PENTECOST SUNDAY

4 JUNE 2017

            Saint Paul knew that the Church in Corinth was a community torn apart by conflict.  One of the many issues separating them involved the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Some members of the community bragged that their gift of speaking in tongues was superior to any of the other gifts given to anyone else.  In writing to the Corinthians, Saint Paul argues that this is not true.  He points out that there is only one Lord, the source of unity.  If the members of the community embrace the centrality of that one Lord, then they will understand that there are different gifts given to many different people to be given in the service of the Church.  Most importantly, the only way to recognize the one Lord is through the working of the Holy Spirit.

            Today, we recall the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church.  We hear two very different accounts of how the Holy Spirit was given.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke describes the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after the Passover.  Just as the original Covenant was given at Mount Sinai in the midst of fire and strong winds, so the Holy Spirit is given to the Apostles, who are the new twelve tribes of Israel.  This gift of the Holy Spirit transforms the polarization at the Tower of Babel, when the languages of peoples were confused.  Filled with the Holy Spirit, the twelve proclaim that the mighty acts of God, raising Jesus from the dead and as Lord.

            Saint John tells a different story in the Gospel, which we heard on Easter Sunday.  According to John, the risen Christ breaks through the locked doors of their fear and gives them three gifts.  He gives them the gift of peace, that abiding presence of God which the world cannot give.  He breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Instead of lecturing them about their cowardice in running away in his darkest hour, he gives them the gift of forgiveness.

            As different as these accounts may be, they convey the same message.  The Holy Spirit is not given to an isolated individual, but to a community of believers.  Within each community, there are many different believers with many different gifts to share.  The Holy Spirit drives the recipients out of their comfort zones to proclaim the message that the risen Christ is Lord, and that embracing his Lordship will bring a profound unity.

            That same Holy Spirit is given to us today.  Like the Apostles, we have encountered the risen Lord during this Easter Season.  For fifty days, we have reflected on the mystery of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We have experienced his real presence in the Sacramental life of the Church. Through the Sacraments of Initiation, we have introduced believers into a more intimate relationship with Christ.  Now the Holy Spirit drives us out of the Easter Season to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.

The Holy Spirit gives us much hope in our fractured and polarized world.  The Holy Spirit opens our hearts to a peace that comes from knowing that Jesus is Lord.  The Holy Spirit blows through those barriers which we use to isolate ourselves from those with whom we might disagree.  The Holy Spirit melts away the icy distances we make from those who are different from us.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to discern our individual gifts and gives us the courage to place those gifts at the service of this parish.  The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of forgiveness, not to pretend that our sins and bad choices were acceptable, but to turn our gaze to the future, enabling us to be healed of the wounds caused by our sins.  The Holy Spirit blows us out of this church to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ and share those gifts with others.

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

21 MAY 2017

          Jesus continues to speak to his closest disciples at the Last Supper.  He asks if they love him.  If they do, they are to keep his commandments.  He is not talking about warm feeling.  He is speaking of the two great commandments – love of God and love of neighbor.  He had just washed their feet to demonstrate the humble service expected of those who love him.  He is preparing himself to become the Lamb of God sacrificed for their salvation.  Knowing how difficult this love will become, he promises to send them another Advocate.  For three years, he has been their Advocate – standing beside them and urging them on.  After his death, resurrection, and ascension, this second Advocate will do the same.  The Holy Spirit will stand by them so that they will continue to share his self-gift to the world.

            We see that dynamic in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  Philip and other Greek speaking disciples have been driven out of Jerusalem after Stephen had been killed.  Instead of hiding in fear to protect his own life, Philip goes to Samaria, which is directly north of Judea.  Jews and Samaritans hated one another.  But Philip breaks through all those divisions, just as Jesus had reached out to the Samaritan woman at the well.  The Samaritans respond positively to the Gospel he proclaimed and the signs he worked.  Philip baptizes many Samaritans into the Body of Christ.  Then the Apostles Peter and John, come down to give them the Holy Spirit, enabling these newest members to love as Jesus had commanded them.

            Jesus speaks to us at this Memorial of the Last Supper.  He commands us to love, as he has loved us, and as Philip had loved the Samaritans.  We express our love best by being humble servants.  He invites us to trust that our acts of humble service will be powerful signs in the Granger area drawing people to Christ, just as Philip’s works drew people to Christ in Samaria.  Please take a step in faith and make a commitment to some kind of service in our parish.  We ask for a one-year commitment, which can be renewed or changed every year.  Please read the information in the bulletin and the materials that you will receive in the mail next week.  Pray over your decision, and invite the Holy Spirit to help you to avoid hiding your talents out of fear.

            Since we have moved into the new church, the large size of our parish has become more apparent.  We see more parishioners at a given Mass, because our new church holds twice as many people.  Some of you worry about getting lost in such a large parish.  However, you will find that getting involved and giving yourself in humble service not only helps the parish.  It also connects you more closely with the others who serve in that ministry.  In giving, you will receive much more in return.  If you don’t believe me, please listen to Tim Golichowski, as he speaks of his experience of giving his time and talent in humble service of the parish.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

14 MAY 2017

            Jesus speaks these words to his closest disciples at the Last Supper.  For three years, they had been walking the way to Jerusalem, listening to him teaching them how to be good disciples.  He had taught them that the last would be first.  He had spoken openly of his own death on the cross and their need to carry their crosses.  He had just washed their feet to teach them how to be humble servants.  Even though he had been deeply troubled at the tomb of Lazarus, he tells them not to allow their hearts to be troubled.  He reminds them that they know the way.

            Thomas objects that he does not know the way.  But he will soon find out what Jesus had been talking about all along.  He and the other apostles will find that the way to the Father is through death.  In his encounter with Christ after the resurrection, he would know the joy of being forgiven for running away.  All of them would understand what Jesus was talking about when he says that there are many dwelling places in his Father’s house.  He is not talking about rooms or buildings.  He is talking about an intimate eternal experience of God’s presence.  He used the same image when he spoke about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days.  He had been talking about the temple of his body and his presence to them after the resurrection.

            Then he tells them that they will do greater works than his works.  We can see how this promise is kept in the Acts of the Apostles.  Those who had been baptized became living stones rooted in the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.  They were living stones coming from many different backgrounds, languages, and cultures.  That diversity brought conflict.  The Greek speaking Christians complained that their widows were being neglected.  So the Twelve Aramaic speaking leaders came up with a decision under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  They laid hands on seven Greek speaking men and put them in charge of serving the poor.  As the first deacons, they performed new works of service and helped the Church adapt to changing circumstances.

            We see a similar dynamic happening in our sister parish of Saint Adalbert.  People of Polish descent founded the parish in the early part of the twentieth century.  Today, most of the parishioners have Hispanic origins.  That is why the image of the bishop Saint Adalbert on our Triumphal Arch is flanked by the image of the Mexican peasant, Saint Juan Diego kneeling next to him.  It has not been an easy transition, much as the situation depicted in the Acts of the Apostles was not easy.  The two communities have different languages, different cultures, and different ways of behaving in Church.  But, fed by the Body and Blood of the Lord at every Mass, they have worked things out and are creating a new work in the name of Jesus Christ.

            The same is true of our parish as try to do the works of Jesus Christ.  We may not walk on water.  We cannot take five loaves and two fish and feed five thousand people.  We are certainly not perfect, and we are working to make adjustments in settling into our new church.  But our very acts of service, both within the parish and to those in need outside the parish, make a huge difference.  That is especially true of those of you who are living the vocation of being mothers.  We honor them today, rightly, because they have learned from their own experience that the way to the Father is through Jesus Christ and sharing in his dying and rising.  Mothers wash more than feet on a regular basis.  They deny themselves many times each day and manifest the works of Jesus Christ.  Inspired by the example of mothers in our midst, we continue our journey in faith to the New and Eternal Jerusalem with untroubled hearts.  We continue to walk the way that leads to the Father’s house, where there are many dwelling places.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

7 MAY 2017

            One of the great features of our new church is that there are lots of images.  Those images can help us to visualize the spoken Word.  That is true of today’s readings.  The triumphal arch is dominated by the Good Shepherd, seated on his throne and drawing his flock from Bethlehem and Jerusalem to himself.  In other words, through the mysteries of the Incarnation (Bethlehem) and his death and resurrection (Jerusalem), he wants to draw all people to himself in the heavenly kingdom.  The sheep clearly recognize his voice and come to him.

            That is what shepherds in the ancient world would do.  They spent their entire time with their flock, guiding them to safe places for grazing and water.  At night, shepherds would lead their flocks into sheepfolds to protect them from robbers or wild animals.  Because there were no gates in these sheepfolds, the shepherds would take turns lying across the entrance.  They were the gate, and shepherds sometimes gave their lives to violent robbers or ravenous wolves.

            Our Good Shepherd knows each of us by our name and calls us to himself.  As Saint Peter says in the first reading, our Good Shepherd became the gate and laid down his life for us.  That action of laying down his life for us is dramatically portrayed in the cross hanging above the Altar.  Having laid down his life, he has become the Lamb of God, as pictured in the mosaic on the front of the Altar.  At this Mass, we welcome the final group of our second graders to be fed by the Lamb of God in Holy Communion for the first time.  Fed by the Body and Blood of Christ, they will be strengthened to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and to trust in his loving care for them as they walk with us on our pilgrimage to the new and eternal Jerusalem.

            Saint Peter is very bold in his homily.  He calls Jesus both Lord and Christ.  Roman citizens referred to Caesar as “lord,” and Peter’s bold proclamation that Jesus is Lord would eventually cost him his life.  Calling Jesus the Christ got in trouble with his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters, who denied that he was the Messiah.  Peter also tells his listeners that they had been part of crucifying Jesus Christ.  Cut to the heart by his words, they ask what they should do.  He tells them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.  His words are so direct and strong that 3,000 people are baptized that day. 

Having listened to this homily of Saint Peter with us at this Mass, our first communicants will renew the promises made for them when they were baptized as infants.  Their white garments connect them to their baptisms, when they were clothed with a white garment to indicate that they had put on Christ.  With them, we renew the promises made at our baptism.  We confess that we have not always put the Lordship of Jesus Christ above everything else.  Too often, we have put our trust in those things that do not last.  We may not have been part of his actual crucifixion, but we have denied knowing Christ when we have not lived those promises, just as Peter had denied knowing Christ on Holy Thursday.  Just as Peter learned from his sin and accepted forgiveness from Jesus, we too can learn from our sins to turn again to the Good Shepherd, who forgives us and protects us in the sheepfold that is the Church. 

            As we continue to celebrate these fifty days of Easter, we open our ears to the voice of the Good Shepherd calling us to put our faith in his risen presence.  It is not always easy to live our baptismal promises.  It is not always easy to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Christ.  There are many other voices competing for our attention.  His risen presence is most clearly revealed at the Eucharist, when the Good Shepherd speaks to each of us by name and feeds us with his Body and Blood.  Our first communicants can help us deepen our Easter faith.

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

30 APRIL 2017

            Saint Luke structures his Gospel as a journey, with Jesus making his way to Jerusalem.  As he forms his disciples and walks with them, he explains to them that he is the Suffering Servant promised by the Prophet Isaiah.  He clearly tells them that he will be betrayed, that he will suffer, that he will be crucified, and that he will be raised from the dead.  Jerusalem is the location for his self-sacrificing and self-giving love. 

            In Luke’s Gospel today, two of his disciples are walking away from Jerusalem.  They are devastated by the humiliating death of their teacher.  With their hopes dashed, they are heading for Emmaus.  Scholars debate the significance of Emmaus.  Some argue that it was the site of a Roman garrison, making it a symbol of power, wealth, and influence.  However, no one knows where the ancient city of Emmaus was.  Several different sites seven miles from Jerusalem compete for money from pilgrims in claiming to be the ancient city.  But one thing is clear from Saint Luke’s account.  They are going the wrong way.  They are running away from the pain of self-sacrificing love and are seeking a reality that might appear to be much easier.

            On that first day of the week, the first day of a new creation created by the resurrection, Jesus himself joins them.  Even though they do not recognize him, they allow the stranger to walk with them.  He listens to them and seems to be amused when they ask if he is the only visitor to Jerusalem who knows what has taken place there.  In fact, he is the only visitor who truly knows what has taken place!  He also knows that they have all the information they need to believe what the women had told them.  They are unable to connect the dots.  So, he connects the dots for them.  He quotes the Scriptures which they know well and explains how God’s love has always involved a loving sacrifice.  By the time they reach Emmaus, he has connected the dots in such a way that their hearts are burning within them.  They beg the stranger to stay with them.  They recognize the risen Lord when he takes bread, says the blessing, breaks the bread, and gives it to them.  With the dots connected, they do something risky.  They leave immediately in the dark to return to Jerusalem, to that place of sacrificial love.  Nourished by the breaking of bread, they are willing to face the dangers of traveling in the dark and the danger of thieves to return to that place of sacrifice where they might be sacrificed.

            The risen Christ walks with us, even when we are going the wrong way.  He listens to our pain, even when we are running away from the sacrifices required by God’s love and are heading toward more familiar avenues of wealth or power or influence.  He never forces himself upon us.  But he speaks to us in a variety of ways, opening our eyes to his risen presence and helping us to connect the dots.  He walks with us when we are devastated by the loss of a loved one, or by any kind of disaster in our lives.  He speaks to us through the mouths of those who love us so much that they are willing to speak the truth with love.  He speaks to us even when we find ourselves devastated by our sins and really bad choices.

            The risen Lord has just spoken to us in the Word.  Just as Peter is able to connect the dots in his sermon from the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus invites us to connect the dots of our lives and recognize his risen presence in our midst.  He also speaks to us in these First Communicants, whose hearts have been burning for some time as they prepare for this day.  He speaks to us when they renew their baptismal promises, reminding us to live the promises made at our baptisms.  He feeds us with his Body and Blood, as he feeds them for the first time.  Then he sends us out of this Mass, giving us the courage to walk away from whatever cannot satisfy and to take risks and walk toward the new and eternal Jerusalem, the way of self-giving love.

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

23 APRIL 2017

            Saint Peter’s profession of faith is very upbeat.  He speaks very convincingly of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its power to bring a profound peace and joy.  Peter knows this from his own experience.  Even though Peter had promised that he would die with Jesus if necessary at the Last Supper, he sat around the fire in the courtyard of the high priest’s house and denied knowing Jesus three times.  He had abandoned his mentor and teacher who had named him the “rock” of the church.  He was unable to make sense of the empty tomb on the first day of the week.  It was only when the risen Lord broke through the locked doors did Peter experience the peace of the risen Christ.  It was around the fire of the breakfast prepared for him by the risen Christ at the Sea of Galilee that he truly understood the depths of the Lord’s mercy.  The risen Christ asked him three times if he loved him, not to rub salt in his wounds, but to demonstrate that he had truly forgiven him.  Instead of telling Peter that he had “blown it” and that he would choose someone else to lead his Church, he reaffirmed his choice.  Because of his incredible mercy, Peter had learned from the damage done by his sins and became a better leader.

            This is the mercy which we celebrate on the last day of the Octave of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday).  Those responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ had used their power to deal with a rabbi who had been a thorn in their sides.  In their guilt and grief, the disciples of Jesus probably thought that the risen Christ would use that same type of power to deal with them.  That is why they locked the doors of the place where they had gathered.  They more than likely expected him to lecture them and berate them for their cowardice.  Instead, Jesus walks right through those locked doors on the first day of the week.  The one who had been present at the creation of the world creates a new reality for them.  He gives them the gift of peace and breathes on them, giving the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Only with the gift of the Holy Spirit will they be able to break out of their locked hearts and extend the gift of peace and mercy to others.

            It is easy to be critical of Thomas, whom we have named “doubting Thomas.”  To be honest, all the other disciples had been slow to believe in the miracle of the resurrection.  Thomas needed to connect the deep wounds of the risen Christ with those deep wounds of guilt and shame and grief which he carried.  In connecting those wounds on the body of the risen Christ with his own wounds, he experiences the incredible mercy and peace of the risen Christ and makes the most profound statement of faith in the Gospels:  “My Lord and my God.”

            We encounter that same risen Christ at this Mass.  We began this Mass by recalling the gift of Baptism, which has washed away our sins and given us the depths of God’s mercy.  He has just spoken to us in the Word, allowing us to listen to the teaching of those apostles who first experienced the mercy of the risen Christ.  Listening to that Word, we can connect the gift of mercy with all the times we have been forgiven.  We will be fed by his Body and Blood.  In sharing this Feast of the Lamb, we rededicate ourselves to being attentive to the common good of our parish.  The risen Christ will send us out to be Christ’s Body in our world today.

            Like Thomas, we all bear our share of wounds, both as individuals, and as the collective body of Christ.  Sometimes we fear that it is impossible to extend the mercy of the risen Christ, especially when we have been hurt so many times.  We are part of a new reality breathed on that first day of the week.  The Holy Spirit enlivens us to unlock the doors of our hearts.  The Holy Spirit melts the icy hardness of grudges and anger.  Jesus is talking about us when he tells Thomas that those who have not seen and believe are blessed.  We are truly blessed.  We are sent from this Mass to share that blessing.  

EASTER SUNDAY

16 APRIL 2017

            At the last Mass on Christmas Day, we heard the beginning of the Gospel of Saint John.  He announced that Jesus Christ, present at the creation of the world, took on human flesh and dwells among us. At this Mass on Easter Sunday, we hear the end of the Gospel of Saint John.  This same Jesus Christ, who suffered a cruel and humiliating death on a cross, has been raised from the dead. 

            When Mary of Magdala arrives at the tomb, the darkness is much more than the lack of physical darkness.  She comes with the terrible inner darkness of profound grief.  The one who had taught her, the one who had driven seven demons from her, the one who had shown so much kindness to her and to so many others had been brutally executed.  She is shocked to find the stone rolled away and the tomb.  In the darkness of her grief, she runs to tell Peter and the Beloved Disciple that she has found an empty tomb.  When they arrive at the tomb, Peter cannot make sense of it.  But, the Beloved Disciple notices some important details.  No one has stolen the body, because the burial cloths remain in the tomb.  When he sees the cloth that had covered the head of Jesus, he thinks about the veil that Moses wore when he had encountered God on Mount Sinai.  His face shone so brilliantly that people could not look at it.  The Beloved Disciple connects that cloth with the glory which Jesus certainly now shares, and he believes.

            John says that they still do not understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.  It is only when they encounter the risen Lord that they begin to believe.  It will take time.  Because the Lord has been transformed through the resurrection, they do not recognize him.  Mary thinks that he is the gardener.  Peter, the Beloved Disciple, and the rest of the disciples are afraid when he breaks through the locked doors of their grief.  Once they recognize him, they also hear his words of forgiveness for running away from him in his hour of need.  Changed by their encounter with the risen Christ, they boldly proclaim his resurrection to everyone whom they encounter.

            That is certainly true of Peter.  He gives a great homily in the house of the gentile convert Cornelius.  He had baptized him and welcomed him into a new community of Jews and Gentiles.  He is no longer the fearful Peter who denies knowing Jesus three times before the cock crowed on the night of Jesus’ betrayal.  He no longer clings to the sins of his past.  He boldly proclaims the person of Jesus Christ and attests that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.  He knows this forgiveness, because he himself received it from the risen Christ.

            We do not encounter the risen Lord as those first witnesses did.  But the risen Lord is just as present to us through the sacramental life of the Church. Through our celebration of the Sacred Paschal Triduum, we have not been reenacting the historical events of the Lord’s passion and death.  In our Liturgical remembering, the mystery of these events has been made present to us.  But, it takes time for us to assimilate the Mystery of the Resurrection and apply it to our lives.  That is why we celebrate Easter every year.  At this Easter Mass, we renew our Baptismal promises and recommit ourselves to living them.  The risen Lord speaks to us in his Word.  He feeds us with his Body and Blood.  He gives us another Easter to as a gift to deepen our faith and reflect on our encounters with him.  He sends us out of this church to proclaim to all we meet that sin and death are not the end.  We celebrate the Victory of the Lamb, who dies no more.