Friday in the Octave of Easter
(Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14)
Resurrection means, of course, that Christ is no longer dead but alive. His body has ascended to heaven, but his Spirit is free to be with us. We should not think of this Spirit as merely a common sentiment like people share when reminiscing about the “the good old days.” Rather his Spirit -- the Holy Spirit -- is a dynamic force that transforms us interiorly so that we might fulfill Christ’s mission. Today’s gospel describes the working of Jesus’ Spirit with rich symbols.
Have the disciple’s really returned to their old fishing profession? It would be extraordinary after receiving the commission of the Lord in his previous appearances to them. But perhaps fishing is the metaphor for their preaching. They have become “fishers of men.” It is laborious work which may yield nothing unless blessed by the Lord. Under his tutelage, however, its results are bountiful. The crew actually meets Jesus in the meal to which he invites them. There they hear his words which guide them and consume his food which nourishes them.
The gospel passage suggests Jesus’ presence to us as well as to his immediate disciples. He engages us in our daily occupations. There we too can produce marvelous results on behalf of our families, communities, and society. Attentive to the words he speaks in the gospel and fortified by his body and blood received in the Eucharist, we are prepared to bring his mission of redemption to completion.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
(Acts 3:11-26; Luke 24:35-48)
For the crime of executing an innocent man, Christians have more than excised repayment from the Jews. Their crimes against Jews through the centuries are extensive and bloody. At times Christian leaders supported or, at best, turned a blind eye to racist atrocities. Interestingly, the Gospel according to Luke and Luke’s Acts of the Apostles takes a judicious approach to the Jewish people’s complicity in Jesus’ death. On the cross in Luke’s passion narrative Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” In today’s reading from Acts, Peter likewise mitigates Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death. Addressing himself to the Jews of Jerusalem, he says, “’...you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did.’”
The ignorance of which Jesus and Peter speak here regards the inability of the Jews to recognize who Jesus is. As he says, Jesus is God’s “Holy and Righteous One” sent to bring new life to the people. It is a large truth for us to grasp even after two millennia of spiritual reflection. We continue to sin, and our sins conspire with those of the Jews and the Romans in Jerusalem to crucify Jesus. Like the Jews addressed by Peter then, we are not fully aware of all that we are doing when we ridicule others or take something that does not belong to us. And, yes, we too become beneficiaries of Jesus’ prayer for forgiveness from the cross.
(Acts 3:11-26; Luke 24:35-48)
For the crime of executing an innocent man, Christians have more than excised repayment from the Jews. Their crimes against Jews through the centuries are extensive and bloody. At times Christian leaders supported or, at best, turned a blind eye to racist atrocities. Interestingly, the Gospel according to Luke and Luke’s Acts of the Apostles takes a judicious approach to the Jewish people’s complicity in Jesus’ death. On the cross in Luke’s passion narrative Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” In today’s reading from Acts, Peter likewise mitigates Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ death. Addressing himself to the Jews of Jerusalem, he says, “’...you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did.’”
The ignorance of which Jesus and Peter speak here regards the inability of the Jews to recognize who Jesus is. As he says, Jesus is God’s “Holy and Righteous One” sent to bring new life to the people. It is a large truth for us to grasp even after two millennia of spiritual reflection. We continue to sin, and our sins conspire with those of the Jews and the Romans in Jerusalem to crucify Jesus. Like the Jews addressed by Peter then, we are not fully aware of all that we are doing when we ridicule others or take something that does not belong to us. And, yes, we too become beneficiaries of Jesus’ prayer for forgiveness from the cross.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday of Easter Week
(Acts 3:1-10; Lucas 24:13-35)
In the novel A Day with a Perfect Stranger an agnostic, who is having trouble understanding her faith-filled husband, goes on a business trip. She strikes up a conversation with the man sitting next to her on the airplane who also seems impatient with religious zealots. During their conversation the man not only resolves the woman’s doubts about God but also helps her discern what the Spirit is saying in her heart. In the end the woman realizes that it is no ordinary person that she is conversing with. It is the resurrected Jesus whom she has met.
The familiar story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus provides the storyline for A Day with a Perfect Stranger. Two travelers from Jerusalem are bereft with the death and rumored resurrection of Jesus. Along the road they meet another traveler who explains all that is troubling them. His insights into Scripture make their hearts burn with love of God. Then they recognize that their interlocutor is their risen Lord as he shares with them the evening meal.
The Emmaus story is meant to help us appreciate the presence of Christ in both word and sacrament at mass. We may also find it a parable indicating that he accompanies us along the journey of life. As youth, we find him teaching us to play fairly and to exert ourselves if we hope to achieve success. In middle age, we meet Jesus forgiving our excesses and strengthening us to carry out his Father’s call for our personal life. At journey’s end we recognize Jesus as the thread that has held our life together and the hope that old age is not our downfall but our catapult to a new and more abundant life.
(Acts 3:1-10; Lucas 24:13-35)
In the novel A Day with a Perfect Stranger an agnostic, who is having trouble understanding her faith-filled husband, goes on a business trip. She strikes up a conversation with the man sitting next to her on the airplane who also seems impatient with religious zealots. During their conversation the man not only resolves the woman’s doubts about God but also helps her discern what the Spirit is saying in her heart. In the end the woman realizes that it is no ordinary person that she is conversing with. It is the resurrected Jesus whom she has met.
The familiar story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus provides the storyline for A Day with a Perfect Stranger. Two travelers from Jerusalem are bereft with the death and rumored resurrection of Jesus. Along the road they meet another traveler who explains all that is troubling them. His insights into Scripture make their hearts burn with love of God. Then they recognize that their interlocutor is their risen Lord as he shares with them the evening meal.
The Emmaus story is meant to help us appreciate the presence of Christ in both word and sacrament at mass. We may also find it a parable indicating that he accompanies us along the journey of life. As youth, we find him teaching us to play fairly and to exert ourselves if we hope to achieve success. In middle age, we meet Jesus forgiving our excesses and strengthening us to carry out his Father’s call for our personal life. At journey’s end we recognize Jesus as the thread that has held our life together and the hope that old age is not our downfall but our catapult to a new and more abundant life.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
(Acts 2:36-41; John 20:11-18)
A teacher was worried about her job. Economic realities had forced her school district to announce cuts of a considerable number of teaching positions. The woman was competent enough to have received a number of teaching awards. Still she was unsure that she would survive a brutal competition of credentials. The woman prayed and started thinking about how she might cut back her lifestyle if necessary. It turned out, however, that she not only retained her job but was given a raise in salary.
Mary Magdalene’s search for the dead Jesus in the gospel today likewise results in more than she imagined possible. Her devotion to the Lord takes her to his tomb. Evidently she only wants to be near his remains for in this gospel she does not carry oil for anointing. Her faithfulness, however, brings more consolation than she could have dreamed. Joy floods her heart as she recognizes her risen Lord.
Life is full of uncertainty and setbacks. As much as we try to avoid them, they are inevitable for every one of us. But when we remain faithful to our Lord in trials with prayer and effort to follow his commands, then we too are likely to be surprised by more benefit than we ever imagined.
(Acts 2:36-41; John 20:11-18)
A teacher was worried about her job. Economic realities had forced her school district to announce cuts of a considerable number of teaching positions. The woman was competent enough to have received a number of teaching awards. Still she was unsure that she would survive a brutal competition of credentials. The woman prayed and started thinking about how she might cut back her lifestyle if necessary. It turned out, however, that she not only retained her job but was given a raise in salary.
Mary Magdalene’s search for the dead Jesus in the gospel today likewise results in more than she imagined possible. Her devotion to the Lord takes her to his tomb. Evidently she only wants to be near his remains for in this gospel she does not carry oil for anointing. Her faithfulness, however, brings more consolation than she could have dreamed. Joy floods her heart as she recognizes her risen Lord.
Life is full of uncertainty and setbacks. As much as we try to avoid them, they are inevitable for every one of us. But when we remain faithful to our Lord in trials with prayer and effort to follow his commands, then we too are likely to be surprised by more benefit than we ever imagined.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday in the Octave of Easter
Acts 2:14.22-33; Matthew 28:8-15)
The behavior of the chief priests in the gospel of Matthew might make a saint anti-clerical. They pay to arrange the arrest of an innocent man. They seek false testimony to condemn Jesus. They show no compassion for Judas as struggles with a guilty conscious and less for Jesus on the cross as they ridicule him. After Jesus’ death, they ask Pilate for a guard to prevent the abduction of Jesus’ bodies. And, in today’s gospel, we see them bribing the same guard to lie about what took place. Because the veracity of these incidents cannot be confirmed, it may be best to attribute them to the animosity between the Jews and the Christians when Matthew wrote.
The last two assertions here about the chief priests point to one of the reasons Christians give for belief in the resurrection. His tomb, which is marked in a definite place by all four gospel accounts, was found to be empty that Sunday morning, again in all gospel narratives. Unless the body was stolen as the Jews in Matthew’s account allege, there is no other explanation for its disappearance than the resurrection.
However, our faith in the resurrection is based on more than circumstantial evidence. Jesus also appeared to many people after his body was found missing from the tomb. Today’s gospel speaks of the first appearance to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. St. Paul will give us a list of his appearances: Peter, the Twelve, five hundred Christian brothers, and, of course, to Paul himself. Based on their testimony, the empty tomb, and our own experience of the power of Christ acting in our lives, we do not hesitate to affirm that, yes, he rose from the dead to save us from sin and death.
Acts 2:14.22-33; Matthew 28:8-15)
The behavior of the chief priests in the gospel of Matthew might make a saint anti-clerical. They pay to arrange the arrest of an innocent man. They seek false testimony to condemn Jesus. They show no compassion for Judas as struggles with a guilty conscious and less for Jesus on the cross as they ridicule him. After Jesus’ death, they ask Pilate for a guard to prevent the abduction of Jesus’ bodies. And, in today’s gospel, we see them bribing the same guard to lie about what took place. Because the veracity of these incidents cannot be confirmed, it may be best to attribute them to the animosity between the Jews and the Christians when Matthew wrote.
The last two assertions here about the chief priests point to one of the reasons Christians give for belief in the resurrection. His tomb, which is marked in a definite place by all four gospel accounts, was found to be empty that Sunday morning, again in all gospel narratives. Unless the body was stolen as the Jews in Matthew’s account allege, there is no other explanation for its disappearance than the resurrection.
However, our faith in the resurrection is based on more than circumstantial evidence. Jesus also appeared to many people after his body was found missing from the tomb. Today’s gospel speaks of the first appearance to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. St. Paul will give us a list of his appearances: Peter, the Twelve, five hundred Christian brothers, and, of course, to Paul himself. Based on their testimony, the empty tomb, and our own experience of the power of Christ acting in our lives, we do not hesitate to affirm that, yes, he rose from the dead to save us from sin and death.
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