Second Sunday of Easter - 2019

Today, Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday – established by Pope John Paul II, April 30, 2000, which was the 2nd Sunday of Easter that year and the day of the Canonization of Sister Faustyna KowalskaI, who is the source of the Divine Mercy devotion. Now, I suspect most everyone has a go at the board game Monopoly. On some moves you can pick up special cards you can use when needed. One such is the “get out jail free” card. If a move lands you in jail you just use the card and you’re out. I think it characterizes well the way some people think of God’s Mercy. Since God loves us, He forgives us, and our sins are wiped away. All we do is say thanks. In today’s gospel we see Jesus commissioning his disciples to go and preach forgiveness. In Luke’s account, the commission is stated this way: “. . . repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in Jesus’ name to all the nations.” There are two dynamics happening here, Mercy is given, but given to those who repent. It’s the repentance part that some people seem to overlook. Today’s second reading comes into play here. It is the beginning of the Book of Revelation which will be the source of the Second Readings for the rest of these Easter Sundays. John is told by the Lord to write to the seven Churches of Asia Minor: The Lord says to John,  "Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." Rev.1:11 These are people who have heard the gospel, repented, embraced the faith and were formed into churches – not unlike us gathered today. But some of these churches and their people have a problem – something has gone wrong with their repentance. "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands:  "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary." Wow, this is one commendable church to be sure. The message continues, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first.” Only a couple of the seven Churches escape the Lord’s rebuke. Notice how they are called back to repentance – that which is our part in God’s Mercy – not just on the day of our baptism but all through our Christian life. Easter is a time for celebrating God’s Mercy and a time to examine the quality of our response to that Mercy. Might the Lord be saying something similar to us today, “I have this against you- “ And what might that be? So let us look again at the Cross of Jesus and see what mercy cost him, the mercy that He gives us so freely. How am I doing? Have I grown mediocre in my faith? What needs to revive in the practice of my faith? What is the quality of my love? Then He will say to those on His left, ‘I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Mtt. 25:41 Let us use these days of Easter to truly examine and put to the test the quality of our love.

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Easter 2019

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."

An Easter Homily One of my favorite Easter hymns is The Strife is O’er – The strife is o'er, the battle done; + Now is the Victor's triumph won; + O let the song of praise be sung! Alleluia! So what exactly is this battle that the hymn is referring to? – the hymn continues . . . Death's mightiest powers have done their worst, + And Jesus has His foes dispersed; + Let shouts of praise and joy outburst. Alleluia! The battle is as St. Paul describes it in his letter to the Ephesians, ch. 6:12  For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. – against Satan and his army of fallen angels. Vs.  4. He closed the yawning gates of hell; + The bars from heaven's high portals fell. + Let songs of praise His triumph tell. Alleluia! In the Apostle Creed we say, Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried: he descended into hell and on the third day rose again . . . . Jesus came from the Father to break down the gates of hell that, as the hymn says, “. . . bared us from entering the portals of heaven because of our sins. This event is the subject of many classic paintings – a favourite of mine is by Gustave Dore entitled THE VALLEY OF TEARS, 1883, showing Jesus in the bowels of the earth coming to call sinners. See the panel below  Justice demanded that sinners receive the same fate as the fallen angels – but mercy over road justice and armed with the authority of mercy from the Father Jesus delivers souls of sinners from the penalty of death. Jesus did not die because he miscalculated the danger he was in visiting Jerusalem at that time. He knew well what awaited him and the price he would pay for taking on Satan. If we have any hope beyond the grave, it is found in these mysteries. St. Paul lays it out crystal clear in 1 Cor. 15: “16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all people.

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Second reading Office of Readings  From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday "The Lord descends into hell." Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated. For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden. See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree. I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you. Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

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Passion (Palm) Sunday - 2019

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We could not overestimate the importance of Holy Week that is now beginning. Jesus speaks of it as "the Hour", that point in the plan of our salvation that is absolutely critical - Satan and Jesus face to face who will prevail? In the garden, where Jesus begins this "Hour" in profound prayer, he called his  disciples to join with Him in prayer, and their response was . . .  Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me." And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again he went away for the second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the HOUR is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Mtt. 26:36 Now the invitation to prayer is made to us. Have we chosen a time and place to enter into prayer - our scripture text to ponder - our determination to be free of distraction - our true consent to share the cup that Jesus drinks. Can I stay awake with Him one Hour? ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Over the years of this blog I have developed several reflections on these holy days. I recommend them to you once again. On the side panel of this blog page you can find links to some of these posts. Also, further down on the side panel there is the archive of past years. The March/April months will also take you to past Lenten posts.

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Fifth Sunday of Lent - 2019

Once again, we have in this Sunday’s gospel another image of the face of mercy. “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Jesus has gathered people around himself and is teaching them. His teaching is having a deep and positive impression on people, and the scribes and Pharisees feel threatened and are jealous of Jesus popularity. As a teacher, Jesus is not changing the words of the written law; to do this would be an evil punishable by death. What he does is draw out of the “words” of the law a deeper understanding of the full truth of God’s revelation. In the case of this gospel’s text, it is written that the evil of adultery must be purged from their midst by killing the sinner. But can the “finger of God” compose an intervention that offers another solution, a higher solution - repentance and forgiveness? Deuteronomy 22:22 ..If a man is discovered lying with a woman who is married to another, they both shall die, the man who was lying with the woman as well as the woman. Thus shall you purge the evil from Israel. If there is a young woman, a virgin who is betrothed, and a man comes upon her in the city and lies with her, you shall bring them both out to the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the young woman because she did not cry out though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. The scribes and Pharisees believe they have a foolproof plan to discredit Jesus in the eyes of his listeners. They bring forward witnesses to the very act of adultery and the woman involved. No mention of the man is given, (perhaps he fled or something else more contrived). They drag her out and stand her right in front of Jesus, for all to see. What will become of Jesus’ message of compassion now? At first Jesus says nothing but stoops down and writes with his finger in the dust of the ground. We are not told what he is writing, but it has intrigued readers ever since and many theories have been speculated. Jesus does not respond, so they press him for an answer. It is at this point that an extraordinary thing happens. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sinbe the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. One by one the accusers walk away, silenced. What just happened to them? The text only gives us the words of Jesus reply, nothing more. But something happened on a deep and hidden level. Their consciences were pierced, cut opened and convicted by the sword of Jesus voice. They hear the voice of God who knows each one’s heart. None of them is innocent before God. Now they know that only God, free of sin, can condemn. Now the woman stands alone before Jesus, and hears the voice of God incarnate, the VOICE of MERCY. Neither do I condemn you; I give you, not condemnation and death, but the opportunity of repentance. “Go, and from now on do not sin.”

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