Easter Sunday, 2013

LUKE 24:1-12

IN A BOOK OF SERMONS BY TOM LONG, THERE IS THIS STORY. “IN A LITTLE TOWN THE EDITOR OF THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER USED TO PUBLISH SUMMARIES OF HIS PASTOR'S SERMONS ON THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE PASTOR WAS FREQUENTLY BOTHERED BECAUSE THE SUMMARIES OFTEN SEEMED TO TOTALLY MISS THE POINT, BUT THE EDITOR DROPPED A LOT OF MONEY IN THE COLLECTION PLATE AND WAS OTHERWISE HARMLESS, SO REVEREND TIDWELL DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING. BUT ONE DAY HE OPENED THE PAPER TO READ THE STATEMENT “PASTOR TIDWELL CLAIMS THAT JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD.” HE COULD FEEL EMBARRASSMENT AND ANGER. SURE, HE'D SAID THAT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU SAY ON EASTER SUNDAY, RIGHT? IT WASN'T LIKE SAYING SOMEONE YOU BURIED LAST WEEK HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD. THAT WOULD BE CRAZY!”

POPE BENEDICT WROTE THAT THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS BELONGS TO AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ORDER OF REALITY THAN ANY OTHER EVENT IN HISTORY. AND I THINK IT'S WORTH THINKING ABOUT THAT TODAY. AFTER ALL, THE BIBLE DESCRIBES MANY RESURRECTIONS. JESUS HIMSELF RAISED LAZARUS, THE SON OF A WIDOW, AND THE DAUGHTER OF A TEMPLE OFFICIAL – AND THOSE ARE JUST THE ONES THAT MADE IT INTO THE BIBLE. AFTER JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, WE HEAR ABOUT PETER RAISING A WOMAN NAMED DORCAS, AND PAUL A YOUNG MAN NAMED EUTYCHUS.

NOW YOU MAY SAY THAT THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT JESUS RAISED HIMSELF, WHICH IS TRUE. BUT THE DIFFERENCE GOES FAR DEEPER THAN THIS.

FIRST, YOU KNOW THAT JESUS MADE IT CLEAR THAT WHAT WAS RAISED WAS HIS REAL BODY. IT HAD THE NAIL HOLES, AND THE SPEAR WOUND. HE WAS ABLE TO EAT, AND SPEAK, AND TOUCH. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE BODY WAS DIFFERENT. HE COULD APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR, AND WAS NOT LIMITED BY LOCKED DOORS, OR TIME OR DISTANCE.

BUT THE THING WE SHOULD REALLY CONCENTRATE ON IS THAT IN THE APPEARANCES AFTER THE RESURRECTION, JESUS REVEALED HIMSELF. MARY MAGDALENE THOUGHT HE WAS A GARDENER, UNTIL HE SAID HER NAME; THE APOSTLES THOUGHT THEY WERE SEEING A GHOST, UNTIL HE SAID, “PEACE BE WITH YOU.” THE TWO PEOPLE ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS DID NOT KNOW WHO HE WAS UNTIL HE BROKE THE BREAD. AND THOMAS REFUSED TO BELIEVE UNTIL HE WAS SHOWN THE WOUNDS OF THE CRUCIFIXION. THE APOSTLE PAUL TELLS US THAT ABOUT 500 PEOPLE SAW JESUS AFTER HIS RESURRECTION. AND I THINK THE ODD THING IS NOT THAT JESUS APPEARED TO VARIOUS PEOPLE, BUT THAT HE APPEARED TO SO FEW. AFTER ALL, BEFORE THE RESURRECTION HE ATTRACTED A VAST FOLLOWING, SO LARGE THAT IT FRIGHTENED THE LEADERS OF THE JEWS AND THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT, AND WE HEAR THAT HE FED CROWDS NUMBERING IN THE THOUSANDS.

AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, JESUS CONTROLS WHO EXPERIENCES HIS PRESENCE. AND HE STILL DOES, AND PERHAPS THAT'S THE MESSAGE HERE. AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE STORIES IN THE SCRIPTURES DIFFER A BIT, ONE FROM ANOTHER. SOMETIMES I ENVY THE PEOPLE THAT HEARD JESUS PREACH OR WITNESSED HIS MIRACLES. BUT WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE RESURRECTION? WHERE WERE THESE CROWDS, WHEN THE NEW CHURCH CONSISTED OF ABOUT 120 INDIVIDUALS? PEOPLE WERE NO DIFFERENT THEN THAN THEY ARE NOW. SOMEONE COMES ALONG AND ATTRACTS HUGE CROWDS, AND THE MOVEMENT DIES OUT WHEN THE PERSON DIES. WHERE IS THE MOVEMENT STARTED BY LENIN AND STALIN? BACK THIRTY YEARS AGO A MAN NAMED ORAL ROBERTS HAD A NATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAM AND RAKED IN HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY FROM HIS FOLLOWERS, ENOUGH TO BUILD A UNIVERSITY FROM SCRATCH. WHERE IS THAT MOVEMENT? AND IF CHRISTIANITY DEPENDED ON THE PEOPLE JESUS REACHED BEFORE HE DIED, I THINK THAT MOVEMENT WOULD HAVE DIED OUT AS WELL.

AFTER THE RESURRECTION, THEN AS NOW, JESUS REVEALS HIMSELF TO THE ONES HE CHOOSES, AND WHEN HE DOES SO, THEY BECOME SO CHANGED BY THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT HE IS ALIVE, HE IS RISEN, THAT THEY HAVE TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO THEIR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. HE REVEALED HIMSELF TO THE APOSTLES, BUT LONG AFTERWARD, TO SAINT PAUL. HE REVEALED HIMSELF TO MARY MAGDALENE, BUT ALSO TO THERESA OF AVILA, FRANCIS, AND COUNTLESS OTHER SAINTS.

EVERY YEAR WE CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS. WE CELEBRATE IT AS AN HISTORIC EVENT, SOMETHING THAT TOOK PLACE A LONG TIME AGO. BUT AS POPE BENEDICT SAID, THE RESURRECTION BELONGS TO A WHOLE DIFFERENT ORDER OF REALITY – IT IS ONGOING, IT IS OUTSIDE TIME AND SPACE, IT IS AN ETERNAL EVENT; BECAUSE JESUS DIED, BUT CHRIST AROSE. AND CHRIST GOES ABOUT HIS ETERNAL MISSION, BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS, BARRIERS BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, BARRIERS BETWEEN DEATH AND LIFE, HEAVEN AND EARTH; BARRIERS BETWEEN OUR HEARTS AND HIS HEART. AND CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE CELEBRATE THIS WHEN THEY CELEBRATE HOLY COMMUNION, WHICH SPEAKS ABOUT YOU AND I BECOMING ONE WITH CHRIST. AS SAINT PAUL SAID, “I LIVE, NOT I, BUT CHRIST IN ME”.

THE RESURRECTION INDEED CHANGED EVERYTHING, BUT IT CONTINUES TO DO SO. AND IT IS NEVER ENOUGH TO MERELY BELIEVE THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD. IF THE RESURRECTION IS TO MEAN ANYTHING, WE HAVE TO PRACTICE THE RESURRECTION. WE AFFIRM THE RESURRECTION WHEN WE GIVE A HELPING HAND TO SOMEONE WHO IS IN TROUBLE. WE PRACTICE THE RESURRECTION WHEN WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO IS SLEEPING UNDER A BRIDGE IN THE COLD WINTER. WE PRACTICE RESURRECTION WHEN WE REACH OUT IN LOVE TO A LONELY PERSON. IN SHORT, WE PRACTICE RESURRECTION WHEN WE DO WHAT JESUS DID, BECAUSE CHRIST HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US, BECAUSE CHRIST LIVES ON IN US. LET US PRAY FOR THE FAITH TO RECOGNIZE HIS LIVING, RISEN PRESENCE AMONG US, IN OUR HEARTS, AND IN EACH OTHER.

Good Friday, 2013

JOHN 18:1-19:42

SOME OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE DEVOTION HAVING TO DO WITH THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS. THESE ARE STATEMENTS MADE BY JESUS ON THE CROSS, RECORDED BY THE WRITERS OF THE GOSPELS. JOHN, WHO WROTE THE GOSPEL YOU JUST HEARD, RECORDED THREE OF THEM.

THE FIRST THING HE SAYS, IS “WOMAN, BEHOLD YOUR SON,” TO HIS MOTHER, AND THEN “BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER” TO HIS DISCIPLE JOHN. WE ARE TOLD THAT JOHN, FROM THAT DAY FORWARD, TOOK CARE OF MARY. JESUS HANGING ON THE CROSS NEAR THE POINT OF DEATH DOESN'T LOOK LIKE HE CAN DO MUCH FOR ANYONE, AND YET, HE TAKES CARE OF HIS MOTHER. AND DURING HIS LIFETIME, HE ONCE SAID, “WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN IS MY MOTHER AND MY SISTER AND MY BROTHER.” JESUS SPENT HIS EARTHLY LIFE TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE; HEALING THE SICK, RAISING THE DEAD, DRIVING OUT DEMONS, AND MOST OF ALL, GIVING US A PATTERN OF LIFE THROUGH HIS WORDS AND ACTIONS, SO THAT WE COULD KNOW THE WILL OF THE FATHER. AND HE LEFT US THAT FRIGHTENING STATEMENT THAT IS VERY HARD TO HEAR; “WHATSOEVER YOU DO NOT DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, YOU DO NOT DO FOR ME.” AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF THE LEAST OF OUR BROTHERS OUT THERE, IN THE COLD, IN THE STREETS. THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM IN THE NURSING HOMES, IN TENEMENT HOUSING; THERE ARE PLENTY OF THEM WHO WILL GROW UP IN POVERTY, DEPRIVED OF EDUCATION AND MORAL TRAINING, WHOSE ROLE MODELS ARE THIEVES AND DRUG ADDICTS. AND THEY WILL CONTINUE THIS VICIOUS CYCLE. WE KNOW THAT. AND I'VE ONLY MENTIONED WHAT WE COULD FIND HERE IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. I'M SURE SOME OF YOU SAW THE MOVIE, “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE”. I'M TOLD THAT THAT IS A VERY REALISTIC PORTRAYAL OF WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE IN THE SLUMS OF INDIA.

GOD GAVE THE HUMAN RACE A BEAUTIFUL, FERTILE, PRODUCTIVE PLANET. EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY IS HERE. HE GAVE US OUR INTELLIGENCE AND OUR INGENUITY TO BUILD A WORLD WHERE WE DON'T HAVE TO STRUGGLE FROM MORNING TO EVENING TRYING TO GET SOMETHING TO EAT; WE ARE SO FORTUNATE IN THIS COUNTRY THAT IT'S ALMOST CRIMINAL!

AND THAT IS THE FIRST WORD FROM THE CROSS – TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER. SHOW MY CARE, AND MY FATHER'S CARE, TO THOSE AROUND YOU. THAT IS THE WAY I, JESUS, WILL TAKE CARE OF MY PEOPLE. TO BE THE BROTHER AND SISTER AND MOTHER OF JESUS, WE MUST DO THE WILL OF HIS FATHER AND OUR FATHER; AND IT REALLY BEGINS WITH TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER IN A SUBSTANTIAL WAY.

THE SECOND WORD IS “I THIRST.” AS A PHYSICIAN, I'VE BEEN AT THE BEDSIDE OF MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE DYING, AND THIRST IS NOT AT ALL UNCOMMON. BUT I THINK THERE IS A DEEPER MEANING HERE. GOD, BEING LOVE ITSELF, WANTS TO BRING ALL HIS CREATION, ESPECIALLY WE HUMAN BEINGS, INTO HIS GREAT LOVE, INTO THE HEART OF THE TRINITY. AND JESUS, THE VERY IMAGE OF GOD, TAKES TO HIMSELF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS SO THAT WE CAN DO THIS; BECAUSE SIN BY DEFINITION IS A FOCUS OF ATTENTION ON OURSELVES, AND WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR FOCUS TO GOD IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIS OFFER. JESUS LONGS FOR UNION WITH US, AND THERE ON THE CROSS, HE SEES YOU AND I AND ALL MANKIND, AND HE SEES THAT DESPITE HAVING GIVEN EVERYTHING GOD COULD POSSIBLY GIVE TO US, MANY WILL CHOOSE TO IGNORE HIS SACRIFICE, MANY WILL CHOOSE HELL RATHER THAN ACCEPT HIS MERCIFUL ACT. AND MANY MORE OF US PERHAPS, WILL NEVER LET GO OF OUR EGOS; WE WILL NEVER ALLOW GOD TO DWELL IN OUR CENTER, AND BECAUSE OF THAT WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GRASP ALL THAT GOD WANTS FOR US. THAT IS THE GREAT THIRST OF JESUS, THE LONGING OF A HUSBAND FOR THE WIFE THAT HE LOVES, WHO LOVES SOMEONE ELSE; THE LONGING OF A PARENT FOR A CHILD WHO MOVES TO ANOTHER CITY AND CUTS OFF ALL COMMUNICATION. THE PAIN OF THE NAILS, THE WHIP, AND THE CROWN OF THORNS IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE PAIN OF LOSING THE ONES YOU LOVE FOREVER; AND JESUS LOVES EACH OF US MORE THAN ANY LOVER EVER COULD.

THE THIRD WORD IS “IT IS FINISHED”. JOHN WROTE HIS GOSPEL IN GREEK, AND THE WORD USED IS “TETELESTAI”. TO OUR EARS, “IT IS FINISHED” SOUND STIFF AND FORMAL. BUT IN THE TIME OF JESUS, WHEN A SERVANT FINISHED A TASK GIVEN TO HIM, HE WOULD SAY TO HIS MASTER, “TETELESTAI”. WHEN A CHILD COMPLETED A LESSON, HE WOULD SAY, “TETELESTAI”. WHEN A MERCHANT HAD BEEN PAID FOR WHAT HE HAD SOLD, HE WOULD SAY, “TETELESTAI”. TO THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME, THE WORD MEANT MORE. JESUS HAS FINISHED HIS TASK ON EARTH; THERE IS NOTHING MORE TO ADD; IT IS COMPLETE.

AND WHAT IS COMPLETE IS RECONCILIATION. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN OFFENDED BY SOMEONE, YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT PERSON CHANGES; YOU FEEL AWKWARD WHEN YOU ARE AROUND HER; THE EASY BACK AND FORTH OF CONVERSATION IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE. AND IF YOU HAVE A BIG HEART, YOU MAY REACH OUT TO THAT PERSON EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE THE ONE OFFENDED; BUT FOR THE RELATIONSHIP TO BE RESTORED, THERE HAS TO BE SOME REACHING OUT FROM THAT PERSON AS WELL. AND JESUS IS THE REACHING OUT OF GOD THE FATHER, AND JESUS IS THE RESPONSE OF THE HUMAN RACE, AND IN THAT MOMENT, WHEN RECONCILIATION WAS COMPLETE, THE ORIGINAL FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, THE FRIENDSHIP THAT WAS APPARENT WHEN GOD WALKED IN THE GARDEN WITH OUR FIRST PARENTS, WHEN GOD GAVE MAN DOMINION OVER ALL THE EARTH – THAT FRIENDSHIP IS THERE AGAIN, FOR THE TAKING, IF WE ACCEPT IT.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CROSS, WHEN YOU VENERATE THE CROSS, MAY TEARS COME TO YOUR EYES – NOT TEARS OF SHAME, BUT TEARS OF LOVE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT GOOD FRIDAY – JESUS HAS GIVEN HIS ALL, NOT BECAUSE THE FATHER IS A CRUEL TYRANT WHO DEMANDS THE DEATH OF HIS SON IN EXCHANGE FOR LETTING US GO; NOT BECAUSE THE FATHER IS A SADISTIC RULER WHO ALLOWS US INTO HIS KINGDOM IF HIS SON DIES FOR US; NOT BECAUSE JESUS GOES TO HIS DEATH KNOWING FULL WELL THAT HE WILL WAKE UP RESURRECTED SO IT ISN'T THAT BIG A DEAL – JESUS WAS REALLY DEAD, AS DEAD AS YOU AND I WILL BE. NO, JESUS HAS GIVEN HIS ALL BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY WE CREATURES, MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE AND LIKENESS, WITH A FREE WILL, COULD EVER BE RECONCILED WITH THE FATHER; ONE OF US, THE SINLESS ONE, HAD TO SUBMIT HIMSELF COMPLETELY TO THE WILL OF GOD. HOW MUCH DOES GOD LOVE YOU? THAT MUCH.

Annunciation, 3/25/13

TODAY, AT THE BEGINNING OF HOLY WEEK, WE HAVE AN UNUSUAL JUXTAPOSITION; THIS DAY IS ALSO THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION. IN THIS CENTURY THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION WILL FALL ON MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK FOUR TIMES. THE NEXT TIME IT HAPPENS WILL BE IN 2024, AND THEN, NOT UNTIL 2086.

I HAVE A GRANDDAUGHTER WHO IS GOING ON 12. SHE IS LOSING HER TOMBOYISHNESS, HER WILLINGNESS TO MIX IT UP WITH HER BROTHERS, HER EXCITEMENT AT GOING BIKING WITH HER OLD GRANDFATHER. AND SHE LIKES TO PUT ON ELEGANT CLOTHING, AND HELP HER MOTHER OUT WITH THE LITTLE BROTHER. SOMETIMES SHE REVERTS, BUT MOSTLY, NOWADAYS, SHE IS TRYING ON AND GETTING MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE ROLE OF WOMAN, AS OPPOSED TO GIRL. AND I'M NOT ALL THAT HAPPY ABOUT IT, YOU CAN BE SURE.
MARY WAS LIKE THAT. PROBABLY 12 OR 13, IN THAT TRANSITION PERIOD. LIKE MY GRANDDAUGHTER SHE PROBABLY WAS CHANGING INTO A WOMAN. IN ANY EVENT, LIKE OTHER 12-14 YEAR OLD GIRLS, SHE WAS ALREADY ENGAGED. IT WAS JUST PART OF LIFE; HER PARENTS HAD ARRANGED WITH HIS PARENTS THE BRIDAL PRICE, AND THE YOUNG MAN JOSEPH WOULD BE HER HUSBAND, UNLESS SHE REFUSED. AND SHE HADN'T.

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THERE ARE MANY ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE HEROES AND HEROINES AND GOD HIMSELF. AND THE USUAL REACTION IS, “WHY ME?” OR “YOU DON'T MEAN ME, DO YOU?” OR “BUT I'M NOT ABLE TO DO THIS”. THINK OF JONAH, WHO TRIED TO GET AS FAR AWAY FROM GOD AS HE POSSIBLY COULD. THINK OF MOSES, WHO TOLD GOD THAT HE WAS NOT THE ONE TO LEAD THE HEBREWS, BECAUSE HE HAD A SPEECH PROBLEM. THINK OF SARAH, WHO LAUGHED WHEN GOD PROMISED HER A CHILD. BUT IN THE END, THE HEROES AND HEROINES CARRIED OUT WHAT GOD ASKED THEM TO DO. ABRAHAM LEFT THE COMFORT OF HOME TO BECOME A WANDERER; HOSIAH AT GOD'S COMMAND DID MARRY A PROSTITUTE; AND MOSES DID LEAD THE ISRAELITES OUT OF EGYPT.

BUT MARY IS DIFFERENT. I THINK OF MY GRANDDAUGHTER. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HER AND ASKED HER TO BE THE MOTHER OF THE SON OF GOD? WOULD SHE THINK ABOUT THE EFFECT ON HER PARENTS, HER TEACHERS, HER PARISH PRIEST? WHO WOULD BELIEVE HER? OR WOULD SHE IN THAT IDEALISM THAT SEEMS TO SHINE IN THOSE ON THE VERGE OF ENTERING THEIR TEEN YEARS, HAVE UNHESITATINGLY SAID YES, AND CONSIDERED THE CONSEQUENCES LATER?

MARY DID CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES. “HOW CAN THIS BE,” SHE SAID, “SEEING THAT I DO NOT KNOW A MAN?” AND THEN, KNOWING FULL WELL THE POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES, SHE SAYS YES. AND AFTERWARD HER LIFE WAS COMPLETELY CHANGED. FROM TWENTY CENTURIES AWAY, WE PERHAPS IMAGINE MARY IN HER OLDER YEARS, CARED FOR BY JOHN, TELLING HER STORY TO LUKE, AND BEING REVERED BY THE EARLY CHRISTIANS AS THE MOTHER OF THE SAVIOR. AND MAYBE THAT WAS THE WAY THINGS WENT, I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING. BUT THOSE FIRST YEARS – GIVING BIRTH IN A STABLE, WITH JOSEPH AS THE MIDWIFE? CROSSING THE DESERT INTO EGYPT TO ESCAPE HEROD? LOSING JESUS FOR THREE DAYS WHEN HE WAS ONLY TWELVE? TRYING TO LIVE IN NAZARETH AS A WIDOW, WHEN THE TOWNSPEOPLE HAD DECIDED THAT JESUS WAS NO LONGER WELCOME? AND WATCHING HIM DIE LIKE A COMMON CRIMINAL. AND WE FORGET, SOMETIMES THAT THERE WERE RUMORS GOING AROUND WHEN THE EARLY CHRISTIANS INSISTED THE JESUS HAD RISEN FROM THE DEAD, RUMORS THAT JESUS WAS THE ILLEGITIMATE SON OF A ROMAN SOLDIER. AND THOSE RUMORS MIGHT VERY WELL HAVE STARTED BACK IN NAZARETH. MARY'S LIFE WAS NEVER EASY; DID SHE EVER ASK, WITH SAINT THERESA OF AVILLA, “GOD, IF THIS IS THE WAY YOU TREAT YOUR FRIENDS, NO WONDER YOU HAVE SO FEW OF THEM.”

WHEN MARY SAID YES, SHE BECOMES A PATRONESS TO YOUNG PEOPLE, WHO ARE NOT BOUND DOWN BY COMMITMENTS AND JOBS AND MORTGAGES AND CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE WHO CAN SAY “OK” WHEN GOD COMES CRASHING INTO THEIR LIVES.

WHEN MARY SAYS YES, SHE IS THE EXAMPLE FOR ALL THOSE WHO ANSWER GOD'S CALL AND GET LAUGHED AT, GET PERSECUTED, FIND OUT WHO THEIR REAL FRIENDS ARE. SHE IS THE EXAMPLE THOSE WHO ARE EMBARRASSMENTS TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY. SHE IS THERE FOR THOSE WHO FIND THAT WHEN YOU SAY YES TO GOD LIFE DOESN'T SUDDENLY BECOME SAFE AND ORDERLY AND PEACEFUL. IN FACT, SAYING YES TO GOD, MARY SHOWS US, USUALLY MEANS THINGS ARE GOING TO GET WORSE BEFORE THEY GET BETTER.

WHEN MARY SAYS YES, WHEN SHE WITHOUT HESITATION TAKES ON THE AWESOME CHARGE TO BECOME THE MOTHER OF GOD'S SON, SHE FORESHADOWS HIS OWN YES, THE YES THAT LEADS TO THE CROSS, THE YES THAT WILL FIND HIM RIDICULED AND LAUGHED AT AND DESERTED BY HIS FRIENDS AND HIS PEOPLE.

WHEN MARY SAYS YES, SHE ENCOURAGES US NOT ONLY TO SAY YES TO GOD, BUT TO SAY YES WITH ABANDONMENT, ACCEPTING WHATEVER CONSEQUENCES COME TO US BECAUSE OF THIS YES. BECAUSE THROWING YOURSELF INTO GOD'S ARMS IS ALWAYS SO MUCH BETTER THAN TRYING TO MAKE IT ON YOUR OWN.

Palm Sunday, cycle C

LUKE 19:28-40

YOU'VE JUST HEARD THE PASSION OF LUKE READ. I DON'T WANT TO ADD A LOT OF WORDS. BUT I WOULD CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE STORY OF THE GOOD THIEF, A STORY WHICH APPEARS ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, SO YOU ONLY HEAR IT EVERY THREE YEARS. HERE WAS A MAN WHO HAD LIVED A LIFE AS A CRIMINAL; WE DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT HE DID, BUT MAYBE HE STOLE THINGS; MAYBE HE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LAY IN WAIT FOR TOURISTS ON THE ROADS AND BEAT THEM AND STOLE FROM THEM – LIKE IN THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. AND MAYBE HE WAS A REVOLUTIONARY. IN ANY EVENT, HIS LIFE WAS A LIFE THAT THE ROMAN JUSTICE SYSTEM DECIDED SHOULD BE ENDED. AND HIS DAY COMES, AND HE IS HANGING ON THE CROSS, KNOWING HE WON'T BE COMING DOWN ALIVE.

HE'S HEARD OF JESUS; WHO HASN'T. AND WHEN THE OTHER THIEF JOINS IN THE GENERAL SARCASM AND MOCKING OF THE CROWD, HE SAYS, “WE DESERVE WHAT IS HAPPENING”. THE FIRST STEP WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE SINNERS – ABJECT SINNERS, EVEN IF OUR SINS ARE LITTLE. BECAUSE GOD IS FIRST, AND WE PUT OURSELVES FIRST. BECAUSE GOD IS SO GREAT AND WE ARE SO SMALL; BECAUSE GOD MADE US TO BECOME SAINTS AND WE SETTLE FOR DOING JUST ENOUGH TO GET BY, JUST ENOUGH TO HOPEFULLY MAKE IT TO HEAVEN.

THE GOOD THIEF GOES ON TO SAY, “BUT THIS MAN HAS DONE NOTHING, HE IS INNOCENT.” THE SECOND STEP IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS, THE SINLESS ONE, THE WORD OF THE FATHER FROM ALL ETERNITY, BECAME A MAN, AND DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOU AND I. HE HAD NO SIN BUT TOOK UPON HIMSELF OUR PUNISHMENT FOR OUR SINS, FREEING US FOREVER FROM THE SENTENCE WE WERE UNDER. BECAUSE OF HIS INNOCENCE AND HIS DYING FOR US, WE BECOME SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF HIS FATHER, SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD HIMSELF.

THE GOOD THIEF SAYS, “JESUS, REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM”. THE THIRD STEP IS TO HAVE FAITH. THE GOOD THIEF MAKES AN ASTOUNDING ACT OF FAITH IN THIS STATEMENT; DESPITE HIS SINS, DESPITE HIS IMMINENT DEATH, DESPITE NEVER HAVING A CHANCE TO MAKE UP FOR ALL HIS CRIMES AND SINS, HE PUTS ALL HIS FAITH IN THE DYING MAN NEXT TO HIM. AND THAT IS SO HARD FOR US TO DO. WE HAVE A LOT OF FAITH IN OURSELVES; WE PLAN FOR OUR SECURITY, WE ARE “SELF-RELIANT”. WE THINK WE CAN GET INTO HEAVEN BY BEING GOOD, BY DOING GOOD THINGS – BUT TO RECOGNIZE THAT OUR ONLY HOPE IS IN THE MERCY OF JESUS – THAT'S HARD TO DO, BUT DO IT WE MUST. THE GOOD THIEF IN DESPIRATION PUTS ALL HIS HOPE IN JESUS.

AND THE GOOD THIEF HAS DONE THIS ALL PUBLICLY. HE HAS THROUGH HIS WORDS PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO THOSE CROWDS WHO ARE MOCKING JESUS. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, BECAUSE JESUS SAYS THAT “WHOEVER ACKNOWLEDGES ME BEFORE OTHERS, I WILL ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE BEFORE MY FATHER IN HEAVEN; BUT WHOEVER DENIES ME BEFORE MEN, I WILL ALSO DENY HIM BEFORE MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.” YOU CAN'T BE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST IF YOU DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS LORD – BEFORE MEN, NOT JUST HIDDEN AWAY SOMEWHERE IN YOUR HEART.

SO LET US LISTEN TO THE GOOD THIEF TODAY, AND ASK HIM, WHO WE KNOW IS IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS, TO HELP US, SO THAT SOMEDAY WE MIGHT HEAR THOSE WONDERFUL WORDS, “AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Cycle C

JOHN 11:1-45

MOST OF US HAVE GONE THROUGH A TRAGEDY. WE MIGHT HAVE LOST A SPOUSE, A PARENT, A CHILD, A BEST FRIEND. WE MIGHT HAVE HAD A LIFE-THREATENING DISEASE. WE MIGHT HAVE LOST OUR BUSINESS OR OUR JOB OR GONE THROUGH A MESSY DIVORCE. WE MIGHT BE IN THE PROCESS OF SUFFERING, AND THE TRAGEDY IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, IT IS NOT BEHIND US.

WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF WE COULD ASK GOD TO TAKE AWAY OUR PROBLEM, AND KNOW THAT HE WOULD? I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES TO CHRISTIANS, AND PERHAPS ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN GOD, IS THAT OLD QUESTION, WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE? WHY DOES IT SEEM AS THOUGH GOD DOES NOT CARE? THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE JEWISH THINKER WHO SAID, “HOW CAN A JEW BELIEVE IN GOD WORTH WORSHIPING AFTER THE HOLOCAUST?” I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD WORKS A MIRACLE NOW AND THEN, FOR REASONS WE DON'T REALLY KNOW; AND PERHAPS THERE IS SOME POWER IN HUMAN BEINGS THAT CAN MAKE SOMETHING LOOK LIKE A MIRACLE. BUT THEY DON'T HAPPEN VERY CONSISTENTLY, AND CERTAINLY NOT IN PROPORTION TO THE PRAYERS PEOPLE PRAY TO BE RELIEVED OF A TRAGEDY. SO IS THERE A GOD? THAT'S THE ANSWER SOME PEOPLE GIVE. A FAMOUS RABBI, READING THE OLD TESTAMENT AND MEDITATING ON THIS PROBLEM, CONCLUDED THAT THERE WAS A GOD BUT HE WAS NOT ALL KNOWING, NOR ALL POWERFUL – IF HE WAS, THEN HE WAS CRUEL FOR ALLOWING WHAT HAPPENS TO HAPPEN.

LAST WEEK YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON. THAT STORY TELLS US A LOT ABOUT GOD, THAT HE GIVES US UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, AND OUR RESPONSE TO HIS LOVE IS WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER WE GET TO GO INTO THE PARTY WE CALL HEAVEN, OR SIT OUTSIDE AND FEEL SORRY FOR OURSELVES, IN HELL. TODAY WE HEAR ANOTHER STORY THAT TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT GOD.

NOTICE THAT JESUS WAITS TWO DAYS AFTER HE HAS HEARD ABOUT LAZARUS' ILLNESS. THEN HE SETS OUT, TAKING MORE TIME TO GET TO THE HOME OF HIS FRIENDS. EVEN THOUGH MARTHA, MARY, AND LAZARUS ARE SOME F HIS BEST FRIENDS IN ALL THE WORLD, AND EVEN THOUGH JESUS HAS ALREADY SHOWN THAT HE CAN HEAL FROM A DISTANCE – HE DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO GO TO BETHANY TO HEAL LAZARUS – HE SEEMS TO DO NOTHING, AND ONCE HE GETS THERE, HE ANSWERS MARTHA'S GRIEF WITH PLATITUDES – “DON'T BE CONCERNED, HE WILL RISE AGAIN.” HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID TO A GRIEVING FAMILY MEMBER, “HE'S IN A BETTER PLACE NOW?” AND MARTHA ANSWERS, “I KNOW HE WILL RISE AGAIN ON THE LAST DAY.” MARTHA LIKE MANY OF HER FELLOW JEWS, BELIEVED IN THE RESURRECTION AT THE END OF TIME.

THEN HE MEETS MARY, WHO IS THERE WITH SOME FRIENDS, ALL WEEPING. AND JESUS WEEPS AS WELL. NOTICE THAT NO ONE EXPECTS HIM TO RAISE LAZARUS – NOT MARTHA, NOT MARY, NOT THE APOSTLES, NOT THE TOWNSPEOPLE. THEY ALL KNEW THAT AFTER FOUR DAYS THE SOUL HAD GONE ON TO SHEOL, IT WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO RE-ANIMATE THE BODY. DEAD WAS DEAD. ALL THEY CAN SAY THEN IS THAT JESUS MUST HAVE REALLY LOVED THE MAN, LOOK AT HIS GRIEF.

WE KNOW THE END OF THE STORY, AND IT DISTRACTS US SOMETIMES FROM AN IMPORTANT OBSERVATION. LAZARUS IS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, BUT JESUS LET HIM DIE! SOME PEOPLE SAY ALL OF THIS WAS TO CONVINCE THE OBSERVERS THAT HE WAS GOD. AND MAYBE THAT'S THE CASE. BUT I THINK THAT WE ARE REALLY SEEING HOW GOD OPERATES HERE. WHEN YOU AND I FACE A TRAGEDY, GOD SUFFERS WITH US, GOD WEEPS WITH US. HE SHARES OUR GRIEF, SO THAT IT IS NOT AS BURDENSOME AS IT COULD BE. HE SHARES OUR GRIEF SO THAT HE CAN BEGIN TO HEAL US. AND ONLY AFTER PASSING THROUGH THE TRAGEDY WITH US DOES GOD DO WHAT HE ALWAYS DOES – BRINGS ABOUT RESURRECTION, BRINGS GOOD OUT OF BAD. AS SAINT PAUL SAID, “WHERE SIN, OR EVIL, ABOUNDS, GRACE ABOUND MORE.”

AND JESUS SHOWS THIS AGAIN IN HIS OWN CRUCIFIXION. HE IS GOD, HE COULD EASILY STEP DOWN. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO BE UP THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT ON THAT CROSS HE SUFFERS WITH YOU AND I DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, THROUGH ALL THE TRAGEDIES AND MISERY HUMAN BEINGS WILL FACE. AND IN HIS RESURRECTION, HE PROMISES THAT HE WILL TRANSFORM EVIL INTO GOOD, TRAGEDY INTO JOY, DEATH INTO LIFE.

AND JUST BEFORE HE RAISES LAZARUS, HE TELLS MARTHA, “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE; HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME EVEN IF HE DIES, SHALL LIVE.” AND HE ASKS HER, AND HE ASKS YOU AND I, “DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”

IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE HAD A GOD WHO KEPT US OUT OF TROUBLE, WHO RESCUED US FROM THINGS THAT HAPPEN, WHO MADE SURE WE LIVED TO A RIPE OLD AGE, HEALTHY, WEALTHY, AND LOVED BY EVERYBODY; AND THEN ONE NIGHT DURING A SOUND SLEEP TOOK US TO HEAVEN. WE DON'T HAVE A GOD LIKE THAT. WE HAVE A GOD WHO PROMISES TO BE WITH US WHEN WE SUFFER, WHO PROMISES TO BRING LIFE FROM DEATH, WHO PROMISES THAT IF WE BELIEVE, EVEN IF WE DIE, WE SHALL LIVE.

IF YOU ARE SUFFERING, IF YOU EVER HAVE SUFFERED, KNOW THAT JESUS, OUR GOD, IS THERE, WEEPING WITH US, SUFFERING WITH US – WAITING FOR THAT MOMENT WHEN HE KEEPS HIS PROMISE AND SAYS TO US, “DID I NOT TELL YOU THAT YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD?” AND THE SUFFERING WE EXPERIENCED WILL SEEM LIKE SO MUCH SMOKE, AND WE WILL WONDER WHAT THE FUSS WAS ALL ABOUT, AS WE GAZE UPON THE FACE OF GOD.

Fourth Sunday in Lent, Cycle C

LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32

SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON, WHICH WE JUST HEARD, IS THE GREATEST OF PARABLES, A MASTERPIECE OF A SHORT STORY. AND IT IS PRETTY HARD TO FORGET – YOU WILL HEAR PEOPLE WHO COME FROM DIFFERENT FAITHS – MUSLIMS, JEWS, HINDUS – WHO'VE HEARD THIS STORY AND BEEN MOVED BY IT. IT IS TRULY A UNIVERSAL STORY. AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT FROM DIFFERENT STANDPOINTS – THE PRODIGAL SON, THE FATHER, THE OLDER SON – AND OF COURSE, YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THE FIRST GRADER WHO WAS ASKED WHO WAS THE SADDEST WHEN THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNED? THAT WOULD BE THE FATTED CALF, HE REPLIED.

THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT GOD. FIRST, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE FATHER DIDN'T JUST LAUGH AT THE YOUNGER SON WHO WANTED HIS SHARE OF THE INHERITANCE RIGHT NOW. THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE FATHER WOULD HAVE TO COME UP WITH ABOUT 1/3 THE VALUE OF HIS PROPERTY – POSSIBLY BY SELLING LAND OR LIVESTOCK – AND CONVERTING IT INTO CURRENCY OR GOLD OR JEWELS SO THAT IT WOULD BE PORTABLE. I CAN'T SEE MYSELF DOING THAT FOR ANY OF MY KIDS UNLESS THEY WERE IN DEEP TROUBLE. I SURE WOULDN'T DO IT IF I THOUGHT THEY WOULD SPEND IT ON ALCOHOL AND LOOSE LIVING. BUT I”M NOT GOD, AND GOD SHOWERS HIS GIFTS ON HIS PEOPLE WITHOUT REGARD TO YOUR GOODNESS OR BADNESS. I THINK GOD GIVES THE HUMAN RACE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY AND TO COME TO KNOW HIM – BUT BECAUSE OF ORIGINAL SIN, WE STILL DON'T REALIZE THAT IF WE HAVE MORE THAN WE NEED, THAT MORE REALLY BELONGS TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH. THE FATHER NEVER GIVES HIS GIFTS WITH CONDITIONS ATTACHED, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY USE THEM IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT PLEASE HIM.

SECOND, MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTED ON THE FACT THAT THE FATHER SPOTS THE RETURNING SON “WHILE YET HE IS AFAR OFF”. THAT MEANS THAT THE FATHER HAS BEEN WATCHING,WAITING, HOPING, PRAYING FOR THE RETURN OF HIS SON. HAD HE HEARD THAT THE SON HAD BURNED THROUGH HIS INHERITANCE? MAYBE. BUT I'M SURE HE MUST HAVE SUSPECTED SOMETHING EVEN BACK WHEN THE SON TOOK HIS INHERITANCE AND ABANDONED THE FATHER. BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE HIS LOVE, HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. EVEN WHEN THE SON TURNED HIS BACK ON THE FATHER, EVEN WHEN THE SON TOOK WHAT HE HAD BEEN GIVEN AND WASTED IT, EVEN WHEN HE TURNED AGAINST EVERYTHING HIS FATHER HAD TAUGHT HIM – THE FATHER STILL LOVED HIM – AND WHEN HE CAME BACK, ALL WAS FORGIVEN, AND TO PROVE IT, A CELEBRATION WAS SET IN MOTION.

THE THIRD ISSUE: HOW MUCH DOES OUR FATHER LOVE US? HE LOVES YOU AS MUCH AS HE LOVES THE BLESSED MOTHER. HE ALSO LOVES SATAN AS MUCH AS HE LOVES THE BLESSED MOTHER. THAT'S BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE, AND HE LOVES HIS CREATURES UNCONDITIONALLY. IF HE DIDN'T, SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS TELLS US, WE WOULD CEASE TO EXIST.

WHEN I WAS GOING TO COLLEGE A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS AGO, MY FRIENDS AND I CAME BACK FROM MASS ON SUNDAY. IN THOSE DAYS THEY DIDN'T HAVE SATURDAY OR SUNDAY EVENING MASSES. THEY ONLY HAD THEM ON SUNDAY MORNING. ALL OF US KNEW THAT IF YOU MISSED MASS ON SUNDAY, THAT WAS A MORTAL SIN, UNLESS YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD EXCUSE. AND MORTAL SINS MEANT THAT YOU WERE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR SOUL. SO WHEN WE GOT BACK TO THE DORM, WE NOTICED THAT ONE OF OUR NUMBER WAS STILL SLEEPING. WE PROMPTLY WOKE HIM UP TO TELL HIM THAT IF HE REALLY HURRIED HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE THE LAST MASS. HE ROLLED OVER AND TOLD US HE WASN'T GOING. WE WERE SHOCKED. HE TOLD US THAT GOD LOVED HIM, AND GOD WOULD NEVER SEND SOMEONE HE LOVED TO HELL.

SO IF GOD LOVES YOU AND I AS MUCH AS HE LOVES THE BLESSED MOTHER, WHY BE GOOD? AFTER ALL, I THINK MOST OF US SECRETLY FEEL THAT OUR GOOD BEHAVIOR, OUR GOOD WORKS, OUR AVOIDING SIN – ALL OF THIS IS RELATED TO WHETHER WE ARE SAVED OR NOT. EVEN THOUGH I KNOW BETTER, I THINK PART OF ME STILL FEELS THAT WAY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. SO THAT IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION, IF GOD LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY – WHY BE GOOD?

I THINK THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON ANSWERS THAT AS WELL. THE YOUNGER SON EVENTUALLY RESPONDS TO THE FATHER'S LOVE – EVEN IF FOR LESS THAN PURE REASONS – HE WANTS TO EAT – BY THROWING HIMSELF ON THE FATHER'S MERCY. HE CHANGES HIS LIFE IN RESPONSE TO THE FATHER'S LOVE – HE REPENTS. AND OF COURSE THE FATHER RESPONDS WITH EVEN MORE LOVE. BUT THE OLDER SON, WHO, IF YOU REMEMBER ALSO RECEIVED HIS SHARE OF THE INHERITANCE, WHICH ACCORDING TO JEWISH LAW WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT HALF OF THE TOTAL – RESPONDS TO THE FATHER'S LOVE BY HOLDING HIS BROTHER IN CONTEMPT, AND BY EXTENSION, HIS FATHER AS WELL. WHEN HE IS INVITED INTO THE BANQUET, HE REFUSES, PREFERRING TO BROOD AND BE UNHAPPY, ANGRY AT HIS FATHER AND HIS BROTHER.

AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BLESSED MOTHER AND SATAN. SHE SAID, “LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD,” PUTTING ALL HER TRUST IN GOD, LOVING GOD IN RETURN FOR HIS LOVING HER. AND HER TRUST MUST HAVE BEEN TESTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN. PREGNANT WITHOUT A HUSBAND, RISKING THE LOSS OF THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO MARRY HER; GIVING BIRTH IN A STABLE, FAR FROM HOME; RELOCATING TO EGYPT, LOSING JESUS IN JERUSALEM – AND OF COURSE, WATCHING HIM DIE – AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS SAYING, “LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” AND SATAN, CREATED OUT OF GOD'S LOVE AS THE GREATEST ANGEL – THE LIGHT BEARER, LUCIFER – WHEN HE HEARS THAT GOD INTENDS TO BECOME A HUMAN BEING, SAYS, “I WILL NOT SERVE!” AND IN HIS ANGER AND CONTEMPT, CREATES HELL FOR HIMSELF.

WHEN YOU THINK OF THE GREAT MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY – THE FATHER WHO IS LOVE, GENERATES THE SON FROM ALL ETERNITY. AND THE SON, BEING THE PERFECT IMAGE OF THE FATHER, IS LOVE AND HIS ACT OF LOVE IS TO BECOME ONE OF US, SUFFER AND DIE, SO THAT ALL OF CREATION, NOT JUST PEOPLE, CAN BE RETURNED TO THE FATHER. AND THE LOVE BETWEEN THEM IS BREATHED FORTH AS THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO GATHER UP AND MAKE HOLY ALL THAT GOD HAS DONE. AND THAT IS WHY WE SHOULD BE GOOD, REALLY. BECAUSE THE SON HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO RETURN TO THE FATHER, TOGETHER WITH ALL THAT THE FATHER HAS GIVEN US. WHEN WE EMBRACE THIS POSSIBILITY, AND SET OUT TO MAKE IT OUR REALITY, THEN WE TOO LIVE IN RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE; WE LIVE LIVES OF SURRENDERING TO HIS WILL, EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT FOR OUR LOVED ONES – BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT LOVE IS ALL ABOUT. WHEN WE REFUSE THIS INVITATION, WE REMAIN LOCKED IN OURSELVES, LIKE THE OLDER SON, BITTER, ANGRY, AND ALONE IN THE DARK, LISTENING TO THE GLORIOUS CELEBRATION THAT WE WILL NEVER LET OURSELVES ATTEND, BECAUSE IT WOULD MEAN ASKING FORGIVENESS AND REALLY MEANING IT.

Third Sunday in Lent, Cycle C

LUKE 13:1-9

I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT MY FRIEND PHIL FOR YEARS AND YEARS. I THINK I WAS IN THE THIRD GRADE WHEN PHIL STOPPED COMING TO SCHOOL. WE HEARD HE WAS SICK. THEN WE GOT INVITED TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR HIM. HE WAS IN A WHEEL CHAIR; HIS HEAD WAS SHAVED; HE HAD A BIG SCAR ON HIS SCALP, AND HE COULDN'T REALLY TALK, JUST GRUNT. BUT YOU COULD TELL HE KNEW US AND HIS SMILE SHOWED HE WAS ENJOYING THINGS. A FEW WEEKS LATER OUR TEACHER TOOK US OUT OF CLASS AND WE MARCHED OVER TO THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH TO ATTEND HIS FUNERAL. I FELT SAD, BECAUSE PHIL HAD BEEN A FRIEND – NOT A VERY CLOSE FRIEND, BUT A FRIEND, NEVERTHELESS – BUT I HAD ANOTHER SENSATION – I WAS GLAD IT WAS HIM AND NOT ME. AND I FELT BAD ABOUT THAT FEELING AS WELL. I WAS TOO YOUNG TO ANALYZE OR RATIONALIZE THESE FEELINGS. BUT HAD I BEEN OLDER I MIGHT HAVE ASKED, WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO PHIL AND NOT TO ME? AND I MIGHT HAVE CONCLUDED THAT PHIL HAD DONE SOMETHING WRONG, OR PERHAPS, THAT I WAS DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. MY MIND WOULD HAVE STRUGGLED UNTIL I FOUND AN ANSWER I COULD LIVE WITH.

WHEN JESUS IS TALKING TO THE CROWDS TODAY, THERE ARE TWO EVENTS ON EVERYONE'S MIND. IT'S KIND OF LIKE RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN'T TURN AROUND WITHOUT HEARING ABOUT THE POPE RESIGNING; OR A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE MASSACRE DOWN IN SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH PEOPLE IN THOSE DAYS WEREN'T SO DIFFERENT FROM PEOPLE IN OUR DAY. IF THERE IS A DISASTER, WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT, PONDER IT, TALK ABOUT IT, AND WE FEEL COMPELLED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, ANYTHING, IF WE THINK WE CAN. IT'S FUNNY THAT GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPEN DON'T GET NEARLY THE PRESS OR THE ATTENTION. THERE IS A WORD FOR THIS TENDENCY – OF COURSE IT'S A GERMAN WORD – SCHADENFREUDE. THIS IS THE COMBINATION OF RELIEF AND GUILT THAT COMES WHEN SOMEONE ELSE GETS THE BULLET THAT YOU COULD HAVE JUST AS EASILY GOTTEN.

JESUS UNDERSTANDS US. HE UNDERSTOOD THE PEOPLE THEN AS WELL. HE TOOK TWO EVENTS THAT WERE IN THE NEWS – THE SLAUGHTER OF THE GALATIAN PILGRIMS, AND THE DISASTER WITH THE TOWER OF SILOAM. IN ONE SITUATION, THE PEOPLE MUST HAVE WONDERED HOW GOD COULD ALLOW SUCH A THING TO HAPPEN IN THE HOLIEST PLACE ON EARTH, THE TEMPLE? AND PERHAPS WITH THE OTHER, THE EVENT SEEMED SO RANDOM AND MINDLESS THAT IT WAS EVEN MORE FRIGHTENING; YOU CAN BLAME PILATE, BUT WHO DO YOU BLAME WHEN A TOWER COLLAPSES?

MAYBE THAT'S WHY, EVEN TODAY, PEOPLE ARE STILL SUPERSTITIOUS. IT'S A WAY OF FEELING YOU HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER THINGS WHICH CAN'T BE CONTROLLED.

AND HE SAID, “WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT THESE KINDS OF THINGS, DON'T WASTE TIME WONDERING WHY. INSTEAD, LET THEM REMIND YOU THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU, AND IF YOU DON'T CHANGE YOUR THINKING, SOONER OR LATER IT WILL BE YOU. BECAUSE THE FIRST STEP IN GRASPING THE EVERLASTING LIFE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO US THROUGH JESUS IS TO WAKE UP, CHANGE THE WAY WE LOOK AT THE WORLD, BREAK OUR DESTRUCTIVE HABITS, BREAK OUT OF OUR ROUTINE. THE WORST THING, JESUS IS SAYING, IS TO LIVE TODAY LIKE YOU DID YESTERDAY, AND TOMORROW LIKE YOU DID TODAY. IF YOU STUMBLE THROUGH LIFE, ALWAYS PROMISING THAT TOMORROW YOU WILL BE DIFFERENT, TOMORROW YOU WILL GET SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, TOMORROW YOU WILL BE MORE ATTENTIVE TO YOUR NEIGHBOR, TO YOUR WIFE, TO YOUR KIDS, THAT TOMORROW WILL NEVER COME. REPENTANCE, CHANGING YOUR MIND, HAS TO START NOW, OR IT WON'T START. BECAUSE WE CAN ONLY CHANGE THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN THE PRESENT.

AND THEN JESUS GOES FURTHER. IN THE PARABLE ABOUT THE FIG TREE, HE ASSURES US THAT THE MOMENT WE DO MAKE UP OUR MINDS TO REPENT, TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK, TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DO THINGS, HE WILL BE THERE TO HELP. AND I THINK EVERY ONE OF US HAS HAD THAT EXPERIENCE SOME TIME OR ANOTHER – A TIME WHEN WE STOPPED THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES, OUR AMBITIONS, WHETHER WE HAD ENOUGH RETIREMENT INCOME, WHAT KIND OF NEW CAR WE WERE GOING TO BUY – AND STARTED THINKING OF SOMEONE ELSE AND THEIR NEEDS. MOST OF US WHO HAVE BEEN MARRIED EXPERIENCED THAT AT LEAST DURING OUR COURTSHIP AND HONEYMOON – A TIME WE REMEMBER AS BEING VERY HAPPY, AND MOSTLY BECAUSE WE TOOK DELIGHT IN SHOWING OUR SPOUSE THAT WE LOVED HIM OR HER. THAT'S WHAT BEARING FRUIT IS ALL ABOUT. JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US THAT WHAT REALLY MATTERED IS WHETHER WE GAVE FOOD TO THE HUNGRY, DRINK TO THE THIRSTY, VISITED THE SICK AND IMPRISONED. BUT IT ISN'T JUST A MATTER OF DOING THESE THINGS; IT IS DOING THEM WITH A CHANGE OF OUR MIND – DOING THEM OUT OF LOVE, DOING THEM BECAUSE WE HAVE GENUINELY CHANGED OUR MIND SO THAT WE HAVE THE MIND OF JESUS WHO CAME TO SERVE, NOT TO BE SERVED. THAT IS WHAT REPENTANCE IS ABOUT, CHANGING OUR MIND.

I THINK THIS GOSPEL TELLS US THAT JESUS IS ALWAYS WILLING TO GIVE US A SECOND CHANCE; AND PERHAPS A THIRD AND A FOURTH; MAYBE THERE IS NO LIMIT TO SECOND CHANCES – WHILE WE LIVE. AND MAYBE IF WE DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHANCES WE ARE GIVEN, WE WILL STOP NOTICING WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN TO US.

I THINK ABOUT MY FRIEND PHIL, THOSE MANY MANY YEARS AGO. HE'D BEEN BAPTIZED, HE'D MADE HIS FIRST COMMUNION AND HIS FIRST CONFESSION, AND PERHAPS MANY MORE – IN THOSE DAYS CATHOLICS USUALLY WENT TO MASS EVERY WEEK AND CONFESSION AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. AND EVEN AT THAT YOUNG AGE, HE AND I WERE GIVEN SECOND CHANCES, CHANCES TO CHANGE OUR MIND TO THE MIND OF CHRIST. OF COURSE WE WERE JUST LITTLE KIDS AND OUR IMPACT ON THE WORLD, EVEN ON OUR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS COULD NOT BE VERY GREAT AT ALL. BUT EVEN THEN, WE WOKE UP, WE MADE CHOICES, WE DECIDED WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO BE OBEDIENT TO OUR PARENTS, WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO BE PEACEMAKERS OR TROUBLEMAKERS AT SCHOOL, WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO PUT EXTRA EFFORT INTO OUR HOMEWORK, OR JUST GET BY – EVEN THEN WE HAD A CHOICE TO PUT ON CHRIST AS MUCH AS WE LITTLE CHILDREN COULD. AND I REMEMBER PHIL AT HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY, UNABLE TO TALK, UNABLE TO GET OUT OF HIS WHEELCHAIR, BUT WITH EYES STILL BRIGHT WITH MAYBE A LITTLE SENSE OF MISCHIEF; AND A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE. AND I LIKE TO THINK HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HIS SECOND CHANCE BEFORE HE HAD RUN HIS RACE AND FINISHED HIS COURSE.

AND TODAY I HOPE EACH OF US CHANGES OUR MIND – BECAUSE WHILE WE ARE ALIVE, WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER, WE CAN ALWAYS LOVE MORE, SERVE MORE, BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE CHRIST.