Ascension (2022-05-29)

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2022-05-29 –  Ascension (Easter 7 sun)   ●● Acts 1:1-11 ●  Psalm 47 ● Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:19-23  ●  + Luke 24:46-53 ●●

 [_00 _]  There may be some confusion as to when the Feast of the Ascension is supposed to be because it's normally been celebrated on Thursday.  But, in many parts of the country and throughout the world, Ascension is observed on Sunday. So we are observed are observing “Ascension” on Sunday,

There may be some confusion as to what the Ascension is supposed to be, because it reminds us of eternal life of what happens after we die, our own death and dying. And we're praying this week, especially at this time in our country, for those who have died for the children who have died for their mothers and fathers, grandparents and siblings who mourn their loss as well.

The British spiritual writer C.S. Lewis was asked this question about the death of his spouse. The death of his wife caused him to be asked -- did he experience her death more in certain places than in other places? I.e., did he experience her death more at home than when he was not at home, or did he experience her death more in a favorite place they both knew and loved. No, I didn't experience her death more in one place than another, the place I experienced her death. The place was in my body, I felt it in myself.

I was reminded of this once years ago. When my grandmother died, all of my siblings and I said to each other, I remember that grandma used to scratch my back before I went to sleep until I would fall asleep. I thought I was the only one my grandmother did that for !

Of my grandmother, we all have the exact same memory of her, in our bodies.

It is difficult to say the least to bring a child into this world, or to bring a child up whether we actually give birth or whether we're raising a child. They're called labor pains for a reason. Because it's hard to bring a child into this world. And the labor pains remind the mother that she is always connected to her child and to lose a child is to lose a part of yourself, for the mother for the father, for the siblings, for the grandparents as well. So we pray for mothers and fathers who are in mourning right now in Buffalo, and Uvalde. And everywhere.

 [_01_]   Years ago, I had the opportunity to travel, to fly from NYC to Port au Prince (Haiti) with a group of Seton Hall University students to an orphanage.

          After landing in Port au Prince, we traveled about 3 hours to the the Central Plateau region, the town of Hinche. We stayed at an orphanage where there were about 200 children.

[_02_]    It is significant to note that some of the children in this orphanage had parents, had a mother and father, but the mother and father had voluntarily – in desperation – given their children to the orphanage

in the hope of giving the children a better life.

          The mission  of the Seton Hall students was relatively brief, were in Haiti, for one week, for seven days and we spent our time in recreational and service activities with the children who were eager to learn and spend time with us.

[_03_]    The trip was a blessing for me to encounter children who had simultaneously “nothing” and “everything”.

          There were 3 things – in my impression – that the children were lacking – in their bodies – relative to me – I summarize this as CLOTHING / CONSUMPTION / CONFLICT

          What touched me deeply at the time – and I still recall my emotion from that time 10+ years ago  - was that they had no grown-up – no mother or father to help them in the areas of .. CLOTHING, CONSUMPTION, of CONFLICT.

          I am summarizing in my own way my impression of 3 areas of need for these boys and girls.

 

[_04_]         1^st CLOTHING. I do not mean that the children were not clothed. They certainly had clothes. They had many donated clothes.

          In fact, one of the “corporal works of mercy” for the SHU  students and I during the trip was to take inventory and sort through box and after box of donations. I remember we took clothing out of boxes so that we could sort things by    male/female, by type of garment, by S-M-L-XL.

There were even some donated Seton Hall NCAA uniforms in there!

These items would become the children’s clothing.

When I was a kid – and for kids today still – clothing is important and even being able to choose – autonomously one’s own outfits and and colors, et cetera is part of growing up.  As an orphan in Haiti, you are really living the “vow of poverty”, because all the clothes and shoes are shared.  And, nothing quite fits perfectly. The children did not complain.

[_05_]   2^nd CONSUMPTION /NOURISHMENT .   I do not mean that the children did not eat or were not fed. They were fed.  There was food.

I was reminded of this, one afternoon, when a boy playing basketball on the court next to us had arrived with a goat. I observed to one of the Seton Hall leaders that it seemed so “random” that a goat was watching us shoot hoops.   I was told that the goat would probably become our dinner.

In the orphanage, the children were certainly fed and had regular meals, but they did not eat an average of 3,000 + calories as you and I do. Their portions were strictly controlled and there was neither “mom” nor “dad“ to call out to for a snack.

Having a voracious appetite myself, I would have found this a very difficult burden.

But the kids did not complain.

On our 1 journey, I recall that we had travelled to Haiti with snacks for our long truck/van journey in the so called “tap tap” from Port au Prince to Hinche.

We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with us.  By the way, you the people of Our Lady of Lourdes responded at the time to my request and made us PB&J that we took. 

Our own needs for consumption / nourishment were taken care of. We actually had some left over at the end of our journey.  I did not want to go to waste and I told one of the orphanage leaders “Brother Michael” about our surplus and that we would like to give to the children.

We broke the sandwiches into bite size pieces. The children walked up like they were receiving Communion which they were very well trained to do…and we did go to Mass / celebrate Mass with them.

I remember the kids did not get much extra help with CONSUMPTION, with NOURISHMENT.

So..there were with all these kids, not a lot of extra help with CLOTHING, with CONSUMPTION/NOURISHMNT, but they seemed happy.

What was most remarkable and memorable to me was how they dealt with CONFLICT and with COMPETITION  at the orphanage.

 

[_06_]  Isn’t  “competition” and “conflict” an important part of growing up?

          I can recall, for example the many times – seemingly countless times in LL baseball that I stood at home plate only to fail because after 3 strikes, I had not reached base. In other words, I struck out.

          To this day, I have mixed feelings about baseball in  general but I am especially admiring of batters/players – even if they get paid a lot – can keep their cool after a strike out. 

 

In any case, the experience of striking out in baseball did not turn me off  to sports in general or  even to  all forms of getting knocked down.

          I was blessed to have a family around me, mother, father.

          These kids did not have that. They lacked that, in their bodies.

          If they struck out…or worse …maybe  they got into a fight with one of the other boys, or if someone yelled at them…who was the mother or father to console them, to make them whole again. ?

          I imagine that they cried themselves to sleep at night more than a few times.

          Children need love, 18-year old children who are mentally ill and imbalanced need love as well.

          They may need to be protected from themselves.

          But, I suggest it is not just a problem of not spending enough money to fix a mental health crisis or to institutionalize the mentally ill.

          Children need to know the truth about themselves and others , and the truth is never going to be found in a video game or in a fantasy experience or even in their own opinions.

          The Church and Christ are important because they remind us that LOVE is not a feeling or an emotion.  Love is also NOT  demonstrated merely by what we CLOTHE ourselves in, by what we CONSUME …or even if we are without CONFLICT. Love can coexist with conflict.  Love is not a concept; love is a command.

          Even to love your enemies.

          I think we all fear – after the recent violent events in Buffalo, NY and in Uvalde, TX – that we will wring our hands, cry our tears and then it’s on to the next crisis.

          The Gospel is given to us so that we will care for our children better, teach them that they are loved and that no matter how strange they may feel, they are not alienated from God their Father, and that in his love we have all been adopted.  We were all once, orphans, we are one in Christ.  [_fin_]   

Memory / Mission (2022-05-22, Easter 6th Sunday)

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2022-05-22 –  Easter 6^th Sunday  &

●●   Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 ●  Psalm 67 ● Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23 ●  + John 14:23-29 ●●   

 [_00-a_].   Many years ago, a friend of mine hired me to work as a waiter at a Marriott Hotel that had banquets or celebrations, like weddings and other things.

          One thing I remember about this job was that I really did not apply for it as much as I was asked if I would do it. The manager or maitre’d at the Marriott was a former sports / basketball coach. I had played on his team as a kid. And, the maitre’d was not just hiring me, but several of my classmates.

          I remember this summer job very fondly for the experience. I remember it paid well and my friends and I enjoyed being together.

          It was also kind of a competitive experience that was asking me to “step up my game and work ethic”.

          And, I learned some important lessons that summer, one of which I will conclude with here.

          It was about REMEMBERING, about MEMORY.

 

[_03_].  In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus is calling – one could say “hiring” and giving assignments to his disciples who will follow after him.

          He is speaking to them about the Holy Spirit and also asking them to remember who they are and whose they are.

          This is important in our identity – for example. If you are married – you not recall that who you are as a husband or wife, but whose you are, you belong to. If you have a family, you remember not only who you are as a daughter or son or parent, but  who you belong to.

          As a priest, I do not wear my identity in a vacuum or simply for outward show. I must remember who I belong to …and I belong to you. I will need your help at times to tell me when I am lost! Thank you.

 

[_00-b_]. MEMORY    Do you remember the definition of a sacrament.  The classic definition is that a sacrament is an VISIBLE sign of an invisible realty.

          Bread and wine are outward signs of Holy Eucharist. The priests words “This my body given up for you”, but the inward reality is that God loves us so much that he died for our sins and this.

          Do you and I remember this not simply when we are in church praying but also to remember when we feel rejected or distressed or lost or alone?

          The Eucharist is a mystery, but one that asks us to participate in the mystery, to remember the mystery

 

          You might say to me …hey Padre, the Eucharist is a profound mystery, no one can fully understand it.  There is some truth to this. But there are other things which we experience as “mysterious” yet we also profess faith in them and live our lives according to that faith.

          It is a mystery, for example, how my parents have not only loved each other for their entire lives but also loved all their children and grandchildren including me and loved me despite some of the reasons I gave them not to love me.

          It is a mystery, to me, how I have been able to forgive certain people or love certain people even though I have been hurt by them.

          So, these are mysteries and I will not be able to solve them like a Rubik’s cube or puzzle. But, they are also mysteries that bring me into “communion” and communal love with others.

          The mystery requires something of me.

 

[_05_].   The mystery of the Holy Eucharist also requires something of of me, calls something of me, to respect not only myself but all those for whom Jesus has died. This means everyone in the world.

          The sacrament of Holy Communion is reminder that we are called to save life, to protect life.

          And, that I am always being called to a higher standard.

          This past week, the Archbishop of San Francisco – Salvatore Cordileone – made headline news with his letter and message to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to receive Holy Communion due to her public stance on legal abortion.

          When we receive Holy Communion, we are celebrating  more than a meal, but also our belief that Jesus found every person’s life – even those who rejected him – even those not yet born – to be precious enough to die for.

          The Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life at all stages reminds us that human life is still worth dying for and sacrificing for.

          You – as mothers and fathers and grandparents and grownups of all types – know that life is worth saving and protecting.

It is true that there is no 1 church leader – myself included – who a perfect track record in protecting life and caring for the vulnerable.

We are all called to examine our consciences, to go to Confession, so that we can be prepared to receive the gift of eternal life in Holy Communion.

This particular archbishop’s stance toward Mrs. Pelosi invites us all to examine our lives.

Also, this is a reminder that the Church has concern for every unborn child, every child and every mother.

Also, there is no such thing in this category as “unforgivable sin”.

Nancy Pelosi is being instructed by her Archbishop because she is commiting a sin that is very much “forgivable”.

          Your sins are forgivable; the priests of our parish – myself included as your pastor – would be very glad to hear your confession at any time.

 

 

[_06_].  It is also important to note that Archbishop of San Francisco took this step only after his own efforts to talk to the Speaker of the House directly and “away from cameras and microphones.”

          As we read in Matthew chapter 5 about coming to the altar, Jesus says this. “If you come to the altar to offer your gift and there realize that you have some difference between you and a brother/sister, go first and be reconciled with your brother/sister, then come and offer your gift.”

          The AB of SF is trying to make this reconciliation. In this regard, he is very much concerned for the life and soul and salvation of the Speaker of the House.

 

[_07_].   In that summer job at the Marriott Hotel, there is one instance of “correction” to me that has stood out to me for many years.   One evening, we had a  our pre-dinner team meeting, and our boss told us that something different was happening at this dinner because there was going to be entertainment, a singer – this was 1980’s so it was a guy in a powder-blue tuxedo singing Frank Sinatra Summer Wind (I think!)

As a result of the “entertainment”, I was told and all the waiters were told to serve the dinner and then NOT go around to help people with filling water glasses and other table service like we usually did.

          I was told that… but it went in one ear and out the other. I was 20 years old and inexperienced and not paying attention.

          So, there I was, while the Frank Sinatra guy was singing, I was pouring water and walking around the dining room. Then, I saw the maître’d  and he was coming right towards me…. Then I remembered, oh yeah, I am not supposed to be here.

          So, I left the dining room as fast as I could and he followed me out and he was kind of mad, kind of upset.

          But, I also realized that he was trying me as an adult, he was not disciplining me like I was 14 year old kid on his basketball team.

          And, I admitted I was wrong and was so glad that my friends – my coworkers – did not see me getting called out on this.

          My boss’s attention to me also showed me that he trusted me, that he had work for me to do…and also …as he walked away from the conversation, I knew the incident was now over. He said what he needed to say, I heard what I needed to hear.

          The Lord Jesus Christ also treats us not only as beloved children, but also as his growing children, and  he was work for us to and asks us to put our faith in him.   [___END___]

Follow the Money ? (2022-05-15, 5th Sunday Easter)

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2022-05-15 – Easter 5^th Sunday    ●●   Acts 14:21-27  ●●  Psalm  ●● Revelation 21:1-5a ●●  + John 13:31-33a, 34-35  ●●   

[_01_]  When will I get going? Where are you going?

          If you were to stand up, walk away from an important meeting or family gathering, or leave the table during a meal, without saying “Would you excuse me” …. “Pardon me”, people might wonder …”where are you going?”

          Even if you did “excuse yourself”, someone still might ask or wonder “where are you going?”

 [_02_]  In the Gospel this Sunday, we read the observation – the report -- that “Judas Iscariot” had gone out, that had “left the table”…. “left the building”.

          And, the other apostles might have wondered where Judas was going.

          But Jesus Himself is not wondering where Judas is going. He knows. And, you and I – with the perspective of history and many Easter Season readings of the Gospel, we know where Judas is going.

 [_03_]  Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot, in the Bible, every time he's mentioned is mentioned in some negative way as the one who betrayed Jesus. And in one place, he's also described as being the one who kept the contribution money given to the disciples for charitable purposes, and that Judas used to steal money from the contributions.

          Where is Judas going? He is going to get more money.

          He is going to get more money, because he has promised to betray Jesus to the authorities who want to arrest Jesus.

[_04_]  Why does Jesus Judas Iscariot betray Jesus? All we can really know for sure is from the gospel is that Judas was motivated by the money.

          This is where Judas is going.

He was willing to hand over Jesus to get the 30 pieces of silver the more money it was a direct deposit to Jesus. The conclusion of the story for Judas is tragic because he deeply regrets what he has done after the “money is in his account”, and but unfortunately, he does not find a way to make a real withdrawal and repentance. In Judas actually returns the 30 pieces of silver admitting to the chief priests I have betrayed innocent blood.

          But, in this case, the instruction is that repentance is more than just a material “payback” or returning of the money.   Judas could have avoided further trouble if had come all the way back to his Lord and Savior.

          It’s not easy to admit you are wrong, to have your wrongdoing exposed to others.

          Judas was not the only apostle in the wrong. Peter and the others denied or doubted or departed from in other ways. Yet, they also – in the end – repented and were forgiven because they stuck together and with Christ. There is hope for sinners!

          We can be forgiven if we stick together and with God. This is where we are headed, where we are meant to go.

          I also suggest we all  need to remember that our prayers for someone's soul are always beneficial, no matter how much despair or darkness we think the other person is in or was in.

          Only God looks into the heart.

[_05_]  A few months ago, I was driving on Roseland Avenue and approaching Bloomfield Avenue at a busy intersection in Caldwell, not far from St. Aloysius Church in Caldwell.

          As I approached the intersection, I noticed cars slowing down and I figured that I could continue to maintain my speed and keep going if I changed lanes, but this also meant that I was going to have jump in front of another driver.

          In my momentary haste, I did change lanes, jump out in front of the other driver and even made it through the intersection quite safely as did the other drive who was absolutely irate and raising his voice at me.

          I knew I was in the wrong. I had broken the rules. I had “betrayed” the other driver. Where was I going?

          That was the question I really had to ask myself. Was it really worth it for me to save 2 minutes just to rush through an intersection, do something dangerous just in order to “get going.”

         

[_06_]  Have you ever heard the expression “follow the money” which is one used to express a method by which we can uncover corruption and vice and sinfulness by examining who is paying whom financially.

 It's an expression that comes from the 1970s from a U.S. Presidential Election scandal known as Watergate - with Richard Nixon, in which there were cover ups and betrayals and payments of money back and forth in an election campaign.

The police and politicians who were investigating used the phrase “FTM” to figure out who the wrongdoers were. Follow the money,

All we can really know for sure is that Judas Iscariot was following the money. But in the end, Judas was not the only one motivated by material concerns. Peter, who denies Jesus three times in order to save himself from getting arrested Peter with following the money. The other disciples who also didn't want to get caught, didn't want to get caught up or arrested. They escaped, they were following the money in order to stay safe.

And sometimes I am guilty of this. I have done things in order to be more comfortable. When I changed lanes suddenly on Roseland Avenue and went through the intersection – fortunately safely – in order to get a jump on things, I was not actually getting paid to do this… but I was listening to a voice saying …”time is money”.

So, if I save time, I save money.

Follow the money.

I’ve said said things in order to be more comfortable or to get in with the in crowd.  I follow the money

Or perhaps I've avoided saying something because I want to get in with the right crowd or be more comfortable.  I follow the money.

Sometimes we are even tempted to be dishonest. Taking what belongs to another, relying on someone else’s work or homework or test to complete our own work.  We follow the money rather than a method disciplined of studying.

The question after all of this is not whether or not we have betrayed Christ. I have betrayed him by what I have done and what I have failed to do. The question is not whether or not I am a sinner, but whether or not I am a repentant sinner and willing to come out in the open, to return to the confessional.

The story of Judas is instructive to us not so that we can avoid getting caught, but to know that we are all caught up in something that requires our repentance and where God’s grace is going to help us to get going.

[_07_]  Many years ago, I was told how my grandmother and her sister who were teenagers willingly left their home in the 1920s in Ireland, to come to the United States. They were not runaways. But they were immigrants. And they lived with relatives in New York City. They got here by traveling on the ocean, and they were as we say, fresh off the boat.

I was fascinated and impressed by their perseverance, by their bravery and asked my grandmother for more details, I begged my grandmother for more details of which you simply summarize, not by giving me past history, but telling me of the true present. I was asking because in a sense, I wanted to follow the money.  I wanted to know where she had gone how she got there.

Recently, one of my relatives visited my grandmother’s original hometown and found out that there used to be a railway station, and train that she would have traveled on. The train is not there anymore, that was very interesting to me as a detail, because I want to follow the money all the way back into the past.

So, I asked my grandmother for more details…

But my grandmother did not want to follow the money  that way.

I was interested in knowing what she had to do in order to save, survive, succeed.

 All my grandmother would tell me was this: “if I had not come here, you would not be here. In other words, James Ferry  that's, that's how your life began before you were born even before your parents were born, because I came here.”

But we are also here. I'm not here just because of my grandmother. We and you are not here just because of your parents. We're here because Jesus came before us. Because he gave us life for us. He is our treasure. Don't follow the money. Follow him. Where your treasure is there, you heart will be there.  That’s where we are going.  [_fin_]   

When Did Your Life Begin? (2022-05-08, 4th Sunday Easter) / Mother's Day

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2022-05-08 –  Easter 4^th Sunday  &

●●   Acts 13:14, 43-52  ●●  Psalm 100  ●● Revelation 7:9, 14b-17 ●●  + John 10:27-30 ●●   

 TITLE: When you did your life begin?

[_01_]   When will I begin? When did your life begin?

          Usually, you would answer this question by telling me your date of birth, month, day, year, which I am not asking you for individually, but just asking you to reflect for a moment on the question: when did your life begin?

          Another way to answer this question is to think of moments when your life has been renewed, re-started, re-booted in some way.

          Perhaps, you would say that your life BEGAN, when you met your future spouse. Your life began when you discovered what you were good at in school.   Your life began when someone offered your forgiveness for a fault. 

          Your life began when you were able – with God’s help – to forgive someone else who trespassed against you.

[_02_]   Sometimes, we trace the beginning of life to very material things or monetary achievement. Recently, I was surprised– but should not have been surprised – that a professional sports league – the NFL (you know … TD touchdowns, QB quarterbacks, LB linebackers and all that) – had managed to spend 3 full nights of prime time television broadcasting what they call their “draft” – the NFL draft of new players coming out of college who are going to play at the professional level.

          And,  in this program, those who watch can learn something about how “life begins” and how much money is offered to these new QB – LB who are starting a new life at the professional level.

          To be honest, I really do not watch the NFL draft and did not even know that it was on TV until I tried to watch the game show Jeopardy with Ken Jennings which I often watch when visiting my mother and father.

          However, that night we could not watch it because the NFL draft was on. I was quite annoyed at this – that someone else’s definition of “when NFL professional life begins” should interrupt my experience of watching TV.

          It was not the end of the world.

          I just cite the NFL draft as one example – in popular culture that we hold in very high regard…i.e., when a successful life begins.

[_03_]   When did your life begin?

          Sometimes, our life begins when we decide to start over, or to make a significant change.

          Some sometimes people ask me this question, hey, Padre, hey Father when did you know you wanted to be a priest?, In other words, when did your life begin? When did it start?

          In my case, I came to realize – after I had completed my college education and after I was working as as a grown-up adult for a few years that I felt called to study for the priesthood.

And while I'm grateful for many lessons in business and responsibilities and of business, I recognize that and these are necessary in my role as a priest. But I also recognize that choosing to study for the priesthood will be a new life, a new path. This was both freeing and frightening. 

[_04_]    And, in some ways, it all happened so fast… like major changes do.  So, around the year 2000, I left my working career, job in New York, started at the seminary in Seton Hall University where I finished around 2005, graduated and was ordained

          In the fall of that year, a few months after graduation / ordination, I went back to NYC one day to reconnect with some of my former co-workers who were nice enough to take me out to lunch to a restaurant that I could not afford to eat in.

          I knew I could not afford to eat I this restaurant, also because there was a TV star journalist and sportscaster sitting in the restaurant just a few tables away.  This was Bryant Gumbel who used to be on the NBC “TODAY” show, and other major celebrity stuff.

          In some ways, there were only 2 people that seemed out of place in that restaurant – Bryant Gumbel and me.

          I was no longer dressed in business attire, but was dressed as a priest. Perhaps, I looked out of place in that restaurant.

          But, that was just an example to me that my life was just beginning.

          When did your life begin?

          When did my life begin?

          Of course, in a very official sacramental and church-sense, my life as a priest began when I was ordained at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

          There is saying in from the Bible -- “Thou art a priest forever – Tu es sacerdos en aeternum.”

          “Forever” does not mean that it was destined to happen even if I objected. In other words, Ferry, you cannot get out of this, even if you do not cooperate.

          In fact, our life begins when we truly cooperate with God’s grace.

          That day, with NBC Today Show Host Bryant Gumbel in the restaurant, I had this sense that I was really starting something new. Mr. Gumbel would go back to his high-rise luxury apartment wherever that is.  My co-workers would go back to work without me… but I did not really long to go back with them that day.

          I just hoped that we would stay in touch.  In many ways, I was also educated and formed by them.

[_05_]     When did my life begin ?

          My life as a priest began before the seminary, before college, before there were academics or daily Mass. It began in the “seminary and church” of my home and hometown with my parents and grandparents and siblings through whom I also learned about love, charity, hope, faith and taking out the garbage and all that stuff. I am still learning about these things from them.

          I am also learning about these things from you, my parish family. 

[_06 _]   When did my life begin?

 When does life begin? There'll be lots of debate in the coming weeks due to expectation of a Supreme Court decision about the legality of abortion.

And it does come down to a question about when does life begin?

This may not be a question you can answer scientifically or satisfactorily for those who may argue for the legality of permissive laws on abortion.

However, I'm inviting you as a Catholic to remember that God is holding you in existence at every moment. You came into this world because you were loved. Are there children who come into this world in horrific violent conditions? Yes.

They may even be born to parents who do not wish to raise them, or cannot raise them or cannot love them as they should.

Nevertheless, it is by an act of God's love that they exist. It is by an act of God's love that you exist and I exist. And we are called to advocate to care about these lives to pray for them and to remember that every unborn child, every mother, is important.

They are both important. When did your life begin your life began in a profound way when you recognize that Jesus is your shepherd, your good shepherd who is leading you home, calling out for you will always lead you home and help you to restart again.   [_fin_] 

You're Worth Fighting For (2022-05-01, Easter 3rd Sunday)

Easter 3^rd Sunday  &   1^st Communion Title: Fight. Fear. Forgive

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[_00_]   Are you worth fighting for ? Yes, you are worth fighting for.

          I’d like to give an example of something that was “worth fighting for”  and then also speak about how the Gospel Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection shows that you and I are worth fighting for.

          Jesus, our Lord and Savior fights for you, me.

 [_01_]   THE EXAMPLE --- It was a Friday evening in August of 1998 and I was getting ready to go on a trip the next day, to go to the state of Michigan (near Detroit) because my friend John was getting married.

          As I was packing my stuff to go, I realized that I did not have 1 very important item for the trip.

          That is, I had no ticket for the airplane. I had forgotten to buy a ticket for the trip. At the time, there was no EXPEDIA, or JETBLUE.COM. I had forgotten to call the airline. At the time, I recall being rather busy, and I was travelling frequently for my work …  This as my “excuse”.  But I was pretty worried because I really did not want to miss - my friend’s wedding.

          I was also supposed to do a reading – the first biblical reading in church at the wedding-mass. If I did not show up, I suppose they could have found someone else to read from the Book of Genesis, but nevertheless, my absence would have been even more noticeable. So my fear and anxiety were increasing.

          I actually feared – for some time – that if I did not go to this wedding, our friendship would be in jeopardy.  “Jeopardy” means to be in trouble or danger.

          I just cite this as an example of the trouble/danger/jeopoardy.. Spoiler alert ..yes, I was fortunately able to buy a ticket at the last minute and made it, so to say, “to the church on time”.  I also recall that – fortunately for me – it was not too expensive even to buy a ticket only 1 day before my departure.

          But, I also had to overcome my own anxiety – distress – to do the right thing and get myself on the plane next day. It was worth fighting for.

 [_02_]        I just cite this an example of the trouble/danger/jeopardy of Peter the Apostle is going through, after Peter has observed Jesus’ arrest, being thrown in jail and his rising from the dead.

          Peter fears his friendship with Jesus is either in jeopardy or completely finished.

          How was Peter connected to the events of Jesus’s Passion, Death and Resurrection?

          Peter is Jesus’ friend, companion and leader of the apostles. Jesus could trust him, right?

          And, in the events prior to Jesus’s Last Supper and being arrested, Peter (and other apostles) promised boldly that they would die with Jesus, go with him until the end.

However, Peter and all the others except one had scattered and run away.

          Even worse, after Peter had witnessed his friend - Jesus – being arrested, Peter was asked 3 times, “do you know him”. Peter denied 3 times.

          Is Peter worth fighting for?

Jesus has come to visit Peter – to show him love, compassion …and to tell Peter that their friendship is not over. That Peter is worth fighting for.

          [PAUSE]

 

[_03_]      We are here this Sunday for First Holy Communion – the First Holy Communion of …

          And not only for each of you but each of the children at .... We are friends – through Jesus Christ.

         [_04_]       Jesus says in the Gospel, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”  (John 15:15-16)

          In other words, Jesus is it is worth it for him to work and to sacrifice to give us a better life.

          I’d like to ∑ summarize by reflecting that in every friendship – I suggest there is an experience of

[FEAR – is it worth it? ]

[FIGHTING – is it worth it?]

[FORGIVENESS – is it worth it?]

[_05_]    [FEAR]  Fear. Is “fear” or “being afraid” worth it… We pray in the 27^th psalm, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom should I be afraid?“  In other words, God is teaching us that with Him on our side, we do not have to afraid – for example – of failing in school, or getting a bad grade, or being lonely.

          Even it seems  that everyone else has given up on us, God will not give up on you.  Nevertheless, we can live our lives in a little bit of fear.

          What is it that we fear? What is it that I fear? I do fear that I could do something or fail to do something that would disrupt a friendship or loving relationship.

          It is not uncommon for a husband and wife who have been together for many years and trust each other very much to say that that they “fear” losing each other. This does not simply mean that they fear the death or dying of the other person. It means that they have come to believe so strongly in their love for each other, that they fear doing something that would harm their relationship.

          I can honestly that I have no idea how much my last-minute plane ticket cost from Newark Airport to Detroit. The only thing that mattered then- and matters now – is that I completed the journey, not how much it cost to do so.

          The “fear” I felt was worth it because it motivated me to do something

          If Peter is afraid, the only thing that matters for Peter is that he complete the journey …his way back to Jesus, which the Lord offers him in his 3 questions “do you love me?” which are meant to be the counterbalance, the other side of the scale, to Peter’s  3 denials. Peter makes the trip.  It may scare him a little bit…because he is so reluctant, but the fear also motivates  him.

[_06_]       [FIGHTING]

In every friendship there will be some form of “fighting”,  “arguing”… “disagreeing”.   A friend, however, not only worth fighting for… a friend is someone we find it worthwhile to fight with.

          By fighting, I do not mean that we should endure or encourage abuse or physical contact from those we love or those who might want to be close to us.

          In every friendship – in every marriage – in every relationship between parent and child – there will be things worth fighting for.

          And, is it not also true that friends stand up for each other?

 

[_07_]  [FORGIVENESS] There is forgiveness in friendship.

          Is forgiveness worth it?

                    In the sacraments of the Church, we speak of forgiveness in terms of CONFESSION + PENANCE + RECONCILIATION.

          That is, I can confess wholeheartedly my faults before God who will – through the priest – ask me for penance, usually for prayer and reflection – and then reconcile me to the Church, to God and others.

          That’s what total forgiveness means.

          What is the reason that you and I forgive?

          Sometimes, we forgive simply because we recognize the same fault in ourselves. So, for example, how can I not forgive you for showing up late to see me at a particular time, when I myself have been late many times. That is one reason to forgive. And, it’s an acceptable reason to forgive. But, it’s not why God forgives or why Jesus forgives Peter or you or me.

          Jesus does not forgive Peter because Jesus did the same as Peter.

          And, so Jesus gives us an example of forgiveness that is hard to equal but worthy of emulation.

          That is, Jesus offers forgiveness even when there is nothing in it for him, but everything in it for Peter.

          Forgiving someone else does not mean we are approving or even forgetting what the other person has done.

          Forgiveness means we are relegating to the past the action and the harm done, so that we can make a new journey, forward to the present.

Jesus, giving up his life for us, also pays the full price, the full cost of the trip.  You are worth fighting for.  [_fin]      [ [][][][] ]