The Call of Nurture - 4th Sunday of Easter Year B

Psychologists will forever be debating whether nature or nurture has a greater effect on the psychological development of the human person.  Some argue that we are born with a certain genetic constitution and that there is little to change it, while others will argue that the human psyche is more elastic and can be affected greatly by how much - or how little - that psyche is nurtured by others.  Our own Christian experience of conversion and change clearly demonstrates that the fundamental Christian attitude toward the human psyche is to nurture - that, despite our fallen human nature, we can achieve great virtue and accomplishments through God's nurturing grace.  The readings today confirm this nurturing position.

The Gospel text relates the famous passage of the Good Shepherd.  The shepherd image is rich in the tradition of Israel:  Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David were all shepherds before being called by God to lead his people.  Of course, God himself is the shepherd of our souls, as Psalm 23 so elegantly reminds us.  However, in the time of Jesus the image of a shepherd was different.  Shepherds were regarded as dirty, dishonest people and they were essentially outcasts in society.  In using the image of the shepherd to describe his care for us, Jesus challenges the negative stereotype of his day and returns to the rich shepherd tradition of Israel.  Jesus, like God, will never abandon his flock or take advantage of them.  Through his loving care, we sheep will come to safety in the midst of a threatening world.

Just as Jesus received the power and authority of the Father in performing the works he does, so Jesus passes that power and authority to his newfound church.  The first reading provides us with a vivid example of the nurturing care of the apostles in the days after Pentecost.  Peter heals a cripple in the name of Jesus, and he announces this saving deed to the Jewish authorities.  All of us are spiritual cripples in need of healing.  Through the ministry of the Church we receive this healing through sacramental actions and pastoral care.  Although it is hard for us to admit that we are cripples, only by doing so can we be healed by the Lord Jesus through the ministry of the Church, and it is only in embracing this ministry of nurturing care for the other that we become full disciples of Jesus the Lord.

In the letters of John we have the final written texts of the New Testament, the final revelation of God on earth.  We also have the most intimate image of nurturing in terms of God's dealings with humans.  John reminds us of how great a privilege it is for us that God lets us be children.  There is never a moment in our lives when we will outgrow childhood and be adult Christians.  We are always God's children, always in need of his nurturing care that will rescue us when we are in danger, heal us when we are wounded, protected when we are threatened, and fed when we are hungry.

Psychologists all agree that the human psyche is most elastic when we are children - that our ability to change and grow is most ripe during childhood.  It is also generally agreed that we are most vulnerable as children.  These two facts should lead us to two conclusions:  first, that in our spiritual life we must always see ourselves as children of God, ready to be changed and ready to grow under God's nurturing care; second, that as ministers of the Church we have a grave responsibility to treat everyone as children of God - to protect, nurture, heal, and feed the people of God in every place and age.  We fail in ministry most especially when we allow others to be harmed when we could have protected, when we allow others to go hungry when we could have fed them, when we fail to act when we could have rescued those in harm.

As we reflect on our own spiritual lives and our responsibilities as ministers in the Church, we pray together for the nurturing help of God to lead us to growth and to inspire us to be nurturing ministers of the Lord Jesus.  "Let us pray to God our helper in time of distress.  God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, though your people walk in the valley of darkness, no evil should they fear; for they follow in faith the call of the shepherd whom you have sent for their hope and strength.  Attune our minds to the sound of his voice, lead our steps in the path he has shown, that we may know the strength of his outstretched arm and enjoy the light of your presence forever.  We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.  Amen."

Knowing Is Not Enough - 3rd Sunday of Easter Year B

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates believed that if a person knows the good that he or she would necessarily do the good.  Unwittingly many parents and teachers fall into the same mistake in raising children and teaching students.  We teach our children what is good, true, and beautiful - and yet we all still commit sin and need God's forgiveness.  This common human experience is the empirical proof for original sin and our fallen human nature, but this experience also demonstrates the inadequacy of merely providing an intellectual formation for the human person.  The readings for today highlight a more holistic development of Christian discipleship.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we find Peter rebuking the Jewish authorities who put Jesus to death.  He makes the concession that they acted out of ignorance in putting the Messiah to death.  Peter believed that had they known who Jesus really was they would not have possibly executed the Lord Jesus.  In a certain sense, Peter is correct.  The false understandings of the Messiah led many to look for a political leader, not a spiritual teacher.  No pious Jew would have ever knowingly put the Messiah to death if they were truly seeking him with a sincere heart.  Nevertheless, there are those who act out of malice in spite of knowing the full truth, for knowledge, though necessary, of itself does not lead to virtue.  More is needed.

The second reading from the first letter of John highlights the fundamental issue of those who know the commandments, claim to keep them, and yet hate their neighbor.  The letter writer reminds his community of the commandments of God - commandments everyone knows full well - and yet he wants to make a point about the phrase "keeping the commandments."  Many will say they keep the commandments ini the sense of knowing them in their mind.  Others will say they have kept the commandments of Mt. Sinai, most of which are negative precepts in avoiding negative behaviors.  John's point is that the commandments are in reality a call to do and to be in a certain relationship to God.  By imitating the example of Jesus we come closer to developing authentic Christian discipleship, for Jesus taught the commands of God and lived them perfectly in the law of love.  By imitating the Lord Jesus in our living we take the next step from the initial stage of knowledge.

However, it is only in having a personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus ourselves that we can truly arrive at complete discipleship.  The Gospel text recounts Jesus' appearance to the twelve after they heard about the two disciples' encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus and after they heard Mary Magdalene tell her story of encountering Jesus.  The twelve persisted in doubt even after hearing these accounts.  These men had heard the teachings of Jesus, i.e. they knew what they must do.  They also saw the example of Jesus in living perfectly the law of love.  Yet, they were still locked in fear, unable to be full disciples of Jesus.  In this encounter they receive the peace of Jesus' presence and words.  Their knowledge and experience are now fully complete by knowing the risen Jesus in this encounter.

Each one of us must pass through these various stages of development in order to be a disciple of Jesus.  We cannot rely on intellectual formation alone.  Stale apologetic will not convince others to be followers of Jesus.  By imitating the example of Jesus we move more closely to the authentic witness of Christian living.  We have all had an experience of the risen Jesus in our lives or else we would not have persevered in our faith through the many trials of belonging to an imperfect community.  Like the two disciples we have encountered the risen Jesus along the way and in the breaking of bread.  We may have even had to have the risen Jesus break through our locked door in our upper room to bring us his peace.  It is our story of encountering Jesus that people want to hear - our unique, individual story of why it is we follow the Lord Jesus to Calvary and beyond - that will inspire others to do the same.

As we strive to become more authentic followers of Jesus, we encourage one another with our own experiences and seek nourishment at the table of the Lord.  We pray together:  "Let us pray in confident peace and Easter hope.  Father in heaven, author of all truth, a people once in darkness has listened to your Word and followed your Son as he rose from the dead.  Hear the prayer of this newborn people and strengthen your Church to answer your call.  May we rise and come forth into the light of day to stand in your presence until eternity dawns.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen."

The Gift of Peace - 2nd Sunday of Easter Year B

Christmas is ordinarily the time of year when gifts are exchanged and emphasized in the celebration of the season. The story of the Magi becomes the legend around which we support the giving of gifts during the Christmas holiday, even though the real gift is God sending his Son Jesus to live among us humans in order to bring us the gift of salvation. That salvation has been affected in the Sacred Triduum we celebrated last week, and yet the gifts of Jesus continue throughout the season of Easter. The readings today provide us with an abundance of Jesus' gifts offered to us.

The Gospel reading relates the gift of peace that Jesus offers to his closest followers. In the past days the followers of Jesus lacked peace in their lives. They witnessed the Master being arrested, tried, scourged, and put to death at the hands of the temple authorities and the Romans. Their Messianic expectations based upon false understandings all came crashing down upon them. What is more, the fact that they were close followers of Jesus made them suspects in the eyes of the authorities, and death could be their fate as well. So, the fact of their being together in the upper room with locked doors comes as no surprise on a human dimension. In this context Jesus appears to them and gives them his gift of peace. This gift is the tranquility of spirit needed to be a follower of Jesus, knowing full well that hatred and assault are your guaranteed lot in life. Jesus' peace enables us to carry out our mission to be his followers.

In the second reading we find John describing Jesus' gift of his love. We love God by keeping his commands, and in the Johannine text the commands of God are to love one another as Jesus loved us - unconditionally and to the point of death. In the former Torah code there were various laws governing every aspect of human life. No person ever kept the law completely. One of the gifts of Jesus' life was the fact that in giving the law of love and showing us how to live that law through his example we are now enabled to follow the law of Jesus in a complete way. Thus, the gift of Jesus' love brought us salvation through his sacrificial death on the cross, while at the same time providing us the example we needed to live the law of love in our lives.

The gifts of peace and love find concrete expression in the manner in which the first disciples lived their lives after receiving the ultimate gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They held all things in common, sharing abundantly the possessions they had. War and hatreds exist because we form excessive attachments to our self-interest and our possessions. The first disciples lived in peace and love because they were detached from their possessions and put the interests of others before their own. They provide for us the gift of their example as we seek to model our lives in using Jesus' gifts of peace and love bestowed upon us.

Authentic Christian living does not consist in acquiring large houses in gated suburban communities, nor does it consist in spending large amounts of money solely for ourselves when the needs of others are so acute in our world. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that all are called to live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience; it is not merely for the cleric and religious. Each is called to live these counsels according to their specific state in life. In living these counsels we give concrete, incarnational expression to Jesus' gifts of peace and love. War and hatreds will cease from the earth when we put aside our self-interest and the attachments we have to our possessions so that we live in peace and love through the evangelical counsels.

As we strive to be people of peace and bearers of love in the world as followers of the Lord Jesus, we pray for the insight we need to give concrete expression to the gifts of peace and love. "Let us pray as Christians thirsting for the risen life. Heavenly Father and God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life. From the waters of death you raise us with him and renew your gift of life within us. Increase our minds and hearts the risen life we share with Christ and help us to grow as your people toward the fullness of eternal life with you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Eat, Drink, and Be Mary - Easter Sunday

The Lord Jesus is risen! Lent is over. What, then, should our response be to this shift from one liturgical season to another? We have fasted, increased our prayer, and performed works of charity and justice throughout Lent as a preparation for the celebration of Easter. Now that Easter is upon us, does this mean we cease these good practices of fasting, increased prayer, and acts of charity and justice? How should Christians celebrate and feast? The readings for today provide us with some food for thought in discerning how we shold proceed in our lives.

In the second reading Paul describes the manner of celebrating the Paschal feast of Christ. In doing so, Paul refers back to the Jewish celebration of Passover and how the preparation for that feast involved removing all yeast and leaven from the household. In preparing for Easter we have removed the old yeast of our sinful ways. The practices of fasting, increased prayer, and works of charity and justice during Lent were designed to remove the old sinful ways in our lives so that we can be raised and renewed by entering into the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Now that the preparation is over and the feast is upon us, our celebrating is not hedonistic, i.e. the feast is not one of malice and wickedness in our former way of living. Instead, our celebrating is in a renewed Christian life marked by sincerity and truth.

This new way of living is still difficult for us to navigate, and the Gospel text today reflects that difficulty. The disciples are told by Mary Magdalene that the Lord's tomb is empty. Not content with her word, Peter and John rush to the tomb in order to inspect it. Finding the tomb just as Mary described it, the two leaders of the apostles were dumbfounded. How could this be? If Jesus' promise of resurrection has taken place, how are we to respond to this event? The first followers of Jesus struggled in their response. The Gospel text says they believed, but failed to understand. They needed Jesus to appear to them multiple times - and they needed the gift of the Holy Spirit - in order to fully appreciate what has taken place in the resurrection of Jesus.

The first reading finds the disciples completely transformed now that they have had the experiences of the risen Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. The celebration of the feast of Jesus' rising from the dead finds expression in the lives they now live. Peter sets about preaching this good news of the words and deeds of Jesus, culminating in the great work of overcoming death through resurrection - the event that brings forgiveness of sins to those who believe in Jesus. We come to celebrate a feast of faith in the words we proclaim and the deeds we perform. In Lent we undertake fasting, prayer, and works of charity and justice through obligation of precept. Now in Easter we undertake the same disciplines through love alone.

Followers of Jesus in every age must discern their own response to the empty tomb. A famous hymn from the Renaissance captures well the various thoughts that run through our minds as we contemplate how to remember the resurrection of Jesus in our lives:

Lord Jesus, once you spoke to men

Upon the mountain, in the plain;

O help us listen now, as then,

And wonder at your word again.

We all have secret fears to face,

Our minds and motives to amend;

We seek your truth, we need your grace,

Our living Lord and present Friend.

The Gospel speaks and we receive

Your light, your love, your own command.

O help us live what we believe

In daily work of heart and hand.

As we approach the empty tomb this Easter day, we reflect on what our response will be to the scene before us. Mary Magdalene sought the Lord and found him. She became the first evangelist to proclaim the risen Lord to the world. We pray to be more like Mary in our lives: "Let us pray on this Easter morning for the life that never again shall see darkness. God our Father, creator of all, today is the day of Easter joy. This is the morning on which the Lord appeared to men who had begun to lose hope and openedd their eyes to what the scriptures foretold: that first he must die, and then he would rise and ascend into his Father's glorious presence. May the risen Lord breathe on our minds and open our eyes that we may know him in the breaking of the bread, and follow him in his risen life. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen."