Never the Same Again

 

Deacon Dave · Never the Same Again

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, May 1, 2022. Gospel – John 21:1-19. Theme: Never the Same Again 

In today’s Gospel we see seven of the Apostles returning to how they were before they had been drawn to follow a charismatic preacher named Jesus of Nazareth. Trying to process and make sense of all that happened to him and to them over the first Easter weekend overwhelms them. And so, they try to go back to how they lived. They try to act as if their lives had never been deeply touched and changed by him. But inside each one of them is a nagging realization that things can never ever be the same again.  

Sometimes I think we can be just like them. We have personal religious experiences or moments of enlightenment that boost our faith in Christ and increase our devotion. But then we also have the concerns and responsibilities of everyday life, with times of difficulty or confusion when the Lord seems so far away. And so, like those disciples, life goes on for us and it's back to our daily routine. Yet, inside the hearts of we who believe, there is that same deep down nagging feeling that things can never ever be the same again. 

 Like those disciples at the seashore we cannot just dismiss all that we have learned about Jesus. We are unable to simply write off his death as one of those things that happen under cruel Roman oppression. We can’t just ignore the eye-witness testimonies of those who saw Christ after the Resurrection and consider them fairy tales. They touched him. They ate with him. They spoke with him. And yes, they even fished with him. And as much as we might want to just move on with our lives and not be bothered by the moral demands of Christianity, we just can’t do it. Somehow, we’ve been deeply touched by him and are forever marked as his. Something keeps calling us back. 

But just as Christ knew the struggle to believe that was going through the minds and hearts of the disciples, so he knows what is going on within us as well. Moved by the compassionate love of friendship, he comes to us as he came to them and he holds out to us what he held out to them: a way to move forward. He points us to a pathway out of confusion and doubt that is paved with faith. Christian faith isn’t wishful thinking or just hoping something is true. It is trust in a real Person, Jesus of Nazareth, crucified Savior and risen Lord. It is a faith based upon historical facts and personal witnesses, not on fabricated stories. It is a faith that is confirmed by the lives of the Apostles and the powerful testimonies they gave as changed men and eventually, as martyrs. 

But they weren’t originally such heroic men! After the Last Supper they abandoned their Lord and two of them even denied or betrayed him. From Good Friday on they lived as cowards, hidden away and locked in a house in Jerusalem, shaking with fear whenever someone knocked at their door. Judas the Betrayer had killed himself. Thomas the Doubter had temporarily left their company and adamantly refused to believe. And the others? Well…as today’s Gospel tells us, they went fishing and tried to forget. But then something happened, everything changed! 

Suddenly, these same men are seen going through the streets of Jerusalem, praising out loud the Name of Jesus and calling all who heard them to repent! We heard all about this in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which is the Church’s first history book. They are no longer afraid. They are no longer unbelieving. What happened? Why this sudden 180 degree turn in their lives? 

They had experienced a series of encounters with Jesus, no longer dead but totally alive…and even more alive than he had ever been before! No longer limited by the earthly parameters of his humanity, the Risen Lord was now able pass through solid walls and locked doors, yet he had a body that could be seen and touched. Being heavenly and glorified, he could travel at the speed of thought - being seen in several places at the same time - yet was also able to sit with them around a charcoal fire on a beach and eat breakfast. This was no ordinary mortal man. This was no everyday religious teacher. 

The Resurrection showed the disciples - and shows us today - that Jesus of Nazareth was precisely who he said he was: Son of God, Savior of humanity, Lord of Eternal Life. And it confirms that his teaching is more than simply human wisdom, but the very Word of God. The disciples began to learn all of this and so much more, sitting on that beach around that fire and sharing a meal with Christ. 

And he does the same thing for us today as we gather as a community around the fire of the Holy Spirit, to hear his Word and eat his Heavenly Food at the Sacred Meal of the Eucharist. It is these encounters with the Risen Christ at Mass that will enable us to process and make sense out of all that we have heard and learned about him. If we come to Mass with this awareness, with hearts eager to worship, lives desiring to follow Christ, and minds open to his Word, then our faith in him will be enlightened, our trust in him will be deepened, and our love for him will grow.

The Three Easter Gifts of Mercy

 

Deacon Dave · The Three Easter Gifts of Mercy

Homily for the Octave of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, April 24, 2022. The Gospel of St. John 20:19-31. Theme: The Three Easter Gifts of Mercy 

In the year 2000, Pope St. John Paul II declared the Second Sunday of Easter to be celebrated as “Divine Mercy Sunday”. He did this to fulfill a request made by Jesus through the spiritual experiences of St. Faustina Kowalska, a 20th century Polish nun and mystic. In addition to Mercy Sunday, Jesus also asked that a special image of himself be painted and distributed (point out picture) along with a short prayer, “Jesus I trust in You.” 

Jesus told Sister Faustina that he wanted to reawaken in his Church a renewed awareness of his love for every person. He lamented that so many found it difficult to draw near to him because of the preaching of the time which made people feel as if they were too sinful and unworthy of a relationship with Christ. But told her that the opposite was actually true. He said that the greater a sinner a person is, the greater is that person’s claim to his mercy. He said that he is drawn to wounded, powerless and struggling hearts the way iron shavings are irresistibly attracted to a magnet. We clearly see this kind of a merciful Jesus in today’s Gospel, wherein St. John shares with us the memory of his personal experiences of the very first Easter week. 

The story opens with the Apostles huddled together in a securely locked house. They are filled with fear and terrified that what happened to Jesus was going to happen to them. But you know, they were also trapped in their own sinfulness, in their own remorse over how they had abandoned Jesus. They needed to be set free not only physically from that room but also spiritually from what they had done.

Then, suddenly and inexplicably, the Risen Lord appears in their midst. It’s the first time they have seen him since the night of the Last Supper. What strikes me so much about this experience is that Christ does not say one word about how they had treated him. He doesn’t even make the slightest reference to their infidelity and abandonment. Instead, he reaches out to them with words of pardon and peace. No condemnation, just mercy. And they, having been deeply touched by this mercy, are changed men from the inside out! They have been given new life, a spiritually resurrected life, and so the Gospel tells us that they rejoice and believe! 

The story then moves fast forward a week to the Sunday after Easter, to what we now call Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus suddenly appears among them again and St. John emphasizes three things he remembers about this event: the uplifting presence of the Risen Jesus, the power emanating from his holy wounds, and the invitation to trust in him. Pope Francis has called these three things the “Easter gifts of mercy” and he reminds us that Jesus still offers these gifts to each one of us today. 

The first Easter gift of mercy is the uplifting presence of the Risen Lord. Just as nothing stopped Jesus from entering into the locked room, so nothing - not even our worst sins - can prevent him from stepping into our lives. He comes to each one of us just as he came to those dejected disciples, bringing pardon and peace, offering a chance to be healed of sin and freed from fear. This presence of Christ can come to us in a spiritual way through the Divine Mercy image. We can enshrine it in our homes as a reminder that he is always with us. We can ponder it and see his hand raised in blessing us. Jesus promised St. Faustina that many graces and blessings would flow from prayer before this image which he called a “vessel of mercy”. 

The second Easter gift of mercy are the wounds of Christ. It was the power of these sacred wounds that brought about a conversion within Thomas, transforming him from a doubter into a firm believer. And these same glorious wounds are available to us for our own conversion. They are for what they were for Thomas: proof of Christ’s deep love for us, a love that poured itself out to the very end. And so these wounds - now risen and glorious - cause us to rejoice! They encourage and invite us to let go of our sins, to accept mercy and experience an interior resurrection to new life with God. This is why the wounds of Jesus, especially the one radiating light from his pierced heart, are so prominent in the image of Divine Mercy. 

The third Easter gift of mercy is the invitation to trust in Jesus. This is what Jesus asked of Thomas when he told him to “not be unbelieving, but believe.”. You see, in the original Greek language of the gospels, the very same word that means “believe” also means “trust”. Jesus is telling Thomas - and each one of us - to not be doubters, but to simply just place our trust in him. Trust in Jesus, faith in him as the truly Risen Lord, enabled Thomas to become a changed man, a new person. Trust is ultimately the real proof of our love for someone and this is why the Divine Mercy image has the prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You!” inscribed upon it. It is a short prayer that we all can memorize and repeat often from the heart to express our faith and love for the Lord. 

Filled with mercy and fueled by trust in Jesus, Thomas went on to become one of the greatest of the twelve apostles. He carried the Good News of the Resurrection further in the known world than any of the others because he was totally on fire for Christ! History informs us that he brought the Gospel all the way from Jerusalem to India where he was martyred for Christ, and to this day the believers there are known as the “St. Thomas Christians”. 

The presence of the Risen Jesus, the power of his sacred wounds, and the decision to trust him all sum up for us the message of Easter and the message of Divine Mercy Sunday. These gifts from God can totally transform us and enable us to finally become the people he created us to be. This was the experience of Thomas and it is meant to be the experience for each one of us as we live out our Christian journey through life.

The Good News of Resurrection

 

Deacon Dave · The Good News of Resurrection

Homily for Easter, Gospel of St. John 20:1-9. Theme: The Good News of Resurrection 

As we heard in today’s Gospel, the tomb of Jesus was found empty. And in other Easter stories we learn how angels delivered the startling news that Jesus was risen to the holy women who had come to the tomb. We are told that Mary Magdalen brings this incredible news of Resurrection to Peter and John. We also hear how many disciples encounter the Risen Lord and share with others the news of their experiences. 

However, it takes more than just hearing to truly enter into what the Resurrection means. There were a lot of people in Jerusalem for the Passover on that momentous first Easter morning. And for most, the news of Resurrection was just crazy gossip in the marketplace. It never affected their lives. It never made a difference. But for others, this news of Resurrection changed them from the inside out and they would never be the same. And this variable reaction to the news of Resurrection still happens today. 

There are those who hear the Good News of Resurrection yet it remains for them nothing more than a story to be told and retold every Easter. It never really touches their lives. And then there are others who hear the news of the empty tomb and who ponder the experiences of those who interacted with the Risen Lord in person. These people experience a hope beyond hope that leaps up from deep within them and often they can barely explain how it is that they came to believe and are changed! 

Once we take a leap in faith and trust in the Risen Lord, he opens our minds to the truth about who he is and he sets us free from the inside out. We begin to see that there really is a much bigger picture to the reality of our existence than only what we experience here on planet Earth. We profess faith in eternal life after death, knowing that it is not just a ‘maybe” or a “hope so”. That it’s not just fantasy nor wishful thinking. We are convinced of this reality because of that Empty Tomb in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago! 

Through faith in the Risen Lord, we are not only freed from death’s dark domain, but also from its companion which is paralyzing fear, a fear we have sadly seen way too much of in these days. We who trust in Jesus risen from the tomb refuse to give into such fear. We refuse to give it a significant place in our lives. We who believe in the power of Easter refuse to live and act as if we were still under the powers of darkness and death. We are not like those who live in such fear and who act as if death still has the last word over us. Those who do not believe become silent in the face of death, not knowing what to say, acting as if they are still its victims, its captives. They need to know that they do not have to remain frozen in that fear. 

 But we who are Christian are not silent in the face of fear and death. We have been told the Good News of the Empty Tomb. We have been told the testimony of Mary Magdalene and the Apostles. We refuse to be silenced because we know what to say! And so, we speak out and we even sing aloud: Christ is risen! Alleluia! Death has been conquered once for all! Alleluia!

What Kind of Savior Do You Expect?

 

Deacon Dave · What Kind of Savior Do You Expect?

Homily for Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022. Gospel of St. Luke 19:28-40. Theme: What Kind of Savior Do You Expect? 

The Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday is such an intriguing event that reveals the fickle nature of the human heart. The crowd went from literally giving Him a King’s welcome, to screaming out for his execution just a few days later on Good Friday. However, I think we have to be careful about pointing fingers and judging that crowd. After all, we have the advantage of hindsight. We know who Christ really was and we know how the whole story ended! 

But for a moment let’s try and put ourselves in their place. For centuries, the Jewish people had passed on prophecies about the Messiah, the Christ, God’s Anointed One. They told and retold hopeful stories of how he would be a mighty Warrior, a national Hero, a powerful King. He was supposed to be their Rescuer and Liberator who would victoriously eject the cruel Roman oppressors from the Promised Land. That crowd of people looked forward to the day when the Christ would bring to Israel all that they had been praying for and imagined. It was to be the best and happiest time of their lives as a nation, as God’s people. 

But when they learned that Jesus of Nazareth, whom many thought might be the Christ, had been taken prisoner and tortured by the enemy, all their hopes for him as the Hero-King were trashed. Turns out He wasn’t their hoped-for Promised One after all. Or to put it better, turns out he wasn’t the kind of Messiah, the kind of Liberating Savior, that they had wanted, that they were expecting. You see, their idea of liberation and their expectations for happiness were limited to worldly success and political nationalism. 

For centuries, their leaders had been reading and interpreting the Scriptures about the Messiah in a way that they thought best. They were searching the Scriptures for what they wanted to see in them. They were praying to God for what they wanted to happen in their nation, rather than asking that his Kingdom come, whatever that might look like. It’s so very easy for us to judge and condemn the screaming crowd of Jerusalem. And yet…before we point that finger at them…we have to stop and examine our own attitudes towards Jesus and how he acts in our lives. We have to ask ourselves quite honestly if we also read and interpret God's Word in our favor, seeing in it only what we want to see, and ignoring the things that we prefer not to hear. Do we really mean it when we pray in the Our Father for God’s will to be done in our lives? 

Let’s each ask ourselves: Have I ever shaken a fist at God, like the people in that crowd, because he wasn’t acting like the kind of Savior I expected and wanted Him to be in my life? Have I grumbled about Him because he was not carrying out the plans I intended, the hopes I set my heart on? Do I trust him enough to be at peace in every circumstance, and especially regarding those that are out of my control, knowing that he has me safely in the palm of his hand, in the recesses of his heart? 

As we celebrate Palm Sunday and proceed further into Holy Week, let’s pray for the grace to be faithful to Christ during these most special days of the year and, of course, for all our lives. 

Let’s thank Jesus for the most precious Gift of his Body and Blood in the Eucharist, which he gave us on that first Holy Thursday, and through which we remain united with him and with one another. 

Let’s venerate the holy and life-giving Cross of Jesus in our hearts, as well as in our liturgy on Good Friday with devotion and confidence, remembering that through the holy cross he has set free from our sins. 

And let’s ask the gloriously Risen Christ to bless us with a special Easter gift of trust in him, so that we might remain faithful to him and allow God to just be God in our lives no matter what that might look like, no matter how things may seem, confident that in the end all things will work out for our good, even if we don’t see it that way right now.

Renovated Not Condemned

 

Deacon Dave · Renovated Not Condemned

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent, April 3, 2022. Gospel of St. John 8:1-11. Theme: Renovated Not Condemned 

As I was praying over today’s gospel asking the Holy Spirit for some insight, I suddenly found myself thinking about the home improvement kind of shows that I like to watch. The designers and carpenters on those shows are amazing fixer-uppers with a real gift of being able to look beyond the mess and destruction of a run-down house and seeing its possibilities. They can tell if a house should be disregarded and condemned or if it has the possibility of being renovated and restored. I know that’s a pretty random thought to have while praying, but I think you’ll see that there’s actually a connection after all! 

It dawned on me that those shows can be a good metaphor to understand today’s Gospel. Jesus, the Carpenter from Nazareth, is the Great Fixer-Upper who looks beyond the outside street appeal of who we are, or who we pretend to be, and peers into our very depths. He sees down to the bare bones of our structure. He knows that many of us are like houses that have endured quite a lot of wear and tear over the years; terribly ignored, wrongfully mistreated and shamefully broken down, with only the structure remaining salvageable. Others may not have had it so bad but still need remodeling to become like new again. But all of us - without exception - need some kind of work to be done, so that we can become the persons God created us to be and to fully enjoy the life God has given us to live. 

Jesus came to planet Earth precisely to heal what is sick, to drive out what is evil, and to fix what is broken. He has both a burning desire and the divine power to do this for us, if we allow Him. So, how can we let Jesus be this Master Carpenter and bring about a beautiful transformation? I think we can get a good idea by looking at the woman caught in adultery and following her example. Like her, we must personally encounter Jesus and own up to what we have done, to what we have allowed ourselves to become. And then humbly follow his words that will lead us to a better life, a happier heart, a more peaceful and serene conscience. He says to her and to us, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Now that’s a tall order but we can do it with and in Christ through prayer, Confession and the Eucharist. 

Prayer is simply talking with Jesus from the heart and speaking plainly about what’s on our minds, what’s burdening our souls, what we are struggling with in our lives. We spend some time reflectively reading his Word to us in the Gospels where he gives us light and direction. We ask for the spiritual strength to live his Word and allow it to transform us from the inside out. 

This commitment to daily prayer will lead us to the healing grace of Confession. When the walls of a house are opened up you never know what you’re going to find behind them. Similarly, when we tear down the walls we have built up in our lives and open our hearts to Christ, we are bound to discover behaviors and attitudes that need to be fixed, rewired and repaired. We bring these hurts and wounds to the merciful heart of Jesus in prayer, and if they are more serious sins we admit them in Confession. By doing so we will grow, over time, in the healing and freedom that he offers us. 

Above all we must keep coming to Christ who is our holy and life-giving power-source in the Eucharist. As Pope Francis teaches us Holy Communion is not a gold star for perfect conduct offered to saintly people. Quite the opposite, this awesome Sacrament of Christ’s Risen Body and Blood is medicine for the sick, healing balm for the wounded, and strength for the weak. During this most intimate encounter with him, we hand over and surrender all of our pain, all of our brokenness, all our sins. He will know what to do with them. We simply need to trust. 

Since we see from today’s story how compassionate and forgiving Christ is, why then, do we continue to hold onto our sins instead of accepting his forgiveness? And when we are tempted to judge and condemn others, I think we need to hear Jesus saying to us something similar to what he said to the accusers of that woman: "Let those of you who are without sin be the first to judge or condemn another." And then hopefully we will turn away from judging and condemning others, placing their brokenness and ours into the tender care of the One who came to save us all.