April 22, 2018

4th Sunday of Easter B Acts 4: 8-12; 1 John 3: 1-2; John 10: 11-18 Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. It has come about because in each liturgical cycle (Years A, B, and C) the Gospel of the fourth Sunday of Easter is always taken from the tenth chapter of St. John’s Gospel where Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd. So many people of all religious backgrounds love Psalm 23, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’. So many families choose either Psalm 23 to be sung or recited at the funeral of a loved one and or a passage from the tenth chapter of John’s gospel. Do we fully understand what these Scriptures mean? The psalmist portrays God’s loving care under the figure of a shepherd for the flock and continues with one as a host’s generosity toward a guest. We can see more clarification in Isaiah 39: 10 - 11. “Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by His strong arm; Here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him, Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, and leading the ewes with care.” So how does God care for us? In Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, both God and the leaders of the people are called shepherds. Exodus several times calls Yahweh a shepherd. God called Moses from shepherding his father-in-laws flock to be leader of the people set free from Egypt. Both Isaiah and Ezekiel compare God’s care and protection of His people to that of a shepherd. Jeremiah gives a warning, “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture…you have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.” (Jeremiah 23: 1-3) Does my God reflect His absolute total care and love for all people? Do I respond with the same attitude of constant and consistent love? A constant ‘Good Shepherd’ theme is that God knows me individually all the time and is overflowing in His love. There is a wonderful story told by Tony Campolo an American sociologist and Baptist pastor of a census taker who went to very poor home in mountains of West Virginia to gather information. He asked the mother of many, “How many dependents do you have?” She began, “Well, theres is Rosie, and Billy, and Lewella, Susie, Harry and Jeffery. There’s Johnny, and Harvey and our dog, Willie.” The census taker responded, “No ma’am, that’s not necessary I only need the humans.” She said, “Well there is Rosie, and Billy, and Lewella, Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey, Johnny and Harvey, and…” The census person again stopped her, “I don’t need their names, I just need the number.” Then she gave the perfect answer in understanding the Good Shepherd as being a loving God, “But I don’t know them by numbers. I only know them by name.” God knows my name. Have I ever asked God what is the name He calls me? Why not? He loves me that much! In the Gospel, Jesus introduces Himself as the Good Shepherd and He tells us three things about His role as the Good Shepherd. 1) His sheep recognizes His voice. Did I ever imagine when I speak to God, I don’t have to say His name or mine…He just knows me? In the same way just as any one of us can recognize a loved one’s voice as soon as they hear them on the phone and or our children far away in the playground. I know mine and God knows me. 2) “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep.” God loves me that much. This is a constant theme throughout John’s gospel. Do I view myself as that important to God? 3) God totally desires that all follow Him, “There are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well.” All are welcomed, all are loved? Does my love for others know limits? Do I pick and choose who is important and who receives my love? We’ve heard so much of this before, but lets take a different approach; we call God, Jesus the Good Shepherd. At the heart of His being a good shepherd is His relationship to His sheep. Jesus knows His sheep and they know Him. This ‘knowledge’ is about the intimate relationship Jesus has with each person. Do I allow this intimacy or do I turn God off’? Jesus is also the model of what each person is to be as His followers. THIS IMPLIES strongly that there are those who do not model Jesus…do not live the life of what a person of care, love and forgiveness is all about. These are bad shepherds. Every person becomes a good shepherd by loving those entrusted to them. This includes parents, teachers and everyone who is put in the position of caring. We are to pray for them, spend time with them, share our talents with them and guard them from physical, emotional and spiritual harm. How am I a bad shepherd? Good question! I ask another one, Am I a BAD shepherd to anyone in my life? Do I not listen? Do I refuse to help? Do I not give a hand to those in need? Do I turn them off because of some habit or idiosyncrasy that turns me off? Do I feel they are not as good as me? Do I treat each person I encounter each day with the respect, kindness and care that I would like given to me? Am I open to embrace the most despicable people? In the Gospel we can hear Jesus describing those who are called to be Shepherds but are bad ones. They are the ones who cause harm to His sheep including thieves, robbers, strangers and hired workers. In this gospel, Jesus is specifically condemning the Pharisees who had just ‘excommunicated’ the blind man because of his belief in Jesus. (John 9:34). These Pharisees also had ‘no concern for the sheep” (John 10:13) Then we come to the major detail in describing the Good Shepherd…Jesus as the Good Shepherd…God is the Good Shepherd. NO shepherd would sacrifice himself/herself for their livestock. They have others to protect. If they couldn’t stop the intruder they would have to protect those still able to being ‘saved’. But Jesus isn’t an ordinary shepherd. He has the power to lay down His life and to take it up again. “This is why the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” Out of total love, Jesus gave His all for me and for each one to let us know God’s love and to fill us with His saving love and redemption. Am I on the same page that Jesus is on? Do I realize that I have been saved so that I can live His gospel of love? Do I realize that I am that important to God? Do I realize that His love and the Spirit’s grace is all that I need? So I reflect on: • Why do I believe in God? Why do I believe in Jesus? • Who is Jesus? What is my relationship with Him? • Why do I think that God came to earth as a human being like me? Why did Jesus die for me? • How do I recognize the voice of the Shepherd in my life? • When have I wanted to run away when a ‘wolf’ attacked? What did I do? How did I feel? • How often do I think of myself as God’s child? How does it affect my lifestyle? Sacred Space 2018 states: “Sunday reminds us that we do not come to God alone; our worship draws us into community and identifies us as sheep of the Good Shepherd. Being thought of as ‘sheep’ does not demean us, but rescues us from thinking too much of ourselves. Jesus calls us to humility and trust, cautioning us against those who work only for what they get and warning against whatever might snatch or scatter us. The shepherd keeps the sheep in view, regarding them and seeing beyond them. I ask God for the humility I need, that I might listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd, allowing Him to lead me, and trusting that He is leading others too—even if it is in ways I don’t understand.”

April 15, 2018

Third Sunday of Easter B Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2: 1-5; Luke 24: 35-48 Today is tax day. It has been engrained into our minds. Some view it with fear…some with what can I do to get away with paying what I don’t want to…Is Uncle Sam after me? My mom was born 4/15/03…I would kid her in later years saying, ‘Mom, you’re the reason we have taxes.’ She never responded to this, just smiled. The theme of the readings today could put us in an uncomfortable position by asking how we view ourselves in God’s sight. Do we consider ourselves sinners or saints? Franciscan Media’s Sunday Homily Helps for today starts out with an Attention-Getter which does exactly that…it made me think in writing todays thoughts. “Are you a sinner or a saint? Perhaps both because each of us is probably a sinner and a saint. Scripture says ‘All sin and fall short of the glory of God.’ All means everyone—you and me. The holiest saints see their own imperfections.” Then it asks, “What image does our parish project? Are we a hotel for saints, a hospital for sinners, or a service station where we get filled up to spread the gospel? These are fantastic questions…When I go to Church: What am I in need of? What is being offered? What is God saying to me? How do I realize His love and live the life of love as His follower? I found that the readings drew me into very serious questions: do I take my need for repentance for granted? Do I presume just a little too much on the mercy of God? Peter in the Acts of the Apostles sets the scene. Jesus has risen and ascended. The Spirit has been promised and has come. On Pentecost, Peter explained what has happened. The people asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers? Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call..” (Acts 2: 37-39) After this Peter went to the temple area and healed a man crippled from birth. Then Peter spoke the words that we heard in the first reading. How poignant they are: God loved Jesus whom “you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presence when he had decided to release Him.” What does this do to me? Often I picture myself as going along with the crowd…the crowd shouted out for Barabbas’ release and Jesus’ death. Would I have shouted this…ran away or what? “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you…Now I know that you acted out of ignorance…Repent, therefore and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” Do I feel that this was their sin and not mine? Peter offered this explanation not to condemn his audience but to offer them the forgiveness of sins. This is why Jesus died…to show us God’s immense love and the redemption of the human race, me among them. What am I doing with this? In the second reading, John tells me that God wants to have a relationship with each person. We are asked to believe the truth about Jesus and live according to that truth. John gets specific, “The way we may be sure that we know Him is to keep His commandments. Those who say, ‘I know Him,’ but do not keep His commandment are liars, and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps His word, the love of God is truly perfected in them.” Reflecting on these two readings could make us uncomfortable. That is good. Each person is a person God created in love. God wants each person to know that they are loved. Now this is more than ‘nice’ words. They demand action…these are words that are to be lived. Am I a person of love as Jesus taught? Today’s Gospel from Luke makes reference to the disciples' previous experience with the risen Lord on the way to Emmaus. Today’s passage echoes what happened at Emmaus: 1) The risen Jesus appears miraculously bestowing the gift of peace. The disciples are terrified and unbelieving. 2) Jesus explains the Scriptures, how this all fits in and has always been God’s plan. 3) Jesus eats in front of His disciples confirming that He is alive and not a ghost. 4) The entire Christ event including His life, suffering, teachings, death and resurrection is part of the grand plan of God. Now God has commissioned the apostles, His followers, you and me to extend this work to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. We are to spread the Good News of God’s love. Am I living my role as apostle of Jesus? The image from Homily Helps made me stop and think. Asking what my parish is all about: is it a hotel for saints, a hospital for sinners, or a service station? I go to a hotel for rest and relaxation. I expect everything to be nice and clean. I expect service to be friendly and accommodating. I do not do any work…I am waited on…I don’t expect to be active…I’m a guest…I do not have a relationship with the people…I am better than that. Is this how I view my Church? Is this how I view the people who come to worship? Is this how I view my role as a priest celebrant? When I view the church as a hospital for sinners I come because I need forgiveness. All three readings talk of the mercy and forgiveness that God wants to give. All that is necessary is that I recognize my sins which are continual and ask for God’s forgiveness. How do I expect to be forgiven if I don’t ask? Is my church open to all who ask for forgiveness regardless of wealth, race or sexual orientation? Do I come for a spiritual ‘fill-up’? Do I come to church as a priest, or you as a participant in need? Do we come to worship? Do we come to get cleaned up in the penitential rite? Do we come to be filled with the Spirit? Do we come to share Christ with fellow believers? Do we then go out and bring Christ to others, to be Christ to others? So very often I take so much for granted. Today’s readings made me stop…reflect…and then make a plan for what I will do next. So I reflect on: • How do I see myself: sinner, forgiven a bit, or both, or…? • How can I participate in Mass with a greater awareness of God’s saving love? • Whenever Resurrection is experienced, true love is present IF I see myself as I really am and confront my failings. Also am I compassionate and forgive with hope and understanding? • One definition of a sinner is one who keeps on trying. DO I? • Homily Helps concludes, “The Eucharist is the best medicine. Jesus says that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood will have eternal life. There is no greater healing than this, and it is ours right here in this Mass—where saints and sinners are one.” Sacred Space 2018 shares: “‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you.’ Jesus has already spoken many words to me. But do I remember? Do I take them to heart? Jesus wants repentance and forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed—this is the astounding, world-changing news. Today I will ponder how to communicate to others the transformative power of repentance and forgiveness.

April 8, 2018

Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4: 32-35; 1 John 5: 1-6; John 20: 19-31 Today’s image of the Apostle Thomas looms as one of the focal points in the Gospel. Why did John feel that this was an important event to include in his Gospel? The three evangelists tell of different resurrection appearances of Jesus but only John includes what happened when Jesus appeared to Thomas. It is good to go back and review what had happened. The very first words of the Gospel spells out John’s concern. “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews…” The apostles were afraid. No doubt they were afraid that the same thing that happened to Jesus would happen to them. They heard of the shouting crowd screaming for Jesus’ crucifixion. They had seen the horrible beatings and torture that the Roman soldiers had enjoyed giving to this condemned prisoner. The soldiers used their cruelty as a deterrent to future so-called Messiah’s. They spared nothing. The apostles were so frightened that they had all stayed together and locked themselves in the Upper Room. Would my faith have been shattered? Would I want to run but knew I could never escape the inevitable rage of the Roman soldiers and the Jews who were instigators of Jesus’ death? The big question: What does it take for me to believe? The disciples ran away, they left Jesus, abandoned Him. They doubted what He said, they had no faith in Him being their Messiah, they do doubt doubted themselves and their own religious faith and wondered if they would ever see their loved ones again. What to do now? And Jesus took it all in His hands. “Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.” What did His appearance mean to them? Jesus didn’t come in anger…He didn’t bawl them out…He didn’t ridicule them. He brought them into Himself. They experienced that they were loved. “Peace be with you.” What does that mean? It might be assumed that it is an ordinary greeting. It goes back to the Last Supper and Jesus. He starts off in the fourteenth chapter by saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me…” Then he goes on to explain how He will send the Holy Spirit to be with them and us constantly. The Spirit will lead us, inspire us, will help us say and do what is required to be people of love. Jesus continues this in John 14:27 , “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard Me tell you ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you love Me you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.” Now they knew that they were reconciled with God. They felt this individually and also as a community of believers and Jesus gives them the gift of peace. Their faith was restored, centering on their love relationship with Jesus and with God. Luke describes this in today’s section from Acts of the Apostles by saying “The community of believers was of one heart and mind…with great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus… there was no needy person among them.” Peter and John had just been released from jail and they offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Today’s passage follows and it seems that the description of the Early Church was very idealistic. They were committed to prayer, listening to the Spirit’s promptings and responding to the care of others. Just as they have experienced reconciliation through Jesus they were now sent out to do and be the same to the world. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you…Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” All believers are called by God into forgiveness and are sent as reconcilers. When Jesus appeared to them in that locked room, the Apostles saw and believed. This wasn’t enough for Thomas, He needed more. He needed to touch Jesus in the same way that the early church people needed proof that they were loved. The Chinese proverb comes to play, “You give a poor man a fish and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.” To embrace God’s gift of peace entails both the personal response of reconciliation and the social commitment to building communities of justice, peace, caring, forgiving that totally embrace love. People come to believe by observing how I act and how I live my faith. They know when and how I am living the command of love. They definitely know when I am not living love. When people encounter my love, coupled with my caring, forgiveness and compassion they encounter the deep peace that is God’s gift to us through Jesus. This isn’t easy. Thomas was no more a doubter than were the others. When he say what they had seen he was a rejoiced believer, “My Lord and My God.” Cardinal Joseph Bernadine was the Archbishop of Chicago. He died from pancreatic cancer. During his last years he grew so much stronger amid a string of traumatic events: a false accusation of sexual abuse; reconciliation later with his accuser who made up the charges. He wrote a book called A Gift of Peace detailing the last three years of his life. His words fit in perfectly today, “Through my spiritual journey I have struggled to become closer to God…One theme that rises to the surface more than any other takes one meaning for me now—the theme of letting go. To close the gap between what I am and what God wants of me, I must empty myself and let Jesus comes in and take over. I have prayed to understand His agenda for me. Some things stand out. He wants me to focus on the essentials of His message and way of life rather than on the accidentals that needlessly occupy so much of our time and efforts. One can easily distinguish essentials from peripherals in the spiritual life. Essentials ask us to give true witness and to love others more. Non essentials close us in on ourselves. It is unsettling to pray to be emptied of self; it seems a challenge almost beyond our reach as humans. But if we try, I have learned, God does most of the work I must simply let myself go in love and trust of the Lord. When the hand of God’s purpose enters my life, however, it is usually not from the front, as I have always expected but from the side, in murmurs and whispers and not only surprise but soon empty me beyond anything I could imagine.” So I reflect on: • How does my life show others the I have received the Holy Spirit? • What does it take for me to believe that my faith makes a difference? • Am I a reconciler? • Am I a peace builder? Sacred Space 2018 states: “Here we are shown twice how Jesus breaks into the lives of His friends. Can He break in on me? Where am I in these scenes? Am I hesitant like Thomas? Am I looking for some sign before committing myself to the fact that I am living in a new world, the world of the Resurrection? I let Jesus whisper to me, ‘You will be blessed if you decide to believe!’ To believe in Him is to give my heart to Him, not just my head. It is not too demanding to do this, because He has already given His heart to me,”

April 1, 2018

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord Acts 10: 34, 37-43; 1 Corinthians 5: 6-8; John 20: 1-9 Jesus is risen, as He said; let us rejoice and be glad! What does this mean to me? Am I a believing person? Do I usually need proof before I believe? Do I trust people when they tell me things? What kind of person do I trust? How do I know when to trust them? This is the perfect day and setting to think about my trust level and the people I can trust. Why do I say this? Re-read today’s scriptures and see if you can figure this out. The bottom line is that no one actually saw the Resurrection. Today’s readings tell of the people who saw the empty tomb. I’m sure many others came and looked for themselves to see if they were telling the truth. But no one actually saw the Resurrection. What does that do to my faith? Do I need proof to believe? What do I need to put my trust in people who have witnessed an event, but not first hand? I have to trust them, and I have to know the type of people they are: are they reliable, are they truthful, do they like to embellish things or do they ‘tell like it is’? In today’s readings we are told of the three witnesses to the Resurrection: Mary Magdala, and the apostles Peter and John. Peter shares his story in the Acts of the Apostles and John explains the finding of the empty tomb in his Gospel. In the second reading, Paul tells his readers to focus on things above, things that matter. He shares with the Corinthians that they are to ‘clear out the old yeast’ - how they used to think. Now that Jesus has risen from the dead, what He preached and promised is true. Now We must live what He told us, love as He told us and show how important it is that God loves us and calls each of us to love. So do I live and love as a believer of God, as a person called to be Jesus to all I meet and live with? The first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles and starts in the middle of the tenth chapter. Actually to understand what has happened we need to go back to the start of the chapter. Cornelius was a Roman centurion and a Gentile who was “…devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly.” He had a vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius…your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God. Now send some men to Joppa and summon one Simon who is called Peter.” Peter also had a vision to prepare him to share the food of Cornelius’ household without any qualms of conscience. The next day the two met: a Gentile and a Jewish believer. Peter said, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean. And that is why I came without objection when sent for.” Cornelius shared his vision and we begin today’s account. Peter starts with a review of the wonderful events beginning in Galilee with John the Baptist’s preaching and ends with Jesus’ death. Peter is privileged to share the miracles and healing, the preaching and good works of Jesus. For all of this good Jesus did, he wad condemned to death, but God’s plan was to show that death is not the end. God raised Jesus. Peter and others witnessed the empty tomb and the appearances of Jesus. “He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that He is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name.” John’s account describes the discovery of the empty tomb of Jesus by three people, Mary Magdala, Peter and John the apostle. Each witnessed the empty tomb but they did not interpret their experience in the same way. Mary is the first and she comes alone. She sees that the stone that had sealed the tomb had been removed. She doesn’t look inside. Her initial reaction was that the body had been stolen so she ran to tell Peter and John that Jesus’ body is missing and she doesn’t know where it is. John comes first but doesn’t go in; Peter goes in and sees the burial clothes including the head covering set apart and neatly rolled up. It doesn’t not say anything about Peter’s reaction. It tells us that John “saw and believed.” Was everything beginning to make sense? Not really, we can’t come to this conclusion yet. Jesus predicted His resurrection, it had now happened. The Gospel is asking each of us what we think and believe about the Resurrection of Jesus. How easy is the death of a loved one? It is a powerful experience, whether it is sudden or expected. We are never ready for it. Our culture wants to deny death…we hear these words, maybe said them ourselves, ‘He/she looks so peaceful…they just look like they are sleeping.’ Death is a reality. What is after death? The Resurrection is a mystery and cannot be analyzed or proven. Many are uncomfortable with mystery, yet mystery is a part of our every day life. The witnesses needed something more - a personal encounter with the Risen Christ. They did receive this in the many Resurrection appearances. The Resurrection is a sign that God can be trusted. God didn’t abandon Jesus, nor does God abandon us. Suffering and death now have a meaning in and through faith in Jesus. We heard about the witnesses and today we are the witnesses by how we live as Jesus taught us. Am I living that way? Faith Catholic summarizes it this way. “If the Gospel message ended at the cross, you and I would not be here today. The stories about all the good works, all the miracles, all the teachings of Jesus would be collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. Oh, He would have been seen as a wonderful and compassionate prophet, but He would not be seen as He is today, as the glorified and risen Son of the living God. Every day, we have a decision to make as followers of the Risen One. Each day, we must decide whether we will be observed helping to roll the stone away or trying to keep the stone still in front of the tomb. By our actions — by our witness in the workplace, in our homes and among our neighbors — are we fools for Christ, or do we hang back and let someone else do the heavy lifting? Last night, all round the world, the universal Church grew by leaps and bounds as thousands of new Catholics were welcomed among us as they celebrated the Easter sacraments. Now, on the most sacred of days, each of us will renew our baptismal promises. Once again, we will reject evil and embrace the living God. Let us not doubt, let us not be perplexed. Let us instead come, peer deep inside the empathy tomb, and believe. Alleluia.” So I reflect on: • When have I encountered the risen Christ? • What special memories do I have of family Easters in my childhood? What family traditions did we have? • When did I come to appreciate the significance of Easter? Alleluia, Christ is Risen. Let us rejoice and be glad!