My Peace I Leave You

The gospel readings for the remainder of the Easter season are from the Farewell Discourse of Jesus from John’s gospel. (Chapters 13-17) At Passover, Jesus’ hour arrives when “he had to pass from this world to his Father.” (John 13,1) The mystery of his death and resurrection is here.

At his announcement, uncertainty and questions disturb his disciples. They’ve known and loved him intimately; now he tells them he’s leaving, for awhile, and they will no longer see him, for awhile. They seem to hear only the word “death.” During the farewell discourse, the disciples, like Mary Magdalene in the garden, try to cling to him. “Do not cling to me. I have not ascended to my father and your father, to my God and your God.”

They’ll be living in the “in-between-time.” They wont see him again as they’ve known him physically; nor will they see him in glory, unless it’s the glory reflected from his cross. Jesus promises not to leave them orphans, but he won’t be with them as he was with them before in the flesh. He will be with them as God is with them.

The “in-between-time” is the time of the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, who will teach them all things. Jesus too will be present, but in sacramental signs and words and deeds they remember.

The “in-between-time” is our time too. Like the disciples, we want to see, to touch, to know more, to have what’s promised us fulfilled. But this is the “in-between-time.”

In today’s gospel, Jesus promises his disciples the gift of peace. He calls it his peace, a particular kind of peace, a believer’s peace, peace for the “in-between-time” when we don’t see yet and the mystery of the cross only hints at glory.

Jesus’ words appear in the prayer we hear before Communion at Mass. “Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles, ‘Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.’ Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. “

We sin against this peace by cynicism, lack of patience, weak faith– sins of the “in-between-time.” We wish this peace to each other; we pray that God grant us this peace as we receive the Eucharist.

The Bread of Life

The four gospels say that Jesus fed a crowd of people near the Sea of Galilee by multiplying a few loaves of bread and some fish. It’s one of his most important miracles, a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt when God fed his people with manna in the desert and kept them alive. “I am the living bread,” Jesus said. More than the other gospels, John dwells on this miracle and he sees it, not just as a sign of Jesus’ power, but as a test of faith.

The first tested are Jesus’ own disciples. “How are we to buy bread so that these people can eat?” Jesus asks Philip as crowds arrive at a mountain on the other side of the sea. We haven’t enough money, Philip answers, a typical reason to do nothing. The crowds want to make Jesus their king after eating a plentiful meal; a continual supply of food is on their mind more than “the true bread come down from heaven.”

The Sacrament of the Eucharist is always a testing ground for faith. “Because of it many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.” (John 6,66) Besides this radical step, others seem to have little appreciation for this great sign, John’s gospel indicates. What does our relationship reveal about our faith in Jesus Christ?

More than a test of faith, the Eucharist is also a powerful source of grace enabling us to recognize the Risen Christ and believe in him.

We enter a school of faith in the Easter season. The Risen Christ speaks to us in signs like water, bread and wine, words that promise a world beyond ours. May we find ourselves echoing the apostle Peter. “Where shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.”

Sunday Readings: Second Sunday of Easter (C)

Acts 5,12-16 The Jerusalem Church
Revelations 1, 9-11a, 12-13.17-19 The Promise of the Risen Lord
John 20,19-31 Doubting Thomas

The resurrection of Jesus is a mystery than unfolds beyond his tomb. The Risen Jesus give life to his church and steady growth in faith to people like Thomas, the apostle. The mystery of his resurrection reaches its completion when God’s kingdom comes.

The three readings each Sunday of the Easter season describe the results of the resurrection.
The readings from the Acts of the Apostles on Sundays and weekdays portray a growing church. In the selections from the gospel of John, Jesus meets people whose faith is imperfect, like Thomas, like Nicodemus, like the crowds whom he feeds with the loaves and the fish in Galilee, and like his own disciples at the Last Supper. He speaks to people with imperfect faith, slow to believe, like us. The Book of Revelation which we read on Sundays nourishes our hope in God’s kingdom to come.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem to face death, he used the familiar figure of the seed to describe the mystery before him.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

The mystery of his resurrection unfolds like the seed Jesus described in the gospels. Once fallen into the ground he now bears fruit in the church, small at first in Jerusalem, but spreading its branches throughout the world. He cultivates faith gradually in our lives and through time in humanity; his risen grace is more powerful than the thorns and hard ground that resist its growth. His resurrection leads to a world beyond what we know now.

The Risen Jesus remains with us . “There is nothing to fear,” he says to his disciple on the Lord’s day, “ I am the First and the Last and the One who lives. Once I was dead, now I live–forever and ever. I hold the keys of death and the nether world. Write down, therefore, whatever you see in visions-what you see now and what you will see in time to come.” (Revelations 1.17-19) We see him now by faith and in time to come face to face.

The Resurrection according to Luke

Our gospel reading today is from Luke’s resurrection narrative.(Luke 24,13-35) Luke’s focus is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Like Matthew, Luke begins with the women at the tomb, but he quickly directs us beyond the tomb to a road where two downcast disciples sunk in disappointment are abandoning their hopes for God’s kingdom. Jesus appears gradually to the two disciples. Slow to understand and to recognize Jesus, they see him finally in the breaking of the bread. Afterwards, they remember his words on the road and how their hearts burned within them.

Luke’s account of the Risen Jesus with the two disciples who have lost hope and are trying to find their way is a key to understanding the journey of the church that the evangelist writes for in his gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles. The church will journey from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, Rome. But it’s not a triumphant journey the two disciples make, nor will the church’s journey be triumphant. Luke’s narrative is a wonderful corrective to a triumphalist view of the church and also corrects a perfectionist view of our personal journey of faith.

Resurrection Thinking

One of the delights of the internet is that it puts you in touch with the world so  quickly.  On February 11, 2012 the Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright  addressed the Conference of Italian bishops on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His theme was “Christ is risen from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.” 1 Corinthians.

Wright is a highly regarded New Testament scholar and I found his thoughts on the   resurrection particularly interesting. The theme of the Italian bishops’ conference was “Jesus, our Contemporary.”

He begins with this challenging picture of the Risen Christ.

“ On the one hand, it is precisely because Jesus is risen from the dead that he is alive in a new, unique way; that he is able to be with us as a living presence, which we know in prayer and silence, in reading scripture and in the sacraments, and (not least) in the service of the poor.

All those things he has promised us, and his promises do not fail. He is, in that sense, truly our contemporary. But at the same time, as our title indicates, in his resurrection Jesus stands over against us. He is different. He is the first fruits; we are the harvest that still awaits. He has gone on ahead while we wait behind.

What is more, the meaning of his resurrection cannot be reduced to anything so comfortable as simple regarding him as ‘contemporary’ in the sense of a friend beside us, a smiling and comforting presence. Because he is raised from the dead, he is Lord of the world, sovereign over the whole cosmos, the one before whom we bow the knee, believing that in the end every creature will come to do so as well.

It’s not enough that Jesus intervenes at the moment of our death. He is the Lord of creation.”

Wright goes on to say that our belief in the Jesus as Lord of creation has been undermined by the thinking of the Enlightenment, which placed God (if God exists) beyond our world. We are the lords of creation, then. This life and all in it is in our hands to shape and control as we think best.

Our belief in the Risen Christ is influenced by this thinking, Wright believes. The only role we give to the Risen Lord is to save us from death and bring us to heaven. But we must see him as Lord of Creation, present here and now. We must live in him today and continue his work, not in a heavy-handed way, but humbly as Jesus called for in his teaching on the beatitudes.

“This is how Jesus wants to run the world: by calling people to be peacemakers, gentle, lowly, hungry for justice. When God wants to change the world, he doesn’t send in the tanks; he sends in the meek, the pure in heart, those who weep for the world’s sorrows and ache for its wrongs. And by the time the power-brokers notice what’s going on, Jesus’ followers have set up schools and hospitals, they have fed the hungry and cared for the orphans and the widows. That’s what the early church was known for, and it’s why they turned the world upside down. In the early centuries the main thing that emperors knew about bishops was that they were always taking the side of the poor. Wouldn’t it be good if it were the same today.”

You can find the full English text here. Pull now 9:30 Saturday, Feb 11 from the Italian menu.

Something Strange is Happening

From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday

The Lord’s descent into the underworld

Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Easter Sunday

Jn 20,1-9
Besides Peter, Mary Magdalene is a key witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Her story is told in John’s gospel which speaks of their meeting in the garden. For the rest of her years Mary would remember those moments by the tomb.
In the morning darkness she came weeping for the one she thought lost forever. She heard him call her name, “Mary”. She turned to see him alive and the garden became paradise.

Like a new Eve she was sent by Jesus to bring news of life to all the living. She was his apostle to the apostles. The belief of Christians in the resurrection of Jesus rests in part on this woman’s word. Today the church questions her:
“Tell us, Mary, what did you see on the way?
’I saw the tomb of the now living Christ.
I saw the glory of Christ, now risen.
I saw angels who gave witness;
the cloths, too, which once covered head and limbs.
Christ my hope had indeed arisen.
He will go before his own into Galilee.’”

The Easter mystery brightens the vision of Christians ever since. Here Paul of the Cross reflects on its wonder:
“O True God, what will our hearts be like when we swim in that infinite sea of sweetness! What will it be like when we are all transformed by love in God, and we will be happy with that infinite goodness with which our God is happy! We will sing in eternity the divine mercies, the triumphs of the Immaculate Lamb and of Mary, our most holy Mother! What will it be when we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and when with all the saints we sing Alleluia! When we are united to God more than iron is united to fire, for without ceasing to be iron, it seems all fire, so we are transformed into God that the soul will be completely divinized. Oh, when will that day come! When, when will death come to break the wall of this prison!”
(Letter 162)

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the Lord has this been done,
it is wonderful in our eyes. Ps 118

Rest in Peace

The first reading for today’s Mass from the Letter to the Hebrews helps us understand a common prayer that said when people die. “Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”

Why do we wish those who die “rest in peace?”

The Book of Genesis says that God “rested” on the seventh day after completing the work of creation. God’s rest was a time of delight in what was done, and so we wish that those who die experience delight for the life they led on earth and the new life they share with God.

That doesn’t mean they will forget those they leave behind or the world they no longer live in. When Jesus rose from the dead he entered into his rest, but his work was not done on earth. God’s Kingdom must still come. As our High Priest, who shared our human life and its weakness and death, he continues to intercedes for us on earth.

Like Jesus, those whom God calls into his rest still love this world and those still journeying here. They don’t forget us. Resting in God, they’re restless like Jesus till God’s kingdom come. Given a clearer sight as they commune with God, they accompany us on our way.  They’re in blessed communion with us, a communion of saints.

 

The Higgs-Boson Particle

Scientists all over the world are celebrating the discovery last week at a research center in Switzerland of a mysterious particle called the Higgs Boson particle. It’s a particle that’s found in all matter and its existence contributes to a new understanding of the nature of our universe.

After fifty years of searching for it, physicists seem to have found it.

I certainly can’t explain what they found, but I admire the scientists for their curiosity, their imagination and their patient searching for this mysterious piece in the puzzle of our universe. They want to know and I admire their drive to know.

I also admire their humility. The scientists say they’re only beginning to see how this world of ours began and how it works. To use a religious analogy, like Moses on the mountain, they’re approaching this mysterious universe with shoes off.

Our search for God is similar to theirs. We know God step by step, little by little. We can’t look straight at the sun; neither can our minds know God completely and at once. We search, not for particles, but for signs and experiences of life that reveal God little by little.

The truth of it is that God does not hide from us. In fact, we believe God revealed himself in the extraordinary sign of Jesus Christ, God’s  Son, who came humbly into our world as God’s Word.

Today’s gospel for the 14^th Sunday of the year (Mark 6,1-6 ) recalls the rejection  of Jesus by his own people in Nazareth, a town in Galilee where he was brought up. He suffered the rejection that prophets often receive; later he would suffer a cruel death on a cross, but he did not turn away. In his life, death and resurrection, we see God’s love, God’s desire that we know him.   In him, we have God’s invitation to share his life more deeply, face to face.

We have to fix our eyes on him, patiently and steadily. If we do, we will find him.

The Fear of Death

Great mysteries are expressed and deep truths revealed in these days between Easter and the Ascension, St. Leo the Great says in a sermon:

“In those days the fear of death was removed with all its terrors, and the immortality not only of the soul but also of the flesh was established.”

To remove the fear of death, keep your eyes on the two disciples on the way to Emmaus whom Jesus accompanied “to sweep away all the clouds of our uncertainty.”

“He reproached them for the slowness of their timid and trembling hearts. Their enlightened hearts catch the flame of faith, and lukewarm as they have been, they are made to burn while the Lord unfolds the Scriptures. In the breaking of bread also their eyes are opened as they eat with him. How much more blessed is that opening of their eyes, to the glorification of their nature, than the time when our first parents’ eyes were opened to the disastrous consequences of their transgression.”

Keep your eyes on all the disciples at this time, the saint says: “the most blessed Apostles and all the disciples, who had been both bewildered at his death on the cross and backward in believing his Resurrection, were so strengthened by the clearness of the truth that when the Lord entered the heights of heaven, not only were they affected with no sadness, but were even filled with great joy.”