Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 21, 2013: The Lamb will shepherd them...

The Lamb will shepherd them...

So, what, exactly, does a shepherd do?  Well, as the name suggests, a shepherd’s first job is to herd his sheep, to bring them together, to gather them, to unify them into one body, a body of which he is the head.

In this Sunday’s Gospel from John, chapter 10, we are reminded of Jesus’ role as shepherd.  Caring for the sheep that God has given to him, he is united with them – No one can take them out of my hand – as he is with the Father – The Father and I are one.  The unity shared by Father and Son is thus shown to be a mutual bond of love and intimacy, which, through death, Jesus extends to include the community of believers, a community that will expand under those who carry Jesus’ message to the Gentiles. 

In our reading from Acts, this becomes clear:  Peter and Barnabas quote Isaiah’s hope that all nations will gather in Jerusalem to hear the word of God.  It is a radical shift:  God’s kingdom is for all.  The reading from Revelation underscores this point:  all nations will find their common source in God.  In his fulfillment of his promise to mankind, we are united by our common ground:  God’s love for us, expressed by the death of his Son, who lays down his life for his sheep:  The Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

So if we are his people, the flock he tends, as Psalm 100 tells us, then what is our role in this relationship of sheep to shepherd?  The psalm offers a few clues.  We are invited to participate in worship through song and service:  Sing joyfully to the Lord…  Serve the Lord with gladness.  If we know that the Lord is God, then we recognize how God is active in our lives, recognize what we need to witness to.  And if we recognize God’s covenant, as expressed through God's kindness and faithfulness, then we can acclaim them, and the more we acclaim them, the more we become more aware of their truth in our lives.  As sheep, then, we are called to give voice to our collective and united identity as God’s children, led by the love that is Jesus the Lamb, the Lamb who is our Shepherd.

This reflection is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
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Christ Has No Online Presence but Yours

Christ Has No Online Presence but Yours

This past Sunday’s readings call us to join the apostles in attesting to the power of God’s love in our lives, to spread the Good News by being witnesses to Christ.  In secular American society, this isn’t always easy – talking about our faith can be a daunting prospect in a world that places concern for the individual above attention to the transcendent.  Of course the best witness to our faith is to live it, to be, as best we can, Jesus’ voice and hands and breath in this world, to embody his love.  But maybe there’s a little something else we might do… with one small click of the mouse.

If you’re reading this post, chances are you are somehow part of an online community, whether you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account or simply an email address.  What if, when you read a post that moves you -- a post that gives voice to your faith, your beliefs, your values -- you shared it?  You “liked” it?  You sent it to friends?  Think how many more people would see that post, just because you did so.  Meredith Gould, who writes for IgnatianSpirituality.com, has revised St. Teresa of Avila’s famous prayer, “Christ Has No Body” with an eye to the new technologies available to Christians today: 

Christ has no online presence but yours,

No blog, no Facebook page but yours,

Yours are the tweets through which love touches this world,

Yours are the posts through which the Gospel is shared,

Yours are the updates through which hope is revealed.

Christ has no online presence but yours,

No blog, no Facebook page but yours.

Jesus asks Peter, Do you love me?  And Peter responds affirmatively, three times.  How do we tell God that we love him?  Perhaps we could start by sharing our stories... 

Source for "Christ has no online presence":  Meredith Gould

Image source:  Catholic Memes

Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 14, 2013: Do you love me more than these?

Do you love me more than these?

How do we recognize God working in our lives, and what do we do when we do?

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus appears to a group of apostles at the Sea of Tiberias, and of course they do not recognize him at first.  It’s only when they see the abundance of fish he prompts them to pull in that they realize who is present before them.  That’s their first gesture of metanoia, or conversion, turning back to Jesus from their simple task of fishing to embrace his message, and his mission. 

Peter’s metanoia is even more striking.  Clearly grappling with his triple denial of Jesus during Jesus’ Passion, Peter is gently interrogated by Jesus.  Three times, Jesus asks him, Do you love me?  And three times, Peter responds, Yes!  Through his questions, Jesus opens the door and allows Peter to move forward, to choose conversion, metanoia, leaving him free to be a witness to the power of Jesus’ love in his life.

And indeed, we see Peter doing just that in our reading from Acts.  In the midst of the temple precincts, challenged by the Sanhedrin, Peter and the apostles reaffirm their faith, winning over people in large numbers.  We are witnesses, Peter says:  witnesses to the death and rising of Jesus that offers Israel a new chance at metanoia and forgiveness.  And the effect of the apostles’ preaching is powerful:  many converts embrace this new message, recognizing God at work in their lives, and spreading the Good News.

The Book of Revelation solidifies this message:  like the angels and the living creatures and the elders, we too are invited to join in the cosmic affirmation of praise of the one who has suffered and been victorious, to enter into Jesus’ death and rising, and to proclaim our commitment to the Lamb.  As we grown in understanding of what God is doing in our lives, as we recognize his Love working in us, we are invited to metanoia, and thereby, to a greater relationship, a deeper bond, born of God’s redemptive power and fostered by our commitment to be witnesses to Christ, in our hearts and in our words.  Like the psalmist, may our mourning be changed to dancing, to a boundless inner joy we simply can’t contain…

This reflection is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.

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Albrecht Dürer's Seven Lampstands

Albrecht Dürer's Seven Lampstands

Albrecht Dürer was only 27 years old in 1498 when he published his Apocalypse with Pictures, a famous series of 15 woodcuts illustrating the Book of Revelation that made Dürer an overnight wonder in Germany and beyond.  One of his woodcuts, entitled, “Vision of the Seven Lampstands” (above; click on the picture to enlarge it), is an illustration of the text we heard only part of at Mass yesterday.  The entire text reads: 

Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lampstands and in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest.  The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing water.  In his right hand he held seven stars.  A sharp, two-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun at its brightest.

Mary Elizabeth Podles, retired curator of Renaissance and Baroque art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, calls Dürer’s rendition of this image “hallucinatory and surreal,” and offers this brief commentary on the image:

The two figures, John and the Holy One on the throne, are fully articulated in space and speak an eloquent emotional language of gesture.  Dürer by this time had been to Italy and absorbed the lessons of the budding Italian Renaissance.  But the space his figures occupy is clearly the realm of the imagination and the supernatural, with its floating lampstands and the startling effects of light around Christ’s head and hand.

Here the artist must face the challenge of giving visual form to what is essentially unseeable.  The mysterious swords which issues from Christ’s lips points us to the book he holds:  the sword of John’s metaphorical vision is the Word of God, which separates truth from falsehood, good from evil, joint from marrow.  Here, then, the two-dimensional aspect of the page, in tension with the three-dimensional figures, resolves itself into a flat pattern of triangles and circles, mystical forms with symbolic significance:  John’s metaphorical language has both a literal and an abstract form on the page.

Recognizing God as the source of his creative talents, Albrecht Dürer offers a compelling vision of the final book of the Catholic Bible.

To see high quality reproductions of all of Dürer's Apocalypse illustrations, click here.
For Podles' complete article, click here.

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Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 7, 2013: Peace be with you...

Peace be with you...

At every Mass, we say to one another, “Peace be with you.” But what do those words really mean?  A look at this week’s Gospel offers a bit of an answer. 

When Jesus appears, both to the disciples and to Thomas, the first words out of his mouth are, Peace be with you.  On one level, his peace is the traditional Hebrew salutation, Shalom, a wish for the welfare of the recipient, for good health in mind and body.  In the context of the Resurrection, though, Jesus’ Peace… also refers to the fullness of salvation:  Jesus is wishing that all that God can provide, the completeness of his love and life and goodnes, be bestowed upon the disciples.  And then he breathes the Spirit on them, completing that peace by this life-giving gesture.  We see in our reading from Acts how alone the apostles have felt:  None of the others dared join them…  And we know they are fearful, because the doors were locked.  But their fear and isolation is no barrier to Jesus, whose death and resurrection allows him to move beyond their barriers and reach them at their core.

This sentiment is echoed in our reading from Revelation, when one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest, speaks to John.  The robe is a sign of priesthood; the sash connotes kingship.  This son of man is Jesus himself, and his first words to John are, Do not be afraid.  He appears in the midst of the seven lampstands, which represent seven churches of Asia Minor, churches that have known distress and difficulty, pain and suffering. But Jesus walks among them, is with them, uniting them by his presence and encouraging them to deeper faith.

As he did among the seven churches, Jesus walks among us.  When Peter’s shadow falls upon the sick (Acts), they are healed:  the Holy Spirit shadows them, and God is at work.  Jesus brings us peace, not only the tranquility of peace of mind, but the fullness of salvation that conquers all barriers and allows us to let go of all of our fears, so that we might open ourselves to the fullness of faith that Christ offers.  This is what we are wishing for each other when we reach out at Mass and say, “Peace be with you…”  Life-giving peace and fullness of life:  a beautiful wish for all!

This reflection is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.

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