Son of God, Madman, or Something Worse

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Sometimes we can come across Scriptural passages that are difficult to understand.  I think today is one of those passages.  This account of Jesus doesn’t seem to jive with the mental picture most of us have of Jesus.  This is why, when we read the Scriptures, we should always have some sort of guide with us, whether it’s a book, a website, or a person.

            Because it looks today like Jesus is being mean at best, and at worst, racist!  Why won’t Jesus heal the woman’s daughter who is tormented by a demon?  Is it just because she is Canaanite?  Didn’t Jesus come to free captives, especially those who were entrapped by the Devil?  Our first reading from the Book of Isaiah seems to say that anyone who tries to follow God will be welcomed, and the sacrifices they make will be acceptable to him. 

One way to approach this passage is to take the Thomas Jefferson approach.  He was a Deist, that is, he believed in God, but not a personal God.  He believed God just set the world in motion and is now letting it run its course, without any personal involvement.  So, when he came to any miracles (a very personal involvement by God to suspend the laws of nature), he just eliminated them from the Bible.  It made his life much easier.  But, such a view, of course, treats the Scriptures as just another old piece of literature, and not as Divinely Inspired.  Treating the Scriptures as if we can pick and choose which parts we like makes us the masters of God’s revelation, rather than the recipients.

So, if we’re going to be recipients of what God is telling us, how do we deal with this passage?  How do we deal with, “‘It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs’”?  Well, let’s start by actually looking at the whole passage.  Yes, the woman is a Canaanite.  This means she is a pagan.  She does not believe in the true God, but worships many false gods.  She is not part of the Chosen People, Israel.  She also truly has a daughter who is possessed by a demon.  This is not very surprising, because when we deal with false gods, we’re often times dealing with demons.  That’s still true today.  When we mess around with astrology, tarot cards, Ouija boards, and false gods, we’re opening ourselves up to demonic activity.

But look at what Jesus says.  He doesn’t actually say no.  When the disciples want Jesus to send her away, He replies that he was sent “‘only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’”  She continues to plead for help.  The Lord has what sounds like a very cutting line, “‘It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.’”  Things sound pretty bad.  But then the woman pleads still more, “‘Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.’”  And then Jesus seems to do a 180: “‘O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.’”  Jesus wasn’t trying to put her down, or deny her daughter freedom from the Evil One.  Instead, He was searching out her faith.  He was trying to see if she was just coming to Him because he had done some pretty amazing things, like any other wonder worker, or if she truly had faith that He was Lord.

Of course, we should ask ourselves: who do I believe Jesus is?  Spoiler alert: Jesus will ask his disciples the same question next Sunday.  But we should start soul searching now.  Do we have faith in Jesus?  Or is Jesus just another wonder worker in our life?  Is He one of many gurus?  Who do we go to more for guidance in our life decisions: Jesus, our horoscope, our yoga instructor, or any other false gods we set up in our life? 

It’s probably not news when I tell you that, in the United States, only 25-30% of baptized Catholics attend Mass on a regular basis.  I know you’ve experienced that in our own parish.  I’m personally happy so many of you are here today.  I’m not happy because it means that we’ll make our budget for our weekly collection (though I hope that happens and it does make my life easier).  I’m not happy because our numbers may be getting better than the national average.  I’m happy that you’re here today because it means you have an opportunity to encounter Jesus in the Word of God and in His Body and Blood, and that encounter will help strengthen your faith.  Why do Catholics feel attending Mass each Sunday is optional?  There are a lot of reasons: an unpopular priest; music not to their taste; boring homilies.  But at the heart of them stands the reason that Jesus is just one among many.  The conviction that Jesus is Lord is absent from their lives.  Jesus is more like Santa Claus: if we’ve been good, He gives us what we want.  If not, we go to Hell.  We want good things, so we come to Mass, to extort the blessings of God in a religious quid pro quo.  But if Jesus is not Lord, then it is a waste of time to come to Mass.  Only if Jesus is God–the way we figure out how to live–does coming back each Sunday make sense.

C.S. Lewis puts it this way in his book, Mere Christianity:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic–on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.

Maybe, right now, you’re thinking that Jesus is just one great moral teacher, like Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, or Gandhi.  Right now, Jesus is searching out your faith.  And the good news is that Jesus wants to help you have faith that He is Lord.  By coming here, you at least have the chance to affirm that Jesus is Lord, and you want to form your life around Him.  By coming here today you can make your own the prayer of the father who came to Jesus: “‘I do believe; help my unbelief!’”  And if you have faith, not just because you’ve been a good boy or girl, Jesus wants to heal you, to strengthen you, to bless you, and to stand with you, even in life’s difficulties.  Let us proclaim, with our hearts and our lips and our lives, that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Get Out of the Boat!!

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            This is one of those Gospel passages we’ve heard a lot in our life if we’ve been going to church every Sunday.  We probably heard it as children as our parents read the Bible to us or told us Bible stories.  Perhaps it’s so familiar to us that we don’t even really think about it any more, or go deeper.  But the point of repetition is so that we don’t just stay at the surface level, especially when it comes to the Scriptures and the Liturgy.  When we’ve heard a story over and over again, we’re not supposed to think: that’s boring!  We’re supposed to think: I know what the main story is, now what more is there to this that I haven’t found?

            I’d like to propose that St. Peter, who is often the “bad guy” in this story for his lack of faith, be reconsidered.  Certainly, we cannot change Jesus’ words that do mourn Peter’s lack of faith as he is sinking amid the waves.  But, where, we can ask, were the other eleven apostles?  St. Peter was at least bold enough to start out on the waters at Jesus’ command.  The others, at least from the text, never even considered going to Jesus, but just stayed in the boat as the wind and waves crashed around them.

            If anything, we should applaud the fact that St. Peter was willing, at his own suggestion, to walk on water like Jesus.  It was Peter who said that if that specter on the horizon was Jesus, to command him to walk on water.  St. Peter showed a deep faith at first, trusting that Jesus, His Master, and His Lord, would not let him sink.  Instead, we tend to focus on that one line, “‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

            But where was the faith of the eleven other apostles?  Where were their bold acts of rushing towards Jesus?  But, lest self-righteous indignation start to creep in, whether at the lack of faith of St. Peter or the lack of faith of the other eleven, we then have to turn back to ourselves and consider: where are our bold acts?  When was the last time we rushed to the Lord?

            Besides maybe breaking local speed laws to get to church on time, when was the last time we rushed to see Jesus?  When was the last time we went out on the waters, though the wind was strong and the waves were around us, to be close to Jesus?  For the ancient people, especially the Jews, water was a sign of life, but it was also a sign of chaos and death and destruction.  At the beginning, God has to order the waters of chaos.  Water is what kills the evil generation in the days of Noah.  Water just as likely killed as give life.  And yet, Jesus is out there, with no fear of the chaos, and, in fact, standing over it, with the waters of chaos under the dominion of His feet.  And it is over those waters of chaos that Peter goes out to Jesus.

            We are sometimes afraid to go to meet Jesus because of the chaos that surrounds our life.  Our fear to run to Jesus is related to whether or not we know Jesus.  St. Peter loved Jesus, and was willing to do anything for Him, because Peter had spent months and years following Him.  How much time do we spend with Jesus?  Do we know how to recognize His presence?

            In our first reading, the ways that Elijah does not experience God are classical ways that God reveals Himself, what we call a theophany.  In the Old Testament, God frequently reveals Himself in a strong wind, in an earthquake, in a fire.  But this time, with Elijah, God only reveals Himself in the silence.  And this presence of God is so powerful that Elijah has to hide his face in his cloak. 

            God still reveals Himself in many ways: in the poor; in those who mourn; in a beautiful Mass; in a stunning sunset; and the list goes on and on.  But God often reveals Himself in silence.  And we are not a society that likes silence.  I certainly include myself in that last statement.  I love to have my iTunes playing on my phone, or the radio on in my car, or the TV on, even if just for background noise.  It takes effort for me to have silence, even though I try to get at least a good 45 minutes per day of silent prayer with God.  Silence is difficult sometimes.  Sometimes silence is scary, because in the silence, we can actually hear God speak.  And if we are afraid of what God will say, it’s easier to flood our world with noise.  I try to provide some silence here in Mass: purposeful silence, not just waiting for the next thing to start.  But we need more than what we can get in the Mass.  We need time to be alone with God.  We need time to encounter God in a real way.  One easy way is by spending time with Jesus in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday evening form 5:45-7 p.m.  Jesus is there.  All we have to do is come by and visit. 

Another great way to be alone with God is through a retreat.  In our diocese we are trying to reinvigorate the Cursillo retreat, a time where we get to know God and know ourselves better, and have a personal encounter with God.  We all need a personal encounter with God.  We all need to have a time in our life that we can say that we met Jesus.  If not, our faith will grow weaker, and we will not be convincing witnesses to Jesus.  You cannot give what you don’t have.  If we don’t have Jesus, we cannot give Him to others.  Whether it’s Cursillo, or any other Catholic retreat, we need to encounter Jesus.  Only then will we have the courage to get out of the boat like Peter and rush to Jesus.  I know we’re all busy.  But this is important.  In the coming years, it looks more and more like our faith will be tested in public.  If we don’t have a personal encounter with Jesus, we will deny Him by our words and deeds.  If you knew your eternal salvation depended on a time with Jesus, would you take it?  Because our eternal salvation does rely on personally knowing Jesus, not just knowing about Him.  Retreats are perfect times to encounter Jesus.  Our times of Adoration on Tuesday nights are perfect times to encounter Jesus.  May our faith be strong enough to jump out of the apparent safety of the boat of our lives and rush to Jesus, even walking on water to get to Him, knowing that He will not let us drown.

300 Acres of Pizza

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Probably a Chipotle barbacoa burrito and a root beer with two slices of lemon.  Or maybe a well-marbled porterhouse steak with a nice glass of red wine (you don’t have to card me, I am of age).  Those are probably my favorite meals.  On a very joyous day in the life of the church, like a holyday or the day of a patron saint, that would be a good meal.

            Every person has his or her own favorite meal.  Maybe it’s a meal cooked by mom.  Maybe it’s fast food.  Maybe it’s whatever is left over in the fridge.  Sometimes it’s just one food.  Maybe it’s more like a top ten…or twenty.  Lots of people like pizza.  According to one website, Americans consumed 3 billion pizzas last year.  That’s billion with a b.  That’s 300 acres, or 57 square miles of pizza.  That’s a lot of eating. 

            There was a lot of eating today in the Gospel passage we heard.  The people ate until they were satisfied, and there were 5,000 men, “not counting women and children.”  They didn’t have pizza.  They didn’t have steak.  They certainly didn’t have a barbacoa burrito.  Loaves and fish were on the menu that day, and that’s what the people ate.  That’s what Jesus fed them.

            Now some people will say that the miracle that happened there is that Jesus got all the people to share with each other, because they felt bad that they had something hidden in their tunics, and all the disciples had were five loaves and two fish.  And certainly, especially in some families, or with college students, sharing is a minor miracle.  But that eisegesis, that reading our modern presuppositions into the Scripture, does not gel with the point that St. Matthew is trying to get across: Jesus fed the people.  Jesus’ concern for them led Him to supply their needs.  We heard in the psalm response: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”  These people were fed by the hand of the Lord.  God the Father took care of His children. 

            Have you ever seen a child try to cook dinner for itself?  It’s a mess!!  The measurements are never right, they can’t use the oven or the stove, and there are spices and liquids all over the place.  I once tried to make zucchini bread for my mom when she was gone and I was being watched by a baby sitter.  Don’t ask me why, but my baby sitter let me.  I thought that all we needed was shredded zucchini, flour, eggs, and milk.  So I mixed them together in a bread pan and stuck it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes with my baby sitter’s help (don’t worry, I have come a long way since then in cooking).  When it came out, I stuck a toothpick in it, because that’s what you do when you’re done cooking bread.  I had no idea what it was supposed to do, but I had seen my mother do it countless times, so I did it, too.  And then I cut a piece for myself.  It was gooey on the inside, and it tasted nothing like my mother’s zucchini bread.  None of you are probably surprised.

            When we try to feed ourselves, by ourselves, we ruin it, and we end up hungry.  When we are convinced we have everything under control and we know how to do it best by ourselves (like a child), very little turns out right.  We don’t know how to get the good stuff, and we tend to choose the bad stuff given the choice.  The child in the checkout lane never chooses something healthy.  He or she almost always goes for the candy.  We cannot feed ourselves. 

            But Jesus does not leave us to our own devices to starve.  He loves us too much to do that.  His heart is moved with pity for us, because we cannot provide what we need for ourselves.  Oh sure, we can provide work for ourselves (though even those talents that get us a job come from God), and we can make a living, and provide food and drink and a house and healthcare: the basic necessities of life, if we’re diligent, hardworking, and lucky.  But when we die, and we all will, what then?  We don’t know how to bake salvation.  We’ve tried.  It’s ended badly. 

            Jesus offers us salvation.  He feeds us with the finest wheat.  We do not feed ourselves.  When we try, we’re like the Israelites in the desert who tried to get more manna than we needed, only to see it rot.  We’re like the people from the first reading who spend our money on what is not bread and our wages for what fails to satisfy.  If you want to eat, says the Lord through the Prophet Isaiah, come to me.  You will be satisfied.

           

In Israel, in the city of Tabgha, there is a church called the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish.  And in the floor in front of  the main altar, there is a famous mosaic.  The mosaic is a picture of a basket with two fish and four loaves.  No, they didn’t count incorrectly.  The fifth loaf is on the altar.  We take what we can do: provide the basics.  We give God the bread.  That bread is made up of many grains of wheat crushed and ground to a fine flour.  That’s our life.  We’re not meant only to give God the hosts.  We’re supposed to unite our lives—the parts that are joyful and the parts of us that have been crushed—with the bread.  And in offering that little bit to God, we receive back what we could have never created on our own: the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  God is so good to us.  He doesn’t let us starve.  He satisfies us with the bread from heaven.  Mere men (both men and women) eat the bread of angels, the panis angelicus.  “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”

"If I Had A Million Dollars"

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            If I were to ask you what you wanted right now, at this moment, what would your answer be?  A short homily?  Millions of dollars?  Both are probably equally likely.  Maybe we want an end to a disease or an illness.  Maybe we want a loved one back who is either estranged from us, or has died.  What is it that we want?

           

Each culture has its own way of seeking wishes.  The Irish have catching a leprechaun.  We can probably all remember the story of Aladdin and the genie who grants three wishes when Aladdin rubs his magic lamp.  Maybe we throw pennies into wishing wells, or just say our wish to the wishing well like Snow White.  In the past few years there has been a surge in people making wishes at 11:11 p.m., and then posting the time on Twitter, just to make sure people know they’re making a wish.  But we all want to have our desires granted.  And more often than not, our wishes are for passing things.

            That’s what makes Solomon’s prayer (not quite a wish) so unique.  The desire of his heart is not for riches, or the death of his enemies, or long life for himself, but for wisdom so that he can rule well over the Chosen People.  If the Lord appeared to me tonight in a dream and asked what I wanted, I hope I would say that I wanted wisdom to help shepherd this parish well.  But a few million dollars for the parish wouldn’t hurt either.  I’d like to think that my desire would be as pure as Solomon’s, but sometimes the desires of the world get in there, even with the best of intentions.

            In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is what we should desire above all else.  He compares it to a treasure of great price in a field that a person finds, and then goes and buys the field to get the treasure; or like a pearl of great price that a merchant sells all he has to buy because of its priceless quality.   If I told you that Fr. Dave, before he left, inherited 5 million dollars in cash and left it somewhere on the parish property, this whole campus would be torn up by people looking for it.  Imagine what someone could do with that money: take a vacation, pay off the mortgage, feed the poor, start a new business.  As much and more as we would desire that 5 million dollars, that is the measure of how much we should value the kingdom of heaven.

            And look at what people will do for lots of money.  They conquer their greatest fears and do really weird stuff like on “Fear Factor.”  They live in a house or in the middle of nowhere with complete strangers and go through physical and mental tests like in “Big Brother” or “Survivor.”  Prime time television is full of shows of people doing funny/stupid/amazing things just to win some money.  What are we willing to do for the kingdom of heaven?

            What we are willing to do always returns to where our hearts are and what we desire.  If we feel the prize is good enough, we are willing to go through a lot to obtain that prize.  St. Francis of Assisi, according to tradition, struggled at times with chastity, with using the gift of his sexuality well.  So, whenever he was tempted to misuse that gift, he jumped into a rose bush so that his mind would move away from the temptation and move towards all those little thorns digging into his flesh.  Now, I’m not suggesting that if you’re tempted to unchaste acts you should start jumping into thorns, but St. Francis showed us that he valued heaven so much, that he was even willing to undergo bodily pain to make sure he could obtain his true desire: heaven.

            In this, my first weekend in St. Joseph parish, I want to let you know that my goal, my pastoral plan, my mission is to help you desire heaven and help you to get there.  A good shepherd leads his sheep towards green pastures and fresh water, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.  By what I say from the ambo and in my bulletin articles; by my actions whether in the church building, in the office, or out and about; by my prayers I will try to help you as your shepherd.  But even though I am a leader of this community, I am also a part of it, and need your help so that I can desire heaven above all things and make sure I’m getting closer and closer.  Will I help lead you perfectly?  No.  That’s why I’ll go to confession and ask for your forgiveness when I don’t do it well.  Will you do it perfectly?  No.  That’s why I’ll be available for confession.  And in asking God and the community’s forgiveness, we will receive grace from God to reorder our desires in the right way, and get back on the path towards heaven. 

            Each Sunday we will come back here to have our desires purified as we give God what He deserves: our worship and attention.  Each Sunday we will admit that our desires have not always been for God and the kingdom of heaven, and we will receive strength from the worthy reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus.  You don’t have to catch a leprechaun.  You don’t have to find a magic lamp.  You don’t even have to wait until 11:11 p.m.  Just come back each Sunday, and together, in our worship of God, we will put our desires back in the right order, and move closer to the kingdom of heaven.

Goodbye, Farewell, Amen

Ascension of the Lord

           I didn’t plan it this way, but it happened to work out that the Sunday Mass at which I say “farewell” to this community is also the Sunday that, as a Church, we celebrate Jesus saying “farewell” to His disciples and Mother as He ascends into heaven.  Of course, there are major differences: I won’t be leaving today’s Mass or reception on a cloud into the heavens, and I’m not going to ask you to wait for the next week in the upper room of a house, praying for the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

           

The rock from which, by tradition,
Jesus ascended into heaven just
outside Jerusalem

As Jesus leaves today, He doesn’t leave for good.  We heard about the two men, whom we traditionally think of as angels, telling the disciples, “‘Men of Galilee…This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.’”  But, just as important are Jesus own words recorded at the end of today’s Gospel: “‘And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.’”  Jesus, even as He leaves His disciples in such a way that they will no longer see His glorified body, promises that He is not abandoning them.  He promises to be with them always.  That is why, of course, they also pray for 9 days, awaiting the promised Paraclete, the Advocate, who will fill them with power from on high, the Holy Spirit, Who is Christ’s presence for all ages, and teaches them things that they could not understand while Jesus was on earth.  Jesus doesn’t abandon His flock, His People, His Church, but remains with them always.

            We see that through the Holy Spirit working through Bishop Boyea as he made decisions about where priests would be in the coming year.  Bishop Boyea needed Fr. Dave Hudgins to study canon law, and to learn how to be Christ’s presence on the Tribunal, and he is sending me to Adrian, to be Christ’s presence there.  And he is sending you another priest to take my place, to be Christ’s presence here, as well as another priest to take Fr. Jim’s place.  In some ways I’m sure those priests are similar.  In other ways I know they will be different.  I’ve already been told that I need to tell Fr. Dan Westermann that he will be expected to attend as many sports games as possible, and announce STA basketball games.  We’ll see what he can do.  But Jesus supplies the priests that this parish will need to grow as disciples, and Jesus will remain with you through them.

            Jesus also gives a mandate, a command, as He ascends into heaven: “‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…[and] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’”  Jesus commands His disciples to tell others about Him and teach them to observe His commands because He has given us the way (not one way, the way) to happiness, which prepares us even on earth for the eternal joys of heaven.  Jesus does not want His presence to be limited to those who physically saw Him while He preached on earth.  Jesus wants His presence to be spread all around the world, and, after Pentecost, we see the disciples do precisely that: they spread out and preach the Gospel to modern-day Syria, Iraq, Iran, India, Egypt, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece, Italy, perhaps even Spain, and so many places in-between.  Filled with Jesus’ presence, they are compelled to tell others about Jesus and live and preach His way of life to others.

            People have sometimes asked me how I was able to be everywhere: sports, band concerts, plays, classrooms, parish meetings, etc.  I just tried to be a father, and I emulated the sacrifices so many of you parents have made and are making to be at your children’s events.  The only difference was that I have a lot more children than any one family here!!  But in trying to go to everything, if only just for a little bit, I was trying to show you that, while Jesus of course cares that you go to Mass each Sunday and holyday and that you go to confession regularly, Jesus also cares about the things you do outside this church building: the games you play, the events you’re engaged in, the clubs and organizations to which you belong.  Jesus cares about it all, and He wants you to spread His presence to all those events in which you participate.  To the extent that you could see Jesus caring when I showed up, give praise to God.  To the extent that my presence didn’t communicate Jesus’ presence, I apologize.  And I’m sorry I could not do more.

            We don’t really hear about it in Scripture, but we know that Jesus laughed from time to time.  We know that Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus.  We read in Scripture that Jesus consoled sinners and extended His mercy to them.  He spoke difficult words and set a high bar for what it means to follow Him.  He called all to deeper conversion and a fuller life through a deeper relationship with God.  I have laughed with you.  I have wept with you at funerals.  I have been the vessel of God’s mercy more times than I can count.  I have spoken difficult words, and reminded all of us that to be a disciple means to daily carry our cross with Jesus.  I have tried to encourage all of us to get to know Jesus better and love Him more.  Thank you for all of those times.  Thank God that I was able to try to be His presence in those times.  And while we say farewell today and in the coming days, the most important thing is that the Father remains with you; Jesus remains with you; the Holy Spirit remains with you, because Jesus promised, “‘behold, I am with you always.’”

Like a duckling, Like a sheep, Like a child

Fourth Sunday of Easter

           

This time of year it’s not uncommon to see ducks, especially with all the rain we’ve had, and we may even see ducklings accompanying the mother duck.  What a disarming scene when you have those tiny little ducklings following behind their mother, going whatever direction she goes.  When children first learn to walk, they can sometimes resemble ducklings, waddling along, always trying to stay close to their mother if she starts walking to a different part of the house or yard.

            That image of a child (or a duckling) following its mother, is also the image that our Collect set out for us today as we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday.  In that prayer at the beginning of Mass we asked God to “lead us to share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before.”  Our prayer reflects Jesus’ desire, made known to us by our Mother, the Church, to follow Him, to stay close to Him.  Because Jesus is leading us, not to the safety of the nest or a pond, but to the home that was prepared for us, the “eternal pastures” which our Prayer after Communion will speak.  Jesus wants us to go to heaven, and the way He has set out for us to go there is to follow Him.

            Jesus is the one who leads us to heaven, but He’s not just one teacher out of many.  Jesus is also the gate of heaven, “the gate for the sheep” as He said in the Gospel.  And only if we enter through Him will we find those eternal pastures, the salvation we hope for.  Buddha will not save us.  The Qur’an will not save us.  The Law of Moses will not save us.  Eastern Religions will not save us.  Our horoscope won’t save us.  Only Jesus is worth centering our life around.  Only Jesus saves.  Yes, it is possible for those who, through not fault of their own do not know Jesus, to be saved.  But if they are saved, it is only by Jesus and His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.  Jesus is the only way of salvation, which is why it is so important for us to spread the Gospel and encourage others to be baptized and live their lives as followers of Jesus.

            Baptism brings us into a relationship with Jesus so that we can follow Him, like sheep, or like a child and its mother, or like a duckling and a duck.  The Gospel helps us to recognize that path, and where Jesus is leading us.  Simply being spiritual doesn’t cut it.  There are lots of paths, but they don’t all lead to the same place.  If we take Jesus at His word, that “whoever enters through me will be saved,” then it’s important to go beyond just liking spiritual stuff, or acknowledging that there is a divine being out there somewhere.  It is important that we get connected with the Good Shepherd who walks ahead of us so that we can recognize His voice and follow Him.  Otherwise, if we do not recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, we are likely to follow other shepherds, who are not good, and who will not lead us to pastures of joy and peace and love, but are only thieves and robbers.

            Peter, in our first reading, preached to the Jews and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah because he was convinced that his people, the Chosen People of God, needed to recognize in Jesus their Lord and Christ, and to be baptized and saved “from this corrupt generation.”  Peter didn’t tell them that as long as they were spiritual they were doing just fine.  He didn’t even say that if they just continued on as they were they would be good.  He told them to repent from their sins and be baptized, so that they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  He was telling them to begin a relationship with Jesus, to be baptized, so that they could follow Him, listen to Him, and conform their lives to Him.  He acknowledges in our second reading from his first epistle, that we had gone astray, like sheep, but Jesus brought us back to Himself.

            Also in our second reading, St. Peter gives us a couple of examples of how we can be like Jesus.  He tells us to be patient when we suffer for doing what is good, just like Jesus suffered for us, and did not open His mouth.  Peter reminds us not to return insult for insult, or to return a threat for suffering.  Those are two ways that we follow Jesus.

            Another great way to follow Jesus is to honor and respect mothers, as we do today as a country.  Following Jesus means promoting the vocation of being a mother as a way of holiness.  Mothers sacrifice so much of themselves: sharing their body with a tiny, new human life through conception; nursing their infant; waking up at all hours of the night to care for their child; spending countless amounts of money so that their child can have what it needs and wants, even though the mother often goes without.  Mothers often ensure that their child receives the gift of new life, and begins to know the voice of the Good Shepherd from a young age through having the child baptized, and teaching the child about Jesus.  And it’s hard enough with a father to assist in the ways that he can.  Too many mothers today find no support from their husbands and, whether legally or just practically, have to raise their children by themselves.  Following the Good Shepherd means assisting mothers and fathers in raising their children, and when only the mother does the work of raising the child, assisting her all the more.

            Today we are invited to stay close to Jesus, like a duckling and a duck, like a child with its mother, like a sheep with the shepherd, so that we can enter through the only means of salvation: Jesus Christ.  May our “kind Shepherd…be pleased to settle in eternal pastures the sheep [He has] redeemed by [His] Precious Blood.” 

Where's Jesus?

Third Sunday of Easter

           

Some of you may remember a series of books that either you, or your children owned, or maybe even they own one now.  The series was called Where’s Waldo, and these books were picture books.  The point of each illustration was to find a little guy named Waldo, who was in a red and white striped shirt, with a red and white striped stocking cap on and glasses.  Some were easy, some were hard.  For me, it was a great way to pass the time waiting in a doctor’s office, or on a long road trip.

            Our main concern in this life should not be where’s Waldo, but should be where’s Jesus.  You don’t have to buy a set of picture books looking for a guy in a white tunic with a red sash over it, hidden among other people and scenes.  Our vocation is, rather, to find Jesus as He makes Himself known to us.  One primary place to find Jesus is in the Scriptures.

            That’s what St. Peter did as he spoke to the Jews in our first reading today.  Having been filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter proclaimed to the people that Jesus was the Messiah, and that He had been raised from the dead.  St. Peter saw Jesus in the Old Testament, in the only Scriptures that existed at that time.  He saw Jesus in Psalm 16 as he quoted King David: “…because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.  You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”  St. Peter, who had likely read that Psalm countless times as an observant Jew, saw it in a new light, saw the reference to Jesus, who was not allowed to see corruption, nor abandoned to the netherworld, but raised up. 

            The disciples on the road to Emmaus have Jesus Himself open up the Old Testament for them, showing them how it refers to Him.  And while they do not at first recognize Jesus walking with them, their hearts burn within them as He helps them to understand how Jesus fulfills all the prophecies of the Old Testament.  Who knows exactly what passages Jesus explained to them, but we can see from the very beginning, in Genesis, how a redeemer is promised as God tells the serpent, in Adam and Eve’s presence: “‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.’”  That offspring, striking the head of the serpent, is Jesus. 

In our Eucharistic Prayer that we hear today, the Roman Canon, we hear three important persons from Genesis that refer to or prefigure Jesus: 1) Abel the just, the son of Adam and Eve, who offered a pleasing sacrifice to God, and was yet killed by his own brother, Cain, just as Jesus offered Himself as the acceptable sacrifice, as He was killed by his own; 2) Abraham, our father in faith, whom God asked to sacrifice his beloved, his only son, Isaac, though at the last minute an angel stayed his hand, just as God offered His beloved, His only Son, Jesus, but did not stay His hand; 3) Melchizedek, the king of Salem, which means king of peace, who appears without any lineage, without beginning or end, and is priest of the Most High God, though not of the Levitical priesthood, and who offers bread and wine, just as Jesus, the True Priest, without beginning or end, changes the bread and wine we offer into His Body and Blood, “a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.”

Or perhaps Jesus spoke to the disciples on the road about the suffering servant chapters of Isaiah, chapters 49, 50, 52, and 53, describing the suffering of Jesus.  Or maybe Jeremiah 20, where all gather to attack the just one and cause trouble for him on every side.  Or maybe Wisdom 2, where the wicked plan to attack the just man, because he is obnoxious to them, and calls himself a child of the Lord, and reproaches them for transgressions of the Law.  Or maybe he explained how Hosea 6 says, “‘Come, let us return to the Lord, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.  He will revive after two days; on the third day he will raise us up.’”  Or maybe he quoted for them Zechariah 12:10: “and they shall look upon him whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.”

Some of those passages or chapters may sound familiar, as we read them during Lent.  But these are just scratching the surface.  Jesus reveals Himself though the Word of God, the Scriptures.  But can we find Him?  Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear?  Whether it’s the Old or the New Testament, do we come to know Jesus through reading the Bible?  It’s not always easy, but it helps us to know Jesus better.  And for those tricky passages we offer Bible studies, or small faith-sharing groups, to help you to recognize Jesus better and better each time you read the Word of God. 

St. Jerome said that ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.  Do we know Jesus?  Is our view of Jesus consistent with how He revealed Himself in the Word of God?  Do we read the Word of God?  And if we do, do our hearts burn within us as Jesus is made known?  If you don’t read the Bible every day, now is the time to start.  Start with the New Testament, just one chapter per night.  I read the entire New Testament in a year, and the entire Old Testament in a year.  It’s doable.  And, especially for those tough passages, pick up a good Bible Study, or join one, or see what the Catechism says about those passages with the Scripture index in the back.  If we are open to the Word of God, which always is meant to prepare us for Jesus making Himself known through the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist, then our lives will be changed, for the better, and we won’t have to hunt for Jesus, but we will recognize Him in the ways He reveals Himself to us.

Car, Cash, or Caribbean

Easter Sunday

           

What if I told you that if you sat in the front row, on the aisle seat, you won a car valued at $4 million, no strings attached, no taxes, no nothing.  Or that if you sat in pews to my right, you won $300 million?  Or that just by coming today you had each won your own island in the Caribbean with white, sandy beaches, a fully furnished house, and a private jet to get you there?  I’m willing to bet you would be pretty excited!  I know I would be.  After this winter, what I wouldn’t give for my own Caribbean island just to relax in the sun!!

            Now, the bad news is that I’m not actually giving those things away (no surprise there!).  The good news is that we have received something better, something upon which no price can be put.  And that, of course, is eternal salvation.  What we celebrate today, along with every Sunday, is that sin and death, which had ruled ever since Adam, was defeated by Jesus Christ.  How on God’s green earth is that better news than cars, millions of dollars or our own tropical paradise?  All those things will pass away.  But life after death is forever, one way or another.

            How do we live so as to show that we treasure this gift of new life?  How does Easter make us different?  If I had a $4 million dollar car, there are things I would do differently in my life: I’d probably spend more time caring for my car than I do now; I would certainly never drive it in the snow, which means that in Michigan, I wouldn’t drive it from November until May, it seems like.  If I had $300 million dollars, my life would be radically different, too.  Besides friends I haven’t talked to since high school coming out of the woodwork to hit me up for a little financial help, I’d have to spend a lot of time trying to decide how best to use my new fortune to take care of my own needs, and to share it with others.  If I had my own Caribbean island with private jet, you can bet that I would spend my time there…a lot…especially in the winter!!  Having those things changes the way we live our life.  So sharing in the great gift of the Resurrection should change the way we live our life.

            Part of that change is celebrating the Resurrection.  In the earliest days of the Church, Christians, who were mostly Jews, celebrated two days: Saturday (the Sabbath) and Sunday (the Day of the Resurrection).  They rested on the Sabbaths and early on went to the synagogue, because that’s what they were used to, and then on Sundays they gathered to celebrate that Jesus was risen from the dead, and would read from the prophets and celebrate the Eucharist.  They were so appreciative for the gift of eternal salvation that they wanted to celebrate, each 1^st day of the week, what happened on that momentous 1^st day of the week, when Jesus rose from the dead.  As Christianity split from Judaism, they stopped observing the Sabbath.  But they still held on to Sundays as a day of rejoicing in the Lord and fulfilling the Lord’s command at the Last Supper, to “do this in memory of me.”  Just as the first day in the first creation story was the beginning of creation, so the first day of the week, when Jesus rose from the dead, was the beginning of a new creation.

            I am overjoyed that we have a full church today!!  It is so much easier, and so much more invigorating to preach to a full church, even an overflowing church!!  With as many Catholics as there are in East Lansing, including the MSU students, each Mass should be full with Catholics celebrating the Resurrection!  I’m glad that you’re here with us to celebrate today.  Come back next week when we celebrate the Resurrection again.  And then a week after that we’ll celebrate it again!  And so on for each Sunday.  And even if you don’t quite have the same enthusiasm that you do today, I can promise that we’ll do all we can to help you, each week, to delve deeper and deeper into the great gift that we received from Jesus.

            But, of course, being a Catholic does not stop at these doors.  St. Paul, in our second reading, invites us to be a leaven for our world, not with the “old yeast of malice and wickedness, but the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”  Having come to the empty tomb like Mary Magdalene and Peter and John, we are then called to spread that news to others.  We do that by how we live our life in our actions.  We do that by telling people about Jesus, so that they come to join us.  If you had a $4 million car, or won $300 million dollars, or a Caribbean island, even if you were guarded with whom you told so as not to be taken advantage of, you would want to tell others.  Again, our gift is greater than all of those, and yet you’d think we’d just received the worst news ever, so bad that we don’t even want to acknowledge it to others and try not to let it affect us.  Tell people about Jesus.  Live according to the Gospel.  Those are signs that you are glad in the gift Jesus gave you.  And people need it, because they’re hungry for God and Good News and new life, and we’ve got it!  They are as hungry now as when St. Peter preached, what we heard in our first reading.  And thousands of people were baptized at the preaching of St. Peter!  God has given us the greatest gift in the Resurrection of Jesus.  This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad it in!!

What Love Looks Like

Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday)

            In a few moments we will have the opportunity to venerate the cross, a chance to come and give some sign of honor and respect—a genuflection, a bow, a kiss, a touch—to the instrument of our salvation.

            But right now, I want all of you to look at the crucifix hanging above our altar.  It’s been there since 1968 when the church was completed.  Perhaps many of us don’t even notice it any more, even with how large it is, because it has been there since the beginning.  But really take a good look at it.  What do you see?

            Of course, the easiest answer is Jesus.  We see Jesus crucified on the cross.  But go deeper.  Maybe we see a horrible way to die, cleaned up, though, for public piety.  Maybe we see the different types of wood.  Maybe we see the inscription INRI, which stands for “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum,” “Jesus the Nazarean, King of the Jews.” 

           

An Armenian mural from the
Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem

Those things are all there.  But when we look at the crucifix we should see love.  What we celebrate today on Good Friday is love: Love that was willing to be destroyed so that we could live.  Maybe when we think of love we think of a heart, or we think of an old couple holding hands together on a bench, or we think of a a young man, down on one knee, proposing to his girlfriend.  But love is the crucifixion.

            True love is when the Lover is willing to be beat up instead of or even for the Beloved.  True love is having the skin of your back ripped out by scourging so that the Beloved can remain whole.  True love is when the Lover’s head is pierced with thorns placed in a mocking way to represent a crown so that the Beloved can wear a true crown in paradise.  True love is when the Lover walks with a heavy burden so that the Beloved does not have to carry it or travel that awful road.  True love is when the Lover is willing to die so that the Beloved can live. 

            Whom do you love?  For whom are you willing to suffer?  For whom are you willing to die?  Love always means giving all of who you are, even your very life, for the good of the other, so that the other can go to heaven.  Love means horrible suffering, taken willingly so that the other does not have to suffer.  What we celebrate today is love, a love so pure, so true, that Lover was willing to die an agonizing death at the very hands of the Beloved.  That is love.  And if we come back just a day or so more, we will see that love, though it is death, is also new life.

            God loves you.  He shows us that love means being willing to die for the one we love.  How much do we love God?