Something To Talk About (2011-05-08)

This is my homily for 8 May 2011, 3rd Sunday of Easter. I am a Catholic chaplain at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) campus and for the FDU Newman Catholic Association. We celebrate Catholic Mass - during Fall and Spring semester - every Sunday Mass (7:30 p.m.) at the Interfaith Chapel, 842 River Road, Teaneck, NJ. OUR NEXT SUNDAY MASS WILL BE - SUNDAY AUGUST 28, 2011. SEE YOU IN THE FALL.

Acts 2:14, 22-33 | Psalm 16 | 1 Peter 1:17-21 | + Luke 24:13-35

[__01- __] What will they say about me now? Or you… Should we be influenced by – or simply aware – of what others may say, or think?

This would be a concerns of Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus from Jerusalem where Jesus of Nazareth, their teacher and leader, had been crucified.
We were his disciples, his followers, loyal to him – what will they say about us now?
Their lives are in disarray. Jesus did not redeem all Israel in the way they had expected. (cf. Luke 24:13-35)

[__01(a) __] Cleopas has not lost all faith. After all, he opens up to the Risen Jesus, as the unkown traveler, though they do not recognize him at first. They have heard about the empty tomb, but they are not yet sure what this means.

[__02__] Up to now, Cleopas and his companion have committed their lives to Jesus of Nazareth whom they had hoped “would be the one to redeem Israel.” (cf.Luke 24:13-35)

Into an anxious conversation and journey on their seven-mile walk the Risen Lord, who tells them, in so many words what he told his apostles at the Last Supper, in this first Breaking of the Bread (their “First Communion”)

“Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.” (Douay-Rheims, John 14:1-3)

In this new, “second” Communion, Cleopas sees that Jesus given up his life for sins, for our sins, faults. Jesus is our mediator before God; he is the one we pray to in this life. He is the one we will meet when we die. We confess our sins to him in Penance and Reconcilation, through the priest, knowing that with the Lord there is mercy and the fullness of redemption. We see Jesus in the breaking of the bread, the sacred moments of our sacraments.

So… in this regard, we might say … don’t worry what others are saying about you… or me. For, the Lord has gone before us to the Cross.

[__03- __] On the other hand, what they say could be revealing, could be redeeming. Jesus gives up his body to those who talk about him, this is our redemption.

And, so we can learn by what others may say.

[__04- __] As a 12-year-old in the Temple, Jesus learns what they say about him, what “they” the scholars of the Law, the rabbis of Jerusalem are very impressed with the young Jesus. (Luke 2:41-52)

These scholars want the young Jesus also to be a scholar, to be one of them.

Ironic, then, isn’t it …that the more educated and adult Jesus of Nazareth is not admitted to their company. He was, first, ignored… put on the waiting list..then, ultimately rejected by them.

But, as a young person he is very popular, hearing what others say.

[__05- __] And, it was the special responsibility of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Blessed Mother, to help the young Jesus understand what these scholars were saying about him.

[And, Mary asks Jesus this challenging question, finding him in the Temple, what are you doing here? Your father and I have been searching for you. (cf. Luke 2:41-51)].

It is the special calling of our mothers..today is Mother’s Day. It is the special calling of our mothers.. [and fathers] to help us understand what others say about us, what they may want from us, expect from us.

Have we not turned to our mothers [and fathers] to share with them our successes, our setbacks …

• Boss / Coworkers / Teacher
• Friend / Spouse / Child
• Friend/boyfriend/girlfriend.

Our mothers are wonderful listeners in this regard. Sometimes, our mothers do not have to say anything at all.

Of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother at the Temple to the 12-year-old Jesus, we hear that she brought Jesus home and pondered all these things (what they were saying about him) in her heart. (Luke 2:51) She prayed for him as our mothers do for us.

[__06- __] Our mothers [and fathers] are our first teachers. They prepare us from the time we are young to accept responsibility, commitment, even, perhaps to be married and have children ourselves. They teach us by example and also by listening to what others say…and listening to what we say.

As Jesus says to his disciples, do not be afraid of what others say (e.g., Beatitudes Blessed are you when they utter slander against you…).

I am interested in what you say. Yes, we can turn to God – as we turn to mom and dad – to tell him what others are saying about his, positively or negatively. But, the Lord is interested in what we say.

If we place such importance in the words of others, we might also see value in our own words, the things we reveal by what we say.

By reflecting on these words, we can renew our relationship with Christ our Lord.

These words are Christ’s first interest – his first question – to find out more about these 2 travelers on the road to Emmaus, and to find out more about us, asking,

“what were you discussing as you walked along.” (Luke 24:16)

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