Pentecost, Year C
Acts 2:1-11
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
May 19, 2013

Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is a gift because of what it means for us.

It’s a gift in part because of the gifts we receive from the Holy Spirit, gifts of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, courage, good judgment, piety, and fear of the Lord as found in Isaiah 11.  There are the fruits of the Holy Spirit that Paul speaks of in his Letter to the Galatians.  There is also unity that we receive with God and each other by our sharing in the Holy Spirit.

It is the unity that we speak of at the end of the Opening Prayer almost everyone time at Mass when I say, Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.  Or in the doxology at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, Through him, and in him, and with him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever.

We can see the unity that the Holy Spirit creates coming in our first reading that tells of Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit arrives as a “strong driving wind” and appears as “tongues of fire.”

When the Holy Spirit comes down on the disciples, they begin to speak in tongues.  The people gathered there each hear them in their own tongue.

Remember the story of the Tower of Babel?

The people were trying to build a tower to heaven to raise their own status.  God destroys the tower and scatters them in different languages.

Now, the Holy Spirit restores that unity that was broken by the people’s sin of pride.  The Holy Spirit makes it possible for the disciples to reach across language barriers to speak to people of every tongue bringing unity.

Jesus’ first disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  We receive it in Baptism and sealed with the Holy Spirit at Confirmation but the Holy Spirit is at work in all the sacraments.

The Mass we celebrate is no exception.  The Holy Spirit is what makes the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus possible.

Think of the words in the Third Eucharistic Prayer:

Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.

 But it is not just the bread and wine that are transformed by the Holy Spirit, further along in the Third Eucharistic Prayer we hear:

grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.

We too are to be transformed into, as Paul writes, ‘one body in Christ’ united in ‘one spirit’ to follow Jesus.

What is the one thing that can keep us from becoming the Body of Christ?

Us.

We need to be open to the Holy Spirit.  We need to share the credit for the good that we do with God.  If we think we do it all ourselves we are mistaken and live with a hardened heart that keeps us from seeing the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit can be working in our lives in the ways we don’t even realize or appreciate.  Last Tuesday, when I was giving a presentation on the Holy Spirit, one man spoke of how the ‘Spirit gave him his wife.’

Would you see the spirit as active in drawing you to your spouse or did you find them on your own?  (Of course, this doesn’t mean if you don’t like your spouse that God gave you a bad one.  A bad spouse might mean someone wasn’t listening to the Holy Spirit.)

Where do you see the Spirit at work in your life?

If you can’t, here is what I suggest for you to begin with.  At the end of each day, take a few minutes, either simply in your thoughts or in a journal, think about how the day went.  What went bad, what went well, what went better than expected?  Where was God in the good?  How was God present in the bad?  That’s the Holy Spirit.

7^th Sunday in Easter, Year C
Acts 7:55-60
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20
John 17:20-26
May 12, 2013

The standard to be a disciple is set pretty high.  First, there is Jesus himself who literally gives his life up for us and calls us to do the same.

Today we hear about Stephen, one of the first deacons in the church and identified as the first martyr.  He is stoned for his faith.  As he is being stoned, does he lose his faith?  No.  In fact, he “imitates” Jesus.  First, handing his spirit over like Jesus did to His Father but then asking our Lord to “not hold this sin” against those who stoned him.  What a powerful image of forgiveness he offers.

Would you be willing to do the same?  If persecuted and your life is threatened would you abandon our faith?  If someone takes your life, would your dying words be words of forgiveness?

Something to ponder ….

Of course, in our country we are not likely to have our lives threatened because of our faith but there are still parts of the world where people are thrown simply for believing in Jesus.

We might not face physical life or death decisions about our faith in the United States but what about spiritual life and death decisions?

Spiritual life and death….

I’m willing to beat most of us don’t talk about our faith much.  I’m not talking here about going door to door here.  I’m more concerned here about how we avoid talking about our faith.  If you want to avoid an argument, people say don’t talk about religion or politics.

Why don’t we talk about our faith?

Are we avoiding confrontation?  Are we afraid to speak up?  Why?  Living here, we probably don’t have to worry about losing our physical lives.

How about our spiritual lives?

If we never talk about our faith, is it really that important to us?  By not talking about our faith, are we saying it isn’t important?

Do we go so far as to give up our spiritual lives, seeking a simple (non-confrontational) life?  In doing so, are we giving up on our faith, dying a spiritual death?

I don’t think that is our intent.  We don’t want to give up on our faith but do we accept the challenge of living our faith?

What are you willing to give up for love?

If we only think in terms of ‘giving up’ something, we forget to see what we gain.

For instance, I think there are people who think of parenthood in terms of what they must give up in their life to be a parent.  They don’t want to give up the ‘fun life.’  Children are an inconvenience to them, something to be avoided.

Thank God that not many people think like that.  Life is a gift.  Parents need to be willing to make sacrifices.  Yes, life changes when children are born but children are not an inconvenience but a gift.

Today, of course, is Mother’s Day.  It is a day we honor our mothers for all they do for us.  We might give gifts as expressions of our thanks and love.  It is a day to tell our mothers we love them and to thank them for what they do for us.

Giving up our lives isn’t something we do in a life and death way for our faith but we give up some of our lives, seeking something greater.

In parenthood, in motherhood, we can find fulfillment, we can find what we are created for.

Today, Jesus speaks about unity.  Finding unity with God, we find love.  To find this unity, means giving up earthly things and lifestyles.

Mothers are important.  If they won’t, Jesus’ final words on the Cross won’t have included his Mother.

6^th Sunday in Easter, Year C
Acts 15:1-2, 22-39
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
John 14:23-29
May 5, 2013

First Communion

What does it mean to be a church?

When you hear the word “church,” what do you think of?  Do you think of our building?  Do you think of the people you see here?  Do you think about what we do, such as Mass or service to the poor?

Note I said “what does it mean to be a church,” not what do we have to do as a church.

Being a church isn’t just about doing things or following the church rules.  Being a church is about being in Communion with God.

Jesus tells us that everyone who loves him, keeps his word.  Do we keep His Word?  Jesus speaks of how he and the Father are one and that the Holy Spirit will be sent together “proceeding from the Father and the Son.”  It is that same unity found in the Trinity that we see to have with God.

When we achieve this unity, we (as written in Revelation) ‘gleam with the splendor of God.”

Unity is key.

We are not meant to be just a bunch of individuals, each doing our own thing.  God created us to be in Communion with him and one another.  We are to work together to be church, to be what God calls us to be.

It isn’t easy to be in unity.  It never has been but the church has always made the efforts.  In the Acts of the Apostles, we hear today how they came together to discuss what was necessary to be part of the “new Christian Church.”

Did everyone need to be circumcised?  What about the food laws?  What foods could they eat?  Different groups were saying different things but they realized to be one church they needed to be of one accord.

They knew they were speaking about important issues, what it means to be church!

What does it mean for us to be a Catholic Church?

When we say “Catholic Church”, we can think of our buildings.  We can think of our hierarchy with deacons, priests, bishops, and a single pope.  This is part of who we are.

What I would like to speak about today is something I believe is absolutely central to understanding who we are as a Catholic Church.  The Eucharist.

We don’t just have the Eucharist to remember something from two thousand years ago.  We believe that Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross is made present through our celebration of the Eucharist.

We believe it is not just ordinary bread and wine that we receive.  It is the body and blood of Jesus.  It defines who we are.  You are what you eat.

So we can’t take reception of Communion lightly.  To come forth to receive Communion means we want to be in unity with God.  We want to become like Jesus..

This isn’t to say we are perfect.  When we sin we hurt (venial) or break (mortal) our relationship with God but God can fix that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we confess our sins, asking for His forgiveness.

Our reception of Communion says we want to be in unity with God; that we want to hear His Word to know how he calls us to live; that we want to follow him.

So as we come forth for Communion, we need to be serious.  It isn’t a time to be chewing gum.  We fast for an hour before receiving Communion to say we realize we are receiving something incredible in the Eucharist.

We don’t come forward for Communion in a free for all.  We come in graceful order.  We don’t pass the plate around in order to be reverent.

The very way we take Communion in our hand is to show reverence.  The minister holds up the host to show it to us and says “The Body of Christ.”  What is our reply?  “Amen.”  Amen means yes I believe.

What do we do with our hands?  We hold them out, one over the other, cupping them to receive the Eucharist, making a ‘little throne’ for Jesus.

Receiving Communion is a gift.  It is part of who we are as Catholics.  Thank God for this gift.

5th Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 14:21-27
Revelation 21:1-5a
John 13:31-33a, 34-35
April 28, 2013

We need hope.

We live in a world of turmoil.  Bad things happen.  Bombings in Boston, the explosion in Texas, and the possibility of nuclear and chemical warfare.

There is much illness.  Medical Science is making great advances but even as advances are made, new illnesses are diagnosed.

There are whole countries in financial turmoil.  There are individuals who don’t have a job or a sufficient job to provide for family needs.

In all of this we need hope.  Our second reading today comes from the Book of Revelation.  It’s sometimes used at funerals.  It offers us hope in the life to come, something crucial for us to know at the time of death.

The setting comes after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Jesus has already come into the world to begin something new but that something new is not fully achieved yet.

Revelation speaks of the New Jerusalem where there will be no more death, mourning, wailing, or pain.  We still know mourning, wailing, and pain so we know that this vision is not fulfilled yet.

Revelation often speaks of how there will be no death.  We still know death but after Jesus’ teaching, death, and resurrection, we see it very differently.  Death no longer defines us because Jesus has shown us something more.

Jesus speaks of how God is glorified in Him and He is glorified by God.  How is God glorified in Jesus?  Because Jesus does the Father’s Will.

In doing the Father’s Will, Jesus is showing us His trust in the Father.  Jesus shows us that there is something more to life than what we see in this world, that the things of this world in which we live does not define us.

This is our faith.  We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are called in Baptism to share our faith.  The Acts of the Apostles is the story of how the early disciples shared the faith Jesus had given them.

Note it wasn’t just about bringing the faith to new people.  Today we hear how Paul doesn’t just go evangelize a town and then move on, never to return.  He returns to the places he has visited.  In fact, all but one of the letters of Paul that we have, were written to communities Paul had already visited.

Paul keeps evangelizing new people but he also continues to evangelize those who he has already visited.

We are called to share our faith with people who don’t know it.  That can be heard.  We don’t know where to begin the conversation.  But we must.

The best way to share our faith is in the natural moments of life.  It begins as simple as when someone we know faces a new suffering, we can tell them we will pray for them.  That simple comment can open the door to conversation.  Do we have to teach them all the doctrines of the church?  No.

The best thing we can do is to tell them what our faith means to us.  In doing so, we glorify God.

In doing so we can be strengthened in our own faith.  I already spoke of how Paul sometimes returned to people he had already visited or wrote them letters to strengthen them in their faith.

We need to be constantly strengthened in our faith.  We don’t just receive faith in an instant and live it perfectly forever.  We need to keep coming back to be strengthened in our faith.

Coming to church once in a while isn’t enough.  We need it on a regular basis to help us stay in tune with the Father’s Will.  When we face a tragedy, we need to know that God was present.

When we already have faith and hope, when tragedy happens, we can know God is there.  It’s not that we will ever understand why God allows bad things to happen.  It’s about trusting in God.  In showing trust we glorify God and God will glorify us.

4th Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 13:14, 43-62
Revelation 7:0, 14b-17
John 10:27-30
April 21, 2013

 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

Remember last week when the disciples saw Jesus on the shore but did not know it was him?  They still listened to him.  Even though they didn’t recognize him, when they heard his voice, they still listened.

They hear his, meaning the shepherd’s, voice.

Do we listen?

Are we part of his sheep?

Of course we are.  That is why we are gathered here.  We think we come on our own initiative but ultimately we are here because God has called us here.  Our part is to hear his voice and respond to it.

Jesus is our shepherd.  As our shepherd he watches over us and protects us. He guides us.  We respond to his calling to follow him.

This calling is our vocation.  We each have been given different gifts to use in different ways.  It begins when we are baptized and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be priest, prophet, and king.

I keep saying we, not just today but often when I preach.  Who is we?

In this setting at Mass, it seems “we” are those gathered here together.  I think of the third Eucharistic Prayer when I say, “at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.” 

Certainly, those of us gathered here are part of the “we” but I believe it extends beyond just us in this church.  The “we” are all who celebrate a common Mass across the world.

The word “Catholic” means universal.  We are not just a bunch of individual churches.  We are one church.

Is there anyone who isn’t part of the “we”?

Here again I turn to the Eucharistic Prayers.  In the words of consecration for the wine/blood, I say Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for MANY for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this is memory of me.

It says many.  It used to say all.  Does this mean we no longer think “all” will be saved, that not are Jesus’ sheep?

No!

All are called and offered the gift of faith but not all will accept the gift to be Jesus’ sheep.

No one is excluded by God.

John, in writing of his vision of Heaven, says there was a great multitude of people from EVERY nation, race, people, and tongue.

The Jews thought themselves a chosen people.  They were.  The problem is they saw as “exclusive calling.”  God’s Word was and is always meant to be shared but they didn’t share it.

When Jesus came, he went first to the Jews as a chosen people.  The apostles like Paul begin in the same way.  Each time, when Paul went to a new town to preach, he first went to the synagogues to preach Jesus to the Jews.  When rejected, he then turned to the Gentiles as the gospel is meant to be heard by the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

Jesus is our shepherd.  We are meant to follow him but we are not required to.  Jesus keeps drawing us in but never forces himself on us.

We might wonder if Jesus is our shepherd then why do bad things happen.  Take the bombings at the Boston Marathon and all that followed that this week.  Does God cause such things?  Absolutely not.  God allows it because he gives us free will.  Those bombings happened because a couple of people made bad decisions.  Jesus was there with those who died.  Jesus is there with those injured and their families.  Jesus walks with us as his shepherd.

As the faithful shepherd, he keeps watch and speaks his voice to us, if we listen, so that we might follow him.

It’s our choice.  Some people chose to hurt, like the bombers at the Boston Marathon.  Others use what they have been to help others.  The latter is the example we work to set.

We are called not just to say we believe but to live it.