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Faith April 11, 2023

The inner circle of disbelief – Saturday within the Easter Octave – Acts 4:13-21/Mark 16:9-15

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/when-enemies-make-strange-bed-fellows/ based on the first reading.

For most Christians, the Easter proclamation, “he is risen” has become a creedal proclamation. We don’t have any difficulty saying, ‘Jesus is risen’ or ‘He is alive.’ However, creedal proclamations, if not truly reflected upon, can come as a nasty shock when God decides to put our proclamations or faith statements to the test.

Take for example the proclamation we sing at Mass, “I surrender all.” While it is not a creedal proclamation it is a proclamation of faith. But what If God decided to take you seriously and take all you have and truly ask for your surrender to his will? Would you be mad at God or shocked?

Or for example, we profess our own hope in the resurrection of the body, of life everlasting and of heaven and hell. What if we profess this, preach it, proclaim it but not live it or truly believe it? The result will be seen in us standing on the wrong side of the pearly gates.

In the narrative of today, ‘the eleven’ find themselves at the wrong end of the stick. The resurrection was something Jesus spoke of at length and he does this thrice in the Gospel of Mark; in chapters eight, nine and ten. This is not something new as a concept. Yet when the resurrection of Jesus did come to pass, they ‘stubbornly’ refuse to believe.

The word stubbornness finds its way in the Easter narrative to describe the eleven closest collaborators of Jesus. This was the inner circle that had heard Jesus preach every doctrine over three years. The resurrection was admittedly a tough one for them to understand. In Luke 18:34 Jesus talks about his passion death and resurrection. Scripture tells us, “They understood nothing about these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” Yet, at the raising of Lazarus in John 11, Martha professes not only her faith in the resurrection on the last day but at Jesus’ prompting professes her faith in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. The eleven struggled and Martha got it all right!

So why is it that the eleven did not heed the words of Mary of Magdala whom the Lord appeared to (16:9) and those or the two disciples in the country to whom he appeared? (16:12) Interestingly the Gospel text of today lays it out clearly; the closest and dearest in Jesus’ inner circle, “lacked faith and were stubborn.” These are harsh words to hear in the Easter narrative.

Make no mistake, Jesus did not upbraid the eleven because they betrayed, denied or ran away from him during his passion and suffering. We know from the Gospels that he asks the women to “go to his brothers.” He calls them brothers and in that he has clearly forgiven them but when faith is rejected because we cling on to our stubbornness, then you see Humble Jesus, now no longer meek but riled.

Jesus us not unreasonable in his anger when he ‘upbraided them.’ His resurrection was something he discussed several times and after his resurrection he sent Mary of Magdala and the two disciples and yet they did not believe.

Stubbornness is a choice and a sin. In Scripture, this word “stubborn” is often surrounded by other “challenging” words such as proud, rebellious, unfaithful, greedy, obstinate and defiant. None of these actions or attitudes are in line with Perfect Love. The sin of stubbornness and arrogance, which is strengthened by pride, is awful. This is the sin of the devil himself (Genesis 3:5; Isaiah 14:14; Ezekiel 28:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). He will deceive you into believing his lie, then he will entangle you in his punishment, if you let him.

It is ironic that the Easter message was at first rejected by the eleven because of their stubbornness. This is so because Christianity is not sanitized and given to us packaged in a bow. The fact that the failures of the eleven are out on display draws each of us to evaluate our own failings; our own stubbornness and surrender it in faith to the Lord. We have to die to our pride, our thoughts, our ways, our wants, our beliefs for the Lord to rise in our hearts.

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Faith April 10, 2023

The second charcoal fire – Friday within the Easter Octave – Acts 4:1-12/John 21:1-14

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/preaching-not-from-might-but-what-is-right/ based on the first reading.

The text of today plays out a good one week after Easter Sunday. We don’t know the exact time but we know that Jesus appeared to the apostles on Easter Sunday and then for the benefit of Thomas he appears a week later. The Gospel of John tells us that after the events of Thomas’ encounter, the Lord worked “many other signs but these are not written in this book.” One must remember that the Gospels are not biographies but a faith narrative that is written so that “we may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.” Yet, Saint John feels compelled to tell us just one more easter narrative that has Peter at the heart of it all; Peter is mentioned by name seven times and while our text does not include the climax of the narrative it sets the background for it.

Simon Peter seems unfocused. On Easter Sunday, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on the apostles (John 20:22) with a purpose and a mandate. Perhaps Peter, as head of it all, was lost and so he thought it better to go back to his old trade. Somehow the events of the last week seemed to have clouded all that Jesus had prepared him for. He has received his personal out pouring of the Holy Spirit yet he chooses for some unapparent reason to go back to his profession; he decided to go fishing and was joined by six others.

John 21:3 tells us the outcome of a distracted ministry; “that night they caught nothing.” Strange as it may sound, they were mandated by Jesus to be fishers of men, casting their nets on land and yet they were casting their nets into the sea. The results were quite expected; “they caught nothing.”

In the midst of their misery, Jesus walks in. There is no judgment but only kindness. He calls them “children,” and instructs them to cast their nets on the right side. While the “right side” may seem like a physical space, it was also a spiritual admonition to cast our nets in the ‘right place’. Every decision to minister, must be directed in prayerful consultation with the Lord or else we won’t be casting on the ‘right side,’ and will end up catching nothing.

Meanwhile, we are told that Peter is overwhelmed with the haul in the nets. But while he is tongue tied it is John who makes the proclamation of faith, “it is the Lord.” Can we recognise the miracles in our life as coming from the hands of the Lord or are we mesmerised with the miracle itself? The object of very miracle is not the spectacle we behold but our acclamation of the Lord who works it for us. “It is the Lord” should be our cry every day when we see him working miracles in our lives, every moment of the day.

While Simon jumps into the Sea of Galilee, the six other disciples haul in the catch. Verse eleven tells us that there were a hundred and fifty-three fish and then goes on to give us another detail; though there were so many fish, their nets were not torn. Memories are powerful, be they joyful or tragic. Memories imprint themselves on our minds and the minutest details are etched on our brain. This was one of those memories where John, the author of the Gospel, was so touched that he remembered every single fish that was caught. He remembered it enough to etch it for all of us to remember; 153 in total.

Yet there was another memory that John could not forget. While the six disciples dragged in the haul of fish, Jesus was already ready on the shore with some bread and fish and yes, another interesting detail; a charcoal fire. Clearly Peter was sitting with Jesus as he had jumped into the water and swam ahead of the rest.

The last time Peter was around a charcoal fire it was the evening of Maundy Thursday. John 18:18 tells us that they were in the courtyard of the high priest and there was a charcoal fire around which the slaves and the ‘police’ were warming themselves. Peter was also warming himself and it is around a charcoal fire that Peter when confronted about his association with Jesus denied him three times. Now, once again he finds himself around a charcoal fire. This time there are no accusers, there is no denial and the Lord too has no condemnation.

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Faith April 10, 2023

A faltering faith on Easter Sunday – Thursday within the octave – Acts 3:11-26/ Luke 24:36-48

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/easter-a-call-to-repentance/ based on the first reading of today.

Finally, at the end of the first and very eventful Easter Sunday, the Gospel of Luke has Jesus revealing himself to his inner circle and the reaction is ‘surprising’ to say the least; for want of using a stronger word. Let’s put this text in context. Jesus has risen as he said. The angels have proclaimed the resurrection to the women but their testimony was met by the disciples as idle tales. Peter runs to the tomb but is ‘amazed,’ there is no proclamation of the faith in the resurrection.

The Gospel on the first Easter Sunday, focuses on two more disciples who have quit the mission and head to Emmaus. They ‘invested’ their hope in Jesus and that hope was dashed to the ground. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes a choice to appear to two downcast and disbelieving disciples. But having warmed their hearts with his word and opening their eyes with the breaking of bread, their feet are set back on the path to Jerusalem.

On arriving in Jerusalem, the two disciples are told that the Lord “appeared to Simon” even though the text before this does not indicate that Jesus appeared to Simon. At this stage in the resurrection narrative, we are told that the disciples returning from Emmaus testify to the rest, their encounter of the resurrected Lord. All this takes place on Easter Sunday.

Now, very late in the evening, on the first Easter Sunday, the Lord finally appears to the eleven and their companions. This was it; this was the moment every knee in the room should have bowed and every tongue proclaimed the glory of God. Ironically, their response was incredulity. Let me list the words that follow; they were startled, terrified, thought they were seeing a ghost, while in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering. That is a lot of doubt and imperfection for the first Easter Sunday.

The Lord had quite a job on his hands. Strangely, it seems that he had now to ‘convince’ the eleven and their companions that he had risen as he said. He had to calm them down with words of peace, confront them about the doubts in their hearts and fear in their lives and prove that he was no ghost. He offers them his hands and feet as evidence so that they may touch him and see he is not ghost. Then as if to offer further proof, he asks for something to eat which he eats in ‘their presence’; not that he is hungry but because a ghost would have no need of food.

He then spoke to them, convincing them of the words he had spoken with them when he was with them. He had to teach and instruct them about the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms that spoke of the fulfillments in his mission. He had to open their minds (closed with disbelief even now) to understand the scriptures and reminded them of their mission to be witnesses to these events. Personally, I would have settled the matter with one hard, dirty stare to say the least…but then the Lord is kind and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in mercy.

To many, who actually read the Easter narrative with a keen eye, the entire episode appears as madness. The incredulity on the part of the apostles and disciples is shocking. Yet Jesus approaches all of this as with a method to the madness of our oft failing faith. To his disbelieving disciples, he first encounters them in their failure to recognize him. He then explains and interprets the resurrection through the lens of the scriptures. He Eats with them breaking bread or fish. He Enlightens the disciples and opens their eyes and finally he exits. He Encounters, he explains, he eats, he enlightens and exits. Such is the patient God we have.

Why does Christ do all this? Jesus came with a mission from the father. That mission needs to be strengthened in the face of faltering faith. God holds our hands when faith falters. Is it tiresome to God to remind us not to fail? I think not. At times I presume he is a bit vexed. In the Gospels he says to the disciples “have I been with you so long and you still do not understand me?” Those words could be said to us too.

For Jesus, the apostles had a mission to preach and proclaim his message of repentance and forgiveness of sins in HIS name. For many, this may sound like we have not left the themes of Lent behind. The reality is that the message never changes because the liturgical season has changed. The call to repentance and forgiveness is preached in season and out, be it Lent or Easter. The Easter message is not different from the Lenten message but a continuation of it because the mission of Christ was singular.

Do leave your comments…

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Uncategorized April 10, 2023

Are you still walking to Emmaus? Wednesday within Easter Octave – Acts 3:1-10/ Luke 24:13-35

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/beggar-to-believer/ based on the First reading at Mass

The Gospel of Luke begins with the women at the tomb and an Easter proclamation by the angels which ironically began with a ‘chastisement’. The women have come to the tomb with spices. Yes, they love the Lord, loved him enough to bring spices to embalm a dead body. Yet all along Jesus said he would rise again and the women had not understood or believed. The angel must have been a bit cross when he said, “why do you look for the living among the dead?” What is interesting is that unlike the other Gospels, the women have not encountered the risen Christ in the flesh, they are simply told he is risen; they just have the word of the angel and they believe.

While in all the other Gospels it is Christ who appears first to the Mary Magdalene or the women, here in the Gospel of Luke Christ does not appear to them first but rather to two disciples on the road Emmaus. It’s a bit ironic when you come to think about it because the Gospel of Luke is always touted as the Gospel for women.

In any case, these men are certainly not models of faith. Hardly had Easter Sunday dawned than these two disciples folded their tents. They were heading presumably home to Emmaus. We are told it was a seven-mile journey by foot. While this was not a long journey it was certainly a burdensome one. Some walks are longer than others not because of the miles we have to traverse but the burden we carry.

Like it or not, these two disciples seemed to have abandoned the cause if not lost their way. So lost were they that their paths took them in the direction of Emmaus which was West of Jerusalem, the path of the setting sun. In many ways Jesus did not meet ‘their expectations,’ for they say, “OUR hope was that he was the one to redeem Israel.” (Verse 21). The disciples reflect many men and women of faith whose hope is lost because their expectations from Jesus are not met. Now as they walked away, the disciples begin discussing or as the Greek word, ‘ antiballette’ suggests, they were ‘putting together’ the pieces as one would do in a forensic investigation.

Jesus has a habit of interrupting our lives and for good reason! “What are you discussing?” His simple question was met with sarcasm, “are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” Interestingly and unlike many of us on Twitter, Jesus does not take the bait but rather begins a very therapeutic discussion which ironically begins by calling out the disciples as foolish. It is not a great way to put your point across or begin presenting your point of view but oddly ‘foolish’ worked.

So enamoured were they by this stranger and his teaching that “urged him strongly” to ‘stay with them; to abide with them.’ The Greek translation of these words “urged him strongly” translates as compels or ‘to twist one’s arms.’ Jesus was really playing it hard to get! Yet they urged him strongly because his words caused their ‘hearts to burn with in.’ The words of Jesus are addictive if we but listen to it. The words of Jesus are addictive if but preachers break his word.

Having prevailed upon Jesus to stay, they settle down to a meal…it seems Jesus truly ate his way through the Gospels. Unknown to them they are making history, sitting down to the first meal with Jesus after his resurrection. He breaks the bread having already broken the word. Notice that the Liturgy at Mass follows this pattern. The word is broken first at the ‘table of the word’ and then the bread is broken at the ‘table of the bread’.

At every Mass we are fed from two tables; we are nourished in our heart and in our bodies. So, you can’t stroll into Mass after the readings and just be fed with his body; it’s an incomplete feeding. We are nourished to nourish others. Note, having broken the bread, Jesus vanishes creating space for us to do what ought to happen naturally; for us to go out and proclaim what we have experienced and received.

The disciples do not wait for their retirement to go out and become evangelist. The hour of their conversion was the hour of their proclamation. That same hour they turned to Jerusalem, back in the direction of the East, back in the direction of the rising sun! This time they are not downcast, this time there is no debate or dissection of the events. This time there is faith, there is clarity, there is certainly; they make known to the disciples what had happened at the breaking of the bread.

Each day at Mass, the word and the bread is broken. The mass ends with the words, “the mass is ended, go and proclaim the Gospel.” Where do our feet take us after mass? To Jerusalem or to Emmaus?

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Faith April 10, 2023

How do you know if Jesus speaks to you? Tuesday within the Easter Octave – Acts 2:36-41/John 20:11-18

Read also https://www.pottypadre.com/transformation-not-information/ based on the first reading of today.

There are several times that I have heard the voice of Jesus talking to me. I ask him a question and he gives me an answer. Ironically this is always followed by doubt, which most certainly is sowed by satan. The first things that satan tries to do is to convince me that this is not HIS voice but my mind giving me the answers that I want to hear. I am sure this has been the experience of many people of faith.

So how do you know if Jesus is actually speaking to you while you are praying? The first thing that must be said is that while it is possible that God could speak to just about anyone out of the blue, that possibility is also as slim as a blue moon. It is true, that God spoke to St Paul who consented to St Stephen’s murder and threw him off his high horse. Yet, I must caution those who take comfort and hope that the same may apply to you. But for those who are in constant communion with God in prayer his voice becomes easily discernable overtime.

In the Gospel of John (10:27), Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” To know the voice of Jesus, the sheep must first know the shepherd. Sadly, our shallow spiritual life may lead us to bit of information about the shepherd; we may know about him but the question at hand is do we know him? Mary of Magdala knew him personally for she had shared in his ministry from the moment he touched her life till the moment his life ebbed out on the cross. He had called her by her name many times and she knew her master’s voice.

Why then did she not recognize Jesus? From the Gospels we know that the women were not looking for a resurrected man; they were looking for a dead man; this is why they came with spices, for spices were used to anoint the dead. Faith in the resurrection was something she heard the Lord speak of (like we do) but faith in his promise was yet to dawn on her.

Perhaps she did not recognize the Lord because we know that our resurrected bodies will not be what they are on earth. Mary perhaps did not recognize his resurrected form. Or perhaps it was early in the day, “while it was still dark” (John20:1) when streetlights had not yet come to be installed…. Or perhaps as in the case of the two disciples on the road to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) we are told “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” until he had explained how the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled by him. Whatever be the case, what the eyes could not recognize, the ears picked up and this sheep heard her master’s voice.

Jesus said just one word, and all was explained. She heard her name called out by a familiar and distinct voice; a voice she had heard so often. She instantly called Him ‘Rabboni’. Jesus didn’t reveal Himself to Mary by telling her who He was, but by telling her who she was to Him. She was Mary who will henceforth will not just be a disciple but will be elevated to an apostle. Let me explain this.

In the Gospel of John, Mary is the first one to see the resurrected Lord. She tells the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” It was not Peter or John who entered the empty tomb and saw the Lord; strangely while the Gospel of John tells us that Peter and John entered the tomb and that John believed (nothing is said about Peter believing), we are then told they “went to their homes.” This almost seems like an anticlimax to the Easter narrative.

So now it falls upon a woman to pick up where the men stopped short. Mary now becomes the apostle to the apostles. The very word apostle means, “one who is sent.” She receives the Easter mandate to go and proclaim to the apostles. Her Easter proclamation is to the apostles, two of whom who were with her at the tomb and saw nothing. Now she has to give these apostles, chosen by the Lord, a message from their Lord and we know from the Gospels that they reduced the Easter message to “idle tales.”

The first Easter proclamation was rejected by the very people who should have been proclaiming it. If faith is faltering, you stand in good company. Don’t give up the Lord has plans and your wavering faith is part of his plan.