Sunday Gospel Reflection, May 8, 2022: The whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord...

The whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord…

Are you open to the Word? 

    To be disciples of Jesus, we must be open to the grace of God’s Word. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. Jesus has intimate knowledge of all creation, and those who hear his voice choose to follow him. They become, as Psalm 100 reminds us, his people, the sheep of his flock. This was true of the people of Israel whom the psalmist addresses; theirs was a particular and special relationship with God, who chose them out of all nations and tended them. Like them, we must be open to the Word, open to any and all of the Lord’s instructions on the journey, choosing to follow and to serve the Lord. 

    When, in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas first reach Antioch in Pisidia, almost the whole city gathers to hear the Word of the Lord, and many respond positively when Paul urges them to remain faithful to the grace of God. A week later, however, the Jewish authorities contradict what Paul says, refusing that grace as they are unwilling to be open to the Word of the shepherd given to them. 

    Jesus died for the sake of all humankind in an act of total self-giving. In the Book of Revelation, John encourages the ones who have survived the time of great distress to stay true to their faith, to not lose sight of the grace given to them, to remain open to the Lord no matter the threat, for Jesus the Lamb will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, salvation itself. 

    The Lord offers us his grace; we can accept or reject it. He will not coerce faith, but he will faithfully invite us to faith, over and over again. It is up to us to open to the Word of God, that we might hear his voice, and thus trust in the Lamb as our shepherd who will lead us to springs of life-giving water as well. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

Image source: www.classic.wordclouds.com

Worthy is the Lamb (George Frideric Handel)

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, 

and hath redeemed us to God by his Blood, 

to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 

and strength, and honour, 

 and glory, and blessing. 

Blessing and honour, glory and power, 

be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, 

and unto the Lamb, 

for ever and ever. 

Amen. 

To hear Worthy is the Lamb and Amen from Handel’s Messiah, performed at Join to Sing the Great Creation, St. Olaf College, Minnesota, click on the video below: 

Image source: Jan van Eyck, Adoration of the Lamb (1432), oil on wood, Ghent altarpiece, Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent, https://smarthistory.org/van-eyck-the-ghent-altarpiece/ 

Video source

A huge catch of fish (Bishop Robert Barron)

   At the break of dawn, the disciples spy a mysterious figure on the distant shore who shouts out to them, Children, have you caught anything to eat? When they answer in the negative, he instructs them to cast the net over the right side of the ship. When they do, they bring in a huge catch of fish.

   This fishing expedition is a symbol of the Church (the barque of Peter), across space and time, at its apostolic task of seeking souls. The life and work of the Church, John seems to be telling us, will be a lengthy, twilight struggle, a hard toil that will often seem to bear little or no fruit. But after the long night, the dawn of a new life and a new order will break, the transfigured world inaugurated by Jesus. The catch of fish that he makes possible is the totality of people that Christ will gather to himself; it is the new Israel, the eschatological Church. 

    We know this through a subtle bit of symbolism. When the fish are dragged ashore, John bothers to tell us their exact number, 153—a figure commonly taken in the ancient world to signify the total number of species of fish in the sea. 

--Bishop Robert Barron, Homily, April 9, 2021 

Image source:  John August Swanson, The Fishermen (1990), 
https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/default.cfm/PID%3D1.2.30.2.7.html

To embrace my passion with love (Henri Nouwen)

   It is important for me to realize that Jesus fulfills his mission not by what he does, but by what is done to him. Just as with everyone else, most of my life is determined by what is done to me and thus is passion. And because most of my life is passion, things being done to me, only small parts of my life are determined by what I think, say, or do. I am inclined to protest against this and to want all to be action originated by me. But the truth is that my passion is a much greater part of my life than my action. Not to recognize this is self-deception and not to embrace my passion with love is self-rejection. 

   It is good news to know that Jesus is handed over to passion, and through his passion accomplishes his divine task on earth. It is good news for a world passionately searching for wholeness. 

   Jesus’ words to Peter remind me that Jesus’ transition from action to passion must also be ours if we want to follow his way. He says, When you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go (John 21:18).

--Henri Nouwen       

Image source: El Greco, The Tears of St. Peter (late 16th c.), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#/media/File:El_Greco_-_Las_l%C3%A1grimas_de_San_Pedro.jpg
Quotation source

Alma Redemptoris Mater (Heinichen / Orlinski)

Alma redemptoris mater, quæ pervia cæli, Porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti, Surgere qui curat populo; tu quæ genuisti, natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorum, Virgo prius ac posterius.  Gabrielis ab ore Sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere

    In English:

Loving Mother of the Redeemer,

who remains the gate by which we mortals access Heaven,

and Star of the Sea,

Help your fallen people who strive to rise;

You who gave birth to your sacred Creator,

while all nature marveled,

Virgin before and after

receiving that "Ave" from the mouth of Gabriel, 

have mercy on our sins.

In May we celebrate Mary, the Mother of God! 

To hear countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski sing Johann David Heinichen’s Alma Redemptoris Mater, click on the video below: 

Image source: Mary, Star of the Sea, Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, San Francisco, https://starparish.com/our-lady-star-of-the-sea/

Video source

Do you love me? (Pope St. John Paul II)

Christ is asking each of you 

the same question: 

 Do you love me? 

--Pope. St. John Paul II, 

Homily, August 17, 2000 

Image source: Raphael, Christ’s Charge to Peter, https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/christs-charge-to-peter-feed-my-sheep-76296 

Quotation source

Sunday Gospel Reflection, May 1, 2022: Do you love me more than these?

Do you love me more than these? 

Are we willing to proclaim our love for the Lord? 

    One might imagine that, once Jesus has revealed his risen self to Thomas and the others in the upper room, the disciples would feel compelled to rush out and proclaim this good news. Yet the very next chapter in John’s Gospel finds them fishing, of all things – returning to the familiar, they fall back on what they know. But Jesus once again seizes this moment as an opportunity for revelation, appearing to them on the shore and encouraging them to cast the net yet again, though they have not caught anything all night. The abundance of fish that they pull in this time is a manifestation of the extraordinary love the Lord has for them. Once they have finished eating breakfast together, Jesus engages Peter, allowing him fully three times to affirm his love for Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me? Jesus asks. How else will Peter, who denied Jesus three times, come to understand that Christ came for repentance and forgiveness, if not by having the opportunity to say, without hesitation, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you? Yet Jesus also tells him that one day, Peter will be led where he does not want to go. The Lord will lead all of the disciples where they do not want to go; his intent, first and foremost, is that they proclaim the good news of his death and resurrection, no matter where it might lead. Their purpose in life now is defined by his call to give testimony to the good news of salvation. 

    By the time the apostles are brought to trial before the Sanhedrin, in Acts of the Apostles, they are absolutely committed to teaching in Jesus’ name, proclaiming to all that God exalted Jesus at his right hand to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. Indeed, they rejoice that they have been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. It is an invitation open even to the Sanhedrin, to whom repentance and forgiveness of sins is also extended. Eventually, the apostles will give witness to their faith with their blood, martyred for the sake of his name. 

    We too look forward to heaven and our own eternal life in Christ, a union we hope for, and the opportunity to join our voices to the voices of the many angels who cry out in the Book of Revelation, praising God with one voice, for Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor and glory and blessing. We, too, will sing praise to the Lord, as does the psalmist in Psalm 30, and we will give thanks to his holy name. But first we must answer – not once but daily – the very same question Jesus asks Peter – do you love me? – with clear awareness of all that that love means for us, ever striving to live for the sake of his name, and his love. 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

Image source: www.wordclouds.com