Seventh Sunday of Easter_C - We Are All in This Together_052922

Deacon Tom Writes,

“We Are All in This Together!”

Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year C

The words of today’s gospel challenge anyone attempting to live as disciples of Christ amid the disunity that troubles our world. Jesus finishes the last Passover meal he was to share with his friends before heading across the Kidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane. His final words spoke of his burning desire that “they may all be one.” Jesus calls us to share the same unity with one another and with him as he has with the Father so that we may know, “…that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” Recall that when Jesus spoke these words, he too was in the midst of a fractured world… Roman occupation, tension between the Jews and the Gentiles, slaves and free, rich and poor, religious leaders and the people they were supposed to shepherd. Unity was far from the reality.

Yet Jesus calls his followers to a different worldview… one of unity. Jesus’ last words emphasize that we live in God’s love just as Jesus lives in Father’s love. The Son of God calls us to a mutual love, loving him as he loves us. It is an invitation into this mutual love, a love that leads us into union with the Divine Godhead, the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

With even the slightest awareness of this reality, we begin to see ourselves as one with God, united to him as children to their father. We all should be working as one big family seeking to remove all the barriers that divide us, that separate us from the love of God and each other. And so, as people so intimately united with one another through our mutual, loving relationship with God, we are called to surmount all the barriers to God’s love, the barriers of hatred and discrimination, the barriers of poverty and ignorance, the barriers that has one group thinking they are superior to another group. And, furthermore, we are called to shun all the voices calling us to disunity, factions, division. All these barriers attack the central reality of our faith – that we are made in the image and likeness of God and that we possess a dignity of person because of God’s love and indwelling in us.

God loves all his children, without exception and he calls us to be like him in this regard. Let our lives be spent living Jesus’ farewell prayer to his disciples by seeking to be one with him and with each other by reconciling our differences, by being moved with compassion in the face of suffering, bigotry, violence, and ignorance. In the face of the rampant divisiveness, we witness today, do we dare pray with Jesus, “Holy Father… may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.” May the Almighty Father hear our prayers and give us the grace and courage to overcome our fears so we may live as true disciples of the Lord who prayed that “we all may be one.”

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Recommended Reading: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. He writes an eloquent journal of the deep sense of grief he experienced at the loss of his wife.

Recommended Podcast: God in All Things Podcast. A journey into Ignatian spirituality.

Sixth Sunday of Easter_C - Keeping God's Word_052222

                                            Photo attribution - Pinterest.com

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Keeping God’s Word”

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C

In today’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples, “Whoever loves me will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” It sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? If we keep God’s Word, the Eternal, Almighty, Divine Presence will come and be a part of our lives forever, through the good times and the bad, through thick and thin.

The problem is there are many of Jesus’ words that are really troubling to us; words that we choose not to believe, let alone want to keep; words that challenge us, like...

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” … Matthew 6:33
“Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you” …Luke 6:27
“No one can serve two masters” … Matthew 6:24
“Go and sin no more” … John 6:11

We dismiss the hard words of Jesus, the words that are at the core of his teaching…to love one another – as I have loved you. Loving one another, showing respect to everyone because of one’s intrinsic worth, one’s divine essence, one’s very nature as a child of God, is how we reflect the love of God in our lives. This love is an active, conscious act of the will; it is how we cooperate with God, allowing ourselves to be transformed by God and in turn helping bring about the transformation of the world. This is what it means to keep God’s word. We just can’t pick and choose which words of Jesus we will accept and which ones we will ignore if we want to have an authentic relationship with Jesus and grow in his love.

In all reality there is another question we need to ask ourselves, “Do we really want God living within us?” Within, well, that may be too close for comfort. It’s better when he’s living some distance away like the “In-Laws” whom we can invite over whenever we have something they can do for us. Far enough away that they can only come over when invited. How much God enters our life is pretty much our choice! We can keep God’s Word and look forward to the promises he has made to us, or we can go it alone and see what the world has in store for us. It’s…. all our call.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Reading Recommendation: The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark former Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington provides a provocative report which challenges conventional wisdom and finds that Christianity's astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better, more secure way of life.

Fifth Sunday of Easter_C - Glory Days_051522

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Glory Days”

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C

Today’s gospel has all the makings of a great Hollywood movie that begins on the night before Jesus dies. Jesus and his companions are nearing the end of their last meal together. Judas had just taken “the morsel… and left at once.” “The morsel,” we know, is the Eucharist, Jesus’ legacy to remain a “real presence” for his followers. Judas takes the Eucharist…then leaves.

When Judas leaves, Jesus brings this extraordinary Passover celebration to a dramatic close saying, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” What intrigue! Jesus seems to infer that what’s about to happen, his betrayal, torture, and death, will somehow bring Glory to God! How unimaginable! Yet for God, all things are possible, even turning these horrific events into something that can and does reveal God’s glory!

How much our faith depends on this Truth, that “…with God, all things are possible.” That includes the fact that God took upon himself our human nature and all of our limitations and experiences to teach us how we might become like him in all ways. Jesus suffers the betrayal of a friend, gets convicted on trumped up charges, suffers beatings and humiliations of all sorts that no one, let alone he deserves. Imagine, he knows all of this ahead of time and still chooses his suffering and death to teach us to love and forgive one another. And, because he sees what lies ahead as God’s Will, he accepts it all. In fact, he embraces it all knowing that doing God’s Will was all he desired to do in this life.

Jesus leaves his followers with a “Command,” not a request, not a “can you do me a favor... but a “Command” ... to “Love one another as I have loved you.” He sets our hearts and minds on God’s Will…. that we love one another as he loves us…. completely. Christ held nothing back. He emptied himself on our account…. That’s the standard he set, if we are to be disciples…. to embrace the disappointments, betrayals, broken promises and relationships, sickness and death…to take it all in, the good and the bad, and accept all that comes our way as Christ did, and to do so while remaining faithful to God’s promises that he is with us always, till the end of days. And yes, he sustains us through each and every one of them, through all the glory days of our lives... this one and the one to come.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Recommended Reading: The Saint's Guide to Happiness by Robert Ellsberg - suggests that some of the best people to show us are holy men and women throughout history—Learn who they are and the lessons they teach us.

Recommended Podcast: American Catholic History Podcast finds hidden gems and compelling stories in Catholic Americans who have contributed to America by virtue of their faith over the past three centuries.

Fourth Sunday of Easter_C - Hearing Voices_050822

Deacon Tom Writes

“Hearing Voices?”

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C

 

In his parables, Jesus often used everyday examples from the rural settings. They were examples that didn’t need explaining. For example, people knew that when a shepherd called, his sheep would come. Shepherds grazed their sheep in different fields during the day, but at night they brought them together into one flock to have safety in numbers. 

At daybreak, shepherds called out to their own sheep, and, amazingly, each sheep followed the voice of its own shepherd, its protector and guardian. 

Most of us today don’t have direct experience with shepherds and sheep, but we still understand the message Jesus communicated when he said, “My sheep hear my voice.” 

This is what Jesus expects of his disciples. He wants us, his disciples, to hear and follow his voice like shepherds who call out to their sheep every morning. A true disciple is one who hears the voice of the “Good Shepherd” and follows without question. But as we are well aware, listening is a skillset not all of us have or employ very well. Besides…

Today there are many voices competing for our attention. 

There are many voices, idols… yes, even gods for us to follow, little whispers and distractions everywhere—peers, social media, jobs, ambitions. Be rich, famous, beautiful, powerful, successful, noticed, important… 

None of those things are bad in and of themselves—many seem like blessings we even pray for. But, left unchecked, they can easily drown out the voice of the Good Shepherd.  

How do we choose which voices to follow, and what direction to travel in? If there are many “shepherds” calling us, who do we hear and respond to? 

Jesus calls us to eternal life each and every day. As our shepherd, he gives us the right direction. He promises us the safety and security that comes from the Father, a joy and happiness that is “not of this world.” 

Jesus calls us, his disciples, to live according to his teachings of love, forgiveness, and sacrifice. It’s often difficult which I am sure comes as no surprise to anyone who’s been scarred by life.  We saw that in last week’s reading where the Sanhedrin told the Apostles to stop teaching Jesus’ message, and again in today’s reading where Paul and Barnabas got run out of town. But, when we walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we create a genuine relationship with him and each other. In that community, there’s power.

The Good Shepherd’s voice asks us to focus on God and our fellow human beings, sometimes at great sacrifice to ourselves. Other voices ask us to focus our attention on ourselves, on getting as much as we can here and now, no matter the cost. That’s the difference.

There are many paths to choose, many flocks to be a part of, and many shepherd’s voices to follow, but only one will lead us to green pastures.  Others paths may be a lot of fun, pleasant, enjoyable…. but, not permanent. 

“We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” 

This is today’s Responsorial Psalm. It again says we are God’s people, and he tends his flock. We are filled with joy and gladness; we share in his unending kindness and enduring faithfulness. God cannot be outdone in generosity. He loves each of us, his sheep. He cares for our earthly well-being and eternal salvation, if only we hear his voice and follow him. 

May the only voice we hear this Easter Season be that of the Good Shepherd, calling us to grow in love, in holiness, and in service to our brothers and sisters in Christ, the Risen One!

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Recommended Reading: The Shattered Lantern by Fr. Ronald Rolheiser O.M.I    is a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is a theologian, professor, award-winning author, and serves as president of the Oblate School of Theology.

 

Recommended Podcast: Another Name for Everything by Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M. is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation who teaches primarily on incarnational mysticism, nondual consciousness, and contemplation, with a particular emphasis on how these affect the social justice issues of our time.