June 1, 2014

I have had the privilege down through the years to spend time with people who are in their last days. As I look back on them I find myself understanding today’s Gospel from a deeper level. Let me take some moments to express the messages these special people engraved on me.
My sister-in-law died of cancer. I was with her and my brother and their children the last five days of her life; her parents were there too. At first she could walk a little, and then she stayed in the hospital bed at home under the wonderful care of hospice. She gathered us all together and said that she would like to spend time with each one quietly ‘just to talk’. These were moments I have never forgotten and I think I speak for the others too. When my time came Susie did a little bit of reminiscing and then she said ‘I would like to talk about you, the things I like and where I hope you grow.’ We both cried and I have grown closer to the Lord through her words and her love.
I remember two other wonderful ladies who were both bedridden for a long time and who were slowly being drained of energy. But their love for life and those around them filled their rooms with specialness almost like an aroma of God and holiness. They didn’t know each other, although they lived only a few miles apart. I visited with them every week for their last few months and then every other day. They asked what heaven was like, how they would see God and their joyful expectation that this meeting would be. I remember during one week I told each of them, “when you get to heaven, put in a good word for me.’ They both said, and this was a little scary, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell God all about you.” I said, ‘Now wait a minute, not everything, just the good things’ and they both smiled.
In looking back on my priestly ministry, these moments with these three women along with the many others in their last moments have been like catching a glimpse of God with each one adding to the tapestry of how much God loves them, me and every person. Death is a time that worries us and that we are never prepared for, yet it is a time to capture the love and the call of each one of us to heaven. This is what Jesus is telling us in the Gospel.
This is called the ‘High Priestly Prayer of Jesus’. The scene is the Last Supper room and Jesus has just completed a long discourse to his disciples that John recounts in chapters 13-16. Now Jesus just starts praying to the Father. And one wonders how did John know what Jesus prayed to His Father; wasn’t He praying in private? Well, from the text it’s very clear that Jesus wasn’t praying by Himself or in silence. He just stopped what He was talking about and started talking to His Father. In each of my visits to the three women and others, people have just stopped talking to me and started praying beautiful words from their hearts to God. My hunch is that Jesus wanted His disciples to hear this prayer and after reflection, they needed to hear these words. And I need to hear His words.
“And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to You.” The ‘they’ Jesus is talking about is you and me, not simply the apostles and those who were close to Jesus and those who followed Him. And in re-reading this passage from John, it is beautifully evident the confidence that Jesus has. It’s like He is telling His Father that ‘I’m coming home but I’m leaving this world in very good hands...these people I have chosen and called know about You and Your love and they are ready and willing and able to do the work I have called them to do.’ That is confidence...supreme confidence...divine confidence. It’s not scary but it’s something that we know...that Jesus is behind us each step of the way, so there is no need to be afraid. He left us with the Spirit of Truth to help us live this life. How blessed we are.

Fr. Tony Kanavil expresses it this way, “If you’ve ever been asked what religion you are I’m sure you quickly answered ‘Catholic’. It rolls off our tongues so effortlessly. But do we ever really stop to think what we mean when we say ‘Catholic’ or ‘Christian’? You see, our faith is not a label, or a title, or some kind of club. In a certain sense, when we say we are ‘Catholic’ we are actually stating a kind of ‘job description’. Even the Creed which we profess each week is not simply a collection of faith statements, but is sort of a launching pad for all those things that necessarily follow because of those beliefs.

Discipleship is the same. When we say that we are followers of Jesus it doesn’t mean that we kind of like Him or respect Him in some ways or hope to be a little bit like Him. It means that He is our Lord. And therefore it also means that we are signing up for and stepping into a particular job that seems (on the surface) impossible to fulfill --- the work of Jesus. And we’re following someone who was (to put it mildly) ‘great’ at the ‘job’ (if you’ll permit me to use that kind of language). And that can be pretty intimidating, frightening, and discouraging.

Yet, this is not a situation in which we are being set up to fail. God knows us and knows what we are capable of. And that should give us strength and consolation and confidence in work that is before us.” And God never lies; Jesus said that He would never leave us alone but would fill us with the Spirit who helps us and sends people to help us and guide us. So I reflect on:

• What is my role as a Christian in my world today?
  
• Does the fact that I am child of God make a difference in my life?
  
• Do I believe that all people are children of God, even those who do not know God?
  
• Do I believe that all Christians, regardless of denomination are called to the same ministry of teaching sanctifying and serving all around them?
  
• Do I realize that Jesus sends me just the way that I am, recognizing my hesitations and weaknesses and doubts?
  
• Jesus said, ‘I am with you always’. How do these resonate with me today? Do I think He is only with me when I want Him to be?

May 25, 2014

6^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21
Sometimes at this time of year, I get into a little bit of a ‘funk’. I’m really ready for summer, but there is much to do before it comes. I have a need to get away and relax, but vacation time isn’t even planned yet and I’m not sure when it will happen. With Memorial Day this weekend I’m remembering, honoring really, the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally this was known as Decoration Day and it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. I am remembering the prayer services I have been privileged to be a part of in various cemeteries and memorials.
A special day I will remember was when I went to the memorial service in Waterloo, New York, which the federal government declared the birthplace of Memorial Day. This community first celebrated this on May 5, 1866—it was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
The readings deal today with remembering with a tinge of worrying and hoping against hope. The Acts of the Apostles continues its description of the early church and its worried growth. After the martyrdom of Stephen persecutions started in and around Jerusalem and many believers had to flee for their lives. It doesn’t seem that the early leaders were ready for what happened. The ones who fled wanted to be taken care of and to continue to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus and The Way. Today’s first reading shows Philip who was a Greek speaking Jewish Christian going to Samaria to preach about Jesus being the Messiah. The miracles he performed brought these former Jewish haters into the faith and Philip baptized them. Then John and Peter came and administered the sacrament of Confirmation that only the apostles could administer in those early years.
So the question that continued was how were they to live as Christians in a very hostile world, the question for every age and place. Msgr. Chet Michael feels that J.B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English best translates the letters in the New Testament. For today’s passage it reads, “You need neither fear men’s threats nor worry about them; simply concentrate on being completely devoted to Christ in your hearts. Be ready at any time to give a quiet and reverent answer to any man who wants a reason for the hope that you have within you. Make sure that your conscience is perfectly clear, so that if men should speak slanderously of you as rogues they may come to feel ashamed of themselves for abusing you for your good Christian behavior. For it is the will of God that you should suffer it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Remember that Christ the just suffered for us the unjust, to bring us to God.” Do I live realizing that God is in me and needs to be seen by those with whom I come into contact with each day even if it involves some inconvenience or even ‘hurting’ on my part?
The Gospel continues with Jesus’ last teaching discourse to the apostles at the Last Supper; Jesus knew that His announcement that He was leaving would scare the apostles; yet their love for Him would overcome their fear and give way to hope and joy. He would never leave them alone...He never has left me alone...He leaves no one alone. And since He never leaves me or anyone alone He fills us through the Spirit with absolutely everything that I need and each person’s needs every moment of our lives. Do I go to God with my needs...Do I trust God...Do I allow God to be God to me and love me?
There is an old story that tells of a father saying goodbye to his daughter. I don’t know who wrote it but I saw this in Connections: “The father says, ‘I love you, honey, and I wish you enough.’ The daughter hugs her dad again, ‘Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.’ A person overheard this conversation and asked the father what this ‘I wish you enough meant’? The father responded, “I’m old and my daughter lives far away. It’s getting harder for me...and the reality is that her next trip home will be for my funeral. The saying has been handed down in my family for generations. My parents used to say it to everyone. When we said I wish you enough, we wanted the other person to have a life with just enough good things to sustain them. Then he recited the blessing from memory:

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest joy may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.’”

I reflect on:

• So I realize that the Resurrection miracle is God’s assurance that I will always have:

‘enough’ love to give,

‘enough’ forgiveness to ask for and give.

‘enough’ incentive to continue on no matter what loss or catastrophe I face

knowing that God is with me, loving and helping.

• How would I live my life differently if I were fully confident that I had the Spirit of God beside me as my Helper?
• Through my actions how can I reveal the Father to others? The Holy Spirit? Jesus?
• Philip preached and ministered to the unpopular people of Samaria. Do I avoid or realize that I am gifted to help those the Lord puts in my way?
• Love is present in my actions more than my words. Do I rely on my own resources or do I turn to God who always promises His help?

May 18, 2014

5^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 6:1-7; 1 Peter 2: 4-9; John 14:1-12

It is an interesting set of readings the Church has chosen for reflection today. The first reading takes up a consideration in the early Church that the disciples never imagined, the tremendous growth of people coming into the Church. They didn’t even imagine that they were now an organization, and they had to get organized. The ones who first followed Jesus were Jewish Christians. Since they lived in the Holy Land they followed the rituals and traditions more rigidly than those Jewish people who lived outside of Israel. The term used for them was ‘Diaspora’, a Greek word that means ‘scattered.’ These Diaspora Jewish people were much more sympathetic to the Roman-Greek culture. The early followers of Jesus were Jewish, and now Gentiles were joining The Way, an early title of the Church. This would lead to all sorts of clashes especially involved around the question: should these Gentile converts become Jewish and then become Christian? Paul and Peter were heading for a showdown over this issue. Today’s problem was much more immediate: how are we to care for the widows and poor who were in desperate need of food and sustenance for survival; this gave birth to the diaconate.
Now this community had to get organized and today’s second reading reflects a community that was beginning to understand who they were and what they are about and how they are to live as followers of Jesus. Peter uses Old Testament terms to help these early Christians identify who they are and how they are connected to Scriptures. They are a chosen race (Isaiah 43:20-21) a royal priesthood and consecrated nation (Exodus 19:6) a people claimed by God (Malachi 3:17). They are not a ‘new religion’ bursting on the scene but a completion of the prophecies in the Old Testament according to the eternal plan of God.
Now the Gospel is from the Last Supper discourses of Jesus after He had washed the feet of the apostles. Jesus knows that His passion and death He has been predicting is very close. The apostles are still out in the cold and Jesus wants to prepare them for some pretty important things about Himself and His mission and how they are to carry out their part in God’s plan. They need to know about His love and compassion so that they can be people of love and compassion. Their mission is about God and God’s plan for salvation of the world and not for their own glory or recognition. They are to be witnesses of Jesus in other words they are to be Jesus and take on His outlook and His priorities. They are having a problem with this; they don’t understand God’s role and Jesus says, “If you know Me, then you will also know My Father. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him”...you have seen Him in Me...I and the Father are one.”

Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings gives a beautiful analysis of the disciples’ plight and an important message for me and Christians. “The departure of Jesus would have felt like a death to His community of friends no matter how it came about. The actual circumstances were brutal and shocking but no matter how long folks like Thomas and Philip had to prepare to become the body of Christ themselves, it would not have seemed long enough. Up to the final hours, they were still asking questions that betrayed their lack of understanding. No matter how many anchors of truth Jesus dropped into their laps about turning over the ship to them, these guys were not even dreaming of taking over the daily operation of Church, Inc.

We may be tempted to find the ignorance of the first disciples faintly absurd given our knowledge of the rest of the story. But the truth is we’re now in the same position they were. The Church is in our hands, and it’s time for us to cast off on the next leg of this journey. How willing are we to accept this responsibility? Are we still waiting for someone else to determine what the next course should be?”
Jesus is preparing His disciples for His own return to the Father. He knows that they are sheep in front of wolves so He encourages them and gives them direction. He talks about the ‘many dwelling places’ in His Father’s house. The King James Version uses ‘mansions’ instead of dwelling places. This certainly gives the indication of some sort of luxurious rewards being prepared for all the followers of Jesus. Now this is not a reference to heaven. St Thomas Aquinas said that when Jesus uses the term ‘His Father’s House’ it is really a metaphor for God. Living the Word says so poignantly, “Our destiny is not to live in any created dwelling place, but to share in the life of the eternal God. It is by dwelling in the ‘spiritual house’ of the Christian community on earth—through worship and mutual love—that we come to dwell with God in eternity.”
With this in mind I have to reflect and continually ask myself all sorts of questions as I live as a follower of Jesus:

• What part do I play in building up the body of Christ?
  
• Am I showing people that I am trying to be Jesus each day by the way I live and the compassion, love and mercy that I show?
  
• Do I feel that all I need to do is spend time on my prayers and devotions and that this is enough?
  
• Do I feel that my love and caring can be selective and when I have time?
  
• When it is difficult to have faith in Jesus do I just go into a shell and say ‘Maybe this part of the message isn’t for me?’
  

My final point for reflection is from Preaching to Adults, Teens, and Children
“The sublime and perfect unity of the Father and the Son is beyond human understanding. Jesus lives on a different plane, one not readily apparent to His followers, particularly Philip. Yet Jesus invites us to live in union with Him and thereby experience the love the Father has for Him and that He has for the Father. The ‘way’ to do that is simple and profound: Love one another.”

May 11, 2014

4^th Sunday of Easter

Acts 2: 14, 36-41; 1 Peter 2, 20-25; John 10: 1-10
One of the confusing topics in my early study of the Old Testament was from the Book of Exodus where God calls Moses from the middle of the burning bush. Moses was very skeptical admitting that he wasn’t very talented. Break Through; the Bible for Young Catholics gives an ‘interview’ with Moses asking “Why do you think God chose you to lead the people out of Egypt?” Moses responded, “You know, that’s something I never could figure out. I’m not a good public speaker. I’m not very brave. I killed a man, a soldier who was beating a slave, and had to run away and hide. I was really afraid. I certainly didn’t want to go back to Egypt. I pleaded with God to send someone else. I guess God must have seen something in me that I couldn’t.” Then Moses asks God if the Israelites want to know ‘who is this God of our ancestors who sent you to free us... what is His name...what do I say?’ Then is the classic confusing response: “God replied, “I am who am.” Then He added, ‘This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”
This “I AM”: is the source of the word Yahweh, the proper personal name of the God of Israel. The Dictionary of the Bible says this: “the God of Israel is called by His personal name more frequently than by all other titles combined; the name not only identified the person, it revealed His character. This name is now pronounced Yahweh by scholars; the true pronunciation of the name as lost during Judaism when a superstitious fear of the name prevented its enunciation. In its’ place was read Adonai, “Lord”; the combination in writing of the consonants YHWH and the vowels of Adonai, a-o-a, created the hybrid Jehovah of the English Bibles.” The Septuagint versions translated it “He who is” and the Vulgate as “I am who am.”
Jesus uses “I AM” a number of times and each one saying that He is identifying Himself as God. When Moses asked for God’s name (Exodus 3:14) God replied, “I am who I am”. Today Jesus says “I AM the gate for the sheep.” In John 6:35 Jesus says I AM the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.’ In John 8:12 “I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” In John 10:11, “I AM the good shepherd.” in John 11:25 “I AM the resurrection and the life; who believes in Me, even if he dies will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” in John 15:1 “I AM the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does He prunes so that it bears more fruit.”The importance of these statements in John’s gospel today is that Jesus uses a series of “I AM” statements to explain His identity.
So what is the purpose of all this; it might be good to ask other questions like: ‘ Who takes care of me...who protects me...who has my concern totally in heart...who is with me always....who is leading me...loving me....caring for me? In Jesus’ time shepherds were very common. They protected their flocks. The flock that Jesus is talking about is not a bunch of sheep, but a group of people...His people. Jesus is saying that He will do anything to protect His people...to bring them together as His family. He is saying that He loves everyone so much that He will die for each and everyone. He comes to deliver this message of total love from the Father. So how am I aware of this Shepherd? Jesus asks if I am listening to and heeding the voice of the Shepherd. The sheep are being characterized as discerning listeners very attuned to the voice of their master. Since they are so attentive they are able to tell the ‘true shepherd’ from the thief who only wants to steal, slaughter and destroy the sheep. The question that is being asked is am I listening to God’s voice? Am I paying attention to this love and call of the Lord? How can I tell if it is the voice of God?
Connections say this, “Every day so many voices shout at us, assault us, demand from us, seduce us. But if we are tuned to the voice of Christ – the voice of compassion, of peace, of justice, of mercy – we begin to discern the manipulations and falsehoods in the noise and begin to hear Christ in the voices of those crying out to us for compassion, for acceptance, for justice. The challenge facing every disciple of Jesus is to listen for His voice in the quiet of our hearts, in the center of our spirits. If we listen carefully and faithfully, we can discern the voice of the Good Shepherd leading us through the ‘gate’ to the kingdom of His Father in our midst.”
Thomas Merton in his writings says that being in tune with God is real and it is what prayer is about...it is centering our attention on the presence of God, to His will and His love. Literally it means to be absorbed in God and to lose oneself in God. Fr. William Shannon in his book Seeking the Face of God expresses it in this way, “I think Merton is telling us that prayer does not mean trying to find God, much less trying to find ourselves. Rather it is ‘getting lost’ in God. And isn’t this another way of saying what that passage from Romans 8 said; We don’t know how to pray, but we don’t have to; for it is God, God’s Spirit, who prays in us. Prayer happens when we allow ourselves *or at least dispose ourselves’ to be aware of the presence of God or – the same thing – to get lost in Him...To become aware of God’s presence is to become aware of what is always there. We are always in God. We are not always aware that we are in God.” So I reflect on:

• How can I tell the voice of Jesus from other voices that might call out to me?
  
• What are some of the perils of falling into the ‘herd instinct’?
  
• When people who are not Christian meet me and get to know me, will they want to know more about Christianity?
  
• Is withdrawing from the world an appropriate way to become a better Christian? What Would Jesus Do?
  

Sacred Space 2014 leads me in an interesting way:

“It is sometimes suggested that the image of sheep is a negative one, unworthy of human dignity. Especially now, in my time of prayer, I ask God to help me leave aside cynicism or flattery and receive only the Word that is for my good.

Though modern life places great emphasis on individual choice, there are many forces driving us all in the same direction. I pray that I may trust where God is leading me.”

May 4, 2014

Acts 2: 14, 22-23; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35
One of the underlying themes of the readings today is disappointment. I ask myself how many times I have been disappointed. I could never answer that because I have been disappointed far more times than I thought, in fact it happens frequently. It happens when my plans are interrupted, when things do not turn out the way I expect them or want them to happen. So many times I shrug these off, but there are times that I am visibly upset that ‘God wasn’t listening to me’ and things didn’t happen as I was wishing.
A quick look at Scripture and there are powerful disappointments: the Emmaus disciples were disappointed that Jesus died without fulfilling what they wanted to happen—the overthrow of Rome; Judas was disappointed that Jesus wasn’t the military potentate who would set up His kingdom and appoint Judas to a very high position. The apostles were disappointed, afraid and leaderless and had no idea what to do...their future because of Jesus’ shameless death left them as ‘wanted criminals’ by the authorities. The people who listened to Jesus and those who followed Him around were confused and totally disappointed that the hope they had was gone and forgotten and the powerful arm of Rome was in control along with the Jewish religious authorities. I wonder about all those Jesus had healed, were they stumbling with their belief now? I imagine they struggled hugely with their visions of God.
And today Peter stood up and spoke with conviction. Somehow it’s difficult to imagine that months ago he denied any knowledge of Jesus. Before this, he and the others had received forty days of instruction from Jesus. Peter shows the outcome of those instructional days with his talk today. Many of his audience had seen the miracles and signs of Jesus and listened to His preaching. Peter says that these were the initial invitations to believe in Jesus. Even though they didn’t believe at that time, it didn’t put a stop to God’s plan. Jesus death did not interfere with God’s plan; it was a major part of the plan.
Peter continues his teaching in today’s second reading in looking at the immeasurable generosity of the Father. He tells us each day that we should conduct ourselves with reverence in our down times. These times are tremendously distracting...I like to say that the devil’s voice is loud and boisterous and full of distractions. It wants me to believe that God isn’t talking because He cannot be heard; the devil’s voice is too loud and injuring. The question comes about how to slow myself down to listen to the gentle, quiet voice of God leading me and each person? This always is a difficult problem: how to listen and be aware of God. Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings helps with this; she says, “In her recent memoir, Atchison Blue, Judith Valente quotes a Benedictine sister’s formula for contemplative living: ‘Be where you are, and do what you’re doing.’ Try doing this for an hour, and see how radically different it is from the way we normally get thought the day. No more reworking or justifying the past. No more fretting about the future and planning our tomorrow to the last detail. Look at the person who’s talking to you. See the objects that are around you. Taste your food before you swallow it. Live each moment.” I have to continually tell myself that God is in each moment leading me, not distracting me. So am I allowing God to lead me? Am I allowing myself to slow down and to see God’s presence and work where I am now? Am I allowing myself to envision God’s plan?
John’s gospel shares the story of the two on the way to Emmaus and their amazing encounter with the Risen Jesus. They were extremely disappointed, even in despair that the stories of Jesus’ rising were not true. They had seen Jesus just two days earlier, why didn’t they understand what blinded them to seeing Him? And I ask what blinds me from recognizing Jesus and living God’s light?
My sabbatical teacher, Msgr. Eugene Lauer in Sunday Morning Insights shares some answers, “The disciples on the road to Emmaus were guilty of the same blunder that almost all of us make sometimes in our relationship with God. They were looking for Christ where they wanted Him to be. They wanted to see a Christ who would look exactly like their preconception of a victorious risen Savior. They were looking for a warrior-king, a triumphant general, a resplendent angel-like figure riding on the clouds of heaven. They were looking for what they wanted, not for what Christ was presenting to them in His person. They wanted the dramatic and He gave them the ordinary.” I stumble into doing this far too often. I look for the quick fix prayer. I know that God is always present but it is in His way and giving me and each person the grace to be aware of His presence and even to see His plan unfolding so that I can ask for the grace for what I need to bring His plan to fruition. So I have to constantly be aware that it’s not my way, but God’s way.
I have to be aware that each day I must go about serving God by serving the people who come into my life. Mother Theresa saw Christ in every person. She treated each of the poor, especially the sickest and most repulsive as Christ in the flesh. I am to do the same. I serve Christ when I tell others about Him and most especially where they see Christ in me. I have a long way to go each day. So I reflect on:

• How do I serve those who suffer because of injustice or persecution?
  
• How do I see Christ in the people I serve?
  
• Do I ask for the gift of having the Scriptures come alive for me?
  
• What can I do each day to make my life make a difference?
  

Sacred Space 2014 gives me wonderful reflections:

“The disciples on the road were talking about what had happened, yet they were without insight. They were downbeat, dejected, walking away. When they fell in step with Jesus, they found they had a listener who brought them to hear their narrative differently.

Jesus helped the disciples to see the pattern of His life. How has my life been conformed to the shape of Jesus’ life?”