May 6th - 4th Sunday of Easter (English)
May 13th - Mothers Day - 5th Sunday of Easter (English)
May 27th - Ascension Sunday (English)
In this month’s Tapestry is an article by Peg &
Ed Bachelder’s granddaughter, Erin. She describes a recent trip to
Nicaragua. Erin retells how the people there often have very few
possessions, yet they are not sad or angry. They rejoice in what
they have. They find joy in the simple pleasures of family and friendship.
They sing and dance wearing their best clothes, often their only clothes.
My experience in the Dominican Republic was similar. I too noticed
that the people were not defeated by the lack of possessions or comforts
we have taken for granted like electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing.
Perhaps the people of the Third World have begun to grasp the true nature
of life. It is not in how many things that we can accumulate, but
in how we use what we have been given. Further, it is in seeing all
of life as a gift that we can rejoice in good and bad times.
I believe that is how the apostles were able
to rejoice despite the rejections they found when they went to preach in
the synagogues at Antioch. You or I might have chosen to cuss at
them, yell and scream, or maybe resort to violence. Yet, it says
that Paul and Barnabas left that town and simply rejoiced that they were
found worthy to received ill treatment for doing the work of Christ.
Why were they able to do it?
Paul and Barnabas and the other disciples knew
that persecution would be part of the mission. They would have recalled
the words of Christ to Peter that the student is not greater than the teacher
is. He experienced rejection and persecution and death on a cross.
Jesus told them not to be surprised when it happened to them.
Jesus also told them that He would be with them on their journey.
They would not be doing this work alone. The last words in the Gospel
before Jesus ascends into heaven are that he will be with the Church until
the end of the age. Jesus would always be the shepherd of His flock
no matter where they were.
Finally, I believe they could rejoice in knowing that
they had a job to do now, but that their ultimate goal was eternal life
with the Lord. They knew that the Kingdom of God was coming into
completion and they would be part of it. That gave them every confidence
to keep going.
You and I have work to do today.
The message of Christ still needs to be spread to every land. We
can sometimes take for granted that Christianity is everywhere. But
that is not true. There are the obvious places around the globe that
are not Christian. China, India, and many parts of Asia are not Christian.
But even in traditionally Christian lands there are many people who live
without having a vibrant relationship with Christ. The Lord is sending
you into the fields to bring forth the harvest.
I suspect that most of us are fearful of that
task because we don’t know what it will mean. We don’t want to give
up the advantages and comforts of modern society to go to some far off
land. For others it’s simply not convenient. How can someone
be asked to be a missionary if they have a job and family? It seems
unreasonable. Is that what the Lord will want from me? If so,
we think that it would be better not to listen too carefully.
Maybe the Lord will ask that of you. He
might ask you to give everything up to be a missionary to another land.
No one would have ever heard of the Gospel if the apostles hadn’t given
up everything to spread the Good News. Missionaries brought the message
to the New World along with the explorers.
But more likely than being asked to be a missionary
to some foreign land you will be called to be an apostle to the people
of this land and in this place. I believe that God may be calling
some of you to be shepherds with him in the priesthood and religious life.
Listen to that call and respond generously. We are in need of vocations
to continue the work of building up the Body of Christ in this land.
I am also confident that God is calling all the baptized to take a more
active role in their faith. Maybe the reason that we have fewer priests
and nuns is that God is calling you to take your role as a lay person in
the world more seriously. At Vatican II the Church declared that
it is the role of the laity to transform the world. That is your
rightful place. It is the role of the ordained to give you the help
you need to accomplish your mission.
Who better can stand up for life than scientists
and doctors who hold the power of life and death in their hands?
You are the shepherds to the lost sheep in that realm. Those in banking
and finance can call for a greater role in assisting the poor and reducing
the debt of the Third World. If your job is in education than take
that role very seriously. You have been given an awesome task.
Your role is probably more precious than most others for you shape the
next generation. In whatever role you find yourselves, transform
the globe. Do not be afraid of persecution or rejection. Christ
will be with you. Likewise know that no matter how terrible the world
might be the promise of everlasting life and union with God forever should
give you joy and the strength needed to complete the task. Rejoice
heartily in the Lord. Amen.
Jesus tells his disciples that he is giving them a new commandment;
to love one another. "By love will the world know that you are my
disciples," he says. It seems strange to me that Jesus called this
a new commandment. Why would love be considered new? Isn't
love the center and heart of everything that Jesus did? Really, isn't
love the heart of the Jewish Law too?
The answer to both those questions is yes. Throughout
Jesus' ministry he preached love. When the lawyer addressed Jesus
and asked him which law was the greatest out of the 613 precepts, Jesus
didn't hesitate. He said the greatest commandment is to love God
with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then he added, "Love
your neighbor as yourself." It goes on to say that the lawyer wanted
to know whom was the neighbor that one should love. Jesus told the
parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan was neighbor to the
man lying in a ditch when he showed compassion. Love was compassion,
even to a stranger or an alien.
Yes, Jesus' ministry was filled with teaching about love.
He showed love to the many people afflicted with sickness and infirmity.
He showed love by the parables of forgiveness and reconciliation.
The Jewish Law is essentially about love too. It is
about establishing and keeping a relationship with God, who is love.
God established his people so that they might know Him. He gave them
the Law so that their hearts and will might be focused and transformed
into love. The people would know prosperity and be a blessing if
they followed the Law. All people would see how wonderful and close
Israel was to their God through the Law.
So, how is the command to love one another new? Jesus
gave this teaching at the Last Supper. Within hours Jesus would be
beaten and crucified. He wouldn't fight against his crucifiers.
Instead he would ask the Father to forgive them. Jesus' command to
love would know of no boundaries. Nothing would be withheld.
Jesus wanted his disciples to see and know that God would not love conditionally.
Secondarily, Jesus was calling his apostles to live this same kind of love.
They must be willing to give everything, even their lives in love.
That was new!
Then Jesus was asking them to use this kind of love as the
benchmark for true Christianity. It couldn't be that the religion
Jesus was establishing would be philosophical or academic only. That
would never do. Instead, the religion of Jesus; the religion of the
disciples must be real and lived out. That was new!
I believe the reason Christianity spread so rapidly throughout
the Roman Empire was due to this command lived out. People witnessed
Christians giving all their possessions to the poor. Some were seen
being sacrificed to lions or tortured yet they refused to hate or retaliate.
"What kind of people are these Christians?" they would wonder.
Even today, what in Christianity appeals to you? Where
do you find it intriguing? Isn't it so when you think of someone
like Mother Theresa giving her life lovingly to the poor of Calcutta?
Don't we find it exciting to be a Christian, a Catholic, when we read of
martyrs like St. Maximilian Kolbe or Archbishop Oscar Romero? If
you are like me, you think to yourself, "I wonder if I could do that?"
Probably the Church in America is not as dynamic as it could
be because very little is asked of us. We don't expect to face persecution
like Paul and Barnabas for preaching Christ. We will probably not
be asked to give away everything we own to the poor. If you were,
you'd probably think the person asking was crazy. Where is love like
Christ expects shown today?
I think we find examples of it in some families. Today
is Mother's Day. Many of us know of the sacrifices and love our mothers
showed us. Certainly many mothers are examples of faith and love.
Their willingness to give up their dreams for their spouse or children
are signs of unconditional love.
Yet, instead of looking for examples of faith close to us
we believe that it is only to be found someplace else or sometime else
in history. The Lord calls each of us to love, not just saints and
martyrs, but everyone.
Maybe this day the Lord is calling you to a vocation in the
priesthood or religious life. Say yes to the call. It could
be to minister in the parish by caring for the sick. Maybe doing
acts of charity or justice that others would say are foolish is how God
is calling you to love. The Lord has a call to everyone here.
Many mothers learned what that call would mean each and every day.
Now you and I must assume the mantle of love and concern that knows no
limits. In this way will all know that you are disciples. Amen.
A few days ago I attended the Confirmation celebration at Our
Lady of the Lakes. The bishop asked the students several questions.
He said, “Suppose that tomorrow one of your classmates says to you, ‘I
saw you going into your church last night. What were you doing
there?’ What would you say?”
The students looked nervously trying to figure out what answer
the bishop was looking for. Eventually one of the students stood
bravely and said that he would tell this classmate that he was being confirmed
in the Holy Spirit. Naturally the bishop asked him what being confirmed
in the Holy Spirit meant. More nervous looks came across the faces
of those teenagers.
If someone asked you what it means to be a Catholic what would
you say? Some of you might say that it has to do with the sacraments, especially
the Eucharist. We are a church that believes Christ is truly present
in the sacraments. That would be true. Others might respond
that to be a Catholic means that we hold to certain truths, especially
those found in the creed. We believe in the Trinity, in the Son of
God who came to earth, and in the Church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.
That too is true. You might think that you don’t know enough to answer
these questions. But Christianity is not a religion that is purely
philosophical and academic. It’s a religion of action.
Those first apostles felt just like those Confirmation students.
I can imagine they were thinking, “We don’t know enough. Jesus didn’t
tell us everything that people will ask us. Now what are we going
to do?” So, they keep looking up to heaven hoping that Jesus will
come back down again. Maybe he will give them one last teaching,
but no, he is gone. Then the two angels ask them why they are looking
up to heaven. Everything they need has been given.
Jesus told his disciples to begin their mission in Jerusalem.
Why is Jerusalem so important? What happened in Jerusalem?
Why, of course, Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred there. Jesus
death was to show the world that victory over sin and death would be won
not through violence but through forgiveness. The cross stands as
a lasting sign that God forgives sins. The first action of God is
forgiveness and that is what the apostles are to preach.
Then the apostles are to live out this reality. They
will go into the towns and villages curing the sick, raising the dead,
and caring for the poor. They will show by their actions that God
is with His people. Despite any fears they have or any persecution
they face they will not fear. They will be people who radiate joy.
If someone asked you to tell them about your faith what would
you say? Maybe the better way to ask that question is what would
you show them? Would they know immediately that you are a Christian
because you are joy-filled? Maybe they could see that you face trial
and adversity with great trust. This would certainly be different
from the way the world faces problems. But most of all, they would
know you are a Christian by your love and forgiveness of others.
They would see it in how you show great respect to all people that you
meet. That is what people saw in the apostles. They saw it
in St. Francis of Assisi and in Mother Teresa. Is that what the world
sees when they see you?