May 13, 2007 Sixth Sunday of Easter

  2007년 5월 13일 부활 제6주일

 

 제1독서

 사도행전 15,1-2.22-29
그 무렵 1 유다에서 어떤 사람들이 내려와, “모세의 관습에 따라 할례를 받지 않으면 여러분은 구원을 받을 수 없습니다.” 하고 형제들을 가르쳤다. 2 그리하여 바오로와 바르나바 두 사람과 그들 사이에 적지 않은 분쟁과 논란이 일어나, 그 문제 때문에 바오로와 바르나바와 신자들 가운데 다른 몇 사람이 예루살렘에 있는 사도들과 원로들에게 올라가기로 하였다.
22 그때에 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어, 자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아 바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다. 뽑힌 사람들은 형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다. 23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이 안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다.
24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서, 여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고 정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다. 25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께 여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다. 26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여 목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다. 이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다. 28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는 여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.
29 곧 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와 불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다. 여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”

  

 제2독서

요한 묵시록 21,10-14.22-23<또는 22,12-14.16-17.20>
10 천사는 성령께 사로잡힌 나를 크고 높은 산 위로 데리고 가서는, 하늘로부터 하느님에게서 내려오는 거룩한 도성 예루살렘을 보여 주었습니다. 11 그 도성은 하느님의 영광으로 빛나고 있었습니다. 그 광채는 매우 값진 보석 같았고 수정처럼 맑은 벽옥 같았습니다. 12 그 도성에는 크고 높은 성벽과 열두 성문이 있었습니다. 그 열두 성문에는 열두 천사가 지키고 있는데, 이스라엘 자손들의 열두 지파 이름이 하나씩 적혀 있었습니다.
13 동쪽에 성문이 셋, 북쪽에 성문이 셋, 남쪽에 성문이 셋, 서쪽에 성문이 셋 있었습니다. 14 그 도성의 성벽에는 열두 초석이 있는데, 그 위에는 어린양의 열두 사도 이름이 하나씩 적혀 있었습니다.
22 나는 그곳에서 성전을 보지 못하였습니다. 전능하신 주 하느님과 어린양이 도성의 성전이시기 때문입니다. 23 그 도성은 해도 달도 비출 필요가 없습니다. 하느님의 영광이 그곳에 빛이 되어 주시고 어린양이 그곳의 등불이 되어 주시기 때문입니다.

  

 복음

 요한 14,23-29<또는 17,20-26>
그때에 23 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다. “누구든지 나를 사랑하면 내 말을 지킬 것이다. 그러면 내 아버지께서 그를 사랑하시고, 우리가 그에게 가서 그와 함께 살 것이다. 24 그러나 나를 사랑하지 않는 사람은 내 말을 지키지 않는다. 너희가 듣는 말은 내 말이 아니라 나를 보내신 아버지의 말씀이다.
25 나는 너희와 함께 있는 동안에 이것들을 이야기하였다. 26 보호자, 곧 아버지께서 내 이름으로 보내실 성령께서 너희에게 모든 것을 가르치시고 내가 너희에게 말한 모든 것을 기억하게 해 주실 것이다.
27 나는 너희에게 평화를 남기고 간다. 내 평화를 너희에게 준다. 내가 주는 평화는 세상이 주는 평화와 같지 않다. 너희 마음이 산란해지는 일도, 겁을 내는 일도 없도록 하여라.
28 ‘나는 갔다가 너희에게 돌아온다.’고 한 내 말을 너희는 들었다. 너희가 나를 사랑한다면 내가 아버지께 가는 것을 기뻐할 것이다. 아버지께서 나보다 위대하신 분이시기 때문이다. 29 나는 일이 일어나기 전에 너희에게 미리 말하였다. 일이 일어날 때에 너희가 믿게 하려는 것이다.”

 

 

 

 May 13, 2007

 Sixth Sunday of Easter

 Reading 1
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29

Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders
about this question.

The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:

“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
Rev 21:10-14, 22-23

The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,

with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.

Gospel
Jn 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”

 

 

 Commentary

 

 The Church needs to hear often that we are to lay no burden on believers beyond what is strictly necessary and that the Holy Spirit decides what is needed-based on the words of Jesus. Those who cause dissension by demanding their own agenda must be pointed out as those who cause disturbance, and those who preach the gospel must be acknowledged as those belonging to and are under the power of the Lord and the Spirit. Again, when we get bogged down in details and laws/customs/traditions we tend to forget the vision of what we have been given to share and to live-that there is no temple in the city. The Lord,

God, the Almighty is its temple and he and the Lamb are its light and life.
Our God is the Trinity and if we are true to the Word of Jesus then God the Father comes and dwells within us. And if we take this Word to heart, the Spirit, the Paraclete will be sent to us in the name of Jesus to instruct us, remind us, and teach us-but most especially to bring us the peace of Christ that is Jesus' gift to us. This peace is given so that we may not be distressed or fearful, or racked with dissenters, but that we live as one in God, the Trinity.

 

 

 PRE-PRAYERING

The wife of the American President Franklin Roosevelt, Eleanor, once said, “Every day, do one thing that scares you.” Being his wife during the war-time years would have scared her abundantly. There is a place in our lives and relationship with God, for fear. Being frightened is such a human experience; there must be a way of trusting God while reverencing this emotional reality.

We walk back down the aisles of our churches out into a world of unknowns. We could stay in church and safely protect ourselves, except from slivers. We are sent to face our lives with faith and fears. Fears mean that somethings are important to us. We protect what we consider valuable, precious, and meaningful.

As we walk from one liturgy to the next we experience the threats of fear and the invitations to trust the God Who makes a home within us through the Holy Spirit. If we do a scared thing, then let it also be a sacred thing. We are sent by the Eucharist to live, express, and enjoy life, even the slivers.

REFLECTION

The early Church had some start-up problems. We hear of one and its resolution in today’s First Reading. Male circumcision for the Jews was the proper rite of initiation. Bountiful progeneration was a promise by God to Abraham and his descendants. Circumcision was the sign of Jewish dedication to that promise.

The Jews who formed the early followers of Jesus were forced to a reconsideration when “pagans” and “gentiles” wanted to enter, or be initiated, into the growing Church. Should they be forced to be circumcised into their Jewish tradition in order to enter their following of Jesus? There was not unanimity about this answer.

What we hear is how some were teaching that those entering the Church did have to experience the Jewish rite first. So there was a convention of sorts and we hear the decision in the form of a letter which is sent to Antioch correcting this important issue. Baptism begins the circumcision of the heart, we say. The heart is the symbol of a loving spirit, but the heart can find itself dedicated to various forms of idolatry. The heart can generate a life leading, not to eternal life, but to being lost. What is required for entering into the Way of Jesus is presented to the people of Antioch and so for a while that question had been answered. It would arise again during the history of the Church even to this day.

There were many factions in the time of the writing of John’s Gospel. Some believed that Jesus was not really human, but just seemed that He was. Others believed that He was not really divine, but was kind of adopted by God to appear divine. By the time of the writing, about a century after His historical life, various groups in differing locations who were struggling with the mystery of Jesus, in good faith, came up with these differing understandings. These schools of thought continued their teachings until the maturing Church came together and eventually wrote out what we call the Creed, which we recite each Sunday. Jesus was and is of course, a tremendous mystery, one person, two natures, that does take some struggling, pondering, and deep faith.

John’s whole Gospel has more to do with the faith-growth of the first and second centuries, than with an exact and historical relating of the events of the life of Jesus. The events of His life are actually quite limited compared to those which are related in the first three Gospels. There are more discourses, arguments and poetic ｅxpressions in John’s Gospel which are all intended to attract followers to Jesus and keep them together as followers of “the one Who has been sent.” We have those same struggles and wonderings about Jesus and our willingness to respond to His ways. What we read today and will hear next Sunday are verses intended to encourage us in living with the promise of the Holy Spirit Whose coming we will celebrate in two weeks. As followers in the Church we are listening in to Jesus comforting, encouraging and blessing us.

Now for a brief reflection on this encouraging passage. Abandonment! My younger brother, at the age of six, was put on a city bus by his older brother and was told to stay on until the end of the line. Across the street from the end of the line was our house. This was quite a Trauma, being left alone on this huge bus with all these strange people and a driver whom Pat did not know. He did ask the driver if the bus was going to Forty-third Street? and was that Forty-third street in Milwaukee? and was there a big white house across the street? No amount of assurance was satisfying, nor is it still to this day.

The Divine Bus Driver is telling us, His passengers, that we will not be left alone, but actually we will be the “Big White House” the dwelling place of God if we believe. Believing does invite questions, but we are invited to trust what the Driver says.

The “world” gives a sense of peace which is temporary and conditional. Jesus offers a peace which results from the permanent relationship He offers us through His Gift of the Spirit. We do have worries and fears which are appropriate for us as fragile “bus-riders”. We are comforted by knowing there are other “riders” who for centuries have ridden with their fears and yet in faith. The “world” needs certainty and demands the security of knowing. Human relationships of love go leaping into future “bus-rides” together. This leaping, yes, this is how we fulfill His request that we love Him by keeping His Word. His Word is not a command or law, but an invitation to be aware and accepting of His love for us during His life, death, and resurrection, and now in His sending of the Holy Spirit.

God loves us in Christ, but this love does not protect us from experiencing worries and fears. That love does not protect us from bumping our noses, stubbing our toes, breaking of hearts, nor losing our way. His love does not protect us from our being human, but encourages us to get on the bus, stay on the bus until we get to the end of the line where our home is right across, over there.

“Speak out with a voice of joy; let it be heard to the ends of the earth. The Lord has set His people free. Alleluia.” Is. 48, 20

 

 by
Larry Gillick, S.J.
Deglman Center for Ignatian Spirituality

 

 

"We live in a numble abode," said Uriah Heep in David Copperfield.  That was in 1850; I don’t think anyone refers now to his or her house as an 'abode', 'umble or otherwise.  But the word itself is interesting.  It is related to 'abide'.  You abide in an abode.  (The words 'ride' and 'road' have a similar relationship.) 

The word ‘abide’ is used repeatedly in the part of John's gospel that we are reading at Mass these times (10 times in verses 1 - 10 of chapter 15).  It is variously translated as ‘live’ and ‘remain’ and 'make your home'.  It is a beautiful word.  It was a word much beloved of Meister Eckhart, the 14th-century German mystic.  He wrote, “It is not right to love God for His heaven's sake nor for the sake of anything at all, but we should love Him for the goodness that He is in Himself. For whoever loves him for anything else does not abide in Him, but abides in the thing he is loving Him for. If, therefore, you want to abide in Him, you must love Him for nothing but Himself.” 

That's how a person behaves at home: we love the people there for their own sakes, not because they are good-looking, or clever, nor for what we can get from them.  Some saint said she would like to close down both heaven and hell, so that people would do good for its own sake, not because of greed or fear, and love God for God's own sake.  That would be ‘abiding in God.’ 

Equally, God abides in us -  lives in ‘a numble abode.’   “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him” (the beginning of today’s gospel reading).  He promised too to send the Holy Spirit.  This means that the Trinity lives in us.  And we in the Trinity. 

            How did we get the idea that God was distant from us?  I suppose it was because many people spoke to us about God and neglected to mention that “God is love”; and because many of them had little love for us themselves.  Recently I found a copy of the Penny Catechism that was knocked into me in my childhood, and I saw that in the first chapter, which was about God, the word ‘love’ did not occur at all.  God was described as Creator, Ruler, Punisher of evil, Rewarder of Good; but nowhere did it say that God loved us.  Love brings near; fear separates, it makes you want to run away.  How terrible that we run away from our very Source like frightened animals!  How terrible that we feel like strangers and exiles from our own home, our abode. 

In the immortal story that Jesus told about the Prodigal Son, the father saw his son “while he was yet a long way off…and was moved to pity.  He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.”  Then he gave him the best robe and put a ring on his finger.  This ring symbolised that he was a true son, and not a servant as he wanted to be.  That was Jesus describing God our Father.  How then could we ever have imagined that God was distant from us?  Even when we try to make ourselves distant from God, God remains close to us.  Meister Eckhart, whom I quoted above, wrote, “You need not seek Him here or there, He is no further than the door of your heart; there He stands patiently awaiting whoever is ready to open up and let Him in. No need to call to Him from afar: He can hardly wait for you to open up. He longs for you a thousand times more than you long for Him.” 

‘Abide’.  It is a word you might use to describe what you are doing in contemplation: you are abiding, you are making you home in Christ, you are within his mind.  You are in God and God is in you.  You are in your true home.   

 

 

 “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him”

Do you know the love that surpasses all, that is stronger than death itself (Song of Songs 8:6)? In Jesus' last supper discourse he speaks of the love he has for his disciples and of his Father's love. He prepares his disciples for his imminent departure to return to his Father by exhorting them to prove their love for him through their loyalty and obedience to his word. He promises them the abiding instruction and consolation of the Holy Spirit. Saint Augustine says the Lord loves each of us as if there were only one of us to love. God’s love for each of us is as real and tangible as the love of a mother for her child and the love of a lover who gives all for his beloved. God made us for love — to know him personally and to grow in the knowledge of his great love for us. How can we know and be assured of the love of God? The Holy Spirit helps us to grow in the knowledge of God and his great love.  The Spirit enables us to experience the love of God and to be assured of the Lord’s abiding presence with us (see Romans 8:35-39). The Holy Spirit also opens our ears to hear and understand the word of God.  Do you listen attentively to God's word and believe it?  Ask the Holy Spirit to inflame your heart with the love of God and his word.

Do you know the peace which passes all understanding (Phil.4:7)?  Jesus grants peace as his gift to his disciples. What kind of peace does he offer? The peace of Christ is more than the absence of trouble.  It includes everything which makes for our highest good.  The world's approach to peace is avoidance of trouble and a refusal to face unpleasant things.  Jesus offers the peace which conquers our fears and anxieties.  Nothing can take us from the peace and joy of Jesus Christ.  No sorrow or grief, no danger, no suffering can make it less.  Jesus also speaks of his destination and ultimate triumph over the powers of evil in the world.  In the eyes of the world the cross stood for shame, humiliation, and defeat.  Jesus went to the cross knowing that it would lead to victory over the powers of sin and of Satan.  Jesus also knew that he would return to his Father in glory.  The cross brought glory to Jesus and to the Father and it is our way to glory as well.  In the Cross of Christ we find true peace and reconciliation with God.  Do you live in the peace of Jesus Christ?

"Lord, in love you created me and you drew me to yourself. May I never lose sight of you nor forget your steadfast love and faithfulness. And may I daily dwell upon your word and give you praise in the sanctuary of my heart, You who are my All."

Psalm 67:1-7

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah]
2 that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for thou dost judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. [Selah]
5 Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

 

 

TWO MORE WEEKS

'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too.' Acts 15:28

Two more weeks and we reach one of the most important events in our lives, Pentecost. Jesus continues to say: 'This much have I told you while I was still with you; the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father will send in My name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you' (Jn 14:25-26).

We need the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, what Jesus has told us will not become real in our lives. We will then become 'distressed or fearful' (Jn 14:27). Without the Spirit, we will make 'a pretense of religion but negate its power' (2 Tm 3:5), foster doubt rather than faith, and promote disunity in the body of Christ. We receive the Spirit or stay locked by fear in the upper room (Jn 20:19, 26). We receive the Spirit or see our life's work amount to nothing, for 'flesh begets flesh, Spirit begets spirit' (Jn 3:6).

The word 'spirit' also means 'breath.' We need the Holy Spirit as much or even more than we need our life's breath. Begin to wait and pray (Acts 1:4), to pray and thirst (Lk 11:13), to thirst and believe (Jn 7:37), to believe and obey (Acts 5:32). Jesus 'breathed on them and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit' ' (Jn 20:22).

Praise: Praise the Risen Jesus, Who promised to send the Holy Spirit to instruct us in all things (Jn 14:26). Alleluia!
Prayer: Father, renew my Confirmation. Fill me with the Spirit in a way beyond anything I have ever imagined (Eph 3:20).
Promise: The angel 'carried me away in spirit to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.' Rv 21:10 

 

 

«If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him; and we will come to him and make a room in his home»

Today, before the celebration of the Ascension and Whitsun, we read once more the words of the so called sermon of the Last Supper, where we should see the different ways to present a unique message, insofar as it all emanates from the blessed union of Christ with the Father and from God's will to associate us closely to this mystery of love.

One day, St. Therese of the Child Jesus was offered several gifts for her to choose one but quite decidedly, despite her youth, she said «I choose everything!». When she grew older she realized that choosing everything actually meant desiring to be love and devotion in the Church, for a body without love would be totally meaningless. The mystery of God's love, is a concrete, personal love incarnated within the Son Jesus, who gives us everything: Himself, his life and his deeds are the best and clearer God's message to us.

From this love encompassing everything is where “peace” is born from. A word that, today, we all dream about: we want “peace” but alarm and violence surround us. Peace will only be achieved if we turn towards Jesus, as He gives us his peace as a fruit of his total love. Though He does not give it as the world does (cf. Jn 14:27), as the peace bestowed by Jesus is not made of calm unconcern, but just the opposite: of a solidarity that becomes brotherhood; of a capacity to take a look at ourselves and at others with new eyes, as the Lord does, and thus, forgives us. A great serenity overflows us and helps us to see things just as they actually are, not as they look like. And by following this way we shall reach happiness.

«The Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have told you» (Jn 14:26). In these last days of Easter let us beg to open up to the Holy Spirit; we received it when we were baptized and confirmed, but now we must —as a last gift— make the Spirit to spring up from within us to take us where we would not have dared by ourselves.
 

 

 Jesus Christ did not leave us orphans when he ascended into heaven.   He promised the Holy Spirit who would guide the Church and confirm her in the truth.   Our gospel tells of his promise of the Spirit:   The Spirit would call to mind everything that Jesus had taught; he would instruct the Church in everything.   He also told us that anyone who loved him would be true to his word.    We know the word of Jesus through the Church, which is protected from teaching error by the power of the Holy Spirit.    Jesus did not solve all problems or give his instructions in minute detail.    Nevertheless, everything that is taught by the Church throughout the centuries comes integrally from the “deposit of faith” which Jesus imparted to the Spirit.  
Jesus did not solve the question of the relationship of Jews and Gentiles in the Church.    Did a person need to become a Jew before being a Christian?   Were the non-Jews even invited to share salvation?   Did Jewish Christians still need to follow the Law of Moses?   These and many other questions were solved by the Church some years after Jesus had ascended to heaven.   They were solved by the Church guided by the Holy Spirit.    Today’s first reading tells us of the council of apostles at Jerusalem who determined that Gentile converts do not need to practice the Law of Moses.    The Church is still developing and growing and understanding the teaching of Jesus more perfectly.    The Spirit gives the Church the charism of infallibility.  The Church cannot teach error on matters of faith and morals.    The chief agencies of this infallibility are the pope when he speaks “ex cathedra” and an Ecumenical or General Council.
Even though we do not see Jesus with eyes of body, we are confident that he guides the Church through the power of the Holy Spirit.   He is with us.    Let us be faithful to him and to his teaching.

 

 

Homily from Father James Gilhooley
 

Francis of Assisi, Arthur Tonne tells us, chanced upon a woman who told him she did not love God. She had no intention of ever obeying Him. As he and she walked along together, they passed a man who was both blind and crippled. Francis asked him, "Were I to give you sight and enable you to walk, what would your response be?" As you might imagine, the man said eagerly, "I would both love you and be your servant forever." Il Poverello turned to the woman and quietly queried, "You just heard him. He would both love me and obey me. Why then do you not cherish and obey the Almighty who has generously allowed you to both see as well as run if you choose?"
    
But the fact of the matter is God does ask us the same question every day. "Why do you not both love and obey me? Consider all I have given you all your life." on the face of it, there is no one of us who can take umbrage at the question.  In the best possible scenario, we should bolt out of bed in the morning, crash down on the floor at risk of water on the knee, and pray with absolute conviction. What should we say? How about this for openers? "Dear God, once again my name is not in the Irish funny pages aka the obituary column. In gratitude, I will expend myself for you all day." As Robert Frost puts it, earth's the right place for love. The Swedes would remind us that those who wish to sing always find a song.
    
In today's Gospel, Jesus is clearly on the record saying, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments... Those who do not love me do not keep my words." Why should anyone of us be in a state of shock at this pronouncement? The Christ has been called many names by His enemies down the centuries, but no one ever called Him dumb.
    
And the sublime wordsmith Mr Shakespeare might well have had John 14 in mind when he wrote, "They do not truly love who do not show their love."
    
After all, every mother's child of us is, as someone has pointed out, a forgiven sinner. Much love and likewise obedience then should be justly expected from those to whom much love has been shown. Love then in this context is, in James Tahaney's incisive language, a four word synonym for grow.
    
Happily for us what the Teacher wants from us is written in black and white in the Ten Commandments. No matter from what angle one approaches these commandments, no matter how one shakes them, the color gray is never seen. one does get the distinct feeling that gray was the least favorite color of the Master.
    
There are some of us who think if we attend the Eucharist, we can be totally cavalier about the law of God. But such an approach will simply not wash. Even the curmudgeon who was George Bernard Shaw saw the fallacy in such an approach. He penned, "Beware of the man whose God is in the skies." Shaw would applaud the aphorism that teaches a hypocrite is a person who is not himself on Sunday.
   
We must establish our love by doing what God desires and fleeing, like a case of the swine flu, what He says is a forbidden. To profess love for God and forget His commands may be our idea of bliss, but it is not Christianity. Rather, it is the Gospel according to you and me. It is, in one man's terms, decaffinated Christianity. And one comes up with a faux Jesus.
    
Too many of us have developed the nasty habit of keeping the New Testament buried on our shelves instead of in our minds and hearts. Today's Gospel advises us not to be in that company. "Be smart enough," St John is saying to us today, "to learn from the mistakes of others. You may not live long enough to make them all yourself."
    
My Irish ancestors a long time ago wrapped today's Gospel up in a clever lyric. "Paddy Murphy went to Mass, never missed a Sunday. But Paddy Murphy went to hell, for what he did on Monday."
    
But do not lose heart. "God," said the pundit, "can make a great finish out of a slow start."

 

 

Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html

 Christian Non-conformity

Today’s first reading present the solution to the great internal struggle of the Primitive or Earliest Church.  Externally, it was the question of whether or not gentile Christians had to practice Jewish customs.  It was a lot deeper than that, though.  The real question was where does a Christian stand in relationship to his or her culture.

The original problem resulted from the Early Church’s view of itself as the proper development of Judaism.  Up until the last decade of the first century, the Christians were seen by many to be nothing more than a form of Judaism. This really makes sense.  The New Testament was the fulfillment of the Old Testament.  Moses and the prophets pointed to Jesus.  Jesus himself was born of a Jewish maiden and was of the line of King David.  The earliest Christians did not reject Judaism.  They believed that they were good Jews, true Jews, the real chosen people.

But the Jewish religion had more to do with laws than beliefs.  A Jew did not have to believe in the afterlife, in heaven and in hell, but if he didn’t keep the Sabbath, he was a heretic.  A good Jew had to keep the dietary restrictions, have their infant boys circumcised, etc., but did not have to believe in the Christ. 

The early Christians were more concerned with faith than law.  The Gospel of John was written for the purpose that “all may believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God and in so believing might have eternal life.”  Life came from faith, not rules.  The Christians from the Jewish background refused to conform to Jewish laws.  They celebrated the Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday, because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.  They reasoned that God had given them all life to care for and to use; dietary rules were eliminated.  But spirituality, the nourishment of the spiritual in their midst, the Holy Spirit, that had to be the center of their lives.  The earliest Christians of the Jewish background were non conformists with their own Jewish society.

But how about the Christians who came from a gentile background.  Shouldn’t they first become Jewish and follow the Jewish laws?  It seems easy for us to say, “Of course not,” but to the people of ancient Jerusalem who commonly referred to the gentiles as “dogs”, the gentiles were to be avoided. 

Still, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Church realized that the gentiles didn’t need to be Jewish, but they could no longer be pagan either.  The pagans cloaked immorality under the feasts of various gods.  Gentile Christians could no longer join these celebrations, live immorally or participate in any aspect of pagan culture. 

The Gentile Christians were told that they could not conform to paganism.

Nor can we.

The pagan deifies nature.  This is more than just worshiping water goddesses, tree gnomes, etc.  The pagan places the highest value on the material world.  To the pagan anything physical and any physical action is not just acceptable, but is seen as good, even if the action is morally reprehensible.  Therefore the pagan has no problems with unnatural relations between people, with destroying life to make his or her own life

easier, with gaining wealth at the expense of others, etc.  So we exist in a world where many elements of society say that if it feels good, it is acceptable, even if an action in innately wrong.

For example, the destruction of human life is innately wrong. It is not up to a person to choose to destroy a life, be that a life within a girl, or a life that is physically or psychologically challenged. The pagan says, “If it feels like the right thing to do, have the abortion.” 

The problem is not that we are pagan, the problem is that often we straddle the issue and try to be Christian but still keep one foot in the pagan aspects of our society.  So we go to Church, we pray, and then we attend a party where we know that drugs will be available.  We say that we are committed Christians, but we support those who are in favor of positions that are in conflict with morality. 

Let me tell you about Charlie Miller.  Charlie was a seminarian with me when I was in college.  one Sunday we all went for a walk out by the lake on the seminary property.  We were all in our Sunday suits.  Charlie decided to take one of the rowboats out.  only Charlie didn’t know all that much about boats.  He had one foot on the dock and one in the boat.  The boat started moving out and Charlie, ever so slowly got stretched out and fell into the water.  He didn’t commit and got soaked.  We all cheered.

If we don’t commit to Christianity, if we keep one foot in pagan society, we are going to get stretched out.  We are going to get soaked.  We have to commit. That means that we have to be at odds with what many are saying around us.

I began today by noting that the first reading asks the question, “Where do we stand in relationship to our culture?” The answer is simply this: we are called to be  non-conformists. We are called to be in the world but not part of the world.  We are called to be citizens of the New Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God. We cannot allow any aspect of pagan society to have a part of our lives.  We have been offered the spiritual.  We cannot conform to society, we cannot straddle the issue. 

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,” Jesus says in today’s Gospel.  But then he adds, “And my Father will love him or her and we will come and make our dwelling with him.”

 

Homily from Father Phil Bloom
http://www.geocities.com/seapadre_1999/

 

The Father Will Love Him
(May 13, 2007)
Bottom line: By the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes possible a filial relationship with the Father.

I begin by wishing the moms here a Happy Mother's Day. I am offering this Mass for our moms, whether they are present with us or far away, whether they are living of deceased. Today is a beautiful day to remember our moms and to pray for them.

Today's readings present the possibility of a filial relationship with God. Filial refers to intimacy and trust that can exist between parent and child. A story from Peru illustrates filial trust in God:

It happened that a missionary priest was visiting his extensive parish, high in the Andes Mountains. The best way to reach certain parts of the parish was by horseback. once, toward sunset, the priest got disoriented and could not find the way back to his base camp. Rather than risk exposure at such an altitude, he decided to give his horse free rein and hope to find shelter. After a couple of hours of wandering, he saw a welcome sight. In the distance a lamp burned in a hut. This was unusual because the native people went to bed shortly after dark in order to get up at an early hour. When the priest got near the hut, a man ran out, "Padre, padrecito," he exclaimed, "I knew you would come."

Surprised, the priest asked how he knew that. The man said, "My mother has been praying all day that a priest would come. She is dying." The priest went inside, heard the woman's confession, then gave her holy anointing and Communion. The woman softly spoke these final words, "Taita Dios heard me." Taita Dios is not easy to translate. Dios of course means God, but Taita is hard to translate. It is an intimate, affectionate way of addressing one's father. Taita is like "daddy," except that a grown-up man could say it with no embarrassment. Taita Dios, my dear Father, has heard me.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that if someone keeps Jesus' word, "the Father will love him." He then describes an intimacy, impossible for us to imagine. He tells us that he and the Father will dwell within us - by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This intimacy has a high price. You know that one of the most painful things in this life is the physical separation from someone we love. Some of us have experienced that in relation to our mom - or some other much loved person. Jesus tells us today the reason for separation - so that we might have an even more intimate union. The disciples were devastated by the death of Jesus, but then came the great miracle of the Resurrection.

Now, Jesus explains that he must once again go from their sight. He does it for a reason: so that he can send the Advocate. That word means the one who stands up for us, like an attorney or a lawyer. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit to make possible an intimate union with the Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Like that faith-filled indigenous woman we can say, Taita Dios, my dear Father, has heard me.

 

 

 Homily from Father Andrew M. Greeley
http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.htm

Background:
John's Gospel obviously displays a much more developed theology then the three synoptic gospels. However, it was still written early in the so-called sub-apostolic time. The remarkable fact is not that there is a strong theological slant to it. Rather it is surprising how relatively early in the history of the early Church a strong Trinitarian perspective has emerged. The trajectory towards Nicea and the other early councils has already been set, thought he elaborate explanations have yet to appear. Associated with God even by the time of St. John are Jesus, and the Father, and the Paraclete, the advocate, the teacher, the protector, the guarantor of the peace that Jesus has given. Already we have hints that God is a community of relationships, that there is so much knowledge and love in God that the knowledge and love explode into distinct personages. This truth is revealed to test our faith, not to provide theologians with raw material for their speculations (though there is nothing wrong with that), but to dazzle us with the brightness of God's glory, the power of God's knowledge and the passion of God's love. The use of the word "spirit," a translation of the Hebrew word Shekenah hints at a maternal protection in God because the word is feminine in Hebrew - and was used in Hebrew folk religion as the name of Yahweh's consort. St. John had no thought of such matters, yet the gender of the noun might well be part of the meaning "in front of the text."
outhtown.

Story:
Once upon a time back in the last century there was a young woman from Ireland who had lost her parents and all her family. Some kind people wrote to their relatives in America and said we have this fourteen year old orphan here who is very bright and very pretty and very hard working, We don’t want her to go to the orphanage because she won’t have any opportunities there to develop her talents. Would you eve consider hiring her as a servant girl. You’d have to pay her way over on the boat, but she’ll work for nothing until she earns her fare. You won’t go wrong with her. So the Americans who could afford a serving girl, but never had one and weren’t altogether sure what they would do with such a person talked about it and said, well, what have to lose. So they sent the fare for the boat and the train. And waited for the young woman to come. She sailed from Kinsale. The last she saw of Ireland were the twin spires of the church as they faded into the background. Weeks later, sick and thin and exhausted, she arrived in the city where her master and mistress lived. They took one look at the poor child and said, Dear, we don’t need a servant, but we have room for another daughter. When they brought her home the other children hugged her and said, hooray! We have another sister. With their help she grew up to go to college and university and become very successful and was a great credit to those who took her into their family. (The Trinity is a family into which God has invited us)

 

 

Homily from Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe,Pa
http://benedictine.stvincent.edu/archabbey/Weeklywords/Weeklywords.html

 Gospel Summary

When Jesus says, in today's gospel, "Whoever loves me will keep my word," he wishes to remind us that, though it is easy to say that we love him, it is far more difficult to love others for his sake. Such concern for others is, however, the indispensable proof of our authentic love of Jesus. For to love Jesus means ultimately to commit oneself to imitate his unconditional love of others or, better perhaps, to allow his love to flow through us for the benefit of others.

This challenge is very difficult, and may even seem impossible at times, but our feeble efforts will be strengthened by the love of the Father--the same divine Father whose love is revealed in Jesus. And when we allow that divine love to flow through us, we will discover that both Jesus and the Father will make their dwelling with us in an ineffable mystical communion. Nothing could be more desirable.

Jesus promises to send us the Advocate, which is the special name John gives to the Holy Spirit. An advocate is one who stands with another to take away that person's fear and sense of aloneness or inadequacy. This divine Advocate will thus dwell deep within us and will continue the work of Jesus by drawing out all the implications of his teaching.

Life Implications

John's gospel is full of reminders that Jesus has come among us to reveal the true nature of God as one who cherishes his love for more than his power. It is for that reason that Jesus is called the Word of God, for he reveals what is hidden in God just as our words make known our hidden thoughts.

When we accept in faith the testimony of Jesus about the love of God for us, we are liberated from the need to worry excessively about ourselves and are thus enabled to become more and more aware of others and more ready to share our love with them. When this happens, we are drawn into that powerful flow of life and love which courses between the Father and Jesus. In this sense, we can understand how the Father and Jesus will "make their dwelling" with us. They will do this through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who is the one who enables us to discover at the center of our beings the love of the Father brought to us by Jesus. As St. Paul tells us, "When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:15-16).

The Advocate/Spirit is given to us, therefore, as one who stands at our side, in bright days and dark, to help us understand the reality of this love of God that Jesus offers to us. As we do so, we become ever more united with Jesus who has revealed the Father's love and who wishes to lead us back to the source of that love. It will be only then that we will really begin to understand the meaning of coming home.

 

 Homily from Father Clyde A. Bonar, Ph.D.
Contact Father at cbonar@cfl.rr.com

 Two Bequests, one Condition

Introduction

People keep wanting me to write my will. When I was in the Navy we had to have our wills up to date before going on deployment. As a priest, the diocese keeps asking for a copy of my will. Our last will and testimony, what we want done with our worldly possessions.

Today, our gospel reads like the last will and testimony of Jesus. We’re at the Last Supper, Christ gives his farewell discourse. In this, his will, Christ bequeaths to us two gifts: the first, peace; the second, the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. There's also a condition: to receive these gifts, we must keep God's word.

"Keep my word"

Let's start with the condition. Jesus says, "Whoever loves me will keep my word." To keep God's word means to live as God taught us, to profess our faith in Christ, to follow God's commandments.

We certainly believe in Christ Jesus. Every Sunday we recite the Nicene Creed. "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty." We know the words, we say them by heart. During the Easter Vigil Mass, to emphasize and re-emphasize our faith, we state our creed by answering a series of questions. The celebrant asks us, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?" "Do you believe in the Holy Catholic Church?" To each question we reply, "I do, I do believe."

Through the centuries we have shown our faith. I recall celebrating Mass in the catacombs of Rome. We used the Second Eucharistic Prayer. Early Christians praying in the same catacombs wrote that Eucharistic Prayer nearly 2000 years ago. We Roman Catholics have lived our beliefs down through the ages.

Our symbols speak of our faith. on Ash Wednesday the smudge of ashes on our foreheads reminds us, "from dust we came." At each Mass during the Easter Season, the priest sprinkles us with holy water to recall our baptism. We pray our beads, asking Mary to pray for us; before the tabernacle, we genuflect because here is the Real Presence of Christ.

Our faith is strong, we keep God's Commandments. Christ taught us, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might; and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). We keep God's word by living these core values. By Mass attendance and our daily prayers, we return love to our loving God. As we reach out in service to the needy, we show our generosity. With our neighbor, we carefully keep our actions honest, our motives pure, our words truthful.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples, "Whoever loves me will keep my word." Certainly, we try. We profess our faith, we follow God's commandments, we carefully live as God taught us.

My Father will send the Holy Spirit

To help us keep God's word, as his first bequest, Christ promises the Father will send the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate. The Holy Spirit guides our faith, the Holy Spirit continues to reveal God to us. God sent the Holy Spirit to teach us everything, to remind us what Christ told us.

We see the actions of the Holy Spirit in our first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles. The question the early church had to answer: whether or not new followers of Christ had to become Jews. Some said to become a Christian, a Gentile first had to follow all the laws of Moses. Others said: "No, that is not necessary." So Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem to ask the apostles.

The apostles wrote, "It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us." Very clearly the apostles said the Holy Spirit guides our decision. Do non-Jewish followers of Christ have to obey the laws of Moses? The apostles answered, "you should not eat the meat of an animal sacrificed to an idol. If you do, people might think you are still pagans." And "do not eat meat of animals strangled to death. That way of killing the animal is too cruel." And "no, you do not have to be circumcised. Because circumcision is only an external sign, we are concerned about your faith." The apostles placed the questions before God, the Holy Spirit directs their decisions.

To this day, we seek guidance from the Holy Spirit. Good examples are discernment questions. Ellen pondered buying a bookstore. She carefully listed all the pros and cons. Ellen enjoys books, she likes to chat with customers and recommend new books. Financially, the store typically showed a decent profit. Hesitations came as Ellen thought about giving up her salary as a teacher for the uncertainty of running a small business. As she pondered, Ellen prayed. More and more she felt confident about buying the bookstore. Ellen could echo the apostles, "it is the decision of the Holy Spirit and mine also" to buy the bookstore.

Our Roman Catholic Church looks to the Holy Spirit to guide the election of popes. When a new pope is to be elected, the cardinals gather in conclave and place themselves before God. Each cardinal seeks guidance from the Holy Spirit as he casts his vote. The cardinals want to say, "it is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us cardinals" to choose this new pope.

As Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, continues to guide our lives in God, in matters of faith, to guide our Church and our personal journey to God.

"Peace I leave with you"

As his second bequest, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you." To a Christian, peace is a gift of God. Our part is to live the peace by being who we are, and who we are is an image of God. To be at peace is to allow God to flow into all that we are and all that we do.

St. Francis of Assisi prayed, "My God and my all." That is, let everything that I am and everything that I do be as God would want. St. Augustine said, "My soul is restless until it rests in God." When we rest in God, we have peace.

We know this peace in our prayer life. God signals to our souls a way to pray. Perhaps it's centering prayer, the way of lectio Divina. Or, the more active meditation of the St. Ignatian way of prayer. Or, a more charismatic prayer style. However we pray, we find peace in our prayer when we pray as God inspires us to pray. A lady once told me I was not praying correctly. Truth is, the lady had no way knowing whether or not I was praying correctly. There are many ways to pray. It's God who signals to our souls a way to pray. When we pray as God inspires us, we have peace.

Same thing with our ministry. God calls us to our ministry. For example, God plants within a young man the idea of becoming a priest. Gradually the idea of priesthood becomes attractive, until the young man decides, this is for me, and goes off to seminary.

Lay ministry works the same. We feel a call to be a Minister to the Sick, or a Lector, or a catechist, or a Minister of Hospitality, or whatever ministry. We think, we can do that, it would be interesting. Even with our young people we see this. In one parish, one of the lectors is in the fifth grade. He asked to be a lector. Another fifth grader is happy as an altar server, but would be too shy to stand before the congregation as a lector. God plants within us the idea of serving a particular way, and we feel peace in that ministry.

Peace does require a collected way of life. The modern hyperactive, bustling life works against inner peace. St. Benedict recommended a rule of life that included time each day for work and sleep, time for leisure and prayer, for eating and reading. Times for prayer and work and service to others. Peace comes from a settled rhythm of life.

When we are peaceful, God's peace radiates from us. Jeff sat on the tarmac for an hour and a half one hot afternoon as the airplane captain explained delay after delay in take-off. At one point the lady sitting next to him said, "You're so calm, are you a minister?" When we rest in God, people sense within us a deep tranquillity.

As his second bequest, Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you." To be at peace is to allow God to flow into all that we are and all that we do. When we rest in God, we do have peace.

Conclusion

In John's gospel we hear Jesus say, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him." Then, Christ bequeaths to us the Holy Spirit and peace.

Let us always serve God with love. God sends the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, both in our prayer and in our ministry. Christ gives us peace, that deep knowing that God walks with us; peace, our everlasting gift from God.