Easter Sunday: Memory Loss/Gain (2018-04-01)

2018 EASTER VIGIL / EASTER SUNDAY  

References:  •• Romans 6:3-11 (vigil)   •• Mark 16:1-7 (vigil)  •• John 20:1-9 (sunday)

Title:  “Memory Loss/Gain: Easter”

[__01__]   By the time the stone was rolled away at their original destination, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Salome were [already] starting a new search.  Jesus was, to them, a missing person.

            We imagine that they would turn this tomb upside down. Their world is upside down.

            The search for a lost object – or a recovery after a loss – launches us into a search for answers.

[__02__]  Shoveling the winter white stuff off the sidewalk in a heavy, thick snow storm, my friend lost his cell phone, his mobile phone and then wondered, what else could go wrong?

            And, in this scenario, there was no defined or confined space in which to focus his efforts, to search, to turn upside down.

            Fortuitously, a few days later, someone found the device in a snowbank and returned it to him. He was reconnected to the object of his search.

[__03__]      At the tomb, the disciples would have been willing to do some serious shoveling too, but Jesus does not want this to be a dig, archaeologically speaking.

             They are called to do some soul searching instead.

            The angel tells them, “Do not be amazed…”

            And, this means – do not turn this into an amazement, a spectacle.  Jesus wants to turn their amazement (which could simply create distance between the spectacle and the disciples as spectators)…and wants to turn them to ENGAGEMENT.

            And, in our our own tradition of relationship with God, we believe Jesus’ engagement leads to a proposal.

            He is the bridegroom who lays down his life for the Church, his disciples, you and me.

            We don’t have to find him with DNA, he will find us, if we allow him to do so.

            The disciples are invited to go to Galilee. Don’t look for him here. Christ will find you.

            Just as the Prodigal Son was the object of the father’s search, you are the object of God’s search and hope.

[__04__]    By the time, my mother returned from Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York for a special therapy, my mother was demonstrating some loss of cognition, some amnesia.

          She was not, however, the only one with memory loss. The doctor – the neurologist treating her for a movement disorder (Parkinson’s) was a neurologist and he told us that there would be disruption in her ability to remember certain everyday things for a while.      

          We forgot this. We all had memory loss.

[__05__]    Losing “memory” is different than the mislaying of the remote control and headphones.

            We might say that the disciples – at the tomb in Jerusalem – are having a cognitive-spiritual lapse.

            Their hard drives are in overdrive to figure out where Jesus had gone. If only they could find him.

            Perhaps, they had not been listening all along. That is, Jesus did not simply lose his life unjustly or have it seized from him in the arrest at Gethsemane unfairly.

            He gave up his life so that he could save us from our sins, so that he could save us and teach us that life is precious and continues after death.

            And, he is teaching us the paradox that he who would lose his life will save it and he would give up his life for his sake will find it. (Matthew 16:25)

[__06__]      Yes, the world is upside down for the disciples, to any of us at a moment of crisis, at a moment of mourning the death of someone whom we love.

            The world is upside down when we have trouble remembering.

[** pause **]

[__07__]     What is 100 minus 7 ? During this time of the memory loss, my mother returned to Mt. Sinai (the hospital – not the 10 Commandments place) for an evaluation at included subtracting the value “7” from successive numbers. You had to subtract 100 minus 7, then 93 minus 7….

          My mom failed their little math test.

[__08__]      So, of course we were worried. But then we returned – a while later – to the original doctor, the original neurologist who did not care about some arithmetical mid-term that the other doctor did. He knew what he was doing… it just required time.

[** pause **]

          When we speak of LOVE, THANKSGIVING, FORGIVENESS, GOD, SALVATION, we remember that we are not simply going out to find these things but to be found, to be discovered.

[__08__]     Yes, the disciples have a missing person’s report to make, but there is a newer law and a newer order for them to consider.

          The Good News is not about losing one’s life but about laying one’s life down for one’s friends.

          The Good News is not death but eternal life. 

          The Good News is not simply that Jesus was an innocent victim, but that he has risen as he said, that he is alive,  that  he is the stone rejected by the builders who has become the cornerstone and it is wonderful in our eyes. This the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it.    [__fin__] 

Good Friday: Scandal (2018-03-30)

GOOD FRIDAY 30 March 2018,

•• Isaiah 52:13-53:12  •• Psalm 31  ••Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9•• + John 18:1-19:42 ••

Title:  “Good Friday: Scandal”

[__01__]    Scandal. Scandal is the loss of or damage to reputation caused by an actual – or apparent violation of propriety, a violation of what is right.

          Scandal also leads to conversation, lots of talk. [e.g., it’s .. T.M.I. ; M.Y.O.B. But if you are my B.F.F., tell me what I need to know! ]

          Many take guilty pleasure in the details of a good scandal. And, as they say in Hollywood where fame is your fortune and air-time is money … in Hollywood, they say, “there is no such thing as bad publicity.”

[__02__]    On Good Friday, we always read the Passion Gospel of John, the Gospel of John in which the focus of the evangelist is on his credentials, his competence, his identity as Lord and Messiah.

            This is particularly true in the Gospel of John where we read these “I AM” statements.  We read this in the beginning of the Passion.

            It seems, at first, that these “I AM” answers are only a response to a question of ordinary personal identity and getting the face and name connected, i.e., they are just trying to figure out who is on the police report.

            “Are you Jesus the Nazorean?”

            “Yes, I am…”

            But, there is more the “I am” statement, a response in which the Lord affirms his names-and-numbers of his  identity.

            When Jesus says “I Am”, he is identifying himself with God, God who said – to Moses – “I Am Who Am.”.

            This is blasphemy. This is scandalous, to his listeners, to his community.

            In other Gospel Books, Jesus is not recorded as saying this. The focus is different.

            In the other Gospels, he says, “Who do you say that I am?” But in the Gospel of John, he says,

·         I am the Good Shepherd

·         I am the Bread of Life

·         I am the vine you are the branches.

·        And, to Pilate, yes, I am a King.

          It was a scandal that Jesus should assert this in the first person singular present tense: “I am.”

          His detractors and adversaries enjoyed this and they create a trial and it led to 3 experiences for him in this scandal.

            On Good Friday, he was a …

[►CAPTIVE (CAPTURED)] 

[►CONTENDER (CONTENDING)]

[►COMPASSIONATE]

          … each of which was/is scandalous in its own way.

[__03__]     1^st.  [►CAPTIVE (CAPTURED)] 

          The innocent one – Christ – is a captive, captured, and convicted.

          That’s pretty scandalous that he Son of God is captured, arrested and thrown in jail.

          Even in the early Church community this was difficult for some people to understand. How/why would the Messiah be captured, arrested and thrown in jail?

          Why would he give up his life? SCANDALOUS!

          [The innocent person suffers.

            The letter to the Hebrews,  today, testifies that Jesus, the Son of God, our High Priest and Savior is able to sympathize with our weakness [our fragile state] because he has been similarly tested in every way.

            Captured, convicted.]

          Have you been called a name? Have you been misunderstood by your friends and family? Has your kindness been rejected – made you wonder if it was worthwhile?

          It is a proof of our love for others that we give charitably (which is often recognized) but also that we endure wrongs patiently (which is often not recognized and often more difficult).

          Often, it is not noticed that we are enduring a wrong, enduring a fault. [No publicity is bad publicity! Alert the media!]

          Jesus is captured, a captive, convicted.    But he is also contending…[►CONTENDER (CONTENDING)]

 [__04__]  2^nd. Jesus as [►CONTENDER (CONTENDING)]

          When we think of “contending”, we may naturally consider something competitive like a sports game, track meet, or other contest.

          Jesus is contending not only physically with his adversaries, but also intellectually, mentally.

          He is the intellectual superior in this drama and trauma.

          By  “intellectual superiority”, I do not simply meant that he contended by a higher-percentile GPA, SAT, ACT, IQ or what you and I associate with breeding or prestige.

          He is using his intellect, his mind, his spirit also to speak up for himself and to give his captors a chance to repent.       

          He is trying let Pilate off the hook, but Pilate does not understand what Jesus is talking about.

          [It’s scandalous what Jesus is saying.  And, it’s sometimes scandalous for us if we speak up for what is right or what Gospel/Church teach about the tradition and sanctity of marriage, about the dignity of life at all stages. This is scandalous to some people. It is difficult. But, we are contending – speaking up for another person’s rights or speaking up for our own rights. ]

          [For example, Pontius Pilate how is not only culpable but also just very very gullible is told by Jesus that his position, his company car/chariots, palace, bodyguards are not going to be seized by Jesus and his disciples. In other words, my kingdom does not CONTEND with your kingdom. At least not right now.]

          Jesus is a humble contender, against Pilate who is certainly the “house”and the favorite here, trying to bring Pilate along…but Christ also realizes how enormously difficult it is for Pilate to understand Christ’s kingship. Yet, Jesus is contending for his rights and reminds us that it is consistent with humility and virtue to speak for our rights against those who might try to capture or corner us.

          It is consistent with  humility to speak up for our rights.

[__05__]    3^rd. Jesus is [►COMPASSION] personified.

          This is also scandalous because it contradictory, paradoxical.

          Jesus is compassionate.

          To be compassionate means not simply that we do something kind and walk away but that we stay with – and suffer with – another person.        

          The gift of Jesus is that he suffers with and suffers for our sins.

          He is convicted for our sins. He puts our sins to death on the cross. He is contending, fighting for your salvation and for mine.

          And, while convicted for being a earthly-civil-rebel, or civil-disobedience-type-of rebel (the legal claim/charge: see Luke 23:2)  he is really trying to build a heavenly kingdom. It was not his miracles or parables that got him in trouble but rather – as my seminary professor – Father Lawrence Porter instructed us -  that he developed a following. Others felt threatened. They captured him.

          His response: “Forgive them Father they know not what they do.”  (Luke 23:34)

          Do we endeavor to forgive those who do not understand us?

It feels scandalous at times.

[__06__]      On Good Friday, our Savior reminds us that he is convicted – yet innocent. He is the innocent captive and intercedes on behalf of all innocent captives and intercedes on our behalf if/when we endure bad credit history with people long after we have paid our sinful debts.

          Jesus is contending, persevering. He speaks up to his captors, using his mind, his intellect.  Doing so, he is not telling us that we must have a witty comeback for every injustice, but simply that we are called to return a blessing, a prayer, when we are insulted or wronged:

          “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

          And, that we are also called to be compassionate because we also have been set free by God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, his death and resurrection.  His scandal is our salvation. [__fin__] 

Power Corrupts & Connects (Holy Thursday, 2018-03-29)

HOLY THURSDAY 29 March 2018,

•• Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14  •• Psalm 116  •• 1 Corinthians 11:23-26•• + John 13:1-15 ••

Title:  “Power Struggle. Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper”

[__01__]   There was a power struggle at the Last Supper, at the Lord’s Supper. There was a power struggle. And, in our lives each there is an exertion, endeavor, to exercise of our will each day in our relationship to choose express – for example -- GRATITUDE rather than GRUMBLING … in the choice to LISTEN rather than to LAMENT.

            Our Lenten fast of 40 days give us this option and opportunity to follow Christ, but I think that – sometimes – following God’s alternate route is different than our own WAZE/ways or device.

            It is not easy to be in a power struggle for power, for freedom.

[__02__]  On November 4, 2012, the New York City Marathon was scheduled to commence with its usual shotgun start early Sunday morning and line of runners on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island.

          The NYC Marathon – just in case you are college-Final-4-basketball-immersed – is the 26.2 mile race through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, with a finish line in Central Park.

          While it is an outdoor day time event, it does require electricity, organization and there was a power struggle in New York City in November 201, because Con Edison and all the utilities due to Hurricane Sandy (or Superstorm Sandy as the meteorologists prefer) a few days earlier.

          There were many victims. Thousands were without power, without electricity. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and many wanted the marathon to occur… believing it would unite and excite city.

          After much deliberation, the runners did run… a marathon of sorts …but there was no official marathon due to the many obstacles to recovery.

          In this, there was a power struggle, in New York City politics. And, in any power struggle, we may be concerned our relationships.

          We may wonder if we have “followers”.  The mayor had to decide if people like his decision or not. Would the marathon be popular or not?

          In a power struggle, how do I make a difficult decision of my own free will in whatever race or walk I am completing or competing in. Full marathon. Half marathon. Or a regular day’s work.

[__03__]      The Gospel of the Last Supper [Jesus and his disciples the night before he dies]  reminds us that POWER can CORRUPT and POWER can CONNECT.

          Power can be corrupting, toxic, poisonous.

          Power can be connecting, beneficial, inspiring. [like .. electricity…that brings us together.]

 [__04__]  1^st. [►POWER CAN CORRUPT]  Power was a corruption for Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. It was a corruption, intoxicating, poisonous not because Judas was executing a coup d’etat in which he [Judas] would land on the throne in the palace.

          Rather, power was corrupting for Judas because of his expectation of what Jesus, the Lord and Messiah, would do after being arrested.

          Judas had a game plan that involved, in theory on paper, good things for the disciples, the Jewish community currently subordinated to the Roman Empire, and of course, good things for Judas himself.

          That is, Judas was playing and gambling that if Jesus were arrested, then Jesus – who is the Messiah and would not dash his foot against a stone – would then assert positively assert himself, and take over.

          In this regard, Judas was not just betraying Jesus but was trying to betray the Roman Empire, but his plan did not work.

          There is a power struggle between Judas and Jesus.

          And, there is a power struggle whenever we expect that our salvation and success and happiness is based on simply a competition or perhaps the working out of our own pre-defined plans.

          Jesus, did he not, lay down his life also for Judas?  Did he not lay down his life for those who accused him and crucified him?

          His response: “Forgive them Father they know not what they do.”  (Luke 23:34)

          There is a power struggle when we endeavor to express our CONTRITION … our CONFESSION. There may be a power struggle when we try to forgive someone else.

          It’s not easy.

          The power can corrupting. It can be difficult.

          There is another way.

[__05__]    2^nd. [►POWER IS CONNECTING, A CONNECTION] 

          Starting shortly after college, I visited annually – almost every summer -- friends and family who had a place on the water in New England. They also have a lovely sailboat. I know nothing about sailing, only how to tow the boat back in after an incorrect calculation of the wind, current et cetera, et cetera.

          On this boat, aboard this vessel, my friend’s father treated all of us as his sons and daughters, as family.

          So, for the weekend, he had about about 20 grown children instead of 5. And, we were hungry … maybe even power hungry. [We were also actually hungry and ate them out of house and home.]

          He treated us as though we knew something about sailing.  Early on, he asked me to wheel, focus on that island up ahead and went below deck. He expressed full confidence in all of us.

          The power was a connection, it was inviting.

          His relaxed demeanor, his expectation that we all – and that I too – would respect his boat, but this was not written down. It was, at times, expressed in actual words but also in attitude.

          We might recall that for the disciples at the Last Supper, they had no LECTIONARY – neither 1^st reading nor 2^nd reading – no NEW TESTAMENT. Nothing was written down. Yet, they were already the Church, the Body of Christ. The Gospel was being written in their hearts.

          Jesus was also expressing his confidence in them, even though they would later desert him, abandon him.

          As an analogy, do we not receive this in love from others who place confidence in us, faith in us, sharing their destinations and hope with us.

          The power is connecting.

[__06__]      Jesus is making his disciples and you and me – part of the destination, part of the plan which involves not only the struggle for power but the transfer of power.

          Yes, he is our Savior an Lord, but he also promises us that he is the vine and we are the branches  (John 15) and that we can do great things in faith, hope and love by our connection to him.

          He is trying to transfer his power to us.          The sacraments – Baptism, Confession, Holy Communion, Matrimony, Holy Orders – all the sacraments – are on one level a humble recognition of our fragility, our brokenness … yes our actions maybe be rusty or corrupted at times.

          Yet the sacraments also remind us of a transfer of power, a restoration of energy, of grace in our hands and feet, even though our hands and feet also may be wounded.   

          The sacramental experience reminds us about running a race – in connection with Christ – just as Paul reflected in his words to Timothy that Jesus’ body and blood are given to us, poured out for us so that we may also long for his presence and that death leads to new life.

          Paul writes: “For the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on, the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me but to all who have longed for his appearance.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

          Jesus’ appearance, His presence is our power, our connection.

 [__fin__] 

Asleep? (3 Times): (Palm Sunday 2018-03-25)

SUNDAY 25 March 2018, Palm Sunday

•• Isaiah 50:4-7  •• Psalm 22  •• Philippians 2:6-11 •• + Mark 14:1-15:47 ••

Title:  “Asleep? 3 Times. Palm Sunday”

[__01__]   It is a paradox that on the this most sacred and stressful night of their lives, the disciples of Jesus had no trouble falling asleep.

            Three times, they fell asleep. Meanwhile, Judas Iscariot is up at all hours. Jesus himself is restless physically and spiritually.

[__02_]      This leads to 3 responses, 3 lessons from Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

          The disciples arrived at Gethsemane, a garden away from the downtown hustle and bustle and away from the hustler, Judas Iscariot. They were safe there, but Jesus was anxiously praying, ”Father … all things are possible … remove this cup from me, but not what I will but what thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36)

          Meanwhile, they were sleeping. And, Jesus discovers this 3 times, with varying responses …

          There is [►TELLING (yelling?)]; there is [►TOLERATING]; there is [►TURNING BACK …].

[__03_]     1^st .  [►TELLING]  Jesus told them to wake up, though he was not shocked because he knew and stated  “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:35)

          Do you/I fall asleep at times, under the weight of, say:

          Disappointment.  For example, we had an intention to do something or someone else promised to do something, but the flesh or the reality was weak or way off-target.

          We can be hurt or discouraged by disappointing results. In these instance, we may fall asleep with indifference. Jesus sounds the alarm, inviting us to stay with him.

 [__04__]   The disciples fall asleep a second time. This time, Jesus finds them, leaves them there. They know not what to say.

          This is [►TOLERATING]

          This is mysterious. He does not want them to sleep, but lets them sleep. He tolerates them. This 2^nd time, we read the disciples knew not what to say to Jesus. We may not know what to say and feel caught between night and day.

          God gives us free will and accepts our free choices. Yes, we believe that we can change and be converted but…only if we freely cooperate.

          We may also find, at times, that we cannot correct – but only tolerate – the injustice or unfairness we encounter.

          We may encounter this in the harm another person can inflict, we may wonder why evil is possible.

          St. Thomas Aquinas observed that God does not enforce his law by preventing evil, but rather “enforces” it by allowing us to be raised up to something greater even after sin, to draw something good. (CCC 412, STh. III, 1,3 ad 3, cf. Romans 5:20)

          There is always something greater in God’s toleration / acceptance of our free will.  God also accepts our repentance, offering us mercy.

[__05__]   On this journey, Jesus does not abandon his disciples nor does he abandon you or me.

          The 3^rd time he finds them asleep, he urges [►TURNING BACK]. He turns back to them, he does not give up on them.

          In other words, let’s get going.  While recognizing that all of their lives are in danger, Jesus invites his disciples to walk the Stations of the Cross with him.  The Good News is that the disciples, while sleeping, were still in his presence, still connected.

          Yes, the first time, they missed the alarm, slept in. He told them, forcefully to wake up.

          The second time, their waywardness and indifference were not corrected. There was [►TOLERATION]

          But after all of our falls – one, two, three or more – he invites us not simply by [►TELLING] not simply by [►TOLERATING] that everything we do is OK, but by urging us to walk with him, with [►TURNING BACK ..], to us, he does not give up on us, but tells you and me  “to rise, let us be going [on our way]”. (Mark 14:42)  [__fin__]