Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE B

MARK 4:35-41

WHEN YOU STUDY THE HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, YOU LEARN THAT THE GOSPEL OF MARK WAS THE FIRST TO BE WRITTEN. THIS WAS ABOUT THIRTY YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF CHRIST. WHEN YOU READ THE OTHER GOSPELS, PRODUCED TWENTY TO 35 YEARS AFTER THIS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY'VE TAKEN THE BASIC STORY OF JESUS AND USED THE EVENTS IN HIS LIFE AND HIS TEACHINGS TO PUT FORTH A POINT OF VIEW IN TERMS OF THEOLOGY. MATTHEW WANTS HIS JEWISH READERS TO COMPARE JESUS TO MOSES AND SEE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL AND THE LIFE OF JESUS. LUKE WANTS HIS READERS TO KNOW THAT JESUS LOVED THE POOR AND THE OUTCASTS, AND WAS WILLING TO STAND UP TO THE AUTHORITIES FOR THEM – SOMETHING LIKE POPE FRANCIS, I GUESS. AND JOHN MAKES NO BONES ABOUT IT. JESUS IS GOD PURE AND SIMPLE. THERE IS A LEGEND ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK WHICH IS PROBABLY NOT TRUE, BUT MAYBE TRUTHY. IT IS THAT MARK TOOK DICTATION FROM PETER, AND THAT PETER TOOK PAINS TO SHOW THAT THE APOSTLES, AND ESPECIALLY HIMSELF, SAID FOOLISH THINGS AND DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THERE IS A LOT IN THE GOSPEL THAT SUGGESTS THAT PETER HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT. BUT THAT'S FOR ANOTHER TIME.

IN MARK, THE DISCIPLES ARE GENERALLY PORTRAYED AS BLOCK-HEADED. THEY NEVER QUITE GET WHAT JESUS IS TRYING TO SAY. PETER IS THE WORST OF THEM. AND I THINK TODAY'S GOSPEL NEEDS TO BE SEEN FROM THAT STANDPOINT. WHEN YOU FIRST READ THE GOSPEL, IT SOUNDS LIKE JESUS EXERCISED HIS GOD-LIKE POWERS TO SAVE THE APOSTLES, AND THEY WERE TRULY AMAZED AT WHAT THEY SAW. AND WE GO AWAY SAYING, YES, THAT JESUS – HE'S NOT LIKE YOU AND ME, HE TELLS THE WIND AND WAVES TO OBEY, AND THEY DO. AND SINCE WE CAN'T DO THAT, WE SEE JESUS AS “OTHER”. WHAT CAN THIS GOSPEL STORY TELL US? HOW SHOULD IT IMPACT OUR LIVES? DOES IT MEAN WE SHOULD PRAY WHEN WE ARE IN TROUBLE, HOPING THAT HE'LL COME TO OUR RESCUE? WE PROBABLY ALREADY DO THAT. DOES IT MEAN THAT WHEN WE ARE THREATENED, GOD WILL COME TO OUR RESCUE AND SAVE US? WELL, WE KNOW THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, AT LEAST NOT CONSISTENTLY, AND WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY.

BUT WHEN YOU GO OVER THE STORY, THESE THINGS STAND OUT. JESUS IS ASLEEP. THAT'S BECAUSE HE IS HUMAN. YOU DON'T SEE HIM SLEEPING IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. BUT JESUS IS SLEEPING ON A CUSHION. THE APOSTLES ARE FIGHTING TO KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND BAILING WATER OUT LIKE CRAZY, AND THEY WAKE HIM UP. AND YOU CAN TELL THEY ARE IN FULL PANIC MODE. THEY SAY, “DON'T YOU CARE THAT WE ARE PERISHING?” THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MINUTE. IF YOU, A HUMAN BEING, WOKE UP IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? YOU'D PROBABLY GRAB A BUCKET AND START BAILING, OR FALL ON YOUR KNEES AND PRAY, OR RUN AROUND LIKE A CHICKEN. BUT JESUS, WHO IS COMPLETELY HUMAN, SIMPLY TELLS THE WIND AND WAVES TO BE STILL, AND THEY DO. HE THEN ASKS THE APOSTLES, “WHY ARE YOU TERRIFIED? DON'T YOU YET HAVE FAITH?” THE APOSTLES CONCENTRATE ON THE MIRACLE, BUT JESUS IS POINTING TO SOMETHING ELSE.

I CAN'T THINK OF A SINGLE EPISODE IN THE GOSPELS, ESPECIALLY THE GOSPEL OF MARK WHERE JESUS APPEARS THE MOST HUMAN, WHERE HE WAS AFRAID. SURE, WHEN HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE CRUCIFIED, HE SWEATED BULLETS AND ASKED THE FATHER TO SPARE HIM THIS. BUT EVEN THEN HE COULD HAVE BACKED OUT. BUT JESUS WAS NEVER AFRAID, BECAUSE HE FULLY UNDERSTOOD AND BELIEVED THAT THE FATHER ONLY HAD HIS BEST INTERESTS AT HEART. WOULD YOU BE AFRAID IF THE VILLAGE PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO THROW YOU OVER A CLIFF? JESUS WASN'T, AND WALKED RIGHT THROUGH THEIR MIDST. WOULD YOU CALL THE KING OF JUDEA, WHO USED THE TITLE “LION OF JUDAH” A FOX IN PUBLIC? THAT WAS A REAL INSULT, AND PROBABLY GOT BACK TO HEROD. JESUS WASN'T AFRAID. AND AS YOU LOOK AT JESUS' LIFE, YOU CAN FIND MANY MORE INCIDENTS WHERE A NORMAL PERSON, EVEN SOMEONE WHO HAD SOME COURAGE, MIGHT BE A LITTLE AFRAID.

IN THIS STORY OF THE BOAT AND THE STORM, I THINK JESUS IS MODELING FOR HIS DISCIPLES AND FOR US WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD. THERE IS NO CAUSE FOR FEAR. PRUDENCE, YES. DO WHAT YOU CAN, YES. BUT FEAR, THAT USELESS EMOTION THAT CLOUDS YOUR THINKING AND MAKES YOUR HEART RACE AND CAUSES YOU TO MAKE STUPID MISTAKES, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR FEAR IN THE PERSON WHO KNOWS HIMSELF OR HERSELF TO BE A SON OR DAUGHTER OF THE FATHER.

I THINK THE MARTYRS KNEW THIS, THOSE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH BECAUSE THEY ARE CHRISTIANS. IT ISN'T EVEN A MATTER OF BELIEVING IN LIFE AFTER DEATH – IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TRUSTING THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS THE FATHER WILL BRING GOOD OUT OF IT. AND PART OF THAT GOOD IS ALWAYS THE FACT THAT HE WILL NOT ABANDON HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS; NOTHING IMPORTANT WILL BE LOST, ONLY CHANGED.

SO JESUS SHOWS US THAT BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS THAT WE CAN LET GO OF FEAR, WE NEVER HAVE TO ALLOW IT IN OUR LIVES. WHEN WE ARE IN A FEARFUL SITUATION, WE KNOW THAT THE FATHER HAS US IN HIS HANDS, THE FATHER IS WATCHING US, LOVING US, AND HAS GUARANTEED THAT NOTHING CAN REALLY HARM US.

THINK ABOUT IT. AFTER JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, HE SPENT FORTY MORE DAYS WALKING THE EARTH. HE ATE AND DRANK WITH HIS DISCIPLES. AND IT SAYS THAT MORE THAN 500 PEOPLE WERE WITNESSES TO HIS RESURRECTION. THEY PROBABLY WEREN'T ALL CHRISTIANS, AND I DOUBT THEY COULD ALL KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT. AND ONE DAY PETER GOES UP TO JESUS AND SAYS, “LORD, YOU'VE GOT TO STOP APPEARING IN PUBLIC, OR AT LEAST GET OUT OF JERUSALEM. ONE OF THESE DAYS THE ROMANS AND THE HIGH PRIESTS ARE GOING TO COME AFTER YOU AGAIN.” AND JESUS COULD SAY TO PETER, “AND DO WHAT? THEY'VE ALREADY KILLED ME AND THAT DIDN'T WORK.” YOU AND I, ONCE BAPTIZED, INHERIT THE RESURRECTION. WE CAN SAY IN CHRIST TO THOSE WHO WANT TO HARM US, WE CAN SAY TO NATURAL DISASTERS, WE CAN SAY TO DISEASE AND PAIN AND LOSS, “YOU'VE ALREADY KILLED ME AND THAT DIDN'T WORK.”

ONCE JESUS SAID, PERFECT JOY CASTS OUT FEAR. SO THE NEXT TIME YOU FEEL FEAR, AND YOU WILL, REMEMBER NOT THE APOSTLES FLAILING AROUND IN THE BOAT, BUT JESUS, WHO WAKES UP AND SHOWS NO FEAR AT ALL, BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHAT YOU KNOW – THE FATHER WILL NOT LET ANYTHING HAPPEN THAT HE WON'T TURN INTO SOMETHING GOOD; AND THE FATHER WILL NEVER ABANDON HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH IN THEIR BROTHER JESUS.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

\MARK 4:26-34
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU HEAR THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED?  WHAT DID JESUS MEAN?  I THINK MOST OF US WOULD  CONCLUDE THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD STARTS OUT SMALL AND EVENTUALLY GETS VERY LARGE, RIGHT?  BUT WHY DIDN'T JESUS JUST SAY THAT?
WHEN WE HEAR JESUS TELL A PARABLE, HE IS SAYING SOMETHING THAT IS MUCH MORE THAN IT SEEMS ON THE SURFACE.  HE MAY HAVE TOLD HIS APOSTLES WHAT HIS PARABLES MEANT, BUT THEY DIDN'T ALWAYS TELL US.  THE MUSTARD SEED PARABLE APPEARS IN MATTHEW, MARK AND LUKE, SO THE EARLY CHRISTIANS MUST HAVE CONSIDERED IT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO PASS ON.  
WHEN I THINK OF MUSTARD SEEDS, BEING A 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN, THE FIRST THOUGHT THAT COMES TO MIND IS A JAR OF MUSTARD – THE YELLOW KIND, MADE OF A MIXTURE OF GROUND UP MUSTARD SEEDS, VINEGAR, AND  SOME SPICES, THE KIND YOU PUT ON HOT DOGS AT THE BALL PARK OR ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.  YOU MAY HAVE A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT IDEA IN YOUR HEAD – MAYBE GREY POUPON?  AND IF I GO DEEPER INTO MY THOUGHT PROCESSES, I THINK OF MUSTARD  GREENS, WHICH ARE KIND OF LIKE SPINACH, ONLY HAVE MORE FLAVOR AND ARE A LOT TOUGHER.  BUT MUSTARD PLANTS DON'T GROW AROUND HERE MUCH.  
WHEN JOAN AND I LIVED IN BUFFALO, WE HAD A PEAR TREE IN OUR BACK YARD.  IT WAS VERY PROLIFIC.  SOMETIME IN LATE AUGUST IT WOULD BEGIN TO DROP RIPE PEARS AND THESE WOULD ATTRACT WASPS AND BEES, AND ALL IN ALL IT WAS A  MESS.  ONE YEAR WE STARTED PICKING THE PEARS AS SOON AS THEY WERE RIPE.  WE MADE PEAR SAUCE, PEAR LEATHER, AND ANYTHING ELSE WE COULD DO WITH PEARS, BUT ONCE WE DID ALL THIS, WE HAD  ENOUGH PEAR STUFF TO LAST A FEW SEASONS.  THE NEXT YEAR WE PICKED THE PEARS AND TRIED TO GIVE THEM AWAY, BUT NO ONE REALLY LIKES PEARS ALL THAT MUCH . WE HAD A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PEAR TREE – WE APPRECIATED ITS GENEROSITY, BUT THERE COULD BE TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING.  I KNOW GARDENERS WHO'VE HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE WITH ZUCCHINI OR TOMATOES.  TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING.
THE PEOPLE IN JESUS TIME HAD THE SAME ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE MUSTARD PLANT.  NOBODY GREW THE STUFF ON PURPOSE.  IT GREW  ALL OVER THE PLACE, LIKE A WEED, AND IT GREW RAPIDLY, FASTER THAN MOST OTHER PLANTS.  AND PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE VERY POOR, COULD EAT THE TENDER GREENS.  THE SEEDS WERE NOT USED AT ALL.   BIRDS, FOR SOME REASON,  ARE ATTRACTED TO MUSTARD PLANTS BECAUSE THEY LOVE THE SEEDS.
SO THE MUSTARD PLANT WHICH GREW VERY RAPIDLY, WAS A  MIXED BLESSING.  SURE, YOU COULD EAT THE GREENS, BUT IF YOU WERE A  FARMER AND THE PLANTS  SPRANG UP IN YOUR WHEAT OR BARLEY FIELD IT WASN'T GOOD.  NOT ONLY DID THE MUSTARD CROWD OUT THE WHEAT, BUT THE BIRDS IT ATTRACTED WOULD GO AFTER THE WHEAT THAT WAS JUST BEGINNING TO GERMINATE.  FARMERS GENERALLY PULLED UP ALL THE MUSTARD PLANTS THAT GREW WILD IN THEIR FIELDS.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN US, JESUS SAID.  WHEN WE ARE BAPTIZED, THE SEEDS OF THE KINGDOM ARE PLANTED IN US.  MOST OF US WHO ARE CHRISTIAN, WHO COME TO CHURCH, WHO TRY TO LEAD GOOD LIVES, ARE OK WITH A FEW MUSTARD PLANTS, BUT WE LIKE OUR KINGDOM IN SMALL DOSES.  BECAUSE IF WE AREN'T CAREFUL, THE KINGDOM WITHIN US WILL BEGIN TO CROWD OUT OUR OWN DESIRES, OUR OWN PLANS, AND IF WE AREN'T CAREFUL, WE WORRY THAT WE'LL END UP LIKE MOTHER THERESA OR SAINT FRANCIS, OR ONE OF THOSE OTHER SAINTS WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT, SOMEONE WHO GENUINELY LIVES NOT FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF BUT FOR GOD AND FOR HIS NEIGHBOR.  SO WHEN WE SEE LITTLE SPROUTS OF THE KINGDOM POPPING UP IN OUR GARDEN, WE PULL THEM UP AND CAST THEM ASIDE.  THAT WAY WE REMAIN IN CONTROL; WHAT WE HAVE PLANTED WILL COME TO HARVEST.  BUT GOD KEEPS TRYING; HE KEEPS PUTTING THOSE IMPULSES IN US, THOSE DESIRES TO BE MORE GENEROUS WITH OUR TIME AND OUR TREASURE.  HE PROMPTS US TO SPEAK UP AND TO ACT WHEN THERE ARE THREATS TO THE LIFE AND DIGNITY OF HUMAN BEINGS, LIKE ABORTION AND DOCTOR-ASSISTED SUICIDE.  HE CALLS US TO WORK FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, ESPECIALLY IN HOW WE VOTE.  HE GIVES US OUR CHURCH SO THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO TRUTH.  BECAUSE IF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS  EVER TO BE REALIZED ON THIS EARTH, AND IT WILL, IT HAS TO FIRST BE REALIZED IN YOUR HEART AND MINE.  GOD USES US TO CARRY OUT HIS WILL.  MOST OF US LET A LITTLE MUSTARD GROW, BUT NOT TOO MUCH; A VERY FEW STAND BACK AND LET IT GROW WILD, AND SAY, “HERE I AM, LORD, I COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” THEY SAY WITH MARY OUR MOTHER, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WILL.”
BEFORE JESUS TELLS US THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED, HE TELLS US ABOUT THE SEED THAT THE FARMER PLANTS, AND  THEN COMES  BACK LATER TO THE HARVEST, AND IN BETWEEN IT'S  ALL MYSTERY.  THE FARMER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT GOES ON, EXCEPT THAT SOMEHOW THE HARVEST WILL HAPPEN.  AND  THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER, JESUS PROMISED THAT, WE REALLY CAN'T STOP IT.
BUT WE CAN SLOW IT DOWN, WE CAN PUT ROAD  BLOCKS UP, WE CAN PULL UP THE MUSTARD PLANTS BEFORE THEY GET BIG ENOUGH TO ATTRACT BIRDS AND CROWD OUT WHAT WE WANT TO GROW.
I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT IN OUR FIRST READING, EZECHIEL IMAGINES THE KINGDOM TO BE LIKE A MAJESTIC CEDAR TREE ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN.  IT'S WAY UP THERE, BEING MAGNIFICENT AND SHELTERING BIRDS, BUT WE ARE DOWN HERE, NOT HAVING TO BE BOTHERED BY IT IF WE DON'T WANT TO.  BUT  JESUS IMAGINES THE KINGDOM AS A NUISANCE PLANT, A WEED, WHICH COMES INTO OUR SAFE AND PREDICTABLE LIVES AND BOTHERS US.  WE CAN FIGHT IT OR LET IT TAKE OVER, BUT WE CAN'T IGNORE IT.
ONCE JESUS SAID, “I HAVE COME TO BRING FIRE ON THE EARTH AND HOW I WISH IT WERE ALREADY KINDLED!”  IN YOU AND I THERE IS THE POTENTIAL TO  SET THE WORLD ON FIRE, TO LET OUR SAFE AND PREDICTABLE GARDEN BE TAKEN OVER BY WILD MUSTARD, WHICH GROWS TO BECOME THE  LARGEST OF BUSHES.  AND OUR MEDITATION SHOULD BE, HOW ARE WE HOLDING BACK THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN US AND IN THE WORLD AROUND US?

The Body and Blood of Our Lord, 2015

MARK 14:12-16, 22-26
THIS IS THE FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. IT WAS STARTED IN THE 13TH CENTURY TO CELEBRATE THE GIVING OF THE EUCHARIST BY CHRIST TO THE CHURCH. VATICAN II REFERRED TO THE EUCHARIST AS “THE SOURCE AND SUBSTANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
FOR THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE TIME OF THE LAST SUPPER. AS YOU HEARD IN THE GOSPEL JESUS TOOK BREAD IN HIS HANDS AND SAID, THIS IS MY BODY. NOW THE BREAD HE HAD AT THE TABLE WAS NOT A SMALL WHITE WAFER. IT WAS MOST LIKELY SOMETHING LIKE A LARGE PITA BREAD – IT HAD BEEN MADE WITH DOUGH FLATTENED AND THEN COOKED ON A HEATED STONE OR BRICK. EACH DINER WOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN ONE OF THESE. YOU BROKE OFF A PIECE AND PICKED UP SOME MEAT WITH IT. YOU USED ANOTHER PIECE TO DIP IN GRAVY. TOWARDS THE END OF THE MEAL YOU MIGHT EVEN CLEAN OFF YOUR FINGERS WITH SOME OF THE BREAD. IT WAS YOUR FORK AND SPOON AND NAPKIN. SO YOU REALLY COULDN'T EAT A MEAL WITHOUT ONE OF THESE BREADS. THE BREAD WAS COMMON AND EATEN AT EVERY MEAL. BUT THE WINE WAS A DIFFERENT STORY. THE WINE WAS SPECIAL, AFTER ALL, THIS WAS PASSOVER. MOST OF THE TIME PEOPLE USED A COMMON WINE WHICH WOULD BE MIXED WITH WATER. BUT AT PASSOVER YOU GOT THE BEST YOU COULD GET. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SWEET AND FLAVORFUL; AND YOU DIDN'T DILUTE IT.
OUR CHURCH TEACHES THAT IN THE EUCHARIST JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY. HE IS JUST AS PRESENT AS HE WAS IN HIS BODY TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO. AND THAT'S IMPORTANT IN UNDERSTANDING WHY THE EUCHARIST IS THE SOURCE AND SUBSTANCE OF CHRISTIAN LIFE. NOW I'M GOING TO SAY SOMETHING THAT I DON'T WANT YOU TO MISUNDERSTAND. THE EUCHARIST IS A SYMBOL, A SIGN. I DON'T MEAN THAT JESUS ISN'T REALLY PRESENT, BUT IT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE INTERACT WITH THE EUCHARIST THAT IS IMPORTANT. SOMEONE ONCE ASKED SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF A MOUSE ATE A CRUMB OF THE EUCHARISTIC BREAD. HIS ANSWER WAS, NOTHING. IF YOU WANT TO BE AFFECTED BY THE EUCHARIST, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE CAPACITY, WHICH STEMS FROM YOUR BELIEF. BECAUSE THE EUCHARIST IS A SIGN THAT CAUSES WHAT IT SIGNIFIES – THE VERY DEFINITION OF A SACRAMENT; AND IT CAN'T CAUSE WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IF JESUS IS NOT REALLY PRESENT.
FIRST, IT SHOWS THAT GOD ENTERS INTO OUR MATERIAL WORLD; HE IS NOT FAR OFF. HE LOVES THE WORLD, HE LOVES OUR BODIES, HE LOVES WHAT WE LOVE. YOU CAN'T FIND ANY MATTER, NO ROCK OR STONE OR INSECT OR ATOM WHERE GOD IS NOT PRESENT.
SECOND, GOD NOT ONLY WANTS TO FEED US AND TAKE CARE OF US, AS JESUS TOLD US IN THE PARABLE OF THE BIRDS OF THE AIR AND FLOWERS OF THE FIELD, BUT HE WANTS US TO TRUST THAT HE WILL DO SO. HE WANTS US TO SEE THAT EVERYTHING THAT SUSTAINS US COMES FROM HIM; THAT IS WHY HE BECOMES BREAD, RATHER THAN MEAT OR DESERT OR SOME OTHER KIND OF FOOD. THE BREAD SHOWS US THAT GOD IS BEHIND AND UNDER ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT COME TO US.
THIRD, GOD WANTS US TO BE UNITED WITH HIM. HE FEEDS US HIMSELF. ORDINARY FOOD BECOMES PART OF OUR BODY. THE FOOD GOD GIVES US ALLOWS US TO BECOME MORE AND MORE, SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD. THE UNION WITH CHRIST MAKES US ONE WITH GOD.
FOURTH, GOD WANTS US TO BE BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO EACH OTHER. WHEN I RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, IT'S THE SAME ONE THAT YOU RECEIVE, THE SAME THAT THE APOSTLES RECEIVED. SINCE IT IS ONE, WE ARE TO BECOME ONE. AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE ALL RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST FROM ANOTHER PERSON. ONLY THE PRIEST, WHO STANDS IN FOR JESUS, GIVES HIMSELF THE EUCHARIST.
FIFTH, IN THE TIME OF JESUS, WINE WAS CONSIDERED MEDICINAL. REMEMBER THE SAMARITAN WHO POURED OIL AND WINE INTO THE WOUNDS OF THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN BEATEN AND ROBBED? WINE WAS USED TO HEAL INTERNALLY AS WELL. SO THE WINE CARRIES THE PROMISE THAT GOD WANTS TO HEAL US OF OUR INFIRMITIES AND HEAL US OF OUR SPIRITUAL SICKNESS AS WELL THROUGH THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
SIXTH, WINE, ESPECIALLY PASSOVER WINE, BRINGS JOY. JESUS TOLD US THAT HE WANTED TO SHARE HIS JOY, AND HIS JOY IS COMPLETE. THE EUCHARISTIC WINE IS AN OFFER TO SHARE HIS JOY.
SEVENTH, THE WINE HAS BECOME THE BLOOD OF JESUS, AND BLOOD IS A SIGN OF COVENANT. JESUS HIMSELF IDENTIFIED HIS BLOOD WITH THE NEW COVENANT. EVERY TIME WE CELEBRATE EUCHARIST WE RENEW THE COVENANT. IN A COVENANT EACH PARTY BINDS HIMSELF OR HERSELF TO DO SOMETHING. AND UNLIKE IN A CONTRACT WHERE IF ONE PARTY BREAKS THE CONTRACT, THE OTHER ISN'T HELD TO HIS PART, IN A COVENANT, THERE IS NO QUID PRO QUO. IF ONE PARTY FAILS TO FULFILL HIS PART, THE OTHER REMAINS OBLIGATED TO HIS PART. GOD BINDS HIMSELF TO HIS PROMISES TO US AND THE EUCHARIST REMINDS US OF THE NEW COVENANT.
I COULD GO ON, BUT SEVEN EXAMPLES SEEMS ENOUGH. THE POINT IS THAT IF THE EUCHARIST WAS ONLY A SYMBOL, ALL OF THE THINGS I'VE MENTIONED AND MORE BESIDES WOULD JUST BE WISHFUL THINKING. BUT BECAUSE THE EUCHARIST IS THE REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD AND OUR ELDER BROTHER, IT HAS THE POWER TO CAUSE THESE EFFECTS IN US, IF WE COOPERATE WITH THOSE GRACES. GOD WANTS ALL OF THIS AND MORE FOR US, BUT WOULD NEVER FORCE HIMSELF ON US, WOULD NEVER ENTER OUR LIVES WITHOUT BEING INVITED.  
HOW DO WE COOPERATE WITH THE REAL PRESENCE?  WE HAVE TO BELIEVE, FIRST OF ALL.  AND BELIEF IS STRENGTHENED WHEN WE ACT.  SILENCE IN CHURCH, GENUFLECTION BEFORE THE TABERNACLE, SPENDING TIME IN THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT -- ALL OF THESE STRENGTHEN OUR BELIEF, AND DISPOSE US BETTER TO COOPERATE WITH GOD’S PLAN FOR US.
SO BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE.  AND IF JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT HERE, MAYBE WE SHOULD BE AS WELL.  

Trinity Sunday, 2015

MATTHEW 28:16-20

I KNOW IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER I WAS NOT THE LIFE OF THE PARTY. I WAS SHY, VERY SELF CONSCIOUS BECAUSE I WAS TALLER THAN EVERYONE ELSE, AND UNLIKE ALMOST ALL OF MY CLASSMATES I DID NOT HAVE AN IRISH OR POLISH LAST NAME. I WAS ONE OF THE FEW KIDS FROM THE EAST SIDE OF TOWN TO ATTEND THE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, SO UNLIKE MOST OF MY CLASSMATES, I HAD NO HISTORY WITH THEM. WE USED TO HAVE SCHOOL DANCES. IT SEEMED LIKE ALL THE POPULAR KIDS WERE IN THE MIDDLE DANCING AND SURROUNDED BY US WALLFLOWERS. WE ALL KNEW THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T DANCING WEREN'T COOL, BUT IN EACH OF OUR HEARTS WAS THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ACTUALLY WERE COOL, BUT THE REST OF THE WALLFLOWERS WEREN'T. SO WE JUST WATCHED THE DANCE. SOMETIMES THE GIRLS DANCED WITH EACH OTHER. WE GUYS PRETENDED TO BE BORED AND MADE COMMENTS TO THE OTHER GUYS CRITIQUEING THE DANCING SKILLS OF OUR MORE SOCIAL CLASSMATES.

BY THE TIME I GOT TO COLLEGE, I HAD GOTTEN OVER SOME OF MY SHYNESS. BUT ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS THAT I'M STILL NOT THE LIFE OF THE PARTY. IN COLLEGE I WOULD ACTUALLY GO OUT ON DATES AND DANCE, OR AT LEAST LOOK LIKE I WAS DANCING, WHICH WAS THE SAME THING, BUT IT WASN'T FUN; I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED A VISIT TO THE DENTIST. I MET MY WIFE IN COLLEGE, AND IT WAS A GOOD THING SHE DID NOT CONSIDER THE ABILITY TO DANCE HIGH ON HER LIST OF HUSBAND QUALITIES.

I REMEMBER, THOUGH, IN MEDICAL SCHOOL, I WAS INVITED BY A JEWISH CLASSMATE TO COME TO A LECTURE BY AN HASSIDIC RABBI. HE WAS VERY INSISTENT AND ENTHUSIASTIC, SO I DID GO. IT WAS UNLIKE ANY LECTURE I'D EVER SEEN. THE RABBI BEGAN BY CALLING ON GOD TO BLESS US ALL, THEN HE TOLD A FEW STORIES FROM THE TALMUD WHICH HAD AS THEIR POINT THAT GOD LOVED HIS HUMAN CHILDREN AND WAS WILLING TO PUT UP WITH A LOT FROM THEM, JUST LIKE THE BEST OF HUMAN FATHERS. AND THEN THE RABBI BEGAN TO SING, AND INVITED US TO SING ALONG WITH HIM – A SIMPLE, REPETITIVE SONG. AND THEN HE STARTED TO DANCE, AND INVITED OTHERS TO DANCE WITH HIM. GRADUALLY A CONGA LINE FORMED, AND HE WENT THROUGH THE AUDITORIUM INVITING EACH OF US TO JOIN HIM, UNTIL NO ONE WAS SITTING AND ALL OF US WERE DANCING AND SINGING. PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. I CAME AWAY THAT EVENING ENERGIZED AND ENTHUSIASTIC, WONDERING WHY WE DIDN'T DO THIS SORT OF THING IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. ACTUALLY, THEY DON'T DO THAT SORT OF THING IN MOST JEWISH CONGREGATIONS EITHER OF COURSE.

SO WHY DO I GO ON AND ON ABOUT DANCING? WELL, THIS IS TRINITY SUNDAY, AND IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH, ESPECIALLY THE EASTERN PART, SOME OF THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH USED THE TERM, “PERICHORESIS” TO DESCRIBE WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE TRINITY. PERICHORESIS IS A GREEK WORD MEANING “TO DANCE AROUND, TO DANCE IN AND OUT.” THEY SAW THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE SPIRIT NOT ONLY DANCING AROUND EACH OTHER BUT DANCING THROUGH EACH OTHER, SO THAT WHERE THERE WERE THREE THERE WAS ONE. AND THE INTERESTING THING WAS THAT THIS TRINITY, THIS PERPETUAL DANCE OF THE THREE PERSONS, WAS ALWAYS INVITING YOU AND I AND ALL CREATION TO JOIN IN THE DANCE, TO DANCE IN AND OUT, TO DANCE THROUGH, TO JOIN IN THE DANCING.

JESUS TELLS THE APOSTLES TO GO MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. HE DOESN'T SAY, GO AND DO NICE THINGS. HE DOESN'T SAY, SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN CHURCH AND AT PRAYER. HE DOESN'T SAY LIVE THE KIND OF LIFE THAT WILL ATTRACT OTHERS WHO WILL THEN BE CURIOUS AND ASK YOU WHY YOU LIVE THE WAY YOU DO. THESE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS, DON'T GET ME WRONG. BUT JESUS SAID TO MAKE DISCIPLES. A DISCIPLE IS SOMEONE WHO HAS MADE THE CONSCIOUS DECISION TO KNOW JESUS AS A PERSON AND PATTERN HIS OR HER LIFE AFTER HIS LIFE. A DISCIPLE OF JESUS WANTS TO KNOW GOD AS FATHER, JESUS AS BROTHER, ALL THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND THEN, BECAUSE IT IS GOD'S DESIRE WHICH HAS BECOME HIS OWN DESIRE, TO INVITE OTHERS INTO THAT EXPERIENCE.

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU MEET SOMEONE WHO IS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT SOMETHING. HER EYES LIGHT UP, HER SPEECH BECOMES MORE ANIMATED. SOMETIMES THE ENTHUSIASM IS GREAT ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU COULD EXPERIENCE WHAT SHE DID, AND SOMETIMES YOU MIGHT EVEN BE DRAWN INTO LOOKING MORE DEEPLY INTO WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE OF THE ENTHUSIASM. WE SEE A LITTLE OF THAT WHEN SOMEONE COMES BACK FROM A PILGRIMAGE TO MEDJUGORE, OR A MISSIONARY TRIP TO TANZANIA OR HAITI.

BUT WHERE IS THE ENTHUSIASM ABOUT BEING A CATHOLIC, ABOUT HAVING ACCESS TO THE SACRAMENTS, ABOUT EXPERIENCING THE INCREDIBLE MERCY AND LOVE OF GOD THAT IS RIGHT THERE FOR US IN THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION? WHERE IS THE ENTHUSIASM OF KNOWING THAT WE HAVE BEEN SAVED FOR ALL ETERNITY THROUGH JESUS' SACRIFICE? WHERE IS THE EXCITEMENT OF EXPERIENCING THE GIFTS GOD HAS GIVEN US?

JESUS SAID “GO MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS.” THE FIRST FOLLOWERS OF JESUS DID EXACTLY THAT, AND BEFORE THE LAST APOSTLE HAD DIED, MANY NATIONS FROM ROME TO PERSIA TO INDIA HAD DISCIPLES. AND EVEN WHEN THE CHURCH WAS BEING PERSECUTED, MORE AND MORE PEOPLE TOOK UP THE INVITATION TO BECOME DISCIPLES AND TO MAKE DISCIPLES.

IF YOU IMAGINE THE TRINITY AS THE ULTIMATE DANCE, AND DOWN THROUGH THE AGES WE SEE MARY AND JOSEPH AND THE APOSTLES AND THE SAINTS ALL JOINING IN THAT DANCE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE PRESENT, WE ARE BEING INVITED INTO THE DANCE AS WELL, JUST AS THAT OLD RABBI INVITED EVERYONE IN THE AUDITORIUM INTO HIS DANCE. AND IF WE REALLY SEE THAT BEING PART OF THE DANCE IS THE MOST WONDERFUL THING A HUMAN BEING CAN BE, WE'LL TAKE UP THAT INVITATION AND BECOME DISCIPLES; AND WE WILL INVITE OTHERS INTO THE DANCE BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE LEFT OUT. IT ONLY TAKES ONE PERSON TO START THE PROCESS. SO TAKE TO HEART JESUS' WORDS – GO MAKE DISCIPLES – AND NEXT YEAR THIS TIME IF YOU ARE ASKED WHETHER YOU HAVE MADE DISCIPLES, WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF YOU COULD SAY, “YES, I HAVE.”   

Pentecost, 2015

JOHN 7:37-39
    SEVERAL MONTHS AGO I WAS WALKING DOWN THE HALLS OF A NURSING HOME TO SEE A PATIENT.  I PASSED A ROOM AND  THE LADY INSIDE CAUGHT MY EYE AND I FELT THE URGE TO GO TALK TO HER, SO I INTRODUCED MYSELF AND E BEGAN TO TALK.  AFTER  TELLING HER I WAS A CATHOLIC  DEACON, I ASKED HER IF SHE BELONGED TO A CHURCH.  SHE TOLD ME SHE WAS CATHOLIC, BUT “NOT A VERY GOOD ONE.”  SHE HADN'T GONE TO COMMUNION IN 30 YEARS.  SHE HAD GONE TO SUNDAY MASS USUALLY EVERY WEEK, BUT SHE WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION SHE WAS EXCOMMUNICATED BECAUSE SHE HAD GOTTEN A DIVORCE.  AFTER I SET HER STRAIGHT, SHE MADE HER RECONCILIATION AND RECEIVED COMMUNION, SOMETHING SHE HAD TRULY MISSED.  WAS THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT ACTING THROUGH ME?  PROBABLY.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE COMING OF THE SPIRIT UPON THE APOSTLES AND THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH.  IT'S A GOOD TIME TO ASK, WHY IS THERE A CHURCH AND WHAT IS MY ROLE IN IT?  OBVIOUSLY IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SPIRIT.  IT WAS ONLY IN THE YEARS AFTER JESUS THAT THEOLOGIANS AND PHILOSOPHERS CAME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE SPIRIT IS THE THIRD PERSON OF THE TRINITY.  BUT WE HAVE INTIMATIONS OF THE SPIRIT RIGHT FROM THE FIRST BOOK IN THE BIBLE, WHEN IN GENESIS IT SAYS THAT IN THE BEGINNING, THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED OVER THE WATERS.  WE MEET THE SPIRIT IN EZECHIEL'S VISION, WHEN THE DRY BONES ARE BROUGHT TOGETHER AND GIVEN LIFE.  BUT WE REALLY MEET THE SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.  IN FACT THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES HAS BEEN CALLED “THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.”
SO WHAT IS THIS SPIRIT, GOD HIMSELF AND AT THE SAME TIME POSSESSED BY EACH BAPTIZED CHRISTIAN?  WE HAVE A HINT WHEN WE HEAR THE ANGEL'S MESSAGE TO MARY, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD WILL OVERSHADOW YOU.”  GOD BECAME MAN BY THE ACTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY OF MARY.  LATER WE HEAR JESUS BREATHING ON HIS APOSTLES, GIVING THEM HIS SPIRIT, THE SAME SPIRIT THAT IN COOPERATION WITH MARY GAVE GOD A HUMAN NATURE.  AND WE SEE THE EARLY CHRISTIANS TURNING TO THE SPIRIT FOR THEIR DECISIONS; WE SEE SAINT STEPHEN SEEING A VISION OF HEAVEN AS A RESULT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; AND ON AND ON.  WHEN WE READ ABOUT THOSE EARLY DAYS, IT SEEMS FANTASTIC; WHY DON'T WE SEE THAT HAPPENING IN THIS DAY AND AGE?  WHERE IS THE SPIRIT?  WHERE IS THIS ONE WHO CAN CONCEIVE CHRIST IN MARY, AND IN US AS WELL?  PERHAPS WE DON'T SEE MUCH OF THE SPIRIT BECAUSE WE AREN'T LOOKING AND WE AREN'T LETTING THE SPIRIT WORK IN US.
AS FOR LOOKING, THE PLACE TO BEGIN TO LOOK IS IN THE PAST.  I SUSPECT  THAT EVERYONE HERE CAN POINT TO ONE OR MORE TURNING POINTS IN HIS OR HER LIFE, WHICH WEREN'T NOTICED AT THE TIME, BUT IN RETROSPECT IT WAS CLEARLY GOD AT WORK IN OUR LIFE.   IF WE CAN START BY RECOGNIZING THE BIG MOMENTS, IT BECOMES EASIER TO SEE THE SMALL ONES.  AND WHEN WE GET USED TO SEEING THE SPIRIT AT WORK IN OUR LIVES IN THE PAST, WE START TO NOTICE HIM WORKING IN OUR PRESENT.  I THINK ABOUT THE GREATEST TURNING POINT IN MY LIFE, THE GREATEST BLESSING, WHICH WAS TO MEET MY FUTURE WIFE.  HOW IMPROBABLE ALL OF THIS WAS, THAT GOD WOULD SOMEHOW BRING US TOGETHER; ME, BORN AND RAISED IN MONTANA, HER IN MARYLAND.  AND AS I GET OLD, I BEGIN TO SEE HIM WORKING IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW; NOW AND THEN I'LL MEET SOMEONE WHERE IT IS OBVIOUS THAT GOD BROUGHT US TOGETHER FOR SOME REASON.  WHEN YOU LEARN TO TRAIN YOUR SIGHT TO SEE THE HOLY SPIRIT, YOU WILL.
AS FOR ALLOWING THE SPIRIT TO WORK IN US, IN ONE OF THE READINGS THIS WEEKEND, WE HEAR SAINT PAUL SAYING “THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS, BUT THE SAME SPIRIT.”  AND LATER HE SAYS, “TO EACH INDIVIDUAL THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS GIVEN FOR SOME BENEFIT”.  ISN'T THAT AMAZING?  PAUL IS SAYING EACH OF US HAS ONE OR MORE GIFTS GIVEN BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHURCH, NOT FOR OURSELVES.  DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR GIFT IS?  WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT THE SO-CALLED GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, COUNCEL, KNOWLEDGE, FORTITUDE, PIETY AND FEAR OF THE LORD – THOSE ARE GIVEN FOR MY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, SO THAT I CAN BECOME A DISCIPLE.  EVERYONE GETS  THOSE GIFTS INSOFAR AS THEY ARE NEEDED IN THAT PERSON'S LIFE.  THE GIFTS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE ALSO CALLED CHARISMS.
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS TALENTS.  HOPEFULLY WE ALL HAVE SOME TALENT.  BUT A TALENT CAN BE USED FOR SELFISH PURPOSES, AND EVEN IF YOU HAVE A TALENT, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO PRODUCE ANYTHING.  YOU CAN BE A GREAT MUSICIAN BUT ONLY PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT IN A SOUND-PROOF ROOM.  BUT CHARISMS CAN ONLY BE EXERCISED IN THE SETTING WHERE THEY ARE BENEFITING THE CHURCH IN SOME WAY.  ACCORDING TO PEOPLE WHO STUDY THESE THINGS, WHEN YOU ARE EXERCISING A CHARISM, TWO THINGS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS; FIRST, YOU SHOULD BE ENERGIZED BY EXERCISING IT; AFTER ALL, IT COMES FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO IS LIFE ITSELF.  TO EXERCISE A CHARISM IS BEING IN A GROOVE.  SECOND, YOU SHOULD SEE RESULTS.  IF YOU HAVE A CHARISM FOR TEACHING, PEOPLE YOU TEACH SHOULD LEARN.
NOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT PEOPLE CAN DO WHAT A CHARISM DOES WITHOUT HAVING THE CHARISM.  THERE ARE MANY PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS WHO DON'T HAVE THE CHARISM OF TEACHING.  THEY MIGHT HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE AND A LOT OF DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE THAT KNOWLEDGE, SO THAT THEY GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO BE EFFECTIVE TEACHERS; BUT THAT ISN'T THE SAME THING AS HAVING A GOD-GIVEN GIFT OF TEACHING.
THE CHARISMS ARE ACTUALLY GIVEN TO PEOPLE SO THAT GOD CAN LOVE OTHER PEOPLE THROUGH THEM.  IF OUR WORLD WAS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE EACH OF US WOULD BE LOVING EACH OTHER THROUGH THE EXERCISE OF OUR CHARISMS.
SO THINGS AREN'T THAT DIFFERENT FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH.  THE SPIRIT STILL WORKS AMONG HIS PEOPLE.  BUT ONCE WE RECOGNIZE THE SPIRIT IN OUR OWN LIVES AND ONCE WE KNOW THE GIFTS HE HAS GIVEN US FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH AND INDEED ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE, WE CAN OPEN UP  THE WAY FOR THE SPIRIT TO RUSH UPON US LIKE A MIGHTY WIND, TO INFLAME US WITH DIVINE LOVE, AND TO DO THINGS THROUGH US THAT ARE BEYOND OUR ABILITIES AS HUMAN BEINGS.  AND IF WE LEARN TO DO THAT, THE CHURCH BECOMES WHAT JESUS MEANT IT TO BE – THE PLACE WHERE GOD LOVES HIS PEOPLE.

Seventh Sunday in Easter, cycle B

JOHN 17:11-19

TODAY WE HEAR PART OF JESUS' HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER FOR HIS FOLLOWERS. DOES IT SOUND CONFUSING? ON FIRST READING, IT DID TO ME. JESUS PRAYS THAT WE ALL BECOME ONE. HE PRAYS THAT WE SHARE HIS JOY. HE TELLS US TWICE THAT WE DO NOT BELONG IN THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN HE DOES. BUT THEN HE TELLS US HE IS NOT ASKING THAT WE BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WORLD, AND AT THE END OF THE PRAYER HE SENDS US INTO THE WORLD. WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

IN THE FIRST READING WE MEET THE EARLY CHURCH. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY PEOPLE. THAT'S THE SIZE OF A SMALL CULT, AND PROBABLY THE JEWISH PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS A CULT. BUT CULTS EXIST, USUALLY, TO WITHDRAW FROM THE WORLD IN SOME WAY. CULTS LIKE TO CONTROL WHAT THEIR MEMBERS SEE AND HEAR AND THEY USE SOCIAL PRESSURE TO ACHIEVE CONFORMITY. IN CONTRAST, WHAT IS THE EARLY CHURCH DOING? THEY ARE FOCUSED OUTWARD; THE TWELVE MEN THAT JESUS SENT INTO THE WORLD ARE NO LONGER TWELVE, BUT THE APOSTLES WORK OUT A SUCCESSION PLAN; THEY PRAY, THEY SELECT TWO MEN WHO HAVE WITNESSED THE LIFE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, AND THEY LEAVE THE FINAL SELECTION IN GOD'S HANDS. THE POINT IS THAT THEY REALIZE THAT IF THEY ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD, THEY NEED A WAY OF CREATING OTHER APOSTLES.

CULTS DON'T REALLY WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD; SOME WANT TO MAKE THE WORLD OVER TO BE LIKE THEMSELVES, AND OTHERS WANT TO HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WORLD. BUT FROM THE BEGINNING THE CHURCH IS FOCUSED ON BRINGING THE MESSAGE OF JESUS TO THE WHOLE WORLD. AND IN ORDER TO DO THIS, JESUS MIGHT HAVE GIVEN FOUR BULLET POINTS IN HIS PRAYER.

FIRST, YOU'VE GOT TO BE ONE. YOU'VE GOT TO AGREE ON THE IMPORTANT THINGS. THE WORLD IS A WONDERFUL PLACE BECAUSE OF THE VARIETY AND DIVERSITY, AND THAT'S A WONDERFUL THING ABOUT PEOPLE AS WELL. EVEN WITHIN THE CHURCH THERE ARE THOSE WHO LIKE GUITAR MASSES AND THOSE WHO LOVE THE ORGAN; AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO LIKE TO START OFF THEIR GOLFING WITH AN EARLY MORNING QUICK MASS. WE HAVE SOME WHO LOVE THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS AND OTHERS WHO LIVE IN GRATITUDE THAT THE MASS IS FINALLY IN THE LANGUAGES OF THE PEOPLE. AND WE HAVE RITES; BESIDES THE ROMAN RITE, THERE ARE 32 OTHER WAYS OF CELEBRATING THE SACRAMENTS WITHIN OUR CHURCH. BUT A BIG PROBLEM WITHIN CATHOLICISM AND WITHIN CHRISTIANITY IN GENERAL IS THAT WE LET A LOT OF THINGS DIVIDE US WHICH ARE NOT THE IMPORTANT THINGS.

SECOND, YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE JOY. JESUS MORE THAN ONCE REFERS TO COMPLETE JOY, AND LINKS IT WITH HIS GOING TO THE FATHER. THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY IS THAT HE HAS GIVEN US THE WORDS SPOKEN TO HIM BY THE FATHER. THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY IS THAT HE IS WITH THE FATHER INTERCEDING FOR US RIGHT NOW, THIS MINUTE. THE CAUSE OF OUR JOY IS THAT NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM HIS LOVE. ALL OF US SHOULD GET UP EVERY MORNING AND REMIND OURSELVES WHY WE SHOULD BE JOYFUL. POPE FRANCIS RADIATES JOY AND SO SHOULD WE. JOY IS THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN AND A JOYFUL CHRISTIAN IS THE BEST EVANGELIST.

THIRD, WE NEED TO REMEMBER WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD. OF COURSE I DON'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULDN'T FULLY PARTICIPATE IN OUR WORLD; WE SHOULD BE WORKING FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE; WE SHOULD BE ENJOYING THE GOOD THINGS GOD HAS GIVEN US. WE SHOULD RIGHT NOW BE ENJOYING THE FLOWERING DOGWOODS AND THE ODOR OF THE LILAC BUSHES. ALL OF NATURE REMINDS US OF THE GARDEN OUR FIRST PARENTS WERE GIVEN TO TEND, AND NOW AND THEN GOD LETS US FEEL HOW THAT WAS BEFORE THE FALL. BUT WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD AND WE SHOULD REMIND OURSELVES OF THAT AS WELL. OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN AND WE DON'T WANT TO FORGET THAT.

FOURTH JESUS SENDS US INTO THE WORLD. HE PRAYS THAT WE WILL BE PROTECTED FROM THE EVIL ONE, BUT HE STILL SENDS US OUT INTO A WORLD WHICH IS HOSTILE, WHICH BELIEVES THINGS WE DON'T, WHICH LAUGHS AT HIS TEACHINGS AND IGNORES HIS SACRIFICE. AND THE REASON IS SIMPLE, HE WANTS EACH OF HIS FOLLOWERS TO BRING GOD INTO EVERY THING THEY DO. SAINT JOHN TELLS US THAT WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS. AND IF WE LOVE, GOD IS THERE. HE GOES SO FAR AS TO SAY, GOD IS LOVE. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRINITY, THE BOND BETWEEN THE THREE PERSONS IS LOVE BEYOND ALL TELLING. AND JESUS CAME TO INVITE US INTO THIS RELATIONSHIP. ONLY LOVE WILL TRANSFORM THE WORLD, ONLY LOVE WILL BRING ABOUT THE NEW JERUSALEM. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, GOD LOVES THE WORLD – BUT HE WANTS TO PERFECT IT, TO TRANSFORM IT, TO MAKE IT THE KIND OF PLACE IN WHICH THE FATHER WANTS HIS CHILDREN TO LIVE. AND AS HE SHARES HIS TRINITARIAN LIFE WITH US, WE CAN TAP INTO THE LOVE AT THE HEART OF THE TRINITY, WHICH IS INEXHAUSTIBLE.

SO THE EARLY CHURCH GOT THE MESSAGE. THERE WERE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY IN THE DAYS JUST AFTER JESUS' DEATH. DESPITE PERSECUTION AND SECOND CLASS CITIZENSHIP, BY THE TIME CONSTANTINE LEGALIZED CHRISTIANITY, ABOUT ONE IN EVERY TEN CITIZENS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS A CHRISTIAN. CONSTANTINE MAY HAVE BEEN A CHRISTIAN HIMSELF, BUT I THINK ANY SENSIBLE EMPEROR WOULD HAVE SEEN THE WRITING ON THE WALL.

TODAY WE LIVE IN AN AGE WHERE WE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING INTIMIDATED. WE ARE TOLD NOT TO BRING OUR RELIGION INTO THE PUBLIC SQUARE; WE ARE ACCUSED OF BIGOTRY IF WE DON'T WANT OUR COUNTRY TO LEGALIZE SAME SEX MARRIAGE. WE ARE ACCUSED OF HATING WOMEN BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE WOMAN PRIESTS AND WE ARE AGAINST ABORTION. IT'S EASY TO WITHDRAW INTO OUR OWN WORLD AND HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO THINK LIKE WE DO.

BUT JESUS TELLS US, JUST AS HE TOLD THOSE FIRST FOLLOWERS, TO GO INTO THE WORLD AND BRING THEM LOVE, AND MAKE LOVE GROW, AND WHEN LOVE IS EVERYWHERE, ALL WILL BE ONE, WE WILL BE IN GOD AND GOD IN US, AND THE GREAT WORK JESUS STARTED WILL HAVE BEEN FINALLY BROUGHT TO COMPLETION.

Sixth Sunday in Easter, cycle B

JOHN 15:9-17

IN THE MIDDLE AGES SOME PEASANTS WERE GRADUALLY DIGGING A HOLE, LOADING THE DIRT INTO BASKETS AND HAULING IT OUT. THIS WAS HARD WORK AND NOT TERRIBLY INTERESTING, AND DIDN'T EVEN PAY VERY WELL – JUST ONE MEAL A DAY IN EXCHANGE FOR WORKING FROM DAWN TILL DUSK. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE PEASANTS REFLECTED THIS IN THEIR MANNER; THEY LOOKED UNHAPPY AND DEPRESSED, AND MOVED SLOWLY, EVEN AS THEIR OVERSEERS SHOUTED AND CRACKED WHIPS. BUT ONE MAN MOVED QUICKLY, HELD HIS HEAD UP, AND SEEMED TO BE BURSTING WITH GOOD SPIRITS. ONE OF THE PEASANTS ASKED HIM, HOW CAN YOU BE SO HAPPY DIGGING A HOLE? HE REPLIED, “YOU MAY BE DIGGING A HOLE, BUT I'M BUILDING A CATHEDRAL!”

WE ALL KNOW GOD LOVES EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, WHETHER WE ARE SAINTS OR SINNERS, WHETHER WE ARE CATHOLICS OR MUSLIMS, WHETHER WE ARE WOMEN OR MEN. AND HE LOVES US AS MUCH AS HE CAN LOVE, THERE IS NO HOLDING BACK. IT'S SAD THAT WE BASK IN THIS OVERWHELMING LOVE AND HARDLY ARE AWARE OF IT. BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT IS.

BUT JESUS TODAY OFFERS US HIS FRIENDSHIP. FRIENDSHIP IS NOT THE SAME AS LOVE, NOR IS FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS THE SAME AS LOVE FROM GOD. FRIENDSHIP FOR EVERYONE, GOD INCLUDED, IS CONDITIONAL. I CAN KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE, EVEN HAVE AFFECTION FOR THEM, BUT A REAL FRIEND IS SOMEONE WHO MEETS SOME DEEP NEED IN ME, AS I DO IN HIM OR HER. IF ONE OF US MEETS AN EXISTENTIAL NEED IN THE OTHER, BUT IT'S NOT RECIPROCATED, THEN THAT IS A RELATIONSHIP OF EXPLOITATION. FRIENDSHIP ONLY WORKS IF IT GOES BOTH WAYS.

SO WHAT ARE THESE DEEP NEEDS, THESE EXISTENTIAL NEEDS? DIFFERENT AUTHORS COUNT THEM DIFFERENTLY, BUT THEY HAVE TO DO WITH FIVE LEVELS – PHYSICAL NEEDS LIKE AIR AND FOOD; NEEDS HAVING TO DO WITH SECURITY AND SAFETY; NEEDS HAVING TO DO WITH LOVE AND BELONGING; NEEDS HAVING TO DO WITH OUR SENSE OF SELF-WORTH; AND NEEDS HAVING TO DO WITH SELF-ACTUALIZATION, USING OUR TALENTS TO THE FULLEST. IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS MET, YOU DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT SECURITY; IF YOU DON'T GET SECURITY AND SAFETY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LOVE AND BELONGING. IN OTHER WORDS, TO MEET THE NEEDS ON A GIVEN LEVEL REQUIRES THAT THEY HAVE BEEN MET, AT LEAST TO SOME DEGREE, ON THE PREVIOUS LEVEL. IF SOMEONE DOES NOT HAVE HIS NEEDS OF SELF-WORTH MET, HE ISN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE HIS TALENTS TO THE FULLEST. IF SOMEONE ISN'T LOVED, NO ONE CAN HELP HIS NEED FOR A SENSE OF SELF-WORTH.

JESUS HAS DONE ALL HE CAN TO MEET OUR EXISTENTIAL NEEDS. THROUGH HIS SACRIFICE, HE'S TAKEN AWAY THE THREAT OF DEATH. THROUGH HIS SACRAMENTS HE'S DEMONSTRATED HIS LOVE FOR US AND HIS BRINGING US INTO HIS OWN MYSTICAL BODY. THROUGH HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, HE'S SHOWN US THAT WE ARE WORTH HIS VERY LIFE; AND THROUGH HIS PROMISE OF GRACE, HE'S DEMONSTRATED THAT HE WILL GIVE US ALL WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US, WHICH IS REAL SELF-ACTUALIZATION. OF COURSE, SINCE THROUGH HIM ALL THINGS WERE CREATED, OUR VERY EXISTENCE IS SOMETHING JESUS MEETS IN US.

BUT FRIENDSHIP IS RECIPROCAL. IF WE ACCEPT ALL THAT JESUS DOES TO MEET OUR NEEDS, BUT DO NOTHING TO MEET HIS, THEN WE AREN'T HIS FRIENDS. WE ARE MORE LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN OR PETS. NOW THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH CHILDREN OR PETS, OR EVEN PEOPLE WHO SIMPLY ACCEPT WHAT JESUS HAS GIVEN THEM. WE CAN BASK IN HIS LOVE AND YET NEVER RESPOND TO HIS OWN NEEDS, THAT'S OUR CHOICE.

BUT, YOU SAY, WHAT POSSIBLE NEEDS DOES JESUS HAVE? HOW COULD GOD HAVE NEEDS? WELL, THAT IS A MYSTERY, BUT WE SEE A LOT OF HINTS IN SCRIPTURE; SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT “THOUGH HE WAS IN THE FORM OF GOD, HE DID NOT REGARD EQUALITY WITH GOD SOMETHING TO BE GRASPED. RATHER, HE EMPTIED HIMSELF,

TAKING THE FORM OF A SLAVE, COMING IN HUMAN LIKENESS; AND FOUND HUMAN IN APPEARANCE, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF, BECOMING OBEDIENT TO DEATH, EVEN DEATH ON A CROSS.” WHEN JESUS EMPTIED HIMSELF, HE NOW HAS NEEDS. HE SAYS “COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO LABOR, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.” HE SAYS, “MY MEAT AND DRINK IS TO DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER.” HE SAYS, “JERUSALEM, YOU WHO KILL THE PROPHETS AND STONE THOSE SENT TO YOU, HOW OFTEN I HAVE LONGED TO GATHER YOUR CHILDREN TOGETHER, AS A HEN GATHERS HER CHICKS UNDER HER WINGS, AND YOU WERE NOT WILLING.” AND THE BOTTOM LINE, I GUESS, IS THAT JESUS CAME TO THE EARTH TO LIVE WITH US, PRECISELY SO THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN COULD COME INTO EXISTENCE. BUT THAT IS OUR JOB, THAT IS WHERE WE COME IN. JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE HAS TOLD THEM EVERYTHING HE HAS HEARD FROM THE FATHER. AND YOU AND I HAVE HEARD ALL THAT AS WELL. EACH OF US KNOWS WHAT WE HAVE TO DO TO USHER IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WE'VE EACH BEEN GIVEN A SPECIAL GIFT, OR CHARISM, FOR THAT PURPOSE. BUT NOT MANY OF US DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. THOSE WHO DO, THOSE WHO SET OUT TO MAKE THE KINGDOM REAL, THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE FRIENDS OF JESUS, THE ONES WHO BEAR MUCH FRUIT.

IT SEEMS THAT AFTER JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, AN ANGEL APPROACHED HIM AND ASKED HOW THE WORK OF BUILDING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WAS COMING ALONG. JESUS SAID, WELL, I TOLD SOME FISHERMEN AND A TAX COLLECTOR AND A FEW WOMEN WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO, AND TOLD THEM TO TELL OTHERS, AND HOW TO COUNT ON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO HELP THEM, AND I'M HOPING IT WILL WORK. THE ANGEL REPLIED, “BUT SURELY YOU MUST HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN, BECAUSE BUILDING THE KINGDOM IS SO IMPORTANT.” JESUS REPLIED, “NO BACKUP PLAN.”

WHAT A WONDERFUL THING IT WOULD BE IF EVEN A FEW MORE CHRISTIANS WOULD DECIDE TO BE FRIENDS WITH JESUS, TO LOOK AROUND AND SEE HOW THEY COULD MAKE THE KINGDOM MORE REAL IN THEIR OWN LIVES AND CIRCUMSTANCES. HOW WONDERFUL IT WOULD BE IF WE COULD SEE THAT ALL THOSE THINGS WE DO EVERY DAY CAN BE MORE THAN JUST DIGGING A HOLE, BUT CAN BECOME PART OF BUILDING A GREAT CATHEDRAL.

WE WISH ALL THE MOTHERS OF SAINT MARY'S A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. LISTEN TO THE BLESSING THE CHURCH GIVES A MOTHER WHEN HER CHILD IS BAPTIZED: “GOD THE FATHER, THROUGH HIS SON, THE VIRGIN MARY'S CHILD, HAS BROUGHT JOY TO ALL CHRISTIAN MOTHERS, AS THEY SEE THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE SHINE ON THEIR CHILDREN. MAY HE BLESS THE MOTHER OF THIS CHILD. SHE NOW THANKS GOD FOR THE GIFT OF HER CHILD. MAY SHE BE ONE WITH HIM (HER) IN THANKING HIM FOR EVER IN HEAVEN, IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.” WHAT A TRULY MARVELOUS VOCATION IT IS TO BE A MOTHER.