Monday, April 22, 2024

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 11:1-18; John 10:1-10)

“Growing pains” occasionally affect children in their sleep.  They cause some to wake up in the night with discomfort in their legs.  Since researchers have not found an underlying cause for these pains, they are named for growth, a phenomenon associated with children.  In the first reading we find the early Church afflicted with its “growing pains.”

One of the great issues for the Church in its first decades is whether to accept non-Jews into its fold.  Non-Jews are not gentiles who become Jews through circumcision and eating kosher but gentiles who refuse to accept Jewish customs.  Since Jesus was a Jew, could gentiles follow him without living as he did?  This is the critical question.  In the reading from Acts today Peter defers to none other than the Holy Spirit for an answer.  He explains to the Jerusalem inquisition that he baptized Cornelius’ household upon seeing that they manifested the gifts of the Spirit.

Today the Church has other issues to deal with.  We can easily name a few – homosexual couples, the care of the sick in “permanent vegetative states,” the possibility of ordaining women to the diaconate, etc.  Too often differences on these questions create fragmentation and suspicion.  Like Peter we should turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance.  This means that we recognize that what is most authentically Christian is the primacy of charity.  On some issues change may be impossible for reason of consistency with tradition and coherency with established teaching.  Even here, however, there is an imperative to treat the people who are involved with respect.

 

Sunday, April 21, 2024

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

(Acts 4:8-12; I John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18)

As always, today’s mass readings are interesting. I say “always” because they are the “word of God” that instructs, comforts, and challenges us. All three readings have to do with names. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles Peter says that the sick man was healed “in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” The gospel reports that Jesus gives himself the name of “Good Shepherd.” In the second reading the priest John calls himself and the community he tends “sons of God.” It is worth investigating the relevance of these names to our lives today.

In the Bible a name is supposed to reveal a person’s essence. Abraham, we remember from a reading a few Sundays ago, means “father of many nations.” Eventually largely through Jesus Christ Abraham has become the spiritual patriarch of people in all parts of the world. It is apt that the name of the Son of God is “Jesus”, derived from “Joshua” which means “savior”. Jesus saves the world from its sins.

However, the disciples recognize in Jesus someone more than a savior. They treat the name “Jesus” with the respect that Jews reserve for God. We remember how God revealed his name to Moses at the burning bush as “I am who I am.” According to medieval theologians, this name indicates that God is the source of all being. Rabbis for almost two thousand years have said that God’s name is so sacred that it should not be spoken with the human voice. For this reason Jews to this day replace the name in the Bible with something more general like “the Lord.”

In the New Testament Saint Paul says that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” (Phil 2:10). This phrase indicates that from only a few years after the crucifixion, Christians considered him to be of the same stature as God. The fact that the first Christians baptized in the name of Jesus also indicates its transcendent importance.

Calling on the name of Jesus, the apostles performed feats like healing the paralytic in today's reading. It has been noted that the only time in the entire New Testament the name “Jesus” is used without any other appellation occurs at the crucifixion in the Gospel of Luke. We all remember how the so-called “good thief” says to the Lord: “Jesus, remember me when you come to establish your Kingdom.” And he receives perhaps the most reassuring response in all history: “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.”

In the gospel Jesus gives himself another name, the “Good Shepherd.” This name suggests that Jesus would give his life to save his people from the marauders. Of course, he did exactly this.

In the second reading, the priest John proposes a name for his readers. He says, “My brothers, we are now children of God…” We should consider ourselves parts of this family. We are made “children of God” by being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Like other children of God, we are destined to be like our older brother, Jesus. Like him, we should not be reluctant to ask God for help: Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.

We may have difficulty believing. This age of self-assertion blinds many to the reality of God. We must call on God to help us continue believing in Him as the Creator who loves us. We may also be overwhelmed with worries about sick family members or other problems. Likewise, we have to call God by name. Be it “Father”, “Jesus”, or “Holy Spirit” he is always ready to attend to our prayers.

Friday, April 19, 2024

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59)

For over fifty years dialysis has extended the lives of countless patients with compromised kidneys.  Like the kidneys, dialysis purifies the blood of contaminants that would bring about death if unchecked.  The gospel reading today tells how the Flesh and Blood of the Eucharist similarly extends the spiritual lives of Christians.

The matter has always been controversial as the opening phrase indicates: “The Jew quarreled among themselves…” The Reformed Church split with the Catholic Church largely over this issue in the sixteenth century.  By accepting that Eucharistic bread becomes the Body of Christ and Eucharistic wine becomes his Blood, the Catholic Church sees partaking in this food and drink as nourishing the eternal life planted in Baptism.  Without this enrichment, the baptized person is likely to lose the faith, hope, and charity initially imparted by the Spirit.

We must take care not to trivialize the Eucharist.  The Church calls us to partake of it every Sunday so that Christ’s life might grow within us.  We should no more skip Mass than a kidney patient should skip dialysis.

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:26-40; John 6:44-51)

Humans often take signs very seriously.  If you cross a red light in front of the police, you will pay dearly. The sign of Baptism should carry such weight.  It is more than an indication of the soul being cleansed from sin.  Like with the exchange of marriage vows, it indicates that the baptized has committed him or herself to God.  St. Paul described the dynamic of Baptism as dying and rising with Christ to a new life of grace.

In the reading from Acts the Ethiopian could not become Christian without undergoing the Baptismal ritual.  He could have read Isaiah day and night without committing himself to Jesus Christ, whom the prophet describes in the verse given in the reading.  To prove to himself and to the world that he intends to follow Christ, he must be baptized.

Our times, worried as we are about exceptions, have tended to downplay the ritual of the sacraments.  We need to take another look at them.  We should find in every sacrament a deep commitment to Jesus.  He gave us the sacraments to assure his everlasting presence to us.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40)

People sometimes call a subject worth pondering “food for thought.” Jesus presents his teaching in today’s gospel in this way.  His words are not only worth pondering but, even more cogently, bid one’s following.

This is the first part of the great “Eucharistic Discourse” of John’s gospel.  In the second part Jesus’ references to the “Bread of Life” will reveal him as Eucharistic food. The two – wisdom and food – are meant to complement one another.  As the Word of God in the first part of the Mass gives perspective to the sacrifice and sacrament of the second part so Eucharistic wisdom and food go together.

In trying to understand how Jesus is present in the Eucharist, some have considered the bread as a symbol.  For them the bread inspires thoughts of love and fortitude.  However satisfying this idea is to modern sensibilities, it is not what the gospel teaches. Especially John’s gospel instructs that Jesus is physically present in the bread and wine.  When we consume these elements worthily, we become part of him. We too have conquered sin and will live eternally.