Easter Sunday, Cycle C - April 17, 2022

 Easter Sunday – C 

April 17, 2022    7:30 and 9am 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton    

 

Easter Hope 

 

We have all seen some pictures of the human tragedy in Ukraine. 

 

It is happening right before our eyes in a way we would never have imagined. I am aware that this has affected my approach to Easter this year.

 

It has led me to look for hope. And so, this Easter, I turn  to the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection for hope.   

 

The Foundation of Hope 

 

I see hope as more than optimism.

 

The dictionary defines optimism as an inclination to put the most favorable perspective upon things. It means that we assume the best possible outcome in a situation. 

 

Being optimistic can be good, but for me, hope is something different. Hope is built on faith in God and, for me, faith in Jesus Christ.

 

It is the faith that there is a God, that God is love itself, and that God loves each one of us. And very importantly, hope is also built on faith in the paschal mystery – that death can lead to new life.

 

I believe we have confirmation of this paschal mystery in our own life experience. As a senior adult, I still look at the simple example of planting a seed in the ground, something that looks like a death and burial, but this leads to sprouting and the new life of flowers and vegetables.

 

For me another example of dying leading to new life goes back to my childhood. I didn’t always like it when my parents told me I had to do my homework instead of hanging out with my friends or watching a favorite TV show. 

 

Today, I guess it would be doing homework instead of texting our friends. At any rate, that dying to self, in doing my homework, led me to fuller life; it led me to become a fuller  and much more alive person.

 

So, I believe in the God of love and I believe in the paschal mystery. And that’s what Easter is about – that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and that this same thing happens for us even when we die to our physical bodies.

 

What Is Hope?

 

It is this faith that leads me to have hope.

 

Our Catholic Catechism says that hope is the confidence that God accompanies us on the journey of life and guides us to eternal life. Let me repeat that: the confidence that God accompanies us on the journey of life and guides us to eternal life.

  

So, for me, hope is trusting that life can emerge from all forms of death and darkness and evil. It is trusting that the vision of life as given to us by Jesus can really happen.

 

So, we  might trust in this vision as we try to figure out a way to heal a long-standing family rift. We might trust in this vison right now as we pray for a change of heart from war-waging to peace-making in Russia.

 

We might trust in this vision by being willing to ask for forgiveness, even though we don’t like to admit that we were wrong, even though we don’t want to be seen as weak or less than perfect. And we might trust in this vision as we keep on working for a better future for our family.

 

This hope does not necessarily mean that we think everything will turn out rosy right away. It does mean that we are led by the vision given us by God and that we feel empowered to keep doing our part to make that vision a reality.

 

Ultimately, this hope is grounded in what we celebrate today – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, this year especially, for me, Easter is all about hope.

 

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Cycle C - April 10, 2022

 Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion—C  

April 10, 2022   8:30 and 11am 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton    

 

Injustice

 

I imagine most of us can think of a time when we were treated unfairly.

 

I remember way back, when I was in the sixth grade, some tattle-tale accused a whole group of us boys of saying “bad” words on the playground.  I wasn’t an angel, but I didn’t say those “bad” words; I still got punished.

 

More serious than that, I remember a man in his early sixties in one of my past parishes. The company where he had worked for thirty years went into bankruptcy, and he lost his pension. 

 

I am sure we could all cite other examples of injustice. Jesus himself experienced great injustice, and this is the background for Saint Luke’s account of Jesus’ Passion. 

 

Jesus’ Innocence

 

Luke’s Gospel carefully emphasizes Jesus’ innocence.

 

Only in Luke’s telling of Jesus’ Passion – not in Matthew, Mark or John – only in Luke does Pilate three times declare Jesus innocent. Only in Luke does Herod also pronounce Jesus innocent.

 

Only Luke carefully recalls the words of the one man being crucified with Jesus: “We have been condemned justly, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Only Luke recalls the Roman centurion saying right after Jesus dies: “This man was innocent beyond doubt.”

 

So, Luke very intentionally reminds us of Jesus’ innocence. He is showing us how unfair, how unjust all of this is.

  

Jesus’ Caring, Healing, and Forgiving 

 

And yet, Jesus responds positively.

 

Luke tells us that at the Last Supper, Jesus prays for Peter – even though he knows that Peter will deny him, he prays that Peter’s faith will in the long run prevail. Only Luke’s gospel tells us that in the garden, Jesus heals the ear of the high priest’s servant.

 

Only Luke shows Jesus’ compassion for the women who are weeping. Only Luke recalls Jesus, on the cross, asking the Father to “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

And only Luke shows Jesus assuring the one man being crucified with him: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” So, Luke very carefully shows that nothing – injustice, suffering, and even impending death – nothing gets in the way of Jesus’ caring, healing, and forgiving.

 

Communion with God

 

Luke, of course, wants us to realize that we are called to be the same way and he shows us how this is possible.  

 

Jesus remains in communion with the Father. And he maintains this from start to finish.   

 

Luke’s depicts Jesus’ prayerfulness on the Mount of Olives. And this communion with the Father continues to the very end when Jesus prays, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

 

Luke is making the point that this inner, steady communion with the Father – this is what strengthens Jesus. This is what empowers him to deal with such injustice and suffering.

 

This is what energizes him to remain caring, forgiving, and peaceful. Luke calls us to the same inner communion with God, the same prayerfulness.

 

This will help us to deal with injustice and suffering in our lives. It will help us to be caring rather than become uncaring, to heal rather than to hurt others, and to forgive rather than to hold grudges.  

5th Sunday of Lent, Cycle C - April 3, 2022

 5th Sunday of Lent – C

April 3, 2022      5pm, 8:30 and 11am

Our Lady of Grace  Parish, Parkton

 

Put It Back Together

 

There is a story about a surgeon and his wife who were having dinner at the home of some friends.

 

The surgeon was enjoying a drink in the kitchen while his host was getting ready to carve the roast beef. The friend asked, “Would you like to do the honors, Doc?”

 

The surgeon politely declined. The friend began carving the roast, and then teased, “So how’s my technique, Doc?

 

“I think I’d make a pretty good surgeon. See, it’s all in the wrist.

 

“You know, I might take your job.” The doctor was used to this kind of humor and just laughed.  

 

Soon the host finished his work and held up a tray of beautifully carved roast beef. “So, what d’ya think, Doc?”  

 

The surgeon replied, “Not bad. But now – let’s see you put it all back together.”

 

Jesus Puts It Back Together

 

Jesus does not put a roast beef back together, but he does teach the way to put us back together.

 

In today’s gospel, some men bring a woman to Jesus. They accuse her of the sin of adultery and ask if it’s okay to stone her to death.

 

Jesus’ response is very instructive in two ways.

 

1.  Jesus Sees Sin 

 

First, Jesus says to these men, “Let the one without sin throw the first stone.”  

 

The effect of his simple, calm, one-sentence response is to get these men to look within themselves. Jesus moves them – and us – to look at our own humanity and sinfulness.  

 

In doing this, Jesus recognizes the reality of sin. The truth is that we all sin in some way.  

 

We can sin against ourselves by not studying well in school and not using our God-given abilities. We can sin against our relationship with God by not coming to Mass or by not making space for prayer. 

 

We can sin against others by being unfaithful to our vocation – as a woman and a man are accused of in this gospel story. Or we can also sin by being self-righteous and unforgiving, as the group of men are in this story.  

 

Jesus, in his response here, sees the reality of sin and wants us to see that we all sin in some way.   

 

2. Jesus is Respectful 

 

The other lesson here is equally important. 

 

Jesus is respectful and not violent. He does not resort to any kind of violence with these persons – verbal, emotional, spiritual, and certainly not physical.

 

Jesus recognizes that this woman has sinned, but he doesn’t call her a sinner. He doesn’t label her or sum up her entire personhood with the one word – sinner.

 

Instead, he respects her as a person and allows her to keep her self-respect. And he does the same thing with the group of men.

 

Jesus must have been bothered by their self-righteous approach, but he doesn’t put them down or call them any names. Instead, he is at first quiet, gets himself together, and then calmly speaks.

 

In doing this, Jesus shows how growth can best happen. We are more inclined to grow personally and spiritually when our self-respect is left intact.

 

So, here Jesus shows us how we are to treat one another. And this is an important lesson for us today.

 

For the past twenty-five years or so, we here in America have been in the midst of cultural warfare. And in our Church, some promote what they call spiritual warfare.

 

In these cultural and spiritual wars, people sometimes demonize others. They see certain others as all bad.  

 

These approaches are not respectful, and they leave others with little self-respect. Jesus today shows a vastly different approach. 

 

His approach gives the opportunity for us to grow personally and for us to live and sort things out together as a community.

 

Jesus Puts Them Back Together

 

So, to go back to where I began, Jesus in effect does what that surgeon teases his friend to do.

 

He is not putting a roast beef back together, but he teaches the way for us to be put back together.