Sixth Sunday of Easter

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052514.cfm

          I'm sure that we have all had times in our lives when we wished that we had someone to speak up for us.  Perhaps this came in the form of a friend putting in a good word for you at work or for a team at school.  Maybe you were falsely accused of something and someone had to come to your defense.  Maybe it was when we were being picked on as a child (or even older) and a friend came and stood up for us.  With the national news saying that there is a rise in bullying in schools, in the work place, and on the Internet, it seems to me that we need more of that last example of standing up for each other in the world.  My hope is that we have all had that joy of having someone stand up for us or speak out for us when we are faced with confrontation. 

          When something does go wrong in life it is really only fair to allow all persons involved to tell their side of the story, especially if there are accusations against a person.  Quite often, the accused needs someone to speak for them, to explain that why they didn't do it, or at least didn't mean to do it. That's why even in our American legal system, even those who cannot afford a lawyer are provided one.  Some worry with this system that a guilty person might end up getting off Scott-free, but we don't want to end up punishing an innocent person either.  I mention all of this to simply say, we all need an advocate from time to time.

          You may have noticed in the Gospel today that Jesus says that the Father, “will give you another Advocate to be with you always”.  Jesus Christ is the first Advocate.  He speaks on our behalf to the Father.  We see this in the Gospels when Jesus reminds us of how He speaks the words of the Father and when we heard last week that He is preparing a place for us in His Father's house.  We especially see it as He dies for our sake on the Cross.  Jesus continues to be our Advocate in Heaven, He speaks to the Father, pleading with Him to continue giving us that grace that makes it possible to work on being His children.  But as He prepares for His Resurrection and eventual Ascension, Jesus knows that we will still need an Advocate here on earth who will speak to us and guide us.  That is the other Advocate that Jesus is referring to:  the Holy Spirit. 

          Just like a defense attorney speaks on behalf of an accused person in court and counsels the accused about what to do and say at different times, the Holy Spirit speaks to the Father and the Father tells the Spirit what to say back to us. As we hear else where in the Gospel of John, we are not to worry about what to say when the world puts us on trial.  Rather, we are to listen to the Spirit and trust in His guidance. 

          Now I do wish to point out an important point.  We are using an analogy here of comparing the Holy Spirit's counseling us to the work a defense attorney does for his or her client.  But please don't think that God the Father is up in Heaven accusing us of crimes like a person on earth might accuse a suspected criminal.  God isn't trying to come up with excuses to imprison us or give us a death sentence.  He loves us too much for that.  So God isn't a prosecutor or a harsh judge, but we still need an Advocate to speak on our behalf.  The reason is, we have sinned against God.  Remember, Heaven isn't a physical place with clouds and harps and winged angels flying everywhere.  Heaven is a state of being in which we are in the presence of God Himself.  There is no room for sin in Heaven.  God doesn't need to accuse us of anything.  We've done this all by ourselves.  God wants us to be with Him.  He mourns the fact that we have sinned against Him.  That is why He sends the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate.  None of us is perfect enough to be sin free and to make it into Heaven by our own merits.  Sometimes I think we assume that if we just work hard enough, we can get in by our own hard work of being Holy.  No, it doesn't work that way.  We need His help.  That is why we have the Holy Spirit.

          As Christians, therefore, our goal should be to live our lives in the Spirit. St. Peter’s First Letter tells us that Jesus “was brought to life in the Spirit” by allowing Himself to be put to death in flesh. We then are called to put our own sinful desires and habits to death and focus on allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. That is, we are called to live our lives in the Spirit as well.

          In order for any of us to have this life in the Spirit, we must truly accept the Spirit into our very selves. That means taking the gifts and graces that we received in Baptism and Confirmation and making that a part of our lives. It means allowing the spirit to move with in us. A priest friend of mine likes to use the analogy of making chocolate milk. If you just add chocolate syrup to a tall glass of milk and do nothing else, that isn’t all that tasty, but if you start stirring, then it mixes together into something good. Likewise, the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation aren’t going to do us much good, unless we avail ourselves of how the Holy Spirit is moving us closer to the Father.

          You may have noticed that during this Easter Season, we hear a lot about the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles. This week, we hear about the Christians in the city of Samaria and how St. Philip (one of the deacons who were ordained in our first reading last week) preaches about the life of Jesus to them. It sounds as though these people had heard of Jesus before because they had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but had never been baptized in the Spirit (In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit). The Apostles in Jerusalem send Peter and John to them so they may receive the Holy Spirit. They receive Him when the Apostles lay hands on them. They had heard of Jesus and maybe even of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t until later with the preaching of Philip and laying on of hands with the Apostles that they finally enter into the life of the Spirit. 

          We have the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, with us to help us. Let us continue on our pilgrimage towards Heaven, and the joy that we will find with God.

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051814.cfm

 

         What is the largest gathering of people that you have ever been a part of?  Maybe it was at a specific event, like a concert or sporting event.  Maybe it was to see or meet a famous person.  Perhaps you traveled to a popular destination with thousands of other people from around the world who came on the same day.  There are many possibilities.  If you were seeing a favorite band or going to a destination you had long wanted to see, very likely there were plenty of emotions connected with seeing that person or place or object.  But how did the crowds make you feel?  Did they increase your excitement; seeing so many people coming to the same place or event as you?  Did the crowd make you nervous, wondering if you might loose yourself or others in the vast crowd?  Were you worried that something might happen to you in the crowd?  Were you happy to see so many others coming, or maybe you wished that you could have come at a less busy or hectic time?

          The biggest gathering that I have ever been a part of has to have been at World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada in 2002.  This was the last International World Youth Day in which St. John Paul II was able to attend.  As the saint was nearing the end of his life on earth, he was looking more and more feeble.  It was known that he planned to come to Toronto, but there was a lot of speculation as to how active his participation would be.  When he arrived by plane, he could have had an elevator take him down from the plane and been moved in a wheelchair and I'm sure no one would have thought less of him for doing that.  Instead he chose to walk down the stairs from his plane under his own power.  I found a video online that showed that day and it was amazing.  One bishop was next to him, holding his arm to guide him and give him some balance, but otherwise he walked down on his own.  Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of youth had already gathered in Toronto.  When news got out that the Holy Father had arrived and was walking and waving at people, hundreds of thousands more bought tickets at the last minute to come to the events.  They wanted to be there if the Holy Father could make it.  Well over 800,000 people gathered on an abandoned airfield outside of Toronto to celebrate an evening vigil and then Mass with the future saint the next morning.  We were exhausted from the many miles of hiking we had to do the day before and it rained off and on during the night.  Yet there were so many youth there, I could barely make out anything that was happening on the large stage that was set, let alone see where the Pope was. 

          As far as my reaction to the crowds, I will not lie to you; it was a bit overwhelming for me to be in such a large crowd.  Having grown up in a small Northern Minnesota town, I never could have imagined being a part of such a large crowd.  It took me well out of my comfort zone.  That being said, it was still a very powerful and wonderful experience.  To realize I was at a Mass with the Holy Father and I was saying prayers and singing at the top of my lungs with over half a million youth from all over the world who shared my same faith in Jesus Christ, was truly awe-inspiring.  Nothing else in my life has quite compared to that.

          When one looks at a gathering of the faithful like any of the World Youth Days, or when we look at the large crowds that come here to St. Raphael's on Christmas Eve and Easter Morning, it's astounding and a little bit sad that our churches aren't full to overflowing every Sunday of the year.  When we read through the Scriptures (I'm talking about today's readings and many other places in Sacred Scripture) we can see that God Himself and those who wrote the Scriptures down on paper envisioned a vast number of people to be in heaven.  I'm not just talking about a big group or a large crowd.  I'm talking about a great multitude of people from every nation and every race.  This goes well beyond what typical Sunday attendance suggests.

          St. Peter's first letter today calls people to come closer to God.  He tells us, “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  So we ourselves are being brought together to God as stones are brought together to make an altar or a monument to God.  St. Peter elaborates by saying that we are the cornerstone that God has chosen to build His Church.  Though others have rejected that cornerstone (though we may be rejected by those who do not believe) that stone is (we are) precious in God's eyes.  He also talks about “a holy priesthood”.  He goes on to say, “You are 'A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own'”.  These lines about “a royal priesthood” and “a holy nation” are references to the Book of Exodus when God tells Moses that He will set Israel apart from the rest of the nations of the world.  In other words, the Israelites will be set a part just as priests are set a part from the people.  In making this reference in his letter, St. Peter is saying that we as Christians share in that distinction.  We have been set apart by God for His own.  This is not a small select group, but a great number of people.

          In the Gospel, Jesus is even expecting a large of number of people to come to the Father.  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”  God has made many dwelling places because He is anticipating many people to come and be with Him for eternity. 

          So we know that we are a part of a vast multitude of people that God wants to come join Him in Heaven, but how do we get to Heaven and how do we get others to join us?  First of all we follow Jesus, who is the way and the life and is in the Father and the Father is in Him, as He tells Thomas and Phillip.  Secondly, we show others by example.  We are servants to each other, just as we see the first deacons in the first reading serve at table.  We show our love and respect for each other.  We are a part of a vast assembly of God, let us set our minds and our hearts on the goal of Heaven.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051114.cfm

          We all have multiple decisions that we have to make each day: whether it is deciding what we are going to wear, what are we going to eat for dinner, or what am I going to do today on my day off?  If you are at all like me, however, you may have had to face some times where it is difficult, if not nearly impossible to make a decision.  Have you ever had one of those times when you're hungry, but you can not for the life of you figure out what you are hungry for?  Drives you nuts doesn't it?  Now obviously I haven't missed too many meals worrying about this sort of thing, but I do get frustrated with my indecision at times. 

          In order to be accepted into the seminary, potential seminarians are required to take psychological exams to determine if there are areas in our lives we need to work on while in seminary.  Once in seminary, I also had to take a personality exam that looks at how I interact with other people.  One question that often comes up in these sorts of exams is, “Do you have trouble making decisions?”  The first time I saw this question, I literally spent several minutes thinking about it and trying to decide whether I had trouble making decisions!  Because I could think of plenty of times when I had no trouble deciding things like what to eat or what I wanted to do.  But for whatever reason I didn't want to admit that I had trouble making decisions.  Finally, I realized I needed to stop fighting it and just admit, yes, I'm indecisive. 

          Even if you are the type of person who generally doesn't have trouble making decisions, I think we can all relate to those times in our lives when important decisions have to be made.  I'm talking about choosing what to major in at college, or whether or not to buy that new house, or taking on that new job.  These are the big decisions in our lives.  We don't want to jump into things without thinking them through first.  Whether you are decisive or indecisive, giving it some thought is probably a good thing.

          One thing that SHOULD be pretty obvious in our lives as Christians, and SHOULD be an easy decision, is realizing where God ranks in our lives.  Notice that I said, “should”.  God should be first in our lives in all things.  He should be the first we talk to in the morning and the last we talk to at night.  Sadly, sometimes we make decisions that push God out of the way for other things.  That is what we call sin.  As St. Peter mentions at the end of his letter today, we go astray like sheep, but the shepherd calls us back.  Why is that?  Many Christian writers of many different denominations have loved to talk about how we all have a “God-shaped hole” in our hearts and it is only God who can fill it again.  This is a very simple image, but a very profound one as well.  We all need God in our lives, but when we wonder away, there is still a longing in our hearts for God to be a part of it. 

          We see a great example of this longing in our first reading today.  The reading from the Acts of the Apostles is taken from St. Peter's speech at Pentecost.  He tells them, “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified”.  We are told that the crowd was “cut to the heart” when they heard this.  Meaning they were moved by this speech and felt guilt for Jesus' death.  “What are we to do?” they ask.  “Repent and be baptized”, is the reply.  That moving speech of Peter (of which we only hear a small fraction of in the reading today) reminds the crowd of what they are longing for.  They long for Jesus, they long for His leadership, and so they are baptized.  “Three thousand persons were added that day”, we are told.  Many hearts are moved.

          We long to be with our shepherd.  That is what St. Peter is getting at in his letter.  Christ died for us.  By His wounds we have been healed we are told.  Though we have gone astray like sheep, we have returned to the shepherd, the guardian of our souls.  We are like the sheep, wondering on our own.  We are happy and content to find our own food and water.  But yet we still wonder back to the shepherd, because we long to be with Him. 

          St. Peter obviously had today's Gospel passage in mind when he wrote about that image of the shepherd.  Today we only heard the first half of the apply named “Good Shepherd” passage from John.  We heard today about the image of Jesus as the sheep gate; the way to salvation.  If we were to keep reading we would then hear Jesus call Himself, “The Good Shepherd” and that He knows His sheep and His sheep know Him.  So there is more to the passage than what we heard proclaimed. 

          The point is, there are a lot of images going on here: the sheep, the gates, the shepherds, the voice of the shepherd, the thieves, and the strangers.  The overall message that Jesus is giving us is that He will not lead us astray.  Others (symbolized by the thieves and robbers who steal from the shepherds) may try to lead us astray.  These may be leaders who have made bad choices, but also refers to our own bad decisions that we make because of our sinful habits.  But Jesus doesn't intend on stealing from us or trying to seek His own selfish gain.  He is the gate that will lead to good pastures.  He will lead us as a good and loving shepherd to what we need the most. 

          It is also important that we remember the voice of the shepherd.  Jesus makes sure to point out that it is only the shepherd's voice that the sheep will listen to and follow.  They do not recognize a stranger's voice; in fact they run away from the stranger.  So while we may very well make bad decisions from time to time or listen to bad advice from others  who we thought we could trust, there will still be the shepherd's voice who will call us a remind us of who and what we truly need. 

          So, when we have a big decision to make, or maybe we are unsure of what we should do next, remember that it is the Good Shepherd who is leading us and still calling out to us.  Let us quiet ourselves, enter into prayer and listen for His voice.  He will lead to life so that we may have it more abundantly.