PENTECOST
(Pentecost) SUNDAY
15 May 2016
• Acts 2:1-11
• Psalm 104 • 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 • John 20:19-23 or John 14:15-16, 23b-26 •
Title:
“First Communion ”
[__01__] When
I was about 11 years old, I recall feeling very awkward, very self-conscious at
my first baseball practice. I had just arrived at the field on my bicycle. The
team was already practicing.
When I arrived, I was very surprised –
and really very anxious /nervous – because the players on the field were
wearing the team uniforms. They wore uniforms – to PRACTICE?
I was so disappointed, so anxious that
I turned around and returned home. I was very upset. My parents were confused,
seeing my so soon. I explained why I returned home.
“ Mom, they were wearing the uniform.
I didn’t have my uniform.” I’m not sure what my mom said…probably something
nice.
Later, I told the story to my dad,
“All of them had uniforms on. And, I was just … in … my … clothes. Why were
they wearing uniforms?”
“Well you know, baseball players – the
New York Yankees – wear their uniforms to practice.”
I was ten. I had no vocabulary or
experience to debate “little league” vs. “MAJOR LEAGUE” attire for infield
practice with my father.
The New York Yankees?
[__02__] It
is, at times, an awkward, uncomfortable experience to put on clothing, to put
on a special set of clothes for the first time.
Or, to put on a uniform for the very first time.
To dress up with a special suit, tie,
dress, shoes …
We feel different, we are expected to
behave differently.
[__03__] And, boys and girls, you may also receive many compliments
today because of your presentation, your attire, your appearance.
[__04__] There are certain occasions in our lives
when we show our loyalty, our affection, our love by the way we dress.
[__05__] On the other hand, we
might also say that the appearance, the garments, the CLOTHING of Jesus Christ,
our Savior, also showed his love for you and for me.
That
is, our Savior, the Son of God, our Messiah, arrived – clothed – wrapped up –
first as an infant child whom we remember at Christmas.
[__06__] While
we believe in God’s power, wisdom, love, we give thanks that he was born – and
clothed just as you and I are.
Jesus showed his love through his
appearance, his willingness to die for us, to give up his life.
[__07__] In this, your first Holy
Communion, and in Holy Communion, we receive Christ’s body, we drink his
blood. We believe not only that he came
to life to be among us in Galilee and
Jerusalem with his first disciples but that he died and gave this the Eucharist
so that he might give ups his body to us forever.
[__08__] Today,
boys and girls, you are invited to the table of the Lord’s supper for the first
time. It is lovely, beautiful that you and your family are dressed so well,
prepared consummately and faithfully this day also by Mrs. Morgan and our
catechists.
We
know that your beauty, your faithfulness is not only symbolized by what you
wear but also demonstrated – body and soul – in who you are.
[__09__] When I was 11 years old…
when I turned around at the baseball field, I was – at the moment lacking an
understanding of what a team was …and the community of the team. That is, the
team was not defined only by what we wore – on the outside.
And, isn’t it true for us
that sometimes we may feel isolated/restricted or apart from God or unworthy
for the wrong reasons.
Do you, girls and boys, sometimes, compare what you have to
what someone else has?
Do you sometimes compare what you are wearing to what
someone else is wearing?
Do you sometimes compare what someone else can do to what
you can do, or to what you know?
[__10__] - [__11__] Though I felt temporarily
isolated – without my uniform – I remained a part of the team.
I
was not aware of this, but it was the truth.
[__12__] Yes, there are times when we need to put aside
childish things, as St. Paul said, to put aside our PRIDE, to admit our faults,
to confess our sins and to prepare ourselves to receive God and Holy Communion.
[__13__] To do this, we not only open our hands and
lips to receive his body and blood but we also open our hearts and voices to
speak to God, to pray, to tell him our fears, our joys.
You and I – all of us – are his
precious children.
While each of us receive the same
body and blood of our Savior today, we each receive different graces, different
blessings.
Yes, we all are nourished not
only by bread but by the Word of God which will touch each of us differently,
to move us to toward mercy, kindness, love.
This mercy and love is also an invitation
to know ourselves better and to know that God wants us to be close to him, not
only in how we dress or what we do, but also in what we think and what we feel.
We are called to lay down our lives
also – in sacrifice – in ways that are both seen and unseen, noticed and
unnoticed.
Mothers and fathers, grandmothers and
grandfathers, you the families who bring your child here – do this naturally –
beautifully each day, to teach your children that they are loved and treasured.
To teach your children that Jesus
wants to share his life with them that he remains with us through the Church,
his Word, and through Holy Communion. He is our companion.
[__14__] I remain
quite sure that the coach wanted me to stay, despite my own discomfort,
anxiety, nervousness. I can still hear him calling me back.
I also recall there was one other kid
who also did not get the message about the uniform. He was also in regular
clothes. I was not alone after all.
And…. We also …
We are not alone in this gift of his
Body and Blood.
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