A word that comes up a lot in these post Easter Scriptures is the
word Disciple – Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ. The best definition I
have ever heard of what a Disciple of Jesus Christ is, “is a person who
tries to follow Jesus, makes a lot of mistakes, but comes back and tries
again and again.”
A person who makes this definition come alive for me was Peter,
the first Pope. Picture with me Peter, Mr. Enthusiasm…the Charlie
Hustle of the New Testament, jumps in with both feet, “There ain’t no
mountain high enough – no valley too low – that I won’t follow you
Lord. I won’t fail you – I am committed.”
A little while later Peter, Mr. Whishy Washy, “I don’t know this
Jesus – you have mistaken me for another person – I’ve go to go, I am a
busy person – this suffering and dying stuff is too much for me. I want
to be part of a winner.”
If we explore the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles
a little bit more, we meet Peter, the Cheer Leader. A sales person for God – Mr. Committed again, calling people forth to be Baptized. To
make a personal commitment, “It’s worth it,” he says. He proclaims the
crucified and risen Christ as the source of his strength and power.
A Disciple… a person who tries to follow Jesus, makes a lot of
mistakes, but comes back and tries again and again. YOU…ME… A
Disciple…2020. Yes! Maybe. No!
(Go out to people and look up to Altar Area.)
“What is this Guy talking about Lord? Me be a Disciple? No
way! If he only knew about the real me. If he knew what I did last
night, or what I think about that person two rows in front of me. If he
knew about the conflict in my family, or the trouble in my marriage. If
he knew some of my secret thoughts, or old grudges that run so deep. If
he knew that I am only here because my mother is making me, or that I
have a secret plan to sneak out during communion. If he only knew my
doubts…if he only knew.
I close with this thought; I truly believe that our God knows us
better than we know ourselves. He knows how inadequate we are, how awful and hurtful we are to each other at times. God has heard every
possible excuse we can make when it comes to following Him.
Today, Peter and other Disciples like him remind us that our God
is very willing to work with and thru our weaknesses and inadequacies.
God has given Peter and the others a second, third chance. God is
willing to give us endless chances if we let it happen. God will not give
up on us – let’s not give up on ourselves.
A Disciple – a person who tries to follow Jesus, makes a lot of
mistakes, but comes back and tries again and again.
Archive for the ‘4th Sunday’ Category
Being a Disciple 5-3-2020
Sunday, May 3rd, 2020Lightning Strikes 3-22-2020
Sunday, March 22nd, 2020Years ago, a boy was collecting berries in the woods near his
Southern home. He was concentrating on filling his bucket – and mouth
–with the delicious fruit and not paying attention to how deep he was
going into the forest. The boy didn’t notice the dark clouds forming on
the horizon. Then he heard crashes of thunder. Suddenly he realized that
he was lost. Darkness enveloped the woods. The terrified youngster
started to run with no sense of where he was going.
Then he remembered what his parents had taught him: When you’re
lost, stop and be still, look around, and listen. So the boy stopped running
and stood still. And he observed the lightning strikes illuminating the
forest landscape. With each lightning flash he was able to see a bit farther
ahead and walk a little closer to his destination until he found his way
home, guided by the storm that had, at first, frightened him.
“Seeing” and “light” are key images of today’s Gospel for this
Sunday in mid-Lent. Jesus cures a man born blind – but the greater
miracle is opening the eyes of those around him to “see” the presence of
God in their midst. Terrified of the storm, the little boy remembers his parents’ wise advice: Stop and look. See the light and make your way
towards it. The Christ of Lent is that light that illuminates those times
and places in which we can realize the love of God in our midst. Like the
Jewish leaders and the temple officials, we sometimes become so
obsessed trying to find God where God is not that we fail to see God
where God actually is. We desperately want to know where God is when
tragedy befalls us; we live our lives taking comfort in the erroneous
notion that God is found only at certain times, in the rituals and pious
practices our religion specifies. The reality is that God is most
profoundly present in the simple, ordinary doings of life, in the kindness
and love of others, in life itself and the gifts of the earth to sustain that
life. May God grant us the vision that the blind man receives in today’s
Gospel: to see the love of God present in all things.
A Conversation with Anna 2-2-2020
Sunday, February 2nd, 2020Priest: One thing you can always find in Catholic churches is…..old
ladies. Here in the United States, and in many other
countries, old ladies are the strength and the hard workers of
many communities and churches. The same must have been
true in the time of Jesus. When Mary and Joseph took their
baby Jesus to the temple, one of the people they found there,
who touched them very much, was Anna. It would be good
to talk to her for a few minutes.
Priest: Good morning Anna. We’re happy to have you here.
Anna: Thank you. As the scripture says, I never tire of
being in the temple, worshipping, fasting, and telling people
about this holy child who brings salvation and deliverance to
all people.
Priest: Anna, has your life been difficult?
Anna: Yes, it has! I was married as a young girl to a fine young
man. We were poor, but we were so much in love, and
found such joy in our children. Then, after only 7 years of
marriage, my husband died. I was so grief stricken! I miss
him still. But that was just the beginning. In those days there was no
welfare or public assistance. In less than a year my children
and I were reduced from poor to beggars. It was so difficult
for me not to be able to buy the nice things for my children
that all the other kids had.
It wasn’t easy to raise the children with no father and no
income. But God helped me.
Priest: Yes, God must have helped you, Anna. Here you
are 84 years old. God has helped you through many troubles.
How did you ever survive so much?
Anna: The Bible gives the answer. It says I was always in the
temple, worshipping God and praying. I stayed close to God,
and God helped me. In my experience, old people either
become bitter with age, or wise. If we stay close to God, we
get wise.
Priest: Anna, I have a question. On the day Mary and Joseph and
the baby Jesus came to the temple, there must have been
priests, scribes, Pharisees and so many others present. How
is it that only you and old Simeon recognized Jesus as God? Anna: Suffering makes you either wise or bitter. If you are close to
God, your suffering makes you wise. My suffering taught
me to look deep into things, beneath appearances. There are
some things that only years can teach you, not books or
youth.
Priest: Anna, do you have any advice to give to the people in church
today?
Anna: Yes, I do! Stay close to God and close to church. We all
have to suffer at times. You will have to suffer too. But if
we stay close to God, your suffering will not make you bitter.
It will make you wise. Children, pay attention to the old
people. Very often they see and understand things you are
too young to see and understand. Old people, be patient with
the children. They are God’s gift to us, and our
responsibility.
And everyone. Don’t be alarmed when suffering comes.
God is always there to help you. Tell everyone about God’s
love.
May God bless you all!
