April 28, 2015
The Love Challenge
Scripture Readings for Sunday, May 3, 2015: Acts 9:26-31; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8
To all,
Our second reading for Sunday from 1 John begins with a daunting challenge: “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” That is the challenge of life. And it is the challenge we Christians are called to take up. But as I said before, it is a daunting one. In some ways, it seems insurmountable.
As insurmountable as it may seem sometimes, it is not. It is true that we cannot take up the challenge on our own. In our Gospel reading from John, Jesus makes this clear: “without me you can do nothing.” But we are not called to do it by ourselves. Instead, as it says in our Gospel reading, we are to “remain” in Jesus. Personally, I prefer the translations that use the word “abide.” We are to “abide,” to live secure in the love that Jesus has for us. Last week, we heard Jesus use the image of the Good Shepherd. This week, we hear Him use the image of the vine. He is the vine and we are the branches. Abiding in Him, we can bear great fruit. We can take up the challenge because He has loved us “in deed and truth!” He has poured out His life for us and risen from the dead for our salvation!
We have an example of someone taking up the challenge in our first reading from Acts. After Saul has undergone his conversion experience, he tries to join the disciples in Jerusalem, but they are afraid of him, “not believing that he was a disciple.” But Barnabas is able to see beyond their fear and Saul’s past, and recognizes the truth of Saul’s conversion. He takes Saul under his wing and brings him to the apostles and tells them Saul’s story. And then we see Saul speaking “out boldly in the name of the Lord.” Barnabas is able to love as Christ commands.
That’s all well and good, but why should we take up the challenge? Is it to prove we’re better than others (a la The Pepsi Challenge)? Is it to raise money for a worthy cause (Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge?)? No, we take up the challenge in response to the Son of God who took up the challenge to save us. We take up the challenge because there is an overwhelming need for love “in deed and truth.” In our reading from Acts, Luke tells us that Saul spoke and debated with the Hellenists (Jews who spoke only Greek), “but they tried to kill him.” Do we not see this today? People unwilling to come together; unwilling to negotiate; unwilling to make peace, and seemingly only willing to destroy each other. In our politics, what passes for real debate most of the time is actually just firing rhetorical broadsides at each other.
To be true to who we are and Whose we are; to serve the world in which we live, we need to take up the challenge to love as Jesus loves, not just in what we say, but in what we do and how we treat each other and the earth. May we abide in the One who loves us, and bear the fruit of real love.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
April 22, 2015
Finding Oneself
Scripture Readings for Sunday, April 26, 2015: Acts 4:8-12; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
To all,
Some time ago there was a popular song whose title I can’t quite remember. The title was something like “Journey to Me.” (Maybe there are people out there of my generation who have a better memory than I do). The song had something to do with finding oneself. Even today there are many movies and books that describe a person’s journey into an unknown area or situation and thereby discovers things about him/herself.
Our second reading for Sunday from 1 John has something to say about who we are: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yet so we are.” Then, later on, the author speaks about where we are now, and what awaits us in the future: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Obviously, the verse speaks to us about the destiny we hope for: to be with God forever; to see God as God is; to share somehow in God’s divinity. But I think the verse, along with our other readings, has something to say to us here and now. And so I would like to reflect on this verse beginning with the end.
“…for we shall see him as he is.” In our Gospel reading from John, Jesus tells His disciples and us that He is the “good shepherd.” And then He defines what that is: “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus has indeed laid down His life for us! He does know each of us intimately. Think about it. Someone who knows you even better than your best friend or the love of your life; someone who knows you, warts and all, sins and all, and loves you enough to lay down His life for you, and then rise from the dead to give you the promise of everlasting life! If we can see Jesus as the Good Shepherd who loves us; that has implications for our lives.
“… we shall be like him…” The more we see Jesus as the Son of God who loves us beyond understanding, the more we are willing to follow Him; the more we are willing to love like Him; the more we are willing to be like Him as much as is humanly possible. We will find ourselves striving to be like Peter and John, from whom we hear in our first reading from Acts. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they come across a beggar who is crippled and heal him. Our reading takes place after this has happened, and Peter explains to the people that the healing was done in the name of Jesus. Our call is to bring healing and hope we have in Jesus to a world so desperately in need of those things.
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” The more we strive to follow Jesus and be like Him, the more of our true selves will be revealed. I would dare say that if you talk to anyone who takes care of others in some way, either as a spouse or parent or caregiver or friend or volunteer, many of them would tell you that they found out they could do things they never thought they could. Such is God’s love and grace.
As we continue to follow Christ, we will also find that we are able to see Jesus in those with whom we live and those whom we serve. As much as possible, we will see Him as He is. And as disciples, we believe that we will find our true selves in Christ. Beloved, we are children of God.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
April 16, 2015
Leave the Tomb
Scripture Readings for Sunday, April 19, 2015: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2:1-5a; Luke 24:35-48
To all,
In our Gospel reading last week, we heard Jesus say to Thomas, “Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” As we continue this Easter season, our Scripture readings for Sunday speak to us about how we can live out our faith. As I list these elements of living out the faith I do not mean to say that they are markers on some linear progression. The spiritual life is seldom, if ever, a matter of one step following another straight toward heaven.
Know the Cross and Resurrection of Christ – The core of our Christian faith is that the Son of God became one of us in Jesus Christ and that He lived, suffered and died for us on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and rose from the dead to give us the promise of everlasting life. As Peter says to the people in our first reading from Acts, “The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead.” The deeper that love of God for us sinks into our hearts, the more we find ourselves willing to respond.
Study the Scriptures – Our Gospel reading from Luke takes place after Jesus accompanies two disciples on the way to Emmaus. After the disciples go back to Jerusalem to tell the others what they have seen, Jesus appears to all of them, and just as he did with the two earlier, He opens their minds “to understand the Scriptures.” Studying the Scriptures helps us understand how God has worked in our lives and continues to do so.
Celebrate the Sacraments – When the two disciples go back to Jerusalem to tell the others how they encountered the Risen Jesus, they tell them “how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” When Jesus appears, and the group is not sure what to make of Him, He tells them, “Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see that I have.” The sacraments, especially the Eucharist, give us a way to “touch” Jesus, to “touch” grace.
Repentance and Conversion – We know we are sinners. We know there are times when we mess up, and times when we lash out at others. And so we need to keep turning back to God. But the joy of Easter tells us that God is always willing to take us back! That is why Peter says to the people, “Repent, therefore, and be converted.” I think it is important to note the phrase “be converted.” So often we try to fix ourselves by ourselves! We can’t do it by ourselves! We need the grace of God! Isn’t it incredible that God gives us what we need to go back to Him? We do our part in acknowledging our sin, and be willing to follow God’s will more closely.
Leave the Tomb – On Easter, Jesus left the tomb He was in empty. As we turn back to God, we can leave behind all those things that keep us in darkness; all the things that weigh us down or keep us bound – things like resentments or selfishness or fear. There are times when we have to grieve. There are times when we just need to lament, crying out to God, asking why such terrible things should happen. But we can’t stay there, because staying there prevents us from living. At the same time, we are not to run away from the crosses that come, but take them up, and let God lead us to the other side.
Love – In our second reading from 1 John, the author writes, “The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments.” As we read in the Gospels, the most important commandment that Jesus gives us is to love – love God and love each other.
Be a Witness – When Peter tells the people about Jesus’ death and resurrection, he says, “of this we are witnesses.” When Jesus appears to the disciples in our Gospel reading, He reminds them that they are witnesses of all that He has told them. We may not think so, but we are witnesses of resurrection. We have been delivered from one crisis or another. We have seen recovery from illness and addiction. And we are called to continue to be witnesses to the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
April 7, 2015
Believing Is Healing
Scripture readings for Sunday, April 12, 2015: Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31
To all,
For Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, our Gospel reading, as it is every year, is taken from John, and relates the encounter between the Risen Jesus and the apostle Thomas, who at first does not believe that Jesus is risen from the dead.
I have often said that I think Thomas’ lack of belief does not come from fear or from a weak faith to begin with. I believe Thomas is suffering from grief. He has seen his hopes in Jesus dashed when Jesus is put to death on a cross, and will not let himself get hurt again. He will not let himself believe in anyone like that again. So when the other apostles tell him that Jesus is risen, Thomas will not believe unless he can see for himself.
John tells us that a week after Jesus appears to the disciples, they are gathered together again in room which is locked, this time with Thomas. I wonder, why are they there? Did they expect Jesus to come again, or did they just want to be together, only this time they wanted Thomas to be with them, too? And so, Jesus does appear to them again, and invites Thomas to touch His wounds, and says, “… do not be unbelieving, but believe.” I wonder whether Jesus appears not so much to rid Thomas of his doubt, but to heal him of his grief. Jesus did not force Himself on others. He invited them, to be sure. He was forceful in what He said and did, but He never forced people to believe in Him. But Thomas needed healing, and all through the Gospels, we see how Jesus was always willing to heal.
Jesus is always willing to heal us. He invites us to believe in His love for us. He invites us to touch His wounds, and see how far He is willing to go for us. And, if we are willing to believe, He invites us to let Him touch our wounds.
There is a connection between faith and healing. I’m not talking so much about miraculous cures, although they can occur, and have occurred. The Scripture readings speak about being healed of whatever keeps us from being the people we were meant to be. In our first reading from Acts, the early Christians had “no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.” The faith of the early Christian community healed them of greed and selfishness. In our second reading from 1 John, it is written, “Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Faith in Jesus heals us of fear and bigotry and a thirst for violence. And in the Gospel reading, Thomas is healed of grief and despair.
You may be thinking, “Fr. Phil, there is still fear and hatred and greed and grief in our world. And there are supposedly people of faith all over. If faith heals, why do these things still exist?” I’m not sure I have a good answer, but I am sure that it does not have to do with forcing others to believe as we believe. Maybe it has to do with the fact that no matter how far we’ve come, we still need to grow in our faith. We still need to be willing to be vulnerable; to love as Jesus loves. And ultimately, our faith tells us that it is God who will wipe away every tear, and bring us into the kingdom.
Do not be unbelieving, but believe, and be healed.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In the Risen Christ,
Phil, CP
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