3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A
April 6, 2008
Rekindling God’s Fire in Our Lives
This weekend, because I celebrate at two children’s Masses, I’ve brought with me a box, and I need a few children to come up front here and help me with it. One simple question: As you hold the box, shake it around, listen to it, but you can’t look inside it – what do you think I have inside the box? [Let children hold the box and guess. Then show them.]
Inside, I have a … cat! [Pull out stuffed cat] How many here have a pet at home? What kind? What do you need to do to take care of your pet? [Feed it, bathe it, clean its litter box, give it water] Do I need to do those things for this cat? Why not? Because it is not really alive! It’s only a “stuffed” cat. It’s a lot different from a real cat that is alive.
Our faith can sometimes be like a dead cat – it has the external appearance of a living faith, but it lacks fire, passion, energy. Anyone ever felt like you had fallen into a spiritual rut, a spiritual hole in your life? Today, this third Sunday of Easter, I want to talk about how we might rekindle God’s fire in our lives.
Let’s begin with today’s second reading, from the 1st Letter of Peter. Read it with me, together: You call out to God for help and he helps—he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ's sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. (1 Peter 1:17-19, Message Bible)
The Bible warns us to be on guard against sloppy spiritual living. Our life is a journey, an adventure, and we must travel with a deep consciousness, a deep awareness of God. Don’t miss the adventure, the awareness of the Lord in your life! Don’t forget the tremendous price Jesus paid for our salvation – payment with his very blood, dying on a cross.
In our gospel today, Jesus’ two disciples are on a journey to Emmaus, and Jesus appears to them and walks with them – but they are blind; they miss that he is with them, at their side; they are unaware of his presence and his love, among them. And the same can happen to us! We, too, can fall into spiritual pits and become blind and lost, spiritually.
Last week, I was back in Indiana at our annual Holy Cross meeting of pastors. Our presenter, Fr. Richard Fragomeni, told a story about when he was a young associate pastor at a very dead Catholic parish in Chicago. At the 7 a.m. Mass on Sunday morning, nobody sang; nobody smiled or shook hands; nobody greeted anyone else. They sat in the back of church, frowns on their faces, looking at their watches, expecting Mass to be 30 minutes long, at the most, and not a second longer. They were there out of Catholic guilt, fearful of committing a mortal sin, fearful of going to hell if they missed Sunday Mass – but they were there to fulfill an obligation, a duty, a rule, not because they loved God. So Fr. Fragomeni – young, naïve, inexperienced – decided he would try to insert some life into this very dead congregation. He decided to introduce music and singing into the Mass. And needless to say, as a result, the Mass went a bit longer. After a few Sundays of this singing, the pastor called Fr. Fragomeni into his office. He explained, “At 7 a.m. Mass, I hear that you’ve implemented a few changes.” The pastor continued, “At 7 a.m. Mass, there is one faithful donor who, without fail, gives $500 every week to support this church. Last week, he put a check for $500 into the collection plate – but this time, it was unsigned. And there was a note attached. It said, ‘I’ll start signing the checks again, when the music stops.’ Father, we need that money, so may I suggest you stop singing at the 7 a.m. Mass.”
Sad, isn’t it, when we fall into spiritual ruts, when we become numb to the presence of Jesus in our lives, when our faith is just going through the motions, fulfilling duty and obligation, but we’ve lost the fire, the spirit, the love.
In our gospel today, the two disciples are on the road to a village seven miles outside Jerusalem called Emmaus. They are despondent. Their Master, Jesus, has just been crucified. But listen to the story: Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. (Luke 24:13-16, NAB)
Jesus is right there with them, right there at their side, walking with them and talking to him – but they miss him. The same can happen to us. We become so wrapped up in ourselves, so preoccupied by worries and distractions, so focused on wrong priorities, that we become blind to Jesus, who is walking with us, at our side. So how do we recover our sight? How do we rekindle God’s fire in our lives?
First: We need to let God feed us. Too many Christians are on starvation diets, spiritually. We are so busy with the distractions of life that we don’t take time out to take care of our spiritual needs. Or we feed on junk food and garbage, not on solid spiritual food that will really strengthen and sustain us. Our gospel today tells us: And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”(Luke 24:30-32, NAB)
This Emmaus story teaches us something very important. You see, their eyes were opened in the breaking of the bread, that is, at the Eucharist, at the celebration of the Mass. Too many Catholics today don’t even go to Mass on a regular basis. They are missing out on the banquet that the Lord has prepared for them. They are starving to death, spiritually – because active participation in church is essential to our spiritual health. It is NOT just an option when we have time, when it is convenient. Please understand: It is impossible to be a “lone ranger” Christian. As human beings, God created us for community, for fellowship with other Christians. We need the church because we need a community that will strengthen us, encourage us, help us in our weaknesses and struggles, and allow us the opportunity to help and serve others.
And in the Emmaus story, the two disciples ask, “Were not our hearts burning with us while he spoke to us and opened the scriptures to us?” As Christians, we also need to feast on God’s Word in the Bible. Without the Word of God in our hearts and in our mouths, we will always be weak, spiritually. It’s sort of sad that so many of us Catholics are virtually illiterate when it comes to the Bible. All we know about the Bible are the stories we hear proclaimed at Mass on Sunday. But at home, many Catholics don’t even own a Bible, or the Bible they own is the gigantic version that sits on a table in the living room, unopened, unused, a mere piece of furniture or a decoration. But no – this is God’s Word; this is God’s love letter to us. Our hearts will come alive with the flame of God’s Spirit if we read the Word of God, meditate and chew on it, ponder it, study it, pray with it. This Easter season, if you are not already in a Bible study group, join one. Don’t waste another second of your life, missing out. In a week, we are starting a course on the New Testament – Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. here in the church, in Spanish, and in English on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. in the rectory, just off the foyer of the main church office. Don’t be afraid. God’s Word is powerful and will change your life, it you feed on it.
The Mexicans have a wonderful expression: “Panza llena, corazón contento.” In English, that translates roughly as, “Belly full, heart content.” Jesus came to fill our bellies spiritually so that our hearts can rest content in the Lord.
First, let God feed you. Second, start to see with Easter eyes. Fr. Fragomeni, at our workshop last week, shared that Sicilians – Italians who come from the far south of their country, from the island of Sicily – have a wonderful expression during the Easter season:“Beati gli occhi che vedano la Pasqua.” (“Happy the eyes that see Easter!”)
Easter is resurrection and new life. It is meant to change us, change our perspective and our outlook on the world. The risen Lord is alive and in our midst, walking with us at our side, holding our hand in times of distress, nudging and pushing us to become people of God – if only we will see him at our side. Saint Hildegarde one said, “God hugs you. You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.” But can we see and feel and sense His presence all around us?
Third, we need to become an “Acts” church and an “Acts” community. In the Bible, the Book of the Acts of the Apostles is the thrilling story of the birth of the church – how it was born out of the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and how it came alive and spread to the far ends of the earth, through the zeal of those early apostles and followers of the risen Lord. During these 50 days of Easter, it is no wonder that the church – in her wisdom – invites us to listen and reflect upon and ponder the words of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles at each of our Easter Masses – for these words from God’s Word are meant to rekindle that same Pentecost fire in us today, and in our church in the modern world.
Our first reading today is from the Book of Acts, Chapter 2. Peter, in his sermon, talks about how Jesus’ enemies crucified him, but “God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:23-24, NAB) That’s seeing with Easter eyes – Jesus Christ IS risen, today, here with us. The Bible tells us that the people responded with great openness to Peter’s preaching: Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter (said) to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38, NAB) We see here a real openness and willingness to change – unlike the church stuck in a rut, that loved its 30-minute Masses and refused to sing.
And when we are open to allowing the Lord into our hearts, when we are truly trying to follow Him, then our faith is rekindled, our faith is reignited with the fire of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit puts hunger pains in our stomach so that we yearn to feed ourselves with the Word of God and with the community gathered around table at the Eucharist. And the Spirit helps us see with Easter eyes, not with blurred vision caused by our worries, our pains, our angers, our hurts and resentments. And the Spirit transforms us as a community of faith, changes us into an Acts 2 church.
It wasn’t in the part of Acts 2 from our first reading today, but in your Bible, if you read just a little bit further into chapter 2 of the Book of Acts, listen to the description of that first-century Christian community, transformed by the power of the risen Lord. Let’s read it together: They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, NAB)
That’s the kind of church Jesus wants us to become: Alive, on fire, aware of Jesus all around us, especially in our sisters and brothers.
Where do you see Jesus? Are you missing him? And how do you respond? You see, Jesus is all around us, each and every day:
♣ In the young teenager, unwed and pregnant, fearful, unsure how to talk to her parents, maybe contemplating an abortion, and she may be one of our neighbors;
♣ Or a father who has just lost his job, or his hours have been cut, and he doesn’t know how to support his family, and maybe he feels depressed or tempted to turn to alcohol for comfort, instead of to God;
♣ Or the young mother, four or five little ones, running around, screaming, and she’s about to pull her hair out;
♣ Or a young man, struggling with his sexuality, worried perhaps that he is gay, and not sure who to turn to for help and comfort and someone who will accept him without judgment or criticism;
♣ Or a neighbor who is sick, or has a family member who is sick, or maybe someone close to them has just died, and they still are grieving on the inside, crying and hurting;
♣ Maybe someone here has a son, a daughter, a brother or sister or friend who is off in Iraq or Afghanistan, serving in the military, and each night, we go to bed with knots in our stomach, fearful for their safety, afraid one day, a pair of smartly dressed marines or army soldiers will come knocking on the door with dread bad news;
♣ Or Jesus is in our kids, pressured because of failing grades at school.
Jesus is all around, if we but have the eyes to see him!
I want to end by us watching a music video and listening to a wonderful song by a Christian contemporary rock music group, D.C. Talk. The song is entitled “Colored People” and it talks about how Jesus is present in all of us, in all of our glorious diversity – how Jesus walks right at our side, each and every day, in the person of our neighbor – how we are the Body of Christ, how we see Jesus in that Body, broken and yet risen and renewed when we gather together as brothers and sisters around the table of the Lord, breaking bread together and breaking open God’s Word with one another. Listen to the song… [play “Colored People” by D.C. Talk]