The Trinity

Gospel: John 3: 16-18

The Trinity is ultimately a mystery we cannot hope to ever understand.  However, this doctrine gives us a number of important implications for us human beings.  The first is that God is a community of persons so united to one another in love that they form one single entity.  From this first truth comes the second - that God is inherently relational and communal to human beings and the cosmos at large which God created in a free act solely in love.  

Since the relations of the three persons in God are perfect, we seek to perfect our own relationships in the world.  The Spirit enables us to re-store that which was lost: the sin of Adam marred our relationship with God; the sin of Cain fractured our relationships with one another; the sins of Noah's time separated us from union with the cosmos; and the sin of Babel laid bare the structures of sin we create as humans.  All of these were restored at Pentecost; we are able to have more perfect relationships in each sphere.

We human beings are inherently relational and communal beings as well.  Though our relationships are imperfect, we have a God who inspires and urges us forward each day to renew and re-create our relationships - with God, with one another, with the whole created order, and with that which we ourselves create - so that they may be more just, more loving, and more like the relationships within the Triune God who has created us in this relational and communal image. 

Mocking the Good

Gospel: Mark 11: 27-33

Jesus went about healing people from all their infirmities.  He liberated people from the demons that oppress and hold them bound.  He nourished people at table.  In today's Gospel portion we find Jesus challenging the injustices of the Temple system that exploits the poor for profit.  He calls out the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and wealthy of his day who speak of law and order, but oppress the poor and marginalized.

Throughout the Gospels we find Jesus' opponents objecting to the good he does.  In today's portion we find them asking on what authority he does such things.  Neither Jesus nor anyone else needs permission to do good for other people. Permission is not needed to defend the weak and powerless against those who oppress them.  It is truth and goodness that provide all the warrant and authority one needs to heal, liberate, nourish, and challenge the systems of oppression in our world.

In our own times we find the oppressor and hypocrite seeking to appropriate Jesus for their own ends.  They claim his authority in their oppression of the poor, in creating more poor and marginalized people through war, in neglecting and exploiting the immigrant, migrant, and refugee.  Here again truth and goodness will be the light that shows us the way to follow the Lord Jesus in the Gospels, the light that will repel the darkness of evil in our world today and always. 

Fig Tree and Temple

Gospel: Mark 11: 11-26

The fig tree exists in order to produce figs so that other beings may be nourished by its fruit.  When a fruit tree no longer produces fruit, a farmer does not waste space in his orchard by keeping it.  The tree is cut down and its wood used for fuel to provide warmth or fire for cooking.  It is the life cycle of every tree that at some point it will cease to bear fruit and eventually be used for firewood, and its place in the orchard will be taken over by another new tree that will bear fruit.

The same pattern exists in organized religion, as today's Gospel portion alludes.  The temple was no longer nourishing people.  It became an end in itself to make money and look pretty, as many houses of worship in our time do.  Yet, they produce no nourishment for people's bodies or souls.  And so they close and their space is used for other purposes, and people will seek and find nourishment elsewhere for the life of the spirit.  

So, we need not be surprised at the decline of religion and the plethora of closed houses of worship.  When their only purpose is to raise money so that the clergy can live the lifestyle of comfort to which they have grown accustomed, when they no longer nourish and meet the spiritual needs of the people, then it is time for their removal from the orchard and their replacement by those who will provide that nourishment.  It is the way of all things.

I Want to See

Gospel: Mark 10: 46-52 

Jesus is making his way toward Jerusalem where he will face arrest, trial, torture, and execution.  His final stop along the way is the city of Jericho, where a blind man calls out to him for help.  People try to prevent the encounter, as in so many other instances, but Jesus insists on meeting him.  The blind man, named Bartimaeus comes forward, and Jesus asks him, What do you want me to do for you?  Though it seems obvious, Bartimaeus replies, I want to see.

The question may seem obvious, but Jesus is asking him - and us - Do you really want to see what is to come?  My own disciples do not want to see it.  I have been trying to tell them what is coming: my arrest, trial, torture, and execution.  They would rather argue about who is more important among them than this reality to come.  So, I ask you again: what do you want me to do for you?  Do you really want to see these events of the passion?

To his credit, Bartimaeus picks up his things and follows the Lord onward to Jerusalem.  In his first days of having eyesight he will see the drama of redemption.  When we have our spiritual blindness removed from us, this same fundamental kerygma of our faith should be the first thing we see:  the reality that I am a sinner, the reality that Jesus has provided a way for me out of that predicament, and that it is my role as a disciple, like Bartimaeus, to gather my things and follow the Lord on his way.  

Cognitive Dissonance

Gospel: Mark 10: 32-45

Jesus pulls aside the twelve and tells them all that is going to happen to him in a few short weeks:  arrest, betrayal, trial, torture, and execution - but he will rise from the dead.  One can imagine a variety of ways to respond to hearing this information.  Unlikely on that list is the way in which the twelve react to the announcement.  They proceed to argue among themselves who is the most important among Jesus' followers and who will have the seats of prominence in the kingdom.  

And yet this reaction of the disciples has become the dominant Christian activity ever since.  And ever since Jesus has continued to remind us that discipleship is about service to others, not being served and concerning oneself with power, influence, and wealth.  We can readily discern who authentic disciples of the Lord Jesus are and who are frauds based on the criteria of this passage.  Those serving others are following the Lord; those obsessed with power and influence are frauds.

Christian leaders are often busy on social media attempting to show us how they are about serving others by posting about themselves at some service project, as if this were their day to day activity when more likely it is a photo op designed to create a positive image of themselves in others so they may have more power and influence.  Let us be about the work of serving others without fanfare or self-promotion, rejecting the temptations to power, influence, and wealth.  

The Great Reward

Gospel: Mark 10: 28-31

The rich man has walked away sad.  Now Peter comes forward and says to Jesus: we've given everything up to follow you - what's the reward?  Peter has the same false expectation of Jesus as many others in his day.  He is thinking that Jesus is a political Messiah, so he figures that when Jesus restores the kingdom of Israel that he and the others will be rewarded with political power, riches, and influence.  For Peter and the others, that would make all this sacrifice worth it.

But Peter and many others are disappointed at Jesus' response.  The followers of Jesus will have many friends and families - and persecution.  It is the same outcome as Jesus had in this life, where he had no home of his own, but many welcomed him into their homes and tables, and of course the persecutions he received along the way, ultimately leading to his arrest, trial, and execution.  The servant cannot be greater than the master.  

Many have the same expectation as Peter, and many will not accept the answer of Jesus.  Instead, they will reinvent Jesus to be the political Messiah they so desire so that they may have the power, influence, and riches for which they pine.  They will have their reward.  Our task is to follow the Lord in every aspect of his life, accepting the same lot in life as he received.  The task of healing, liberating, and feeding others - the task of the towel and basin - is the mission of the disciple. 

Who Can Be Saved?

Gospel: Mark 10: 20-27

A wealthy young man asks Jesus: what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus quotes him the commandments, specifically those relating to our neighbor.  We are to avoid doing harm to others in all our actions, thoughts, and words.  The rich man states that he has kept all these - what more must I do?  Jesus gives him an answer he cannot accept: sell what you have, give to the poor, and follow Jesus along the way.  Several reasons exist for the young man's rejection of this invitation.

The young man was right in sensing that it is not enough to merely avoid harming others.  What he failed to realize was that in hoarding wealth he was in fact harming other people.  He was stealing from them and killing them.  When Jesus tells him to sell these riches and give to the poor, Jesus is merely having the man keep the commandments noted above.  The young man is asked to perform an act of simple justice, not extraordinary virtue.  

In every time and place the rich cannot accept this message.  So instead modern Christianity adapts itself to become a cult of the rich and powerful, a place where no burden or correction is placed upon the rich.  The commandments Jesus noted are thus riddled with loopholes like the tax code out of which the rich escape.  But some heroic souls will hear the call of Jesus - Francis of Assisi, Ignatius Loyola, Vincent de Paul - and give up their wealth to care for the poor, to fulfill justice, and be instruments of mercy and love as Jesus was.

A Full Restoration

Gospel: John 20: 19-23

Easter to Pentecost represents the entire renewal of the world and the undoing of the archetypal sins of Genesis.  The sin of Adam and Eve represent sin as an offense against God.  The sin of Cain reflects the fact that sin harms other people.  The sin of Babel represents structural sin, while the story of Noah notes the cosmic dimensions that harm all of creation.  In the death and resurrection of Jesus and in the coming of the Spirit all these aspects of sin are overcome.

We saw earlier Jesus' crucifixion and burial scene in John: a tree, two streams, a man, a woman, and a garden.  The original innocence of Eden has been restored and made possible to us.  The sin of Adam is overcome.  At Pentecost we are restored to one another, we can understand one another again, and all of creation is made new by the wind of the Spirit that came across the earth that day, just as it had after the flood, just as it had at creation itself.  

But all of this is not magic.  It represents the fact that in and through the person of Jesus it is possible for us to live in such a way that we overcome and avoid these four aspects of sin.  By imitating the way of Jesus, by being open to the Spirit in our lives we can be renewed, as can all of creation.  The risen Jesus and the Spirit overcome our fears, break through our locked doors, and inspire us to be the mercy and love of God on earth as the Lord Jesus had been, proclaiming peace as he did.

Minding One's Business

Gospel: John 21: 20-25

It is perhaps both fitting and ironic that the very last scene in the Gospels is Jesus rebuking Peter and instructing us all in minding our business.  Peter has just been told by the Lord to feed his sheep, to provide the same care and concern for others as Jesus did.  But Peter has to know about the business of this other disciple - what about him? Jesus tells Peter - and us - that our task is to follow him, not to be prying into what others are about.  

The irony of the rebuke is not lost on us.  How much of religion has been about prying into the business of others, and how little of it has been about following the Lord!  We are so often about the examination of other people's consciences and lives, and so little about examining our own! That scripture passage, that sermon is about that person over there, not about me.  The indictment and conviction of others are easy for us to achieve, as are our own dismissal and acquittal.  

Imagine if we were encouraged in church life to focus our attention on following the Lord - in healing, liberating, nourishing, and caring for others as Jesus did.  Imagine if we were discouraged from being in the business of others and judging them.  The life of religion would be much more healthy, and perhaps the life of religion would once again grow as it would be far more attractive than what is presently provided.   

Feed the Sheep

Gospel: John 21: 15-19

Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him.  Three times Peter replies in the affirmative, but each time he does so Jesus tells him to feed his sheep.  Loving Jesus is connected to feeding and nourishing other people.  Loving Jesus does not consist in building shrines or engaging in certain liturgical or devotional practices.  It consists solely in caring for other people, in feeding Jesus' lambs wherever we find them and whenever we encounter them.

Some may think that Jesus' lambs is solely those who are Christian, but this is false.  Jesus earlier noted that he had lambs not of this fold that needed feeding and care.  In the ministry of Jesus he went about healing, liberating, and feeding people of all backgrounds - men and women, Gentile and Jew, rich and poor, enemy and friend.  No one was excluded from the care of Jesus; no one was turned away from his table and circle of concern.  

Others see this passage as applying only to Peter and shepherds of the Church.  They often lament when in their narrow view that their shepherds do not feed them.  This too is false.  We are all called to feed and nourish others.  We can find the nourishment we need from all sorts of people.  The ministry of care for others is not hierarchic; it is symbiotic.  Let us take up the task of feeding others, and accept with humility the care we need from others as well. 

An Unanswered Prayer

Gospel: John 17: 20-26

Jesus prayed that his followers all may be one.  How has that worked out? We all claim to want unity, but always on our own terms.  If everyone just thought and acted like I do, everything would be fine.  If these people just belong to our club, accept this credal formula, adopt this particular form of worship, then there will be unity.  That is our idea of unity, framed by issues and criteria remarkably absent from the concerns of Jesus in his words and deeds.  

What if, instead of our perseveration on things Jesus did not care about, Christians actually focused on things he did care about?  What if we were about caring for the sick and addicted, helping the hungry, poor, marginalized, immigrant, refugee, and migrant? What if we were about clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, giving food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, caring for the imprisoned and stranger? What if these things were the focus of unity?

We human beings love to complain to God about our unanswered prayers, and yet here we have the prayer of Jesus that has gone unanswered for two thousand years.  And it is not the fault of God.  It is our fault.  We human beings have failed to make this prayer a reality.  This is God's unanswered prayer that we have failed to answer and fulfill.  Today's Gospel portion gives us much to ponder, much to discern, and much to repent of.  

Of the World

Gospel: John 17: 11-19

Jesus prays that his followers remain in the world but not be of the world.  What does this mean?  To be of the world is to be in the realm of self-interest which leads to the destruction and exploitation of others.  It is about the striving for material gain which is always at the expense of others, as other people are seen as rivals, competition, or at best as transactional agents for our advantage.  It is the brutish world of Hobbesian state of nature, or what Augustine called the city of man  

By contrast the kingdom of God is about the common good and the welfare of all people.  It is about following Jesus in his work of being the mercy and love of God on earth through healing, liberating, and nourishing others wherever we go.  Other people are seen as image and likeness of God, other Christs, temples of the Holy Spirit.  This way of life is what John Paul II called the civilization of love, or what Augustine called the city of God.

Many claim to come in the name of Jesus, but they preach not the city of God but that of the world.  When self-interest, power, and influence over others are the messages of the sermon, that pulpit is that of the world and the evil one.  But where the towel and basin and the fish and loaves are the images of import, here we find the true Gospel, here we find the way to the kingdom of God, here we find the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer for his followers.

To Know God

Gospel: John 17: 1-11

To know God.  This is eternal life.  But what does this mean? Is it merely an intellectual proposition like many others to which we assent?  In the case of God this is not possible, for a finite being cannot possibly know an infinite being in that way.  Besides, intellectual knowledge does not conform to our experience in the spiritual life where every aspect of our being is engaged and the emotions are an important component of religion that is not present in mere intellectual knowledge.

The fundamental purpose of religion is the constant effort to be conscious of God's presence in our lives at all times, all places, and all circumstances of life.  To know this presence in one's life is not to define it or to understand it in intellectual terms.  It is merely to be aware of it and to experience it in one's life.  We come to realize that this presence of God encompasses every aspect of our being, and we see that this presence is enough.  We do not need  God to do anything.  We just have to be aware that God is present.

In the Christian tradition we come to this awareness through the person of Jesus, the presence of God on earth, the one who came among us in the flesh to make us aware of this presence of God.  Jesus manifested the love and mercy of God in his presence on earth, and he invited us to be that presence of love and mercy in the world as well.  He invites us to demonstrate to the world the presence of God so that others may experience its peace, healing, and liberation. 

Do You Believe?

Gospel: John 16: 29-33

Jesus asks his disciples a blunt question: do you really believe? They all claim to believe, but in a few short hours they will scatter to the four winds and abandon Jesus to die alone.  They make the claim of the belief in the glow and aura of good feelings and comfortable times.  But when the difficulties arise and when faced with the powers of the world threatening, the belief they claim to have disappears as quickly as they do from the scene.  

This question is asked of us as well.  Do we really believe? Many claim to believe, but most really do not.  We have all sorts of prerequisites set upon God before we believe.  We need the right liturgy, the right community, a comfortable lifestyle, and certain political and legal frameworks.  We place all sorts of conditions upon our faith life that have nothing to do with God at all.  They are all mere projection upon God of our egos and biases.  This we claim to be faith.

But Jesus shows us what authentic belief is.  He tells the disciples they will leave him alone, but he reminds them that he is not really alone - that God is present to him always.  Even in the midst of his arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution, Jesus has the calm assurance of God being present to him at all times.  This is authentic faith, a faith that needs nothing but God alone.  When we can be content with God alone, then we can say that we truly believe.   

Worship and Doubt

Gospel: Matthew 28: 16-20

Come we now to the very end of the Gospel.  We have followed the Lord from the desert of temptations to this mountaintop.  We have seen remarkable things: Jesus healing people of all sorts of ailments; delivering people from the demons that oppress them; feeding countless hungry people.  We even had the opportunity to do these very things ourselves! Now we are at this mountaintop with the risen Lord, yet another wonder we have beheld.

At the same time we have experienced hardships in this journey.  We have seen Jesus opposed in many places, chased off by those who would reject him.  We were there when Jesus was arrested, put on trial, and executed in the most horrible fashion.  We found ourselves betraying the Lord, denying that we knew him, and abandoning him to suffer his death alone.  Our own behaviors and responses to the Lord throughout this journey have not always been accepting.

So here we are at the mountaintop, and Jesus about to ascend to heaven.  We worship, and we doubt.  This is what we have been doing throughout the Gospel journey.  This is the arc of every spiritual life undertaken with authenticity.  We are honest about our doubts, and we are honest about our worship.  We look to the heavens to be with the Lord.  We can only do so by taking up his work on earth, the work of mercy and love, in the midst of our doubts and weaknesses. 

Asking for Presence

Gospel: John 16: 23-28

Today's Gospel portion is perplexing to us.  It is frequently offered to us as some sort of consolation that God will grant to us whatever we ask. Yet, we know that this is not true.  Even when we ask for objectively good things - healing, liberation from addictions, change in our moral and spiritual life - we often do not receive that for which we ask.  This leads to frustration and very often to spiritual crises and loss of faith entirely.  

We might well avoid such crises in our life if we come to realize the purpose of prayer.  Prayer is simply the request for God's presence.  It is not unlike our human relationships.  If we call a friend only to constantly ask them for things, then that's not much of a relationship.  It is merely transactional on our part.  But very often we just want company and companionship.  We just need the presence of another person for reassurance and calm.

So it is with God.  Our prayer ultimately is for God to be present with us no matter what we are facing.  God is always present to us; prayer is just our reminder of God's presence among us.  And that presence is enough.  We may not receive healing or deliverance or anything else, but if we have God's presence then we have everything, no matter what happens.  That is the promise Jesus provides us - I am with you always. 

A Time to Mourn

Gospel: John 16: 20-23

We are told in today's Gospel portion that the world will rejoice while followers of Jesus mourn.  There are many instances in which this takes place.  The world rejoices over the wealth and excess that is had at the exploitation and degradation of so many people.  The world rejoices over the slaughter and carnage of war and execution that creates poverty, refugees, and orphans.  It is for these things that the followers of Jesus mourn and weep.  

The world seeks grand ballrooms and arches, stadiums and areas of entertainment extravaganza - all of which hold priority over things like health care, affordable housing, education, and transportation needs for average people.  The world will get its trinkets of ostentation while neglecting the needs of the poor and marginalized.  It will rejoice over such things.  And the follower of Jesus will - should - mourn and weep over these injustices.  

We look to the heavens for help, just as the first followers of Jesus did in seeing him ascend to the heavens.  But they came to realize through the inspiration of the Spirit that now it is for us to go about and do the works of healing in the world as Jesus did: to heal those who are sick, to liberate those oppressed by the demons of the world, and to feed the starving masses.  Yes, we mourn for the injustices of the world, but we take up the towel and basin as well to be a light in the darkness. 

The Arc of Love

Gospel: John 15: 9-17

Throughout the Gospels there is an ever increasing invitation to love.  We are first invited to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, placing our neighbor's needs equal to our own.  Next, we are then urged to add the love of enemies, adding them to the category of neighbor that was unheard of in those times.  But then, Jesus identifies himself with our neighbor, telling us that whatever we do to another we do to him.  Finally in today's reading we are invited to be Christ himself, loving others as he loved us.  

This entire moral arc of love is fully expressed in the parable of the Good Samaritan which begins as an answer to the question who is my neighbor.  The first two movements of love are immediately addressed - loving neighbor and enemy.  But then if we look at the story anagogically and see Christ as the Good Samaritan we then see how Jesus has loved us.  We now have concrete example on how to do so in our lives.  In many ways this parable is the entire Gospel itself in one simple story.

If we are looking for a way to ascend with the Lord to the heavens, we have the entire program of love to which he calls and invites us to participate in ever deeper ways throughout our lives.  Each step of love is ever more challenging on the level of human nature, but each is designed to elevate us beyond our nature to be more divine.  The path of love is the path of divinization and illumination within us.  It is the way in which we ascend to heaven ourselves.

Access for All

Gospel: John 16: 12-15

When it comes to this mysterious figure of the Holy Spirit, we have acquired some unhealthy ideas over the years.  We have come to believe that only a small select group of men have access to the Spirit at all time and that every decision they make is guided by the Spirit.  In our own life our access to the Spirit is limited to sacramental moments at baptism and confirmation.  At all other times the Holy Spirit is a nice conversation piece in our theological attic.

But Jesus tells us that we have access to the Spirit at all times, and that the Spirit will guide each one of us in the way of all truth, not merely in some institutional sense but in our individual, personal lives.  The Spirit dwells within each person as we are told that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit, then, cannot be contained by institutional machinations.  The Spirit is present to each of our lives, there to guide us in all truth as well.

Each day we look to the Spirit for guidance in the truth, in making judgments we need to make in our lives.  We look to the Spirit to inspire us to do the works of mercy and loving kindness as Jesus did while on earth.  And we look to the Spirit for consolation when the struggles and difficulties of life become overwhelming at times.  We have received a great gift.  Let us not consign her to our attic of oddities, but instead cultivate a mind that listens to her wisdom each and everyday.  

The Consolation

Gospel: John 16: 5-11

The disciples are overcome with grief.  Jesus has been unjustly executed, and they have some guilt regarding this death.  One of their band betrayed him, another denied him three times, and the rest abandoned him to this cruel fate.  The trauma of all these events magnifies the grief they feel, all of which are perfectly natural and understandable responses to trauma and death that human beings experience each and every day.  

However, Jesus promises to send them the Consoler, the Holy Spirit who will help them overcome this grief.  Over time they will come to see and realize many things.  Jesus is physically absent from them, but his Spirit moves among them, enabling them to carry out the works of mercy and loving kindness he performed while on earth.  Eventually, their sorrow will turn into joy, knowing that Jesus lives among us in word, sacrament, and the presence of others.  

In our own grief we experience with the loss of loved ones we too can find consolation in the Spirit and in the ongoing presence of Jesus in the world.  Grief can seem like a slab of concrete that crushes us.  But like a little tiny tree shoot in the crack of the concrete, over time it grows above the concrete and breaks that concrete to be a strong tree.  The concrete, the grief, will always be there, but it no longer dominates our life.  This is what the Spirit enables us to do with the consolation she brings to our lives.

The Danger is Real

Gospel: John 15: 26-16: 4

Today's Gospel portion describes the very real life setting of the original audience.  Christians were being expelled from the synagogue rolls throughout the region.  This took place after the failed revolt against the Roman Empire in which Christians did not participate.  Once removed from synagogue rosters, they lacked the legal protection afforded to the Jewish community exempting them from required cult of the Roman Emperor.  Christians now were required to offer worship and tribute to Caesar as a god.

Christians refused to do so and consequently faced a number of punishments for this crime, including execution.  Such punishments began right around the time the Gospel of John was composed.  What is described here is historical and real.  So, too is the consolation the Gospel writer offers.  The presence of the Holy Spirit confirms us in truth and provides us with peace and consolation to face such punishments with the same serenity and acceptance as Jesus did in his arrest, trial, and execution.

Christians of today are out of practice in refusing to give honors to emperors.  Since the time of official recognition as the state religion of empire, the currying of favor with empires has been all too popular with Christians, even to the point of mocking other Christians like Oscar Romero who would stand opposed to the earthly powers.  They are content with golden statuary and feigned piety of the showman.  The authentic Christian follows the way of the Lord Jesus, led by the Holy Spirit of truth and consolation. 

How to Love

Gospel: John 14: 15-21

Throughout the Gospels, and particularly in today's portion, Jesus says again and again that the way to eternal life is through obeying his commandments.  His commandments are the commandments of love: love God, love neighbor, love one another as I have loved you.  On the one hand, this list of commandments is much simpler than the 612 commandments in the Law.  On the other hand, we might well wonder what love looks like.  How are we to carry it out in our lives?

We get an answer today from the first reading.  Philip, one of the first followers of Jesus, is going about from town to town healing paralytics and cripples, while also freeing those gripped by their demons.  Philip is going about doing the very things Jesus did in his life while on earth: healing people, liberating them from their demons, and feeding them at table.  The entire Acts of the Apostles is an attempt to show how the first Christians attempted to live as Jesus did, following the Way of Love.

In our own life we must be about these same things in order to follow the commandments of love and the example Jesus gave us.  We must be about healing people, liberating them from their demons, and feeding people at table.  Church life is not about liturgy committee meetings or athletic leagues or even maintaining buildings.  It is about this work of Jesus and his first followers: the works of mercy, the works of healing, liberating, and feeding, the way of Love.

 

Love Hate Relationship

Gospel: John 15: 18-21

Jesus went about from town to town healing people of their illnesses, freeing them from the demons that oppress them, and feeding them at table.  He invited people to repentance and to a new way of life that involves mercy and loving kindness toward others.  All of these are objectively good actions with objectively good outcomes for everyone involved.  Yet, the world hated Jesus and put him to death for these actions, and we are left to wonder why.

The answer is simple.  The world of the wealthy need people to remain in bondage to their illnesses, poverty, and their demons.  They need the poor to feel dependent on them and in a place where they are unable to rise up against the wealthy.  It would require the rich to share their resources with others in a way that makes others independent and flourishing.  They are more than willing to help in a way that keeps people dependent on them.

So the world hated Jesus.  Jesus invited us to follow him in his ministry of healing, liberation, and feeding. If we are faithful to that invitation the world will hate us as well.  Perhaps this is why we create Christian theologies and institutions that prefer war to peace, institutions that are merely tools of the world. The authentic way of the Gospel is one where we love others without qualification, and where we receive the hate of the world for this love.

 

Friends of God

Gospel: John 15: 12-17

Today's Gospel portion provides a shocking statement from Jesus to his disciples: I call you friends.  Such a declaration would be unheard of from a master to his disciples.  The master teacher was always regarded as greater than his students.  No one would use a relationship of equality between the teacher and disciple.  Yet, Jesus invites us to this relationship of equality with him.  Friendship with our teacher and Lord is an utterly unique one for ancient times as well as our own.  

From another perspective, this statement of friendship is even more shocking.  In both ancient and modern understandings, the divinity is never on a friend relationship with human beings.  The deity is in every respect greater than a mere mortal.  At best, the relationship is a patron-client one, but not a relationship of closeness and intimacy.  Yet, Jesus places us in this very place of intimacy and closeness with him and with God.

If Jesus has created this groundbreaking relationship between him and us, this means our relationship with one another must also take on this intimacy and equality.  So often we create hierarchies of status and imaginary ontologies to place distance and inequality between people that have no place in this community of beloved disciples and friends that Jesus has created.  Today is a day for us to reflect on our relationship with God and with one another in new ways of intimacy and friendship. 

Commandments Displays

Gospel: John 15: 9-11

Those who want to display commandments in schools and other public places for some reason do not include the commandment of Jesus to love one another.  Instead, the negative commandments of the decalogue are displayed and not the positive one to love.  No matter.  We have created so many exceptions to both the ten commandments and the law of love that they have no real meaning or significance anyway.  

But if we truly wish to live the commandment of love then our model to follow is the example of Jesus.  If we spend our days continually meditating on the way of Jesus, then we do not look for exceptions or ways out of loving others.  Instead, we continually find ways to expand our love to others.  Jesus never said no to healing, liberating, or feeding others.  He never excluded anyone for any reason at all.  That is the model of love Jesus set for us.

If we want to have displays of the commandments in our world, then let it be in the way in which we live our lives.  Let it be in the love we demonstrate to other people in the way that Jesus loved others in the world.  Let it be not in our constant attempt to find exceptions but in our desire to be ever more expansive in our love of others.  Let our displays of the commandments not be on signs or monuments but in our deeds of mercy and loving kindness.

Staying Connected

Gospel: John 15: 1-8

A vine will grow in all directions if left to itself.  As long as the main stem remains intact and the branches remain rooted to the stem, the vine will grow every which way.  Very often a vineyard owner will prune vines in order to keep them manageable in the farm, but a vine out in the wild has no such limitations.  It will grow endlessly in every direction as long as the main stalk remains unharmed, and as long as the branches remain rooted to the main stem.  

This image Jesus provides to us reminds us that he is that main stalk, and as long as we remain attached to him we will grow in all sorts of directions.  If we become separated from him we lose that life and vitality.  Jesus reminds us that his teaching and example are our main focus in the Christian life.  The daily meditation on the Gospel is the central text of Christian reflection, for we are disciples of the Lord Jesus and no one else.  

We have the constant temptation to follow other voices.  Ideologues and cults of personality are ever present in the modern age with the vast media empires of various Christian groups.  They are but branches, not the main stem of the vine.  The focus of the Christian is to remain rooted to the Lord Jesus, to his lessons and example of life in the Gospels.  That is our only source of life and growth as individuals and communities of Christians. 

The Gift of Peace

Gospel: John 14: 27-31

In today's Gospel portion Jesus promises the gift of peace to us, and we look around in search for it.  The world is continually at war as it has been since that time.  Christians are ever at odds with each other as they have since these words were uttered.  Where is this promised peace?  We might well understand why the world lacks peace and is ever at war, but certainly the Christian community of Jesus would be a place of peace, and yet it is not.

Jesus utters these words on the night he was to be arrested, sent to prison, tortured, put on trial, and eventually executed the next day.  In the midst of all those events Jesus demonstrates remarkable peace and calm.  There is utter trust in God, and there is complete serenity of resting in the truth.  Jesus had fulfilled his mission of being the love and mercy of God in the world, and that mission would carry on in this last day to his very last second on earth.

This is the peace Jesus promises to us.  It is the peace he has - union with God, being God's mercy and love in the world, resting in the truth of a clear conscience that one has lived for the care and loving kindness of others.  The peace we seek and which was promised to us is an interior one.  It is a peace which can animate a fractured world and an acrimonious Christian community if we allow it, for it is the peace simply of knowing God's presence, and knowing that is enough. 

Living the Commandment

Gospel: John 14: 21-26

Jesus bids us to obey his commandment, and his commandment is to love one another as he loved us.  That is the entirety of the Christian life.  In wondering how to do this, Jesus had invited us to follow him.  In doing so, we observe him healing people of what ails them, liberating people from what holds them bound, and nourishing people at table with food and companionship.  These are the things we are to do in the particular lives in which we live.  

A person comes to a church wanting to become a Christian.  What process is followed at that point? Very often it is a lot of classes on doctrine and beliefs, along with practices on sacraments and prayer.  But almost none of it is about the fundamental things Jesus actually did.  So little of it has to do with the commandment of love.  Imagine if our catechumens and candidates spent their time following Jesus through the Gospels and carrying out these deeds of mercy and compassion as their catechesis!  

For so long formation in Christianity has been entirely intellectual, not that the intellect is unimportant.  However, the approach of Jesus throughout the Gospels is entirely affective, directed to the heart of the person.  It is a school of love and deeds that reflect that love.  If Christian formation is not about these things then it will continue to fail, for discipleship is not measured by a written exam, but rather by how one lives mercy and love in the world. 

The Communal and Individual

Gospel: John 14: 1-12

The spiritual life is a journey undertaken with others, and at the same time it is one we traverse alone, as today's Gospel portion denotes.  We have a common path, the Way of Jesus, and we follow that path together, seeking to imitate the Lord in the way of compassion, love, and mercy in our lives.  We seek the support of others in this journey, and we provide help to others as well.  This constitutes the communal aspect of the spiritual life.  

At the same time, Jesus notes that the mansion of God has many dwelling places, representing the individual aspect of the spiritual journey.  Each one of us has our own unique relationship to God that may be similar to others, but never identical.  We all seek to follow the Way of compassion, love, and mercy, but we will carry out those deeds in our own way and in the particular circumstances of life in which we find ourselves.  

In the Christian tradition the monastery serves as a perfect representation of these two complementary elements of the spiritual life.  There are the common spaces of the chapel and dining hall and the work room.  But there is the cell of the monk that is all their own, a place to be alone with God in silence.  In our own lives we can create such spaces, places to gather with others for the common journey, and places for us to be alone with God in our cell. 

The Master's House

Gospel: John 14: 7-14

Usually in his teaching Jesus uses images and metaphors that are familiar to his audience.  When he refers to fig trees, mustard seeds, grains of wheat, sheep and goats, coins, and pearls Jesus employs everyday items with which people can identify and relate.  This is a very important and effective teaching strategy.  If Jesus is able to relate to his audience, they can more readily understand his ideas about God and the kingdom and hopefully strive to live in a way that aims to arriving at that kingdom.

Today, however, Jesus uses an image almost no one in his day could relate.  He states that in his Father's house there are many dwelling places.  He says this to people who live in houses with just a few rooms where many people live.  In these small houses there was little room and no privacy.  They may have seen from afar the grand palaces of Herod or some wealthy landowners, but they would never have been inside such places.  These palatial homes were grand imaginings for must people.

God's house has many dwelling places, one for each of us.  What does this mean? Each person's relationship with God is unique and personal.  No two people will have the same identical relationship with God.  There may be similarities, but there will never be identical ones.  The kingdom of God is bigger than we can ever imagine, and that is the point.  We come together to share each one's experience of God, the similarities, the unique points, knowing God is present to each person in their own dwelling. 

Wisdom at Work

Gospel: Matthew 13: 54-58

People are searching high and low for the source of Jesus' power and wisdom.  Various theories are put forth, but Jesus responds to none of it.  Today's Gospel portion has him at Nazareth with his family, and the wondering starts anew.  Isn't this the carpenter's son?  There is Mary and his siblings.  We know them all.  Where could he have possibly acquired this wisdom and power?  Again, Jesus responds to none of these comments.  He simply goes about his work.

Perhaps it was in the ordinary work he learned at home from Joseph and Mary where Jesus gained his wisdom.  His parables and teachings use ordinary situations of daily life to teach deep spiritual lessons.  There is no esoteric learning here, nor abstract Hellenic philosophy.  Jesus paid attention to the ordinary things of daily life and found great wisdom in them.  He learned to cultivate a healing presence of being that brought comfort to other people.  

We go about in search of wisdom and miracles to far and exotic places.  We pour through vast arcana of spiritual writers and philosophers.  But the wisdom is right here in our daily life and work.  That is the message of today's feast.  Our ordinary work and life experiences provide all we need to acquire wisdom and a healing presence if we but reflect upon these as Jesus did and cultivate them through discipline and meditation.