Nicodemus is one of us. This Jesus has struck a nerve in this
teacher and “ruler” of the Jewish establishment. He has questions – but,
given his position, he has to stay under the radar, so he comes to meet
Jesus privately, late at night.
Jesus talks about God in ways that Nicodemus has never thought
of: a God of compassion rather than a God of order and law; a God of
forgiveness rather than a God of condemnation; a God of light who
illuminates the darkness; a God who constantly calls us back to him; a
God who is Father of all.
Nicodemus’ reaction to all of this is not recorded – but something
clicks. When the Jewish council plots to condemn Jesus, Nicodemus
will protest and defend Jesus; on Good Friday, when the body of Jesus is
taken down from the cross, Nicodemus will be there, with myrrh and
aloes (not an inexpensive contribution) to bury Jesus.
Slowly, Nicodemus moves from the edge of faith to the center
where the Spirit of God dwells. For Nicodemus, Jesus’ image of God is
no longer just an ideal but a powerful sign of compassion and mercy
dwelling in our midst.
Nicodemus struggles with Jesus – as we all do. But he possesses
the grace of an open heart and mind and so comes to find God. He seeks
God – and finds God. And so can we.
We are all Nicodemus: We struggle to make sense of Jesus; we
wrestle with trying to reconcile his Gospel with the demands of our
world. In his questioning and confusion, in his fears and doubts,
Nicodemus is welcomed by Jesus with understanding and compassion.
Like Nicodemus, we are all seekers and Christ has assured us of his
company on our journey; like Nicodemus, we find ourselves coming to
Jesus in the middle of our darkest nights, seeking hope and consolation,
direction and comfort – and Jesus neither rejects us nor admonishes us,
but welcomes us. We discover the God that Nicodemus discovers: a
God of light who transforms our despair into hope; a God of wisdom
who enables us to re-create our Good Friday deaths into Easter
resurrections; a God of compassion who heals our broken spirits into
hearts made whole. We are all Nicodemus. — Amen
We are all Nicodemus 3-10-2024
February 23rd, 2024One Family’s Church Connection 3-3-2024
February 23rd, 2024The family settled in Maui where husband and dad Paul
Sutherland opened a new office for his company. Paul, Amy and
their kids became active members of a local church. The church’s
warm welcome and the satisfaction they found in volunteering
made the family’s church membership a wonderful experience.
Then one morning Paul got a call at his office. Amy was
hemorrhaging at 26 weeks of pregnancy. She was transferred by
air ambulance to a hospital in Oahu, where she would spend the
next eight weeks. Paul called friends asking if they could pick up
their boys from school and watch them until Amy’s parents flew in
from Michigan. “No problem!” was their immediate reply.
The first full day in the hospital, their pastor called and
offered the church’s help. How did the pastor know the family
was in Oahu? A parishioner saw them at the local hospital in Maui
before flying to Oahu.
Paul remembers: “When Amy was stable enough for me to
return to Maui, I thanked my in-laws for taking care of the kids,
but when I mentioned cooking, my mother-in-law stopped me and
said, “We didn’t have to cook much”, she smiled, “Nearly every
day, the (school) families and your church brought us dinners,
baked bread, desserts, and salad”. Our school parents and church
group seemed instinctively wired to scan for people in need. They
knew we ‘mainlanders’ had few roots on the island. They helped
us because we showed up.
Their Hawaiian church experience has had a lasting effect on
Paul and his family. In every place they have lived since, the
family has made a connection with a local church.
“Thinking something is not doing something”, Paul writes.
“Thinking we are virtuous or accepting or colorblind builds no
houses nor does it feed anybody, nor cure loneliness. Our actions
are what define us. We connect by showing up – to find that we
share so many threads to bind us together in relationships and
connections. We see the similarities and build on them”.
The Sutherlands’ story is lived again and again at churches
around the world – but it’s that care for one another that makes a
community a church worthy of the name. To create that
connection requires “driving out” the fears and cynicism, the self-
centered agendas and the debilitating judgments we make of others
to realize the presence of God in the midst of this community.
Jesus’ cleansing of the temple challenges us to realize that our
parish “temple” is called to reflect God’s Kingdom of compassion
and peace, healing and justice, in this community. Everything we
do as a parish, from our music to doughnuts after Mass, from
Religious Ed to the quilters’ group, is the revelation of God’s love
– and becoming that kind of church begins by “showing up” and
contributing to the working of revealing that love in our midst.
Transfiguration – A Big Word 2-25-24
February 23rd, 2024Michelle and her mother had made the trip to the hospital
many times. For the past two years the five-year-old had been receiving
treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia – and the treatments had
been a success. But today’s mission was to remove the port used to
inject medications and draw blood.
As they waited, Michelle wrapped her arms around herself and
began to rock. Soon Dr. Jardine, the anesthesiologist, entered the room.
He asked Michelle’s mother some questions, while little Michelle
anxiously rocked faster and faster.
As Dr. Jardine was scribbling notes, he watched Michelle try to
rock away her fears. Dr. Jardine put down his pen and sat down on the
bed next to the frightened little girl. “Say, Michelle, would you rather
have gas, with no needles? I’ll let you pick your favorite flavor.”
Michelle nodded and stopped rocking. She chose the bubble-gum
flavor. Dr. Jardine then asked her what her favorite bedtime story was.
After placing the bubble-gum mask on her face, Dr. Jardine leaned down
and whispered. “Once there were three bears: Papa Bear, Mama Bear
and a beautiful small bear named Michelle.” And the little girl drifted
off with a smile and transformed the last, dreaded procedure into a
gentle triumph.
The figure of the transfigured Christ on Mount Tabor calls us to the
Lenten work of transfiguration – to transform the fear, sadness and
despair around us into the compassion, forgiveness and hope of Easter.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said that “God places us in the world as
God’s fellow workers – agents of transfiguration. We work with God so
that injustice is transfigured into justice, so that there will be more
compassion and caring, so that there will be more laughter and joy, so
that there will be more togetherness in God’s world.”
A group of computer salesmen from Milwaukee went to a regional
sales convention in Chicago. They assured their wives that they would
be home in plenty of time for dinner. But with one thing or another the
meeting ran overtime so the men had to race to the station. As they ran
through the terminal, one man inadvertently kicked over a table
supporting a basket of apples. Without stopping, they all reached the
train and boarded it with a sigh of relief. All but one. He paused. He
waved goodbye to his companions and returned to the terminal. The
ten-year-old boy selling apples was blind.
The salesman gathered up the apples and noticed that several of
them were bruised. He reached into his wallet and said to the boy,
“Here, please take this ten dollars for the damage we did. I hope it
didn’t spoil your day.” As he started to walk away the bewildered boy
called after him, “Are you Jesus?” He stopped in his tracks. And he
wondered.
The work of Lent is to transform the fear, sadness, and despair
around us into the compassion, forgiveness and hope of Easter.
“Lord, there is a lot of work left to be done. Please help us to do
our part now.” Amen.
