Will many be saved? Only through Christ!

21^st Sunday of OT year C:

            Today Jesus is presented with a disconcerting kind of question: Lord will only a few people be saved.  If you are like me, you are hoping that Jesus’ response is: no, no, everyone will be saved, don’t worry about a thing.  But, the actual answer that Jesus gives is just as disconcerting as the question: many will attempt to enter, but they will not be strong enough.  Then Jesus goes through this parable where the master of the house denies that he knows the people who are knocking.

            This might be an important thing for us to remember.  Salvation is not automatic.  Salvation is not easy.  Jesus calls it the narrow gate.  We have to strive for this narrow gate.  But, even if we do, many will not be strong enough to enter.  Is Jesus basically telling us that few people are going to heaven?  When I was in college I remember being quite worried when I read St. Thomas Aquinas.  In the Summa Theologica, Thomas asserts that salvation is not for the masses.  Rather, salvation is only for the exceptional, the gifted.  Being saved is like being a virtuoso piano player, a great athlete, or a mathematical genius.  Sure these things come along, but not everyone who played the piano is a master, and not every Christian goes to heaven.  If you are like me you would read this and get disappointed.  If salvation is only for the exceptional, why should we even try?  Why strive for that narrow gate if getting through it will be impossible?

            If we read today’s passage out of the context of the whole message of Scripture, we might be pessimistic.  We might think, like St. Thomas Aquinas, that salvation is a rarity.  But, think of some of the passages we read in other places in the Bible: God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son so that all those who believe in him might have eternal life.  Also, God sent his son not to condemn the world but to save the world.  Think of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, where we remember that the heart of Christ burns with fire for the salvation of the world; or, the Divine Mercy, where rays of love and mercy emanate from the heart of Christ. 

            So, when we think about the good news of salvation, then read today’s reading it seems somewhat contradictory.  But, listen to it again: strive for the narrow gate, many will try but will not be strong enough to enter.  What is that gate?  It is the gateway to heaven, to paradise.  If you think about it, none of us are strong enough to enter into paradise.  This problem goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  Because of Original Sin that narrow gate is closed.  All of us are sinners, none of us can earn salvation, none of us can earn our way into heaven.  But, in the history of the world there was one man who could earn salvation, there was one man who was strong enough to enter that narrow gate.  That one man is Jesus Christ. 

            I think we should take with us a few key points today.  Salvation is not automatic.  It is a narrow gate that leads to salvation.  In fact, we cannot make it on our own.  But, that is ok, because God sent his son Jesus to be our savior.  The quicker we realize that we will never make it without Christ, the sooner we will turn to him in our weakness, the sooner we will rely on his strength and not our own. 

            We are about to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, which is often called the sacrament of our salvation, because it is the sacrament of the very offering of Christ on the Cross.  Right here on this altar we participate in the salvation that Christ won for us.  When we receive this Holy Communion we are united to Christ, the one who is strong enough to enter through that narrow gate.  Because of our communion with Christ, we believe that he will take us with him.  So today’s gospel reading is not meant to make us pessimistic, rather it should make us thankful, thankful that while we might not be strong enough to make it on our own, God loved us so much that he sent his Son to be our savior. 

Do not be afraid

19^th Sunday of Ordinary Time:

Today in the Gospel there is an unusual tension.  On the one hand, Jesus begins by telling his little flock: do not be afraid.  This was one of the great messages from John Paul II: do not be afraid.  There is much in this life that could cause us fear and anxiety, but our relationship with Christ gives us the strength to face whatever comes our way. 

Yet, in the same reading we hear a stern admonition: you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.  Jesus tells us to make sure we are one of the good stewards who is found doing the right thing.  If not, Jesus starts to talk about severe beatings, which don’t sound like much fun!  And perhaps the most challenging sentence in the whole reading is the last one: much will be required of the one entrusted with much.

My friends, all of us have been entrusted with so much.  Absolutely everything we have, everything we are comes from God.  We wouldn’t have life if it weren’t for God.  We wouldn’t have air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat.  God made all things, he sustains all things.  Without God nothing would exist.  Without God we wouldn’t exist.  All of our talent, enthusiasm, and hard work are also gifts that came from God.  Everything comes from him.  Further, think of the gift of salvation that the Lord Jesus gives us from the cross.  Think of his gifts of grace that he pours out in the sacraments.  Every day we gather around this altar and Jesus gives us his very Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.  If we stop and think about it, the generosity of God is truly amazing.

Today’s reading is a compelling reminder that each one of us will be asked to give an account.  Each one of us will be asked a simple question: after everything I have given you, and everything I have done for you, what did you do for me?  How did you repay my generosity, how did you put the riches I gave you to good use for those around you? 

I don’t know of anyone who is perfect.  I know that I am a sinner.  I know that I haven’t always lived up to my end of the bargain.  I know that sometimes I haven’t made the best use of all that God has given me.  So when we think about our judgment, we might have a tendency to get anxious and worried.  But, this is why I think it is so important to remember that first line of Jesus.

My little flock: do not be afraid.  We should not be worried or afraid when we hear today’s reading.  Rather, Jesus did not come to condemn us.  He came to save us.  He came to show us the way to the Father.  Today he is reminding us that we will give an account for all that God has given us, but he does not say this so as to instill fear.  Rather, he tells us this to motivate us always to grow closer to him. 

First, start with thanksgiving.  Remember that we are stewards of all the good things God has given us.  We need to remember that everything we have and everything we are is because God gives it to us.  Then we try to be as generous as God is to us.  St. Jude’s is already a very generous parish.  But, are there still more ways we can give?  Jesus does not want us fearful and timid.  Rather, he calls us to the same kind of generosity of spirit that he showed us on the cross.

Today as we celebrate this Holy Eucharist, we give thanks for all that God has done for us, and as we leave the church today we are sent on a mission to be the good steward who awaits the return of Christ our Savior.  

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

18^th Sunday of OT, Year C:

Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.  This Qoheleth guy really seems like a charmer.  I mean he doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of person you would want to invite over to your house for a party.  He probably wouldn’t want to come anyway, because parties are vanity too I’m sure.  What’s going on with this reading?  Is the Bible telling us to be pessimistic and downcast?  I don’t think so.  Rather, I think there is a great wisdom to be learned from our prophet’s straight-forward kind of approach. This has been a really helpful reading for me as I begin my assignment here at St. Jude’s.

This has been an amazing week in a lot of ways.  I have met lots of new people, I have had a chance to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, I even had a wedding today.  It has been a great week.  This is a very exciting time for me in my life.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to be the pastor here at St. Jude’s.

But in the midst of all this excitement we hear: vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.  Basically the prophet is reminding us that in the midst of all the passing things of our life, we have to keep before us those things that really matter.  I don’t think the prophet is just telling us to be depressed.  Rather, he is telling us that in the varied experience of the human life there are many things that will take up a lot of our time and energy.  At the end of the day, many of these things just pass away, they just disappear into the sands of time.  Just stop for a second and think about everything you did this week.  Think of all the pleasant things, all the difficult things; think about the exciting things, and the things that caused stress, anger, discouragement, or anxiety.  Now that you have thought about these things, how many of them will still matter in 20 years?  So much of what we do is oftentimes spent on those things that don’t really matter. 

Jesus came to give us direction.  He came to give us peace.  He came to lead us to salvation.  Jesus’ words today in the parable line up with the words from the prophet: why build those bigger barns when we never know what the future might bring.  Jesus and Qoheleth both are trying to remind us to stay focused on what really matters in life. 

Now, I’m not saying that everyone should go home and quit their jobs.  I’m not saying that we can avoid all the little things in our lives.  Rather, everything we do we should do it for God.  Everything we do, we should do it with God.  Everything we do, we can only do it because God gives us the help and strength in order to do it.  I think our reading from St. Paul today is a good one for us to keep in our minds and hearts.  He says: put to death those parts of you that are earthly.  And: seek what is above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God: think of what is above.  The bible is not telling us to try to escape from our human lives; rather, we should turn to God in the midst of our human lives.  We should try to keep before us those things that really matter.

This is great advice for all of us, but I found it especially helpful this week as I begin my new assignment.  There is so much going on here at St. Jude’s, it is new and exciting; but, I have to remember to think about what is above.  I have to always keep my eye on what is the most important.  And that is our relationship with Christ.  There are many responsibilities of a pastor of a parish, but the most important one is to help lead the parish closer to Christ.  I ask for your prayers that with God’s help I am able to do this.  So that all of us at St. Jude’s can keep our hearts and minds always in communion with Jesus Christ and his Church.

Hello from St. Jude's...

My first Mass at St Jude's this morning.  Thank you St. Ignatius of Loyola for your prayers and example.

God bless you all,
Fr Jake

Update...

Hi everyone,

I know it has been a while since I've posted anything.  I'm alive and well in Washington D.C.  I have one more week of my studies before returning home.

And, as everyone knows by now, I will return to my new assignment as pastor of St. Jude's Parish in Fort Wayne.

I have had many very positive conversations with staff and parishioners from St. Jude's.  I am very excited about this new parish assignment.

You can read about the parish at www.stjudefw.org.

God bless you all,
Fr Jake

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday 2013

Today we give glory and honor to almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Today, and every day, is dedicated to the honor of the Triune God.  At this Mass, and at every Mass, we give honor to God the Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ, in and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We do well every year when we call to mind this important doctrine and learn to find its importance in our own lives.

As we know, the doctrine of the Trinity is veiled in mystery.  It is exceedingly difficult to talk about.  I can tell you that as a priest, this Sunday’s topic can be quite intimidating.  I have often joked that if anyone talks about the Trinity for more than about 2 minutes that person will say something dumb and slip into heresy.  So, many times when discussing the Trinity people will just say it’s a mystery, then go on talking about something else.  But that is a shame because exploring the mystery of the Trinity reveals a great deal about our own humanity.

In short, we proclaim that from all eternity God lives as a loving communion of persons.  From all eternity the Father is begetting the Son, and that the mutual love between the Father and the Son is the person of the Holy Spirit.  From all eternity there is but one God, one divine nature, one divine substance, but three diverse persons.  From eternity there is unity and diversity, one God—three persons.  What makes this the case is Love.  From eternity the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, the Holy Spirit is the mutual love of Father and Son.  So, there is unity and diversity by, with, and through love.

How does this affect us?  We hear in the first words of the Bible that we were created in God’s own image and likeness.  If we ponder the mystery of God, we can reveal the mysteries of humanity.  We are made in God’s image and likeness, therefore to find our ultimate fulfillment we should live in correspondence to this image.  From eternity, God is a loving communion of persons.  To find our fulfillment we too should seek to live in a loving communion of persons. 

The isolated individual human being does not make sense.  Since we were made in God’s image and likeness we were made for communion.  No wonder, then, that every one of us were born into a family.  It is the family that provides for us that place of communion.  Yet, it is often the case that the family can be a place of tension and turmoil.  There are many threats to the unity of our families today.  But, we can learn from the Trinity, unity and diversity through love.  It is certainly the case that in families there will be a wide diversity of personalities.  I’m the oldest of 11 kids and my mom often remarks that each one of us has a completely different personality.  And that is certainly ok.  This diversity might cause tension or difficulty at times, but through love we are called to unity in our families.  Unity and diversity coexist through love.  This is the lesson we can learn about our humanity by reflecting on the mystery of the Trinity.

I would like to finish by talking about another family: the family of the parish.  Over these last 4 years I have certainly found St. Matt’s to be a loving community of persons.  We come together here as a family.  There is certainly diversity.  We come from diverse backgrounds and have unique stories.  But, we have been united here by our common love for God and for each other.  Truly, St. Matt’s is a place of unity and diversity.  I have been truly blessed to be a part of your families over these last 4 years.  As I depart this week from St. Matt’s I do so with a heavy heart because I have found in St. Matthew’s Parish a loving community of persons, a place I will always call home.

Ascension 2013

Ascension 2013:

Today we celebrate the ascension of the Lord, the day when Jesus went up to heaven.  Now, if we think about this event in the life of Jesus in isolation, it might seem kind of strange.  Why go up to heaven?  Why not stay here on earth?  We could build Jesus a nice palace, we could declare him king of the earth, etc.  If we think of the ascension in isolation it almost seems as though Jesus’ departure leaves us abandoned and alone.

But, of course, we never want to think about this event isolation.  Every year we relive and remember the events of our salvation.  Each year at Christmas we remember that Jesus was born for us, that the king of the universe became a little child so as to bring us salvation.  Then during Lent and up to Good Friday we remember that Jesus suffered and died for us.  He laid down his life as a sacrifice so that the salvation he came to bring might come about.  Afterward, we celebrate the great solemnity of Easter.  We proclaim that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.  Jesus broke the prison bars of death.  But, the story doesn’t end there.  Rather, the ascension completes the cycle.  Jesus returns to his Father today.

So we see God’s plan come to completion today.  The plan goes like this.  The Father so loved the world that he sent us his only begotten Son.  The Word of God comes down from heaven and takes on the human nature.  While here among us, he preaches good news, he instructs us in the ways of holiness, he lays down his life for us, and he destroys death with his resurrection.  And today he returns to his Father.  He is sent from the Father, and today he returns.  But notice one important thing.  When Jesus returns to heaven, he does not leave his humanity behind.  Rather, he takes us with him.  Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, which means that when he returns to his Father, Jesus takes all of humanity with him. 

Today on this feast of the ascension we see the fullness of God’s plan revealed.  The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God, he was sent from the Father.  And, he became one of us, so that he might lead us to the Father.  This is good news indeed: all those who believe in Jesus will be united with him forever.  So today’s feast should fill us with joy: where Jesus has gone, we all hope to follow. 

The kingdom of God

There is an interesting difference between our first reading and our second reading today.  Both readings present an essentially true aspect of the Christian life, but they seem to be in total disagreement.  First, St. Paul says to the disciples “it is necessary to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”  In the second reading we hear what that kingdom will look like: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more mourning, wailing, or pain.”  So here is the discrepancy: on the one hand, Paul says there will be hardship and pain in the Christian life, but then we hear in Revelation that God is taking away all our pain and hardship.  Both are absolutely true, but they seem to contradict each other.

There are a couple of ways we can understand this tension.  First, we can say that Paul is referring to the life we live in the here and now.  Being a disciple of Jesus means that while we are not to be of the world, we do live in the world.  As a result, we will see our fair share of pain and suffering.  The quicker we recognize this, the better off we will be, because if we acknowledge that there will be pain and suffering in this life, we will be ready for it.  Then, we will interpret the message in our second reading as referring the next life.  While we experience pain, sadness, grief, suffering, and persecution in this life, we are destined for a better place.  We are destined to spend eternity with God, and when we get to that place, God will wipe away every tear, destroying pain and sadness.  And, this is true too.  We believe in the resurrection, we believe that there is a full and new life in store for those who believe in Christ. 

So, to summarize, these readings are in tension but we explain it like this: St. Paul reminds us that in this life there will be hardships and pain, but we all look forward to that day when we experience the new life of the resurrection, where pain and suffering are destroyed forever.

This is a totally legitimate way to understand these readings.  But, I would offer one brief suggestion.  I think, all too often, we can think of the kingdom of God as being only a future oriented reality.  So, our life of faith can seem like a holding pattern.  We understand that this life is full of pain and misery, but if we can just hold on, we will make it to heaven.  Or another way, life is full of temptation toward sin, but if we can just dodge the potholes, we will make it to heaven.  And rather than truly living and embracing life in communion with God in the here and now, Christian living becomes a matter of dodging sin and waiting for the day when we will have a relationship with God.  Rather, while we will only experience the fullness of the kingdom of God in the resurrection, we live that kingdom even now.  While we will never be completely rid of pain and suffering, trial and temptation, God can and does wipe away our tears even now.  Even now, by God’s grace, pain, suffering, and persecution can be transformed into the pathway of our salvation.  In the gospel, Jesus tells us how to do this.

Love one another, as I have loved you.  Love has the ability to overcome pain and hardship.  Love can turn hate, into friendship.  Love can turn mourning, into acceptance.  Love can turn selfishness, into service.  A heart full of love can bear all things, while a heart without love sees everything as an imposition.  Now, love is not easy.  It killed Jesus.  But, in the very death and resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate during this season of Easter we see the tension of our two readings very clearly: on the cross Jesus suffered and died, but through the cross he came to the resurrection.  This transformation takes place because of love.  The good news of the gospel is that this transformation can take place in our lives as well if we follow the command of Jesus: love one another as I have loved you. 

Christ, the Good Shepherd

 “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.”  Very often this Sunday is called Good Shepherd Sunday.  It is a good time for us to reflect on Jesus as the Good Shepherd.

Sheep rely on their shepherd to provide for them, to protect them, and to lead them to safety.  Now, these things apply to us as well.  God provides for us, everything we have and everything we are comes from God.  Without God we would have nothing, we would be nothing, everything comes from him.  God protects and defends us, he helps us to overcome our sinfulness, and he sent Jesus to protect us and defend us against Satan and against death.  And, God leads us to safety through the person of Jesus.  If we would just follow Jesus, he would lead us to eternal life.  I want to reflect briefly on what it means to follow the voice of Jesus.

If we are going to be followers of Jesus we have to be able to hear him.  If we do not listen to the voice of Christ, we will never be able to follow him and if we don’t follow him we will not find our way to eternal life.  It is just that simple.  Christ alone is the way to eternal life, there is no other path, there is no other way.  After Original Sin, we were lost; we could not find our way back to God, which is why God sent his Son Jesus.  He came as a lamb among the sheep, he came to lead us back to God.  He did not come as an outsider, but came as one of us so as to lead us to eternal life.  There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. 

We are saved by following Jesus, by listening to his voice.  Hopefully, this is an exciting message for us.  Hopefully, we are intrigued by this message of Jesus.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will lead us to eternal life, those who follow him will never perish.  Don’t we want that?  I think that deep down in the heart of every single human being on this planet this message strikes a chord.  The bombing in Boston reminded me this week that life can be quite fragile.  We realize that there is suffering and death in this world, and we also realize that we are made for more than that.  Isn’t it interesting, we want to live forever, we want to be with our loved ones forever.  Jesus says, You will have eternal life if you follow me.

How do we hear his voice?  It is certainly the case that Christ speaks to each one of us.  We all have a relationship with Christ.  We nourish this relationship by our lives of prayer, by our reading of the scripture, by our participation in Mass.  Our personal life of faith is very important, by it we will hear of the voice of Christ and he will lead us.  But, I really find this first reading quite interesting.  It says that practically the whole city was gathered there to listen to Paul and Barnabas.  But, the way the author phrases it is a quite interesting, it says the whole city was gathered to hear the word of the Lord.  When the apostles speak, they proclaim the word of the Lord.  I think this is a beautiful reflection on the role of the Church in our lives.

All of us, I think, want to follow Jesus.  We believe that he is our Good Shepherd, that he provides for us, protects us, and will lead us to eternal life.  We know that to be followers of Jesus means to hear his voice.  But, how can we be sure we are hearing his voice?  We rely on each other.  There is no such thing as a solitary Christian.  It is certainly true that we each have a relationship with Christ, but that relationship always leads us to the body, to the Church.  Here, we find support for living out the Christian life.  Here, we hear the voice of the Lord, we receive guidance and direction.  Here, we celebrate the Holy Mass.  Here, our Good Shepherd speaks to us in his Holy Word, he feeds us with his Body and Blood.  And, if we continue to rely on the Church, if we continue to listen to the voice of the apostles, to support one another, then Christ will lead us all to eternal life.  Christ is the Good Shepherd who came to lead us to the father.