5th Sunday of Easter

Two very good men who loved Jesus and were filled with the Holy Spirit are at the heart of the Scriptures today.  The first, of course, is John, the beloved disciple. In today’s gospel reading from John, Jesus speaks to the disciples on the night before He dies and tells them they need to stay close to Him.  They need to stay connected to Him, as much as a branch is connected to the vine.  When they do that, they will bear fruit. 

Although we have not seen Jesus the way the disciples did, the need to stay connected to Jesus is as true for us as it was for them.  We need to pray to Jesus each day, to receive Him in the Eucharist whenever we can, to trust Him in both joyful and difficult times.  If we neglect our relationship with Jesus, we risk wandering into places and patterns in our life that are not good for us. 

In the second reading from John’s first letter, John is an old man and speaks with the simplicity of one who has known the love of Jesus all his life.  John tells us the one thing that is needed: to keep the command of the Lord.  And that command is twofold: to believe in the Lord and to love.  Belief is not merely assenting to truth with the mind, it is trusting a Person with the heart.  Believing in Jesus is another way of expressing the need to stay close to the Lord, to abide in His love, to surrender to all He will do for us.  And to love is to respond to Jesus by loving Him in and others, especially those in need.  Belief, trust, love, and service are all ways of staying united to Jesus and, in doing so, bearing much fruit. 

We are able to do this because the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts.  The Spirit, Jesus told us, is given to us to remind us of all that Jesus did and said, and to enable us to do even greater things than He did.  The Holy Spirit will lead us and show us what to do.  And that is where the example of the second good man in today’s Scripture readings comes in.

Luke tells us in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that Saul is in Jerusalem, but the Christians are fearful of him.  It is understandable, given what Saul had been doing to believers.  How do they know they can trust him and his story of conversion?  Maybe this is a trap.  Who knows what might happen?

But God was at work, and the Holy Spirit moved Barnabas to step up and offer to talk to Saul and to introduce him to others.  Barnabas was able to put aside any fears or hesitations he might have had about Saul and do what he knew was the right thing: welcome Saul and help him to become a part of the community.  What Barnabas did was certainly the right thing, and we know from Acts that Barnabas and Paul traveled and worked together and brought the Gospel to many.  Had not Barnabas been open to Saul at the beginning, perhaps none of that would have happened.

What a wonderful gift it is to have someone who is open to everyone and is willing to take a risk and welcome someone new into the life of a community.  Jesus prayed that we would all be one, but factions and divisions often happen due to fear and the false need to be exclusive.  Thank God for those like Barnabas who work against all of that and step out to bring others in.  There is no judgment or suspicion; there is only welcome and acceptance. 

Today’s Scriptures remind us to stay close to Jesus, to trust Him, to love others, and to be welcoming and open, especially when it comes to the Christian community.  We ought to ask God to make our hearts like that of John and Barnabas: confident in the love of Jesus, and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit when it comes to the various people the Lord puts before us.  In answering that prayer, not only will God make us holy, but the Lord may use us to help others to become holy as well. 

Had Barnabas not taken Saul under his wing, perhaps Paul would not have gone on to do the great work of preaching to the Gentiles.  The Church is indebted to Paul, and Paul to Barnabas.  When we are open to the Spirit’s prompting, God can do great things in and through us as well.  And all this is possible as long as we stay connected to Jesus.

4th Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday

Each year on the 4^th Sunday of Easter, the gospel reminds us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and we are His sheep.  Without a good shepherd, sheep cannot live a good life and often will have a very short life.  The reason for that is the shepherd makes sure that his sheep have food and drink and are kept safe from wolves that will destroy them.  Without a shepherd to follow, sheep get lost and find themselves all alone or, even worse, fall off mountain cliffs and die.

Without Jesus, we will not have eternal life.  Without Jesus, we will not have the Eucharist, our spiritual food and drink.  Without Jesus, we can easily get lost and wander into unsafe, dangerous places.  For sheep to live well, they have to follow the shepherd and stay close to him.  The same is true for Jesus and us. 

In order to follow Jesus faithfully, we have to live a moral life, to follow the commandments, to do our best to avoid sin, to imitate Jesus in our daily life.  That means we have to serve others, forgive those who have hurt us, trust God to care for us, and the Holy Spirit to lead us.

To follow Jesus faithfully, also means we need to be part of a community that prays together to give praise and worship to God.  At the Last Supper, as Jesus gave His disciples His Body and Blood, He told them, “Do this in memory of me.”  Ever since the beginning of the Church, Christians meet on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, for the Eucharist, which is why we are here right now.  Sunday Mass is the best prayer and the highlight of the week for our spiritual lives. Our relationship with Jesus, and with each other, is centered on Sunday Mass where we share again in the sacrifice Jesus offered on the cross for us.

To follow Jesus faithfully also requires us to take time each day to pray.  Perhaps it can only be for a few minutes, but we have to stay close to Jesus by speaking to Him, reading God’s word, and listening for the Lord to speak to us.

In the first reading, Peter preaches that salvation is in the name of Jesus, a reminder that our relationship with the Lord has to be important to us.  In the second reading, John tells us that the Father loves us and we are God’s children and when we see God, we will be like God.  Again, that means we have to stay close to God each day.

All of this reminds us that we need to put time into our relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  As His flock, we need to stay together, to follow Him faithfully and to stay united to Him each day, but especially on Sunday at Mass.  There is no better place we could be right now than right here. 

Yap Catholic High School Student Retreat Day - Friday of the 3rd Week of Easter

There has been a lot of practicing for the upcoming musical showcase on the sophomore veranda and Tionna has been singing a song that reminds me of how God feels about every one of us. 

Here are some of the lyrics:

When I see your face 
There's not a thing that I would change 
'Cause you're amazing 
Just the way you are

That’s my first point today:

God looks on us and says, “You’re amazing” and God loves us just the way we are, with our faults and failings, our mistakes, our doubts, our fears.  God loves us just the way we are.  I know I say it often, but if we knew how much God loves us, we would be amazed, and even though God hasn’t demanded it or asked us in order to have Him love us, we would want to change. 

Feeling and knowing God’s love would make us want to be the best person we could be.  Perhaps you have already had the experience of being in love.  If you have, you know what I’m talking about.  Everything, including ourselves, looks better to us when we’re in love.  We smile more.  We’re nice to everyone.  We can’t wait to see him or her again.  Love changes us, and it’s always for the better.  God’s love, once we have experienced it, changes us and makes us better.  And, unlike the love of others, God’s love will never end. 

Here’s my second point:

We are not perfect, but we can be better than we are.  There are parts of our life that need to change and we can trust Jesus to show us what that is and to help us to do better.

The third point is:

We need to trust Jesus and realize that He will use other people in our lives to help us change and become better people.

In today’s reading, Jesus, the Risen Christ, has decided He has to do something about Saul, who will later be known as St. Paul, the first great missionary and preacher of Christianity.  Saul was going around capturing Christians and having them tortured and even put to death. 

Here’s something you might not know: Saul thought he was doing the right thing.  He thought God would be pleased with what he was doing.  He thought he was protecting the Jewish faith.  He was wrong, and Jesus Christ Himself, is going to set it up so that Saul will find out how he needs to change. 

You heard what Jesus did, if you were listening to the reading.  Jesus flashed some light that knocked Saul to the ground.  Bam! Then He said to Saul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” 

Notice that Jesus did not say, “Saul, what the … are you thinking of?  Are you crazy?  You ought to know better!  You’re acting like a worthless piece of…” Jesus did not say that.  Jesus would not talk to anyone that way because He loves everyone.  He simply tells Saul, “You’re persecuting me and I’m going to tell you what to do.”  We too need to be open to having Jesus correct us and help us in whatever way He chooses.

Now think back to what happens next in the story.  At the same time Saul is on the ground on the road to Damascus, in that same city, the Lord speaks to a Christian named Ananias.  He tells him where to go and that he needs to pray over Saul who is now blind.  But Ananias had heard all about Saul, so he says to the Lord, “Lord, wait a second, I know about this guy.  He is hurting people in Jerusalem, your holy ones, and now he is having others thrown into prison. Ahhh, I'm not sure….”

But the Lord says to Ananias, “Just go. I plan to have Saul preach about me to the Gentiles and I will show him that he is going to suffer for my name.” So Ananias goes and everything is just the way the Lord told him it would be.  He prays over Saul.  He even calls Saul his brother. And Saul is immediately healed and then baptized and starts to get better. 

We all need to be like Ananias.  How you ask?  Let me tell you.  Ananias prayed and he listened for what God had to say to him.  And then he did it.  He didn’t judge Saul.  In fact, he forgave Saul, and called him “my brother.” 

We need to pray, even for just a few minutes every day because then God will speak quietly to us telling us what He would like us to do.  And then, like Ananias, we do it.  We don’t judge people; instead we think of them as your brothers or sisters, and in doing so, we help others as Ananias helped Saul.

So remember this:

- God thinks we’re amazing and He loves us, just the way we are.

- Knowing God’s love will make us want us to change, to become a better person.

- Jesus will show us how to do that and will send others to us who can help us.  He will send us to others to help them as well. 

Third Sunday of Easter

I know only one word in American Sign Language, but to me, it’s the best word.  It’s Jesus.  To sign Jesus, you take the middle finger of one hand and place in in the middle of the other hand’s palm and then do it again, switching hands.  It’s a beautiful sign, and we are called to look at it in today’s gospel.

After appearing to the disciples and frightening them in doing so, Jesus tells them, “Look at My hands and My feet.” He wasn’t trying to shame them or make them feel bad.  Rather, His hands and feet, bearing the holes made by the nails at the crucifixion, are powerful reminders of the love that He has for them and for us.  Even in His glorified risen Body, Jesus still bears the marks that speak of the price He paid for us to save us from sin and death.

It is most important to remember that Jesus died for our sins, as evidenced by the fact that it is mentioned in each of today’s Scripture readings.  In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter preaches to the people that witnessed the miracle he performed for the lame man and tells them that Jesus was the Christ who suffered for them.  In return, they need to be converted to have their sins wiped away.

St. John, as an old man, writes in the second reading and tells us not to commit sin, but he reassures us that if we do, we have an Advocate, one who will take our side, who has offered Himself as an expiation for the sins of the world. 

And Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to the Scriptures to understand that He had to suffer and rise again so that sins might be forgiven.  Now they are to be witnesses to that and are sent out to preach repentance so that all might know of the forgiveness of sins that Jesus offers.

The joyful season of Easter is all about new life and living eternally, but at the heart of the mystery of the Resurrection is the mercy that is offered to us.  We are all sinners, every one of us.  And we need to repent and trust in God’s mercy each and every time we sin.  Jesus will never refuse us, no matter how often we have to ask. 

We believe in Jesus and have received the promise of eternal life in Baptism.  The Holy Spirit dwells within us.  Jesus offers His Body and Blood to us in the Eucharist.  We are strengthened in the Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We receive pardon from our sins and grace to do better in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

But we still need to do our part.  We need to have a close relationship with Jesus and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing the Spirit to work within us to make us holy.  As St. John wrote in today’s second reading, we need to keep the Lord’s commandments and keep His word so that the love of God will be perfected within us.  We need to work at this each and every day of our lives, until we see the hands and feet of Jesus when we meet Him at the end of our life.

No matter how difficult or busy our lives get, we need to take time to pray, to look at the hands and feet of Jesus, and to hear Him offer us “Peace.”   We need to read God’s word.  We need to keep His commandments.  We need to serve and love others.  And we need to seek God’s mercy and grace.  Trusting in the Lord, we will live with Him forever.