Easter

Ascension, May 4, 2008

04/05/08 21:59

Ascension
May 4, 2008

Mission: Possible – Looking Out, Not Just Up

Today, on this Ascension Thursday, we have a special treat. Several of our teen-agers have prepared a skit for us today. Let’s give them a big applause! [Skit – text of skit is at the end of this homily]

On the screen, it says “Mission: Possible.” How many here have seen the movie, “Mission Impossible”? It’s an adventure/spy movie, and it always begins with a tape recorded message in which our hero spy – Tom Cruise, in the movie – receives instructions for a seemingly impossible mission, which he must choose to accept or not. Today, on the Feast of the Ascension, Jesus gives us a mission – but unlike in the movie, it is not an impossible mission. Our gospel today tells us, “Go, make disciples of all nations.” But we do it with God’s help – “I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Here’s how: Look out, not just up. And that’s what our skit was about. Juan was just looking up, waiting for God’s phone call, but not really following God, not looking out. So he missed God when he knocked.

How many Christians miss God’s knock? They don’t embrace God’s mission and plan and purpose for their lives. They are spectators, not participators. The Lord wants us to be missionaries, not spiritual couch potatoes!

Next week is Pentecost Sunday, our yearly celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget to dress in red – the color of the Holy Spirit. But more important than the externals, than our clothing – let your life be filled with the Holy Spirit, with God’s power and energy. Next week we’ll talk about that, about living life passionately, as God wants us to do. Today, on this feast of the Ascension, we’re given a prelude to Pentecost, a foretaste. And I want us to ponder a simple but profound question: What if you had only a month to live?

Let’s start with some good news: You’re all here, alive and well. You’re not dead yet! But now: Some bad news. Not everyone is here. On in any given week in our church, we lose two, three, four people who were here last Sunday, but not this Sunday. Two, three, four funerals a week. Just today, I received a call from a woman whose husband has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He’s 52, just a year older than me. He’s not yet baptized, hasn’t made his first communion, isn’t confirmed, and they aren’t yet married in church – so she asked if we could get all that done quickly, in the next few weeks.

I have some really good news: It’s never too late, for God. Think of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He asked Jesus’ forgiveness, and the Lord told him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” For God, it’s never too late, as long as we still are alive on this earth, even to the last few seconds. For God, it’s never too late until it really is too late. Thank goodness! But I have another question: Why wait? Why postpone? Why take a chance on waiting until the very last moment?

Time is the most precious commodity God gives us. It’s more valuable than gold. Once time has past, it can never be recovered. It rushes on, so use it wisely. What needs to change in your life? And more importantly, when?

Last week, I heard another preacher talking about time. He was laughing at how our measurement of time changes as the years go by. Now that I’m 51, it seems like the years just zip by, a lot faster than when I was 14 or 15 or 21. Anyone here a parent of an infant or a toddler? How do you measure time? He’s 1 ½. She’s 2 and 3 months. But then we get older: “I’m almost 16.” Well, in truth, you’re only 14, but still, “I’m almost 16.” We want to get older. We want to get that driver’s license. Then: I’m “becoming 21.” Old enough to buy a beer, go to a bar. But notice what comes next: I’ve just turned 30. It sounds like sour milk – I just turned 30. Then, time starts to speed up: I’m pushing 40, I’ve reached 50, I’ve made it to 60, I’ve hit 70. Sounds like some sort of crash into a brick wall! After that, it’s just survival mode – “I’ve hit Wednesday; I’ve hit the bathroom.” And after 80 – “I’ve reached bedtime, Hallelujah!” For those who make it past 80, time starts to go in reverse again – “I was just 90.” And then, for those lucky few who make it past 100, we’re back to being like small children again – “I’m 100 ½!”

We laugh, but time is our most precious commodity. Fr. John lent me a video last week. Watch it with me. [Show the video of the Dash – the dash when we die between our birth date and our death date]

How are you using your dash? Are you looking out, or just up. Let’s look at the Bible, at the example that Jesus himself gave to us. In Luke’s gospel, we hear this: As the time drew near for his return to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. – Luke 9:51, NLT. Notice: Jesus knew he was about to leave, to ascend back to heaven and be with his Father, but where was his attention focused? Horizontally, looking out, not up, resolutely heading back to Jerusalem and his disciples.

In our first reading today, the story of the Ascension in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles: Read this with me. Jesus is speaking: “You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Two key points here: First, we have God’s power with us and in us; but second, we are called to a Mission – Mission possible, not impossible – to be witnesses of Jesus.

Where? Jerusalem. That’s where the disciples lived. That was home. How are we witnesses for Jesus in our homes – to our spouses, with our kids? What spiritual legacy are we leaving them? Are we training our kids in the path of God’s righteousness? Are we leaving them a lasting and eternal legacy of faith?

But not just Jerusalem – also Judea. That’s the area, the region. Are we witnesses for Jesus at our workplaces, at our schools, when we are shopping, with our neighbors?

And then – Samaria. That’s the next area out. Maybe that’s here in our church, or in our community. Am I serving? Am I giving? Or am I just a sponge, a taker?

Finally – “to the ends of the earth.” Our Mini-Retreat 401 is entitled “Alive in the World!” and we begin the retreat with a prayer, entitled “We are World Christians!” Not all of us are called to go across the globe as missionaries, but all of us are called to care about the world, to educate ourselves, to vote, to defend Christian values in the marketplace and in the political arena. What about abortion, or immigrant rights, or the war in Iraq, or just wages, or universal health care, or ending racism, or global warming? As Christians, we are called to care – and to work, as best we can, for the Reign of God, not the Reign of the Almighty Dollar!

Let’s keep reading in Acts: When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? 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.” Then they returned to Jerusalem.” – Acts 1:8-12, NAB

The disciples were caught, figuratively speaking, with their pants down -- looking up, not out. Don’t get me wrong: We need to look up to God. We need to pray, read the Bible, go to church, attend our small faith communities. But that’s not all! Our looking up is meant to help us to look out, to see the needs of the world, and as Christians, to start to meet those needs and to become living witnesses for Jesus and contagious Christians in the world.

What are the obstacles? On your handouts, I’ve mentioned three:

♣ First, the myth of “someday.” You know it: “Someday” I’ll volunteer for a church ministry; “someday” I’ll join a Bible study group; “someday” I’ll start tithing; “someday” I’ll attend the mini-retreats. And not just with church things: “Someday” I’ll slow down and quite that second job so I can spend more time with my spouse and kids; “someday” I’ll work to curb my anger, or that drinking problem; “someday” I’ll spend less and become more responsible financially; “someday”… My friend, “someday” usually never comes, unless you make your “someday” today. We tell ourselves: The time isn’t right. There will never, ever, ever, be a perfect time in the future. The only “perfect” time is now.

♣ Second obstacle: Fear. We’re in an economic recession, which makes fear even worse: Will I have enough to provide for my family, keep up on the house payments, pay for the gas for the car? Jesus tells us not to fear, but to trust in him. That does not mean we won’t have problems. Christians get sick, lose their jobs, have their houses repossessed, face bankruptcy, just like anyone else. But there is a big difference: They are not alone. They have God on their side, and God’s family, the church. They have Jesus’ promise not to abandon them. They can rest easier, less stress, less worry. Last week, I heard about a Christian family that did lose their home. You would think they would be completely at wit’s end – but no! They wrote: “It was no fun losing our home. I would not wish that on anyone. But another family in our church offered us a home to rent, and we can now afford our payments. We’re less stressed than before. We still have our marriage, our children, our faith intact. We’re making it, and God is with us.”

♣ A third obstacle: The Lure of Comfort. We live in a society where we become too complacent, too accustomed to our creature comforts, unwilling to take a chance, to risk, to venture out and try something new and different.

Here’s the antidote, from our gospel today.

♣ First: Trust in God’s power. Jesus tells us: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” … Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NAB)

♣ Second: Go! This passage from the Bible is called “the Great Commission.” Repeat with me: “The Great Commission.” It means Jesus is “commissioning” or “sending us out” on mission – mission possible, not impossible: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NAB)

Now, let’s get really practical – some concrete ways to become active in our faith – to look out, not just up:

♣ Today, we have Mini-Retreat 301, “Alive and Gifted!” Sometimes we don’t know where to turn to get involved, but Mini-Retreat 301 is designed to help us. This retreat helps us look at our gifts, talents, skills, interests – our unique SHAPE, how God has shaped and made us – and how to match that shape with opportunities for ministry. It’s from 3 to 8 p.m. in the rooms behind the church.

♣ Our pick up a bulletin. On the front cover is a list of many ministries here in our church, and the contact phone numbers for the coordinators of those ministries.

♣ Or, finally, on your handout, I’ve listed some new ministries that are just getting started, along with contact phone numbers: A new program to promote healthy living in our parish; tutoring of kids after school; a new program for middle school kids; visiting prisons; visiting juvenile hall; our Sunday’s children’s ministry program; a new program to help those who’ve experienced a divorce; a follow up team for our campaign to build a new church; a new program for spiritual direction and counseling; and a new team to promote vocations to the priesthood and to religious life.

The bottom line is this: Live as if you only have a month to live. Don’t waste your dash. Get involved. Get moving. Embrace God’s mission “possible” in your life. Time won’t stand still.

Maybe you caught the movie just recently with Jack Nicholson, “The Bucket List.” Nicholson is dying, so he creates a “bucket list” – a list of things he wants to do before he dies. But in the movie, the most important thing is not a “thing” at all – it’s restoring the broken relationship he has with his daughter.

For us, too, the most important things in life are not “things” at all, but rather, our relationships – with God, with others. Look up, not just out. God is calling, but are we listening?

SKIT:

Characters: God
Juan
Teen #1
Beggar
Teen #2

Props: Table Tape Player
Chair CD or cassette of rap music
Bed or Sofa CD or cassette of Christian music
Microphones Girlie poster
Text books Christian Poster or Crucifix
Bible Girlie magazine
Wad of Money Coin
Telephone Kleenex

Teen is sitting in his room. Rap music is playing. He is bouncing to the beat of the music. Phone rings.

Juan: Hello.

God: Juan, this is God calling. Can I speak with you for a few moments.

Juan: Sure . . . But who is this, really?

God: I told you. This is God.

Juan: God who?

God: God, the almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. I’m calling to let you know that I will be visiting you today at your house.

Juan: At my house? Today? – Is this for real?

God: Yes, Juan. This is very real. I will see you sometime later today. Be ready. Goodbye.

Juan: Goodbye.

Juan hangs up the phone. He looks panicked. He gets up and starts to make changes. First, he changes the rap music to Christian music. Then he takes down the girlie poster and replaces it with a crucifix or a Christian poster. Then he tosses a girlie magazine under the table or bed or desk. Then he starts rummaging for a Bible, looking under table and chair and saying in low voice, “I know I have a Bible here somewhere. Where did I put it?” Finally, when he finds it under a table or chair, he blows the dust off of it in dramatic fashion, places it prominently on a table, then breathes a sigh of relief, sits down and says in a loud voice, “Ready!” He sits down impatiently, drumming his fingers, looking at his watch, waiting and waiting . . . but nothing happens.

After a minute, someone knocks on the door. He answers it.

Teen #1: Juan, Juan, help me! I have a big math test tomorrow, and I’m flunking math. I heard you were good at
math. This is a real emergency. Could you help me?

Juan: Not now, Isabel. I’m expecting someone real important. Come back some other day.

Juan almost pushes her out the door, slamming the door behind her. He again sits down, impatiently tapping his fingers and looking at his watch. Again, there is a knock at the door.

Juan: Who is it? [Opens door] . . . What do YOU want?

Beggar: Sir, I’m down on my luck and haven’t eaten for three days. Would you be so kind as to give me some food, or some money to buy something to eat?

Juan: Not now! I’m busy. Here . . . [Juan reaches into his pocket, pulls out a stack of bills, prominently waves them in front of the man, then puts them back in his pocket, pulls out a small coin and gives it to the man in an angry way]

Now get going. Hurry up – I have things to do!

[Juan slams door, goes back to waiting until there is another knock]

Juan: What now? Maybe this is God . . . finally!

[Juan opens door. Teen #2 is almost in tears]

Teen #2: Juan, can you help me? My boyfriend just broke up with me, and I don’t know what to do. You’re my only friend in the whole world. Do you have a few moments so we can talk.

Juan: Sure, sure, Anita. Don’t worry. Here’s a Kleenex. [Juan gives her a quick pat on the back, then starts to push her out the door]

Don’t you feel better now? Everything will work out. Just hang in there!

[Juan goes back to waiting. Time goes by. He is impatient. He starts muttering to himself: Where is God? \
Finally, the phone rings again and he lunges for it]

Juan: Hello, hello! Who is it?

God: It’s me, God.

Juan: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I CLEANED MY ROOM! I’VE BEEN WAITING ALL DAY FOR YOU. WHEN ARE YOU COMING?

God: But Juan . . . I visited you three times today. But each time, you shut the door on me.

++ END ++

5th Sunday of Easter, April 20, 2008

21/04/08 20:54

Homily, Fifth Sunday of Easter April 20, 2008
by Deacon Wayne Hoy

Story of ‘The Lady with the cookies…’
A lady returning from a business trip checked in at the airport and received her boarding pass. The plane was not due to leave for a while yet so she bought a magazine and a bag of cookies and took a seat in the lounge. She became engrossed in her magazine, but after a while she noticed that each time she reached into her bag of cookies, the man seated next to her reached in and took a cookie also. She was aghast that a perfect stranger would be so rude to help himself to her cookies without even asking. “The audacity! she thought angrily. Sure enough, each time she took a cookie so did the man next to her. Well by this time she was seething. Finally she noticed that there was only one cookie left in the bag. She thought to herself, “I wonder what he’s going to do now?” Well, the man reached into the bag and took out the cookie and broke it in half and gave her one half. This was too much! She leaped from her seat and stormed to the other side of the room. Shortly the call came to board her plane, and still fuming she took her seat on the plane and it took off. Settled in her seat, she opened her travel bag to retrieve her magazine, and there in the bag was… an unopened bag of cookies. She suddenly wondered, ‘If these are my cookies…whose cookies had she been eating?

Things are not always as they appear…

Jesus looked the son of Joseph the carpenter. He dressed like any other Nazarene, and when in the big city was obviously recognized as a country bumpkin. And for some that is all they ever saw in him. But there were others, not many, who sensed something different, in fact, something marvelous about him. They noticed that whenever they were in his presence they felt freer than they had ever felt before. After encountering him, they found it hard to stay centered on themselves, their cares and concerns, as their attention began to shift noticeably outward toward others. They began to “see” and “hear” things that had escaped them before. Most marvelous of all, they found that they no longer lived in fear. No one was quite sure why all these wonderful things were happening, but they all agreed that it was great just being near him.

After a while, some began to catch on a little. Life away from him began to be seen as not-life. And so a handful of people decided to risk everything, which ironically they now saw as nothing, to walk with him. For three years they were inseparable, during which time it finally dawned on some of them that this Jesus fellow was truly a man of God. They began to understand that all the wonderful things that had occurred were due to the presence of God. That was it! God’s hand was at work in their midst. And one day in a fit of euphoria, one of them, Philip by name, asked Jesus when he would reveal the Father to them.
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Philip says.
You can almost sense the disappointment, the longing in Jesus’ voice as he speaks to Philip. “Philip, Philip, have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
At that moment the truth about Jesus of Nazareth was revealed. Jesus and the Father are one!
We have interpreted that to mean that Jesus is God. And so he is. But there is another, more profound truth contained here.
For what Jesus was saying to Philip was that the divine is not to be found outside of humankind, but within, in the intimacy and togetherness of God and human beings, promised and foretold in the Covenant, effected and realized in the Lord Jesus, and present in each one of us when we truly walk with him in faith.
This revelation is literally unbelievable; it is simply too ironic. After all, it is far easier to think intimacy with God solely in terms of our relating to him. But it becomes so much more difficult if God has been so indiscreet as to have identified himself with all humankind. There is a burning desire, a craving within each one of us to be in union with God, but have we considered that there is also a longing, a need within God to be in intimacy with us.
In scripture we find, “He created them in his own image, male and female…” And again, “The word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”
There is, I believe a wanting, perhaps even a need that God has to be with us in intimate union.
I help out at a parish in Evansville, Indiana during the summer and there is a priest, a dear friend who is dead now, bless his soul; but one homily he gave he was talking about the incarnation, God becoming human, and he said, “It would be like one of us lowering our self to become a dog,” and I thought, ‘Oh, no, father. I don’t think that is the point.’
It is not that God demeaned himself to become human, but by becoming a man he gave a new meaning to what it is to be human. That is the very heart of the Christian faith, and Jesus leads the way. Jesus is the way, and all are invited to walk alongside him. Listen to the words of the gospel…
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works I do, and will do greater ones than these.”
It would seem that what Jesus is saying, is that to walk with him is to have the very same effect on people as he did. After encountering us, do people feel freer, fear less, walk taller, think nobler, sing more joyfully, and feel more alive than ever before?
You see the challenge then, is to take the invitation to intimacy with God and with each other to heart; to become signs of the kingdom. To give human life the direction Jesus gave it—that is Outward, forward, and always toward resurrection.

3rd Sunday of Easter, April 6, 2008

11/04/08 18:01

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]

Easter Sunday,March 23, 2008

29/03/08 13:54

Easter 2008
March 23, 2008

Arise: Why Easter Is Important to Us Today

I read recently about a church that formed a special committee to wake people up if they fell asleep during the Mass. On the very first Sunday that the new committee was to function, one of the members of the new committee marched down the main aisle of the church, and promptly woke up… the priest!

Anyone here ever fallen asleep in church? If there is one day of the church when we ought NOT fall asleep in church, it is today, Easter Sunday, the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord. This is the most important feast we celebrate each year as Christians. It’s the reason we are even here as Christians on this earth. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead – he has split human history in half, BC and AD, and nothing can ever be the same again. So are you awake? Good! We’re going to look at why Easter is important to us today.

I want to start with a story. Anyone here ever heard of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin? He was one of the most powerful men on earth in the early 1900s, a leader in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 that brought communism to power in Russia. In 1930, he traveled from Moscow to Kiev to give speech on atheism. For an hour, he spoke eloquently against Christianity, and then, content that he had buried Christianity in the dust, he asked the crowd, “Are there any questions?” At first, there was deafening silence. No one moved. But then, one older man stood up, came forward and approached the microphone at the podium. Surveying the crowd, left and right, he shouted the ancient greeting of the Russian Orthodox Church: “Christ is Risen!” and the crowd, as if of one accord, rose to its feet and shouted in unison: “He is risen indeed!” So much of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin and his atheism!

Why is Easter important to us today? I want to set the stage with a question from another famous Russian, the writer Leo Tolstoy. He wrote: “My question – that which at the age of 50 brought me to the verge of suicide – was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man… a question without an answer to which one cannot live. It was: What will come of what I am doing today or tomorrow? What will come of my whole life? Why should I live, why wish for anything, or do anything? It can also we expressed thus: Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy?”

This is a profound question. Does life have any meaning, or is it just an accident, a mere coincidence that we are here, a cosmic fluke? Without Easter, without the resurrection, life is meaningless, a cruel joke. But look at the answer to that question, proffered by Christian theologian N.T. Wright: “The message of the resurrection is that this world matters! That the injustices and pains of this present world must now be addressed with the news that healing, justice and love have won… If Easter means that Jesus Christ is only raised in a spiritual sense – [then] it is only about me, and finding a new dimension in my personal, spiritual life. But if Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world – news which warms our hearts precisely because it isn’t just about warming hearts. Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things – and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all. Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems of the material world. Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish fulfillment. Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps.”

I want to tell you two short stories. The first is about two men, sick in a hospital. One is bedridden; the other is more mobile, and has a bed near the window. The bedridden man, who cannot even lift himself out of the bed, asks his roommate near the window, “What’s it like outside?” His roommate describes trees, flowers, clouds, sunshine. But one day, the roommate dies and the bedridden man is moved to the bed next to the window. He looks out the window, anticipating trees, flowers, clouds, sunshine – but all he sees is a solid brick wall. Easter: Is it real, or is it a mere illusion, a brick wall? We who live today, 2000 years or so after the first Easter, must see with the eyes of faith that Easter is real, that even though life sometimes throws a brick wall at us, there is more beyond the brick wall, trees and flowers, clouds and sunshine, heaven itself, and God himself, awaiting us.

The second story is about a boy and his grandfather, out flying a kite. The kite, flying high, disappears into a cloud. The grandfather teasingly tells the boy: “I think a monster has swallowed your kite!” “No,” says the boy, “the kite is still there.” “How do you know – if you can’t see it?” asks the grandfather. The boy replies: “I know, because I can still feel its gentle tug.” That’s a lot like faith. We may not be able to see into the past with 20-20 spiritual vision, but we know that Easter and the Resurrection are real, because we still can feel and experience God’s gentle tug at our hearts and in our minds.

Why Believe? How do we know Easter is real? Where is the evidence that demands a verdict? First, we know about the resurrection because we have been told about it. We have witnesses. Now at first, that may sound trite. But think, for a moment. Much that we know is based on the testimony of witnesses. Examples: Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492; John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963; humans first walked on the moon in 1968. If the resurrection is not true, how do we explain the explosive growth of the church? Nonbelievers cannot simply deny the resurrection – they also must come up with a believable alternative to explain the birth of the church, and it’s explosive growth. Thirdly, how else to explain the zeal of the apostles? They died rather than deny Jesus and his resurrection. C.S. Lewis, the famous Christian writer from England, once said that lots of people might lie to make a lot of money, or for fame; but few people would persist in lying, if it would cost them their life. So why did the disciples of Jesus all die as martyrs, if Easter was just a myth, just a fairytale, something made up?

Saint Paul is one of our earliest witnesses. Just 15 years or so after the resurrection, he wrote these words in his First Letter to the Corinthians: Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before… It is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it… I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, I saw him, too. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8, NLT)

My friends, the resurrection is NOT just another Lazarus resuscitation. Resurrection is a whole new plane of existence. The resurrection of Jesus was not just a dream or hallucination. It was not just a trick or illusion. It was not just a myth. The Bible tells us that it was the culmination of “salvation history” – century upon century upon century, building up to this climax, this momentous event. That’s why, in our Easter Vigil Mass at night, we hear the story of salvation history -- the creation; the fall of human beings into sin, Adam and Eve; God choosing a special people, Israel, because of the faithfulness of Abraham, who even was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac; the story of Moses, leading the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt under the Pharaohs. But the long wait is for a reason – to await a Messiah, a savior, Jesus, the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin on the cross.

Easter is a spiritual earthquake in human history. Our gospel today tells us: Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. (Matthew 28:2, NLT)

How should we respond to this spiritual earthquake? Look at the response of the women who first stumbled upon the empty tomb. Then the angel spoke to the women.

“Don't be afraid!…That’s the first response we should make. Trust in God, no matter what. Lay your worries and your cares at his feet. Don’t cave in to fear, even though fear seems to be all around us in the modern world. Believe that God is in control, God is in charge – so we don’t have to be. Let go and let God.

Second: Come, see where his body was lying…It’s OK to have questions, curiosity, doubts. Search, investigate, dig for the truth. Is Easter real? On your handout is a box full of resources on the internet or in books. Study, read, search for the answers to your questions. If you are a parent with teenagers, they will ask lots of questions. The church web site is an excellent place to begin your investigation, and to learn how to answer the questions of your children.

Resources:
▪ Parish Internet, www.soledad-coachella.org (“Help Articles”)
▪ “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism,” Timothy Keller
▪ “Evidence That Demands a Verdict,” Josh McDowell
▪ “The Case for the Resurrection: A Journalist Investigates the Evidence,” Lee
Strobel
▪ “The Case for Faith,” Lee Strobel
▪ “The Case for a Creator,” Lee Strobel
▪ “Who Moved the Stone?” Frank Morison

Third: …Go quickly and tell his disciples…Christianity is a participatory religion, not a spectator sport. Go, tell others about Jesus, put your faith into action, get involved, become a doer. One of the great errors of our day, especially in this country, is that many Catholics have become flabby, spiritually. They don’t feed and nourish their faith so that they can be strong, and they don’t transmit and share that faith with their children, or their neighbors, or their co-workers.

Finally: …Remember, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:5-7, NLT) It’s important that we stay connected and plugged in to other Christians, lest we stumble or get lost, spiritually. We need to persevere, to continue onward to the end. That’s why we need other Christians in our lives, to spur us on, to help and encourage us, to pick us up when we fall – and for us to do the same for them. And so, Jesus founded a family, a church, so that none of us is all alone, as a “lone ranger Christian.”

Many years ago, a Christian singer and preacher, W.E. Sanger, was diagnosed with throat cancer. Eventually, it would kill him. But before it did, he said: “It’s awful not having a voice to say HE IS RISEN! But it is worse to have a voice and not want to shout it.” – W.E. Sanger, Christian singer. The problem in our society today NOT that we don’t believe in the resurrection, though there are some people who don’t. The great spiritual problem of our society today is that we just don’t care – we’re too busy, we’re too apathetic to make God a priority in our lives. And so we drift, lost and blind, and we fail to discover God’s real plan and purpose for our life.

Trivia: This year, Easter is the earliest it will ever be in your lifetime. The date for Easter is always measured by a lunar calendar – the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. The last time it was this early in the year was in 1913, and the next time won’t be until 2160. So unless you are 95 years old, or unless you plan to live to 152 years old, this is the earliest it will ever be for you and for me. But why is the date of Easter set by the date of the spring equinox? The answer is simple: Spring reminds us of new life, and Easter is also about new life.

But there is a big difference between Easter and spring. Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopalian preacher and writer, argues that this timing for Easter is misleading. “Buy a daffodil bulb in the winter and it looks like nothing in your hands,” she writes, “a small onion, maybe, with its thin skin and scraggily roots. If you have any experience with bulbs, however, that does not bother you. You know all you have to do is wait. Come springtime it will escape the earth and explode with color, a yellow butterfly of a blossom shedding its cocoon. As miraculous as it is, it is completely natural. Resurrection, on the other hand, is completely unnatural. When a human being goes into the ground, that is that. You do not wait around for the person to reappear so you can pick up where you left off – not this side of the grave, anyway. You say goodbye. You pay your respects and you go on with your life as best you can, knowing that the only place springtime happens in a cemetery is on the graves, not in them.” …

About Easter, she goes on and writes: “To expect a sealed tomb and find one filled with angels, to hunt the past and discover the future, to seek a corpse and find the risen Lord – none of this is natural. Death is natural. Loss is natural. Grief is natural. But those stones have been rolled away this happy morning, to reveal the highly unnatural truth. By the light of this day, God has planted a seed of life in us that cannot be killed, and if we can remember that, then there is nothing we cannot do: move mountains, banish fear, love our enemies, change the world.”

Finally, she tells us: “The only thing we cannot do is hold on to him. He has asked us please not to do that, because he know that all in all we would rather keep him with us where we are than let him take us where he is going. Better we should let him hold on to us, perhaps. Better we should let him take us into the white hot presence of God, who is not behind us but ahead of us, every step of the way.”

Easter is not about some event far away in the dark, dim, distant past. It’s about resurrection and new life here and now, today, in us and through us. It’s about our future in eternity, but about our future in God, which has already begun, here and now, if we are followers of the Lord. Saint Paul, in our second reading today, tells us: Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. (Colossians 3:1-4, NLT)

You see, Paul understood that resurrection is about the here and now – God’s new life in us, changing us and transforming us, if we are open to allowing Him to come into our lives and to start a relationship with Him. The challenge of Easter, for us all, is to embrace our own resurrection, which comes to us through Jesus Christ. Invite him into your heart and into your life. Don’t just ask for a cosmetic, superficial makeover – change a few bad habits here and there; but rather, ask God to completely change and transform you, giving you His new life and His new power. Our past is forgiven – so let it go. Here and now is what matters. Let the Lord be in charge of you’re here and now existence. And he will carry us also into a wonderful future, into eternity with Him in heaven.

Remember Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin? Not really, because his atheism and his communism were no match for the Risen Jesus. When the elderly Russian man approached that microphone and approached that podium, and said those three simple words of the Russian Orthodox Church, “Christ IS Risen!” – the crowd roared to life: “He is risen indeed!”

And so he is. Which is why we stay alert, awake, renewed, re-energized – because Jesus Christ is risen, is indeed alive and well – inside each of us, His followers. Amen, amen, alleluia, alleluia!

Watch with me this final, short video reflection… (from Bluefish TV, on the cross and resurrection)