An instrument of the Lord

We will be hearing a lot of selections from the Acts of the Apostles during this Easter Season leading up to Pentecost.  The whole second half of Acts focuses on the dynamic missionary journeys of Paul, as he brings the gospel to Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), Macedonia and Achaia (present-day Greece) and beyond.  He indeed was God’s “chosen instrument” set apart to bring the message of God’s intense love and mercy to the world. (Acts 9: 1-20)

The beauty here is not only Paul’s matchless contribution to the spread of the gospel, but the fact that God works with those who are flawed and very human.  We live in a unique moment in history—a threat to our lives that both tests our own faith and, and at the same time, offers opportunities for us to proclaim its message of hope to a troubled and frightened world.  The example of Paul can be our inspiration.

Belief before understanding

The resurrection of Jesus is what centers our faith, the mighty deed done by God, in relation to our need for salvation.

As a result, what really matters is how each one of us lives the mystery of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The Easter season provides the opportunity to discover again and again how it impacts our lives.

Wherever we encounter Christ, the effects of His Resurrection extend to us.  Encountering Christ clearly flows from the reception of the Sacraments: When we receive the Eucharist and when we receive forgiveness for our failings and sin in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to name but two of the Sacraments.  I name those two specifically because we can—if we want to—avail ourselves of these daily.

These next 40 days or so of celebrating Easter invite us to set our sights on Jesus, raised from the cruel death of the cross by God’s loving hands only to come alive again as the Risen Christ present to us all in so many remarkable and simple ways.  Our task is to open ourselves to the Risen Christ, to the many ways that He’s present to us and to continue to grow as women and men of faith, hope, and love because of His presence.  Our mission, these next few weeks during the Easter season and beyond, is to discover Christ in those persons we meet and in the situations that make up our lives.

One of the first examples of the missionary work of the apostles among the gentiles, an example we should strive to imitate is found early in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8:26-40).  

The Ethiopian eunuch was seated in his chariot while traveling home from Jerusalem.  And as he journeyed, he was reading aloud Isaiah chapter 53, which contains the ‘suffering servant’ narrative.  A few verses later, he read:

“The foreigner joined to the LORD should not say, ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from his people’; Nor should the eunuch say, ‘See, I am a dry tree.’  For thus says the LORD:  ‘To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose what pleases me, and who hold fast to my covenant, I will give them, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; an eternal name, which shall not be cut off, will I give them.’” (Isaiah 56:3-5).

As a foreigner and a eunuch, this passage of grace, love, and hope must have also spoken to his heart, preparing him to wonder how these things might be accomplished.  Unbeknownst to him, the prophesy of the suffering servant, which he was then pondering, provides the key.  A divine appointment with Philip would soon reward his curiosity with understanding.  And we subsequently learn, he was reading without understanding the meaning of what he was reading.  When I thought about this scene it struck me as strange.  I can't think of anyone who, while going on a journey, would pass the time on a plane or train by reading a book that they couldn't understand.  Obviously, the next question is why was the eunuch reading Isaiah of all things?

St. Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, tells us that the eunuch had made the trip to Jerusalem to worship.  Somehow, he had heard about the one true God and that the great temple at Jerusalem was the most sacred place to worship God.  Since he was an important and powerful man in Ethiopia, he was able to arrange to journey to Jerusalem to see the temple and to worship there.  He must have been impressed with the temple and sincerely worshipped there.  During his stay at the temple, the eunuch had obtained a copy of the prophecies of Isaiah the prophet.  He began to read the prophecies on his homeward journey, but since he was not familiar with the writings and customs of the Jews, he was unable to understand the meaning of the text.  But he seems to have had a sincere desire to know and understand the book of Isaiah.

At this point God intervened to help the eunuch.  He sent an angel to direct Philip to rendezvous with the eunuch on the Gaza road.  Next, we see the Spirit at work, directing Philip to the chariot to converse with the eunuch.  The Spirit was also at work in the eunuch and he willingly asked Philip to join him in the chariot and to explain the meaning of the text he was reading.  Remember, the eunuch was reading one of Isaiah's great prophecies about the coming of the Savior.  Philip explained the prophecy and used this passage as a point of departure for explaining the life of Jesus and his teaching and preaching to the eunuch.

The thing that strikes me about this story was the willingness of the eunuch to believe.  Sitting with Philip in his chariot he was a very eager listener to the story of Jesus.  After an initial question he was content to listen and learn.  When they came to the water, the eunuch eagerly asked to be baptized, and Philip baptized him.  The eunuch embraced the faith and became a follower of Jesus.

The story of the eunuch ends as strangely as it began.  After they came out of the water Philip just disappeared and the eunuch never saw him again.  St. Luke tells us that the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away and that he went to a town called Azotus where he continued to preach the good news.  The eunuch continued on his journey home and he rejoiced as he went.  He rejoiced to know and follow Jesus.  He was a convert and follower of Jesus, and we can be sure that he told his family, friends and acquaintances in Ethiopia about Jesus.

At this time of the year, we are ordinarily welcoming catechumens and candidates who have been joined to the Church at Easter.  Of course, with the restrictions on social distancing, we are temporarily unable to do so in our usual manner.  To my brothers and sisters who this virus has affected in this way, I can only pray for their continued patience.  But maybe they will identify with this story and share in a sense of wonder, as they share a similar experience of being drawn into a new relationship accompanied by revealed truth.  All who are called to a relationship with Christ can share in that wonder.  We have sensed that God is patiently drawing us toward a future and hope that is rooted in His Son Jesus Christ, who is the bread of life we read about in the Gospel (John 6:44-51).

Are we prepared to recognize the divine appointments happening all around us?  God is calling us to journey with Him.  Preparation and curiosity are needed, as well as patience and endurance.  Let's journey on and be taught by God as we go on our way rejoicing.  Thanks be to God.

Easter is a season!

We traveled forty days through Lent.  The last couple of weeks took on a new meaning when the COVID virus began making its way through the United States.  We were asked to stay in our homes and away from each other; we can't even assemble for Mass.  At first it was for 2 weeks, then 6 weeks.  Now we’re starting week seven.  Many of us looked to Easter to celebrate and ease our struggles and desire for the Eucharist during this time. 

The good news is that it’s not too late to celebrate.  Easter is more than just a day.  The Church gives us a seven-week Easter season to celebrate that will last until Pentecost Sunday.  Yet during what some are calling #Covid19Easter, our everyday lives feel so heavy that celebration is not a part of them.  Critical illness in the family, loss of a job, disappointment in a relationship and the burdens of everyday life can make it a challenge to feel particularly joyful – even in the Easter season. 

But the joy we’re being invited into this season is beyond what we see in our everyday lives.  It's true that Jesus says, “Come to me and bring me your burdens” (Matthew 11:28), but we usually can’t believe it.  Maybe we don’t want to believe it.  If I really allow Jesus to come into my heart the way He wants to, will He ask me to change my life in ways that are too hard?  How do I share the chaos of my life with Jesus?  If I keep Him at arm’s length, my life might be difficult, but at least my problems are familiar.  What would it cost me to let go and change my life?

We know our own faults and failings so well.  Too well.  We begin to believe that Jesus loves the way we love – with all of our human limits.  How could Jesus love us and accept us the way we are right now?  Maybe when we fix a few things about our lives, love our spouse a little better, stop being so critical of family members, stop drinking, stop nagging, love a little more… when we’re perfect, then Jesus will love us.

If we can overcome our fears, the real power of letting Jesus into our hearts is how free our hearts will become.  Suddenly, we’re not afraid, not burdened and simply ready to serve with Jesus.

Jesus loves us - right now.  At this moment, Jesus holds each one of us in His warm and loving gaze and loves us so freely at a depth that our human minds can’t take in.  Whether we comprehend this or not, Jesus loves us endlessly and waits for us with His arms open, ready to hold and support us. 

As we receive His embrace and feel the peace and joy of Easter wash over us, we can look over His shoulder, and see beyond to those in need who now wait for us.  That’s when we realize that the real joy in our lives is putting aside our own faults, challenges and difficulties for a while and entering into the lives of others.

Pope Francis said at Easter, “We leave ourselves behind and encounter others by being close to those crushed by life’s troubles, sharing with the needy, standing at the side of the sick, elderly and the outcast.”

We are being missioned as Easter People.  We find peace in Jesus’ love for us and now we share it with others.  We find ourselves standing side by side with Jesus, looking together at those we are being sent to love.  

That’s where the real joy of Easter waits for us.

Eternal Comfort

For many weeks now, COVID-19 has forced us to look at our comfortable lives in a different way.  It continues to test our faith and leads some to wonder where God is in all of this suffering and chaos!  In a way we’re like the apostles in the early church, who must have felt very alone and scared without their friend Jesus by their side.  Jesus told them many times He would not be with them forever in the same way, but they didn’t really believe He would really leave them.  As believers we know God is right here in the midst of our suffering.  Just because our God chooses to be present in a lot of ways we don’t expect doesn’t mean we have been abandoned by a God who promises us we would never be hungry or thirsty if we put our faith and trust in Him.

Our hungers and thirst are satisfied when we grow closer to family who we may not have taken the time to truly appreciate in ‘ordinary’ times.   It’s reminding us of how important we all are to one another.  It’s amazing how much time we spend laughing!  Our parish and the school that Lily attends are using many innovative ways to teach, learn and pray together.  In addition to the Sunday Mass being live-streamed, our pastor and other members of the parish team are having on-line prayers, bible studies, and even ‘virtual’ pilgrimages to holy sites around the world.  These are all designed to keep our parish family as close to us as our ‘blood’ family, and to strengthen the Body of Christ in our local community. 

My own hungers and thirsts are being met in different ways:  

As I enjoy the time spent out of doors on my daily walk, to see the hand of God in nature all around me as I pray the rosary and reflect on the gospel. 

To hear and see so many people doing so many wonderful things in our community to help one another and taking the time to get to know our neighbors has all been an unexpected gift to pave the way into a new life to come in the months ahead.

The highlight of most of my days recently is when I get a ‘video chat’ request from my out-of-town grandchildren and all of us (including each of us in the same household) get on the screen as if we’re all in the same room visiting.

But, while I am coping with this necessary lockdown with confidence and hope, I do miss the Eucharist!

“I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35).

There is no better place to encounter and personally experience the living Person of Jesus Christ than at Mass, where He is physically present to us, where we receive His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, and become intimately acquainted with the almighty and eternal God.  This is a great mystery, and if we truly knew what we were receiving, we would die of joy.  We receive meaning, purpose, the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  There is nothing greater we can do in this life.  Receiving the Eucharist makes heroes out of ordinary humans, like you and me.  It equips us to be as loving as Mother Teresa, as devout as John Vianney, as courageous as Maximilian Kolbe, and as mystical as Theresa Lisieux because when we receive the Eucharist, we’re receiving the rare fine air of Holiness itself as Heaven kisses earth.  But it’s a hard journey and so few recognize the courage within them needed to continue.  St. Stephen found out just how hard it can be.

St. Stephen was proclaiming the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and those surrounding him rejected it, so they took him outside the city and stoned him (Acts 7:51—8:1).  Stephen stood in the face of the most dominant powers of his society and proclaimed the Truth of God, Whom he had personally encountered, and it cost him his life.  Amidst the darkness of the modern world, the light of Truth and Love found in the Church continues to shine.  We must strive to become a beacon of that light to the world around us.  This begins with surrendering ourselves to Christ.  Then we must encounter Him, and finally, we must proclaim Him from the rooftops, telling everyone we encounter the Good News of Jesus Christ, and living it out in every aspect of our lives.

“Do not be afraid.”  We have been entrusted with a mission from God, a mission to proclaim the Gospel at all times, regardless of the circumstances.  We must live for the Truth of Jesus, as proclaimed by the Church, never letting anyone or anything stand in our way.  While Stephen was being martyred, Saul was giving his consent because he couldn’t understand why someone would give their very life for a man crucified.  What he soon realized, however, is that Stephen wasn’t willing to die for a poor carpenter that taught people good ideas about life.  Rather, Stephen lived for the eternal Truths that God revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, and that choice cost Stephen his life.  Ironically enough, in time, Saul, later Paul, discovered those same Truths for himself.  Again, that choice cost him his life.  He didn’t give up, let up, or quiet down until the end.  He was a disciple of Christ.  So, too, we are called to become saints.  We must get holy or die trying because holiness is not a spectator sport. We are all in this together: Sainthood or bust!

The right reason?

Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  (John 6:26–27)

We can easily become obsessed with working for the “things” of this world.  In John’s Gospel people were looking for Jesus because He had fed them the day before and they were hungry again.  They were looking for food, literally.  Jesus gently rebukes them, taking this as an opportunity to point out the real reason they should be seeking Him.  The real reason is that He wants to provide the spiritual food of eternal life.  What is the food Jesus wants us to seek?  That’s a question we must let Him answer in our heart.

What do we want?  What is our heart’s desire?  If we’re honest and if we let ourselves face our desires, we’ll most likely find that we have some desires, or even many, that are not put in our heart by Christ.  Recognizing what these desires are is the first step to discovering what the true food is that Jesus wants to give us.

Another thing we have to ask ourselves is this: “Am I seeking Jesus for the right reason?” 

Anyone who knows me well also knows that when I was working, I spent a lot of time complaining that I was away from home for extended periods of time, and that I missed my wife and family very much.  It wasn’t just because the food was better, or because I felt more pampered (although I was).  When we’re sick, we seek a doctor for a cure.  When a child is hurt, the child often runs to a parent for comfort.  This is OK.  We do the same.  When we’re lost and confused (there’s a lot of that going on these days, isn’t there?), we often turn to God for answers and help.  But, ideally, we’ll eventually seek God for more than just healing or comfort.  We’ll ultimately seek God for the reason of love.  We’ll seek Him simply because we love Him and want to love Him all the more.  It’s also the reason I was always aching simply to get home when I was out of town.

When we can begin to seek out Jesus simply because we love Him and want to love Him more, we’re on the right road.  And as we walk down that road, we find it’s a road of the utmost delight and fulfillment. 

Believe first. Understand later. (John 13:7)

The Gospel story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) is even more real this year, the “year of Covid19”.  These unnamed disciples are trying to escape the confusion and turmoil of the days that saw the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus.  And then came stories of empty tombs and angel messengers. They must have thought that it would be better if they just get out of town.

We, too, are in the midst of confusion and turmoil.  We all wonder how this crisis will play itself out.  We look around to see so many sick and dying.  We grieve for families never able to say a final farewell to those they love.  We grow frustrated with our inability to move more quickly towards relief and/or containment.

The weeks following Easter have always provided time to meditate on what the Resurrection story means for us and our world.  This year, the Resurrection story is raw.  How do we come through so much death and suffering to find new life in Jesus, the Risen One?

The news of death counts and infection rates is our Golgotha.  A great number of people just sit and watch the news and grow more anxious and hopeless (or angry) by the hour.  I can’t do that.  What I have chosen to do is to stay positive and hopeful in the mercy of Jesus as I always have.  I do it by reciting my rosary (twice) during my daily walk.  I do it by reading the Scriptures daily and writing these reflections.  I do it by trying to prayerfully watch the live-streamed Masses my parish offers.  And I do it by reading about and encouraging others who are making the best of what they’re dealt.  And for now, that’s all I can hold onto.  And for me, it’s enough.  I think it must be one of the special gifts of the Holy Spirit I was imbued with at my Confirmation.

Think about those things in your life now, or in your past, that have left you confused.  You need a special gift of the Holy Spirit to make sense of them.  And you need this gift to make sense of the many good things of God found in the Scriptures also.  This is the Gift of Understanding.  It’s a spiritual gift that unlocks the many mysteries of life for us.  It’s Jesus, “opening our minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

Without the Gift of Understanding, we’re left on our own to try to make sense of life.  This is especially true when we’re faced with hardship and suffering.  How is it, for example, that an all-powerful and all-loving God can allow the good and the innocent to suffer?  How is it that God can seem absent at times from human tragedy? 

The truth is that He’s not absent.  He’s centrally involved in all things.  What we need to receive is an understanding of the profound and mysterious ways of God.  We need to understand the Scriptures, human suffering, human relationships, and divine action in our lives.  But this will never happen unless we allow Jesus to open our minds. 

Allowing Jesus to open our minds takes faith and surrender.  It means we believe first and understand later.  It means we trust Him even though we do not see.  St. Augustine once said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see. The reward of faith is to see what you believe.” 

Believing in God means we believe in a person.  We believe in Him even though we find ourselves confused about particular circumstances.  But this gift of believing, the gift of faith, opens the door to a depth of understanding that we could never arrive at on our own.  Faith and surrender. Believe first, understand later. 

We're not just individuals

When we see “Saint” in front of someone’s name, we may think they got that way by themselves.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The story of St. Mark, whose feast day we celebrate today, is a shining example.  He might have been completely forgotten if someone else hadn’t believed in him.

Mark was the son of Mary, a widow in whose house the early Christians often gathered (Acts 12:12).  Although not one of the twelve apostles, it’s likely that he was one of Jesus’ followers.  Mark accompanied his cousin Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey, but for some reason, he left them prematurely (Acts 13:13).  When it was time for Paul’s next trip, he didn’t want to take Mark along.  In his eyes, Mark had deserted the cause of the gospel (Acts 15:38).

Fortunately, Barnabas didn’t give up on him.  While Paul went on to Syria with Silas, Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus (Acts 15:39-41).  A second chance was all Mark needed.  Tradition tells us that Mark went on to Rome, became Peter’s interpreter, and later wrote his Gospel based on Peter’s preaching.  Paul eventually forgave Mark, commending him for his service and calling his companionship a “comfort” (2 Timothy 4:11).  Tradition also holds that Mark founded the church in Alexandria and was martyred there.

What if Barnabas, like Paul, had rejected Mark because of his early failure?  He might never have become Peter’s “son” in the faith (1 Peter 5:13).  What’s worse, he might never have written his Gospel—which means that Matthew and Luke might not have written their Gospels either!  If Barnabas hadn’t shown Mark a little compassion, who knows what kind of Bible we would be reading today?

The lesson here is that we should never give up on anyone.  We’re not just individuals.  We are family, and we need each other.  God’s grace and love can cover “a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8)—and not only sins but desertions, weaknesses, failures, and individual quirks as well.  Our willingness to mend relationships can make a difference not only in our lives but in eternity.  We never know who the next Mark might be, so let’s keep encouraging and building up our brothers and sisters!

The nourishment of Christ

“After recalling the Apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them.  So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.  And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.”  (Acts 5: 40-42)

What did those apostles eat for breakfast that morning?  Wheaties weren’t invented yet!  Was there some special food they ate that suddenly gave them such courage?  In the Acts of the Apostles we see the same friends of Jesus who had cowered in the upper room in the days after the crucifixion.  But now they’re bold and speak out with such courage on the steps of the temple, even rejoicing when they are whipped by the religious authorities for “proclaiming the good news of Jesus, the Messiah.”  (Acts 5: 17-42)

Most of us can identify with the apostles in the earlier gospel stories because they seem so human: running in fear, asking dumb questions, and bickering among themselves.  But now, all of a sudden, where did this courage come from?  What happened to their terror?  Who rejoices in being whipped?

The answer is in the Gospel, where we read the story of the loaves and fishes, and the feeding of the five thousand (John 6: 1-15).  When this huge throng of people kept following Jesus, out of town, around the shore of the sea and up the mountain, they trusted that somehow, they would be fed.  They came unprepared, knowing only that they had to listen to what He taught them.  And He loved them with tender care.  He fed them so lavishly with the simple food at hand that there were twelve baskets left over.  He showed them how to pray, how to give thanks to God and how to trust.

Maybe that’s the special breakfast the apostles had that day they were released.  It might have been nothing more than gathering together and praying in the morning, telling each other stories, remembering “the time Jesus fed the crowd of five thousand and wanted us to trust Him…?”  Maybe what they remembered was how many times Jesus has said to them – and us – “I will be with you; do not be afraid.”  Why is that such a difficult lesson for us to learn?

Jesus asks us to trust in Him and some of us balk at it.  I suspect that deep down, I think I could do better on my own, without having to trust in Jesus or anyone else.  Such arrogance has me hiding in the upper room of my soul, afraid and unwilling to be fed by Jesus in the meal He so lavishly serves for me.

Help me, Jesus.  Teach me to trust in You.  Feed me with Your words and let me believe in the trust and courage You offer me.  Help me to stand on the front steps of the temple and proclaim the good news, side by side with Your apostles.  I know You love me and all of my fearful weaknesses, just as You loved the apostles as they shook with fear.  Teach me as You taught them.  Let me be aware and awake as You touch my life, my soul and heal me of my fears.

Don't hold back!

“For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” (John 3:34)

When the Son of God become human, Jesus was not partially, but fully, imbued with the Holy Spirit. And in Christ, we, too, have been given the Spirit without reserve.

In wartime, when soldiers have a scarce amount of food, they have to ration it.  They only eat small measured portions each day so that the food will last as long as possible.  If they don’t, they may run out and starve. 

What if this were the case with God and His grace?  What if the Holy Spirit were to say to us, “Now I’m only going to help you to a limited degree.  Once you use up the grace that I’m offering you, you’re on your own.”  We can all agree that would be problematic.

Of course the good news is that God acts in the completely opposite way with us.  He commits to a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit and offers all the grace we could ever need or want.  The problem is that we often “ration” His grace anyway.  We don’t do this because we believe God is limited.  Rather, we often do it because we’re afraid to let God unleash His almighty power in our lives.

We see this in the Acts of the Apostles.  Peter and the others are no longer afraid, locking themselves in the upper room.  Instead, they proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Brought before the Sanhedrin, Peter no longer denies that he knew Jesus, but willingly gives testimony about Him: “God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.” (Acts 5:27-33)

Even though social distancing and shelter-in-place have become a way of life with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Holy Spirit finds ways for us to still proclaim the Good News in all the ways we can communicate with each other. By the things we do (shop for our parents, care for the sick, wear masks to prevent contagion), and even by the things we don’t do (gather in numbers, shake hands), we somehow share God’s love in Jesus Christ.

God doesn’t “ration” His gift of the Spirit on us, but perhaps we might.  These times are marked with much grief and pain and unease.  In our hurt, we might not feel able to reach out to others.  But in the hope that we have in the Resurrection, and by the power of the Spirit, we can be healed, and share with others what God has given to us.  We have seen the Spirit at work. We’ve seen much compassion and generosity.  Such is the power of the Spirit!

So, don’t hold back the gift of the Spirit given to us.  Instead, may we let Jesus into our hearts and be healed.  May we follow where the Spirit leads us, and may the Good News, even in times like this, be proclaimed!

God is present and active in our lives!

“…people preferred darkness to light.” (John 3:19)   They preferred their own sins to freedom from sin.  It appears to me that we still do.

As an example of this reality, all we have to do is watch the news or read the newspaper.  It seems that 90% of what is reported in the news media is a sensationalistic presentation of darkness.  We hear of one murder after another or one scandal after another.  The more positive news during this virus pandemic is always relegated to a back page or the bottom of an article, while the death count and ‘blame game’ is always front page—because it’s what sells.  Because we too often are drawn to darkness more than we are to light. 

Certainly, it’s not the case for everyone.  So many are quite disinterested in the darkness of the world and the sensationalistic sins all around us.  You can count me among them.  But the fact that the darkness of evil is so front and center all the time should offer us a certain warning about our fallen human nature.  We tend to be drawn into mud and too often are all too happy there.

Easter is a time to examine what it is we are drawn to, and to let ourselves be drawn into the Light; to be attracted by those things that brighten our day.  To be drawn to the many ways that God is present and active in the world all around us.  We’ll probably find out that there’s some degree of pull toward disorder, sin, and darkness.  There can be an interior conflict that everyone experiences.  It’s good to be aware of this, to identify it as part of our fallen human tendency, and to seek to shed all interest in the chaos and evil all around us. 

As a follower of Christ, we are called to keep our eyes on Him and on Him alone.  We are called to penetrate the darkness with our faith and to let our whole being be attracted to and drawn toward Christ Jesus.  Perfection means that even our passions and desires are ultimately drawn to Christ as the Light of our life.

The three most beautiful words in the English language are “I love you.”  The next three most beautiful words are “I forgive you.”  These sentences go together. 

Forgiveness is an intrinsic part of love.  This is expressed well by Ruth Bell Graham who said, “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”  The core of marriage is love, and that necessarily includes forgiveness.  You can’t have one without the other.

In the gospel we hear those familiar words, “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son…that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16)   Jesus was sent to forgive.  Before Jesus was born Joseph was told in a dream to name the child ‘Jesus,’ “for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

On Calvary the apostles let Jesus down.  All but John abandoned Him.  When Jesus appeared to the apostles after the resurrection, He could have said, “What a disappointment you guys are.  Where were you in my hour of need?  I’m going back to Galilee, round up a new ‘posse’ and try again.”

But Jesus didn’t say that.  Instead He said, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19)  They were forgiven.  They were given a second chance.  The apostles rejoiced not only because Jesus was alive, but because He was alive and forgave them.  Now they in turn could proclaim reconciliation and lavish God’s forgiveness because they experienced it firsthand.

God so loved the world that He sent His loving forgiveness. 

Where the wind blows

What does it mean "to be born from above"?  Jesus explained to Nicodemus (and us) that it means being led by God even when we don't know where He's leading us (John 3:7-15).  It means being free to float in the Spirit at any time in any direction, because we’re not attached to this world even though it's what we can touch, smell, see, hear audibly, and control.

Life in the Spirit means living as a feather on the wind; offering no resistance to being picked up and transported by a gust that we can’t see, having no sense of alarm when find ourselves in an unexpected place.  However, being a light-weight feather that's blown around by the Lord's invisible breath is more likely to freak us out than to relax us, because it challenges our "need" to be in control.

The members of the earliest Christian followers (“the believers”) were detached from their possessions for the sake of community (Acts 4:32-37).  They were so high on the Spirit, so fully trusting in God that everyone made themselves available to be used by God to meet each other's needs.  Why can't we become like that?  It is possible—this is God's design—but it can only happen within the context of community.

By ourselves, we can’t be that generous, supplying everything that another person needs, but we think we should, and so we feel overwhelmed and inadequate and therefore we don't do much at all.  We get stuck in our inadequacies because we live such individualistic lives that we forget that we are part of the earthly Body of Christ, which is the whole Church in community.  Individually, the Holy Spirit shows us which particular needs of the community He wants us to address, and in community, Christ's Spirit joins our helpfulness to others who can also help. Thus, everyone's needs can get met.

This past month we have witnessed an estimated 22 million become unemployed, food bank lines of hungry people, loss of businesses and thousands of people dying from COVID-19.

We have also witnessed doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals, first responders, front line caregivers, risking their lives to save lives.  Of “one heart and mind” includes truck drivers, postal workers, grocery store workers, and teachers.  We have witnessed people donate money for masks, face shields and ventilators and farmers giving their crops to food banks.  Business leaders and entertainers have come forth to donate millions to food banks around the world.

St. John of the Cross said, "It makes little difference whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord. For even if tied by thread, the bird will be prevented from taking off just as surely as if it were tied by cord—that is, it will be impeded from flight as long as it does not break the thread....This is the lot of a man who is attached to something; no matter how much virtue he has, he will not reach the freedom of divine union."

Born again!

In the Bible there are some people who are mentioned very briefly that make me wonder about the ‘rest of the story’, as Paul Harvey used to say.  One such person is Nicodemus, who is mentioned only in the gospel of St. John.  He refers to Nicodemus on three occasions, and all three are very brief.  We don't know much about Nicodemus, but we do know a few things.  We know that he had a Greek name, Nicodemus, but we don't know what his Hebrew name was.  St. John tells us that Nicodemus was a pharisee.  He was also probably a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of Israel.  So Nicodemus was a man of power and influence in Jerusalem.

Jesus contended with the Pharisees on many occasions during His travels in Israel.  He often takes them to task for their hardness of heart and for refusing to listen to His teaching and message.  Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Jesus is not issuing a blanket condemnation of all of the Pharisees.  There certainly were some of them who did listen to and believe in Jesus, but Nicodemus is one who is mentioned by name in the gospel story who did believe. This is clear from John’s gospel (John 3:1-8) where Nicodemus says: "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him."  But his belief in Jesus puts Nicodemus in opposition to many of his fellow Pharisees and also to those on the Sanhedrin.  So Nicodemus is not ready to shout from the rooftops his belief in Jesus.  He’s cautious in his approaching Jesus; Jesus and possibly some of the apostles are the only ones present to hear the words of Nicodemus on this occasion.  He comes to Jesus at night.  The night hours have always been a time of secrecy.  Things happen in the darkness that can’t stand the scrutiny of the light of day.  For Jesus, the night hours were not only a time of sleep.  They were also a time of prayer. All four Gospels tell us of nights when Jesus retired by Himself to a quiet place to pray.  Nicodemus may have come to see Jesus on such a night. I imagine that he came at night to avoid being seen by the crowds which gathered around Jesus in the daytime.  He did not yet have the courage to openly proclaim his belief in Jesus.  He also feared to antagonize the Pharisees who did not agree with him.

So, what’s the ‘rest of the story’ about Nicodemus?   What happened to him after he helped Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus (John 19:39-40)?  Did his belief in Jesus grow?  Did he become a Christian?  According to “small ‘t’” tradition the answer to these questions is yes.  I find that helpful because that is how I want his story to end.

When I die, the priest at my funeral will say, over my coffin, “At his baptism, Stephen died with Christ and rose with Him to new life.”  That’s what this passage from the gospel of John is all about.  Nicodemus is obviously puzzled, and it’s a mystery equally hard for us to get our heads around.  We tend to take Jesus’ statement as a figure of speech – flowery language.  But what if it were literally true?

There are dozens of instances throughout both the gospels and St. Paul’s letters that, taken at face value, seem to assume that it is exactly true.  But Jesus, of course, wasn’t speaking of physical birth, as Nicodemus first thought.  He was speaking of life itself; He was speaking of the spirit that animates us, the spirit we call our “soul”.  He was saying that, unless Jesus’ Spirit animates us – in a sense replaces our soul – we won’t share His life.   But it’s not a matter of our willing it.  It’s what happens in baptism.  We can’t do it ourselves; God does it for us.  

St. Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).  We may feel that we’re not worthy to be animated literally by the Spirit of Jesus; and that’s true.  It’s pure gift.  Our “worthiness” comes from the gift and is not a pre-condition for it.   That’s why Paul refers to us as “saints” – not because of our behaviors, but because of our baptisms – who we now are.  My folks, on occasion, used to say to me, “Act your age!”   In other words, “Act like who you are!”  Throughout his letters St. Paul insists: “Be who you are.”  Not “Become holy”.  But “You already are holy – not because of your actions, but because of the Spirit of Jesus that animates you now.”  And: “For as many of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ . . .  in Christ Jesus you are all children of God.”  (Gal. 3:26-27)

We can ignore that Jesus-life; we can fail to respond to its urgings; in short, we can be lukewarm – or even bad – Christians.  But, once baptized, once my human life is replaced by Jesus’ own life, I can never again be non-Christian.  Baptism is not simply entrance into an organization, which I can drop out of whenever it no longer seems to suit my needs.  It’s a life change that’s irreversible.  It’s not an ideal we have to strive toward.  It’s a reality we have to live. 

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion....

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, declared a Feast Day in 2000 by Pope Saint John Paul II based on the appearances of the Lord to a Polish nun, Saint Faustina Kowalska.  Christ's message to her was (and is for us today) that, if we trust in His Divine Mercy, He will transform us sinners through His merciful love.

I can’t help but think of Mom today.  She had such a devotion to Divine Mercy!  Every day at 3pm—or as close as she could get to it—she would stop whatever else she was doing and recite the Divine Mercy chaplet.  If I forgot the time and happened to call her at that hour, she would always answer the phone, but she would also either ask me to call her back in 10 minutes—or better yet, join her in praying it over the phone.  I have had a link to an interactive version of the prayer on the right side of my blog for about 10 years now.

Divine Mercy Sunday also brings my brother Tom to mind because the Gospel for this Feast day is one of the few that are not on a three-year cycle of Scripture readings; rather, the Church uses the same Gospel on this Sunday every year.  It used to be called “Doubting Thomas Sunday” because it’s the gospel that tells us of his temporary struggle with doubting Jesus’ Resurrection (John 20:19-31).

Thomas wasn't the only one who had doubts about Jesus.  On Easter Sunday, we left the Apostles huddled in fear in the empty room pondering the shocking experience of the week before.  They weren't so sure that the women's report was believable (John 20:1-9).  They weren't singing for joy!  Now, a whole week has gone by.  They still felt "rocky" about their future.  Jesus had broken through those doors to assure them that He was alive.  And His message must have troubled them: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

Just when they were planning to go back to their former occupations, Jesus wanted them to continue the message--to take up His Mission.  While on His earthly ministry, Jesus had preached with mixed success.  Would they have any better results?  The Resurrection made all the difference, of course.  Was it really true?  When Jesus showed Thomas the wounds in His hands, His feet, and His side, not only Thomas but the rest of the Apostles were strengthened in their faith and trust in the Lord.  And the Gospel hints at many more miraculous events and appearances.

In Acts 2:42-47, we see what life was like in the early Christian community.  Their faith was firm, and they were unified in it.  They catechized all who would listen.  Their fears and doubts were replaced with joy.

And 1 Peter 1:3-9 describes for us an early sermon of Peter, written down a few years after he had already been martyred for his staunch faith. He is addressing a group of churches in Asia Minor to whom the Good News has already been preached. His prayer speaks of the promise of Eternal Life and salvation at the end of time. He speaks of the suffering they will have to endure, and the rewards of praise, glory and honor that await them.

As Pope Francis has said, we must courageously reach out to so many doubters among us, and assure them of the great mercy of Jesus, His great love for them.  Our world is hurting as never before in our lifetime.  We must all seriously take on ourselves the obligation Jesus gave to the Apostles in that Upper Room: "As the Father has sent me, I also send you."

With Thomas may we respond, "My Lord and my God!"

Stoking the flame of faith

“But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.”  (Mark 16:14)

So often we’re invited by Jesus to have faith and believe in Him and to accept many things as a matter of faith.  The gift of faith is like a small flame within our hearts that we carelessly expose to the winds.  This carelessness allows the flame of faith to be extinguished before it can grow.

The goal of our Christian walk is to let that flame of faith become the blazing fire that God wants.  And it’s possible!  It’s entirely possible to let that flame become so all-consuming that nothing can put it out.

The path to this blazing fire of faith within has to do with the way we handle that spark which is already there.  We have to care for and nurture that small flame.  We have to treat the beginnings of our faith with great care.  We must guard it and feed it so that it grows.  This is done, in part, by avoiding carelessness in our life of prayer. 

Prayer is the key to letting God grow within.   He’s there, speaking to us and calling us to believe.  Every time we doubt, or harden our heart, we expose that tiny flame to the elements.  But every time we intensely focus upon that flame, we enable it to grow and take hold.  Praying, listening, seeking, loving, and believing are the ways to the faith God wants to bestow upon us.  And if the Apostles would have just let that gift of faith, planted deep within, grow by a softening of their hearts, they would have quickly and easily believed that Jesus was alive without having a need to see Him with their own eyes.

We don’t see the Resurrected Christ in a physical way, but we do have the same ability as the Apostles to know and love Him.  A good start would be to recommit ourselves to prayer and watch our faith in Christ grow brightly!

Teach a man to fish

I get the feeling that sometimes when in prayer I, too, am a fisherman like Peter and his friends (John 21: 1-14).  I cast my net repeatedly, over and over again until my arms are tired and my back is aching.  Then, when my prayers are concluded I turn on the TV or read the news and lament how bad things are in the world.

It’s at times like those that I need to stop casting my net for a while where I want to—where I think the fishing is best—and wait for instructions from God through His Holy Word where I SHOULD be fishing.   This is what the Mass and Adoration are for me—a time to stop fishing and head for shore, where Jesus is waiting to give me new instructions.

His instructions are usually, “Come and eat.  Fill yourself with My Body and Blood.  Come and experience love in its highest form—be with Me for a time.  Come and listen and learn how to make Heaven on Earth.  Come and be.  Just be.” That’s why I love going to Adoration and Mass so much.  During these visits with our Lord, I don’t worry so much.  I don’t fret.  I don’t think about how the world is going.  I only think about now---and that I’m with Jesus.  

Then, nourished and strengthened by His Word and Presence, I can face my fears for this world and those I love the most with confidence and hope realizing, in the words of St. Peter, "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." (Acts 4:1-12)

He's not a ghost! He is present!

Luke’s gospel today tells of the importance of the Word of God.  The gospel opens as the disciples of Emmaus are recounting what had taken place on the walk with Jesus and had set their hearts on fire; how He interpreted for them every passage of Scripture that referred to Him (Luke 24:35-48).  Recently there was a series on TV by National Geographic about Jesus.  The approach the show took to talk about Jesus was very different than the approach of the gospels.  They went to the Old Testament, much like what Jesus said to the disciples of Emmaus; “everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and psalms had to be fulfilled”.  Then Jesus opens their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures.  Today’s reading from Acts (3:11-26), also written by Luke, bears this same importance of Scripture as Peter preaches in Solomon’s Portico.

When the risen Lord appeared to the Apostles, according to the gospel we read today, they displayed terror and shock, despite the words of greeting, ’Peace’.  They feared a ghost.  The presence of Jesus after the traumatic events a few days earlier were a bit confusing.  If you ‘read between the lines’, He is not back with his friends in the same ‘relaxed’ way that we can imagine earlier in the gospels.  He eats fish to show that He is not a ghost, but still, Our Lord just appears, omitting doors!  The most ordinary gathering may be the breakfast at the lakeside in John (John 21:1-14), but as they join Jesus no one dares to ask, ‘who are you?’ because they know it’s Jesus.  There is the important conversation with Peter, but we hear of nothing with his other friends (John 21:15-19).  When Mary Magdalene cannot hold Jesus, it is often interpreted as a way of saying that the old ways of being with Jesus are gone (John 20:11-18).  It will be the Risen Lord that they (and we) will come to enjoy.  The good days of Nazareth would never be again although Jesus had risen.

With the Scriptures, we can sit and talk and listen to Jesus.  He is risen, we are not.  But our Lord is present to us in the Word of God.  May this be the gift that keeps on giving: joy, life, hope, and the presence of Jesus to us during an Easter season wrought with loneliness, sadness, death, and despair because of this viral pandemic.

An eye opener

Sitting here, sheltering at home, and thinking about Wednesday’s readings, I’ll admit to you; I have favorites.   And when it comes to favorite Gospel accounts, the story of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus certainly sits in the top three on my list (Luke 24:13-35).  I even chose this passage as the theme for this blog!

It’s the classic story that begs the questions; how do we come to know Jesus, and how does Jesus lure us in?

Have you ever stared at a statue of Jesus or a crucifix or even a picture and hoped that He would miraculously appear and tell you that you’re on the right path, or even that you’re not, but He forgives you anyway?  I have, and I still do at times.  The fact is Jesus appears to us in mysterious ways all the time!

He appears to us subtly, in and through other people.  He can choose to appear in others through a smile, or a kind word or action.  One  Thanksgiving Day about ten years ago, my mother’s neighbors cooked her a full holiday dinner when I had to work and couldn’t be there with her.  Jesus was certainly there.  When those same neighbors planted pretty flowers in the flowerbox outside her window, and then took the time to maintain them, it was an act of pure charity, in the example of Jesus.  During this time of isolation for most of us, He is appearing more and more frequently in the people who are performing both random acts of loving service, and especially in the doctors, nurses, caregivers and ‘essential’ persons who are fighting hard every day to end this pandemic.  Let’s not forget the priests and other spirit-driven messengers of God.

He doesn’t appear only in other people; we see Him outside of us in all creation, in the silence of a forest or the majestic beauty of the sky, when dawn breaks or when the sun sets.

While it is a great feeling to see Jesus at work in others, His most mysterious and miraculous Presence is in the Holy Eucharist.  Oh, how I miss my Lord in the Eucharist!  Every time I receive Him in Holy Communion, “my heart is burning within me” with love for Him!  When Jesus appears inside of us, there is an immediate comfort, a sensation of love, a feeling of exuberant joy, from which we can finally become one of those through whom others recognize Him.

Just because we can’t see Him doesn’t mean that He isn’t there.  There are the moments when we feel like we can’t recognize Jesus, when He “disappears from our sight.”  We’re a lot like the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “They stopped, looking downcast.”  It probably means that our eyes are closed, for some mysterious reason; most likely blinded by even the least venal sins or out of despair or anxiety.  And when we can’t see, that’s when we turn to hearing.  When we can’t hear, we turn to feeling.  When none of our senses work, we often turn to loving.  That’s when we will always find Him, waiting for the right moment to open our eyes and reveal Himself to us.  He always helps us, coaxing and encouraging, until finally we wake up and see Him, and know that everything is okay. There are many ways to recognize the ones we love most.  Let our eyes be opened and recognize Jesus!