5 April 2018 - made witnesses

Today's Readings (Audio)

You are witnesses of these things.

In this holy season of Easter we too are meant to become the witnesses of these things. We become witnesses to the dying and rising of Christ. This is our new identity, just as for Peter and John.

The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.

We receive the healing that comes from Jesus and cling to the pillars of the Church just as the crippled man clings to Peter and John. We put the author of life to death. But this was done in ignorance. It was allowed so that we could come to know this healing power that wipes away sin and grants times of refreshment.

Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.

We are witnesses to the risen Christ. This is not simply an idea. He is not a subjective ghost with no true impact in the physical realm of matter in science. He is not a mutual hallucination. The resurrection is not the disciples consensus about what Jesus stood for now represented in the abstract. He is truly risen, he is no ghost.

And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish; 
he took it and ate it in front of them.

We are witnesses to the LORD who is truly risen. This being the case, are we indeed receiving the times of refreshment Jesus died to provide? Are we living the fullness of the promise of the fifty days of Easter? The 40 days of Lent have given way. We are meant to celebrate. If this joy has not fully taken hold of us, let us ask the risen LORD to visit us and bring our hearts a deeper revelation of who he is and what this season means.

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Now we are refreshed. Now we are made true witnesses.

O LORD, our Lord,
how glorious is your name over all the earth!

4 April 2018 - in the breaking of the bread

Today's Readings (Audio)

Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you: 
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk."
Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you: 
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk."

We often focus and what we don't have and forget what we do have, do we? We see our lack of ability, of resources, of training, of experience and so many other things. We see this, and rather than realizing what we do have we despair and give up. We think that we are in no position to help others. We discount the idea that God may have given us whatever situation in which we find ourselves for just that reason. We have Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit. We have all we need to help everyone in every way that truly matters.

but what I do have I give you: 
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.

We too can speak words from God into lives paralyzed by sin. We can cause them to walk and jump praising God just as Peter does. This certainly can have a physical healing dimension if God desires it. That isn't about us, after all. It's about what he does through us, which is something on which there are no limits except the ones we place on him.

If we tend to forget what we do have let us ask God to remind us. When we begin to live as if Jesus is not risen and reigning on high in heaven let us ask God to renew that revelation in our hearts. Mass is the perfect place to receive this grace.

So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.

He will make himself known to us in the breaking of the bread. He will give himself to us in Holy Communion so that we know for sure what we do have. We will then be able to offer his presence and even his words and his healing to others.

Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!

31 March 2018 - we wait in silence

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.

From an ancient homily.

28 March 2018 - not selling out

Today's Readings (Audio)

"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."

What are we to make of a man who knows this and does nothing? We realize that his life is not taken from him. He is not taken by surprise. Rather he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. He does not run even though he knows exactly what is coming. This Passover must be celebrated. That is his concern.

It is easy to meet suffering and turn back. But Jesus presses on, because he knows the joy set before him.

And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
My face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

Jesus has his hope firmly anchored in the Father. It pulls him onward and upward when others would turn aside.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

This gives Jesus the unique authority to speak a word to others who are suffering and persecuted, weary from the struggles of life, in order to rouse us and keep us on the path. When we're wearing keeping watch with Jesus in the garden we hear him tell us to stay awake. Our hope is near at hand.

"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not."

Let's receive the word Jesus speaks to rouse us. Let us keep watch through the garden, during the Cross, and all the way to Easter.

27 March 2018 - spy day

Today's Readings (Audio)

It is not easy to remain with Jesus during Holy Week. We often choose the silver when the mission of Jesus becomes too impractical for our taste.

So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

We say we'll stay near to him no matter what. But when that leads us to suffering we are quick to deny him.

Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."

Yet in all this Jesus is neither surprised nor defeated. He knows the plans of Judas. He knows the shortcomings of Peter. He knows our shortcomings too! Even so, he continues on toward the Cross because of his love for us.

And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

It is precisely in this dark hour when all seems hopeless that God shows his glory through Jesus. 

"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.

This hour of darkness precedes the eternal day when the light will never again waver or go out. Jesus knows this and so he persists. He asks friends to keep watch with him. It isn't so much something we need to do. He is rather asking us to be with him and to be attentive to him. We need to see and receive the love he displays even on those who deny him. If we have betrayed or denied Jesus we can return to him. It is not too late to keep watch. He knows our flaws and loves us no less because of them. When we fail he gives us the opportunity to return to him. And when we return, knowing our own weakness, we are more able to strengthen our brethren.

In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.

26 March 2018 - fragrant offerings

Today's Readings (Audio)

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 

Let us find extravagant ways to love Jesus this week. Let us do things that fill the holy house of the Church with the fragrance of our devotion. After all, his love for us is extravagant. He himself is "a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (see Ephesians 5:2). We can learn from Mary the importance of devotion, of affection, of time spent near Jesus. We have many obligations in the world. But this Holy Week comes only once a year. We do not always have the chance to experience the presence of Jesus in this way. Let us fully avail ourselves of the blessings God makes available to us this week.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,

As we approach Holy Week we may be tempted to let our confidence or courage waver. We may be tempted to enter into the sufferings of Jesus as mere sympathy and forget about the victory that lies ahead. Jesus never forgets this victory. He endures the shame of the cross for the joy that is set before him (see Hebrews 12:2).

Let's not slip back into a mindset that is content with the way things are as long as we don't have to suffer alone. Let us see our suffering as ennobled, filled with meaning and light. We may have many tears to shed. This world is indeed filled with pain. But in the love and tenderness with which we join Mary in washing the feet of Jesus we do not indulge the pain or dwell on it. Neither, however, do we avoid it. We embrace it, but not for its own sake. We embrace the one who embraces pain for us. We do this, not in hopelessness, but in confidence.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

25 March 2018 - all the way

Today's Readings (Audio)

Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
"Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!"

We welcome Jesus. We celebrate him. His glory moves us to praise! This instinct is good. But can we stay with him?

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.

Our worldly minds have trouble with this. We have a hard time celebrating the condecension that brings Jesus to us. We have difficulty with his humility and even his humanity. Seeing this verison of Jesus, suffering and obedient, cuts us to the heart.

Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.

Let us look upon Jesus on the cross. Here is a greater victory than the mere entry of the king into the royal city. Here is the victory of love over hatred. If the tone of our praise changes as we follow the way of the cross lot us not cease to praise. Let us recognize that what we are witnessing is not a failure but the ultimate and everlasting success. This isn't as easy as it sounds.

And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which is translated,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Yet it is true. It is essential. Let us not abandon him as his disciples do. Let us follow him all the way to the end. Let us praise him to the very end.

Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

From this vantage point we will be well positioned to behold the glory that comes next. Assuredly, our praise then will be with greater fervor than ever before.