The Peace of Christ - Pentecost Sunday Year B

Revenge is the most common human emotion that arises when we experience injustice.  The ancient world is filled with stories of vengeance, and no doubt the lands where these stories originate continue to struggle with the emotions surrounding revenge, making peace an ever elusive goal.  The Oresteia trilogy of Aeschylus recounts the constant cycle of vengeance between two families that spans generations.  The only remedy for such vengeance in this Greek tale is the goddess Athena imposing her rule upon the people.  Today’s feast of Pentecost, however, provides a very different and more lasting model to remedy the plague of revenge.

In the Gospel text from John we find the risen Jesus appearing to the disciples and giving them the gift of his peace.  This gift of peace could not be given to them until Jesus died and rose again, for the Lord Jesus had to set an example for us to follow.  Jesus was put to death out of vengeance, and instead of resorting to violence or imposing God’s will upon us, Jesus chose to suffer the injustice of the cross.  In giving us his peace, Jesus then commands us to fulfill the ministry of reconciliation, the only remedy in seeking peace and overcoming vengeance.  By breathing upon us Jesus recalls for us the breath of God given to Adam at creation, and the breath of God through the prophet Ezekiel that restored the dry bones to living beings.  In the sacrament of reconciliation we find peace for ourselves in seeking the pardon of God and restoring our friendship with the community of the Church.  In turn we must go out from the sacrament to be ministers of reconciliation as well, a ministry of new creation and prophetic utterance to a world marred by discord.

In our ministry to others we are all not called to the same role, and we are all given different gifts.  Paul uses the classic image of the members of a body to show the harmony that must exist in the body of Christ for us to demonstrate peace to the world in the way in which we conduct ourselves communally in the Church.  While our gifts, works, and forms of service are all different, we do them in service to the one Lord who forms us into one body.  The body of the Church cannot be a place of peace if we are continually arguing over our roles.  By recognizing our place and serving one another selflessly we form bonds of peace that provide the world a genuine example of Christian living.

The event of Pentecost itself in the first reading provides the ultimate example of peace as flowing from Christ through the Holy Spirit.  The divisions of nations that originated at Babel come to an end as each nation hears the apostles in their own tongue.  The language they spoke was the universal language of love that unites all.  We are able to hear that language when we put aside the self-interests that pit one nation against another, one person against another.  Only when we live as Christ lived and offer our lives in selfless service to others can we hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us and only then can all nations hear the message of Christ reflected in our lives.

We come to the peace of Christ through forgiveness and forgetfulness of self, not through war.  Jesus saved the world through the cross of forgiveness, not through the sword of warfare.  In our ministry we must reflect the attitude of Christ.  In defending human life we must reject images of boot camps and violence.  As the Catechism states, “Respect for and development of human life require peace…Earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic Prince of Peace.  By the blood of his cross in his own person he killed the hostility; he reconciled men with God and made his Church the sacrament of the unity of the human race and of its union with God.  Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make us of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity…they bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death.”  (#2304-2306)

As we discern how we will best imitate Christ in our lives and ministry, we ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide us to be ministers of peace and reconciliation to a world overflowing with violence and hate.  “Let us pray in the Spirit who dwells within us.  Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds.  Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit man could never raise his voice in the words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.”

Worthy of the Call - Ascension Year B

The vast majority of sports fans begin a season with great expectation and hope:  “this is the year our team wins it all.  Now is our time.”  Despite the fact that my sports teams from Buffalo have never given me a reason for such hope, I still fall into this mania each football and hockey season.  Sure, my teams have made it to the championships in their respective arenas of play, but each time brings a heartache more painful than the last one.  We expect our athletes to live up to our expectations and calling; they are professionals, after all.  Perhaps we expect too much, or we place too great an importance on that which is transitory.  The feast of the Ascension reminds us of where our true hopes and fulfillments lie. 

In the first reading we have the event of the Ascension itself, as told by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles.  This account has strong parallels to the resurrection scene in Luke’s Gospel text.  In the resurrection account the women meet two men dressed in dazzling white, who tell them that Jesus has been raised.  They order the women to report this to the disciples, and they do so with great joy (cf. Luke 24: 4-9).  However, they encounter disbelief and mocking from the men in the upper room, a scene that will play itself out in the remainder of Luke’s Gospel.  In the ascension scene in Acts, the disciples still do not understand the ministry of Jesus, as they ask him about the restoration of Israel.  They still think Jesus is a political Messiah.  Despite this fault, Jesus promises them the Holy Spirit, who will give them power and understanding.  The scene ends with the two men dressed in dazzling white telling the men of Galilee that Jesus will return as he left this earth.

Paul seeks to correct the continued misunderstanding of the early Christians in their understanding of Jesus.  The hope that is ours is not found in this world, either in political leaders or in the riches of this world.  Instead, our hope lies in the fact that Jesus died, was raised to life again by God, and now sits at God’s right hand.  Jesus is far above every political leader, empire, realm, or corporation.  The society to which the followers of Jesus belong is a separate one, in a sense, from those of the world.  The community of the Church exists to live faithfully the values of the kingdom of God.  God has given Jesus to the Church, not to these other entities, and it is our call to live as Christ lived.

The Gospel text from Mark has the final address of Jesus to his disciples before ascending into heaven in that account.  The powers Jesus confers to these men should be taken in the same sense as the powers given to Moses and Elijah.  Just as Joshua received a double portion of God’s spirit through Moses (cf. Deut. 34: 9) and Elisha receives a double portion of Elijah’s power (cf. 2 Kings 2: 9), so too do the followers of Jesus receive power in the Holy Spirit to carry on the work of Jesus in a world that will be hostile to the Gospel message.  Joshua led the Israelites into a hostile land; Elisha carried on the prophetic ministry in a time when Israel did not want to hear the message of God.  In the same way we Christians are called to carry the Gospel message to all the earth to an audience that will be hostile and unreceptive.

This year marks yet another presidential election year in which we will be told by various Christian groups for whom we should make our choice.  They have determined which candidate, in their categories, best exemplifies the values of Jesus, and thus we should vote for that candidate they have anointed.  For the Christian left, it will be the common good as the criteria for anointing their candidate as the authentic Christian candidate, while the Christian right will use the criteria of the Gospel of life to determine that their candidate is the only acceptable choice.  As the readings today suggest, Jesus the Lord is not to be hijacked by political categories.  The mission of the Church is greater than any political aim or platform, as it is the mission of Jesus.  Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we await our savior, Jesus the Lord.  Our time on earth is a pilgrimage to the heavenly Jerusalem, and so our hope is there, not in political leaders or self-appointed Christian political groups.

As we continue on our pilgrimage together, we pray for the wisdom to pass through this world with our wedding garment of baptism still white, as we seek to love all as Jesus loved us.  “Let us pray on this day of Ascension as we watch and wait for Jesus’ return.  Father in heaven, our minds were prepared for the coming of your kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight so that we might seek him in his glory.  May we follow where he has led and find our hope in his glory, for he is Lord forever and ever.  Amen.”

How Do I Know When It's Love - 6th Sunday of Easter Year B

A friend recently posted this item to Facebook:  "Romeo and Juliet is not a love story.  It's a three day relationship between a thirteen year old and a seventeen year old that caused six deaths.  Sincerely, everyone who actually read it."  The humor in the post reflects a deeper truth behind it:  instinctively we know that love is not a passing emotion.  Love is something of lasting and permanent value that withstands all obstacles and opposition.  While love often does lead the lover to give their life for the sake of the beloved, it does not provoke suicide and vengeance.  The readings for today provide us with the opportunity to reflect on the teaching of Jesus on love.

The basic commandment of the Old Law is the first teaching of Jesus on love:  love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.  Loving our neighbor is the fundamental challenge of our faith.  However, the first reading points out the added challenge of Jesus' teaching:  we must also love our enemies, or rather we should regard everyone as our neighbor, not just those of our fellow race or religion.  Peter challenges the early Church to accept the stranger into the communion of Jesus.  Gentiles too are called by God to have a relationship with him.  The reading points out that the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized.  Peter baptizes them as an external sign of the internal reality already present in the hearts of the believing Gentiles.

However, the teachinig of Jesus on love does not end there.  The second reading reminds us to remember that Jesus is present in the hearts of all people, and we must see Christ present in the other so that our love is even more committed to the care of others.  In the command of the Old Law, we were instructed to see ourselves in our neighbor and in this we would show love for them as we would not do anything harmful to ourselves.  The new command of Jesus reminds us that Christ himself is present in the other, and in seeing Christ in the other instead of ourselves we purify our love to a greater degree as we forget our own concerns.  In the teaching of the final judgment in Matthew 25 the sheep are praised for their love, and God says to them, "For as often as you did it to one of these least ones, you did it to me."  To see not ourselves but Christ in the other is to advance to a greater degree of love than found in the Old Law.

The final step in the perfection of love is found in the Gospel text for today:  love one another as I have loved you.  In this new command of Jesus we have two elements of fundamental importance.  First, we must imitate the love of Jesus in being completely willing to lay down our lives for others.  This command means that we should have a complete disregard for our own interests.  Even if we are falsely accused or face an injustice, we must embrace it for the love of others as Jesus the Lord had done.  The second element is that now we no longer see ourselves as ourselves in the act of loving our neighbor.  We are to put on the Lord Jesus - to see ourselves as another Christ - and to forget our own identity completely.  Hence, it is Jesus living in me and working through me that reaches out in love to Jesus present in the other person to love that person as another Christ.

The first followers of Jesus knew the command of the Old Law.  They also heard the challenge of Jesus to love our enemies and to see Christ in others, and they even heard the command of Jesus to love one another as he loved us.  Yet, they could not have this perfect love until they saw it lived out in the sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross.  This love of Jesus is rewarded in the resurrection, the promised inheritance for those who love as Jesus loved.  Our mission as disciples is to live in our own lives the ministry of Jesus:  to love others perfectly.  Just as the first disciples did not turn away those who were perceived as enemies or unclean, so we must embrace all in our ministry.  And just as Jesus forgot his own self, accepting the injustice of false accusation in order to save us, so we must forget ourselves and accept the injustices of the world as we serve others.

As we seek to love more perfectly in our work as disciples of the Lord, we pray together a famous prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who gave up a life of wealth and worldly fame to follow Jesus more perfectly:  "Lord, teach me to be generous.  Teach me to serve as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for reward; save that of knowing I am doing your will.  Amen."