2018

Today the church celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy and the end of the Octave of Easter. We have been celebrating Easter Sunday and the resurrection for eight days now, and today, the final day of the Easter Octave we acknowledge as the day of new creation.

It is a day on which the love of God is poured into our hearts in a very profound way. The Feast of Divine Mercy has everything to do with humility, trust and mercy.

When we look at the picture of the Divine Mercy, underneath the picture of Jesus are these words “Jesus, I trust in you.” That is something some do not do very well, to trust in our Lord. We like to think that we trust Jesus, but when it comes right down to it, some really don’t.

Some of us are afraid of letting go of things because we are not sure if God is really going to do what he promised. In the practical day-to-day existence, we trust far more in ourselves and far more in other people, and far more in money and material things than we do in God, which is a pretty tragic statement, especially in light of what Jesus did for us.

When we consider this point of trusting in our Lord, we know that he has made extraordinary promises to us: Promises of heaven, Eternal life, promises of being united with Him, Promises that our sins are going to be forgiven.

For some, the problem is that they don’t have clear evidence to support such trust. In the gospel today, we see Thomas in this very situation and saying, “I am not going to believe unless I see the holes in His hands and feet and the opening in His side.” Jesus appears in His mercy and shows Himself to Thomas and says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Thomas is our proof. He is representing all of us who doubt.

How often do we struggle with the question with whether or not our sins are truly forgiven? The problem is that we have no evidence, no proof, no sign that our sins are gone. We cannot see our sins on our soul, and we cannot see them removed.

But in the gospel the Lord breathes on the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” “He didn’t say whose sins you forgive are swept under the rug. He didn’t say whose sins you forgive I’ll keep them in mind and I will hold them against them later. He said, “They are forgiven.” That means they are gone.

He made the promise, and the One who has promised is trustworthy, we simply need to place our trust in Him because he has made this promise. When we think about the Feast of Divine Mercy and we think about the Mercy of God, at first glance, one might think that this would be better if it were celebrated during Lent. After all, six weeks of praying and doing penance we were seeking the Mercy of God. Now all of a sudden, here we are on the octave day of Easter, the height of the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, and suddenly we turn and we are asking God once again for mercy.

Today’s readings reveal the kind of heart in Jesus and in his followers. When Jesus appeared to his Disciples that first Easter, he said, “Peace be with you.” As you can imagine, that greeting meant more than just a hello or good morning. Jesus, in fact, desired to communicate to them something of enormous value.

The peace which Jesus won for us had cost him his blood, his very life. What that peace involved, Jesus tells them clearly, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sine you forgive are forgiven them.” To His Apostles Jesus communicates the Holy Spirit with the power to free us from our sins. The words of absolution comes through the sacrament of Reconciliation and frees us from the shackles that keep us from God.

From the Acts of the Apostles we glimpse mercy in action. The early Christians were so filled with the Holy Spirit that “no one claimed any of his or her possessions as their own.” Rather, they “distributed to each according to his or her need.” Mercy then involves the effort to provide every human being with access to this world’s blessings.

The readings from Acts in turn call us, calls our attention to the corporal works of mercy; Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, Give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, Bury the dead. Ultimately, mercy results not so much from human effort as from God’s free gift of Grace. As Shakespeare said, “It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”

Where do you receive God’s mercy the most? I mentioned earlier how Christ gave the Apostles the power to forgive sin. Yes, the mercy of God is most evident in the sacrament of Reconciliation, Confession. You can’t help but feel the effect of your sins being lifted away as you hear those words of Christ of absolution coming from the priest.

At that moment we should feel the comfort, the peace be with you, the mercy of God upon us. Now free to receive Jesus in the Eucharist the effect on our lives is miraculous. We go out and are able to meet the world with our faith as our shield. We go forth with the power of the Holy Spirit as our guide and mentor. We go out with the food from heaven, Jesus himself. This is our proof.

What more evidence do we need? He has given all we need. We just need to throw fear away, find that humility that says, “yes God, I know you are in control of my life, not me and to bring trust into our hearts. That’s all it takes.

It is easy but we make it hard on ourselves to do so. Humble ourselves and make reconciliation a needed part of your spiritual lives and in return your life will be transformed. You will find peace in God’s Mercy.

God is offering his mercy to us. He has done everything for us, and he has given us the means by which our sins can be forgiven. Humble yourself, confess your sins, and trust in Him.

When Jesus told his disciples about his pending resurrection from the dead, they did not know what he was talking about. But then, how could they? Something like that had never happened before. So naturally that was the last thing on their minds as Mary Magdalene and her companions made their way to the tomb early on Easter morning.

On Friday, they watched from a distance as Jesus took his last breath and was then lowered from the cross, having sustained a cruel and painful death. At sunrise once the Sabbath was over, they came to the tomb to finish the burial rites, wondering “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” Little did they know what was in store for them and for us.

Not only did they find the stone rolled away but a young man, clothed in white, greeted them giving them the shock of their lives. “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised, he is not here.”

There is one more verse to Mark’s story of Jesus’ resurrection that we did not hear. “And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Scripture scholars tell us, that based on the writing style and themes of the verses that follow, Mark ended his account abruptly with the words, “they were afraid.” Understandably so, for finding an empty tomb was something they never expected.

The young man whom they had encountered, sitting where the body of Jesus once was, assured the women, “Do not be amazed!” How could Mary Magdalene and her companions not be amazed? To say, “Do not be amazed,” seems, pardon my pun, completely off the mark.

Astonishment and amazement should be our response to all the mighty acts of God including the resurrection story. Throughout scripture, especially those passages that tell our salvation history, we can recount the biblical history of God at work in the world and in our lives. God speaks before all creation; sun, moon, stars, dry land and waters, wildlife and all humanity are born out of nothing. That is amazing. Throughout the scriptures, God provides a way when there is no way, rescuing his people from slavery, defeat and exile. For example, God rescued the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, giving them freedom and life when slavery and death look like their only possible future. That is astonishing. Who would not be amazed when God is at work in the world?

Biblically speaking, there is more to amazement than awe, delight and astonishment. Behind the biblical word that is translated as “amazed,” there is also the sense of being terrified or afraid. That may seem strange that wonder and fear are two emotions that should be linked, but think of the much beloved hymn, Amazing Grace. In that hymn, the grace described as amazing rescues us from sin. Yet this same grace “taught my heart to fear.” This is the biblical sense of being amazed: standing in the presence of a God who will not let anything defeat his life-giving desires, one finds a combination of both fear and wonder.

“Do not be amazed!” The young man said to the women in order to calm their fears. This message is the heart of the Easter story. We need not be afraid. God has raised Jesus to new and resurrected life. This isn’t a case of a dead person being revived like Lazarus was. Not even death can stop God’s life giving desires for us. The resurrection is God’s gift to us, the divine assurance that the fullness of life awaits us when we take our last breath.

God’s life-giving desire is at work even now to overcome those fears that hold us captive and keep us from the fully human life God intends for us to live.

The God who brought life out of nothingness before creation, the God whose mighty acts once rescued people from slavery, defeat and exile, is the God who raises Jesus from the dead and gives new life to us. Like the women in today’s gospel, in the risen Christ, we too can live without fear.

Fortunately for us, the women were not afraid for long. Once they encountered the risen Lord, they could no longer keep the news of his resurrection a secret. They and the disciples lived without fear, sharing the good news that Jesus isn’t a memory, but a presence. Our dearest memory fades in due time, but the presence of the risen Lord remains ever more vivid and real for us as it has for past generations.

Despite what that young man said, the gift of our new life in Jesus’ death and resurrection leaves us all amazed. What God promised, God has delivered; so what he said would happen is true. Jesus is risen from the dead. As St. Paul once said, “If Christ is not raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain.” If he had not been raised from the dead, Jesus of Nazareth would have become a footnote in history.

Instead, the risen Christ has sustained a mission that has been ongoing for two thousand years. His message of change, love and hope is still being fulfilled. In the risen Lord we find our life in God, our hope beyond fear. We rejoice, knowing that God raises us to newness of life. So, do not be amazed for God has called us to live as people of courage, peace and hope in our day. That is the Easter faith we need to take out there when we leave here today. Yes, do not be amazed! Jesus Christ is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Last weekend was the Deacon Lenten Retreat at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat and Faith Formation Center in Federal Way. We were blessed to have Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg as our Lenten Retreat guide.
He told a story, one of his real life stories, about a check for $300.00.This story took place in Rome where he was studying to earn degrees in theology and biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Now this story was not so much about money as it was in hearing God.He was on his way in cashing his $300.00 check at the money exchange in Rome. As h

e came to the steps of the exchange he noticed a small table off to his left. Now at this table was a small but interesting sign that said: “Donations for the poor. He also noticed that this table was manned by the Sisters of Charity, the order that now St. mother Teresa had started. He said to himself, I can’t look into their eyes or I will be propelled to give the money from th

is check to the poor. Now he had made a deal to himself and God that he would keep track of the amount of money he spends on himself over the 40 days of Lent and would give that amount to the poor. He had also made plans for a trip and that was where he was going to use that $300.00. He entered

into the exchange and cashed his check and headed out the door all the way thinking “I must not make eye contact with the Sisters of Charity or it is all over. He exited the building and came down the stairs and only for a very brief moment he looked at one of the sisters eye to eye. He scurried away thinking he would not have to do

nate the money he had received for his trip. After some distance but still in view he stopped. He asked God, are you going to hold me to my deal, he thought to himself. Something inside propelled him to turn around and he went back, took the $300.00, and laid it on the donation table.

He went back to his empty dorm and didn’t know what to do. But he did feel good about what he did and knew that it was a prompting of the Spirit. He went to the mail room to see if he had received any mail. To his dismay there was one letter there waiting to be picked up. He took the letter opened it and noticed this note that said, “We thought you could use this”. And to his dismay, there was a check in the amount of $300.00. Just as a side note: The amount of money he spent on himself over lent came to almost $300.00.

The note and money was sent by the Knights of Columbus from Tulsa, Oklahoma and this was the first letter the Knights had sent him in five years. Now he knew. Now he realized that movement inside him to give to charity, was the movement of the Spirit as was his suspicions when he gave it.

The point of the story is that we miss out on encounters with God by not opening ourselves to him. We miss out on encounters with God when we do not love as Christ loves. We cannot evangelize if we do not love God like Jesus. We cannot love if we do not open ourselves to him. We can love when we take in our hearts and in our lived experiences that of Christ.

When we open ourselves to the love of God he speaks back to us. And when we open ourselves to His providence, His love in our lives, we gain a new perspective. We give ourselves our journey, our very lives, to the protection and guidance of the Father. That, my friends, is what we receive when we allow Him in, His love which is always offered to us.

I’d like to tell you a story: According to Jewish legend, when God was about to create man, He consulted the angels around his throne, “create him not” said the angel of justice; for he will commit all kinds of wickedness against his fellow man. He will be bad and cruel and dishonest and unrighteous.

The angel of truth said, “Create him not, for he will be false and deceitful for his brothers and sisters and even you.” Create him not”, said the angel of holiness, “he will follow that which is impure in your site and dishonor you to your face.”

Then stepped forward the angel of Mercy who said, “our heavenly Father, create him, for he sins and turns from the path of right and truth and holiness. I’ll take him tenderly by the hand and speak loving words to him and then lead him back to you”. And God indeed created man following the counsel of the Angel of Mercy.

This story clearly illustrates Christ’s words in today’s gospel and one of the quoted passages in the bible; “God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life”. And so, God’s love is without condition.

So, what happens to us when we turn our lives over to God? We become more like Jesus. And to become more like Jesus we take with us as we leave this church the gospel message to all we come in contact with whether in the home or at the store. Like Jesus, we join with him in evangelizing the world. That is our call as Catholics. What does Catholic mean? Universal, for all people, and it does have an immense effect on us.

When we love as Christ loves, when we live as Christ lived, in his light, we enter into his life, his mission, to bring the gospel of love, forgiveness and hope to all people, through our words and how we live our lives. We turn over our lives to the one who created them, our Father in Heaven.

We see what happened to Israel in our first reading. God sent messengers to help them and what did the messengers get in return, mocking, and despising God’s warnings. That would never of happened if they had given over to God what was and is God’s- there very lives.

We hear in our second reading God bringing us to life with Christ. God so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son, to us for our very salvation, why? So that we could attain our inheritance, our life with our creator. God so loved us that he gave his only +Son to us to redeem us and to offer us eternal life.

The one ideal to realize is that God took the initiative in our salvation. God chose the approach of love, not of power. God acts not for his own sake but for our sake. God is the Father who is not happy until all his wandering children have come home.

In his book, “Free to be me, Fr. John Powell, SJ said: “I want to love you. That is all…if you chose to leave me, I’ll not stop you. I will leave you free, but I will always love you. There may be a time in your life when you will separate yourself from my love but never believe that you have lost my love, you can only refuse, but you can never lose my love.” For me, these words are reflections of God’s love.

It’s terrible to reject Jesus Christ, to reject God’s offer of love. But how sweet to walk in the light of his love. Our part in the process of redemption is to accept the gift in all humility, and try to respond in kind. We are able to love because God loved us first.

What you will hear at the end of mass is the final charge. The charge to carry on Christ’s mission to the world. Let it resonate in your heart. Make it your life, your purpose as did Christ for us.

A burglar was trying to sell an exquisite rug. “Who will give me a hundred dollars for this carpet?” he shouted at anyone passing by. He soon found an eager buyer. After the sale, a bystander, aware of the value of the rug, approached the seller and asked, “Why didn’t you solicit more for that priceless rug?”

“Is there a number higher than one hundred?” asked the seller. His conception limited his awareness and his action. The same could be said for the apostles. Their conception of themselves limited their awareness and their actions along with their awareness of what Jesus might be able to do.

They had some hope that he would change the world they lived in, envisioning Jesus as a military hero who would restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory by defeating the Romans. They had no idea what they were really in for. Their conception of the Messiah was far too limited for them to grasp who Jesus truly was.

For this reason, Jesus took them out of their world, the world they knew so very well, out of the relationships they were accustomed to, away from their familiar surroundings. He took them to the top of a high mountain and once they were there, he started to change.

First his clothing, then himself, transparent yet opaque, white yet full of color, while heavenly beings appeared, Elijah and Moses. The apostles heard them conversing about the coming change that would lead to a transformed world.

Peter, James and John did not know what to say. Taken by surprise, Peter mumbled about setting up three tents. Then, to top it all, a cloud cast a shadow over them and they heard a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Then looking around, everything seemed back to normal. Jesus was standing there, just like they had seen him so often. But now they saw him in a different light, for their conception of him and their notion of Messiah had changed.

Six days earlier Jesus had predicted for the first time that the Son of Man would be put to death and three days later would rise again. Peter rebuked him for saying that; in turn Jesus chastised him, “Your mind is not on the things of God but on the things of humans.” Along with James and John, Peter needed this eye opening experience to broaden his conception of the Messiah.

In this Lenten season, perhaps we also need an eye opening experience to better understand who Jesus is for judging by our faith, our conception of God is limited.

Faith, like a roller coaster, has its ups and downs; mountains and valleys. In other words, there are times when our faith burns bright and times when our faith flickers and nearly goes out. Let me illustrate.

In today’s gospel, the faith of Peter, James, and John is bright and strong. But in due time, their faith would flicker and almost fail. That happens in the Garden of Gethsemane, following the Last Supper. Once again Peter, James and John were there with Jesus as he prayed that he would be spared the impending passion. Instead of being attentive to Jesus, the three apostles fell asleep.

Shortly afterwards, Judas arrived in the garden with a large crowd to betray him. The three apostles, whose faith was so strong in today’s gospel, panicked, left him, and fled. Worse yet, Peter later denied knowing Jesus three times. Soon after, however, he was quite remorseful.

Like the apostles, our faith goes through high points and low points. When we are experiencing a high point, our faith is strong and bright. During such moments, we feel so close to Jesus that we can touch him. In moments like this, we truly feel the triune presence of God with the Father embracing us with unconditional love and the Holy Spirit pouring wisdom upon us.

When we experience a low point, our faith flickers and almost goes out, like the disciples’ faith did in the garden of Gethsemane. During those low points, Jesus seems to have lost his fight with Satan and we are more apt to sin. The Father seems to have left us as orphans and we feel ignored. The Holy Spirit has become a distant memory.

When the moments of darkness arise, recall the example of Abraham in today’s first reading. His faith flickered and almost failed him when God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. However pained he felt as he set out to do what God asked of him, he still trusted God and God didn’t let him down, blessing him beyond his wildest dreams.

Does our limited conception of God prevent us from having that same divine encounter and believing that we will be blessed beyond our wildest dreams? The challenge of Lent is dying to self. Oh yes, we like to hold on to our selfishness and self-centeredness. Dying to self calls us to surrender to God, just as Abraham did, being willing to sacrifice everything, even our future, knowing that something beyond our wildest dreams awaits us. Only when we embrace such a total surrender can we begin to fathom the glory of the mountaintop as the apostles did, As Paul notes, won’t the God who did not spare his only son “give us everything else along with him?” Remain faithful and God will reward you with the life that he has promised to those who love him.

Today’s gospel is short and simple. Instead of elaborating on the Lord’s many temptations, Mark briefly tells us that Jesus went into the desert for forty days, fought off temptation and was administered to by angels. After John was arrested, Jesus returned to Galilee and proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is at hand, urging anyone who would listen, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” In this pithy sermon, just what is Jesus asking of us?

Simply put, he is asking us to reform our lives. Notice that he doesn’t present us with a litany of rules. He isn’t insisting that we retreat from the real world or adopt a monastic life style nor is he requiring a life of prayer, sacrifices and penances. He is asking for a total change of heart, but why?

Daily we hear bad news from local crime scenes to rampant shootings and some of us wonder why God allows such evil to happen. The truth is God does not inflict evil. The world is good because God created it, and God is Good. People are good because people are made in the likeness of God, who is Good. You and I are good because we are children of God. And yes, since God gave us free will, good people can choose to become evil people, but that is their choice. Even the most horrible person to ever live could still have a change of heart, thus, reject evil, repent and become a good person. Thank God, the world is a good place.

While we are all good, and the world we live in is good, the truth is we are all sinners. Even Pope Francis admits to being one and that should not surprise us. As we heard in the gospel, Jesus spent forty days in the desert, tempted by Satan. If Satan endeavored to tempt the Son of God, then why would he not spend time luring us into temptation? If we follow Jesus’ advice and repent, then we need to find ways to confront the many temptations that assault us daily.

However we visualize the evil one, be it as a serpent, as Satan, or the devil, it strives to lure us into thinking there is nothing dangerous about temptations. They come in all shapes and sizes from white lies to lurid websites on the Internet to multi-million dollar Ponzi schemes offered under the counter and many shades of gray in between. When we are tempted, we might rationalize, “What is wrong with a little sin?” On the surface, perhaps nothing, but as the ad for a certain potato chip used to go, “You can’t eat just one.”

Obviously Satan is successful at luring us to sin for there would be no need for the season of Lent if all Christians repented and believed in the gospel, thus were in a close and intimate relationship with God. As Christians, we share the common experience with Jesus of baptism and through this sacrament; we entered into a covenant with God who promises us everlasting life. As was the case with Jesus, our journey following baptism has been and will always be filled with temptations, too numerous to count, but unlike Jesus, our temptations have and will lead us astray at times. Unfortunately, baptism does not make us devil-proof.

Lent is our 40 day retreat to confront our sinfulness and come to grips with whatever separates us from God and one another. This is why Jesus urges us to repent.

Now, Jesus is not speaking of some vague repentance, like a simple apology. He has a specific plan for changing our hearts. The first step is to pray. He gave us an example by spending forty days in prayer. You might say, “How can I possibly find more time to pray?” That’s where the second step comes in: fasting. I don’t mean skipping meals. In pitching the Rice Bowl, for example, I have suggested each week eating a simple meal so that others can simply eat. In addition to eating more simply – consider fasting from other things: video games, chat rooms, indiscriminate television, the Internet, Facebook, needless shopping; anything else that consumes your time and energy, preventing you from deepening your relationship with God. The time you save from doing habitual things can be better spent in prayer, reading scripture, or meditating. Instead of email, try knee-mail. Knee mail is getting down on your knees and praying; that is the first step toward changing our hearts.

Prayer and fasting lead to the third step: financial sacrifice. Let’s face it, as Americans, it is easy for us to turn money into an idol. Our financial sacrifices can make a positive change in our world. Giving helps both others and the giver. Giving is the most practical way we have of saying to God, “All that I am and all I have, I owe to you. It belongs to you, not me.” St. John Paul II once said, “If alms are lacking, our life does not yet converge fully towards God.”

Jesus knew first hand from experience how difficult our journey following baptism could be of honoring our covenant with God. He proclaimed to anyone who would listen, “The kingdom of God is at hand! Repent and believe in the gospel.” The kingdom of God is the absence of evil and the prescription for bringing that about is found in the gospel. We know full well that we will never get rid of temptations and sinbut for us to do our part in bringing about the kingdom of God, we must repent and turn from sinfulness. That is our lifelong mission. With the gospel, Jesus offers us the antidote for finding what truly matters in life, unlike Satan who will never take the blame for the consequences of our actions.