Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Fifth Sunday of Lent     Year B            22 March 2015
         




Unless the Grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies
it remains just a grain of wheat

Today Jesus declares: “Now is the Hour for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Then he says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it remains just a grain of wheat.”

A grain of wheat is no good if it is simply kept safe and dry on a shelf. Only when seeds die and break open do the seeds give way to a transfigured life and live again!  



Can you imagine hoarding a harvest? It would become infested with bugs and mice and begin to rot. Seeds were meant to die in order to give life – by being baked as bread or by being planted in order to produce fruit for another harvest.



We cannot hoard our lives or our time, talents, or treasure. We know that we will die. We also know that we have to let go of our security, but we want to hold on.



When we clutch at our wealth or possessions, it prevents us from living an abundant life.



Sure, we may stay safe and avoid the cross, and we may exist and live to a ripe old age, but we will never truly live!



Only by our willingness to let go of one way of life can there be hope for another way of life. Falling to earth and dying is what gives and brings life!



So how do we die to self?



It might be as simple as helping your spouse or mom or dad clean the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and doing the laundry.



Others of you have the difficult task of caring for a spouse or loved one who is dependent upon you for assistance. This is certainly a dying to self. Or what about those who have lost their independence and control over their lives? They have the burden of being dependent upon others to help them through their days.





One of my classmates from St. Meinrad School of Theology, Fr. Joe Wiegman from Toledo, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis three months before his ordination to the priesthood. When he was first diagnosed with MS, one of the monks at St. Meinrad told him: ‘Joe, you don’t get to choose whether or not you have MS. But you do get to choose what you’re going to do about it.’



When Joe began walking with a cane he said, “Okay, God, I can handle this, but no more.” And each time the disease weakened his body he would say, “Okay, God, I can handle this, but no more.”  


And then with the crutches, “Okay, God, I can handle this, but no more” and then “Okay, God, I can handle the electric scooter, but no more.” Yet each time He found God’s grace strengthened him to go forth.


But let’s be honest; Fr. Joe did not readily accept his cross. At first he was in denial that he was even ill. Then he bargained with God, then he accepted his illness for a while, but then when it got worse, he got angry and depressed. He tells me that he prayed, “Father, take this cup of suffering from me.”


Joe says, “I didn’t surrender to the Father’s will as readily as did Jesus. But I knew that God had not abandoned me. I clung to the hope that with God all things are possible.”


Fr. Joe now lives in a nursing home at the age of 50. He is still coming to terms with not being able to drive or live independently. He writes: “My fellow residents are dealing with the same issues of loss. Loss of control, loss of independence, loss of many simple joys of life.


Fr. Joe wrote: “I have finally chosen to embrace my cross.”


Like Jesus, his soul was troubled, but he trusts in God to strengthen him.  


Only by our willingness to let go of one way of life can there be hope for another way of life.

God awaits our choice—we can step out in faith or remain as we are. It is not an easy choice. Many of us live life with a fearful grasping for control. Jesus had a choice to be delivered from his Passion and Death or to go through with it.




His Hour had come! And even though he knew it would come, and he had often spoke of it, he speaks of his soul being troubled as he considers what his Hour means. He is in agony, and yet this is his mission!

But a cross is a cross. 



Jesus agrees to conquer death through the Cross. Jesus humbly obeys out of love for the Father and love for each one of us, and prepares to cast out the devil, the ruler of this world, and crucify all disobedience, deceit, lies, and cruelty.



Jesus chooses to embrace His Hour and go forth with his mission. He isn’t focused on wealth, power, pleasure, or fame – He is focused on the cross.



The Hour of Jesus’ Passion has begun. He is in agony, but he surrenders to the will of the Father. Jesus accepts His Cross and is at peace to be lifted up, for by being lifted up he will lift all of us up. His Hour becomes our Hour when we too can rise to new life!



His death will reveal God’s glory and victory. His Cross will defeat of the Evil one and draw together Jesus' community. 



Satan does not want us to have life, but Christ will drive out the prince of this world! Believers can claim the defeat of Satan at the cross, and they can break free of his hold through union with Christ and as members of his holy Church.



The Greeks said, “We would like to see Jesus.” Seeing Jesus comes at a cost. We must die to our selfish ways. And it may even cost us our lives.



We come to see Jesus and his glorious kingdom as we walk his path, a journey that ends not at the Cross, but in the glory of being lifted up in resurrection.



May we be like a humble grain of wheat, dropped in the earth, allowing ourselves to die, shedding our outer shell so as to give way to a new way of life, where we will see Jesus!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of God - 4th Sunday of Lent


 
In Luke’s gospel (Luke 13.4-5), Jesus reminds the crowd about a recent tragedy in the village of Siloam – a water tower had collapsed, crushing eighteen men to death.

The people of Jesus' day had an easy explanation for the horrific deaths of the Galileans and the eighteen men under the tower: they were "worse sinners" and "more guilty" than those who were not killed. 

This idea of God smiting humans for their sins was popular theology in Jesus’ day, so it was plausible for the crowd and the disciples to think that God had smote the Galileans and the villagers of Siloam. 

This was a harsh teaching that Jesus rejected. We know that some of the greatest saints have suffered and human experience shows us that bad things can happen and do happen to good people; Jesus is the greatest example.

Jesus is challenging his hearers to think about their image of God. His words challenge us to think of our image of God as well.

I recall after the deadly tornado 6 November 2005, there were some Christians who claimed it was God’s punishment upon the States of Indiana and Kentucky for allowing everything from casino gambling and horse-racing to homosexuality and abortion. In some ways it may be tempting to believe such things. 

And there are still Christians who think that God is angry at us and even say that God cursed the poor people of Haiti with an earthquake. This philosophy of believing that human suffering is always caused by sin is a dangerous theology. 

On the problem of evil, Thomas Aquinas wrote, [God does not directly will evil, but] "God allows or permits evil” and can draw forth some greater good out of suffering and death.

But often tragedy, earthquake, disaster, illness, and disease can cause us to question our faith in God’s mercy. 

* * * * *

In John’s gospel when Jesus met the man blind from birth, the disciples ask Jesus: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents? That he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. (John 9:2). 

In Luke’s gospel James and John were upset that a particular group of Samaritans had not accepted Jesus’ message, so James and John ask Jesus if they can call fire down from heaven to consume those Samaritans (which would have undoubtedly killed them), but Jesus turns and reprimands the disciples for even having such intentions. 



Jesus does not wish for us to talk or think this way. If we do we are in the wrong state of mind; we are living in the state of sin and the kingdom of fear, not the kingdom of God.

God’s love is not the kind that says “I’ll love you if you’re good”; or “I’ll love you if you prove what a great person you are”; or “I’ll love you as long as you don’t disappoint me.”

This image of God is based on dread and fear that God is more apt to curse than forgive. Yet we know that true love casts out all fear!

For our God is NOT in heaven at his computer screen ready to delete us with the first sign of disobedience. We know that Christ came to forgive us and call us to act with mercy, compassion, love, and service. This was Jesus’ Mission, his Message, His Person.

In his death upon the cross Christ puts an end to all human sacrifice. He does not demand a pound of flesh for our sins! Christ is the final sacrifice that saves us from sin! His task was to save the world, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son….”

Nothing we can do can make God love us! He already loves us! That is why God sent His son! And God is so madly in love with each one of us that he longs for us to share that love with whomsoever we meet! And all our works, our prayers, our acts of love and charity are all done in response to God’s gracious love and mercy!! So we rejoice in the mercy of our God! Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! Jesus is our Mercy!



THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS!!! We can never repeat it enough!

* * * * *

Yet many of us do have fears of failure or rejection, fears of violence or not meeting other peoples’ expectations of us, fears of being used or taken advantage of, or even fear of natural disasters or war. 

Perhaps our fear is not of anything specific – just an overall dread, a feeling that life could fall apart on us at any moment and we wouldn’t be able to cope.

But the good news is that we can respond to our fears with a deepened trust in the love of God – whether it is a fear of violence or a tragic accident such as the stories in today’s gospel. 

Saint Paul wrote that we, as children of God, “did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,” but that we are “joint heirs with Christ,” and if we unite our sufferings with His we will “also be glorified with him.” For the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (Rom 8.14-18).

The example of Jesus shows us that when we do suffer we can suffer redemptively; suffering can be transformed into new life. And the foundation of our Christian hope is our belief in the Resurrection of Christ! 

Then as we who grow closer to Christ, we come to trust God more deeply over time. Little by little the fears that grip our hearts lose their power over us. We can let go of fear because we know that God is with us – in and through suffering, death, and destruction, and that despite it all, new Life CAN come forth - for not even suffering and death can crush us completely or destroy God’s love for us! 



Again, Saint Paul wrote: “If God is for us, who can be against us? What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish or distress or persecution or disaster? No!” he says, “[f]or I am convinced that neither death, nor life… nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:31, 35-38).

God will raise us up, turning our “little crucifixions”, rejections, failures, and losses into new life. 


...for if God is for us, who can be against us?


Then, whenever the time of our physical death comes, we will not be caught by surprise or locked in the grip of fear, but we will be living the Kingdom message; God will give us new life, life in union with Him, a life beyond anything we could ever dream of or ever imagine, where He will wipe away every tear – and every fear

Saturday, March 14, 2015

The God of Mercy? 4th Sunday of Lent



In Luke’s gospel (Luke 13.4-5), Jesus reminds the crowd about a recent tragedy in the village of Siloam – a water tower had collapsed, crushing eighteen men to death.

The people of Jesus' day had an easy explanation for the horrific deaths of the Galileans and the eighteen men under the tower: they were "worse sinners" and "more guilty" than those who were not killed. 

This idea of God smiting humans for their sins was popular theology in Jesus’ day, so it was plausible for the crowd and the disciples to think that God had smote the Galileans and the villagers of Siloam. 

This was a harsh teaching that Jesus rejected. We know that some of the greatest saints have suffered and human experience shows us that bad things can happen and do happen to good people; Jesus is the greatest example.

Jesus is challenging his hearers to think about their image of God. His words challenge us to think of our image of God as well.

I recall after the deadly tornado 6 November 2005, there were some Christians who claimed it was God’s punishment upon the States of Indiana and Kentucky for allowing everything from casino gambling and horse-racing to homosexuality and abortion. In some ways it may be tempting to believe such things. 

And there are still Christians who think that God is angry at us and even say that God cursed the poor people of Haiti with an earthquake. This philosophy of believing that human suffering is always caused by sin is a dangerous theology. 

On the problem of evil, Thomas Aquinas wrote, [God does not directly will evil, but] "God allows or permits evil” and can draw forth some greater good out of suffering and death.

But often tragedy, earthquake, disaster, illness, and disease can cause us to question our faith in God’s mercy. 

* * * * *

In John’s gospel when Jesus met the man blind from birth, the disciples ask Jesus: "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents? That he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. (John 9:2). 

In Luke’s gospel James and John were upset that a particular group of Samaritans had not accepted Jesus’ message, so James and John ask Jesus if they can call fire down from heaven to consume those Samaritans (which would have undoubtedly killed them), but Jesus turns and reprimands the disciples for even having such intentions. 


Jesus does not wish for us to talk or think this way. If we do we are in the wrong state of mind; we are living in the state of sin and the kingdom of fear, not the kingdom of God.

God’s love is not the kind that says “I’ll love you if you’re good”; or “I’ll love you if you prove what a great person you are”; or “I’ll love you as long as you don’t disappoint me.”

This image of God is based on dread and fear that God is more apt to curse than forgive. Yet we know that true love casts out all fear!

For our God is NOT in heaven at his computer screen ready to delete us with the first sign of disobedience. We know that Christ came to forgive us and call us to act with mercy, compassion, love, and service. This was Jesus’ Mission, his Message, His Person.

In his death upon the cross Christ puts an end to all human sacrifice. He does not demand a pound of flesh for our sins! Christ is the final sacrifice that saves us from sin! His task was to save the world, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son….”

Nothing we can do can make God love us! He already loves us! That is why God sent His son! And God is so madly in love with each one of us that he longs for us to share that love with whomsoever we meet! And all our works, our prayers, our acts of love and charity are all done in response to God’s gracious love and mercy!! So we rejoice in the mercy of our God! Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! Jesus is our Mercy!


THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS!!! We can never repeat it enough!

* * * * *

Yet many of us do have fears of failure or rejection, fears of violence or not meeting other peoples’ expectations of us, fears of being used or taken advantage of, or even fear of natural disasters or war. 

Perhaps our fear is not of anything specific – just an overall dread, a feeling that life could fall apart on us at any moment and we wouldn’t be able to cope.
But the good news is that we can respond to our fears with a deepened trust in the love of God – whether it is a fear of violence or a tragic accident such as the stories in today’s gospel. 

Saint Paul wrote that we, as children of God, “did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,” but that we are “joint heirs with Christ,” and if we unite our sufferings with His we will “also be glorified with him.” For the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (Rom 8.14-18).

The example of Jesus shows us that when we do suffer we can suffer redemptively; suffering can be transformed into new life. And the foundation of our Christian hope is our belief in the Resurrection of Christ! 

Then as we who grow closer to Christ, we come to trust God more deeply over time. Little by little the fears that grip our hearts lose their power over us. We can let go of fear because we know that God is with us – in and through suffering, death, and destruction, and that despite it all, new Life CAN come forth - for not even suffering and death can crush us completely or destroy God’s love for us! 


Again, Saint Paul wrote: “If God is for us, who can be against us? What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish or distress or persecution or disaster? No!” he says, “[f]or I am convinced that neither death, nor life… nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:31, 35-38).

God will raise us up, turning our “little crucifixions”, rejections, failures, and losses into new life. 

Then, whenever the time of our physical death comes, we will not be caught by surprise or locked in the grip of fear, but we will be living the Kingdom message; God will give us new life, life in union with Him, a life beyond anything we could ever dream of or ever imagine, where He will wipe away every tear – and every fear !