Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 48

Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the apostles said in reply,
"We must obey God rather than men.

 T he Sanhedrin in today's first reading seems to have a pretty clear understanding of what Peter and the apostles intend. The so-called blood curse found in Saint Matthew's gospel -- "His blood be upon us and our children" -- is not found in the Gospel according to Saint Luke, but they know the expression. It refers to a sworn oath in Exodus when Moses poured the blood of a sacrificed animal upon a stone altar (representing God) and upon God's people. They cried out, "All that the Lord has told us, we will heed and do!" They are blood kin to one another my the living, sacrificial blood. 

You'll remember also that Pontius Pilate disavowed any association with the Jews and their bloody sacrifices as he washed his hands of the whole business.

If the disciples' story about the Crucified and Risen Lord is true, then the Sanhedrin violated the oath of their ancestors. Rather than an atoning sacrifice, the blood of Jesus, like that of Abel and murdered prophets, cried to heaven for revenge. 

But, like authorities of every city and nation, Jerusalem's leaders appreciated how many changes might be necessary if Jesus really had been raised from the dead by an act of God. It was not just a matter of thinking the dead might not be dead and should be more securely locked in tombs. His Resurrection meant new festivals, new rituals, songs, stories, and an entirely new covenant with God. It meant they must sit at the feet of the apostles and be taught by fishermen, tax collectors, and zealots! 

It was easier to think it can't be true, it's impossible, it must not be true; and to decide, we will not believe it! In far less important matters, some aging scientists cling to old theories as proven facts, and look skeptically upon new theories and new data. That skepticism can work both ways and wiser heads might listen to the wisdom of Gamaliel who told the Sanhedrin, 

"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.”

As the Church and the world mourns the passing of Pope Francis, and wonders which cardinal might be chosen and what kind of leadership he will bring, we do well to pray and ask God to give us Gamaliel's patience. Most of us can remember more than one pope and many of us can describe each one's character and his impact upon the Church. Travelers, tourists, and pilgrims who have seen Rome know the city -- and the church -- has been shaped and built by countless popes, cardinals, tyrants, and saints. And the Church has survived them all, the weak, the strong, the saintly and the sinners. 

Someone asked me if Pope Francis would immediately be canonized. I replied, "We have to bury him first." And then he asked if all popes are canonized. "Oh Lord, no! Not even close! Some popes are best forgotten." 

But to intentionally forget anything, no matter how terrible, is to forget the presence of God in that moment of time. It may be a horrible memory; we may be ashamed of what was done to us, or what we saw, or what we did. But we believe that the Lord is present in every place and every time, and there is no past in God. There is only the present. 

And, unlike the Sanhedrin and their followers, we must often ask the Lord to take our hands and take us back to difficult moments. We must walk through difficult memories, and find the healing that was always there. They're courageous spirit of God might reveal the evil of that incident, and of the ones who caused such harm. I might be the victim or the tormentor. I might be the fool who thought I was doing right and was entirely wrong. Or I might remember that my stated intentions were not my real intentions. If my stated intentions were pure virtue, my real intentions might have been greed, lust, revenge, or something worse. 

The Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, as the disciples stood before them and the jubilant crowd waited upon their decision, could not, would not, walk back the fifty days from Pentecost to the Passover. They would not reconsider the life and ministry of Jesus. They had made their decision and were sticking with it, regardless of the consequences. 

In today's gospel, we find the disciples in a mysterious place. When Peter announces, "I'm going fishing" and the others readily join him, are they enjoying a pleasant hobby? Or, having lost their sense of purpose and direction, are they just killing time? Perhaps the fishermen are returning to their old trade. In Nikos Kazanzaki's novel, The Last Temptation of Christ, as the Crucified waits for death, he fantasizes about settling down with Mary Magdalene, raising children, and occasionally reminiscing with the aging boys about the stir they once made in Jerusalem. "Remember how you walked on water? Golly, that was amazing. How did you do that?" I'll let you read the novel to find out how the novelist ends the story.

But in today's Gospel the Lord takes Saint Peter aside and walks with him back in time to that sad night. It cannot be dismissed as of it never happened. The powerful smell of the charcoal fire has brought it back to both of them. It was by a charcoal fire that Saint Peter three times insisted that he had never known the Lord, and never associated with him, and didn't know what they were talking about! So Jesus asked him three times, "Do you love me?" 

Peter had to go back with Jesus to that dark night and that charcoal fire. We can hear his grief, shame, and remorse as he turns to the Lord, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."And Jesus will recommission him, "Feed my sheep." God had recommissioned the Jewish people as Joshua renewed the covenant before entering the promised land. And Jeremiah promised a New covenant as did Isaiah upon returning to Jerusalem.

We've all been there. We have turned away from the Lord, we have reverted to bad attitudes, ugly but familiar habits, and old entertainment that can still distract us from the mission we're given. And the Lord has repeatedly called us aside and asked, "Do you love me?" 

Easter, the death of a pope, and the appointment of a new one is as good a moment as any to remember where we have been, who we are, and where we hope and believe the Lord is taking us. And we hope and pray that we will be as ready to go with the Church into the 21st century as the disciples were to announce the ongoing, continual, and lively presence of Jesus in Jerusalem.