Mass Not Really Ended (2023-05-07, Easter 5th Sunday)

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May 7, 2023 _ 5^th Sunday Easter (Year A)    ● Acts 6:1-7 ● Psalm 33 ● 1 Peter 2:4-9 ● John 14:1-12 ●   Title:  Mass Not Really Ended.

 [_01__]    When I was 18 years old, I had my first experience of going to church, to Sunday Mass, on my own initiative without my parents taking me or watching over me.

            This was when I was away from home on a college campus.

There was a Catholic Mass there on my campus in Pennsylvania near Lancaster almost every Saturday afternoon. It was “almost” every Saturday afternoon because this was not a Catholic college. We relied on the goodwill of the Catholic priests around there to visit and say Mass. There was also churches off campus where I went once in a while, but the college chapel on campus – that I walked by hundreds of times -- was my usual place.

I also saw friends and classmates there.  One of my friends always had a lot of homework to do, equations, science. He was pre-med and would go later to medical school. He's a physician today. But he was so absorbed in his books that he didn't watch the clock/time. He asked me to come by and remind him about Mass in the afternoon.

This was my 1^st experience of someone telling me that my faith or practice of faith had some influence or effect. In other words, where I was going or what I was doing might affect another person.

[_02__]  This Sunday, we celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for 2 of our young adults --- Gina and Angel --- at the Sacrament of Confirmation at 11:30 am Mass Sunday. 

Angel and Gina will renew their baptismal promises. In the sacrament baptism, they – and nearly all of us were infants and carried to church and someone else made those baptismal promises for us.

Those were our godfathers and godfathers. And now, [G, A] make these promises affirmatively publicly themselves.

And in many cases, young people, young adults are making those before the bishop that there has their willingness to follow Jesus and walk and talk what the Church teaches.

[_03__]    We read in John’s Gospel today, Jesus’ direction that “I am the way, the truth and the life”.

And, we could also translate “way” not just as an abstract method, but as a concrete path.

          Jesus is both our Savior and our Street, he is our Redeemer and Road.

          He is the Christ and the “camino”

 

  [_04__]        But, do the apostles get this ? Do you and I get this?

          Jesus sounds a bit frustrated with Philip’s sense of (spiritual) navigation and direction and days when Philip pleaded to see “God the Father”, Jesus responded:

          “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me. Philip?”

          What is the “long time“ duration to which Jesus refers. This is the 14^th chapter of the Gospel of John and in this conversation, Jesus is still “alive and well”. It is a conversation at the Last Supper and Jesus is telling them that he is going away. And, they want directions, GPS, LAT/LONG, etc in order to follow him.

          They want specifics.

 [_05__]        What is the direction, the road, the destination to Jesus our Lord and Savior? Is he in churches and cathedrals and chapels built by bulldozers and cranes and bricklayers and electricians?

          Yes, Jesus is present in these places and we have an obligation to connect with him at Sunday Mass, at church in these locations.

          But he is not limited to these locations.

          In our reading from 1^st Peter today, we are invited to be “living stones … being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.  (1 Peter 2:___)

          This is a reminder that your own home, your apartment, your room is a place of sacrifice and prayer.

          And, is not your home also “alive” because of the sacrifices you made for your home, for your children?

          It is true that you do not have a marble altar in your home, but your dinner table, your kitchen counter is also a place where you offer sacrifices.

          You may not have a microphone and pulpit of stone in your home, but the home is also a place where parents – especially- are called to preach and teach their children.

          Why do we preach and teach to our children? For the same reason that Jesus preaches to his own sisters and brothers, the disciples and to you  and to me, so that we will grow up.

          One thing that all these verses about “God as Father” does NOT mean..is that God is a father who is trying to subdue you or keep you in some childish state. God is the Father who rejoices in your growth and ability to follow him freely.

 [_06.01__]    Through Gospel today, you and I are guided toward doing what is right, but not necessarily what is easy or comfortable.

          There may errors, faults, sins along the way. We read in Proverbs: “He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13-14)

          In the Gospel, Philip the Apostle showed some reluctance to get started, perhaps fearing an error. Do you sometimes avoid doing something or doing what is right due to uncertainty, or not having all the blanks “filled in”?

          Mentally and emotionally, I’m the kind of person who likes to have all my I’s dotted, T’s crossed, and sentences spellchecked before proceeding.

          But, is this always realistic or even necessary?

          Isn’t Philip behaving this way, saying, to Jesus – just give us a little more information, data, messaging and then I will proceed, or in Gospel terms:

          “Show us this God the Father you are talking about”

[_06.02__]    Isn’t it true that we can sometimes learn a lot by meeting or learning who someone’s father is or mother is?

          Some years ago, I was with some some co-workers and we were talking about the efficiency, dedication and discipline and sometimes the formality of someone in our group. 

          When we found out that his father was a police officer – NYPD – one person said, ”well, that explains everything!”

          Jesus is telling Philip and you and me that we do not have to wait for some secret profile of God the Father to be revealed.  Rather, Jesus says, “the Father and I are one” (John 10:30)

[_06.03__]     [E*] In some sections of the Gospel,   Philip as the very eager messenger and courier who brings others to Jesus Christ. E.g., Philip introduces Nathaniel to Jesus “under the fig tree”.  (cf. John 1:46-50)

Philip is with Peter and Andrew when a young boy with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes is introduced to Jesus at the multiplication of the loaves.

          Philip is good at introducing others to Jesus.  Perhaps, Philip could have reminded my classmate to go to Mass.

          This is important, but is not Philip – are not you and I also responsible for introducing ourselves to Jesus? For working on our own repentance, receiving of God’s grace and mercy that we can venture out into the world.

[_06.04__] And this also relates how we were called to respond when Jesus is calling you and me to be his disciple, to be a wife or husband, to be a mother or father, to be a son or daughter to be a brother or sister.

It's not just about rendering service for others and doing good to them. One of my mentors in the seminary pointed this out that for example, one does not choose the religious life or the priesthood simply as a way to find an occupation to do stuff for other people.

Yes, this is what religious life, priesthood and many vocations involve. Marriage. Parenthood also.

But, we are “called” not to find just an ideal profession or career. (N.b., discovery need for grace, mercy to survive – amid sins and faults – signifies that we are “really getting somewhere” on Jesus’ Road, not that we are falling behind).

This is also about saving my own soul. Remember that I also have to listen to Jesus, the Good Shepherd whom we heard about last week. It's a continuous journey and one that includes not just being in church, but also what am I going to do each day outside of church that to recognize that living the sacrifice and going in peace means that the mass is not really ended.  [_END__]