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As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said,
“How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David?
David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said:
The Lord said to my lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet.’
David himself calls him ‘lord’;
so how is he his son?”
The great crowd heard this with delight.
Fr. Hesburgh, CSC and Martin Luther King, Chicago, June 1964
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
My dear followers of Jesus,
I grew up just minutes from the University of Notre Dame. During my high school days, I watched Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC on the local news speak about the issues of the world. I watched him as chair of the Civil Rights Commission, as President of Notre Dame, and as a priest, speak about justice, racism, poverty and hunger. The message I received from the television was that the Church was not a building, but a way of life that brings hope in Jesus Christ to a hurting world.
What I saw on television in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in that small town revealed to me that ministry and life itself was meant to lift people up, not to put them down. I saw a local priest as a world citizen bring hope to many while I watched in awe on a small screen. He counseled five different popes and other world leaders all while remaining in his position at Notre Dame for thirty-five years.
In my own priesthood, I have spent many years among people marginalized by society. In my days in downtown Portland, I worked among people who never got a break in life. A very high percentage of the men who came to our hospitality center were sexually abused as children and nearly all of the women. Many people started drinking alcohol when they were seven or eight years old. Many of our people suffered from mental illness because of early trauma and years living outside. No person there could afford going to a doctor, a clinic or the emergency room.
Everyone who came to our parish carried the weight of other people’s put downs and negative attitudes. They were blamed for restaurants in the neighborhood closing because they had no place to sleep but in doorways. Other churches blamed people in poverty for violence and sexual abuse of children, so the church-school down the street built higher fences. The people surviving poverty were blamed for not pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps. The only problem was that none of them could afford boots.
I learned to listen to people who on the surface were different from myself. The more I leaned into their stories, the more similar we became. They thought I was different too. We had to meet on a ground of hope, on the soil of common humanity. Skin color, ethnic origin, family histories and the number of years in school, were stories told in order to get to know people.
I learned much more from folks in those years than I can ever articulate. I learned much about my own skin color and how privileged I am in every aspect of how I view the world. I learned that my vast education is meaningless unless I use wisdom to listen. I learned that my prayer to an invisible God is also meaningless unless I learn every day how to live for other people. I learned that my solitude as a priest is a waste of time unless I enter into deep relationship with people who teach me how to long for God.
I have spent years working on my conversion toward empathy among people who survive without power in our culture. I am deaf to so much around me because I am not hungry. I am housed and given respect. I am still learning how to love when other people’s experience is one of pain, hardship, poverty and grief. I am still learning to walk with people who teach me how to live beyond the confines of my own sheltered past.
Today is the memorial service for George Floyd. Many people will stand in silence across the globe. We will hold his life and his anguish in the silence. We will hold the systemic racism of our culture in the silence. We will hold his loved ones and his lost dreams in the silence. We will hold all black men who have been murdered in the silence. We will also hold in the silence our longing for peace. We will hold God’s love for all people in the silence. We will hold our own corruption, negative attitudes and arrogance in the silence. In the silence we will feel something more than our own ability to breathe.
Today, in the silence, I will recall the images on the small screen from years ago that all people are part of God’s plan. In the silence, I will hear the voices of people who struggle to breathe while still on earth and those who now live with God forever. I will beg God to teach me how to love with my own heart, mind, soul, skin color, and conscience. I will ask God to teach me how to love Him, and to love my neighbor as myself. I will rest in the love of God, the Kingdom here on earth.
God give you peace.
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Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”
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Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
“Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them,
“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
They were utterly amazed at him.
Mother of the Church: Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC 2020
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
Now since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately Blood and water flowed out.
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On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Prayers of the Faithful
Pentecost 2020
Let us pray to be guided by the strong wind of the Holy Spirit within our Church. May we seek integrity in prayer and service in the Diocese of Colorado Springs.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray to lift up the leadership of the baptized, and to lift up all who work to sustain the Church’s mission of service and healing.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for justice for people, for an end of racism in our cities, for an end of misogyny and xenophobia. May we build a Church on unity and hope for all people in the aftermath of COVID-19.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for healing by the Holy Spirit for all people who face difficulties in marriage, those who struggle to raise and support their young children, for people who cannot care for their ailing parents, and for those who have lost their jobs.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray for integrity and peace across the globe. Let us rely solely on Pentecost to heal lives and to provide hope for people as we pick up the pieces of joblessness and despair after this pandemic.
We pray to the Lord.
Let us pray to be guided by the strong wind of love for our beloved dead whom we have cared for on earth. May Pentecost strengthen our unity and provide hope for the grieving.
We pray to the Lord.
Homily
My Dear Followers of Jesus,
Today is Pentecost. In our lifetimes, we have never celebrated Pentecost in such an unusual manner. We are only ten people gathered in this church that holds 491. So many of our friends are nowhere to be seen. Our recent graduates are not here to celebrate milestones. Those who have waited for Easter sacraments will continue to do so. Those who have lost loved ones remain silent in their grief. We cannot see the toddlers who have learned to walk since February. They may have even cut their teeth in isolation.
Our lower faces are covered with masks. We cannot view the spontaneous grins of delight as we recognize one another. Our hands are covered with sanitizer as we wait to hold our children’s children or the hands of our friends. Our Sign of Peace is a distant nod of our heads. Our favorite pews are roped off. We sit six feet from recognition and from love.
This pandemic, COVID-19, has pinned us down on asphalt. It sits firmly on our necks. We can’t breathe. 100,000 people have died. The virus knows no skin color or educational background or cultural status or political party. The ventilator has become an image of hope for us. Janitors, nurses, doctors and first-responders have been lifted up and our eyes are filled with tears of gratitude. Our eyes staring over masks reveal the exhaustion we feel having been isolated. Our eyes reveal the questions we have about this virus and our social policies, our fears and our faith. Our eyes capture our longing to be together again, to be recognized, and to be loved.
Our gospel from John reveals hope in the dark confines of fear. Jesus appears, even though the doors are locked. Jesus appears to those who self-quarantined out of fear of death. The disciples did not know how to change their grief into hope on their own. They were stymied as to how to carry on when they thought the source of love was dead. They waited, bearing the weight of fear in their eyes and in the shortness of their breath.
And then, as if from out-of-the-blue, the one they knew, Jesus himself came to them. The first word out of his mouth was, “Peace.” Can you image how their bodies relaxed, how their spirits came alive as they recognized his voice. They thought they would never hear that tender and courageous voice again. “Peace”.
He revealed to them his bodily scars. Then…then, in a profound moment of joy, he breathed on them. They were the first to receive the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, in John’s gospel, happened on the day of resurrection. Their bodies relaxed, the chokehold of fear was released. They could breathe again.
My dear believers in the Holy Spirit, today we bring all the pain of our world to this moment of Pentecost. We ask today for everything. We leave nothing out because everything is possible in the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is the most important feast in the Church. This is the feast of possibility, of wonder and of dreaming. This is the feast that knows no bounds. The Spirit cannot be locked up or washed away or given institutional boundaries.
We lift up our weary parents and the children who are worried about their futures. We lift up the needs of people and their lack of opportunity. We lift up our Church that struggles to know how to bring the peace of Jesus to the streets. We hope that a new fire will take hold from our baptismal waters even though our fonts are empty of water. I know there is fire in that font!
We pray in the Holy Spirit all the ways in which we can’t breathe because of grief, loss, and fear about our futures. We bring everything to God and ask for a new breath as face the ongoing fears of racism and violence in our culture and even the huge divides within our Church. Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
We bring in this celebration of Pentecost the needs of people. We need to understand foreign languages of peace and reconciliation. Let’s take seriously Psalm 104, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.”
We may still be quarantined on Pentecost, but we are never alone as Church. Our prayer here and our prayer behind the locked doors of our homes are fire for the world. Jesus says to us, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Let us place our prayer in mouths of those who cannot breath. Let us breath deeply into the promise that God is with us forever and ever.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
God give you peace.
Life of Spirit: Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC 2016
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Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved,
the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper
and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”
When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours?
You follow me.”
So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.
But Jesus had not told him that he would not die,
just “What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours?”
It is this disciple who testifies to these things
and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
There are also many other things that Jesus did,
but if these were to be described individually,
I do not think the whole world would contain the books
that would be written.
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Sunday May 31, 2020
Pentecost
Dear Followers of Jesus,
COVID-19 took away the breath of thousands of people. The ventilator has become an image of hope during this virus. Breathing freely is our hope for those stricken with disease. Breathing. Jesus invites us into such a mystery.
In today’s gospel, John 20: 19-23, Pentecost is revealed behind locked doors, hours after the resurrection. “Peace” is the first word uttered from Christ’s resurrected breath. Peace becomes balm for fear. His breath becomes our new life in the Holy Spirit. His breath remains with us beyond the closed room. His breath renews our lives and offers consolation for the world for all eternity.
Pentecost refreshes our understanding of what life is about. Pentecost is the Church taking a deep breath and realizing that our breath is what we have in common with those whom we think are completely different from ourselves. Our breath holds the Holy Spirit within us. Our breath is a reminder we are born again in Jesus’ dying and rising. The Holy Spirit does not fade away or given partially or in increments. There is no golden age of the Spirit. We receive the same breath of hope, the same miracle of joy, as did the disciples.
Many people will glaze over such a feast. We may think Pentecost is only something the Church celebrates dressed in red that remains contained in the sanctuary. Yet, Pentecost becomes the container where we ask ourselves some important questions. For in our hearts, God dwells.
We have an opportunity to ask such questions as: What if we breathed in genuine hope for the first time? What if this hope could change our perspective toward people on the margins of society and Church? Could this breath sustain our young so hopelessness and meaninglessness would not penetrate them? Could this breath teach us how to care for the earth, feed the hungry, and provide adequate pay to the people who teach our children, and who care for our elderly parents?
What if breathing deeply into the life of the Holy Spirit could change how we view our own lives? Could Pentecost teach us not to hate so to offer the world non-violence? Could we settle our differences by taking in the breath of God rather than holding our breath in rage, indifference and violence? These questions become our spiritual work and reflection.
Our way out of the pandemic is God’s initiative in you and me. The Holy Spirit is trying to teach us something as we live in our bodies. We cannot remain stuck in our heads. Change is a dirty word for many people. Pentecost is the source of change. Pentecost is an opportunity for people to understand the suffering of the human race. This feast pushes us out of the nest of Easter and into the world to live the consolation and peace of Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit compels us to get to work and to quit moaning about our lives. This breath of life drives us into union and communion with our brothers and sisters.
Pentecost is more than adhering to regulations in hope that the Church will give us eternal life. Pentecost is a breath of fresh air that reveals meaning, depth and purpose here on earth. We all carry a responsibility within our human bodies to breath in the gift of faith, hope and love.
The Holy Spirit pushes on our chests so we may breath deeply in love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit then pushes us out into the world so we may become people of integrity. We are to love and not cave into despair. We are to act in kindness and not resort to holding our breath in cynicism or apathy.
Pentecost opens new possibilities about who we are and what God wants us to become. We see Pentecost made flesh when we provide space in our parish center for people in recovery to sort through their demons and joys. We know Pentecost is real when we receive the stranger in midst and listen to their story before Mass. Pentecost opens doors and softens hearts. The Holy Spirit helps us hold the hand of the dying or the newborn child in joy. Pentecost promises life forever in God.
The Holy Spirit guides us to stop worrying about our futures and helps us pursue the task of serving other people even when a pandemic threatens to take our breath away.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
God give you peace,
Fr. Ron
“Tend My Sheep”, Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC 2020
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After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
“The Glory of Heaven” Painting by: Ronald Raab, CSC
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Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
Broken But Not Divided 