A Transfigured Humanity

 

 There are many ways that God could have chosen to save us. But He chose to send His Son to take on a human nature, die and then rise from the dead. Why did He choose such a difficult means? Saint Paul gives us a hint in last Sunday’s second reading: “He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else…” The Father sent the Son to suffer and die to demonstrate the extent of His love for us. The Son of God became man so that we could see and experience for ourselves the love of God.

 Not only is God’s love shown through Jesus Christ, but, by becoming man, He transforms our human nature. All who accept this love of God into their hearts are permanently changed. We no longer live for ourselves but for the One who died and rose for us.

We see this awesome reality on display in last Sunday’s gospel. Jesus is “transfigured” in front of Peter, James and John. The glory He has as the eternal Son of God shines through His human body. From now on, human beings can reveal the glory of God through His love at work within us. This is the profoundest meaning of salvation- not just that we can get into heaven after we die but that even now we can experience God’s presence bringing about real transformation leading us from self-centeredness to generosity, from indifference to charity, and from resentment to joy. All this takes place in those who welcome God’s love into their hearts through faith in Jesus Christ.

 When Peter, James and John came down from the mountain, Jesus instructed them to keep what they had witnessed to themselves until after “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Well, friends, Jesus has been raised from the dead. It is now time for us to bear witness to Him.

Jesus Draws A Crowd

 

 Jesus really knew how to draw a crowd. 

Wherever He went, people would come by the hundreds and thousands from the surrounding towns to hear Him speak. Everyone who came had a different reason for seeking Him out. Some had heard about Him from their neighbors and wanted to see Him for themselves. Many sick people would seek Him out, sometimes carried in the arms of their loved ones, in hopes that He would cure them. Many wanted to see what miracles He might perform. Others were hungry for the word of God and sought Jesus out because, as today’s gospel tells us, he spoke with authority. 

Whatever their reason, everyone who encountered Him had the same reaction- amazement. Jesus was unlike anyone they had ever met and He never failed to make a life-changing impression on everyone He came in contact with. 

 Though it has been two thousand years since He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, Jesus continues to draw a crowd. Every Sunday, throughout the entire world, over a billion Christians are gathering to worship. Like us, they are listening to His word and are continuing to have their hearts moved by His teaching. Like us, they will have a personal encounter with the Risen Lord through Holy Communion. In parishes all over the globe, Jesus continues to reach out to the lonely, the broken hearted, the sick and the anguished with His life-changing message.

 Jesus drew crowds for one simple reason. The people whose lives He changed told other people about Him and they came to see for themselves. As this Sunday’s gospel tells us, “His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.” Rather than keep His mighty deeds to themselves, they witnessed to others about what Jesus did for them. 

 The same is true today. If Jesus has changed your heart, if He has made a difference in your life, then tell someone about it. Do not keep it to yourself. Let others know how your burden has been lifted, how your eyes have been opened, and how your fears have been relieved. It could be that someone in your family or someone you work with is suffering in the same way you did. They cannot find the peace and joy that only comes in Jesus if we keep what He has done for us to ourselves

Telling Our Story

We are all part of a story.

It is a story that stretches back to the very beginning of the world when God created everything out of nothing. From the mud of the earth, He formed the first man and woman, our ancestors, and breathed life into them. They and their children disobeyed God and lost friendship with Him. Yet He never gave up on the people He created, offering them time and time again the opportunity to be reconciled to Him.

Finally, He sent His only Son to reveal to us the depth of His fatherly love and to take upon Himself the suffering we deserved for our sins. All this week we have remembered how, though He came to show love, He was treated with cruelty and contempt. It looked as though it might be all over when on Good Friday He was put to death. But we know the rest of the story. It is the reason we have gathered here tonight. God raised Jesus from the dead. The apostles bear witness to it. Martyrs shed their blood to spread the word. And generations of believers have committed themselves to living as He lived and to telling the next generation the story of our salvation.

The point of the story is this - there is nothing and no one greater than God. Though sin separated us from Him, God is greater than sin. Though death takes every living being, God is greater than death. Though suffering can fall upon us at any time, God is greater than suffering. Through Jesus, our Heavenly Father conquers all the powers of evil and darkness. The victory is certainly not yet complete. But it is playing itself out in our lives and in our world.

We became a part of that story at our baptism when, as Saint Paul tells us - “We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father,we too might live in newness of life.” It is now time for us to live out the story of Jesus’ victory by rejecting sin and evil in all its forms. It is now time for us to live the new life of the resurrection by performing good deeds, feeding the hungry, giving comfort to the suffering and praying for sinners. Finally, we must never fail to tell the story to our children, our family members, our friends and whomever God may place in our lives so that they can know the blessed hope that guides our life.

More than ever, today’s world needs to hear our story. It is a world that is plunged in darkness and in need of the light that only Christ can bring. We must tell our story to those who are lost and wandering aimlessly. They need to know that there is a purpose to their existence, that God created them for a reason, and that they can find that purpose in Jesus Christ.  There are so many of our brothers and sisters who are suffering alone with no one to visit our comfort them. They need to be reached with the message that Jesus stands by the side of all those who suffer, and that, if they offer their pain to Him, He can transform it into a source of blessing. Finally, there are so many in our world who think that they are in charge of their own lives and are not accountable to anyone for the choices they make. They need to hear that one day they will stand before the throne of God to give an account of their life. They also need to know that there is forgiveness in the blood of Jesus and strength in the Holy Spirit to overcome any sin.

We are part of a story, a story that is as long as the world itself. It is a story filled with failure and triumph, sin and grace, doubt and faith. However, we know how it ends. Our Risen Lord will come again in glory to judge the living and dead and to establish His Father’s Kingdom forever. If by His grace we have been faithful to the vows of our baptism we can rest assured that He will welcome us to live with Him forever. Let us, then, light our candles and renew those baptismal vows with deeper purpose and conviction so that Jesus victory may show itself more clearly in our lives.

Sharing Our Easter Joy

“I’m too young to die.”

That is the thought that ran through Margaret’s head when she found out that, at age 35, she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She thought of her three young daughters, all under the age of nine, who needed their Mommy. And she thought of her husband and all the plans they had made for their life together. It would be a long, hard fight, but it was one she knew she had to make.

The years of treatment that followed were not easy. She endured surgeries and chemotherapy. Just when they thought they had gotten all the cancer cells, another tumor would appear. There were many times that she lost hope and wondered if it was all worth it. For strength, she turned to her faith, praying the rosary, reading the Bible and offering her sufferings up to God. Visits from her pastor and get well cards from her daughters’ religious education classes reminded her that she had not been forgotten by her parish.

Finally, after three years, she was cancer free. As her hair grew back in and her strength returned, she felt like a new woman. She returned to her parish for Mass for the first time since her treatments began. It was Easter Sunday. She could not contain her emotions as she sang, “Christ our Lord is risen today! Alleluia!”. More than any other time in her life, she felt that Jesus was real, that He was really alive, that He had really risen from the dead. Though she had always believed it, this time she knew it and felt it with all her heart. Jesus was really alive and living in her. She realized that she had been given a second chance at living fully the life that God had intended for her.

Margaret now shares her story with anyone who will listen. She wants others to know how much they are loved by God and that we can overcome any obstacle through the power of the Risen Lord. She is convinced that God saved her life for a reason, and she is determined to take every opportunity to spread the good news of His unfailing love and the new life that is ours through Jesus’ resurrection.

Sisters and brothers, Jesus is really alive. He is in our midst as we gather to celebrate His resurrection. He is not just a figure from the past, but a  person who is living in you and in me through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is a person we can encounter, whom we can know and with whom we can have a relationship of love.

Life can be difficult. We often feel alone or abandoned.  But through it all we have a God who gave His only Son to die for us. Even more wonderfully, He raised Him from the dead to give us the promise of everlasting life. Whatever challenges we may face in life, God is greater than them all. And, if we trust in Him, He will see us through them all. When we have finally persevered through it all, we can experience Jesus truly alive in us as Margaret did after she endured her cancer treatments and as Mary Magdalene and the apostles did after experiencing the horror of Jesus’ death.

When we have good news, we cannot keep it to ourselves. We have to tell others so that they can share our joy. That is what Mary Magdalene did when she found the empty tomb. She ran off to share it with Peter and John so that they could see for themselves. That is what Peter does in today’s first reading. He tells all the people gathered in Jerusalem the good news that Jesus is alive and that by believing in Him they can have the forgiveness of their sins. And that is what we must do. We who experience a Jesus who is really alive - alive in His word, alive in the Sacraments and alive in His Church - must share the good news with others so that they can see for themselves and share our joy.

In the past, we have not emphasized enough the need to evangelize our communities. Often, we have thought that it was a task only for our priests, deacons and sisters. But we are living in a different world. People do not come to church as frequently as they did in the past. Many are losing any connection to a parish or even to a faith tradition. More than ever, we need to bring the faith out into the world, beyond the walls and boundaries of our parish church. We need to bring it out into our families, our schools and our places of work. It is something that each one of us,  no matter what our abilities, is called by God to do.

We would not walk past someone who was starving without giving him something to eat. Yet we live, work and socialize with people who are starving for hope and hungry to know that there is a meaning to their lives. They are counting on us to share our faith with them, to tell them the good news that Jesus is alive and active in our midst.

It can sound scary. But it is really as simple as sharing with others how God has worked in our lives. We do not have to preach to others or act as if we have it all figured out. It is just a matter of letting others know what Jesus has done for us and that He can do it for them too.

We know that Jesus is alive. We have heard Him speak to us in the Scriptures proclaimed to us every Sunday. We have seen Him in the eyes of our brothers and sisters in faith. And we have received Him in the Holy Eucharist which is His risen Body and Blood. That experience of Jesus truly alive makes our hearts well up with a joy that we cannot contain, a joy that must be shared with others until all the world knows and believes that Jesus Christ is Lord!

Families That Evangelize

In the years between the first preaching of the apostles and the reign of Emperor Constantine when the practice of Christianity was legalized, the Catholic Church experienced explosive growth. In fact, historians estimate that Christians went from numbering about seven thousand at the time of the apostles to thirty-three million by the beginning of the fourth century. Such a rate of growth is especially notable given how widespread persecution of Christians was.

Of course, as believers we give all the glory to God and credit the work of the Holy Spirit for the expansion of the Catholic Church throughout the Roman Empire. However, historians who have studied this time in the Church’s history - many of whom are not believers -  point to some other historically verifiable factors to account for it.

Interestingly, they do not attribute it to sound planning by Church leaders, to compelling preaching by priest nor to meaningful Sunday Masses. Rather, they credit such rapid growth in those first centuries to ordinary families witnessing to their faith in Jesus Christ in their homes and communities.

When we look at pagan society in those first centuries of the Church, we can understand why Christians stood out. In Roman culture, human life was cheap. People thought nothing of leaving babies to die if they thought they couldn’t care for them - especially if those babies were female. Children were frequently abused both physically and sexually.

Marriage was also held in low esteem. Even when women and men bothered to get married, they were rarely faithful to one another. Women were often abused physically by their husbands and divorce was common.

The elderly did not fare much better than women or children. Once they were no longer able to contribute financially to the family, they were often turned out of their houses. Since there were no hospitals, the sick were frequently abandoned by their families and left to die in the street.

In contrast, Christian families welcomed every child whether male or female. It was not uncommon for believers to take into their homes babies who were abandoned by their parents and left to die in the streets.

Unlike pagan families in which adultery was common and women were subject to abuse, Christian men and women treated one another as partners and took seriously the vows of Holy Matrimony to love each other faithfully and exclusively.

The first Christians were renowned not only for the love they showed within their homes but for the charity they practiced to those in need. They typically invited the poor into their homes. When someone fell ill, they would nurse them back to health rather than abandon them.

The witness of Christian families in which the vows of marriage were honored, children were welcomed and the poor were fed was such a departure from the cultural norm that people could not help but notice. As a result, women were attracted to the Church because they found in it a refuge from the harsh treatment they suffered in society. The poor and sick also sought baptism because of the care they received at the hand of Christians. They all wanted to hear about this Jesus who commands us to love one another.

And so, we are here today because of the witness of faith of untold numbers of families who lived their marriage vows faithfully, raised children to believe in Jesus and reached out to serve the poor.

In many ways, society has advanced from those early pagan days. Sadly, however, some conditions have not changed. Though we are not killing infant girls at birth, we are aborting unborn babies by the millions. Despite numerous government programs, rampant homelessness and poverty continue to plague our cities. And though there is no shortage of hospitals and nursing homes, the sick and elderly are routinely pushed aside and deemed too inconvenient.

The witness of faithful Christian families is needed as much now as it was in those first centuries of the Catholic Church. It is up to us now to spread the good news of God’s love not just by our words but by our actions. It is up to us to make our homes places where God is honored, where children are welcomed and where the poor find help.

Today’s Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that God calls all of us to be part of a family. His desire is that our homes be places that radiate faith and love. To be sure, no family is perfect. But even imperfect families can teach us about forgiveness and reconciliation. Even if we have failed for whatever reason to live our marriage vows faithfully or raise our children well, God can still use us to show others that He is the Lord of second chances.

Many people might not go to church regularly. They may never read the Bible. However, if we live good lives and foster loving, charitable homes, the society around us will not fail to notice. And, desiring that spark of faith for themselves, they’ll ask us to tell them more about Jesus Christ who commands us to love one another. Only in this way will our Church continue to experience explosive growth into the future.  

Sharing the Message

For over 70 years, Alcoholics Anonymous has helped people from all over the world overcome addictions to alcohol, drugs and other destructive behaviors. Through a program comprised of 12 steps, the addicts learn to combat the spiritual sickness at the root of their compulsions by confessing that they are powerless to change their behavior and by giving control of their lives over to a "higher power". As they make their way through the other steps and achieve a certain level of serenity and healing, they learn that it is not enough for them to simply stop drinking or using drugs. If they are to know true and lasting healing, they cannot keep their stories to themselves. Rather, they have to reach out to others with the good news that their addictions can be overcome.  It is part of the healing process itself to help bring others to experience healing in their own lives.

The same is true with those who are healed by Jesus. They are so overcome with joy after their encounter with him that they have to tell everyone about it. It is interesting that throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus commands people not to tell anyone who he is and what he has done for them. It seems strange to us that Jesus would want to hide his identity, but he needed it to be clear to the people that he would not be a political Messiah who would liberate them from Roman rule, but a suffering servant who would free all people from the tyranny of sin. When he tells the apostles not to tell anyone who he is, they obey him. Even the demons whom he casts out obey him when he tells them to keep quiet. But those whom Jesus heals, though they are warned sternly not to spread the word, cannot help but go around telling everyone they meet about the powerful prophet who restored them to health. For them, telling the story of Jesus' healing power is part of the healing process itself.

Today's gospel is no different. Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man and heals his speech impediment. Throughout his whole life he was unable to hear the sounds all around him. Now the first voice he hears is that of Jesus commanding his ears to be opened. During his life he probably spoke only when necessary because he was ashamed of his speech impediment. Now, with his tongue loosened by Jesus, he cannot help but tell everyone about the miracle that God performed in his life. His first clear words were praise of God for the gift of healing he received in Jesus. How could he now be expected to keep silent about the great work God performed in his life?

Jesus continues to be in our midst exercising his healing powers. Though it is rare, it still happens that people are cured of diseases or physical impairments through the power of prayer. Most often, however, the healings we experience through faith are of an emotional or spiritual nature. Because of our own prayers or those of others, we may find ourselves finally able to forgive someone who has hurt us. Or we may find the strength to let go of a burden of anger which we were carrying for many years. Or we may simply be overcome with a sense of God's infinite mercy and believe that our sins have been forgiving. No matter how we may experience it, each of us here has been touched by Jesus and healed. Now it is up to us to tell others about it so that they too may meet Jesus, the healer. If we want to hold on to the healing we have received, and if we want it to deepen in our lives, we must spread the word.

It could also be that many of us have been waiting for a healing that just has not come yet. Whether the cure we are seeking is for ourselves or someone we love, we have prayed, offered up Masses and asked others to pray for us, but God has not chosen to touch us with his healing power as yet. It could be that, for reasons only he can know, he wants us to bear that suffering so that we can grow to be more like his Son. Or it could be that he wants us first to bear witness to what he has already done for us to others. Many times when we take the opportunity to speak to others about the wonders God has worked in our lives, we look back and see that the healing has already been granted to us. We just have not noticed it. If we are seeking a healing and have tried everything from prayer to counseling to try to get it, could it be that God is asking us to try one more thing - making known to others the good things Jesus has already done for us?

Before we approach this altar to receive the Body of Christ, we will pray: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed." The Eucharist is the greatest source of healing for our body, mind and spirit. The man in today's gospel was privileged to have Jesus touch his ears and his tongue, but we have the awesome gift of receiving him into our entire body. If we approach him with faith, he will open our ears to hear his word and loosen our tongues to proclaim his praises. If we seek a healing, he knows it and most certainly will want to grant it to us in some form or another. It will then be up to us to spread the word that our God heals and saves.

A Story As Yet Not Fully Written

I have a trick question for you.

What is the only unfinished book in the Bible?

A couple of hints. First, it is located in the New Testament. Second, one of the readings for today’s feast was taken from it.

The answer is, the Acts of the Apostles.

Saint Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles to serve as a second volume to his gospel. As the title of the book suggests, it chronicles how the apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, continued the saving work of Jesus after He ascended into heaven. Just as Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, so the apostles spread the good news from Jerusalem, to Samaria and eventually even to Rome. Just as Jesus healed those who came to him with diseases and other afflictions, so miraculous healings accompanied the ministry of the apostles. And just as Jesus was put to death, so the apostles and their followers are persecuted and killed with a prayer of forgiveness on their lips in imitation of their master. The Acts of the Apostles is the story of the early Church stepping out in faith to continue the saving works of our Lord Jesus.

However, the reason we can claim that the Acts of the Apostles is an unfinished book is that the story of the Church founded by Jesus to be a light for the nations is still being written. It did not end with the apostles. We who have been baptized and have come to believe in the name of Jesus are writing the next chapter. It is up to us now to preach the Kingdom of God, to heal the sick, to feed the hungry and, if necessary, to suffer ridicule and rejection for the sake of the Savior we have come to love. Jesus left the task to his apostles, they left it to their disciples, and now it has been passed on to us. The pen is in our hand to continue writing the acts of the followers of Christ.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension when, forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus went up to the right hand of the Father in heaven. From His throne in paradise, he continues to watch over, pray for and guide the people whom He has entrusted with His word. Jesus is looking down upon us gathered here today who have believed in Him and are striving to live lives that are pleasing to Him.

We might wonder to ourselves, why did Jesus ascend to heaven? Wouldn’t it have been better if, after His Resurrection, He stayed around to show Himself to others? Then more people would have believed that He had risen from the dead and that He was the Son of God. Why would He leave the apostles after just forty days when He could have still done so much more good on earth?

First of all, we know that Jesus worked many signs and wonders during His life, and still many people refused to believe that He was the Son of God. After the Resurrection, many people saw the empty tomb and still did not believe that He had risen. Even the disciples whom Jesus did appear to continued to fear and have their doubts as Saint Matthew tells us in today’s gospel. There are many who, for whatever reason, simply refuse to believe. Even the sight of the Risen Lord would not convince them.

Secondly, and most importantly, Jesus has left it to us to continue His mission on earth. He has given us His Spirit so that we can do the works He did. He assures us in the gospel of John, “Whoever sees you, sees me; whoever hears you, hears me.” Jesus ascended into heaven to pass on to us the responsibility and mission of witnessing to the truth of His Resurrection. Each one of us has a part to play in the story of salvation which is still being written in our time. As Saint Teresa of Avila wrote so beautifully, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.” Now that Jesus has ascended to the Father, if anyone is to hear the good news and encounter for themselves the love of Jesus it will have to be through us, by our words and by the good and holy lives we lead.

Though the story of salvation is still being written, we know how it will end. In the final chapter Jesus Christ will descend from heaven to reveal Himself to all people and nations as the Son of God and Savior of the World. There will be no denying it. He will finally put an end to sin, suffering and death.  And He will give to us who have believed in Him a share in the heavenly glory of His Kingdom which is our inheritance as children of God. We long for Him to come in His glory and we live with confidence following His commandments knowing that He has already won the victory for us.