OBSERVATIONS; AND THE DISCIPLES GET LOST IN THE CONVERSATION AND BEFORE THEY KNOW IT THEY ARE HOME, AND SITTING DOWN TO SUPPER. AFTER JESUS LEAVES THEM, THEY TURN TO EACH OTHER AND SAY, “WERE NOT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US?” HEARTS BURNING! THAT IS WHAT WE WANT, THAT IS OUR GOAL, THAT IS A SIGN THAT OUR SHEPHERD'S VOICE IS REACHING US. IT DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN, IT REQUIRES OTHER CHRISTIANS, BECAUSE WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN HIS NAME, THERE JESUS IS.
IF WE WANT TO RECEIVE THE PROMISES OF JESUS, WE HAVE TO BE HIS SHEEP, AND TO BE HIS SHEEP, WE HAVE TO HEAR HIS VOICE. AND TO HEAR HIS VOICE, WE HAVE TO LEARN FROM OTHERS ON THE WAY. THERE ISN'T ANY OTHER WAY. THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT.

Third Sunday of Easter, cycle C

JOHN 21:1-19
MANY YEARS AGO I CARED FOR A YOUNG WOMAN WITH ACUTE LEUKEMIA. SHE HAD THE KIND THAT IN THOSE DAYS COULD BE CURED SOMETIMES, AND AFTER SHE HAD RECEIVED TWO YEARS OF CHEMOTHERAPY, SHE WAS GOING STRONG, IN REMISSION, AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. ANOTHER YEAR WENT BY AND THINGS LOOKED GOOD, AND SHE GOT MARRIED. TWO YEARS LATER, SHE WAS PREGNANT, AND SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THEIR FIRST CHILD. AND THEN, ABOUT THREE MONTHS INTO THE PREGNANCY, THE LEUKEMIA RETURNED. DID I MENTION THAT SHE WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC, AS WAS HER HUSBAND? THEY WERE ADVISED BY THEIR PASTOR THAT SINCE CARRYING THE CHILD TO TERM WOULD PUT HER LIFE IN GRAVE DANGER AND MAYBE EVEN CAUSE HER DEATH, A THERAPEUTIC ABORTION WOULD BE PERMISSIBLE. IN FACT, THERE WAS A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE THAT THE CHILD WOULD NOT MAKE IT EITHER – IF SHE RECEIVED CHEMOTHERAPY, THAT WOULD PUT THE CHILD AT RISK OF VERY SERIOUS OR EVEN FATAL BIRTH DEFECTS, AND IF SHE DIDN'T SHE PROBABLY WOULDN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO BRING THE CHILD TO A POINT WHERE IT COULD LIVE. AND THE COUPLE DECIDED TO PUT EVERYTHING IN GOD'S HANDS. WE TREATED HER WITH JUST ENOUGH DRUG TO KEEP THE WHITE CELL COUNT UNDER CONTROL; AND WHEN IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE CHILD COULD BE DELIVERED SAFELY, SHE WENT THROUGH A CAESARIAN SECTION. AND A BEAUTIFUL CHILD WAS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD. I REMEMBER AS WE TRIED TO GET HER DISEASE INTO REMISSION HER HUSBAND WOULD BRING THE BABY TO HER AND HER FACE WOULD LIGHT UP AS SHE HELD HIM. BUT WE WEREN'T SUCCESSFUL. SHE DIED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HUSBAND AND THE BABY. I LOST TOUCH WITH THEM A LONG TIME AGO.
SAINT PETER WAS FISHING, DOING WHAT HE DID BEST. A LONG TIME AGO, IT SEEMED, JESUS TOOK HIM AWAY FROM HIS LIVELIHOOD AND PROMISED THAT HE WOULD BECOME A FISHER OF MEN. AND IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE WAS OVER, AND SINCE THEY HAD NO IDEA OF WHAT TO DO NEXT, THEY WERE SETTLING INTO THEIR OLD PREDICTABLE LIVES. AND THEN THIS JESUS RISES FROM THE DEAD AND FEEDS THEM BREAKFAST. AND HE CALLS THEM “CHILDREN”, WHICH HE HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE. AND THEN HE ASKS PETER, “DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN THESE?” IS HE POINTING TO THE OTHER APOSTLES? OR IS HE POINTING TO THE FISHING BOATS, THE SEA, THE NETS? I DON'T KNOW. AND WHEN PETER SAYS THAT HE DOES LOVE JESUS, HIS LIFE NO LONGER IS HIS OWN; HE IS TOLD TO FEED JESUS' LAMBS. AND TWICE MORE THIS DRAMA IS CARRIED OUT, AND PETER IS TOLD FIRST TO TEND JESUS SHEEP, AND THEN TO FEED HIS SHEEP. AND JESUS GOES ON TO TELL HIM THAT FROM NOW ON, IT WILL NOT BE LIKE BEFORE, WHEN PETER WAS HIS OWN MAN. IF HE REALLY LOVED JESUS, IF HE REALLY ACCEPTED THE COMMISSION HE WAS GIVEN, THEN HIS LIFE WOULDN'T BE HIS OWN, HE WOULD GO WHERE HE DID NOT WANT TO GO, EVEN TO CRUCIFIXION, JOHN HINTS.
THE HARDEST PART OF FOLLOWING JESUS IS THAT THE MORE WE LOVE HIM, THE MORE WE FOLLOW HIM, THE MORE WE FIND OURSELVES GOING WHERE WE DO NOT WANT TO GO. MY PATIENT CHOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS MORE PERFECTLY; SHE COULD HAVE HAD AN ABORTION AND PERHAPS THE DISEASE COULD HAVE BEEN CONTROLLED AND SHE COULD HAVE GONE THROUGH A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT AND SHE WOULD BE HERE TODAY. SHE KNEW ALL THAT, BUT CHOSE TO RISK HER LIFE, INDEED, GIVE UP HER LIFE, SO THAT HER CHILD COULD LIVE. AND THAT IS THE STORY YOU FIND WHEN YOU EXAMINE THE LIVES OF ANY OF THE SAINTS. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RULE, THAT IF YOU REALLY LOVE JESUS, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF GOING WHERE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO. SOMETIMES A SAINT MAY HAVE SEEMED TO LIVE “HAPPILY EVER AFTER”, ALTHOUGH THAT'S RARE; BUT MOST OF THE TIME, IN CHOOSING JESUS, THEY EITHER LEFT BEHIND SOMETHING PRECIOUS, OR WENT INTO A FUTURE WHERE THINGS WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY PUT THEM AT RISK. THINK OF THOMAS MORE WHO CHOSE TO DIE, RATHER THAN BETRAY HIS CHURCH AND HIS LORD. THINK OF FRANCIS, WHO CHOSE THE LIFE OF A BEGGAR, WHO ESTRANGED HIMSELF FROM HIS FAMILY, RATHER THAN BETRAY THE CALL HE HAD FROM JESUS.
IT IS POSSIBLE, OF COURSE, TO HOLD BACK. THE RICH YOUNG MAN DID, AND SO DID MANY WHO LISTENED TO JESUS AND SAW HIS MIRACLES. BUT HOLDING BACK FROM HIS INVITATION, WITHHOLDING OUR LOVE, IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. IT CERTAINLY DIDN'T WORK OUT FOR JUDAS.
IF WE LET OURSELVES REALLY LOVE JESUS, WE WILL SURRENDER TO HIM, AND WILL LET HIM USE US AS HE WISHES. AND VERY OFTEN WHAT HE WISHES WILL TURN OUT TO BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE WISHED. AND THE MORE WE LOVE, THE MORE HE WILL ASK OF US, AND SOMETIMES THERE SEEMS TO BE NO REWARD FOR OUR LOVE. WHEN WE READ ABOUT SAINT PETER IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, OR WHEN WE HEAR PAUL'S RECOLLECTIONS OF HIS MEETINGS WITH PETER, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE PETER'S SHEEP FEEDING WAS ANY EASIER THAN IT IS FOR OUR POPE. HE WAS ALWAYS LEARNING, ALWAYS BEING PUT TO TEST, ALWAYS BEING CONTRADICTED. BUT THAT IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT JESUS PROMISED; IF YOU REALLY LOVE, OUT OF YOUR LOVE WILL GROW THE DESIRE TO SERVE, AND AS YOU SERVE, YOU WILL RUN INTO OBSTACLES, AND YOU WILL BE LEAD WHERE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO.
BUT THERE IS NO OTHER GAME IN TOWN. WE CAN'T SIT ON THE FENCE, WE CAN'T KEEP PUTTING OFF THAT SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE THAT JESUS ASKS OF US. THE FUTURE FOR A LOVER OF JESUS MAY BE FRIGHTENING ON THIS EARTH, IN THIS LIFE. IT MAY MEAN MARTYRDOM, OR MAYBE SLOW DEATH BY A THOUSAND LITTLE THINGS. IT WILL MEAN THAT WE ARE LEAD WHERE WE DO NOT WANT TO GO. BUT WE HAVE JESUS' ASSURANCE THAT THIS KIND OF LOVE WILL NOT GO UNREWARDED, BECAUSE THIS KIND OF LOVE IS THE LOVE THAT MAKES US LIKE JESUS HIMSELF, AND JESUS WILL BRING THOSE WHO ARE HIS THROUGH DEATH TO RESURRECTION INTO ETERNAL LIFE.