Parable of the Tenants
October 5, 2008
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43
It is hard to read today’s parable of the tenants and not think about our nation’s financial crisis. The parable is about greed, ambition and shocking mismanagement – the same ingredients that created the mess we are in today.
In the parable, a landowner planted a vineyard – and invested enough to make it a first-class vineyard. He enclosed it with a fence, and dug a winepress so he would be ready for the first harvest. He built a watchtower so guards could keep an eye out for thieves. Then, he leased the vineyard to tenants, and left them with the responsibility of caring for it in return for a share of the harvest.
When the grapes were harvested the landowner sent servants to get his share. The tenants were not in a sharing mood - so they beat one, killed another, and stoned the third. The landowner sent more servants but they suffered the same fate.
Finally, the landowner sent his son. He thought that, surely, they would not harm his son. However, the tenants thought they could intimidate the landowner and take over the vineyard - so they killed the son.
Unlike some other parables, this one is not too difficult to figure out. It is about God’s covenant with Israel. He made a great nation of them and led them into the Promised Land – that is represented by the vineyard. He repeatedly sent them prophets – but they would not listen to the prophets. They even killed some – like John the Baptist. Then God sent his Son, Jesus – and they killed him too.
Who are these tenants who did these terrible things? It is easy to feel self-righteous and say they represent the Jewish leaders – the chief priests and the elders that Jesus was addressing – but these tenants were not just people who lived a long time ago. Nor are they only those given great responsibilities – like bank managers and the guys on Wall Street.
These tenants were ordinary people – like you and me – who were so blinded by their greed that they thought they were somehow entitled to more than what they had agreed to accept. I believe that is the connection between this parable and the present situation.
We are deluding ourselves if we think that the bankers and CEOs are solely responsible for this financial crisis. No one put a gun to anyone’s head and told them they had to accept an offer for a mortgage that seemed too good to be true (because it was) - or forced anyone to buy a second or third home at an inflated price because they thought they could “flip” it for a great profit. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that there is no such thing as a sure thing.
Of course, those in positions of authority bear most of the responsibility. Both Wall Street and Washington have been governed by greed and deception. Those whom we trusted – and who we thought more knowledgeable in these matters - led us to believe that the laws of economics had been repealed – that we could have everything we want – and that profit was inevitable. But, we are all accountable – not only in our financial dealings but in all aspects of our lives.
Do we fail to take responsibility for our own actions? Are we sometimes willing to fudge the truth in order to gain some advantage? Does our desire for a quick profit or benefit cloud our judgment and cause us to neglect the consequences? If we answer “yes” to any of those questions, we may be more like the tenants in the parable then we like to admit.
When Jesus asked the chief priests and elders what should happen to the tenants when he finally comes, they said, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” He did not contradict them.
Those are strong words that speak of the inevitability of judgment. They also speak to the certainty of hope.
There may be times when – out of a false sense of entitlement, we act like those original tenants – and we may have to answer for that. However, through our baptism and the grace of God, we are also the new tenants who will give to the landowner “the produce at the proper times.”
Where the original tenants were lazy, the new tenants must be industrious. Where the original tenants were deceitful, we must be honest and sincere. Where they were motivated by greed, we must be motivated by generosity. Where they were ungrateful, we must acknowledge – by deed more than by word - that the one they rejected is the cornerstone of our lives. If we do, regardless of what happens to our portfolio, we will reap the harvest that God has provided for us.
A Great Comeback
August 17, 2008
Gospel:
Mt 15:21-28
Winston Churchill was one of the greatest historical figures of the 20th century. He was also a master of the “one-line comeback” – that quick, sometimes sharp, reply to someone who is verbally offensive.
One of his favorite targets was Lady Astor – the “grande dame” of British society - and one of Churchill’s least favorite persons.
They were once at the same party and Lady Astor came up to him and said, “Winston, you are very, very drunk!” His comeback was – “And you madam are very, very ugly.” He paused and took a sip from his drink. Then he said, “But tomorrow I shall be sober.
Another time she said to him, “Winston, if you were my husband I would put poison in your coffee.” His comeback was– “Madam, if I were your husband I would drink it.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus is on the receiving end of a great comeback – delivered by a Canaanite woman. It is a story that tells us much about the healing power of God, the humanity of Jesus, and his mission to save all people. It also tells us that God sometimes appreciates a good comeback.
It was a bad time for Jesus. The people in his home town of Nazareth had rejected him. Then he learned of the death of John the Baptist.
When he tried to go off by himself to pray the people pursued him into the wilderness and surrounded him with their seemingly endless needs. The number of people following him was getting larger by the day - and their demands greater. Everywhere he went someone wanted something from him – and he was physically and emotionally exhausted.
Finally, he withdraws to the seacoast region north of Israel – in what is present-day Lebanon – where he is accosted by this persistent woman. The disciples are afraid that she will attract more people – maybe even the authorities – so they ask him to get rid of her. Why should he waste his time with this foreigner?
Jesus seems to agree. He says to them, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Doesn’t she realize that it is not yet time for me to minister to the gentiles?
Of course, she does not realize – nor does she care. She has a daughter who is possessed - and this gentile woman believes that this Jewish rabbi is the only one who can heal her. So, she persists – and finally he has to respond to her.
“It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Ouch - that is pretty cutting. Is he comparing her – and all other non-Jews – to dogs?
However, she has a great comeback: “Please Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
That response must have stopped Jesus in his tracks. I imagine that he looked at her - and smiled. In Matthew’s gospel he says, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” In Mark’s gospel, he refers specifically to her great comeback: “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” Her comeback showed that not only was she quick-witted – she was a woman of great faith.
Jesus knew from the outset that his mission was to save all people – Jew and Gentile alike – but he anticipated that the Jewish people - God’s chosen – would be the first to receive his message. Perhaps if we were not so exhausted he might have used a better choice of words. But we must consider Jesus – as we should anyone – not by his words alone – but by his actions.
Another explanation may be that was setting her up – testing her to see how she would respond. Whatever the explanation the bottom line is that the woman’s daughter was cured.
This gentile woman was one of the first to call Jesus Lord. She knew what she wanted from him and was not discouraged - even in the face of putdowns. She may have even caused him to reach out to the gentiles earlier than he had planned because of her strong and persistent faith.
She sought no privileged place in the Kingdom – was not a member of a chosen race. She was a pagan - and sought only healing for someone she loved. Jesus rewarded her persistence and wisdom not because of who she was – but because of her faith and her love for her daughter.
Her call for mercy - “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David” - is our plea too. All of us – Jew and Gentile, Catholic and non-Catholic - come before our Lord in our joys and sorrows – our successes and failures – to seek the everlasting mercy of our God. We join that bold Canaanite woman in calling upon the God to help us in our need.
He may not always respond initially the way we would like – at times he may even seem harsh. But if – like her – we are faithful and persistent - we may hear the same wonderful words she heard: “Great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you wish.”
It’s Impossible!
August 10, 2008
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33
Also read: Romans 9:1-5
Do you remember Perry Como? For those too young to remember he was a popular big band singer in the 1940’s and a television superstar in the 1950’s and 60’s. He lived his final years in Jupiter (Palm Beach County, Florida) and died there in 2001 – a devout Catholic, by the way.
One of his many popular recordings was a love song entitled, “It’s Impossible.” Do you remember, “It’s impossible, tell the sun to leave the sky, it’s just impossible…”
Well, I just learned that there was a line from that song that was very controversial – at least on Long Island. Deacon Tony tells me that many people there were very upset when Perry sang: “I would sell my very soul and not regret it.” I was living in Westchester County, New York at the time and I do not recall any controversy, but I guess they are more sensitive about things like that on Long Island.
However, I can understand how people would cringe at the thought of someone really being willing to “sell their soul” for a gal or a guy – or for anything. After all, the soul is that part of our being that will live forever once our earthly journey is completed. Our hope is that we will spend eternity basking in God’ love - but if we lose our soul the best we can hope for is probably to spend eternity completely alone.
Yet, in our second reading, St. Paul appears willing to sacrifice his soul. He says, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh.” Jesus said that there is no greater love than to sacrifice one’s life for a friend – yet Paul seems willing to make an even greater sacrifice. He seems willing accept banishment from God in return for the Jewish people’s acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah.
The word Paul uses is “anathema” – and it is a terrible word. To be declared anathema is to be marked for utter destruction.
Do you remember last week’s second reading from this same letter to the Romans? It is the passage just before this one: “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The dearest thing in all Paul’s life was the fact that nothing could separate him from God’s love – but to be declared anathema would do just that.
This is why I do not think that Paul was speaking literally. He was using a form of poetic license – much like Perry’s songwriter. Once he had accepted Jesus as the Messiah there was nothing – in heaven or on earth – that could separate him from the love of God. But, by even saying that he would accept banishment from God for the sake of his own people Paul was showing the depth of his love for them.
There were at least four covenants between God and the Jewish people. There was the covenant with Noah after the flood when God promised that the floods would not come again. There was the covenant with Abraham - the promise of a great nation. There was the covenant with Moses – when God delivered the law on Mount Sinai. Then there was the new covenant in Jesus Christ – the promise of salvation.
The first three had been preparation for the fourth. Paul felt that the tragedy of Israel was that God had prepared her for the day of the coming of the Messiah – and all the preparation was frustrated by their refusal to accept Him. It was not God’s law that was broken but God’s heart.
We must never take for granted the tremendous gift that is our faith in Jesus Christ. It is not only the promise of eternal life - it is what makes this life worth living.
Of course, not all Jews rejected Jesus. The earliest disciples, and Paul himself, were devout Jews. After his conversion, Paul began his preaching in the synagogues of Damascus - but when they failed to accept his message he had to flee the city. Rejected by his own people, Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles.
This is the Year of St. Paul – who may have said that he was willing to accept banishment from God - but who I am sure did not really mean it. Paul knew better than most that to live without God’s love is just impossible.
Called to Preach
June 23, 2008
Read: Matthew 10:26-33
A priest once asked a man if he was a Catholic and the man indignantly said, “Of course.” The priest asked if he attended mass weekly, and the man replied, “I’m a Catholic, not a fanatic.” If he had attended mass more frequently he would have heard today’s Gospel – and he might not have been so dismissive of his faith. “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.”
What a wonderful promise! It is the heart of our Christian faith. All that Jesus asks is that we declare ourselves openly for Him and his Gospel of Love. If we do this, He will be our advocate before His heavenly Father.
It does not seem like much, does it? However, there is a catch. If we declare ourselves openly for Christ, we then have to start living accordingly. If we do not – if we go back to our old ways – we will have, in effect, denied him – and you know what that means. “Whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
We can deny Christ three ways - by our words, by our silence and by our actions.
Some of us have had moments - like Peter - when we have denied Jesus with our words. We may not directly say “I do not know him,” but when our words are contrary to what we know to be his teachings, it has the same effect. A Catholic politician who condones abortion because it is politically expedient is denying Christ. He or she may try to rationalize their position, but they know that the taking of an innocent life is contrary to the Christ’s Gospel of Life.
There are other times when we deny Him by silence. We fail to speak up when He – or his teachings – are ridiculed because we are outnumbered or do not wish to offend someone. It takes courage to express Christian values in a world that often considers compassion a sign of weakness and confuses intimidation with strength – but our world today surely needs men and women of courage.
We deny Him by our actions when we live the sort of life that is unworthy of a follower of Christ - when we base our life on the lies offered by this world - instead of the hope Jesus offers us for the next. We deny Jesus when we are manipulative, unkind, or insensitive to the needs of others - when we fail to follow the two great commandments – to love God and to love our neighbor. We deny Jesus when we fail to keep in mind that every one of God’s children is our neighbor.
It has been said that every Christian occupies some kind of pulpit and preaches some kind of sermon every day – and that may be the only Gospel that some people will ever hear or see. Our words – or lack of them - and have consequences because we may be the voice of Christ to non-believers. However, what we do – or not do – is greater evidence of our faith.
At his ordination, every deacon receives from the bishop a Book of the Gospels. As it presented the bishop gives him a commission. “Receive the Book of the Gospels whose herald you are. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”
Jesus gave all of us that commission on the day of our baptism. He called each one of us to be a herald of the gospel – to proclaim it from the housetops - and to believe it. He called us to teach the values contained in the gospel – especially to our children. He called us to practice those values – not just on Sunday – but every day.
I think St. Francis of Assisi gave the greatest – and perhaps the shortest – homily on this subject when he told his followers to go out and preach the gospel – and when necessary – use words.
Less Than Perfect Instruments of God’s Gifts
June 20, 2008
Read: Matthew 9:36,10:8
Today’s gospel names the twelve apostles. Jesus already had a small band of followers, but these twelve were given special authority.
A few years later, after his death and resurrection, scripture tells us that there were 120 present on the day of Jesus’ Ascension to heaven. Ten days after that there were 3,000 present when the Holy Spirit appeared at Pentecost. By the time the last of the original twelve died, towards the end of the 1st century, it is estimated that there were 500,000 followers of Jesus – and by the end of the ninth century, the number had grown to almost ten million. Today there are more than two billion Christians in the world.
It all started when Jesus looked out and took pity on a crowd that looked “like sheep without a shepherd.” If pity were all that Jesus had to offer, I do not think it would have had such a lasting effect. Even if he had done one great miracle – healing, curing, cleansing and driving our demons - it may have helped those who were there, but I doubt it would have had much of an impact beyond that.
Instead of one great miracle, he performed twelve. He called twelve ordinary men and gave them authority to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and drive out demons.” He did not give them this power to make them rich or famous. He only asked that they pass on what they themselves had received.
Although they were now sharing some of his authority, he reminded them that they would never cease being sheep themselves. They had all received the gift of healing – had all been rescued from their own broken existence. Now they were to give back what they had received. “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give.”
All of the millions who have followed Jesus through the ages – from the original twelve to the more than two billion Christians alive in the world today – all of us have one thing in common. We are all inadequate to the task. None of us is able to bring about the changes that Jesus brought to the world.
I recently saw the film “Evan Almighty.” It is a silly little film about a man who is elected to Congress on the slogan “We can change the world.” Of course, when he gets to Washington all he wants to change are those things that will give him power and help him be re-elected. God appears to him – in the person of Morgan Freeman – and tells him to build an ark because another flood is coming. Of course, he resists, but God is persistent – and finally he builds the ark. A dam breaks, a flood comes, and hundreds of people are saved. Evan was not able to change the world, but his ark saved a small part of it.
Of course that is more than most of us can ever hope to do. We preach to hundreds of people each week. I, for one, am very happy if my words make a difference to one.
That is the pattern of God’s saving work. Just as he did with the original twelve apostles – and with Evan - he calls each of us by name - one by one. He gives each a task to perform – all we have to do is figure out what it is. When we do, we may not think we are up to the task, but – just as he did with Evan - God will give us the tools necessary to do whatever he is calling us to do. We may be less than perfect instruments of God’s gifts - but we are the instruments that God has chosen.
This weekend we celebrate Fathers Day. All of us who are fortunate enough to bear that title are often reminded how less than perfect we are in fulfilling that role. The truth is none of us measure up to the standard of the one Jesus called Abba – which means Daddy- but that is the role for which we have been chosen. Jesus used that familiar term to describe the intimate, loving, caring, protective relationship that His Father wants for His children – and that is the standard we must try follow for our own.
Some of us may fail – but remember that only eleven of the Twelve Apostles remained faithful. All who have been chosen to fulfill the role of father - birth fathers, adoptive fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, godfathers – even single moms who are both mother and father to their children – bear the heavy responsibility of providing the same love, care and security that we all receive from the God who is Father of us all.
God and Nature
June 15, 2008
Gospel:
Readings: Hos 6:3-6, Mt 9:9-13
Today’s first reading, from the prophet Hosea begins: “In their affliction, people will say: Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord.” I think the prophet is touching upon a fundamental question that has always concerned and confused people: What is the relationship between God and, what we call, “Nature”?
There are four primal elements of nature: earth, wind, fire and water – and they have caused the greatest natural disasters on our planet: earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes, wildfires and floods. What part God plays in these events? Does God directly send us all of these, perhaps in payment for the sins of mankind - or does God simply permit them - or does God have nothing to do with it? On a practical level, are we wasting our time praying that great natural disasters be averted - or that it does not rain on our parade or picnic?
Personally, I do not believe that God sends natural disasters to keep us in line. Nor do I believe that there is anything that God cannot control. Why God permits natural disasters to occur – and why God allows bad things to happen to good people – these are things that God has chosen not to confide in me – or to my knowledge – in anyone else. So, until He does I think we should keep on praying.
Hosea reminds us that it often takes affliction of some kind to prompt people to seek and know God. He also tells us that this sudden devotion is usually fleeting – like a morning cloud or the dew that early passes away.
It’s like the man who was late for an important meeting and was looking for a parking space. As he is driving around the block, he prays: “God, if you find me a parking space I will go to church every Sunday and give up drinking.” Suddenly a parking space appears - and he says, “Never mind, I found one myself.” How quick we are to ask for God’s help – and how slow to acknowledge it when it appears.
What does God want from us? Jesus rarely asked anyone to “love me” or “obey me” or, even “learn from me” - but I counted at least seventeen times when Jesus said to someone what he said to Matthew: “Follow me.”
In those days when a master or teacher moved his disciples would follow behind him in a line – much like ducklings follow their mother – but that is not what Jesus meant by “follow me.” He wanted them to follow his teaching and his example.
He clearly said to all within the sound of his voice – Pharisees, sinners, tax collectors and disciples – “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” It is the same message that God spoke through Hosea hundreds of years earlier: “It is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts.”
Then Jesus makes a powerful declaration: “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He is not saying that he spends time with them because they are sinners – although sinners are often more interesting to be around than the self-righteous. He is not saying that it is perfectly all right for them to continue in their sinfulness.
He is saying that sinners are like people who are sick – they need to be healed - and Jesus wants to assume for them the role of physician. When I was a child, I suffered from a slight case of asthma. It only manifested itself when I had a cold - but when I got sick, I couldn’t breathe, so my mother would call the doctor. They made house calls in those days – and I can still remember the relief I felt when the doctor walked into my room. His mere presence was a sign to me that I was going to feel better.
Jesus is the great physician – the great healer. His mere presence can help sinners to repent. It can change our hearts. It can even bring about physical healing.
That is why the Eucharist is so important. We cannot get any closer to Jesus than when we allow him to become part of us.
Sometimes the physician needs an assistant – that’s where you and I come in. We can help bring about the healing power of Christ by what we say and do. The most important thing is not to be judgmental – like the people who criticized Jesus for dining with tax collectors and sinners. Sinners are always welcome in the house of God – because that is where they will find Jesus – and where they will find healing.
We do not know if our prayers have any effect on the forces of nature – but I think God wants them anyway. God does not need them, but we do. We need them to get through whatever disasters we may have to face – whether they be natural or of our own making. We need them because they are the means through which receive the healing power of God.
Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow me – and he got up and followed him.” You and I are here because we have chosen to do the same. All He asks is that we give Him our devotion, our faithfulness, our love and our lives.
Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
May 25, 2008
Gospel :Jn 6:51-58
A Sunday school teacher asked her class where God lives. One little girl said, “God lives in heaven; another said, “God lives in church; another said, “God lives in our hearts.” Then little Johnny said, “God lives in our bathroom.” “What makes you say that, Johnny?” He answered: “Every morning my dad stands at the door of the bathroom and shouts, ‘My God, are you still in there’?”
Of course, all of those answers were correct. God lives in heaven, in church - and in our hearts. God even lives in the bathroom. However, God lives in a very special way in every Catholic church throughout the world.
If you walk into any Catholic church you should see a single red candle – and close by the red candle something that looks like a very ornate safe. It may be right behind the altar, or off to the side, but it should be somewhere within the main body of the church. We call it the tabernacle because it contains the Holy of Holies. This is where Jesus lives.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Church places this feast immediately after Trinity Sunday and Pentecost – both of which honor the invisible God. Today’s feast honors the God that we see and embrace – the God that is present on the altar while still under the appearance of bread and wine – Jesus present in the Eucharist.
A young physicist once took a consecrated host to a laboratory. He wanted to see whether the bread had really been changed into the Body of Christ. He placed it under a microscope, but it still looked like ordinary bread - so he decided to give up all religious belief and practice. He did not lose his faith – because he had no faith to begin with. Faith is the ability to believe in something we cannot prove. Since he could not prove the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, he refused to believe.
In contrast, a Protestant woman, after attending Catholic mass only a few times, announced that she had decided to become a Catholic. Asked why, she answered, “Well, the sermons were so terrible and the music so dreadful, that I knew there must be something else there to make them want to come.” She may not have been able to give a theological explanation of the Eucharist, but she felt something that could not be explained in purely human terms.
Our belief that the Eucharist is the real presence of Christ is the major distinction between the Catholic Church and most other Christian denominations. It has brought many non-Catholic Christians into the Church. This power of the Eucharist to attract people should be justification enough to believe in the Real Presence.
At what point during our liturgy does the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ? Most of us were taught that it is when the priest elevates the bread and wine and repeats the words that Jesus uttered at the Last Supper: “This is My Body. This is My Blood.” Many in the eastern Church, believe that it is when the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine and invokes the Holy Spirit to “come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” It is not important when it happens – only that it does happen.
We should never take it for granted, because at every celebration of the Eucharist something extraordinary takes place. The Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is really and truly present on the altar. A few minutes later, he enters our bodies - and our hearts – and becomes, really and truly, part of us.
When a person is dying, the last Holy Communion is called viaticum – food for the journey home to the Lord. The communion we receive here today – and every day – is also food for the journey – for the journey through life. It strengthens us for all the twists and turns along this sometimes rocky road. Jesus compares it to the food that God provided the Israelites during their long journey from captivity to freedom.
But that food – the manna God sent from heaven – could only sustain them a little while. All who received it would eventually die. The food we share today – the Body and Blood of Christ – sustains us throughout eternity. “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
After the elevation of the bread and wine, the priest prays: “Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit and become one body, one spirit, in Christ.” This is a second consecration – another transformation – that expresses the ultimate purpose of the first. The Body and Blood of Christ that we receive from this altar transforms us into the Body of Christ that we are meant to be for the world.
We come here not just to receive Communion – but also to enter into communion – with Jesus, with one another, with the entire Body of Christ throughout the world, with all of God’s creation.
This is our mission – to be the Body of Christ in a world that hungers for Him.
Three In One, One In Three
May 19, 2008
Today’s Reading: John 3:16-18
An elderly bishop visited a small parish to administer the sacrament of confirmation. He asked the candidates if anyone could give a definition of the Holy Trinity. One girl raised her hand and said, softly, “The Holy Trinity is one God in three persons.” The bishop, who was hard of hearing said, “I don’t understand what you said.” The girl replied, “You’re not supposed to – it’s a mystery!”
It is a mystery, and our human minds may have difficulty grasping idea of one God in three persons – but that’s all right. The girl was correct - we do not have to understand everything – especially the enormity of God. Thinking that they could is what got Adam and Eve into trouble.
Today’s gospel does not tell us what the Trinity is – just what the Trinity does. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
God loves the world so much that he sends part of Himself - his Son - who gives his life for us, rises from the dead, and ascends to the Father. Then, He shares his Spirit with us.
The Trinity is not an abstract concept – disconnected from our ordinary experience. It is the saving action of God – the consequences of God’s love for all humanity.
Time after time, we turn away from God’s love. We follow, not God’s will, but our own. God’s response to our disobedience is not punishment, but pardon – not condemnation, but salvation.
God’s love and forgiveness is available to everyone – but not everyone takes advantage of it. There is the necessity for faith – for belief in God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
What about those who do not believe in Jesus - are they condemned? God does not condemn anyone – but those who reject Jesus condemn themselves. Rejection of Jesus implies full knowledge of him. It can only come through deliberate rejection - from actions that betray a determination to knowingly turn away from God’s love.
Those who have never known Jesus have not rejected Him. They are subject to God’s mercy. However, those who knowingly turn away from Him must seek pardon and forgiveness.
The Good News — is that whatever a person might have done, however determined to reject God’s love a person might be – the door is always open. God loves the world and wants everyone to be saved. God anxiously waits on the most disobedient sinner to accept the salvation Christ won for us.
Ours is a dynamic and loving God – intimately involved in the world and in the lives of all humanity. The key to understanding God is love. God loves us all – and despite the many rejections he has to put up with God keeps on loving us.
In our first reading, Moses acknowledged that, “This is indeed a stiff-necked people.” Like the ancient Israelites, we do not often know what is good for us. We break God’s commandments and reject God’s love over and over again. We attribute to God all kinds of motives and actions that have nothing to do with Him. We blame God for all our ills. Yet, God still loves us.
Knowing all we do about God – knowing how utterly dependent we are – how, but for God’s love, we would be sunk in our own sin and selfishness - knowing all these things – no one should complain when asked to give God just one hour a week in worship.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, does not give us a long and dense theological discourse about the Holy Trinity. He gives us a simple prayer that describes the essence of the mystery of the Trinity. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us today – and always.
Doing Great Things for God - Together
May 11, 2008
Read: John 20:19-23
One way to tell if a person is alive or dead is to hold a mirror up to the mouth. A breath – even a weak breath – will form a mist on the mirror indicating that the person is alive. If there is no breath, there is no mist – and no life.
On the evening of the first Easter, the risen Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Just when they were at their lowest ebb; shut away in a room, paralyzed with fear, dispirited, disillusioned and confused – the breath of Christ – the Holy Spirit of God, began to flow through them. They may have not yet fully understood, but he was giving them new life and new energy.
Fifty days later, on the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would come upon them again – and everything changed. The men who were cowering in the upper room just a few weeks before now spoke with authority – and people from different parts of the world heard them in their own language. They forgave sins – as they had been empowered to do on that first Easter night. They proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ with a courage they had never known before.
No one can receive the Spirit of God and remain unchanged. For these disciples, although Jesus had disappeared from their sight, in many ways he was closer to them than when he walked with them as a man. He was now a part of them.
Although their mission would cause them to travel far from one another, they would be more in communion than they had ever been. With the Spirit of Jesus living in them, they became, in a new way, his people; his messengers, and his body. Wherever they would go, he was with them.
This gift of the Holy Spirit, given to the small Christian community that first Pentecost, has been with his disciples in every age. The Spirit gives life and energy to the world and all the people in it. As their spiritual descendants, we need to be more aware of the Spirit within us and how we can harness its energy.
The Holy Spirit is commonly portrayed as a dove, but I like to think of it more like that bunny in the TV commercials that just keeps going and going. However, even that electric bunny will not move if no one turns on the switch.
If we walk into a poorly-lit room, we can complain about how dark it is, or we can turn on the light. If we see an area of darkness in our little corner of the world, we can curse the darkness, or we can help bring the light of Christ to it. We can “turn on the switch” and be empowered and energized by the Holy Spirit to do great things – or we can moan about the fact that there is so much sin and darkness in the world that it seems that God has forgotten us.
God never forgets us. God fills our world with a life so wonderful and mysterious that it defies explanation.
We can explain how the movement of the earth around the sun causes the seasons, or that the spinning of our planet brings about night and day. However, that does not give justice to a newly-blossoming flower or the gentle warmth of a spring day. We can learn how the union of cells can bring about new life, but that does not adequately explain the indescribable beauty of a baby’s smile.
All the positive energy and life that surrounds us is the Holy Spirit of God. It is part of us and we must be open to its power. It energizes us and allows us to become dynamic messengers of Christ according to our own individual gifts.
We do not simply bring Christ to others – we identify the Christ who is already there. Where there is goodness, it is His goodness. When we bring healing, it is His healing. When we forgive, it is His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit empowers us to show people how Jesus is already at work in their midst. They, in turn, are strengthened by the same Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is described as “a strong driving wind,” as “tongues of fire” and as the gentle breath of Jesus. You and I may have experienced these manifestations of the Spirit. You may have been knocked to the ground, as St. Paul was. You may have felt empowered to do things you never thought possible. You may have heard the small voice within telling you not to do something you knew was wrong, or a gentle nudge pushing you into doing something you knew was right. You may have been touched by the Holy Spirit and not even recognized it.
I remember once, many years ago, experiencing the Holy Spirit as I listened to an elderly woman outside of a nursing home. She talked about her life, and the things she had done, and the people she had loved. As a gentle summer breeze flowed through her white hair, I saw the years melt away and reveal a beautiful young woman whose smile was the face of God. I am still moved by the power of that smile.
God sent His Spirit to energize the world. God calls you and me to turn on the switch. Together, we can renew the face of the earth.