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Boldness

Sixth Sunday of Easter (C): John 14:23-29

 

We have just heard Jesus tell us “Do not be troubled or afraid”.  We have heard Jesus say, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”. We might imagine that Jesus is talking about our state of mind; that He wants us to be calm, untroubled, free of any conflicts.  This sometimes happens to us, but this is not at the heart of what Jesus is saying to us. We need only look at Jesus at Gethsemane to see this.  There, Jesus takes on all our fears, anxieties, conflicts, and sins, and does so out of love, desiring to do the Father’s will.  No, what Jesus is saying to us could also be translated, “Do not be cowardly or give in to fear”. In other words, Jesus is urging us to boldness in following Him. Continue reading “Boldness”

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Who Is My Shepherd?

Fourth Sunday of Easter (C):  John 10:27-30

We are His people; the sheep of His flock.  – Psalm 100:3

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. This is because the Gospel reading for this Sunday is always drawn from John 10, where Jesus speaks at length about Himself as the Good (or True) Shepherd.

For us, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is consoling and comforting.  We imagine Him, gentle and humble of heart, smiling and tending to His sheep. We picture cute lambs romping in meadows, amid wildflowers of all kinds.  A very peaceful, totally non-threatening image.

There is a great deal of truth in this image, of course.  Jesus is all these things for us, and more. We forget one “minor” detail, however. What was the result of Jesus’ original sermon on how He is the Good Shepherd? What kind of reaction did He get? Were people all starry-eyed and smiling dreamily? No. Read on for a few verses past our Gospel reading for today. They wanted to kill Jesus. Continue reading “Who Is My Shepherd?”

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Healing and Mission

Third Sunday of Easter:  John 21:1-19

 

What keeps us from living out, fully and completely, the mission the Lord has given us?

Through baptism, the power that sin and death have over us has been shattered. We have become sharers in the very life of God, and made members of the Body of Christ, the Church.  Our baptism also gives us a mission: to witness to all that God has done for us in Christ and through the Church. Each one of us lives out that mission in a different way – in marriage, as ordained, or in consecrated life, to name a few examples.  We have a sense of what our mission is. Christ empowers us for our mission by the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist; by the support of fellow Christians; by Scripture; by prayer; by a host of other means.

And yet…   Continue reading “Healing and Mission”

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The Mercy of the Risen Lord

Divine Mercy Sunday:  John 20:19-31

 

Once we reach this day, also known as the Second Sunday of Easter, we have completed the Octave of Easter: the eight days when we celebrate, in a most special way, the victory that Christ has won for us through His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Sin and death no longer have ultimate power over us. They can do their worst, but God in His merciful love comes down to us and saves us.

During the Octave of Easter, the Church – so to speak – invites us to take a victory lap with Christ. Sin is overcome. Death is defeated. The way is now open for us to receive the very life of God and to know a peace and joy and love beyond all understanding. As St. John Paul II once remarked, “We are an Easter People, and Alleluia is our song!”

So. Ready to take that victory lap with Christ? Continue reading “The Mercy of the Risen Lord”

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“Stop Holding On To Me!”

Tuesday of the Octave of Easter: John 20:11-18

 

It is easy for us to sympathize with Mary Magdalene in this Gospel story today.

From the time she first encountered Jesus – when He freed her from those seven demons that tormented her (Luke 8:2) – she loved Him with a love that was at once chaste and passionate. A combination that people, past and present, would dismiss as impossible – which is why rumors persist in some quarters about Mary Magdalene and Jesus having had some form of relationship, perhaps marriage.

It was her love for Our Lord – at once chaste, passionate, and insatiable – which led her to follow Him all the way to Calvary, to be near the Cross with Him, to see where He was buried, and then to come with two other women on that first day of the week to finish anointing His body. Even when they encountered an empty tomb and were filled with amazement, not knowing what to make of it, Mary Magdalene remained. Peter and John came and went, but she remained. She would not stop looking until she had found Him. Continue reading ““Stop Holding On To Me!””