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.

Easter 2012

JOHN 20:1-9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good Friday, 2012

JOHN 18:1 – 19:42

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Palm Sunday, 2012

PALM SUNDAY, 2012

MARK 14:1 – 15:47

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

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

THE PASSION ACCORDING TO MARK HAS TO DO WITH ABANDONMENT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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