Keeping God's Word

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 we don’t really believe nevertheless want to keep, words that challenge us, words 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” and 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…. our….. call.  

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Photo attribution - Pinterest.com

Those Glory Days

  

Deacon Tom Writes

“Those 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 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 him, deserves, knows all of this ahead of time and still accepts 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 the 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

Image - blackrockpottery.com

Hearing Voices?

Deacon Tom Writes

“Hearing Voices”

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C

Jesus often used every day examples from the pastoral settings that surrounded Him. He drew upon them because they didn’t need any explaining. People knew that all a shepherd had to do was to call out and his sheep would follow his voice. It is said that shepherds would graze their sheep in different fields during the day but when night came the shepherds melded the sheep into one sheepfold so they could have safety in numbers. At daybreak, the shepherds would simply call out and, amazingly, each sheep would instinctively follow the voice of its own protector and guardian… What a beautiful image of this dynamic relationship between the sheep and the shepherd.

We may have lost the pastoral setting that the shepherds enjoyed back then, but we are still able to understand the message Jesus wants to communicate when he says, “My sheep hear my voice”. This is what Jesus expects of his disciples….Not only the hearing but also the following too. So, a disciple is one who hears and follows the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Today there are many voices competing for our attention. Whose voice are we attuned to? Jesus is calling us to “eternal life”. He is promising us the safety and security that comes from the Father, a joy and happiness that is “not of this world”. He is calling us to be his disciples and to live our lives according to his teachings on love, forgiveness, and on how to have a genuine relationship with him and one another. Other voices are calling us to focus our attention on ourselves, on getting as much as we can here and now, no matter the cost. Many paths of life to choose; many different flocks to be a part of, and many  different shepherd voices to follow but only one will lead us to green pastures. 

Today’s Responsorial Psalm reminds us of some of the additional benefits we receive from the hands of the Good Shepherd… we are filled with his joy and gladness; we share in his unending kindness and enduring faithfulness. God cannot be outdone in generosity to paraphrase Scripture. He loves each of his sheep; our safety and well-being are his only concern.

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

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

How Do I Love You? Let Me Count The Ways

Deacon Tom Writes

“How Do I Love You? Let Me Count The Ways”

Third Sunday of Easter, Year C

It takes real courage to admit your mistakes. It takes more courage to move foreword and not be paralyzed or held back by mistakes of the past. Peter appears to have resumed his prior way of life as a fisherman after the death of Jesus, perhaps trying to forget those last days: Jesus’ brutal death, his own cowardly denying his friendship with Jesus, his inability to comprehend Jesus’ mysterious presence in the midst of his disciples. It was just too much for him to grasp!

It is understandable that Peter and the others would go back to the way of life that was most familiar to them, fishing. They could pick up where they had left off before Jesus called them and put their ambition and energy into their business. But their flight to the safety of the past is short lived as we read in today’s Gospel.

This is more than an encounter with Jesus. And it is more than a story of Peter’s reconciliation with Jesus. At it’s deepest level it is the story of Peter’s coming to terms with himself, with his own failures and shortcomings, with his own fears and doubts. In confessing his love for Jesus, Peter is able to put to rest his sins from the past and his own weaknesses, to accept them for what they are, and to move beyond them to a new and heightened mental and spiritual life that awaited him. He is able to forgive himself and embrace the work that Jesus gives him to do, “Feed my sheep”. Peter embraces this new mission from Jesus with a renewed enthusiasm fueled by the power he has received from the Holy Spirit. He is now willing and able to assume his role as first among the Apostles and leads them on their mission to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…”MT 228:19.

Like Peter, many of us have had our “ups and downs” in our relationship with Jesus. We have had our share of doubts and fears and have often disappointed Jesus by our sinful behavior, by our bad choices, by “what we have done and by what we have failed to do.”   Over time these actions become like a wedge and sever our relationship with Our Lord. But today’s gospel gives us all hope that we can never be far from God’s abundant mercy and forgiveness. Jesus will always come looking for us, to nourish us physically and spiritually and to bring us his healing presence and compassion so that we can begin again, renewed and restored.

Easter is a time of God renewing the whole world. Let us embrace his love and forgiveness and be renewed ourselves so that we may be able to experiences the newness of life brought about through his suffering and death.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Photo Credit:  2.bp.blogspot.com/jesus-peter-reconciliation1.jpg

Deacon TomWrites,

“Peace be with you”

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy), Year C

Today on the Octave of Easter we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. It is the eighth day after Jesus’ triumphant victory over death, the reason for our wholehearted joy today. It is fitting for us to reflect on God’s unconditional and constant love for us on this day set aside in honor the Divine Mercy for it is thorough God’s Mercy we were redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.

We read today about the life of Jesus’ Apostles and the early days of the church. They weren’t looking to establish a religion to rival their Jewish faith. They had no such grandiose plans to create a massive organization. What they wanted to do was spread the word about all they had seen and heard. They had to keep Jesus’ story alive. And, to this end they were very successful, as we read today, “…the people esteemed them” as they worked signs and wonders among them. The Apostles were sharing the powers that they had received from the Holy Spirit, “On the evening of that first day of the week”. Enlivened by the Holy Spirit they left the room they had locked themselves in and fearlessly began to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News that God’s reign had begun. And the people were eager to hear that Good News, for not only were “…great numbers of men and woman were added to them”, but also, “…the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits … were all cured”. And so it began!

Today we ask ourselves in what ways God has shown us his mercy and reflect on the many ways God’s Mercy has touched our live. We may recall the words with which Jesus greeted His Apostles as we begin our contemplation, “Peace be with you”. It is so fitting for us to call to mind the peace of Christ for most of are desperate for God’s peace, a peace the world cannot give. In the shadow of the Christ’s rising from the dead all Christians desire to be filled with his gentle spirit and humble heart. After all, we’re no different than those people who heard the Apostles and followed them. They were looking for inner peace within themselves, peace in their families and neighbors, and in the world around them; they too were eager to ease their troubled hearts and be connected with inner peace of the risen Lord.  Don’t we all? 

As we bask in these “Glory Days” of Easter, let’s strive to find little ways to bring God’s peace into our lives and the lives of our family and friends around us. Because we have experienced God’s love and mercy, let’s pass it on to those who may be carrying heavy burdens or who may be getting beaten down by the challenges they face so they too may experience the precious Gift of God’s peace, one single facet of the infinite Mercy God desires to share with all his children. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Awesome Easter Surprise! There Is No Sense Like Nonsense.

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Awesome Easter Surprise!

There Is No Sense Like Nonsense”

Holy Saturday
At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter, Year C

For many people the story of that first Easter morning is sheer nonsense. Even the Apostles didn’t believe it when the women returned excitedly from the empty tomb and told them they had seen Jesus. Sadly the passage of time hasn’t made believing the Resurrection narrative any easier. As a matter of fact, the dawning of the age of cynicism and the challenges of living in a materialistic society are formidable obstacles to having any faith in anything other than the here and now.

Let’s face it we all have our doubts! We all have more than a little bit of “Thomas” in us, the Thomas who would not believe until he put his fingers into the wounds where the nails had been. Thomas was lucky; he was able to see with his own eyes. But we fall into that “blessed” category, as in, “Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed”.  

Many or our contemporaries have abandoned their faith completely. Others are “casual worshipers” whose faith is a matter of convenience. According to the Pew Research Center, twenty percent of Americans and a third of people under the age of thirty are religiously “unaffiliated”. Officially dubbed “Nones” as to their religious preference. We seem to have lost that excitement, the awesome bewilderment of what lies in store for those who believe in Jesus who, by his own experience of resurrection, tells us that one-day we too will rise from the dead. It really does seem too good to be true!

Our journey of faith is a gradual one. We grow a little at a time; we mature in our faith slowly. A prayerful spirit, a generous heart, charitable words and deeds deepen our faith and peal away our skepticism and disbelief so that Jesus becomes real to us and invites us into a personal relationship with him. When Jesus is a part of our lives, when we know that he lives, we experience today’s remarkable story with excitement and joy knowing with absolute certainty that Jesus is not to be found among the dead. And, although it sounds like nonsense, for those who believe, death will not get the last word. For we were all created to live in the kingdom where Jesus, the firstborn from the dead, reigns forever.  

Happy Easter!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: wghsuccess.com

How To Avoid Making the Stones Cry Out

Deacon Tom Writes

“How To Avoid Making The Stones Cry Out”

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, Year C

The tide of public opinion can change quickly. But the tide of public opinion is often nothing more than the collective mindset of the crowd that happens to gather at the moment. Today the crowd gathers to welcome Jesus and to sing his praises. Why not? He has a good reputation in the minds people. Word of his good works has spread throughout the land. He is a healer, worker of miracles, and advocate for the poor and disheartened. To some he is a prophet; to others he is the Messiah; to the religious authorities, he is a big problem!

Word spreads of his arrival in the city to celebrate Passover with his friends; many turn out to welcome him. The people are in a festive mood and they greet Jesus waving their palm branches and raising a chorus of “Hosanna”, for somehow they recognize the presence of God in their midst. As the spirit of hope fills the air, the Pharisees, the ones for whom Jesus is a problem, tell him to, “Rebuke your disciples”. Jesus responds, “If they were to keep quiet, I tell you, the very stones would cry out”.

What a difference a few days can make. As Jesus stands before Pilate, the Pharisees don’t appeal to Jesus to control his disciples; instead they’re fueling the crowd’s ignorance, stirring them up to advance their agenda – to get rid of the thorn in their side, Jesus. The finger pointing, the false accusations, the skillful manipulation of the emotions of the crowd work in their favor and Jesus is condemned to death. The only spirit at work in the crowd on that day is the hardness of heart that, to this day, continues to blind many to God’s presences in their lives.

Our scripture readings today help us to see Jesus as both the hope for and the scourge of our world. For believers Jesus is the, “Way, the truth, and the life”. For others Jesus is a hindrance to living a life unchecked, unrestrained by any moral or ethical code. With Jesus out of the way, there are no restrictions to living a self-absorbed, it’s all about me, taking care of number one lifestyle. Any good that one may do in this state is done solely because it gives one individual pleasure, a sense of feeling good. There is no sense of any common good, let alone any awareness of belonging to the “Mystical Body of Christ”.

I suspect that many of the people in the crowd on Good Friday were also there to greet Jesus on Palm Sunday. Today we have a chance to imagine what we would have done if we were present at these two remarkably different events. Better yet, we can look into our lives and see what crowds we side with today. Being champions of the poor, the alienated, the marginalized, and the abused will surely help us in our effort to avoid making stones cry out!!!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The More Things Change,

The More They Remain The Same”

Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C

There is much commentary today about the vanishing middle class, how they have been left behind in our new economy. Low paying jobs with no benefits, the sparsely of full time employment, and the high cost of living have combined to forced many mothers and fathers to work two, sometimes three jobs to provide for the basic need of their family. Stirred up by politicians and the media people have become angry that they haven’t been getting their “fair share” and, there is ample evidence to support this sentiment. There is a spirit of bitterness, resentment, and even hatred festering in the hearts of many people. As I read today’s gospel in light of these realities I sense that old truism at work, “The more things change, the more things remain the same”. For, as we read today, the older brother felt that he too wasn’t getting his fair share either.

I sense these are the same emotional struggles the older brother in today’s gospel had to contend with when his younger brother up and left, perhaps to “find himself” in the big city of his day. This older brother had stayed at home; he worked the farm, probably having to take on additional responsibilities because of his brother’s sudden departure. He probably felt that his father was giving away what was rightfully his by his birthright when his younger brother flew the coup. He was resentful and had every right to be because his brother violated the social norms of the times and, upon his return, seems to suffer no ill consequence. Even more challenging, he seems to be rewarded for his bad behavior. Most of us today identify with this older brother and sympathize with him.

If we spend some time with this reading, however, our eyes may be opened to the beauty of this parable wherein we are able to see how God not only refuses to see our bad behavior but also readily welcomes us back when we come to our senses. For the younger son, it was his errant behavior, his disrespect for his father and brother, his selfishness and wanton behavior that God overlooks. The older brother, too, is in need of forgiveness for his failing to recognize his fathers need to stand by his son who made a mistake and was man enough to admit it. This parable ends, however, and leaves us wondering if the older son ever comes to his senses and joins the banquet with his father.

This parable gives us insight into God’s very nature, i.e. one of  “unconditional love”. God willingly overlooks all our faults and sins and welcomes us home with open arms when we return. For God does not “count our trespasses against us”.  

We are called to forgive “seventy times seven time” Jesus tells us according to St. Mathew (Mt 18:22). Perhaps, if we practiced to forgive this many times….. we would become good at it, and things would change for the better!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit:Act Of Forgiveness, after Giotto 1450 reproduction 

We've Got To Change Our Evil Ways!

Deacon Tom Writes,

“We’ve Got To Change Our Evil Ways!”

Third Sunday of Lent Year C

A tip of the hat to Carlos Santana for the melody that popped into my head while I was preparing today's reflection… In St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he recalls the history of the Jewish people and their wandering in the desert”. He reminds his listeners that while their ancestors were in the desert they, “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink”… yet, they were “struck down in the desert” because their spiritual food did not change their evil desires”. Paul goes on to say that these words, “have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come”. As we listen to these words today, do they give us a better understanding of Eucharist as our “spiritual food and drink” to help us on our desert journey? Do Paul’s words lead us into a deeper awareness of Eucharist as a reality in which we experience Christ and, like the bread and wine, are permanently changed and transformed into the “Mystical Body of Christ”? 

To live in the “Kingdom of God” that Jesus reveals requires that we make some significant changes to the way we think, in how we live our lives, and how we related and interact with one another”. The process of going about making these changes is known by various names but they all produce the same results… “repentance”, “change of heart”, “metanoia”. These are the traditional words used to describe the interior work we must do to become productive members of the Kingdom of God that Jesus invites us to seek”.  

The warning Paul gives us today is that we not become like the Israelites of antiquity who ate and drank the spiritual food provided them but to no avail”. We have the food of “Everlasting Life” in the Eucharist and it is indeed life sustaining and life giving…if, and only if… the food we eat transforms us! In the Kingdom of God, if there is no transformation, there is no new life!

Just as we read in the gospel, if there are no figs, of what use is the fig tree? If the Eucharist produces no new life in us, than really, we are no better off than our spiritual ancestors who, because they failed to change their evil ways, were struck down in the desert. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

The Enemy Within

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Enemy Within”

Second Sunday of Lent, Year C

Today’s readings give us food for thought as we begin another Lenten season. Our first reading recalls the promise or covenant God made with Abram, that he will be the father of many nations, that his children will outnumber the stars….Imagine that! You couldn’t blame Abram for holding back a little chuckle when God revealed his plan. Imagine if he was able to see the heavens through the eyes of the Hubble Telescope and realize how impossible it would be to count the number of stars in the heavens!!! Lent is a time to reflect on the promises God has made and also fulfilled for our benefit. God made good on his promise to redeem the world from the darkness of sin and death through the sacrifice and obedience of his Son, Jesus, Son of God, and Son of Mary. If we understand in the slightest what God has done for us then we realize what a great gift we have received, for we have been given the gift of Eternal Life, the chance to live with him forever. This is the gift that Christ’s death and resurrection has secured for us.

Another theme flowing from our readings today to guide us on our Lenten journey is that of transformation. Peter, James, and John witness Jesus in the fullness of his glory and they are overwhelmed. This sneak preview of the Divine Jesus helps us realize that we too must be transformed into the mystical Body of Christ. St. Paul spoke directly about our need to experience this metamorphosis when he wrote to the Galatians… “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me”  (Gal 2:20). A mature Christian mindset is one that is always seeking to follow in Christ’s footsteps, that is, to conform our hearts and minds to that of Christ so that we too can pick up our crosses and follow him daily. Not an easy thing to do, and so we take baby steps to learn to “let go and let God” so we can learn to surrender ourselves to God’s Will in the face of our trials and frustrations in life.

Finally, St. Paul gives us a dose of harsh reality, apparently something he witnessed among the early followers of Jesus. Believe it or not, some of those who called themselves Christians were, “…enemies of the cross of Christ”. Wow! Right from the beginning, people were professing to be followers of Jesus, when in fact they were living their old ways. Paul recognized this duplicity and confronts it directly. He admonishes the Philippians to, “join with others in being imitators of me”. What a powerful invitation into the life of Christ from a man who imitated Christ in every way. St. Paul is a model for us on our Lenten Journey. He knows very well how to subdue the enemy within – by constant prayer, fasting, and charitable works. Good activities to occupy us this Lenten season as we too try to quell our own “enemies within”.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom