Well… not actually “fishing” but I am heading out on vacation to visit family, friends, lakes, oceans, and other places where fish live… but I will leave the fish be. Not to worry, there are a whole bunch of posts queued up and ready to go on a daily basis… might even blog a thought or two while away. God bless!
Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus in the garden. The folks walking to Emmaus did not recognize Him on the road. In today’s gospel the apostles don’t recognize Jesus. There seems to be a lot of that going around.
Perhaps the seashore encounter is different. The apostles apparently have been fishing all night; they’re tired. And besides, they were fishing rather than waiting for his appearance. Their preoccupation with work and grief likely hindered their perception. Mary Magdalene was focused on finding Jesus’ body not meeting Jesus. The travelers on the road were focused on catching the stranger up on the latest news.
Back to our gospel…add to all that, they are about 100 yards off shore. It’s early morning and it isn’t the best light. Maybe Jesus is backlit with the sunrise. It all adds up making it difficult to recognize a person in the dim, early morning light.
It could be that, similar to the road to Emmaus, their eyes may have been kept from recognizing him until he revealed himself through action. Then the breaking of the bread; now, the miraculous catch of fish. Mary did not recognize Jesus until He spoke aloud.
What might keep us from failing to recognize Jesus in our lives? Let me provide you a menu of options and you can check off the ones that apply to you:
Spiritual and Internal Factors such as a hard heart/pride can cause one to refuse revealed truth, Church teaching and more. This can blind individuals to the very nature of Jesus and thus His presence. A lack of spiritual perspective can obfuscate the divine, particularly when looking for Jesus in the needy. And there is the fear of change as when one realizes that following Jesus requires significant life changes
Placing worldly pursuits, material possessions, and daily responsibilities above spiritual growth can crowd out recognition of Jesus.
Disbelief and misconceptions such as the demand for intellectual proof can block spiritual recognition. Another is being deceived by false doctrines, poor catechists or mistakenly believing they are already right with God. And there is the truly unfortunate: negative perceptions of Christian behavior or church hypocrisy can cause people to reject the message of Jesus.
Similar to the disciples’ experience, overwhelming sorrow or trauma can hinder the ability to recognize Jesus’ presence in daily life. Maybe it is as simple having expectations of how Jesus should appear or work, rather than seeing how he actually moves, can lead to missing Him.
And we are left with the question: how do you recognize Jesus in our life? How do you know you’ve not already failed to recognize Him?
Image credit: Meal of Our Lord and the Apostles | James Tissot, ~1880 | Brooklyn Museum of Art | PD-US
As a liturgical season, Lent is rather straightforward. It is kinda’ easy to write about. There is Ash Wednesday to dramatically mark its beginning, and we all know we are moving relentlessly towards Easter. We count the days even as we mark Lent’s beginning. The Ashes make a visible mark upon us, reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall return – but that is not the end of the story. We are reminded to repent and believe in the Gospel – but that is not the end goal. We are encouraged to pray, fast, and give alms – but those practices are meant to make room in our lives for God that we too may rise to the newness of life at Eastertide.
Continue readingGood Friday always leaves me to wonder what it was like to have been one of the Apostles. The amazing high of Palm Sunday has crashed and burned in the last 24 hours. Jesus was arrested, tried, scourged, sentenced to death, forced to carry his cross to Golgotha where he is crucified and dies. Could this be happening to the one we thought was the Messiah? If death has taken Jesus what hope is there for us? Can you imagine what it would have been like to be one of the disciples realizing Love has been crucified? Love is taken away? Perhaps the English poet Robert Browning captures the moment: “Take away love and our earth is a tomb.” That day long ago comes to an end and the apostles are left to wonder if this earth will slowly, inevitably become our tomb?
What about us? We gather to remember that day of long ago. We proclaim the Passion of the Lord and are asked to in some way relive the emotions and turmoil of the day. And, on this day of all days we are exposed to our greatest fear: death. It lies like a giant maw of a monster waiting to pull us into the darkness. We are reminded death will touch us all.
But it is not some nameless monster that lies in wait in the tomb. We are reminded that the one we have followed throughout the year, hearing the stories of his power and his mercy, He lies behind the stone. The Word of God made flesh. The Lamb of God. The very Love of God given to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
We are people who don’t have to live the next 40 hours or so tested, tormented, and taunted. We know how the story ends. We know the love we have for family and friends does not pass away at death’s door. A tomb can not vanquish love. Love eternally lives. We know that Love is indeed stronger than death.
Allow me to borrow the words of another English poet, John Dunne. The poet speaks the story’s real ending; its truest ending
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. ….
Thou’art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy’or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
We know what the disciples only later came to learn. That the glory of God, the fullness of love is fully revealed in the Cross. That the tomb cannot restrain and hold back Love
As a people of faith, we are here at the foot of the Cross. We know the story does not end here.
We are the keeper of the story – the story that the cross cannot destroy. The story that the tomb can not bind Love. We are the ones to tell the story of Hope – of the promise of love’s power over death We are called to speak these words into the tombs of our day when other stones close off people from the light and life of the world. We are called to be the disciples who go out from this day, through the glory of the 3rd day when Jesus will be raised from the tomb, to be people who roll the stone away from their entombment and shine the love of Christ into their world.
But for now we wait in the darkness of a day when Love seems to have died. But Death is not the final word.
Not for Jesus. Not for us.
There have been many a Good Friday in the course of my life. I have heard the Passion narrative. I led the Passion narrative during Good Friday liturgies. Over the many years of Bible study I have covered the Passion narrative more than a few times. And now thru the gift of my friends Jerry and Maureen, I experienced Good Friday in a way not to ever be forgotten. Continue reading
The gospel reading for the Wednesday of Holy week is always about Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. The day has the unofficial title of “Spy Wednesday.” The story is well known. Judas accepts 30 pieces of silver from the religious leadership of Jerusalem to inform them of Jesus’ location so that the authorities could arrest Jesus. But why did Judas betray Jesus?
Perhaps the most straightforward reason is greed. In today’s gospel it seems as though it is Judas who approaches the authorities: “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” In the Gospel of John 12:6, Judas is described as a thief who used to take from the common purse. Greed as an explanation is supported by Scripture and as a lesson shows how small compromises can lead to grave sin. But then again, 30 pieces of silver is not a terribly large amount. Greed is not too compelling as an explanation. After all, why would someone who had traveled with the penniless rabbi for three years suddenly be consumed with greed? Maybe he saw the end coming and simply wanted to make the best of an increasingly hopeless situation.
Another widely held theory is that Judas expected a political Messiah who would overthrow Roman rule. When it became clear that Jesus was not going to pursue political change, Judas decided He wasn’t worth following. This gives rise to two different explanations. The first is a corollary to “greed”: cut my losses and might as well get some reward before I abandon Jesus. The second is an attempt to force Jesus’ hand.
One Scripture scholar, the late William Barclay, professor of divinity at Glasgow University suggested that the most compelling explanation is that in handing Jesus over to the Romans, Judas was trying to force Jesus to act in a decisive way. Barclay suggests that Judas expected the arrest would prompt Jesus to reveal himself as the long-awaited Messiah by overthrowing the Roman occupiers.
St. Luke simply writes: “Then Satan entered into Judas, the one surnamed Iscariot, who was counted among the Twelve, and he went to the chief priests and temple guards to discuss a plan for handing him over to them.” The idea is similar in John 13:27. This does not remove Judas’ responsibility but indicates that his betrayal is part of a larger spiritual conflict. Catholic teaching is clear that Judas remains morally responsible for his choice. While there is something cosmically compelling about this explanation, it still leaves unanswered the question of why Judas allowed Satan to enter into his decision making. In any case, this reminds us that sin can open the door to deeper darkness
Many theologians see Judas’ betrayal less as a single motive and more as a gradual interior breakdown that perhaps began with small sins associated with dishonestly handling the money. One thing leads to another, there is a growing distance from Jesus leading to an increased loss of trust and then betrayal. If this has merit, it serves as a warning to a believer who remains externally close but internally drifts away.
The farther one is from the Light of Christ, one increasingly lives in the shadows. In the shadows you think you see it all, but it is only in the light that the truth can be known. Outside the light one forms their own plans and agendas. None of us think of ourselves as Judas, willing to betray Jesus. I doubt he did either. But the longer one is outside the Light of Christ…who knows?
The Apostle Peter has his shares of blunders and will deny knowing Jesus. But he is fundamentally in the Light where all good things are possible. He always returns to Jesus’ plan.
It is good to take time to discern where one stands in life and by whose plan one operates.
Image credit: Pact of Judas | Duccio di Buoninsegna, ca. 1310 |Museo dell’Opera metropolitana del Duomo, Florence | Public Domain
The gospel readings in Holy week always speak about Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark, for example, gives no motivation for Judas’s sudden betrayal. Matthew, writing a decade or so later than Mark, attempts to clarify things in his account by introducing the motive of greed: “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” asks Judas to the Jewish high priests. Luke simply writes: “Then Satan entered into Judas, the one surnamed Iscariot, who was counted among the Twelve, and he went to the chief priests and temple guards to discuss a plan for handing him over to them.” The Gospel of John parallels the avarice theme depicting Judas as a greedy keeper of the common purse. “He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.” Continue reading
As we move closer to the events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday, a cloud of darkness this way comes. For the past week of so we have been hearing about members of civic and religious leadership plotting to kill Jesus. The dark clouds have been on the horizon for some time. In today’s gospel, a scene from the Last Supper, the betrayal is becoming more public.
Judas had spent years with Jesus, witness to the miracles and the goodness they brought and represented. He had heard Jesus’ call to holiness in his talks and parables. He had shared table fellowship with Jesus. And now he is in the process of betraying Jesus to the authorities. Why? I will leave that speculation to others.
Opposites attract, so they say. And “they” are insightful. We see it all the time in life in couples we know and in so many other ways. And certainly as the events of Holy Week unfold, when Goodness (with a capital “G”) will offer his life for our salvation, Evil (with that capital “E”) also draws near.
For many decades I was deeply involved in RCIA (now OCIA). It was my experience that as the time of their baptism drew near, the cleansing waters of salvation awaiting, life would begin to go off the rails for the Elect, those being initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil. So many people would describe turns of event which brought doubt, thoughts of “maybe next year” or more subtle lures – business opportunities, requirements, or the call of a relative or friend in need. It has happened too often for me not to think that evil is not attracted to the holiest night of the year.
As the events of the Last Supper unfold, at the institution of the Eucharist, should we be surprised that evil rears up and appears among the disciples?
As our celebration of Holy Week unfolds, plan to celebrate fully and don’t be surprised if things begin to go off the rails a bit. Goodness, supreme Goodness, draws near.
Image credit: “The Last Supper,” by Ugolino da Siena, circa 1325-30, Italian. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) | Public Domain
The word that reflects the deepest identity of Jesus is “Christ.” It is not a name, but a title. The Greek word Christos translates the Hebrew word moshiach or messiah. All those words mean “the Anointed One.” When we call upon Jesus Christ, we invoke the fact that Our Lord is anointed.
Throughout the Bible, anointing means the application of oil to someone’s body. Sometimes, it refers to simple grooming (Luke 7:46). But most of the time it means a special consecration.
People who were anointed were set apart for a sacred task. They were fundamentally changed and divinely equipped for their mission. Through the action of anointing, God gave them a share of the holiness that is divine by nature.
Jesus’ anointing was more radical. He was anointed not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22, 4:18-21).
And that is the anointing he has shared with all Christians through the sacraments.
This week bishops in all diocese will celebrate the Chrism Mass. This liturgy takes place every year during Holy Week, and it is an important moment in the life of the local Church. During the Chrism Mass, Catholic priests renew the promises they made at the time of their ordination. They promise to respect and obey their bishop, and to live the chaste life that is proper to the clergy.
But the Chrism Mass gets its name from another action that occurs only on this day. During a special rite, the bishop will bless three different oils to be used in sacraments. He’ll bless holy chrism, the oil of catechumens, and the oil of the sick. The first is used in the sacraments of confirmation and holy orders. The second is used in baptism. The third is used for anointing people who are ill or infirm.
After the Chrism Mass, these oils will be distributed to every parish in the archdiocese. As the bishop sends out the oils, he symbolically renews his connection with every parish under his care. Through those oils he will take part in thousands of sacramental moments throughout the year. He will be there with the priest who visits a parishioner’s hospital bed. He will be there with the deacon who baptizes a baby. He will be there to welcome adult converts who are confirmed on Easter Vigil. In all these sacraments, the clergy apply the oils — they anoint. And so they make Christians, and they strengthen Christian identity, in a way that is true to the root meaning of the word anointing. They make every Christian into another Anointed One, another christ.
The Chrism Mass is a beautiful moment when the unity of the Church — clergy and laity — is most visible. We have many anointings, but “there is one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:4-5).
“You have been anointed by the Holy One, and … the anointing which you received from him abides in you” (1 John 2:20, 27).
Adapted from Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Today’s gospel for the Monday of Holy Week is the well-known story of Mary of Bethany, anointing the feet of Jesus with “a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard.” In Jesus’ time, the washing on someone’s feet carried with it meaning. While a host would offer water to a visitor for the visitor to wash their own feet, otherwise, only a servant or slave would wash someone’s feet. The same applied to anointing of the feet, considered a soothing treatment after a long day or journey. Because of these connotations, those who voluntarily washed someone else’s feet showed they were devoted enough to act as that person’s slave. The act of anointing Jesus’ feet, when taken in its literary and cultural context, displays Mary’s utter devotion to Jesus.
Many commentators, with good reason, identify Mary of Bethany as the sister of Lazarus the man Jesus had just raised from the dead. Many scholars hold that in the cultural norms, one does not anoint the feet of a living person, but one might anoint the feet of a corpse as part of the ritual of preparing the whole body for burial. In this view, hold that Mary’s action constituted an anointing of Jesus’ body for burial, and thus she performed a prophetic action.
What all agree upon is that the ointment used was very expensive. Since there is no indication that Mary belonged to one of the wealthier classes, as the meal was served by Martha rather than a servant, the ointment was indeed a major expenditure for this family. In this case, one could see the actions as one of the expression of the deepest love.
Prophetic action, expression of love, utter devotion to Jesus – all are probably true at the same time. Such is the life of a disciple – a life that is but a reflection of the One we follow. Mary’s extravagant gesture points to what Jesus is about to do: the absolutely radical giving away of self. It is an action that is not calculated or pretentious; it is not done so that others might see her devotion. Her action flows from the deepest place in the heart.
At the climax of his life, Jesus will give himself away totally, lavishly, holding nothing back.
Her gift. His life. Both are extravagant.
Such is to be the life of discipleship.
Image credit: The Ointment of the Magdalene (Le parfum de Madeleine) by James Tissot, c.1890, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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