Third Sunday of Easter _C - Year C - How Do I Love You? Let Me Count the Ways_050525

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

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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 our 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 Peter to grasp!

 

It is understandable that Peter and the others would go back to a way of life that was most familiar to them, fishing. They could pick up where they had left off before Jesus called them and now put their ambition and energy back into rebuilding their business. But think about it! Do your really believe anyone could have put that kind of experience behind them and pick up where they left off? No way! Then, as now, that personal experience with Jesus leaves you changed for life. There is no going back. And that is the experience we find in today’s gospel as the Apostles flight to the safety of the past is very short lived.

 

This is more than Peter’s physical encounter with Jesus. It is the consequence of Peter’s coming to terms with himself, with his own failures and shortcomings, with his own fears and doubts. It is our privileged view into Peter’s soul-searching and honest self-reflection that leads to his confessing his love for Jesus. Only after this spiritual catharsis is Peter able to put to rest his failures and weaknesses, and, most importantly, to accept them for what they are. Once he comes to grips with his inner demons, he is ready to move forward to a new and heightened mental and spiritual life that awaits him. He is able to accept Christ’s forgiveness and even to forgive himself and embrace the work that Jesus gives him to do, “Feed my sheep.” Peter embraces this new mission 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. And renewal is what we need now given the present state of our world. Let us embrace Our Risen Savior’s love and forgiveness and be renewed ourselves so that we may be able to experience the newness of life brought about through Christ’s suffering and death.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

Recommended Reading: Everything Belongs 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.

 

Recommended Podcast: Catholic - Link Podcast is A podcast for busy Catholics. A mix of short, informative episodes, long form interviews, and interesting historical episodes. Wherever you are in your faith, we have content for you!

Third Sunday of Easter_C - How Do I Love You - Let Me Count the Ways_042822

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

 

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 our mistakes. It takes more courage to move forward and not be paralyzed or held back by them.   

Life after Jesus.

After the death of Jesus, Peter appears to have gone back to fishing. Perhaps he was trying to forget those last days: Jesus’ brutal death, his own cowardly denial of his friendship with Jesus, his inability to comprehend Jesus’ mysterious presence in the midst of his disciples. It was just too much for Peter to grasp.  

It’s understandable that Peter and the others would return to the life they knew, retreating to a place where it was safe. They picked up where they left off before Jesus called them. They put their energy back into rebuilding their businesses. 

But few people could have put that kind of experience behind them and picked up where they left off.  Having a personal experience with Jesus leaves a person changed forever—then, and now. There is no going back. The Apostles’ return to the safety of “normal” was very short lived. 

The issue was bigger than Peter’s physical and emotional encounter with Jesus. It was a mater of Peter coming to terms with himself, with his own failures and shortcomings, with his own fears and doubts. The Gospel today gives us a privileged view into Peter’s soul-searching and honest self-reflection that led to his confessing his love for Jesus. 

Only after this spiritual awakening could Peter forgive himself for his failures and weaknesses, and, most importantly, accept them for what they are: human shortcomings.  

Once he came to grips with his inner demons, he was ready to move forward. He was able to accept Christ’s forgiveness, to forgive himself, and to embrace the work that Jesus gave him to do, “Feed my sheep.” 

Peter embraced this new mission with a renewed enthusiasm fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was then willing and able to lead the Apostles on their mission to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt. 28.19-20).  

He did this at great risk to himself, as we see in the first reading (Acts 5:27-32) as the Apostles challenged the Sanhedrin, the Jewish authorities of the day, ordered them to “stop teaching in that name.”  Peter did not “stop teaching.” From that point on, Peter proclaimed the Gospel. He didn’t repeat his earlier denial and mistakes. His humanness and mistakes gave him the opportunity for reflection, to come to terms with his values and mission, and to go forward, renewed.

There’s a little Peter in each of us. 

Like Peter, many of us have had our ups and downs in our relationship with Jesus. We’ve had our share of doubts and fears. We’ve often disappointed Jesus—and ourselves—by our sinful behavior, 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 and a heavy burden of guilt to ourselves. 

But today’s gospel gives us all hope that we can never be far from God’s abundant mercy and forgiveness. As with Peter, Jesus will always come looking for us. He will nourish us physically and spiritually, and he will bring us his healing presence and compassion so that we can begin again, renewed and restored. 

Then, it’s up to us to forgive ourselves knowing God has already extended his infinite grace and mercy to us.  We can then take up the mantle and begin again. 

Easter is the time God renews the whole world. Renewal is what we need most now to give us strength to be like Peter and do our part to “feed my sheep.”  This is especially important given the present state of our world. Let us embrace Our Risen Savior’s love and forgiveness and be strengthened and renewed so that we may experience the newness of life brought about through Christ’s suffering and death and subsequent rebirth.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

 

Recommended Reading:

Everything Belongs 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.

 

Recommended Podcast: Catholic Bytes Podcast is a short, dynamic podcast delivering talks on various topics about the Catholic faith for people on the go.

Third Sunday of Easter_B - We are Witnesses Too!_041821

Deacon Tom Writes,

We Are Witnesses Too!  

Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

Today’s readings remind us how incredulous the resurrection is to the logical mind. That’s perhaps why both the first reading and the gospel mention that there were eyewitnesses to Christ’s death and resurrection. There were people who saw Jesus die a horrific death on Friday and then saw Him in the flesh walking along the shores of Galilee and with His disciples on the road to Emmaus soon afterward. So alive, in fact, that in the gospel today Jesus is asking His disciples, “Have you anything here to eat?” 

Hearing the personal narratives of eyewitnesses to history is powerful. Recall some of the stories you may have heard first hand from people who landed on the beaches of Normandy or were at or near the World Trade Center on September 11th. So many perspectives, so many details, that when we encounter people with rich experiences we tend to capture these memories and save them for future generations. 

Our readings today do just that. For 2000 years believers have benefited from hearing the story of Christ’s death and resurrection directly from eyewitness accounts detailed in the scriptures. Does the eyewitness testimony we read in the gospels carry the same weight for us today as it did for those first believers? No matter how strong our faith, we tend to have a little Thomas within us; we tend to believe and yet there remains some doubt echoing in our mind. Who wouldn’t like a little sign from above; who wouldn’t like as sign from above, an answer to a heartfelt prayer that brings about reconciliation to a bad relationship or perhaps a healing to a chronic illness for a loved one or just a moment of peace in the troubled waters of our lives. In different ways we carry that same doubt that Thomas experienced when he made it known to Jesus’ other hand picked disciples, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe”. After all, “Seeing is believing” as the saying goes, and wouldn’t we all like to see, that is, to comprehend this mystery for ourselves!!!

We all face this struggle. If we are honest with ourselves, we all struggle with real belief in the mysteries of our faith. St. Paul tried to teach the Corinthians that the real nature of our faith is summed up by the statement, “We walk by faith, not by sight”. 

While we today have no personal eyewitness experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are witnesses to the death and resurrection He brings about in us, the death to self, and His raising us to new life in every difficulty and struggle we face over the course of our lives. These trials and triumphs represent our eyewitness testimonies, those stories of our living faith and how Christ has remained present to us and has continued working in our lives. These are the eyewitness accounts that we bequeath to the generations to come. All who embrace the faith continue to believe in what our faith professes now as it has over these past 2000 years: Christ has died! Christ is Risen! And they believe Christ will do the same for them..”  

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom 

Previous reflections can be found online at: www.deacontomwrites.com

Image Credit: cliftondiocese.com_Braking of the Bread

We Are Witnesses Too!

Deacon Tom Writes,

We Are Witnesses Too!

Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

Today’s readings remind us how incredulous the resurrection is to the logical mind. That’s perhaps why both the first reading and the gospel mention that there were eyewitnesses to Christ’s death and resurrection. There were people who saw Jesus die a horrific death on Friday and then saw him among the living walking the shores of Galilee and with His disciples on the road to Emmaus soon afterward. So alive, in fact, that in the gospel today Jesus is asking his disciples, “Have you anything here to eat?”

Hearing the personal narratives of eyewitnesses to history is powerful. Recall some of the stories you may have heard first hand from people who landed on the beaches of Normandy or were at or near the World Trade Center on September 11th. So many perspectives, so many details, that when we encounter people with rich experiences we tend to capture these memories and save them for future generations.

Our scriptures today do just that. For 2000 years believers have benefited from hearing the story of Christ’s death and resurrection directly from eyewitness accounts detailed in the scriptures. Does the eyewitness testimony we read in the gospels carry the same weight for us today as it did for those first believers? No matter how strong our faith, we tend to have a little Thomas within us; we tend to believe and yet there remains some doubt echoing in our mind. Who wouldn’t like a little sign from above, the answer to a heartfelt pray that brings reconciliation to a bad relationship, healing to a chronic illness, peace to the troubled waters of our lives. In different ways we carry that same doubt that Thomas experienced when he made it known to the first princes of the Church, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” After all, “Seeing is believing” as the saying goes, and wouldn’t we all like to see, that is, to comprehend this mystery for ourselves!!!

We all face this struggle. We all struggle with believing in things we haven’t seen. St. Paul tried to teach the Corinthians that the real nature of our faith is summed up by the statement, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

While we today have no personal eyewitness experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are witnesses to the death and resurrection he brings about in us, the death to self, and his raising us to new life in every difficulty and struggle we face over the course of our lives. These trials and triumphs represent our eyewitness testimonies, those stories of our living faith and how Christ has remained present to us and has continued working in our lives. These are the eyewitness accounts that we bequeath to the generations after us, those who embrace the faith continue to believe as they walk in the light of our faith experiences as they grow in their own so they too walk “by faith and not by sight.”  

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: cliftondiocese.com_Braking of the Bread