The New Assignment

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A few weeks ago, I announced (https://blog.renewaloffaith.org/blog/?p=1807) that I would be leaving Immaculate Conception Parish at the end of June.  This required a lot of faith in God for me because I like to know what is coming.  So I have faced some anxiety as I waited to find out where I would be going.  The one thing that sustained me was remembering how God had said to me, “you have done what I wanted you to at Immaculate. Now I have something else for you. It wasn’t just the words. I received a sense of peace with the words.

Yesterday I received my new assignment.  I am happy to announce that I will be the next pastor of St. Michael’s in Newark, NY.  It will be different that life in the college town of Ithaca.  When I drove through the village of Newark recently it had a wonderful small village feel to it.  It sits just north of the thruway along the Erie Canal.  The parish lost its pastor, Fr. Felix, last Fall to an unexpected death.  I have heard that he was a very good priest and pastor to the people.  Since then Patricia Albrecht has served as the Temporary Administrator.  When I arrive there, she will return to her as Pastoral Associate.  I have already been in contact with her and know she will be a great help as I get to know the parish.

I believe that this where God is leading me and I pray for the grace to lead them according to God’s plan.

For those wondering who the next pastor of Immaculate Conception in Ithaca will be, his name is Fr. Augustine Chemo.  He is currently the pastor of St. Joseph the Worker parish covering Clyde, Lyons, and Savannah.

The change in leadership will happen June 28th.  please pray for all three parishes as we go through these transitions.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

 

Trinity Sunday, Year C – Homily

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Trinity, Year C
Proverbs 8:22-31
Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
May 22, 2016

One day St. Augustine was walking along the seashore as he reflected on the Trinity.  He came upon a young boy who was digging a hole in the sand.  The boy then used his pail to get water from the ocean to pour into the hole.

St. Augustine asked the young boy what he was trying to do.  The boy said that he was going to pour the entire ocean into hole he had dug.  St. Augustine told him he couldn’t possibly do that.  The young boy responded “And you cannot fit the mystery of the Holy Trinity into your small brain.”  After that, the boy disappeared.

Today we celebrate “The Most Holy Trinity.”  In past homilies I have tried to explain the Trinity but, of course, this is never easy.  Do we really expect to be able to fully describe God in human words?

The Trinity is a “basic” part of our faith.  It’s in our creed as we speak of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We profess that Jesus became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Wait, how was Jesus first incarnate by the Holy Spirit and then the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son?  It is a mystery.  It is our faith.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three persons yet one God united in perfect communion.

We seek the peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  We seek the love of God which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit work to lead us to the Father.

Jesus came to teach us and He had much more to tell his disciples but He knew they could not bear it all.  So, Jesus assures them that Holy Spirit will come after him and continue to teach them in continuity with what Jesus has been teaching.

As Jesus puts it the Holy Spirit “will not speak on his own but he will speak what he hears.”  Jesus did not come to start something completely new and neither does the Holy Spirit.

Jesus comes to do the Father’s Will and so does the Holy Spirit.  They are three persons who we relate in different ways but they are united with one Will as one God.

Depending on what we are praying about, our prayers might be directed to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit but even so, we begin and end our prayers with the Sign of the Cross, calling upon all three; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We can use images like the three-leaf clover to try to explain the Trinity but we will never fully understand it while we live in this world.

We aren’t going to understand how they are three persons and one God.  We are just human beings.

So, if we can’t fully understand it, why talk about it?  First, we need to know that “faith” is defined as ‘believing in what cannot be proven.’  If we could know for certain, we won’t need faith.

We need to talk about it because the nature of Trinity does reveal something to us.

Some people today see everything as all about them.  You ask them to do something and they want to know what’s in it for them.  If they have nothing to gain by it, they see no point in it.

Jesus had nothing to gain for himself by what He does for us.  Likewise, the Holy Spirit does not gain for itself.

Jesus and Holy Spirit act in accord with the Father’s Will for our gain.  All three work together for our gain.

So, in looking at the Trinity, we see an example we need to follow.  We need to give up our self-centeredness.  We need to stop thinking we know everything.  We need to work together to help each other.  We need to trust that God knows better than us.

We need to be about doing the Father’s Will.  That’s what I am trying to do as I prepare to leave for another assignment.

We need to trust in God.  That’s what you need to do as the new pastor arrives.

The Trinity is a mystery that reveals what it means to be in communion, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

7th Sunday of Easter, Year C – Homily

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7th Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 97:1-2, 6-7, 9
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20
John 17:20-26
May 8, 2016

We don’t talk often about the Book of Revelation but today’s passage contains words spoken by the Lord to John that have become symbolic of our faith.  The Lord says to John, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

If you take a moment to look at our Paschal Candle behind the baptismal font, you will see the Greek Letters Alpha and Omega.  Our prayers at the beginning of the Easter Vigil as we bless the fire and the Paschal Candle refer to the Alpha and Omega but what do these symbols mean to us?  Why should we consider them important?

To understand this we must first know that “Alpha” and “Omega” are part of the Greek alphabet.  In fact, Alpha is the first letter, the beginning, and Omega is the last letter, the end.

So, in identifying himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord is speaking about his eternal nature.  The Lord was present at the beginning of time and will be at the end of time. Nothing else can claim this eternal status.

This in turn is meant to lead us to think about the Lord’s divine nature as the one who is all-knowing and all-powerful.  The Lord is everywhere in every time.  Thus we should listen to the Lord.

Stephen is an example of what it means to turn our lives over to the Lord.  Stephen is named among the first deacons and then immediately begins to evangelize the people by sharing his experience of our Lord.

Of course, not everyone accepts what Stephen tells them about Jesus.  They don’t want to hear it so, “they covered their ears.”

At the same time the other people were turning away from the Lord, Stephen was given his life totally to God and is granted a vision of seeing the heavens opened.  Ultimately, Stephen is stoned to death but he remains steadfast in his faith, praying, as Jesus did, for those who kill him and hands his spirit over to the Lord.

Accepting martyrdom is not easy.  We don’t want to be stoned but we do want to believe.  Stephen believed in our Lord as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and that gave him the courage he needed to trust.

Can we trust in the Lord?  Not just “can we”, do we?  How much do we trust the Lord when challenges come in our own lives or when there is change coming like a new pastor?

Jesus is all about us.  In today’s gospel we hear the completion of Jesus’ farewell discourse.  Right after the passage, Jesus is arrested.

He knew He was about to be arrested.  He could have been praying for himself.  Yet, even though He knew his Passion was coming, He did not pray to God for himself.  The prayer that we hear today from Jesus is for us.

Why?  Because Jesus’ sees us as God’s gift to Him.

Jesus himself is already in perfect unity with the Father.  He has everything.  Jesus repeatedly speaks of the Father and Him as one.  Jesus prays that we be one with Him and the Father.

Jesus knows He is about to be arrested, beaten, scourged, and crucified and his concern is for us.

Everything Jesus does is for us.  The Lord creates for us.  Jesus is born as a little baby for our sake.  Jesus preaches and heals for our sake.  Jesus is crucified for our sake.

Jesus is all about doing the Father’s Will and the Father’s Will is centered on loving us.

There are billions of different people in the world and that means there can be billions of different “wills” in the world.  Each of us might want something a little different.  If we all truly seek to do God’s Will, we will be working together.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, may we truly pray from the very depths of our heart and soul, thy will be done, so that we all be one just as the Father and Jesus the Son are one.

6th Sunday of Easter, Year C – Homily

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6th Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
John 14:23-29
May 1, 2016

“Whoever loves me will keep my word.”

These are among the words Jesus gives to his disciples as He prepares them for his Passion.  From our human experience, these might be difficult words to accept.  When another human being begins a sentence with “if you love me,” we might immediately wonder what do they really want.  We anticipate they are going to ask us for something they want and that it will probably be something we don’t want to do.

With Jesus, it’s a little different.  Jesus does not tell us to keep His Word out of his own self-interest.  Jesus is motivated in the words He gives us by what is good for us.

Jesus wants us to love him and to love him means to trust him.  That means trusting in His Word.

Where do we go to find Jesus’ words today?  Of course, the Bible is the place where we find Jesus’ words.  Most explicitly we find Jesus’ own words in the gospels but that does not mean it is the only part of the Bible that is important.  As Catholics we believe that while the Bible is written down by human authors, the Bible in its entirety is the inspired Word of God.

That means we should not read just the gospels.  We need to read the whole New Testament.  We also need to read the Old Testament.  Jesus does not supersede the Old Testament.  In fact, if we look at our reading from Revelation today, we hear how in Heaven both the Twelve Tribes of Israel as well as the Twelve Apostles hold a special place in Heaven.  We need to read both the Old and New Testaments.

How we do know how to interpret God’s Word today?  It can be a challenge.  In the early Church, shortly after Jesus’ Resurrection, they faced challenges sorting this out.  The question of what was necessary to be saved brought “no little dissension and debate.”

There were some who argued that the Gentiles first need to be circumcised before they could become Christians and they had to follow all the food laws.  Others said no.  Realizing how this would be a fundamental shift in their practice, they did not simply leave it for each individual or group to decide for themselves.  They came together as the Apostles to discern what God wanted.  It was not a political debate settled by a majority vote.  Each person offered their own perspective but the goal was to discern God’s Will.  They took into consideration what we can read in the Bible like the story (Acts 10 & 11) of the vision Peter had to go to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, to baptize his family.  Regarding the food laws, they reflected on Jesus’ own words that we are not made unclean by what goes into our bodies but by what we say and do.

In addition to God’s Word, they counted on the Holy Spirit to guide them just as we must.  The Holy Spirit, as we profess in the Creed, is sent by the Father and Jesus.  They work together in perfect unity.  This unity should be our goal.

Being in a loving relationship with Jesus does not mean we always get our way.  Our way is not always the best way.  It means trusting in Jesus as the way and the truth and the life.

If only trusting Jesus would be as simple as it might sound.  Today there are many voices in the world who think that they know what is right and wrong.  They often use psychology and/or popular opinion to determine what is right and wrong.  Others say there is no universal right and wrong.  They think it is fine for everyone to do whatever they want as long as no one is hurt by it.  (Unfortunately, their concept of “hurt by it” is narrow and does not include moral, emotion, or spiritual harm).

None of these determine what is right and wrong.  Right and wrong is determined by God.  The best path for us to follow is determined not by our own wants but by God’s Wisdom.

None of what I have said should be interpreted to mean all psychology and modern thought is completely bad.  For instance, psychology can be a valuable tool to help people understand their behavior and help us to respond in a way to help the people with their struggles but it is Jesus who determines the right and the wrong.  We need to embrace Jesus’ truth.  We should not judge others but we are called to trust in Jesus and share His Word.

It isn’t always easy.  Jesus knew his disciples would struggle to accept the Crucifixion but He knew it must be as the Father had planned.

Jesus knew He would be leaving and the disciples would be sad by this.  He worked to prepare them for this.  He wanted them to understand how his departure was a good thing when He said, “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father.”

Jesus loved the Father and had complete trust in the Father.  May we have the grace we need to always trust in the Father’s Will.

5th Sunday in Easter, Year C – Homily

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5th Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts 14:21-27
Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
Revelation 21:1-15a
John 13:33-31-33a, 34-35
April 24, 2016

This is the fourth week in a row where our second reading has come from the Book of Revelation.  Revelation tells of several visions that John has of what Heaven will be like.  These visions can be difficult for us to understand.

Today’s reading speak of one of John’s vision but it doesn’t give difficult images to understand.  It centers on John seeing “a new heaven and a new earth.”  It ends with, “Behold, I make all things new.”

What is your vision of Heaven and Earth should be like?

What would your ideal life be?

Would it be a loving spouse, a perfect marriage, two children (one boy, one girl), retire young, and travel the world?

That might happen for some but how often do we get exactly what we want?  Is what we want good?

Think of Paul.  He had been a zealous Jew, working as a Pharisee to serve God.  He saw Jesus’ followers as worshipping a false prophet and he worked hard to stop them.  He was doing what he thought was best but Jesus appeared to him and revealed otherwise.  Paul then become a zealous Christian.  Paul worked to glorify God.

God has a plan, a vision for what the world should be like.  How much do we work for God’s vision versus what we want?

For me, one of the things I would like is stability and to know exactly what is going on.  I don’t seem to get either.

I have been here for four years and I believe that we have done a lot of good things that have been God’s will and helped people deepen their relationship with God but now I believe God is saying, “Good job, but now I have something else for you.”

I would like stability from being in the same place for a while.  I would like to know what is coming but I don’t so I trust in God.

I hope my trust in God serves to glorify God.  Jesus glorified God by doing the Father’s Will.  In turn, God glorified Jesus by raising Him up in the Resurrection.

Do we glorify God?

What does it mean to glorify God?

One way we glorify God is by praising God.  We praise God in the way we worship God.  We celebrate Mass to praise God.

Sometimes we think coming to Mass is supposed to make us feel good.  In general, coming to Mass should be a good experience but its purpose should not be just to “feel good.”  I think of “feeling good” as something superficial, a short lived experience of happiness.

I use the word “happiness” to signify an earthly state of having a good day.  Mass goes a step further.  Mass should help draw us into a deeper awareness of God’s presence in our lives.

It’s a hard distinction for me to make, happiness versus the joy that comes from a deeper relationship with God but it is a big distinction.  Happiness is short lived.  Joy from a deeper relationship with God lasts through the good and the bad.

Happiness makes us feel good for a few minutes.  Joy leads us to become more like Jesus, more aware of his presence, and a deeper desire to live as Jesus teaches us.

What does Jesus give us as a new commandment?  “Love one another.”  Our love of Jesus should lead us to love others.  This can be a challenge.  What does it even mean to love?  We love in different ways with different people; friends, siblings, parents, children, friends, as man and woman in marriage, and we are even called to love strangers.  Each differently but each as Jesus teaches us.

Our love for Jesus should govern our actions so that when we leave Mass we go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your lives.

An Announcement From Fr. Jeff

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This weekend we have given special recognition to Jesus’ role as the Good Shepherd.  The concept of the Lord as our shepherd is not new with Jesus.  Around 600 BC, the Lord promises to shepherd his people.  Going back even farther, we have the 23rd Psalm proclaiming The Lord is my shepherd. For almost four years now, I have led our parish as we try to become all that Jesus calls us to be.

In these four years, much has been accomplished with your support including:

  • After developing and implementing a strategic plan, the school is doing much better financially and enrollment has increased.
  • Calvary Cemetery is operating with a balanced budget and we have begun making some long term capital improvements.
  • We took care of our drainage problem in the parking lot, replaced the old greenhouse, and fixed a major structural problem in the office basement.
  • Last Fall we had our Parish Discovery sessions which has already led to more volunteers through our new Promise Tree and other groups working on other items.
  • With much work from our finance staff, and a very dedicated Finance Council and another volunteer, and your wonderful generosity with our increased giving appeal, we are looking to be in the best financial shape we have been in a long time.
  • We have given you more opportunities to deepen your faith including our CD’s in back and the book we were able to give out at Christmas because of the generosity of parishioners.

I hope I have had some role in making these things happen, but it wouldn’t have happened without our staff and volunteers, and most of all God’s grace.

God has a plan for our parish but it can’t happen without your continued help.

All this being said, after much prayer and discernment, as well as very recent conversations with the diocese, today I need to announce that at the end of June, I will be leaving Immaculate Conception.  I do not yet know where I am going, but I have come to believe that the Lord is leading me to use my gifts in another assignment.  I will continue to serve as a priest; I just don’t know where yet.  Hopefully, I will know sooner rather than later (I am not good at waiting).  I announce this so the diocese can start the process of finding who God is calling to be the next pastor of Immaculate.

Now I want to share with you a portion of the letter Bishop Matano sent me.

I will work with the Priests’ Personnel Board in determining your next assignment as well as providing for the future leadership of Immaculate Conception Parish.  Please convey to the good parishioners that the Priests’ Personnel Board and I spend many hours in careful and conscientious deliberation in providing leadership for our parishes, always mindful of our ministerial resources and taking into account the welfare of the parishioners and those entrusted with their pastoral care.

This period of transition presents the opportunity for the Parish to pray for vocations to the priesthood.  Our ministerial needs are many and the number of priests always needs to be enriched by those young men willing to answer the call of Jesus to follow Him.  In addition, the cooperation and collaboration of the faithful with their pastor positively advances the Church’s mission to teach, to sanctify, and to provide for the temporal needs of the faith community.

This has been a very difficult decision for me after forming a bond to the parish.  I think of some of Jesus’ words during his Passion, Father, not my will but yours be done and into your hands Lord I commend my spirit…

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

 

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C – Homily

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3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C
Acts of the Apostles 4:27-32, 40b-41
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19
April 10, 2016

Last week we heard how Jesus appeared twice to his disciples after his Resurrection.  Both of these appearances were inside.

Apparently, while inspiring, those two appearances had not yet the disciples on their mission going forward.  They appear still to be in distress all that has happened.

In the midst of their distress, Peter announces he is going fishing.  This is not some male way of getting away from the problem.  Peter, and several of the others, were fishermen by trade.  It was familiar to them and, if it was how they made their living, they must have been good at it.

Well, they should have been good at it but apparently on this night they weren’t.  They caught nothing.  Why not?  I suspect they weren’t really thinking about fishing.  Their minds and hearts were probably still thinking about Jesus.

Here comes Jesus but they don’t realize it is him. We don’t know why they didn’t recognize him.  Likely, their distress was part of this.  Jesus tells them to cast their nets over the right side of the boat.  When they do, they catch a huge amount of fish.

What was their purpose in fishing?  The purpose of fishing can be seen in a basic human need.  We need to eat.

Jesus provides for their needs.  They catch plenty when they do what Jesus’ tells them.  Lest one think, they just got lucky in a new spot with the fish, look at what they find when they get to the shore.  Jesus is there with a fire going with fish and bread already on it.

They hadn’t brought the fish they caught to the shore yet.  Where did Jesus get the fish He was grilling from?  Where did the bread come from?

Simple.  Jesus provided what they needed.  He provided them with food.  What they saw was earthly food.

Jesus is concerned with our need for physical food but Jesus is concerned with more.  This was not the first time Jesus shared bread with his disciples nor would it be the last.

Jesus celebrates a meal with bread for us every time we come for Mass but it is not just bread we receive.  What we celebrate here is bread and wine that God transforms into the Body and Blood of Jesus for us.

Do we recognize it for what it is?

Remember how Jesus’ disciples did not recognize him when He appeared on the shore?  How many people today fail to recognize the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?  It is not just bread and wine.  We can’t see the change.  It doesn’t look any different.  It doesn’t taste any different.  So in a world where science provides many answers, if it isn’t proven, we don’t often believe.  We have lost the sense of the mystery of God.

Having lost the sense of mystery, people don’t come to church so much, if at all.  Sometimes it might seem like we don’t get much out of it.

When our focus of coming to Mass is what do we get out of it, we are looking for what feels good.  In the short term that might seem great but if we see it as a divine mystery, it isn’t just about feeling good for a few minutes.  It is about drawing us into a deeper relationship with God and praising God for the love He has shown to us.

The Sacraments are given to us to celebrate the mystery of God.  We use “things” in the sacraments; water, oils, bread and wine.  However, it is not about the things, it is about the grace offered in the sacrament.

For the Eucharist, it is about the Body and Blood of Jesus.  At our 10:30 Mass, we have eleven children who will be receiving the Eucharist for the first time.  This will be a special moment for them.

Do you remember your First Communion?  How long ago was it?  For our three people who received the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil, it was just two weeks ago.  For some, it has just been a year since the first time.  For others here it has been over 80 years since the first time.

How does the last time you received Communion compare to the first time?  Have we become used to it?  It can become routine to us but we must remember it is Jesus each and every time.  We must come to Mass not just to feel good but to connect in a deep way with the mystery of God’s grace.

Easter Vigil – Homily

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Easter Vigil
Genesis 1:1-2:2
Genesis 22:1-18
Exodus 14:15-15:1
Isaiah 55:1-11
Romans 6:3-11
Luke 24:1-12
March 26, 2016

Tonight we celebrate something very special.  Tonight is like no other night.  Tonight is the most sacred night of the year.

Tonight will be very special for Suzanne and Kris as they are baptized and received all the Sacraments of Initiation.  It will be special for Liz as she is received and confirmed in our Catholic faith.

It’s special for them as a unique event but it is special for all of us because of what this night represents.  The tomb of Jesus has been found empty.

This is an awesome thing as it means Jesus has risen but to really appreciate it we need to understand it not as an isolated event but as the culmination of the story of Salvation History.

The story of Jesus is not the story of a person who just shows up and starts doing great things.  Jesus is the Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, the God who is our Creator.

It is the story of Salvation History that we hear tonight in our readings.  It begins with the story of creation.  God was present at the very beginning when there was nothing but a “formless wasteland”.  Remembering this, we began our service in darkness with only the Easter fire to give us light.  After blessing the fire, our Easter candle is lit as a sign of how Jesus is the light of the world.

We hear in the creation story how God brings order to the world.  What we read is not a scientific explanation.  It is all about how God creates all that is needed in balance; light and darkness, land and water, the plants and the animals.  It is the story of how human beings are created in God’s image and stand at the summit of creation.

The readings continue with stories of how God does not simply create and leave.  Rather, God remains active in the world, constantly renewing the face of the Earth.

It is God’s gift to us.  In return God asks for commitment.  We see this when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Abraham had waited a long time to have a son.  Isaac was a great gift to him but he is willing to give him back to God.

God continues to be active as He leads his people across the Red Sea towards the Promised Land.  He does this in a very spectacular way with the parting of the Red Sea.  Without a doubt, our God is a powerful God.

These are the stories of people who lived thousands of years ago but it is not just their story.  It is our story.  It is the story of Salvation History.

It becomes our story through God’s invitation, “All you who are thirsty, come to the water.”

What is the price?  After all, remember what God asked of Abraham, to sacrifice his son.  The Lord says, “Come, without paying and without cost.”

We need to be willing to turn our lives completely over to Jesus.  We do this out of love and trust in Him.  We can trust in God because of the many wonderful things He has done in creating the world, in rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and in setting them free from exile in Babylon.  We can trust in Jesus because we can see God at work in him in the many great signs He does; changing water into wine, the healing of the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus.

We can trust in Jesus because of what we celebrated yesterday, the Crucifixion.  What more do we need to trust in Jesus than to know He willing gave his life up for us.

Of course, death alone could have seem like a terrible defeat but death of the Cross was not the end.  The women have found the tomb empty because Jesus is risen.  When the women go and tell the others what has happened, it seemed like utter nonsense to them because no one had risen from the dead before but when they see Jesus for themselves, they will come to believe.

This is the story of Salvation History.  It is the story of God’s love for his people.  It becomes our story in baptism.  It is the story of our salvation.  It is the story of new life for Jesus Christ is risen today!

Holy Thursday – Homily

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Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-13
March 24, 2016

Last Sunday we celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, recalling the royal welcome He received.  Jesus had probably been to Jerusalem numerous times in his live but this was not just a random trip into the city.  Jesus, along with many others, was coming to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration at the Temple.

The Passover is one of the key feasts for the Jews.  God had given instructions that this should stand at the head of their calendar.  They are told to celebrate it as a “memorial feast” and “perpetual institution.”

As such, it was celebrated each year beginning when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.  As a “memorial” it was a celebration of the first Passover when God lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  One of the key images of that first Passover are the lambs that were sacrificed.  The lamb was so important that not just any lamb would do.  It had to be a lamb without blemish.

Raised as a Jew, Jesus would have celebrated Passover each and every year.  Now He takes the Passover and builds upon it.  Jesus takes the unleavened bread and wine and transubstantiates them into his Body and Blood.

We know this from the accounts of the Last Supper as told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as well as what Paul wrote to the Corinthians.  Jesus’ words are clear in scripture, “This is my body….This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

It is the Eucharist, a powerful gift to us.

Jesus also says “Do this in remembrance of me.”  The Eucharist was never meant to be celebrated just once.  We are to do it over and over.  Why?  Because we need to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus to strengthen to become what we receive.

What does it take to celebrate the Eucharist?

Well, we need bread and wine.  The bread must be unleavened because the bread had not had time to rise at the first Passover.

We need an altar to celebrate the Eucharist on.  The altar is a table around which we celebrate a meal but not just any meal, but the Eucharistic meal.  It is not just any table.  As an altar, it is a place of sacrifice but not a new sacrifice.  What we celebrate at the altar is the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  Jesus becomes the unblemished lamb.

Of course, we need people.  What would a meal be without people to receive the meal?  We need people in the pews.  We need readers and servers.  We need ushers and musicians.

And if we are to celebrate the Eucharist, we need a priest.

This is the role I am here for, to serve as your priest.  As the priest, I am uniquely dressed in robes.  The vestments I wear do not make me better than anyone else.  I say this because in Jesus’ day many people dressed in robes claimed special status as priests but also as secular rulers.

Jesus was not concerned with status.  In fact, he tears down barriers of status.  The etiquette of the time say people of high status were to be served by slaves of lower status.  Jesus turns that around to serve the needs of the people.

We see this as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples when society would have said it should be the other way around.  As Jesus does this, He takes off his robe.  In doing so He removes the most visible sign of status.

In a few minutes I will wash the feet of twelve of our parishioners.  I used to think of the washing of the feet as a nice reminder of what Jesus did.  Since becoming a pastor, I have come to realize it is much more than a simple model to follow…

After He had finished washing their feet, Jesus said to his disciples, “Do you realize what I have done for you?”  Of course they would have known Jesus washed their feet.  In the custom of the day, the foot washing was done as a person entered your house to clean the dirt and sand from their feet.  They would have known that too.  Jesus is trying to show them something more.  Jesus is showing them a “model” of service.

As a priest I am called to serve the needs of all of the parishioners of our parish.  The twelve who come up for the foot washing represent everyone in our parish.

In much of what I do as a priest, I try to make eye contact with the people before me.  The foot washing is one exception to this.  I didn’t start this intentionally.  As first, as I moved from person to person, it just seemed easier to keep moving along without looking up at each person.  If I looked up to make eye contact, I would see one person.  In looking at their feet, I see the parish I serve.

This idea of service is very important to me.  It is why I believe all priests all priests need to be celibate.  I could not serve the way I do as a priest and be a good husband and a good father.  It is a sacrifice.  It helps me to serve as Jesus has called me, to celebrate the sacraments and to lead according to Jesus’ example and not my own desires.