We're in Good Hands

We're In Good Hands

"No one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10.29

 

 

Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter: John 10.27-30

 

Of the three Gospels for this "Good Shepherd" Sunday in our three year cycle, this one is the shortest, but perhaps the most powerful. Let us use these four verses of Scripture to meditate on their power...

 

v.27 "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me."

 

Years ago, my wife and I had the wondeful experience of going to a sheep station in New Zealand, where we met a sheep rancher. Although there are few similarities between the modern rancher and the ancient shepherd, there is one that is profound. I sensed in the modern rancher a deep affection for his herd. I also noticed a sense of peace that pervaded this particular ranch. I suppose the biggest difference between the modern and the ancient shepherd is the rancher's use of the border collie, who was the one who seemed to be doing all the work!!

 

In ancient times, and in some parts of the world today, dogs were not part of the relationship. A shepherd who is good to his sheep would have no trouble having them follow him.

 

Jesus uses the shepherd metaphor in John's Gospel at the precise moment when the Jews want him to "tell them plainly" if he is the Messiah (v.24). In verse 27, it is plain indeed - if they had not "heard" in their hearts through his words and actions by now, then they would never "hear" the voice of the Shepherd, or the Father.

 

How I hear the voice of the Shepherd? Do I "know" Jesus, or merely "know about" him?

 

 

v.28 "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand."

 

I think it is important here to observe the syntax. It is not " I will give them eternal life" but " I give them eternal life." This was the Good News that John's community needed to hear,a time when the early Christians were in constant threat of persecution and death. Life eternal is not merely for the future. The life lived right now is a life in the Trinity.

Through our Baptism, we enter into the eternal life of Jesus Christ!

 

And that eternal life is sealed in our Confirmation.

 

It finds its "source and summit" in the Eucharist.

 

"No one will snatch them out of my hand" doesn't mean that we can't, through our sinfulness, stray from the Shepherd. He wants us close to his heart.

 

That is why we celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation.

 

Do I recognize the gift of eternal life that I have received? Are the sacraments merely merit badges on my Catholic sleeve, or do I experience their grace daily and offer prayers of gratitude for my life in the Spirit?

 

v 29-30 "What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."

 

And it is at this point that the Jews "took up stones again to stone him" (v.31). At the beginning of this scene, they are asking him if he is the Messiah, and now that he has told them, they want to kill him??

Is this a case of "be careful what you ask for"?

 

Not quite. It is the recurring theme in all the Gospels. The expectations that the people had of  "Messiah" and "King" were of a new David, who would overthrow any and all tyrannies and give them back the great kingdom they once had.

 

Jesus did more than just dash their expectations. He shattered them. By saying that "The Father and I are one" is to put skin on God! Who dares call God "Father" but one who proclaims that he is the Son of God??

 

What is so ironic here is that they are  enraged by this proclamation, but they miss the ultimate point. Not only are Jesus and the Father One, but those who enter into the life of Jesus, enter into the life of the Father!! It will take a while for the Church to articulate this as life in the Trinity.

 

What is my  life in the Trinity? Is the Trinity a mysterious "concept" or an experience of Divine Love?

 

For Catholic educators:

 Get to know the work of the great religious educator Sophia Cavalletti (1917-2011) who created an entire catchesis of the Good Shepherd. http://www.cgsusa.org/

 

For all disciples:  As part of your prayer life this week, contemplate the questions in today's meditation. allow the Holy Spirit to move you into a deeper relationship with the Good Shepherd. Know always that you are in good hands.

 

 



The Only Question That Matters

The Only Question That Matters...

"Do you love me?"

John 21.16

Gospel for the Third Sunday of Easter : John 21.1-19

We begin the third week of the Easter season meditating on the only question that matters- Do I love Jesus? In this Sunday's Gospel, Peter is asked that very question, but something is definitely "lost in translation". Here is a quick lesson in Biblical Greek...

 Three Words, Three Meanings

There are three words in Greek that translate as the English word, "love". There is eros, which is the fiery, passionate love, that is the energy found in our sexuality. It is the root of the word "erotic". In our passage today, eros is not being used.

The second Greek word for love is phileos, which in English connotes deep friendship and familial love. It root word found in Philadelphia, which is why it is known as the "City of Brotherly Love".

The third Greek word for love is agapeos. The best way to describe it is "sacred love". It is the love that is sacrificial. Jesus described agapeos best "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15. 12-13)

The distinction is important for understanding the conversation between Jesus and Peter on the beach in John 21.

The Price of Love

We know the story- Jesus asks Peter three times, if he loves him, Peter says yes each time, and Jesus tells him to "Feed my sheep" and "Feed my lambs".

Knowing the Greek makes a HUGE difference. Let's look at this closely.

v.15 ...Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love (agapeos) me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes Lord; you now I love (phileos) Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."

First of all, it is quite telling that Jesus does not call him "Peter" or "Cephas" (The Rock). Is it because of Peter's threefold denial that he perhaps lost his solid status? Is this a re-commissioning? In any event, Jesus is asking him if he truly loves him- if he is willing to give up everything, including his life. In his weakness, Peter can only give him his fidelity and loyalty, but not his life. Jesus, in his loving mercy, accepts Peter for who he is, and commissions him to feed the "lambs"- to care for those most in need. Perhaps it is a call to evangelize, since "lambs" do not really know the shepherd's voice

v.16... a second time he said to him... 

Again, Jesus asks for agapeos, and Peter can only offer phileos. And again, Peter receives a commission, this time to "tend the sheep", a sense here perhaps that he is being asked to care for the Church about to be birthed in the coming age of the Holy Spirit.

v.17 ...He said to him the third time...
When Jesus asks Peter the third time, he no longer uses agapeos. It is a recognition that Peter is simply not ready for what Jesus asks of him. So when "Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time 'Do you love me?'", it is not because Jesus asks three times, but that he he "came down to his level" by using phileos,  and not agapeos. Peter again responds with phileos, and again Jesus calls him to "Feed my sheep." Jesus then adds that Peter will be taken where he does not wish to go... in his own death, he will come into agapeos.  The "punchline" of the whole scene comes at the very end, when Jesus says to Peter, "Follow me."

Follow me??? Isn't that what Peter and the disciples did for three and a half years? What is curious about John's Gospel is that  Jesus does not invite Peter to follow him until the last chapter! It was his brother Andrew who brings Simon to Jesus, and Jesus names him Peter (John 1.41-42).

Again. John's Gospel invites Peter (and us) to something new. When Jesus says "Follow me" in chapter 21, he is saying:

Follow me, the Risen Son of God! 

Follow me, Jesus the Christ! 

Follow me through death and into Resurrection! 

Follow me into union with the Father, through the the power of the Holy Spirit! 

There is Peter in all of us

Jesus, ever the Good Shepherd, shows his compassion for Peter, while at the same time, never relenting on Divine Love, and the mission.

We, who make up the Body of Christ, are now called into that Divine Love. It is our mission. 

We are called to agapeos.

Can we love Jesus that deeply? IS he the source of our life and love? Or do we offer him phileos, just a part of our love, equal to the love we have for our spouses, our family, our friends, our work, our play, our distractions... ??

There is Peter in all of us.

Yet without agapeos none of our phileos is worthy of who we are called to be.

Agapeos is scary. 

 Because it means complete surrender. Complete emptying of self. It's just too hard. Too impossible.

One Question

Do you love me?

One Response

Follow me.

 

Peace of Christ

Peace of Christ

"Peace be with you"

John 20.19

Gospel for the second Sunday of Easter:  John 20.19-31

 

Thomas is not the only one.

 



Much has been written and preached about this Easter narrative in John's Gospel, which, over the centuries, has been dubbed "The Doubting Thomas" story.

 

This is a very inaccurate description. Doubt plays a role, certainly, but when it becomes central to the story, it means we are hearing it with our ears, but not with our hearts.

 

Imagine the event...

 

...Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.'"

It is the evening of the Resurrection. Mary Magdelene has told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. Peter and "the other disciple" had gone to find the tomb empty.

Their testimony was not enough.

 

So, locked in a house for "fear of the Jews", Jesus appears to them. He offers them his peace. The immediate reaction? John doesn't tell us, but we can assume it is still unbelief, because only when he shows them his hands and is side do they "rejoice"!

 

Perhaps we should have called this story, "Thomas and the Doubting Apostles?"



 

 

Peace a second time.

It must have been a bit chaotic, because Jesus again says, "Peace be with you."

Once the peace of Christ is given, He gives them the Great Commission (Acts 1.8;Mark 16.15;Matt 28.19) "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Then there is the marvellous image of Christ breathing on them so they might receive the Holy Spirit (reminds us of God breathing into Adam to give him life in Gen 2.7).

 

Grieving Thomas

 

Jesus then departs (a detail left out of the story) and the focus shifts to Thomas. He "was not with them"- just like those who first heard this account. Remember, John's Gospel is written around 100 AD, and the first witnesses are most likely dead. Thomas represents John's community. Thomas also represents all of us.

 

And this is the point in the story that gets misconstrued. We, in our modern mind, think of Thomas' graphic denial as scepticism.

 

Thomas is not a sceptic. Thomas is in mourning. His grief is so strong that he will not even listen to those who he has journeyed with for three years. Thomas has been witness to the great signs and wonders of Christ.

 

But all that came crashing down on Good Friday. It was too much to bear. And Thomas is in no state to hear HOPE or JOY.

 

Peace a Third Time

 

But he is open to the Peace of Christ. Eight days later, Jesus returns. Specifically, "Jesus came and stood among them and said,'Peace be with you.'" He then offers his hands and side for Thomas to touch ( an offering of his Body), and Thomas offers back his assent, which from that point on, "touches" Thomas and makes him one of the great missionaries and martyrs for the faith. John ends the story with Christ's assurance for the ages: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet come to believe." (John 20.29)



 

 



 For this week....

 









 There is one message from this Sunday's Gospel that I invite you to consider. When you return to Mass next Sunday, be very awake to the Sign of Peace.

First, note the priest's invocation "The peace of the Lord be with you always.."
So when we offer each other the sign of peace, the intention is not "hey, how are you doing", "have a nice day:" or "glad to meet you". No, we offer each other the peace of Christ. As the Body of Christ, we offer the "peace the world cannot give." The Peace of Christ allows us to follow the Great Commission. The Peace of Christ removes all doubt, anguish and grief. The Peace of Christ heals the world. So when you shake the hand of the person beside you, say "the peace of Christ be with you.."

Second, note where the Sign of Peace occurs.
It is right before Communion

Right before we process as the Body of Christ to become what we receive.

Right before we "touch his hands and side."

Right before we receive him once again.

Right before we say "Amen"- "My Lord and my God".

 





For next Sunday, be awake to the Sign of Peace. Catholic educators, offer the sign of the Peace of Christ to your students and friends. Bless your families with the Peace of Christ.

 



Risen!

  RISEN!

Gospel for Easter Sunday: John 20 1-18.

As per usual at our house, we go up to Edmonton for Easter Sunday morning and attend the Divine Liturgy at St. Josaphat's Cathedral in Edmonton. In the clip below, Bishop Moitiuk, the priests and deacons lead the Easter Troparion, which is echoed by the choir and assembly:

http://youtu.be/0jn6IVtwnnk

The English tradition of the Troparion is:

Christ is risen from the dead,
trampling down death by death,
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

This refrain dates back to the first century of Christianity, and is probably the first Christian "hymn". 

After attending the liturgy, I can't help but hum, whistle and sing the chant, well into the rest of the Octave of Easter.

He is Risen!

How do those words resound in our hearts? Are we proclaiming this good news to all our family and friends? What about those of us who educate in and for Catholic schools? Will the first thing we say to our students is "Christ is Risen!" or will it be merely "So how was you holiday?"

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He is Risen!

The Church is proclaiming something beyond time and space. It is the eternal truth of Jesus' victory over sin and death. And while it has a historical moment in first century Palestine, the Resurrection supersedes history. Pope Benedict XVI has a powerful reflection on the importance of the Resurrection in his book  Jesus of Nazareth Part Two: Holy Week:

...The Christian faith stands or falls with truth of the testimony that Christ is risen from the dead...

      If this were taken away, it would still be possible to piece together from the Christian tradition a series of interesting ideas about God and men, about man's being and his obligations, a kind of religious world view; but the Christian faith itself would be dead. Jesus would be a failed religious leader, who despite his failure remains great and can cause us to reflect,  but he would then remain purely human, and his authority would extend only so far as his message is of interest to us. He would no longer be a criterion; the only criterion left would be our own judgement in selecting from his heritage what strikes us as helpful. In other words, we would be alone. Our own judgement would be  the highest instance.

Only if Jesus is risen has anything really new occurred that changes the world and the situation of mankind. Then he becomes the criterion on which we can rely. For God truly revealed himself. ( pgs 241-242) 

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This Easter Sunday, in the Roman Catholic liturgy, the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene was proclaimed. As with all the Resurrection accounts, we have a sense of the closeness and otherness of God. The narrative begins with Mary discovering that the stone of the tomb had been rolled away. Her first reaction is fear- she does not go in, and assumes that even more tragedy has occurred, and there has been something done to the Lord's body. She runs to tell Peter that "they have taken the Lord out of the tomb"- does she mean the Romans? The Pharisees? Gave robbers? 

Next is the race to the tomb of Peter and "the other disciple". Although the disciple gets there first, he too is reluctant to go in. Fear and confusion have also overwhelmed him. It is only Peter, the first always to act or react, that "enters the tomb". Don't miss the significance of the first head of the Church going into the place of the dead. The symbolism of martyrdom should not be overlooked.

Then, a curious line from John- the other disciple went in, saw the empty tomb and the rolled up linens, and believed. The extent of their belief is difficult to determine, but they were not ready to proclaim "for as yet they did not understand the scripture" so they "returned to their homes". (20.9-10)It will be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that will give them the power to proclaim, and the wisdom to see all that was revealed about Jesus in the Old Testament. For now, we have what is known as a "credal account" of the Resurrection. No need to see Jesus here- an empty tomb is enough.

Mary Magdalene will have an entirely different experience. First, she has an encounter with two angels. They are not proclaimers of the good news. They merely asked her why she was weeping. She repeats a second time " they have taken away my Lord". Then the Lord appears to her, but she did not recognize him. So again she is asked, this time by Christ, "why are you weeping?" He calls her by the generic term "Woman". Again, listen to the language. "Woman" reminds us of Eve in the garden, before the fall. Mary thinks Jesus is the gardener and for the third time believes someone has taken Jesus, and so asks Jesus himself if "he carried him away". 

Jesus then calls her by name.

Mary now recognizes him, and wants to hold on to Jesus, the Jesus that she new as "Teacher". Jesus tells her not to "cling" to the old Jesus. "Do not hold to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. The narrative ends with Mary's proclamation of faith "I have seen the Lord!"

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There is so much to unpack in this Resurrection narrative, but I would like us to reflect on the last part. Mary Magdalene and the rest of the disciples wanted to cling to a Jesus that they knew- the Rabbouni, the "Teacher". But Jesus is a new creation, still very much human, but now in complete union with the Father. Once ascended, the disciples will be able to "hold on" to Jesus, now and forever. For now, the disciples are called to proclaim the good news of the Resurrection and our deliverance.

Through his death, Jesus Christ has trampled death by death!

We who are in the tombs of sin are given Resurrection hope!
Through his Church, we can enter into his Paschal Mystery!

Christ is Risen!

For This Week:

For Catholic Educators:  Fill your classrooms and hallways with the Good News! This is a time for flowers, white linens and Resurrection banners. Greet your students with "Christ is Risen!" Spend as much time celebrating Easter in your school as you did preparing for it during Lent!

For All of us: Take time to read the Resurrection accounts in all four Gospels. What similarities are present in the accounts? Which accounts are completely different?