Reason After Reason for the Lack of Charity, the Fifth Sunday of Easter – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers:

     In today’s Gospel we hear the words of Jesus, “I give you a new commandment: love one another . . . as I have loved you, so you also should love one another . . . this is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (see John 13:34-35). Isn’t it clear Jesus was very direct and to the point with these words? As Christians, we must demonstrate our love for each other with both our words and our actions.

     Unfortunately, isn’t it sad and true that many people, even some who claim to be “Christian,” simply do not follow this basic mandate of our faith? It seems to me that there are those who will hide behind some type of “righteousness,” and then make all kinds of excuses in order to justify their withdrawal of love and respect from others. These “righteous” people may give reason after reason why their lack of charity toward certain men and/or women is completely warranted.

     Like litigious lawyers, they will come up with specific examples of the failings of others, and they will claim they have “done this or that,” or they have “lived ungodly lives,” or they have “committed unforgivable sins,” or they have “harmed people with malicious intentions,” or they have “failed to follow the rules,” or they have “lived questionable lifestyles,” or they have “expressed the wrong political views,” or they have simply “rubbed people the wrong way,” etcetera, etcetera.

     Once the “righteous” have made their cases against these obvious “sinners,” then withdrawal of love and respect, and their subsequent ostracization, may seem completely justified. After all, they may rationalize, Jesus wasn’t talking about “those kinds of people” when he said we “must love one another.” Or was he? 

     We might recall this teaching on love occurred at the Last Supper. There, Jesus had washed the feet of his “unworthy” disciples, and he had taught them about the sacrifice of his own life he himself would make for the sins of others. And he said to them “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (see John 13:15). It seems clear to me, as Jesus lovingly and completely gave himself for others, even for those who were “unworthy,” he calls us to do the same. Yes, he even wants us to love those “sinners” who may have done us wrong! And at times we know, because we are mere men and women, it will not be easy to follow this most difficult command! But I believe we must follow it if we dare to call ourselves Christians!

     As we contemplate this mandate, it may be helpful for us to remember the words from St. Paul’s teaching on love. He wrote: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails . . .” (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

     As we remain ever faithful in loving others as our Risen Lord Jesus requires of us, let us always and enthusiastically do so with heartfelt words and corresponding actions!

Christ is Risen, Truly, He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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With Gratitude for Those Who Mirror the Pastor’s Love, the Fourth Sunday of Easter – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers: 

     In today’s Gospel, Jesus says “my sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (see John 10:27).  The discourse about “the Good Shepherd” is part of a larger teaching found in all of chapter ten of John’s Gospel.  We are taught that Jesus is our “pastor” and that we are his faithful “flock.”

     As we contemplate this, we might think of those in our lives who help us to understand the simple relationship between a “pastor” and his or her “sheep.”  We might ask: “who are those in whom we have great confidence and with whom we feel very safe?”  I believe such people can give us great insight into the trusting relationship that exists between “pastor” and “flock.”  Accordingly, we might even say they have actually been kinds of “pastors,” and as such have really been instruments of Jesus in our lives!  Perhaps, they have been our parents who have always guided us to do the right things and who have helped us to be good people and productive members of society.  Perhaps, our “pastors” have been our best friends who have always been with us in both good and bad times.  Or perhaps, they have been our teachers, or the many ministers of our Church, and they have effectively shared their wisdom or the truth of our faith with us. I'm sure each of us can think of people who have done these things for us.  And isn’t it true that we need these men and women in order to grow in wisdom and knowledge, and to find satisfaction within our lives?  And of course, we also may have been like “pastors” to those we have ourselves mentored and guided.

     At the same time, we know there are people around us who are the complete opposites of these kinds of “pastors,” and in whom we ought never to place our trust.  In fact, Jesus warns us that some of those whom we might otherwise assume to be “pastors” and “guides,” are actually not trustworthy at all (see John 10:1-21).  These people will turn away from us at times when there are problems, and/or when we have things going on in our lives that are difficult to bear.  In the earlier verses of chapter ten, Jesus had referred to these people as “thieves and robbers.”  They are like those who abandon the sheep by walking away when they see the wolf coming.  Maybe we have had the misfortune of knowing people like this in our own lives; perhaps, they have even pretended to be our friends, but then left us when they realized that we needed some kind of help, or when we had difficulties, or when an uncomfortable situation in our lives needed resolution.

     With all of this in mind, I believe an important message in today’s Gospel is that we must be careful who we choose to “pastor” us.  Jesus offers himself as the model, and so as we gather to celebrate our faith in him, our Good Shepherd, we profess confidence that he will always protect and guide us.

     As we continue to celebrate this Easter season, we are grateful we have the Risen Jesus, our pastor whose voice we hear, and whom we always desire to follow!  May we also and always be grateful to those in our lives who forever mirror the pastor’s love for us! 

Christ is Risen, Truly, He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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“One-hundred-fifty-three Large Fish,” the Third Sunday of Easter – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers: 

     There’s lots of symbolism in the fishing story found in today’s Gospel (see John 21:1-19).  According to the account, the disciples had spent the whole night fishing, but had caught nothing.  Then Jesus appeared to them in the morning and told them to cast their nets to the “other side of the boat.” We can only imagine how incredulous the disciples might have been at this suggestion, but they followed his direction and then caught so many fish their nets nearly broke; in fact, the Gospel tells us very precisely they caught “one-hundred-fifty-three large fish.”  It also tells us that only then, after the big catch, did the disciples recognize who Jesus was.

     Scriptural numbers are usually used symbolically.  For example, when Jesus told his disciples they had to forgive “seventy times seven,” he did not literally mean that they should forgive only four-hundred-ninety times, but rather he challenged them to forgive others without limits and without end.  Because the Gospel reported the disciples caught exactly “one-hundred-fifty-three large fish,” it specifically intended to teach Christians about the universal mission of the church.  At that time, it wasn’t coincidental that there were only “one-hundred-fifty-three” types, or species of fish known to the disciples of Jesus.  This number clearly signified to them that the mission of the Church was not simply to serve one specific community of people (i.e., one “type” of fish).

     The early disciples therefore were called to move beyond their own cultural, religious, and social “comfort zones,” and instead to take the message of the Gospel to all peoples and to all places of the world.  I think this also may have been symbolized by Jesus’ challenge to them to throw their nets to the “other side of the boat.”

     In our own time we are called to do the same, but isn’t it true that we might be tempted to want to stay within our own “comfort zones,” and not to dare to reach out to those who are different from us?  Yet we too are called to throw our nets out to the “other side of the boat.”   I believe if we fail to do this, then we might just continue to convince people who are different that they are not welcomed by our church.  Many such people may believe we have judged them to be terrible sinners, or that they have made life choices unacceptable to us, or that we could never be flexible enough to allow them to thrive as they are within our communities of faith.  If this would be the case, then it would be no surprise to me if our so-called efforts to “evangelize” would have little or no success.  Simply put, if we are afraid to throw our nets out to the “other side of the boat” it will not be possible for us to take the Gospel to all people and to all places; likewise, it will not be possible for us to catch that metaphorical “one-hundred-fifty-three large fish.”

     I believe the Lord of our faith embraces every kind of person, every race, and every culture; he embraces sinners and saints, the lowly and the mighty.  May we, like those disciples of Jesus who were fishing on the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection from the dead, never be afraid to throw our nets out to the “other side of the boat.”  Like them, may we rejoice when we follow Jesus and then catch our own “one-hundred-fifty-three large fish!”  It’s in doing such, and in all those fish, that we too will recognize the presence of the Risen Jesus! 

Christ is Risen, Truly, He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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Trusting the Spirit’s Movement Within Our Hearts, the Second Sunday of Easter – Year C

My Sisters and Brothers: 

     Today’s Gospel teaches us that although signs and wonders done by good and holy people may wonderfully inspire us, “believing without seeing” might actually lead to a stronger kind of faith; this type of faith would involve a trust based more on the Spirit’s movement within our hearts than on any type of concrete “proof” (see John 20:19-31).  It seems to me that such faith would require a kind of unworldly and simple confidence in the great message of our salvation–a message we can both deliver and receive! 

     Some of those who had lived and walked with Jesus during the time of his public ministry did not initially accept the news about the Resurrection.  The Gospel tells us that the Apostle Thomas refused to believe unless he could see Jesus for himself and touch his wounds.  He wanted physical proof before he would believe, and he simply was not satisfied with what others had testified about the Risen Jesus (see John 20:25).  The case of Thomas may be similar to our own: he believed only what he could see and touch. 

     Isn’t it true that sometimes we may behave and doubt like Thomas because our faith isn’t always comfortable, nor is it an easy thing to have?  At times, we may desire something concrete and demonstrable in order to believe the faith testimonies of others.  Like Thomas, we might seek some kind of proof of the presence and/or the action of Jesus in our lives, but today’s Gospel challenges us to take a different approach.  The Gospel clearly teaches us that we may not always have the satisfaction of concrete “proof” concerning the matters of our faith. 

     I believe the message for us today is that faith, like love, demands letting go of our need to control; it involves a poverty of spirit, and a trusting acceptance of God’s ways.  This is to say that a deep faith does not always ask for proof, and that it is based upon trust.  Jesus told Thomas: “Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed” (see John 20:29).  Can we say that we are people of faith who believe without seeing?  Or do we only respond to the goodness of our faith when we see people doing great and marvelous things? 

     In this Easter season, we proclaim our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus.  We do this without the benefit of experiencing his actual physical presence, and we know that the reality of the Resurrection is not something we can “touch.” Today’s Gospel challenges us to continue on with the eyes of faith–one that involves a profound trust, and one that does not need material proof of God’s presence and action in our lives. 

Let us rejoice when our faith leads people to action and to good works; more importantly, let us always maintain our faith, even when it might otherwise be easier for us to be overcome with doubts.  My friends, with great faith let us enthusiastically continue to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus!

Christ is Risen, Truly, He is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Praise God!  Friar Timothy

 

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