Fourth Sunday of Easter -- Good Shepherd Sunday

 Lectionary: 49

...whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,

as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The Book of Genesis describes a confident relationship between humans and sheep since the very beginning. After many thousand years, sheep are docile to the point of blind stupidity; they cannot survive without constant guidance and intense surveillance. Attacked by lions, wolves, bears, or human thieves their instincts fail them. They must rely on their shepherds for protection. 

And yet, despite the odious comparison, humans have seen ourselves as sheep. It fits! Life on a dynamic planet is too unpredictable, confusing, and dangerous to be lived without a lot of help, both human and divine. Perhaps it's the foolishness of small children who will step out on a busy highway without looking left or right that reminds their guardians that we adults also need close supervision. 

On the fourth Sunday of Easter we hear gospel readings about Jesus the Good Shepherd. We're reminded of our sheepish helplessness in the face of constant bewilderment. We pray each year on this day especially for our pastors: our bishops and priests. We need the guidance of trusted authorities; that is, those authorized and anointed by God to lead us in a troubled, changing world. 

Just consider where we live. Astronomers tell us we live on a “dynamic planet,” meaning it is continually changing. Continents beneath our feet float like massive boats; they migrate on their rock beds a few inches each year; some as fast as your fingernails grow, which in a year can amount to a lot. They create tremors, earthquakes, mudslides, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. 

The earth is drenched with water and its ocean tides propel atmospheric currents, which create typhoons, hurricanes, and blizzards when they're not parching the land in drought. Clouds carry water to every surface of dry land, creating rivers and lakes above the surface and aquifers below it.  

Our fluid atmosphere flows continually through four seasons in the temperate zones; and even the poles have warm and cold seasons while the equator endures monsoons and droughts. There is no spot on earth which is not subject to its continual, unsettling change.   

This combination of air, water, and earth with the heat of the sun beneath the cyclic moon and the whirling globe have mysteriously generated many kinds of life, which also contribute to our dynamic planet, creating even more instability. Mosses, bushes, and trees erode rocks, creating landslides, while mountains fall into the sea, except when they are rising up through it, only to be greeted by bird-borne seeds to erode its rock and wash it into the sea again. 

And oh, by the way, the weather in North America is the most unstable of all the continents. We have blizzards, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires, prairie fires, marsh fires, swamp fires, earthquakes, floods, sinkholes, and landslides like nowhere else. 

And finally, from this dynamic planet is born the human creature which needs stability and predictability but generates conflict, divisions, and warfare. Even as we struggle to grow a prosperous economy we fall into recessions and depressions. Our booms end in busts, and our anxieties in violence. 

We need help. If we don’t help one another we cannot survive. But we’re often at war with one another; and now our militaries have the power to destroy every living thing on the planet. We need God; we need a Good Shepherd. 

Jesus, our risen Lord renews God’s ancient promise to us and all the nations, which he gave through the Patriarch Abraham, 

"I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Apostles speaks to us through the Church, especially through our shepherds. We have more than a Bible to guide us. We have the apostolic authority of the Pope and the bishops, the witness of the saints, and the vigilance of the Holy Spirit. We have the inspiration of our ancestors who brought their rosaries, statues, and priests from Europe to build churches, schools, hospitals, universities, convents, and monasteries. 

We need the anointed authority of the Church to remind us that God never intended suicide, drug abuse, abortion, or divorce. It wasn't supposed to be this way. And he gives us the Spirit to do better. 

Our Shepherd Saint Peter assures us,

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you had gone astray like sheep,

but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. 

Like sheep we stay with our shepherds. They’re human like us, and given to us by the Lord. We pray for them and we pray that the Lord will select worthy young men from our families to enter the priesthood or diaconate. We pray that our families will be found worthy to give these gifted young men to the Church. 

We cannot celebrate the Blessed Sacrament without priests, and we cannot live on this troubled, beautiful, dynamic planet without the Blessed Sacrament. 

Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Lectionary: 278

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

Jesus often speaks of his going away in the Gospel of John, and three times of his being lifted up:

• And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)
• So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. (John 8.28)
• And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. John 12.32

Incidentally, these three prophecies correspond to the three prophecies of his coming passion, death, and resurrection in the synoptic gospels. And to the three times the Eucharist is lifted up during the Mass. (following the Consecration, with the Great Amen, and following the Fraction of the Bread. An additional lifting up occurs as the minister offers the Sacrament to each communicant.) 

In today's gospel, rather than of being passively lifted up, the Lord's speaks of his ascending to where he was before. He uses the metaphor of descending when he speaks of  his coming to be with us through the Incarnation; and of three rather different ascensions: when he is crucified, raised up, and returns to the Father. 

We have often interpreted these metaphors quite literally, as if heaven is up in the sky. That is where God reigns with his saints and angels, where the patriarchs, prophets, and holy ones have gone, and we hope to go someday. 

But long before Yuri Gagarin (didn't) say, "“I went up to space, but I didn’t encounter God," serious theologians and most thoughtful people had dismissed the idea of heaven up there, hell down there, and our sorry world in between. Isaac Newton had demonstrated the properties and power of gravity many centuries before the cosmonaut's 108 minutes in "outer space." 

We understand that Jesus comes from the Father -- the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- who has always been deeply engaged in, and never far from, human affairs. His Holy Spirit called Abraham out of Ur and the Hebrews out of Egypt, but it also formed this dynamic planet and its teeming life out of stardust. 

Higher and lower refer to our capacity for discovering God's hand in our life, and our reluctance to do so. We are called to discern the purpose the LORD had in creating us, and to make our lives meaningful by conforming to God's will. A higher life searches above the muck of immediate passions, fears, needs, and biases to discover the Way of Peace. A lower form of human life craves satisfactions and delight and remains forever insatiable, because it discerns neither destination nor destiny. 

That lower form of human life remembers nothing but resentments and the fear learned from past injuries. It "never learns and never forgets." It is doomed to make war in a hopeless pursuit of peace, and to drive others away in a search for security. It cannot risk cooperation, sharing, or communion. It tried those things once, and never forgot the failures, disappointments, and betrayals. 

Called to life above by the grace of God, the faithful understand futility. They have gazed upon the Crucified Christ and seen in his dying eyes not disappointment but hope and unwavering confidence. They discover through disappointment how intensely they have relied on unreliable illusions, and they see why they invested so deeply and foolishly in their own misgivings. 

Am I saddened that my friend called me arrogant? Of course. Is he right? Yes. Am I disappointed? Or relieved to be found out and forgiven? "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."

Will the faithful ever be satisfied? Personally, I cannot imagine a satisfaction that is not engaged, challenged, and sometimes bewildered. We can always give more, even -- I suppose -- after we have passed through those Pearly Gates, and surrender to the Infinitely Worthy Goodness of God. We must hover around the Beatific Vision like stars and planets around a massive black hole. Even as we praise God's Majesty we will want to give more, and perpetually fear doing so. It will always seem it wants too much, deserves too much, and we'll want to surrender completely, but always there will be more to give from the infinity of our God-like nature. The best artists never finish their work; the saints are never exhausted by their love for God. 

For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Therefore, console one another with these words.  (Thessalonians 4:16)

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 277

Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.

Whatever the individual Christian might think about Jesus's words in John 6, they cannot ignore their import. "Amen, Amen" is as close as the Lord ever comes to swearing. And the words that follow are deadly serious. 

Opinions vary among the Christian churches as to what they mean. Although many American Catholics -- more Protestant than Catholic in their formation and imagination -- deny their significance, the Magisterium of the Church takes the words as literally as possible: "The bread is flesh, the wine is blood!" We have stories of bleeding hosts and "miracles of the Eucharist" which are the object of pilgrimages and touted throughout the world. 

During the Mass everyone literally eats from the paten and drinks (preferably) from one cup. Personally, I don't see how one's scruples about germs should prevent one from drinking from the proferred chalice. I find more references to drinking, cup, wine, and grapes in the New Testament than I find to eat, bread, and wheat. The early Church spoke more enthusiastically of drinking his blood than of eating his flesh. 

Jesus's declaration is critically important and intentionally divisive, and John tells us that many disciples left him upon hearing it. Believe it! Or go away; you don't belong to me. And many left.

Saint Peter spoke for us when, expressing both bewilderment and conviction, he said, 

"Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

And Jesus replied with deep satisfaction in his chosen disciples, and with great distress, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?”

Belief in the Eucharist is more than an opinion about transubstantiation versus consubstantiation or transignification. It's about the willingness to take Jesus's words very seriously, so seriously as to go to die with him. Or to lay down one's life for a fellow Christian. Over the centuries many Roman, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians have followed that summons. 

Nor do we expect the killing of martyrs to end before his Second Coming. Should that happen, we'll know God has abandoned his unfaithful people. We'll have lost the Spirit of the martyrs and will be no longer worthy of the Name.

The recently restored right of  the entire congregation to share the Blood after the Pandemic signals not a singular privilege returned but an awakening awareness of the crisis of Jesus. There has always been animosity toward his Name, his Presence, and his Lordship. Many bristle upon hearing, 

There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

But the Eucharist is a belief and a hope we're eager to share with friends and foes alike. Life in Christ still makes sense to us. It has purpose and meaning. We understand pain, grief, and disappointment; as well as shame, regret, and humiliation in its light. We have no need for mind-killing entertainment, numbing chemicals, violence, or suicide. We love life, even with its all-encompassing view from the cross. 

 

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 276

Seated in his chariot, [the Ethiopian eunuch] was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
He replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?"

When I was a boy in the 1950's, the Catholic Church in the United States was widely respected as well-organized, professional, motivated, and disciplined. It was hectored by many Protestant churches largely because of its enormous size, wealth, and success. No other religion could boast of so many churches, schools, hospitals, social agencies, retreat houses, monasteries, convents, and lay organizations. 

But there was also the snickered aside, "Priests teach children and play with adults." They golfed, bowled, played softball, and talked sports with men; heard women's confessions; and taught children in the Catholic school system. 

I am sure that's an unfair simplification of a culture and time that has largely vanished. (The Catholic Family Movement began in the 1940's and remains strong today.) But Catholic catechesis in the United States remains mostly for children. Adult education remains informal at best, as some individuals tune into Internet resources like Father Mike Schmidt's Bible in a Year, and The Catechism in a Year. Podcasts about Jesus are also extremely popular. 

But actual gatherings of Catholic adults to read, study, discuss, and pray with the scriptures or the Catechism remain the province of grandmothers and some grandfathers. The groups are not large; a lively parish of thousand families should have a hundred such gatherings every week. 

Active engagement in study and discussion, as opposed to passive attention to Internet resources, changes hearts and minds. In today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we find Philip catching up with the Ethiopian eunuch, to discuss the meaning of obscure passages from the prophet Isaiah. The African nobleman was eager to ask questions and learn; and Philip was enthused by the spirit of Jesus Christ. If Isaiah was forever ancient, the Gospel was forever new. Their meeting in that chariot on the road to Gaza was necessary and intended from the beginning of Salvation History. 

As the United States descends into another chaotic period -- we've seen them before -- and begins an ascent to renewed energy, commitment, and direction, Catholic men and women are called to reengage the culture with an active, enthusiastic faith. God has sent the Catholic Church to say something to this bewildered, troubled nation, and a Catholic laity are his prophets.  

Jesus's resurrection appearances were not to inform us that there is an afterlife; nor even to prove that He is God. We knew that already. He rose from the dead to fire us up and send us to all parts of the Earth. We'll make a difference when we are different, and that will happen when those who identify as Catholic live the Word of God in love. 

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 275

"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe.

As Church we often tangle with this mystery. If only it might become a tango, something delightful, melodious, and beautiful! 

Catholics readily declare our belief in the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of the Lord. It's the Real Presence, and we genuflect or bow before the Most Blessed Sacrament as if it's God himself, which it is! 

And we want to share it with everyone! And we invite everyone! Did the Lord not say, "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me?" 

But we can't share it with everyone. And why not? To put it in Jesus's words, "...although you have seen me, you do not believe."

Because, to put it in other words, neither we nor our guests can do anything on our own terms. We cannot be as superficially hospitable as we might want, in the vague hope they'll be so charmed by our invitation that they'll join us in the practice of our Roman Catholic faith. 

When we invite the world to share Communion with us, we and our guests must pay the price. It must be our "entire livelihood" even if If we can give no more than two copper coins. It may include a year of catechesis before First Communion, even for the Baptized. It also may include considerable research into their marriage, if one or the other party is divorced and remarried. 

It's complicated; it's difficult; it's time consuming; but these are the terms.

Religious faith is more than a feeling, opinion, or basic willingness. It requires a transformation of one's past, present, and future. It's a deep commitment, a matter of life and death; and it has cost many their lives. Twenty-centuries have seen men, women, and children martyred for the privilege of sharing the Eucharist. 

Jesus insists, "I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me." It wasn't easy for him either. 

Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist

 Lectionary: 555

"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Today's gospel is taken from the coda of Saint Mark's masterpiece. Scholars agree he didn't write it; it doesn't appear in many of the best manuscripts; but since the Council of Trent Catholics have accepted the last twelve verses as canonical. 

Certainly Saint Mark would agree with its apocalyptic tone of promise and threat: believe and be saved, disbelieve and  be condemned. You are free to choose, but don't expect much sympathy for your wrong choice. As Saint Luke's gospel warns, you have Moses and the prophets and one risen from the dead. If you don't believe them, why would you expect mercy or demand justice of God?

Saint Mark's text ended abruptly, and with an unsettling verse: 

[the women] went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

It seemed inconclusive, and everyone who reads it wonders, "and then what happened?" The other canonical gospels -- Matthew, Luke, and John -- provide stories of Jesus's resurrection. Saint Luke, in his sequel The Acts of the Apostles, adds that he 

...presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

But the Lord apparently was not so available as to be seen by skeptics or enemies. I heard recently of a TV program that described Pilate's astonishment when he undertook a private investigation and discovered the Lord calmly eating an evening meal and discussing matters with his disciples. 

No. Sorry. It never happened. 

Again, Saint Luke says in the same book, 

This man God raised (on) the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead

Saint Paul tells of a series of appearances to Peter (Cephas), the twelve, and five hundred; and finally, himself. But that final appearance is odd because it's only described as an audition -- a voice -- rebuking Paul for his persecution of the Church. 

To summarize, the several accounts of Jesus's appearances in the New Testament cannot be arranged in a coherent narrative. His appearance by the seashore in John 21 seems very remote, as if it might have occurred several years later to idle, dispirited disciples. 

And we're still wondering, "What really happened?" Saint Mark would reply, "If you don't understand yet, read it again." 

The resurrection appearances reassure us. Yes, he rose physically from the dead. He was neither a ghost nor a spirit. The disciples didn't steal his body and then create a story as a reason to go out and be martyred for their insane obstinacy. Clearly, they were filled with a joyful conviction which proved infectious and remains with us to this day. But they are more blessed who did not see and yet believe. 

Reading the Gospel again -- and again and again -- dissolves any hope that believing in Jesus won't cost more than we are ready to give. Like Abraham, "our father in faith," we must surrender that which is more dear to us than life. Faith demands that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We first heard that in Deuteronomy and it has been repeated often. There are no shortcuts nor should we want one. Only a fool would expect a gospel of prosperity. 

Saint Mark heartily agrees with the promise and threat of the coda,

Whoever believes [in Jesus] and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

 

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Lectionary: 273 

Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

The curious crowd who followed Jesus across the Sea of Galilee and back again to Capernaum asked the right question. To his statement, "Work for the food that endures to eternal life," rather than asking, "What should we believe?" they demanded of him, 

"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

His response is "Believe in the one he sent," but belief without action is nothing more than opinion. It's not the real thing if it never sees the light of day. If others cannot see your faith and believe as you believe, it's useless. Hardly worth mentioning, and somewhat embarrassing. 

That being said, piety is an action. Daily prayer; attendance at Mass and the Sacraments; devotional practices; observing the the liturgical seasons and the calendar of saints; plus scripture study; attention to current events in one's parish, diocese, and the universal church; volunteering; tithing for the church and select charities; and finally, modelling religious fidelity to one's spouse, children,family, friends, fellow members of the church, and neighbors. Not to mention one's occupation (profession, career, or job);  maintaining one's home and personal health, civic responsibilities, and occasional entertainment. Piety is a full life! 

In fact it's a life of sacrifice. No one said it should be easy, and it's not. 

Does it matter? We make a difference because we're different. We cannot support immoral practices even when their touted as inclusive and compassionate. We must often remind the world that the end does not justify the means. The culture of death does not create a safer or more prosperous society. Abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, eugenics, nuclear weapons and war: they do not improve anyone's life. No one can see very deep into the future, but we can see that far. 

So they said to him,

"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"

Jesus answered and said to them,

"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

Our life begins with belief in Jesus; we know, love, and serve him. We keep our eyes fixed on him, and trust that he will bring us -- as he has in the past -- across every stormy sea.  

In fact, today's gospel follows hard upon the disciples' crossing the stormy Sea of Galilee and finding Jesus walking on the water as if it's the most natural thing in the world. Frightened, they cried out for help and he replied, "It is I. Do not be afraid." 

Do not be afraid to be pious. 

 

Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 46

If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially
according to each one's works,
conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,
realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished lamb.

Saint Peter, writing to gentiles of their new faith in Jesus Christ, urged them to remember and reflect upon the "futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors." People who maintain antique traditions even as the world changes around them might not welcome the Saint's admonition. 

But he wasn't simply urging them to get with the times and embrace the latest fashions. When the world adopts new, unprecedented, and sometimes bizarre solutions to ancient problems, we recognize and honor that innately human passion for setting things right. We too suffer violence in our families, crime in the streets, disappoint and futility. But we don't look for solutions like abortion or suicide. They only make matters worse. 

We adapt to the times without compromising our faith or human dignity. The Spirit of God, guides us through our liturgy, scriptures, magisterium, and apostolic authority. 

Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. 

Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory,

and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6)

In today's letter, Peter brings to the gentile converts a Jewish awareness of the sins of their ancestors. The Apostle knew that his Jewish ancestors were no better than than those of his time, nor were their gentile ancestors better than them. 

We're sometimes horrified today by ancient stories of cruel treatment of slaves, children, women, the sick, prisoners, and enemies. Many people today regard Bernard of Clairvaux's preaching of the Crusades as unforgivable, a damning blot on his character. Wasn't Christian Europe's assault on African Islam a crime against humanity? But the Church regards the abbot as a saint and studies his writings. 

But then again, if they see us today, our ancestors must be equally sickened by outrages we take for granted. Why do we accept public nudity, encourage drug abuse, and waste human and natural resources? Why do we manufacture weapons designed to kill soldiers, and sell them willy-nilly to any consumer with the cash? What can be chic about a killing machine? Must we compete to survive? Where does that doctrine come from? 

Our descendants too, living in a remote future, if there is one, might also be appalled by our habitual waste of resources and our culture of death? They'll ask our grandchildren, "Didn't they see what they were doing to the earth, air, and water? Did they really expect violence to end violence? Did they expect more laws to control evil without a culture of virtue? How did that make sense?"

The Gospel announces in every age and to all the nations a "wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age." It is scandalous to the hypocritically pious, and utter nonsense to the wise of this world who know only their so-called common sense. But to those who are called, our way -- the way of sacrifice and simplicity and the cross -- is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

We know that God's grace is just as persistent as Sin, and more so! If the news media survive by entertaining us with outrageous stories, and persuading us that we're all doomed, the Gospel celebrates the mighty works of God, and the blessedness of a pure heart. Strangers help one another; parents sacrifice for their children; and children honor their parents by worshiping the God of our ancestors. Young people aspire to religious life, sometimes over the objections of family and friends. 

Like Saint Peter in today's first reading, we see God's hand in things the world cannot see. Where they see trouble, we see the Messiah. Where they see an empty tomb we see and believe the Lord has been raised from the dead. Where they see exaggerated enthusiasm we celebrate a resurrection that won't stop raising our eyes to heaven. 

And finally, as we look with expectation we can see deep into the future,

…the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Mark 14:62

Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Lectionary: 272

The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles,
they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and they began to be afraid.
But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Forget everything you ever learned about the English language," a teacher of English said to his freshman class here at Mount Saint Francis, "I will teach you English!" Father John Loftus began by reviewing their spelling, and then taught them to write a sentence, a paragraph, and an essay. By the end of their first year the young seminarians were ready to learn.  

Similarly, "Attack therapy," as used in military training, intends to tear down one's faulty self-image and replace it with one ready to join and bond with others in a unit. Recruits learn humility through humiliation. 

"Yet the darkness of [human] potentiality is the hotbed of anxiety. There is always more than one path to go, and we are forced be free -- we are free against our will -- and have the audacity to choose, rarely knowing how or why. Our failures glare like flashlights all the way, and what is right lies underground. We are in the minority in the great realm of being, and with a genius for adjustment we frequently seek to join the multitude. We are in the minority within our own nature, and in the agony and battle of passions we often choose to envy the beast. We act as if the animal kingdom were our lost paradise, to which we are trying to return for moments of delight, believing that it is the animal state in which our happiness consists." (Heschel, Man is Not Alone, 1951)  

Our gospel today finds the boys out on the Galilean Sea, sinking in a storm and terrified by a ghost. They set out from a familiar summer picnic spot for a more familiar Capernaum, but are caught in chaos and confusion as the night and inclement weather fell on them. 

The passage presages a familiar state of the Church. Despite our firm anchors in reassuring traditions, we often feel unprepared for whatever comes next. Can our religious faith sustain us? Should we experiment with other beliefs or new ideas? Like the disciples in John 6 we are at sea. 

The Lord's teachings that follow this stormy adventure cause even more distress. Many will desert him when they hear they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. Can anyone find meaning, direction, and solace in such a bizarre teaching?

Like Jesus and our belief in his Incarnation, the Eucharist invites us to recognize our divine and animal natures. We are of God; we are of Earth; we belong to both. And, abandoning either, we become confused and distressed. By receiving his body and blood in a sacramental gesture, we embrace both our divinity and humanity. The tension is relieved and the rupture is healed. 

Aspiring to worth in God's sight, we no longer envy the beast or suppose our happiness resides in the animal state. Rather, we enjoy breathing this world's air and the breath of God's spiration. We delight in the privilege of being like Jesus, human with all its challenges, disappointments, suffering, pleasure, and privilege. 

 In trinitarian theology, spiration refers to the action of the Father, who eternally spirates - breathes forth - the Spirit. Could one say that the spiration of Scripture is also an action of the Father through the Spirit? For example, when we breathe, breath (spirit) is not necessarily all that comes out. Our breath can also form a word.... The Father breathes out (spirates) the Word through the Breath (Spirit). THE DIVINE SPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE / A.T.B. McGOWAN, HIGHLAND THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, DINGWALL

Friday of the Second Week of Easter

Lectionary: 271

So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves fighting against God.

Anti-intellectualism runs deep in American culture. With their knowledge of history and broader experience of the world, intellectuals struggle with the "common sense" of people whose daily life is also a struggle with classism, racism, illiteracy, and poverty. 

The intellectual Gamaliel urged his colleagues in the Sanhedrin to tolerate the absurd claims of the Galileans that the crucified Jesus had been raised from the dead and appeared in the city. "We've seen this before, and how many times?" 

Jerusalem had a history of messiahs. To this day, Jewish and Christian messiahs appear in all parts of the world and they always come to Jerusalem! And the City knows what to do with them. In Jesus's day, their energy evaporated with their death. If this latest messiah had resurfaced after the man was crucified, let it be. It can't be from God. The LORD will see us through! How many kings, emperors, tyrants, messiahs, and fools have we already outlasted? 

Everyone agreed with Gamaliel. But they couldn't resist the urge to beat the disciples anyway. Who only laughed about their mistreatment. As Marlon Brando said in The Wild One, "My old man used to hit me harder than that." 

Actually, their apostolic faith was affirmed by the abuse: 

So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

Our gospel today invites us to consider the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. It will be followed by several readings from John 6. This teaching also faces high winds of opposition from the common sense of skeptics who see only small wafers and tiny sips of wine. They wonder why Catholics go to such bother to honor the Sacrament when they might be doing other, more useful things. Why all this stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight during the Mass? Can't you just relax and let the preachers do their thing? Sure we honor the Lord but it's not that important! He doesn't care that much! 

We Catholics have never got over our urgent, apocalyptic sense that, "Now is the hour of salvation!" We must honor God; we should never be far from his Presence. He has sent his Son into our world, this sorry place where we live, and our hearts gravitate around the tabernacle like planets around a star and moons around a planet. 

We are endlessly fascinated; and, despite this world's million distractions and occasional abuse, God distracts us back into himself. We cannot forget what we have seen and heard because we see the signs he performs everywhere.  

It is an extraordinary privilege to be Catholic, to belong to the Lord and these Sacraments, and to follow this Way. Like intellectuals but even more so, we remember our history and the deeds of the Lord. They are real and persuasive for us. We'd follow him into the wilderness if we have to.

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 270

Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
"We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Moses, in the Book of Deuteronomy, discouraged hanging as a form of capital punishment. Stoning, for whatever reason, was acceptable. Their gentile enemies and Roman occupiers preferred hanging or impalement, and God's people should never do either. I suppose there's a nicety there in how society should kill a man which escapes the modern mind. 

In any case, when Jesus was executed his disciples recognized the alien practice of crucifixion as an intentional violation of their religious sensibilities. To make matters worse, the religious authorities in Jerusalem had collaborated with the Romans to make it happen.  Their responsibility for his death was worse; and had clearly met with God's disfavor when he was raised up. 

But there was good news, nonetheless, for those who believed in the One "who was killed by hanging him on a tree:"

God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.

In his letter to the Galatians, a largely gentile congregation, Saint Paul converted the scandal to Good News for those who would be grafted onto the Jewish tradition and its Messiah:

Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree," that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13)

The patristic Fathers of the Church also remarked upon the condemnation which came from a tree in Eden. It had been annulled by the tree of the cross. We should eagerly eat its fruit that we might have healing, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.

As early as 60 AD, when scholar's surmise that Saint Mark first converted the Gospel proclamation into a narrative, the disciples had converted the grotesque rituals of crucifixion -- including the condemned man's carrying his cross to the place of execution -- to a sign of holiness:

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." (Mark 8:34)

Many Christians have accepted the invitation even into the twenty-first century. So long as we are God's holy people, martyrdom will remain as proof of the Holy Spirit and our divine election. We should be profoundly anxious and uncomfortable if the nations stop howling against us; that would prove our loss of faith. 

As I studied Saint Mark's Gospel with a group here at Mount Saint Francis during Lent, and came up against its abrupt ending, I had to go back and read it again. Jesus predicted his mission three times; it would be complete with his passion, death, and resurrection. His fourth prediction of his resurrection came when the high priest demanded, 

"Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One?"
Then Jesus answered, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven. (Mark 14:62)

All three predictions were followed by a teaching about discipleship, "Hey, guys, it ain't what you think."

• Jesus commanded them to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him (8:33–9:1)
• Jesus taught that the first must be last and that those who receive children in his name receive him (9:33–50)
• Jesus taught that, to be great, they must become servants; to be first, they must become slaves; and that he came to serve by giving his life as a ransom for many (10:38–45)

If his resurrection also resembled a proof of eternal life for God's elect, and a vague "life-after-death," it's purpose was to send us to the nations teaching them to watch for, 

"The Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." 

And, in the meanwhile, we should... 

Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15

  

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

 Lectionary: 269

Then someone came in and reported to them,
"The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people."
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them, but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, like the entire book and much of the Bible, is rich with humor. The joy of the angels and shepherds in Luke's second chapter has become comedy as the confused and cowardly disciples discover their role as confident evangelists. They fly like the angels for they take themselves and their mistreatment lightly. 

Saint Peter, who had boldly declared, "“Lord, I am prepared to go to prison and to die with you!" and then humiliated himself before a serving girl, was now laughing about his arrest and overnight confinement. He didn't even go home to wash up after the angel released him from the temple jail. He and his companions immediately resumed their preaching in the temple area, while their trial proceeded without them. 

So what happened? 

It wasn't just the Resurrection of Jesus. Seeing their Master alive, completely healed, and transparently divine was certainly incredible. Spectacles are certainly newsworthy and anyone who has seen one is eager to tell everyone about it. But they get over it. That was yesterday; it means nothing today, in the face of new troubles and unexpected challenges. The most important, history-changing events as told by expert witnesses with great conviction pall when we learn they happened last year, or ten years ago, or two thousand years ago. Does anyone remember the sea battle of Lepanto, the siege of Belgrade, the Holocaust, or Hiroshima? 

Spectacular miracles plus amazement and astonishment don't add up to faith, conviction, or courage. As Jesus said, 

"...neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." 

Easter was revelation but, moments before he followed Elijah into eternity, Jesus had explained, 

"...you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Easter was revelation; Pentecost was commission. Faith begins when we take up the cross and follow in his footsteps. Peter and the disciples had heard that command; and before Jesus's arrest they supposed they were ready for it. It's easy to feel good about yourself when you're sitting at table with the Lord and your pals. 

It's another matter when life resumes away from the altar and outside the church; when your duties are ill-defined, and your integrity is questioned.  

When the disciples came out of the Cenacle on Pentecost, and began to announce Jesus's resurrection to the same people who had crucified him, the disciples began to practice their faith. When Peter and John felt deep compassion for the beggar whom they'd seen many times already, sitting at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and commanded him, "...in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.” their faith took on a life of its own. 

When "they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name," they knew they were following in the footsteps of the Crucified.

Faith is engagement, which is more than knowledge. Our study and prayers prepare us to act with both wisdom and assurance. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we make a difference because we are different.