Trinity Sunday Homily

Trinity Sunday, Year C

    The teaching is fairly simple on the face of it: we believe in one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit: 1 God, 3 persons. Though it is simple, it is hard to comprehend, in fact we never fully comprehend this mystery. For us personhood and individuality go hand in hand: every person is also a separate substance. But, when it comes to God, this is not the case. Rather, God is one substance, but three persons in a loving communion of persons. This is the teaching, but where does it come from? When I was in the seminary I had the good fortune to take a full 3 credit course on the Trinity. During this course I was able to learn exactly how this doctrine has unfolded in the history of humanity.

We begin with the faith of the people of Israel, who, beginning with Abraham, believed in only one God. In the face of the polytheism of the ancient world, Israel came to know the one true God. This was not a discovery of reason, rather God revealed himself to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. This one God continued to be in relationship with his people, speaking to Moses in the burning bush and face to face on the mountain. He continued to guide his people through the words of his holy prophets. Christianity is based upon the faith of the people of Israel. So, we inherited this faith, this revelation the God is one and that there is only one God. The gods of the heathens are naught! They don't even exist. So Judaism is a monotheistic faith, and so is Christianity.

However, the birth of Jesus does change things. It doesn't really change God! We hear in the first reading that the Wisdom of God was with God from the beginning. Since the early days of the Church, Christians have seen the Wisdom of the Old Testament as a type referring to Christ, who is the Word, the Logos, of God. So Jesus, the divine word, existed for all time, even before the incarnation. Yet, when God becomes Man it furthers the revelation of the nature of God. God reveals more about himself to us. We maintain our faith in the unity of God: God is one. But Jesus is God! Not only that, but the Father sends us the Spirit through the Son. Last week we celebrated Pentecost, so it is fitting that we celebrate Trinity Sunday on the following Sunday, since the coming of the Holy Spirit is the last revelation of the mystery of the Trinity.

So this is how we arrive at the teaching of God as Trinity. We inherit the faith of the Old Testament, which held that God is one. The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus reveal to us the Son. And with the coming of the Holy Spirit the revelation of the mystery is complete. There is one God, who is the Father who sends the Son so to give the Holy Spirit. God is one, but three persons.

Like I mentioned above, I had a 3 credit course to explore this teaching. It is well worth your while to study and explore this wonderful doctrine. You might not have the chance to take a class on the Trinity, but you can turn to books for help, especially the Catechism. Every Catholic family should have one of these books on its shelf. It is certainly true that the Trinity is a mystery. But, this doesn't mean that we cannot say anything about the Trinity. Rather, it means that we can say many true things about the Trinity even though we can never get to the fullness of the Truth about God's existence. So, it is important to study and pray as a way to bolster our faith.

In fact, we do this all the time, without realizing it. The liturgy itself is like a great catechism lesson on the Holy Trinity. One thing that can be difficult about the Mass is that we don't see the unity of the Mass. But, the whole Mass is a prayer to the Father in heaven, where we glorify God the Father, in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Notice that most of the prayers of the Mass are addressed to the Father, through the Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. This should be a reflection of our whole lives. The sacrifice of the Mass teaches us not only the Trinity, but also how we are to live! Our lives should be directed to the glory of God, through our communion with Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

New Archbishop of Los Angeles

Please remember to pray for the new Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez.  I cannot imagine undertaking a job like that.  He will be the chief shepherd of 5 million Catholics next year when Cardinal Mahoney retires.  What a huge job, he will need your prayers.

Also, today is the feast day of St. Philip Neri, who was renowned for his great sense of humor.  So why not tell someone a good joke today (just be sure it is a good joke!).
God bless,
Fr Jake

Pentecost 2010

Today we celebrate Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit entered the world. We call this day the birthday of the Church, for compelled by the Holy Spirit the Apostles went out preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, calling together a people, a Church. In many ways we can think of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the last chapter of the Bible. The great narrative that begins in the Garden of Eden, follows through the story of the people of Israel, finds its joy in the birth of Jesus, sees the cost of sin in the death of Jesus, finds its climax in the Resurrection on the third day, proceeds to the Ascension, finally seems to conclude with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Bible does speak about the last day, the end of the world that is to come. However, it seems to me that the Holy Spirit is preparing the world for that last day even as we speak. So, it seems to me that the final chapter in the Biblical narrative is the work of the Holy Spirit alive in the Christian community, continuing to work even today, even now.

Throughout this narrative God appears to his people in many ways. Each of these can be called Theophanies. A theophany is an appearance of God in our space and time. There is the burning bush, where God spoke to Moses, told him his will to save his people from slavery. God appears to protect Israel as they escaped from Egypt as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. God appeared to Elijah not in a great all powerful vision, but in the small whispering sound.

Of course, the greatest theophany is the incarnation itself. God appears to us in Jesus not in some terrifying guise; but as one like us in all things but sin. In the human face of Jesus Christ we see the divine. In the incarnation of Jesus we see the humility of God, in the preaching of Jesus we see the truth of God, in the death of Jesus we see the love of God, and in the resurrection of Jesus we see the promise of God: our own resurrection to follow. Jesus' life death, resurrection, and ascension are all theophanies, appearances of God which show to us his divine goodness.

Today we celebrate another theophany, when God appears to the early Church in tongues of fire. We today we remember that day when the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to continue the saving work of Jesus Christ, to continue to pour out the love of the Father into world. This is a great theophany, appearance of God in the world. In the narrative of the Bible, God never remains distant and aloof; rather, God is constantly coming to his people. In this last theophany, God not only comes to his people, but he remains here.

The mysterious thing about this theophany is that it is not over yet. The burning bush has cooled, the cloud of fire has dissipated, Jesus has ascended into heaven, but the Holy Spirit has yet to leave the Church. In fact, the Holy Spirit will never leave the Church. I think you can say that the Church itself, the united community of believers is itself proof of the manifestation of God. For, the Church is what happens when the Holy Spirit is sent into the world. We are assembled, called together, by the Spirit into the unity of the Church. This is why we call Pentecost the birthday of the Church. The theophany that we celebrate may have begun in that day when the Spirit descended upon the apostles but it continues to this day, for the Church is what happens when the Spirit is sent into the world.

St. Paul gives us an interesting insight into the working of the Holy Spirit. Paul says that those who are in the Spirit have the Spirit dwelling within them. And, later, he says that those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. For Paul this is not metaphorical. He really believed that the Spirit lived within him and led him. The same should hold true for us. In our baptism and confirmation we received the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are called sons and daughters of God and we believe that His Spirit lives within us. Yet, are we always open to the Spirit's guidance, do we rely on his presence within us? I sometimes wonder if St. Paul could have fallen away from the faith after his great conversion experience… The answer is no, because he knew that the Spirit was living within him and he allowed himself to be led by the Spirit.

The point of all of this is that the great story of the Bible continues even now, the narrative continues in the Church, including each and every one of its members. When we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit we continue the work of salvation, heading for that kingdom, which is the great and glorious finale of the story. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and lead us that Kingdom promised to us by Jesus Christ.

Ascension

I remember going to Mass on the feast of the Ascension when I was a kid. I remember it being one of my least favorite holy days. I could never understand why Jesus left. I mean, doesn't it seem like it would be better for Jesus to stay here? Doesn't it seem like Jesus could have stayed here. We know that after the resurrection Jesus is not bound by space and time, we also know that Jesus lives forever, couldn't he have just stayed here like the Pope for all time? While part of this was motivated by my great love for superheroes (I imagined Jesus in those days like Superman or some other kind of hero), some of this longing is well-intentioned: don't we all want to see Jesus?

Yet, one thing we notice when we read the scripture is that the ascension is never an isolated event. Today in the gospel Jesus is in the middle of teaching his apostles when he goes up to heaven. We hear from the Acts of the Apostles that this took place 40 days after the resurrection. And, we hear that the disciples were not at all disappointed in Jesus ascension but were, rather, overjoyed. So, while I always saw the ascension as an interruption of the resurrection, it is actually the fulfillment of Jesus life here on earth. Jesus whole life was heading not only to his death and resurrection, but also to his ascension.

The ascension is integral to the gospel, the good news. It completes the resurrection. How so? Think about our condition before the coming of Christ. One of the prayers at Mass always sticks in my mind: When we were lost and could not find the way to you, you loved us more than ever; Jesus, your Son, innocent and without sin, gave himself into our hands and was nailed to a cross.  We were lost, we were removed from the presence of God by our sins. Because of the fall of our first parents, the communion that the human family was meant to share with God was ruptured. This communion could not be remade by human power alone, which is why Jesus came to us. Jesus came to rescue the lost: he is the good shepherd who leaves the 99 to seek out the lost sheep: the human race. Jesus does this by becoming human: the Divine Word, the second person of the blessed Trinity becomes human so that all of us who are human might again have communion with God. The love which motivates this act of the Word is shown in its perfection on the Cross, where Jesus loves us to the end. Yet, it is only in the ascension where this new communion is fully restored. Humanity, now in the person of Jesus, is raised to the heights of heaven. No longer is there this hard and fast separation between God and humanity; rather, God is with humanity and humanity is with God: united in the person of Jesus Christ. The ascension brings this to completion.

So Jesus was here for a time in order to take us with him into the embrace of our heavenly Father. What did Jesus take with him to heaven? He took with him humanity itself: Jesus is fully God and fully human. All of us therefore, already have a foot in heaven, as it were, by our common humanity that we share with Christ. He also took with him his experiences: all the ups and downs of human life. We should be quick to turn to him in our own experiences: when we suffer, we turn to Christ, when we rejoice, we turn to Christ: Jesus experienced everything that it means to be human. So he takes not only humanity, but also the experience of being human.

What did he leave behind? He left behind the community of believers, which is drawn together by the Holy Eucharist. He leaves behind is very self: his body blood soul and divinity in this most holy Sacrament. Benedict XVI once wrote: it is not the Church that makes the Eucharist, but the Eucharist the makes the Church. When Jesus ascends into heaven it is not so much that Jesus leaves earth; rather, he joins heaven and earth together. This is seen most clearly in the sacrifice of the Mass. Every time we gather around this altar we are joined to the Risen Christ already reigning in heaven. The ascension brings the resurrection to its completion, but the Mass brings the whole paschal mystery, the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ into our present moment. As a kid I wanted Jesus to stay as a superhero, but in fact, after the ascension Jesus is able to be present with us here all the time in this Holy Eucharist.

I would like to finish with a quote from St. Ephrem who saw this connection between the ascension and Eucharist quite clearly. He sees the Ascension itself as a Eucharistic offering:

On this day has ascended to heaven

The new and spiritual bread,

And all the mysteries have been revealed

In your Body, raised like an offering.

Blest be this bread, O Lord!

 

As light falling from heaven,

He was born of Mary, like a divine seed,

Fell from the cross like a ripe fruit,

And was raised to heaven as one raises the

First-fruits.

Blest be your will!

6th Sunday of Easter, Year C

Tuesday at the All-School Mass, I asked the children about peace—what is peace? This is a complicated question: what is peace and how do we attain it? Several answers were given: the absence of war, the lack of conflict, a place with no violence…

This caused me to think: what is peace? Can we really only describe it in terms of violence or war? Peace is the exclusion of bad things? Is this really what Jesus must have meant or is there something more going on here?

In our world suffering the effects of sin, we are exposed to war and violence on a daily basis. You can't watch the news for 5 minutes without hearing of some terrible outbreak of violence somewhere: think of the awful story of those Lacrosse players in Virginia, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the bomb plot in New York: bombs, war, violence, murder, rape, you name it we see it on the nightly news.

Think also of the conflicts we face on a smaller scale. Just the drama of our daily lives counts here: dysfunction in families, conflicts at work or at school. There is even conflict in our hearts: we struggle with our sins and our temptations, everybody's got them.

When we think about all this conflict, peace starts to sound like a pipe dream. It starts to sound quaint and unrealistic, like a Miss America Pageant response to a question. How can all this conflict cease, what would be left if conflict did cease?

We define peace as the absence of conflict and yet conflict seems as though it will always be with us: where do we go, to whom do we turn? Peace I give you, my peace I leave with you. Not as the world gives do I give peace.

Jesus may have been referring to the Ancient Romans, who were famous for bringing peace in the form of armies: they would crush an opponent into surrender and establish peace as the absence of conflict, peace by the sword.

Jesus does not give peace in this way, his peace is established on the cross. Rather than establish peace through force, he brings peace through suffering; rather, than killing, Jesus dies. Through this death he rises to new life. From his wounded side pours out blood and water, baptism and Eucharist, his precious gifts of grace which bring us into communion with Christ, which give us peace.

The peace of Christ is not the absence of violence or conflict. The peace of Christ is not the absence of something bad, it is the presence of something good. It is the presence of Christ himself in our lives, it is the precious gift of grace making us more like Christ. It is this presence that we turn to in our times of conflict and turmoil. If we allow the peace of Christ to rule in us, Jesus will help up to deal with all the conflict we face in our daily lives. But, even more, if we let this peace rule within us, this peace will extend even into the world. It might seem a bit Pollyannaish to dream of world peace, but we this must be our dream, our hope. It starts with each one of us and will extend even beyond us.

I would like to finish up by calling your attention to the second reading. Here we hear what peace looks like in the end, this is the completion of peace, where all this is going. This is the coming of a new heaven and new earth, the heavenly Jerusalem, where sin, death, war, and conflict will be gone forever, replaced by holiness, life, justice, and goodness. We hear that this city has 12 gates, to symbolize that this new kingdom is a fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. Also, this city is built on the foundation of the apostles, a fulfillment of the New Testament. It has no temple, for God dwells in its midst. This certainly seems like an image for the Church: fulfilling the promises of old, built upon the faith of the apostles, with Christ Jesus dwelling in our midst here in the Holy Eucharist. It is this Church which will find its fulfillment in the heavenly Jerusalem. But here and now the Church, all of us, should be an instrument of peace, spreading the peace of Christ to the four corners of the world until that day when the kingdom of God comes in its fullness.

 

5th Sunday of Easter: Love one another as I have loved you.

    In today's Gospel Jesus gives us a new commandment: love one another. In one way this commandment is not all that new. In fact, in Leviticus chapter 19 God gives the command to love one's neighbor. So, this command has been given before. Yet, there is a new added twist: Love one another as I have loved you.

First of all, what does this love look like? Earlier in John's gospel we hear that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son so that all those who believe in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Love looks like Jesus. Love is the cause of the incarnation, love brings about the birth of Christ. Love is an outpouring, it is generous and it is humble, being born in a manger. This is certainly included in Jesus' new command to love: our love is to be generous, humble, love is to be poured out for others. Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, to raise all of us, slaves to sin, to the heights of heaven.

What is the cost of love? We see the price of love whenever we look upon the crucifix. This is the cost of love. Because of sin, because of our fallen nature, we are destined to die. God did not make us to die, but that is our fate because of sin. Yet, Christ, because of his great love for us, decided to take death upon himself. The lord of life mounted the wood of the cross and destroyed death forever. When the light of the world, Jesus Christ, enters into the darkness of sin and death on the cross his bright light pierces the darkness, scattering it forever. This, also, is included in Jesus' new command to love one another. Christ gives us the great example: love suffers for others. We are so used to seeing the crucifix, we have them hanging everywhere. Really it is a strange symbol. Jesus Christ was killed by the Romans and we hold on to this image, this grisly reality: why? Because, it shows us the cost of love. This should inspire our faith: looking at the cross reminds us of the great love that Christ had for us. That he loved us to the very end. And it gives us a model to emulate: we too accept the sufferings that come with love.

What is the end of love? So far we have thought about love as being generous and humble, that it comes with a cost of self-sacrifice, but to what end? In the mystery of Christ raised from the dead we see the end of love: life itself. Death cannot contain love, it cannot overcome love. When Christ rises from the dead we see the outcome of love: new and everlasting life. When we love as Christ loves us, with patience, generosity, humility, and suffering, the result is life: not just the life that is to come, but life even here and now. Christ abundantly blesses love. When we love we enter into Christ. When we love one another we enter into the very mystery of God's own love. And it is by communion with that mystery that we find the source of life.

What are examples of this kind of love? The first thing we think about are the great saints, especially the martyrs, who laid down their lives for the faith. Perhaps we think about the missionaries who brought faith to the corners of the world. We think of Mother Teresa and her amazing work with the poor. All of these are examples of following Christ's command to love. But, so are the everyday things of our lives: a mother caring for a sick child, a husband working two jobs, young people striving for holiness and chastity. In fact, one reason that this is a new commandment is that Christ is not so much dictating certain actions as he is telling us about the Christian attitude. No matter what you are doing, no matter what your station in life: do it with love. Do it with humility, patience, generosity, and suffering. Putting on the mind and heart of Christ will guide us down the path of love.

 

As we turn now to receive this sacrament of love, ask Christ to form within you a loving heart. This loving heart helps us to live lives of holiness now and will prepare us for that kingdom he has prepared for us: a new heaven and a new earth where all things are made new through the power of love made evident on the cross and truly present in this holy Sacrament.

Deaconate Ordination

Hello Everyone,

Sorry to be out of the loop the last week.  I was actually in Columbus, OH.  I was there to visit my Alma Mater, the Pontifical College Josephinum.  I would like to thank my diocesan brothers who invited me to take them all out for dinner, which I was glad to do.  Further, I was there to concelebrate the Mass of Ordination for Matthew and Terrance Coonan.  These brothers were ordained as Deacons for our Diocese of Fort Wayne South Bend. I count it a pure grace to have been there.  What a beautiful ceremony.  I especially enjoyed the beautiful Waczek memorial Pipe organ played by the masterful John Hammond.  This organ was installed 2 years ago almost to the day.  I remember the installation well because it was completed and played for the first time during my own deaconate ordination 2 years ago.  I had forgotten just how great an instrument it really is.
Please pray for these two new deacons. They will be assigned to some parish this summer where they will begin their ordained ministry.  Deacons can baptize, preside at funerals or weddings, read the gospel, give homilies, preach, and especially work with the poor.  Anyone who encounters these two newly ordained deacons will see all of these being put into practice.
On a personal note, I have to say I was so happy to have been there for their ordination.  In many ways I got to see these two young men "grow up" into the deacons they are and the priests they will become.  I was in the seminary the whole time they were.  I still remember the first time I met Matt Coonan (I think my head is still spinning).  Matt is a rare individual, I don't think I have met a more driven person.  The first time I met Tink he still had shoulder length hair and was going to school.  It has truly been a joy to see them as they have embraced seminary formation.  I just wish they were somewhat athletic.  (That is a joke, they run circles around me).
God bless Matt and Tink: ad multos annos.
Fr Jake

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C: Christ’s Power and Authority

Today's readings tell us something interesting about power, about authority. In our world there are many different models for power. There is the military model. In the military model, power is attained by brute strength. The nation with the most powerful weaponry and the best army will be the nation with power. People respond to this power out of fear, knowing that there could be repercussions if the authority is not obeyed. But, this model is fatally flawed because it is dependent upon strength, not goodness or justice. The military model is much like settling disputes in the Runyon household, the one who yells loudest is correct, not necessarily the one with the best argument.

Next, there is the democratic model. In this model, power is given to some at the will of the majority. This is the model we follow here in America. We vote for certain leaders and they get the power to make laws and to defend laws. People respond to this kind of power out of duty and respect to the political process. If we don't agree with the people in charge, we can vote for others the next time it comes around. Again, this model is fatally flawed since it is not based upon truth, but upon the will of the majority. Democracy might be better than dictatorship, which is based on the will of an individual. But, democracy is still based on the whims of the majority. In the democratic model, who stands up for the weak, those without voices, I'm thinking in particular of the unborn, who speaks for them?

Another model prevalent in our world today is the terrorist model. This model preys on our insecurities. This model tries to wrest power from the strong and from the majority by playing on human fear. By endangering our way of life, the terrorist seeks power at the cost of human dignity, at the cost of reason, at all costs. The terrorist will even destroy themselves to further the cause of fear.

What a contrast Jesus provides us with! We hear in the second reading that all glory, honor, and power belong by right to the lamb who was slain. Jesus Christ deserves all power and authority in heaven and on earth, and he is the lamb who was slain. He did not take power by brute strength, he did not win power by election or popular vote, he did not die as an attack on others. Rather his sacrificial death, his death on behalf of others gained for him all power and glory. All people shall obey him. Jesus undoes all of our models of power. Instead of strength, he dies on the cross. Instead of swaying the popular vote, the crowd turned against him. Instead of attacking others, he allows himself to be attacked, to die. Yet, through this suffering, through this death, he overcomes sin and death. After his resurrection he ascends to the heights of heaven where he is seated upon his throne. The power of Christ, the king of the universe is born out of suffering, out of service: he came not to be served but to serve.

In the gospel we hear Christ handing over authority to Peter: feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. For the Christian, power and authority must correspond to Christ's authority. Peter was not given authority to be served, but he was called to serve. The same is true for all of us, as parents, as teachers, as priest, leaders of all kinds, whatever authority we have, we should exercise this authority as Christ, by sacrificing ourselves so that others might live.

Where did Peter get the inspiration to exercise authority this way? Where do we get that inspiration: notice that before Christ tells Peter to feed his sheep, each time he asks him: do you love me? It is our relationship with Christ that is the foundation of all that we do. To love Christ is the first most important thing. Loving Christ will allow us to answer like the apostles: I must obey God, not the whim of human authority. And when we find ourselves in authority, our love of God should motivate us to lead by living lives of service.

When we come to this Eucharist Christ again reaches out to us, as he did to the apostles saying: have something to eat. Receive the Lord's body and blood, draw closer to Christ. Fall so deeply in love with Christ that like St. Peter you will feed his sheep, fall so deeply in love with Christ that like the apostles you must obey God, fall deeply in love with the lamb who was slain, to whom all power, honor, and glory belong.

Divine Mercy Sunday

Here is a synopsis of my homily for divine mercy Sunday.

John Paul II named this Sunday (the Sunday within the Octave of Easter) Divine Mercy Sunday.  When I think of God's mercy it makes me think of 3 essential points, all of which intersect with the Gospel for today (the story of "doubting" Thomas.
1: Mercy is a free gift.  Mercy is given never earned.  Jesus appears to the Apostles and says: peace be with you.  He then shows them the price of his mercy, his hands and his side.  Jesus Christ was sent as God's mercy upon sinful humanity.  In his death and resurrection he forever destroys sin and death.  This mercy is given, not earned.  This is why Jesus gives peace to the apostles.  It is his gift for us, the gift that he won for us with his blood.  We cannot earn mercy, we have to receive it.  This should make us thankful!
2: We have a desire to experience mercy.  Thomas was not there when Jesus showed the apostles the marks mercy left upon him.  He was not there to see mercy, to experience mercy: I will not believe unless I see, Thomas says.  I will not believe in God's mercy unless I experience it.  Now mercy is never earned, it is given, but in that it is freely given, we long to experience it.  We want to come to mercy.  We want to see Jesus.  Now we may not get to see Jesus the way that Thomas did, but we do get to experience the same mercy.  We get to experience the same Jesus when he gives us his blessing of peace.  When we go to confession, when we receive God's mercy in that amazing sacrament, it is analogous to seeing Jesus' wounds, to placing our hand in his wounded side.  When we experience the love and mercy of Christ in this sacrament, we behold the mercy of Christ our savior: Blessed indeed are those who have not seen and believe, for they receive the same mercy.
3: this mercy seeks to be shared.  When we receive God's gift of mercy, when we experience it in our daily lives, we must become merciful.  The best thanks we can give to God for his mercy to us is to be merciful to those around us.  Mercy must be passed on.  Having experienced God's gift of mercy we must share that mercy, that gift with our family and friends.
Jesus we trust in you.

Easter Sunday Homily 4/4/2010

Today we celebrate the feast of Easter. We recall that day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. By his rising from the dead, Christ destroys sin and death forever. He liberates us from our captivity. He gives to each of us the promise of everlasting life. In the resurrection we see the great victory of Christ our hero, Christ God and Man.

But, how do we know that the resurrection really happened? We are a people who love scientific evidence. We love test tubes and tape measures. For us to believe in something it has to be verifiable, empirical. For us to believe in something we want to see it, to touch it. Let's look at the resurrection. We have plenty of evidence of Jesus' death. That is verifiable. Even outside of the gospel, there are historical accounts that testify to the death of Jesus. We know that he was killed by the Romans around 2000 years ago outside the city of Jerusalem. There can really be no doubting this. The fact that Jesus died is just as certain to our minds as the death of Abraham Lincoln or the sinking of the Titanic. It is a historical truth. What empirical evidence do we have for the Resurrection? All we really have is the empty tomb. We know that Jesus was laid in this tomb, but now there is nothing there. We would love to have the same empirical evidence, but we don't. All we have is an empty tomb, a negative proof: Jesus should be there, but he isn't.

This is the beginning of our understanding of the resurrection. Jesus died and he should be found among the dead, but he is not. This is the place where we begin our prayer and reflection: Oh Christ who died on the cross, where are you? Where have you gone?

So science and empirical evidence do not take us very far in our search for the resurrection. At best, it can only give us a negative proof: we should see Jesus, but we see nothing instead. This is not sufficient, of course, it is only a start. The same was true for the apostles. Let's look at the case of the apostles. These were the followers of Jesus. These were the ones who said they would go to die with Jesus. But, when the moment came, one betrayed Jesus, all abandoned Jesus, and his closest apostle, Peter, denied him three times. The apostles were terrified after Jesus' death. We find them in the gospel accounts huddled together without direction or focus, like sheep without a shepherd. Yet, when the women go to attend to the body of the Lord they find that he is not there. This doesn't solve their problems, however. It is only when Jesus appears to them, only when Jesus gives them his peace, do they have their fears removed. Only when they see the Lord do they believe. And once they receive the Holy Spirit, this huddled, frightened group, the ones who abandoned Christ in his time of need, gladly marches forth from the upper room to meet their deaths. Once they have seen the Lord, they fear nothing. Each of them would gladly die, rather than deny their faith.

In the lives of the apostles we see the greatest proof for the resurrection. Almost overnight, the apostles go from scared abandoners to faithful prophets and witnesses. Something must have happened! This conversion did not take place simply by seeing the empty tomb. Rather, they saw the Lord. They were not just sitting around thinking pious thoughts, or planning a way to bring Christ's teachings to the world. Rather, they saw the Lord.

Their witness, which is captured for us in the sacred Scriptures and handed down from generation to generation in the Tradition of the Church is the bedrock foundation for our own belief. We would all like to have empirical evidence of the resurrection: we would all wish to see Jesus in the same way the apostles did. But, for most of us we see Jesus in another way. We see him in the Scriptures, we see him in our prayer, we see him in those around us, and most importantly we see him in the sacraments.

When we come here to this altar, when we celebrate this holy Eucharist we see the Risen Christ. Now it is true that we see him in another mode, we don't see him exactly as Mary Magdalene saw him in the garden, but it is no less real, no less true. Jesus Christ, the one risen from the dead, comes to us each and every time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist. It is this experience of Christ that fills us with joy, that fills us with faith. But it also comes with a demand. When the apostles experienced the risen Christ, they went out and changed the whole world. They became witnesses to the resurrection by the way they lived their lives. Their faithful witness became the greatest proof for the resurrection. Having experienced Christ in our own lives, especially here at this altar, when we go out the doors of this Church, what kind of witness do we give?

Christ in the Tomb

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.  In a way, Christ is absolutely telling us that it is ok to sit back, relax, and rest with him.  I try to spend some time every year on this day with Christ in the silence of the tomb.  What a blessing!  Holy Saturday gives us a chance to slow down and reflect upon the saving mystery of Christ risen from the dead.  But, if we don't contemplate Christ dead, lying in the tomb, we will never be able to fully understand Christ as risen from the dead.
One thing that I notice about modern Christianity is that we spend most of our time (just think about the 34 weeks of ordinary time) thinking and reflecting upon the teachings of Christ.  This is very important.  But, did you ever stop to think about the radical nature of Christianity?  Without Christ lying in the tomb, there would be no recollection of his teachings.  Without Christ, lying in the tomb, yet rising from the dead, Jesus would have been an obscure figure in ancient wisdom literature.  But when Christ, after lying in the tomb, gets up and shows that he is unlike anything we have ever, or will ever, see, everything changes... forever!
I think we often pacify or pasteurize the great mystery of the incarnation.  We make Jesus a little too common (he is fully human after all) when we forget about his divine majesty, seemingly set aside on the cross and buried in the tomb, but put on full display in the brilliance of Sunday Morning.
Spend some time today, on this Holy Saturday, with Christ.  Kneel at his tomb, be with him now so as to remain in him forever.