2007

Jesus’ Ascension and Ours

We celebrate today the feast of the Ascension. In the practice of the Church, this is a feast that has been around for a long time, since the latter half of the fourth century.  Until recently, it was a holy day of obligation, a sign of its importance in the practice of the faith.  It is still celebrated as a solemnity, but now on a Sunday, by no means a downgrade.

The Church regards the Ascension of our Lord into heaven as a historical fact. We believe it actually happened. Theologians use a fancy word, theophany, to describe miracles like the Ascension. In theophanies, God uses powerful acts of nature (light, wind, fire, clouds, earthquakes) to get our attention, to tell us we are in the presence of God. In this case, God the Son, Jesus, shows himself free from the limits of nature by overcoming gravity and literally rising up, beautifully portrayed in our first reading from the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles.

Theophanies are remarkable moments in history. But if that were all the Ascension was, it frankly would not be very important to us.  The meaning of the Ascension lies in moving beyond the mere historical event.

What do I mean by this?  Well, three things. First, let me perhaps shock you a bit. If all that Jesus did was enter our world as a human, die a horrible death for our sins, rise from the dead to show that sin and death could be conquered, and then perform this remarkable theophany of ascension, it would still not have been enough for us to achieve heaven.  Jesus tells us this in so many words in our Gospel from Luke.  For us to achieve salvation, we would still need God’s help after he left the earth in human form with the Ascension.  God the Father created the world, God the Son save the world from sin and death and created the conditions for us to return to Him.

But the conditions for salvation alone are not enough. As humans, God gave us free will, and the choice to return to him is ours. We don’t need God if we choose not to return to Him. But being a Christian, if we really want to be one, is not easy. We would not have the strength to make the choice of a genuine Christian life without God. To make that choice work, God would need to send us the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, completing and making permanent the intervention of God in the lives of human beings. The constant presence of the Holy Spirit, who offers us fruits, gifts, and charisms strengthens us and give others and us what we need to return forever to God.

So there we have it. An all-loving God, God the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Counselor and Guide pours out his very three-part divine completeness for us through the special arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is the faith essence of the Ascension.

But there is even more to this feast.  The second point about the Ascension is that we ourselves participate in the Ascension. Our bodies are not lifted into heaven. But we are born in the image and likeness of God, and our souls will indeed rise to greet the Lord. If through the gifts, fruits and charisms of the Holy Spirit, through prayer, Scripture, sacrament, and service we live a Christian life, cannot it not be said that at the end of that life on earth, our souls will ascend? Pretty neat stuff isn’t it.

And finally, we do not even need to wait for the end of our lives to experience the true joy of this particular feast. The letter to the Hebrews this morning reminds us of this. If we cooperate with God in the tools and gifts He gives us, we in turn receive a sincere heart, and the absolute trust to live the Christian life with joy. This is the metaphorical aspect of the Ascension, the joy of the Christian life that can be with us every day.

In fact, here at St. Hubert’s we see ascensions of our spirits every day.  Come on

Deacon, give it a rest. Sit down and let us finish the Mass. Well, I am not quite done. Consider the following:

Do we not ascend when we don’t worry about the square footage of our house, but how many people we welcome into our home?

Do we not ascend when we don’t worry about the clothes we have in our closet, but how many people we have helped to clothe?

Do we not ascend when we don’t worry about what kind of car we drive, but how many people we drive who don’t have transportation?

Do we not ascend when we don’t worry about social status, but how much class we display?

Do we not ascend when we don’t worry about how many friends we have but rather how many people to whom we have tried to be a friend?

Do we not ascend when people separated from Christian families because of long-held bitterness, return to the Church because of the patient love of family members and the prayers of parishioners?

Do we not ascend when we dig deep into our pockets for many years and work together to upgrade our worship and gathering space?

Do we not ascend when there is so much need in our community, and our parish responds with people volunteering in many different stewardship ministries and reaching and surpassing our goals for the Archbishop’s Appeal?

The Ascension is not a mere historical event. It is a critical progression in God’s saving plan for all of us. It helps enable our souls to ascend as well. And it reminds us of the ability of God through the tools and spiritual gifts God gives us to ascend our human spirits to the joy of the Christian life. I hope you agree that all in all brothers and sisters, the feast of the Ascension can indeed be considered an uplifting event.
 

Today speaks loudly of love for many people as we pause to honor our mothers for all that they have done for us, after all, mothers are our first real encounters with love.

Two people who love each other naturally want to make each other happy.  I imagine most children of any age are doing something to make their mothers happy today; maybe it was cooking breakfast or cleaning up a messy bedroom, buying or making a special gift or card, taking mom out to dinner or if she isn’t nearby, getting in touch with a long distance phone call or visit.

Just as children do something special for their mothers, spouses and friends often go the extra mile for one another.

A husband who knows that his wife likes freshly cut flowers will occasionally surprise her with a bouquet of a dozen roses. If he knows she gets furious when he watches football games all weekend each fall, he will try to spend more time with her. She, on the other hand, will try not to wake him on Saturday morning if he likes to sleep in or from time to time, she will prepare his favorite meal.

In today’s gospel, Jesus points out in so many words that we are in a love relationship with God as well. “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.”

In other words, if we love Jesus, we will be true to his word.  In this gospel passage, Jesus tells us what pleases and displeases him. What must we do to be true to his word?

Take a good look at what Jesus said and did, and you will find the answer. The single motivation behind every one of his words and actions was love.  That is what prompted Jesus to do all that he has done, leaving the sanctuary of heaven to enter our troubled world, to become one with us, to share our pain and our struggles, and ultimately die on the cross. Without a doubt, Jesus loves you and me so much that some of us just cannot believe it. And he repeatedly invites us to follow his example. Loving all people, even those whom we deem not lovable, is the heart of Jesus’ life and message.  Simply put, being true to Jesus’ word means we must love others just as Jesus loves them.

That is easy enough for us to do with those who are close to us: our parents, our spouses, our children, our siblings, our relatives, and our friends, but loving someone who has hurt us or the total stranger?  That may seem like mission impossible. Fortunately, Jesus knows us well enough to realize that this is one mission we cannot handle alone.

For this reason, he told his disciples that his Father would be sending an advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would teach them everything and remind them of all that he had told them. That same Holy Spirit was sent into our lives when we were baptized and confirmed. But who is this advocate?

In childhood, I suspect we all went to our mothers from time to time seeking comfort or help whenever we were scared or found ourselves in difficult situations.  It helped to have someone at our side with whom we could share our fears and anxieties, someone who would encourage us and give us support.  Just as a mother would be there for her child, the Holy Spirit is there for us, because Jesus knows quite well that loving others can be too difficult a mission for us to handle alone. The Holy Spirit helps us to love when love is not easy to give as well as to understand what Jesus taught. 

For example, consider this line from today’s gospel. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” What an uplifting message to hear, especially when things aren’t going well but just what kind of peace did Jesus mean here? Certainly not a world free of conflict for that is a utopia we will never see. Rather, in our moments of crisis, moments when vital decisions have to be made, the Holy Spirit is there to offer us a harmony that comes from prayer, a harmony that is ours when we are in communion with Jesus. We should call on the Holy Spirit daily, asking for his insights on how best to live our lives, especially when we have a serious decision to make.

Integrating Jesus into our lives beyond simply saying that we believe in him enables us to experience a level of harmony that comes from loving God and knowing well that God loves us. Convinced then of the depth of God’s love for us, we would be more inclined to rely on the wisdom of the Holy Spirit instead of the wisdom of our secular world as the ultimate source for living life.

In this gospel scene, Jesus is telling his apostles that he is going away but that didn’t mean God would be absent from their lives. He promised to send the Spirit to instruct them and he has kept his promise. The Church is evidence of that but are we tuned in? When, in our pride, fear or eagerness to be in control of our lives, we refuse to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we jeopardize our eternal salvation.

Our mission to love one another is not an impossible one.  Graced and fortified by the Holy Spirit, we can live lives of openness and compassion, being true to Jesus’ words and showing others that true peace is found where love prevails.
 

Jesus left us with a tough challenge. “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” Hmm, how often have we loved one another? We like to think that we do, but most of us would be fooling ourselves if we made such a claim. We have friends whom we love but as Albert Camus once noted, what passes for friendship is often no more than an “effusion of feeling among people who get along together.” This is neither true friendship nor real love. This is selfish love, which seldom respects the rights of the other person. A selfish love withers and dies unless it is sustained by attention of the loved one. True love, on the other hand, seeks nothing at all, except the good of the other person.

In any relationship, sooner or later, there is bound to be a difference of opinion on a given issue. How the conflict is resolved can impact the future of that relationship. At a workshop on conflict resolution, I once learned how to look at the different outcomes of any conflict.

Ideally, the presenter said that we should strive for a win/win situation. Not my way or yours, but hopefully, our way, a better way than either of us had considered beforehand. Too often when two sides find themselves at odds, there aren’t two winners.

Instead, one side ends up the winner in a win/lose situation. “I get my way, you don’t get yours.” The other side is left feeling like the loser who now sees this as a lose/win situation. “Go ahead, have it your way.”

There is probably not a person here who doesn’t know the pain of what that feels like. No matter what our age is, I imagine we have all experienced being let down by a friend.

Whenever there is a loser, chances are that both sides will end up in a lose/lose situation, where neither side can or will feel like a winner. Years ago, a nun shared with me a story that shows how misunderstandings can lead to such a situation and unselfish love can turn things around.

“I hate, hate, hated my friend,” said Jill. “When I moved over on the school bus, she sat somewhere else. When her pencil broke in math class, and I passed her mine, she took Peter’s instead.”

“Ask her,” my mother said. “Ask your friend why she ignored you.” But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I’d rather die.  What if she would say, ‘Oh, please, just go away. You’re ugly and dumb. Being with you was never fun.’ Oh, I hated my friend.

When it was her turn to wash the board, she didn’t ask me to help. When it was time to choose teams, she didn’t choose me. And when I made a basket and everyone else cheered, she turned away.

Oh, I hated my friend. When I went to walk home with her, she had already gone. When she took her dog out and I whistled to him, she put him on a leash and led him away. Oh, I hated my friend.

“Ask her,” my mother said, “Ask her why.”  I couldn’t, I wouldn’t.  I’d rather die. No, if that is the way she’s going to be, it’s quite okay with me.

“Ask her,” my mother said, “ask her and see.” I wouldn’t, I couldn’t. I’d rather die. But maybe….Oh, Jesus, help me! So I ventured to my friend’s house.

“You’ve been so rotten,” I said to her. “Why?” She looked at me as though she’d cry. “It’s you,” she said. “Last week, when I wore my new dress, Sue said that Jane said that you said I look like a freak!”

“I did not!” I said, “You look neat!” She looked straight at me for awhile and then we both began to smile. My friend said, “Hey, maybe tomorrow we can play?”  “Oh, yes,” I said, “Okay!” I didn’t hate her anyway. I wish it were tomorrow right away!

One of the hardest challenges in life is to love unselfishly. To really love is to put the other person first. The Eucharist is a reminder to us of how Jesus put us first so that we could experience the fullness of God’s love here and now. Yet, how many of us can claim to love like that? A few kind gestures, a commitment or two, and we have a good conscience. We give a little of ourselves, a few crumbs compared to what Jesus does for us.

True love, like true friendship, is more difficult. Perhaps the deepest pain in life happens when our love is not returned. When we encounter no response for our efforts, then it becomes really hard to go on loving. We are inclined then to stop loving those whom we think don’t love us or we deem unworthy of our energy and attention. Not that we hate them, but that we refuse to make room for them in our hearts.

So long as our love remains self-centered, motivated by the notion of ‘what is in it for me?’ someone ends up a loser.  Actually both sides usually end up losing. Real love, on the other hand, allows for everyone to be a winner. That is the love Jesus is demanding of us who claim to be his disciples. That is the love that Jesus demonstrated for us on the cross. That is the love made real for us in the Eucharist.
 

Back in the depression era, jobs were scarce. Whenever an opening was announced, dozens of applicants would apply. On one occasion, they were crowded into a noisy waiting room, eager to be interviewed for the position of telegraph operator. The drone of their conversation competed against the steady background noise of dots and dashes. The door opened and another applicant entered the room. He stood there quietly and listened attentively. He then walked to a door marked ‘private,’ and knocked. The personnel director opened the door and announced to the others in the waiting room, “You may go now, this applicant has the job.”

Furious and frustrated, the others demanded an explanation. The director replied, “Listen!” When the room became quiet, all heard the dots and dashes, repeating over and over the same message, “If you hear this, come in; the job is yours.”

The story sums up the message of today’s readings. Like dots and dashes in that story, God is constantly relaying a message of love to us, but are we listening?

When we are tuned to what God has to say, our lives are transformed. Being responsive to God at times requires that we be counter-cultural to the world around us. When someone stands out from the crowd because of a certain uniqueness or eccentricity, we say that person is marching to the beat of a different drummer. When someone stands out because he or she is listening to the whispers of God, that person is said to be a committed believer. Each of the readings today offers us examples of committed believers.

In the passage from Revelation, John shares his vision of angels, living creatures and elders, too numerous to count, praising God, “To the one who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” To which the living creatures acclaimed, “Amen.”

That ancient Hebrew word means, “I believe! So be it!” This is why we say “Amen” when we receive communion. In effect, they are saying that Jesus is the one who is to be honored. Do we say the same? Is Jesus the focus of our lives? Do we live our faith with zealous conviction as did Peter and the other disciples? John lent his voice to the great crescendo of praise, inviting us to do the same.

When the high priest demanded that Peter and the others listen to him and obey his orders, Peter boldly defended his stance, saying, “We must obey God rather than men.” He is so right. God’s call to love has remained unchanged. Imbedded in that message is God’s blueprint on how to live the life of a committed believer. But living that life in modern day America can be so challenging. See for yourself when you stand up for what you believe in as Catholics.

In the gospel, the risen Lord offers advice to a boat full of tired disciples. When they listen to his instructions, their efforts are rewarded with a great catch of fish. When they listened to Jesus, they found themselves marching to the beat of a different drummer, not that of Jewish or Roman authorities.

Two thousand years later, the divine drummer continues to tap out his message of salvation that can best be summed up in the question posed to Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

As with Peter, it is easy for us to reply, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” But then how readily do we respond to his command, “Feed my sheep?”  In other words, Jesus wants proof that we love him, proof that is demonstrated when we put our words into action, sharing what we have with others.

In our individual lives, in our parish and in our archdiocese, we work of Christ in countless ways, directly as volunteers or indirectly by financially supporting the church in its many ministries.

Perhaps you are uneasy contributing directly to panhandlers you encounter at intersections and onramps, so you feel guilty when you pass them by but there are other ways you can respond to Jesus’ command, “Feed my sheep.”

One significant way is through the annual Catholic Appeal. In addition to partially funding the operations at the chancery, your contribution supports programs including the Missions Office, Catholic Community Services, our retired priests and sisters along with our seminarians,  to name but a few, that figuratively speaking would allow you to honestly say, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. I am tending your flock; I am feeding your lambs.”  If you are not doing so already, could you consider a gift of a dollar a day to support the many ministries and services of the Catholic Church in Western Washington?

Next week, you will be receiving a letter from Archbishop Brunett, outlining the many programs supported by your gifts to the Annual Catholic Appeal. The money raised will provide more than half of the necessary funding for 63 different programs and services, which directly and indirectly benefit the parish and you. This year, our parish was honored for its active participation in last year’s appeal; we exceeded our goal by 193%.  Again, thank you to the 200 families who contributed $53,673 last year. Imagine what could be done if every family in the parish participated in this year’s appeal. With your help, our future will be full of hope.
 

To Which Flock Will We Belong?

            On first glance, today’s readings do not seem to have much in common. The settings are rather diverse. The first reading deals with the evangelizing activities of the apostles Paul and Barnabas after Jesus’ death.  The second is a heavenly vision about a time that is yet to occur; the end of the world and the calling to account for what we have done in our lives. The third, our Gospel according to John then sends us back to the public ministry of Jesus during his time on earth. It can be a little dizzying. Maybe even a kind of Scriptural whiplash.

But on closer glance, there is a pattern. All three readings are about a rather fundamental choice we all face. Do we wish to be a part of God’s flock or the flock of the good life on earth?

In each of our readings, the key figures choose God’s flock.  Paul and Barnabas, in the face of opposition, continue to preach God’s joyful message of love of God and others. In our second reading, the apostle John describes those who have responded to life’s challenges by following the Lamb of God. Their reward is great; eternal communion with an all-loving and all-merciful God, where they will “hunger and thirst no more.” The Lamb of God will “lead them to springs of life-giving water.” God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

And who is the Lamb of God?  Our Gospel tells us that it is of course Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, who guides his sheep, protects them, and gives them eternal life.  To obtain eternal life, Jesus asks us to listen to his voice, a voice that tells us that without Him we can achieve nothing; with him anything is possible.

Many of you may not be aware that much like the United States, the Roman Catholic Church has a constitution.  That constitution, called by its Latin name Lumen Gentium, “Light to the Gentiles,” outlines the structures of the Church and the responsibilities and joys of being a Catholic.  Lumen Gentium states very clearly: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian love and to the perfection of love.  All are called to holiness.”

Holiness comes from loving God and one another, by living the Gospel life.  One of the great accomplishments of Vatican II is the renewal and reemphasis of this basic tenet of faith.  Prior to Vatican II, this part of our Catholic faith had gotten a little lost. Catholics, not necessarily by teaching but certainly by practice were more or less told to follow the rules, and leave holiness to the clergy and religious men and women. 

But the rules, the moral precepts of the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and other official teachings of the Church boil down to a call to holiness through love of God and one another. Without this commitment to holiness, our faith is sterile and rule-bound. It lacks effective action. Quoting again from Lumen Gentium:  “All of us have a special vocation:  to make the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it is only through us that the Church can become the salt of the earth.”

The sacraments, prayer, and Scripture give us the graces to accept the call from God to love. But then our love must be an active one. Love manifests itself best in service to others.  Our secular world can often compel us to a game of bigger and better. But the basic idea of remembering someone else through a gift or in some other way about which we will soon hear can give us a greater joy than the quest for bigger and better possessions. 

That ought to tell us something.  We enjoy life and experience true freedom when we do for others more than for ourselves.  This is what Jesus did.  He became flesh so that he could be with us.  He gave of himself in every way to others in his earthly life. He prepared our way to salvation in heaven.

This path to joy and salvation is a choice. We can stay in God’s flock, or we can join the flock of the good life, a life that looks out only for oneself.  To which flock will we belong?