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___]