2010

School may be out but that doesn’t mean we are done with learning. The gospel today poses a question that matters on the final exam of life. “Who do you say that I am?” Imagine Jesus standing here and asking you that question.  What answer would you give? Like the crowd, might you say, “John the Baptist,” because he constantly calls us to repentance? Might you say, “Elijah,” since he brings liberation to the poor and the oppressed? Or might your answer be more contemporary, calling him a bad cop who is out to get you; or a wimp who is out of touch with reality, or a fire extinguisher that you turn to in case of an emergency, or a good luck charm that wards off evil by means of magic. Peter was quick to reply, “The Christ of God,” but amongst the ancient Jews, there was no clear understanding of what that meant.  Like many of his peers, Peter was hoping for a military leader who would raise an army, conquer the enemies of the Jews, and gain control of their native land. He believed God would use the Messiah to establish a kingdom where there would be no more war, injustice, or suffering. He gave the right answer but he was not on the same wavelength with Jesus.

Jesus did not reject the title, but his notion of Messiah was not what Peter had in mind.  Predicting his passion, Jesus instead paints a picture of a Messiah who would be rejected, suffer and die that does not appear to be so triumphant. Nor does Jesus stop there. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Of course, Jesus isn’t speaking literally. He would never expect us to carry a hefty beam of wood like he did, but how willing are we to suffer for the sake of the kingdom?

Paul’s letter speaks of baptism. When baptism is celebrated, the celebrant prays, “My dear child, the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our savior by the sign of his cross.” Following the baptism, the child is then clothed with a white garment while the celebrant prays, “You have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of our Christian dignity. With family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.” His prayer echoes the passage we heard from Paul: “…all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.”

So, like Peter, we could say that Jesus is the Christ of God, the Messiah, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, but Jesus is looking for more than an academic response from us. What matters more is, “Have we clothed ourselves in him?”

That was a question a wealthy father in Madrid, Spain, found himself wrestling with after he and his teenage son had a falling out that prompted his son to leave home. The father searched in vain for five months. In a last desperate attempt to find his son, he placed an ad in the local paper that read, “Paco, meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Signed, Papa.”

The following Saturday, the father went downtown to the newspaper office and found over 800 boys standing there, looking for love and forgiveness from their fathers.

Until he found his son, I wonder what this wealthy father must have thought about. Do you suppose he sat at home admiring his many treasures? I think not. His heart was broken, so most likely he spent much time soul searching and praying.

The experience was a wake up call for him, and hopefully for every father present as we celebrate Father’s Day, that their true treasures are their wives and children. They are worth more than any money, property, or power a father can obtain. Over the years as a priest, I have met fathers who have lost their children, some through death; others through drug or alcohol abuse, divorce, or bad decisions which ruined their relationships. Nearly every father said in looking back that they wished they had spent more time with their children when they were younger.

For those of us who are not fathers, I trust you get the idea. There are many treasures of much more value than the things we own and the things that own us. Jesus is calling on us to deny ourselves, that is, to not be so self-centered, and focus instead on the important relationships in our lives, including our relationship with God, which some of us take for granted.

Jesus knows first hand that life is difficult, but he also knows we can meet its many challenges with him at our side. We are most aware of his presence when we approach him not as a dead entity from the distant past whose memory lives on but as a living being who we can encounter through prayer. It was in the setting of prayer that Jesus posed the question of his identity, and it is in the setting of prayer that we can come to truly understand who he is, just as the apostles did.

Jesus urges us to deny ourselves and pick up our crosses with love each day. With Christ as our garment, we will grow in holiness. With Christ as our garment, we will reveal his presence in our lives to others by what we say and do. With Christ as our garment, we can do our share to bring about God’s kingdom by confronting the injustices and sufferings in our midst. Our task is not easy, but by changing our ways to be more like the ways of Christ, we can change our world into the kind of place God had in mind all along when he sent his son to be our Messiah.

Greater Intimacy with God

We celebrate Trinity Sunday tonight (today). There is an old joke among Catholic clergy we wind up preaching more heresy about the Trinity than just about any other concept.

Part of the reason is the idea of three persons in one being seems odd to us. But if we think about it, there are actually many examples in the universe of multiple organisms attached to a single body. There is a legend after all; that St. Patrick taught the Irish about the Trinity by showing them the three leaves on a single stem of clover. There are many branches, but only one tree. Cells by the billions divide with one body. So maybe when we preach about the Trinity we just try too hard. Instead of seeing the Trinity or things like it in the universe, we focus too much on the literal. It reminds me a little of that old commercial for Contadina tomato paste. The commercial claimed that there were eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can. But only theologians I guess when confronted with this would actually try to stuff the eight tomatoes into the can literally.

So why is the Trinity important? Well from the dawn of human life, why we are here, what and who is God, and what is the relationship between God and ourselves are three of the oldest questions with which human beings have had to grapple. We have often been taught that the divine world and the world of humans were distinctly different. Humans could not share the life of the divine in this life, only in the next.

But despite the fact that Christians may believe this to be true, it is a distinctly un-Christian point of view. For Christians believe there is but one God, and God is a God of love. God created the earth as a gift of all gifts, a gift of love by God the Father for God the Son. The Holy Spirit proceeded from that incredible love, an incredible love that spread  throughout universe, throughout the earth. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of truth and love as noted in our Gospel from John tonight. As our first reading from the Book of Proverbs reminds us, we come to know God as a God of truth and love through the Holy Spirit. Three persons in one God, the Trinity, was present from the beginning of time.

But for the Trinity to matter to us, we must go deeper into this idea because there is much at stake. Because God is an all-loving God, God beckons us to share the life of the Trinity. God wants us to live God’s life, the life of Jesus, the Gospel life.

So God shares divinity with us. Think about it. The Trinity at its very basis is relational love. And how is life preserved among humans? Through relational love. When we think about it, this relational love of humans and the relational love of the Trinity are directly and intimately linked, much as God and humans are directly and intimately linked.

This means that unlike pagan theology, secular humanism, and many other belief systems, all of which have perhaps captured a piece of the mystery of God and humans, the Christian belief in God captures the relationship between God and humans in a most effective way. We are one with God. God is a Trinity, and the means for the continuation of the human race is also a trinity. God is very close to us and we can be very close to God if we so choose. We experience God not as object, not as a faraway distant god separated from us. Rather, God is in our midst. As St. Paul says in our second reading God has poured out his loved for us through our hearts. So how do we experience God’s Trinitarian love?

First, because of the loving nature of God, who desires the closest of intimacy with us, God is closer to you and me that we are to ourselves. God is one with us. God dwells in us, as part of our being that can be filled, if we choose, by prayer, sacraments, Scripture and service with the Trinity of God who brings us into union with God. This unity is a union of wills, something comparable to the experience of sexual oneness, but it is a  union of divine and human bodies that is even more intimate than sexual oneness among humans.

Second, we should always keep clear in our minds and hearts that God loves us. His love is unconditional. God cares for us at all times and in all circumstances. God loves me and you as God loves God. For we are indeed one in self with God. Does this mean evil things will not happen to us or to others? No it doesn’t mean that. We have seen enough natural and man-made disasters lately to know better. Here the mystery of God takes over.

The ultimate knowledge of good and evil belongs to God in the Trinity, not to us. What we can understand however, is what we humans should be DOING about suffering and evil. In the face of many evils, we should use the gifts of God poured out to us in the Trinity to do things like using science and technology to predict earthquakes, to build houses that do not collapse, to construct dikes to prevent flooding, to save water to mitigate against drought. Our own social justice efforts here at St. Hubert are actively seeking the best means to help in respecting the dignity of the human person and our physical environment, to make poverty history, to help dismantle structures of oppression, to promote cooperation between business and government so man-made disasters don’t occur in the first place, to share with all in the common good created with God in the Trinity.

Third, because God’s interrelational love is personal, God is a subject not an object. God is the universal subject. In trying too hard, sometimes theologians over the centuries have indeed done damage to ideas about the Trinity, far more damage than stuffing tomatoes in a can. For the Trinitarian God is not a God for who torture, killing, and oppression is justified. The Trinitarian God is not a  punishing judge. The Trinitarian God is not the great egoist who imposes the will of God on everyone. Nor is the Trinitarian God an all-powerful manipulator who sends us earthquakes, floods, and other disasters. God in three persons is rather a loving universal subject and we are born in God’s image and likeness. We are therefore part of the same subject, and share in the same Trinity.

And because God loves human beings so intimately, God wants us to love each other in the same manner. It should come naturally out of a joyous sense of the love God gives us.  Sadly, it often does not. To love others requires first that we love ourselves for if we do, then loving others is much easier. If we see ourselves as subjects who are loved by God with all our faults, then it reduces the chance we will see others as objects to be manipulated, punished, tortured, and killed. Putting oneself in another’s shoes is critical here. For it enables us to establish subject to subject relationships. It is enables us to develop the kind of intimacy with others that God has in the Trinity of persons, and with us. When we see everyone as a subject, not an object, it is possible to bring Trinitarian-level intimate love given to us to the whole world. We are all one flesh. Whatever we do to anyone, we do to God. And what is best for everyone is best for us.

Taken in its entirety, the message of the Trinity in Christian faith is both challenging and ultimately joyful and liberating. It is also the ultimate meaning of God’s love poured out for all through the Trinity.

Last week I received a note from a long time friend informing me that she would no longer be worshipping here. Simply put, after many years of soul searching, she could no longer support the institution of Roman Catholicism. She and her husband had decided to find a different community to worship in. Reading between the lines, I had to wonder if the latest news media blitz on Pope Benedict’s handling of the clergy scandal in Europe was the final straw that prompted her to leave the Church. She closed her note wishing me the best in living my chosen spiritual path. Likewise, I wish her well as she explores other spiritual paths.

What is happening in Europe is a painful reminder of just how human the institutional Church can be. Throughout its history, the Church has seen its share of upheavals, heresies, critics and enemies. The story is told of Napoleon Bonaparte boasting once to a cardinal that he would destroy the Church. The cardinal replied, “Good luck, your majesty. We priests have been attempting to do just that for centuries.”

The cardinal was essentially doffing his scarlet biretta to the Holy Spirit. Try as anyone might, and many have tried, the Church will not go away precisely because the Third Person of the Holy Trinity is on the job 24/7, serving as the glue that has held the Church together for twenty centuries.  Napoleon thought the cardinal was jesting. He took on the Church and was ultimately dethroned. The Church survived and the former emperor found himself living his final days in exile on a remote island.

Those of you who are sports fans would agree that how well any team performs depends on its star athletes. Without them, teams rarely contend for first place, but with them, a team generates a sprit amongst its members and fans that produces a winning season. Likewise, without the Holy Spirit, the Church at best would be a third rate operation, but with the Spirit, the Church is able to survive its many challenges and thrive.

Pentecost, coming fifty days after Easter, celebrates the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church from the very beginning. Following the resurrection, the disciples prayed in the upper room, pondering what their mission would be. The earthly kingdom they might have envisioned when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to cheers of “hosanna!” wasn’t meant to be.

We celebrate Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. On that day a strong driving wind filled the place where the disciples had gathered. Tongues of fire came to rest on everyone of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. The promise Jesus had made to them on that first Easter evening had been fulfilled. The final piece of the puzzle had been put in place and at last the disciples understood their mission. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they ventured forth to renew the face of the earth.

What they started that day was not an institution but a faith community, out of which the institutional church gradually grew. Early Christians viewed themselves not as an institution but as a community of believers carrying out the mission of proclaiming and living the good news of Jesus Christ.  As the Body of Christ, they regarded the Holy Spirit as the essential power that kept them together.

We aren’t reading Christian scriptures carefully if we think that the Holy Spirit came just that one time and landed upon the disciples for the sake of creating an institution that would continue unchanged to the end of time. Pope John XXIII once said, “We are not on earth to guard a museum, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life.”  Undoubtedly, he surprised many when he called the bishops together in what became known as Vatican II.  He saw the need for the Church to experience fresh air and with the grace of the Holy Spirit, the bishops reviewed and transformed in many ways what the Church stood for. Yes, the Church is still an institution, but the Church is more than that.

Cardinal Avery Dulles, a prolific Jesuit theologian, wrote many books, but the one I remember best is entitled, Models of the Church. He spoke of the Church as being more than an institution.  The Church is also a mystical communion, a sacrament, a herald, and a servant.

I vividly remember learning about the notion that together we make up the body of Christ as a child. Each baptized person here is a part of that body. As with our bodies, some parts may not seem as important as others.  I could lose a toe and still walk. That toe, however, will not survive without the rest of me!

Some Catholics may feel as insignificant in the parish as a little toe may be to one’s body, or they may feel that the parish isn’t all that important for keeping their faith alive. I feel otherwise.  Not only do we need the church to nurture our faith in Christ through the sacraments, but Christ also needs all of us as his team to herald the gospel, enabling others to see its true value through our actions, that is, in how we serve others in our community.

Those of us who witness Vatican II know well that the Holy Spirit is a disruptive force, constantly challenging the status quo and prodding us to do more toward making the kingdom of God a reality. But disruptive does not mean destructive for the Spirit is also a creative force, constantly remaking things anew. Lest anyone here still thinks that their presence and participation in the life of this Catholic community does not matter, I invite you to reflect on what Amado Nervo, a Mexican poet, has to say:

Alone we are only a spark, but in the Spirit we are a fire.

Alone we are only string, but in the Spirit, we are a lyre.

Alone we are only an anthill, but in the Spirit, we are a mountain.

Alone we are only a drop, but in the Spirit, we are a fountain.

Alone we are only a feather, but in the Spirit, we are a wing.

Alone we are only a beggar, but in the Spirit, we are a king.

Scripture: 1st: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
2nd: Rev 21: 10-14, 22-23
Gospel: John 14: 23-29

What a beautiful sight it was as I stood on the beach in Mukilteo watching the sunset over Whidbey Island some 40 years ago. I wondered how beautiful it would be if I was actually on the Island, being right there where I saw the sun set.

I was imagining how beautiful a sunset would be if I was on the Island yet being blind to the beauty that was in front of me; that beautiful sunset that caused me to wonder in the first place.

Have any of you ever heard anyone say how desolate, barren and empty the dessert is? Have any of you also heard anyone say to you how beautiful it is as the sunset turns the gray sand crystals into chrisoms of color and the sky as it turns into an indescribable yet beautiful color of red, pink, and orange?

I remember as a young boy looking upward seeing the big dipper dance across

the night sky and a few years later seeing that same dance looking upward into the night skies of Japan and Vietnam. Yes, God’s beauty, his creation is massive AND HE HAS GIVEN ALL THIS TO US OUT OF LOVE.

God’s love is found everywhere. All we have to do is open our hearts as we open our eyes. Where God’s house abounds, so does his love. That is why God has offered to make his house in us. When we open our heart’s we open the door for God’s gift of his son Jesus Christ, which is the perfect manifestation of God’s love.

Christ came into the world because he loved the world. Christ taught his people and performed miracles because he loved them. He willingly laid down his life on the cross out of his love for poor sinners, yes, you and me!

In his love for his Church, he gave us the wonderful gift of the Most Holy Eucharist and all the other Sacraments so that God’s love might live in our hearts. And now, he promises us another gift of love: the Spirit of love, sent from the Father and the Son to intercede for us, to teach us, and to fill us with God’s Peace.

Six of our children received their First Holy Communion last night. Their journey of faith started by opening their hearts to God, accepting the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, to be with them as they grow in faith and love, and what love it is. No other love can compare to the love given us by God, his only son.

In today’s gospel when Jesus says: “whoever loves me will keep my word”, he is describing the best possible way of revealing himself to the world. Our loving obedience to the word of Christ and the love of God dwelling within us is the most perfect manifestation of Christ to those who do not believe. But not only is love the best way of revealing God, it is the ONLY way. Christ Jesus and his power to save cannot be known apart from love.

Our Gospel for the 6th Sunday of Easter invites us to wrestle with the mystery equally as mesmerizing to the eyes of faith as it is to the beauty of God’s creation. At the Last Supper, Jesus, as the Good Shepherd preparing the leaders of his flock, says to the Apostles: “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”.

What a powerful statement. The same almighty God who fashioned the heavens and the earth, the same Father who gave us the beautiful sunsets, the big dipper, the same Father also chose to love each of us personally making a dwelling place in our hearts.

This is the mystery of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the gift of Pentecost, which the Church will celebrate in two weeks, and the result of Baptism and Confirmation. The greatness and majesty of God, seen so obvious in creation, is un-equaled by His promise to enter into a personal union with you and me.

When we, by God’s grace, come to understand and accept this truth of our faith, our lives are transformed. We receive many gifts from the Father. Among them is the gift of peace. It is no coincidence that Jesus says, one verse later in John’s gospel: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”

With God not just by our side but making a home in us, we know deep within our hearts that we are loved, freeing us to love others. God enters into the world of each of us, and cares with the tender concern of a Father and that we need not fear.

God gives a peace that the world does not give. It is a precious gift and one that follows the ultimate gift of His son, Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

We know we are loved and how better to experience love in this earthly life than to experience the love of our mothers. This weekend we remember and honor our mothers. We remember that nurturing, the bandages strategically place on the elbow and forearm.

We remember mother, who gives her love unconditionally as only a mother can and we remember mother who showed us compassion and understanding when we were in times of pain and confusion.

We know what the love of a mother feels like. But we can also know what it feels like to be loved by God. How? By opening our hearts as we open our eyes.

As I was finishing my thoughts for this homily, a windstorm came through. I sat on the edge of the bed and looking out, fearful of what might happen with the big fur trees around me might do, I opened my heart as I opened my eyes and saw the mighty power of God, the splendor of something you cannot see but you know is there by how everything moves in it.

The wind was covering the yard with fir bows, the power flickered and went off. Even in the strength and damage this wind storm did our even could have done, God was there and always is, so close that it is hard to imagine. His presence gives strength to face this storm and every storm in life. His love is amazing and his peace is irreplaceable. “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”

I gazed at the beauty of that sunset on the beach so long ago, but now I see that beauty wherever I am standing and wherever I go for he lives in me and you.  We are God’s creation. We are his expression of love. How beautiful we are.

In this short gospel passage, Jesus admonishes his disciples after washing their feet, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love has so many meanings. There is puppy love when we find our hearts swept away by someone else, known otherwise as infatuation. I remember girls from my childhood whom I was madly in love with.  What Jesus speaks of, however, is not infatuation. Instead, he speaks of agape, that quality of deep love, where one puts the needs of others ahead of oneself.  That is the kind of love he has for us. For many people, that initial experience of puppy love has grown into real love because they have indeed put the needs of others ahead of themselves.

Katherine Hepburn once commented, “Few people know what they mean when they say, ‘I love you.’  Well, what does the word love mean? It means total interest. I think the reason very few people really fall in love with anyone is they’re not willing to pay the price. The price is you have to adjust yourself to them.”

Speaking of adjustments, I have a confession to make. I am no longer living alone. I now have a housemate living in the rectory with me. Her name is Amber. This blond has green eyes and is so affectionate. Any chance she has, she loves to be on my lap and be caressed. I never imagined that the day would come that this life long bachelor would find himself sharing his home with a cat. I quickly learned that I had to adjust my life accordingly.

To truly love someone, we have to put our priorities aside. Some relationships begin with one or both persons asking themselves, “What is in this for me?”  But that is not the manner of love which Jesus is speaking of here. When it comes to loving us, he didn’t ask that question. Instead, the question should be, “What can I do for the person whom I love? How willing am I to adjust my life for the sake of the person whom I love?” For most of us who love someone dearly, the answer is much.  When we really love someone, we are willing to go the extra mile and in some instances, go so far as to give our lives.  Many parents and spouses have made such adjustments for the well being of those whom they love.  They understand what Jesus and Katherine Hepburn are saying here; hence they do not hesitate to put aside their self interests for the sake of those whom they love.

Katherine Hepburn also had this to say about love. “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get…only what you are expecting to give, which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving. If you are very lucky, you may be loved back. That is delicious, but it does not necessarily happen.”

One modern day saint demonstrated that attitude often. Mother Theresa of Calcutta spent many years caring for the dying in the streets of Calcutta. Once a journalist watched as she tended to a dying man who had a wound that oozed decay, giving off a foul smell. She calmly washed the wound, all the while speaking softly to the man. He told her that he would not have done that for all the gold in the world. Mother Theresa replied, “Neither would I.” She did it for someone worth more than that. While you and I are not Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, Jesus still calls us to a similar love.

I think of spouses who honor the vows they shared years ago, caring for the person whom they married who is now terminally ill.  I think of adult children going the extra mile to care for an elderly parent ill with dementia. I think of parents who have made personal sacrifices for the sake of their children.  Yet, I know Jesus is calling us to do more than that. He is calling on us to love even those whom we do not know.

One striking feature of the early church was the love its members showed for one another. They understood Paul’s advice, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” What was true then remains true today.

This weekend we are called to support those who care for the needy in our name.  Besides the formation of our seminarians, and the marriage tribunal, the Annual Catholic Appeal supports those who reach out to the poor on our behalf. For example, last year Catholic Community Services prepared and served over a million meals. They helped more than 78,000 clients, including some here on South Whidbey. In addition, your pledge supports hospital and prison chaplains.  In short, the Annual Catholic Appeal enables every one of us to do our part in fulfilling Jesus’ commandment to love one another as he has loved us.  We can all do our part if we are willing to make an adjustment to our priorities for no gift is too small. Every pledge makes a difference to someone somewhere in Western Washington.

This year, our parish goal is $42,554. Last year 211 parishioners pledged an average of $276. Join me now in completing a pledge envelope, if you haven’t already.  Keep in mind as you fill out your envelope that your gift can be paid over a period of time with monthly billing from the chancery, a credit or debit card, or electronic fund transfer.  The suggested chart is asking you to consider pledging 1 % of your household earnings.  As I have said in the past, any amount received beyond our goal is returned to the parish; that amount will go toward a new organ.

If you choose not to make a gift, at least complete the envelope so that we know that you have responded to the Archbishop’s appeal. Thank you for your pledge; your gift, whatever its size, helps us to make real God’s kingdom in our midst.