4^th Sunday of Easter-B

Acts 4:8-12

Psalm 118

I Jn. 3:1-2

John 10:11-18

Salvation Means Picking up the Stone, which is Rejected and Making it the Cornerstone

Beloved in Christ, it is spring, and we thank God for a wonderful weather, the beautiful trees and flowers. Wow! I cannot believe that we made it through another Iowa winterJ Beloved, spring is also a time for cleaning. We clean our yards, our houses, and closets. As we do so we throw away things that we don’t value anymore but we save that which we see to have value. As I was cleaning my closet today, I throw some old socks away because they were torn and I cannot wear them anymore. But I also found a hundred dollar bill in my closet and my face just beamed with a huge smileJ That one I did not throw way. See, we save things that we think are of value to us, right?

In the Bible, the people of Israel were always aware of how other nations looked down on them because they often had a small army, were often defeated and enslaved by other nations. But they also knew that when other nations looked down on them, God placed value on them, made a covenant with them, and made them an instrument of salvation for the world. That is why they would often praise God in the psalms like the one we just sung today in our responsorial psalm (118): “The stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone”. This for them was salvation: that they were rejected by other nations but God placed value on them and treated them as a people with dignity. It was this understanding that the people got out of the covenant that God made with them and saw themselves as a people sent to bring salvation to others.

However, as on many occasions, at the time of Jesus, the chief priest, the Sadducees, the Pharisees and other leaders of God’s people had forgotten what it means to save even though they still saw themselves as people who were called to bring salvation to others. That is why Peter in our first reading today, reminded them that if they really wanted to understand what it means to save they should look at the way Jesus did it:  “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” except Jesus! Why did Peter say that? Because in the ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God reminds us that no matter how bad our human condition gets, God still places value on us. As Jesus himself said in the gospel today, He alone is the Good Shepherd who places value on the lost sheep. Only Jesus has remedy for sin. He alone saw the value in the blind, the lame, the cripple, the sinner, and even the dead! That is why he ate with sinners, healed the sick and raised the dead. By this Jesus teaches us that you cannot save that which you don’t place value on. The first step in saving somebody or something is the place value on the person or the thing.

Beloved, at times, we Christians are like the chief priest, the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the other leaders of God’s people in Israel at the time of Jesus. We call ourselves people who are called to bring salvation to the world but we forget what it means to save. There are times we don’t get it as a church, and there are times we don’t get it as individuals. When I was reflecting on this homily my mind went to two events. In 1454 Pope Nicholas V wrote a decree Romanus Pontifex and blessed the slave trade at the time in the name of Jesus. Can you imagine that? In my religious studies class I also read that one reason why the Prophet Mohammed started a new community of believers was because the Christians in his area at that time did not want anything to do with him and his family. In our own individual lives, we at times fail to reach out to those who are rejected by society. That is why Peter’s clarification of what salvation means is a very important reminder for us today. Peter reminds us in the first reading that Salvation means picking up the stone, which is rejected and making it the cornerstone.

What value do you place on strangers, on people who are different than you? What value do you place on people of different religions, worldviews, and lifestyles? What value do you place on those who have offended you? At times, these are the very stones that we the builders reject. Beloved, we are called to make them the cornerstone. May God give us the grace to put value on all human beings and created things so that we can pick up those stones that are rejected and turn them into the corner stones. Let’s pray in this Mass, that God will open our eyes to see His face in those people that we reject; that God will open our ears to hear his voice in the voices of people we look down on; that God will open our hearts to love those we find difficult to love.

3^rd Sunday of Easter-B

Those who have really experienced the Risen Christ become more merciful

Holy Thursday: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

Ex. 12: 1-8, 11-14

Ps. 116

1 Cor. 11:23-26

Jn. 13:1-15

Lift up the cup of salvation

Beloved in Christ, tonight we celebrate our God as a God who saves. We begin the Holy Triduum, which is a three-day celebration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tonight we thank God for the Gift of the Holy Eucharist and that of the Holy Priesthood. We begin our Eater celebrations, by receiving the Holy Oils that our Archbishop and all the priests in the diocese blessed last Tuesday! These Oils are means that God will use through out the year to sanctify us and give us physical and spiritual strength to live our calling as priestly people! Tonight the Church invites us to reflect on two important gives that we have and are: The Eucharist and the Priesthood! In baptism, every Christian is anointed a priest; so all of us gathered here tonight are priests! What are priests called to do? To sacrifice their lives for people, to sanctify them (make them holy) and bring them life. I thank God for the gift of each one of you and the sacrifices you make to sanctify your family and friends, and to bring them life. In addition to the common priesthood that we all share, God has called some of us to serve the Church as ministerial priests. So I thank God for the gift of Fr. Jon, our Pastor, for the gift of Fr. Secora, and all priests and deacons around the world. I thank God in a very special way for the gift of my own priesthood; for calling an unworthy servant like me to serve Him and His church. I LOVE the priesthood. I still believe that it is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me! But I always wonder why God would choose a sinner like me to become a priest! I tell you, my brothers and Sisters, that if God can make a priest out of me, He can make a saint out of you! 

In addition to thanking God for making all of us Priests, the Church invites us to thank God for the gift of the Eucharist and reflect on what this GREAT Gift means in our lives. St. Paul tells us in the second reading that before Jesus was crucified, he took bread and wine and changed those into his Holy Body and Blood for us, his disciples. Why was it important for Jesus to do that? Why is the Eucharist important in our lives?  The Eucharist is Jesus’s way of helping his disciples to make the sacrifice of the Cross-their own. Literally speaking, the body that hanged on the cross on Good Friday was not that of the disciples. It was not their blood, it was not my blood; it was not your blood that was poured out on Calvary. So how does that Sacrifice become yours and mine? How does Jesus’ Sacrifice take away my sin? How does it take away your sin? In John 6: 56 Jesus told his disciples “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live in me and I will live in him.” So, by giving them the Eucharist, Jesus was joining his body and those of the disciples together and mixing his blood with those of the disciples so that as he hanged on the Cross, it would also be the disciples hanging on the cross sacramentally; as he poured out his blood, it will be the disciples pouring out their blood. It is in this sacramental way that Jesus’ death on the cross becomes my death and your death, and his resurrection, becomes my resurrection and your resurrection. 

The responsorial psalm poses a very important question for our reflection. The question is “What will I do to thank the Lord of all his goodness to me? Beloved what would you do to thank the Lord for His goodness to you? The psalmist tells us to “Lift up the cup of salvation” What does that mean? How we de lift up the cap of salvation? It is by living your priestly calling, as a person who lays down your life to bring about reconciliation between God and his people, among families and friends, to walk with them in such as way that they are sanctified, and that your presence, words and actions bring people life. That is what Jesus tells us in the gospel “I give you a new commandment”. He did not say it is a suggestion. No! It is a commandment: “Love one another, the way I have loved you. What I have done for you, you must do for one another”.  Lift up the cup of salvation!

Beloved, it is not easy to lift up the cup of salvation because at times the people whom you lay down your life for are the very people who offend you so badly. What do you do when those you lay down your life for turn against you? One of the things that struck me in the gospel was the fact that Jesus washed the feet of Judas: Jesus knew his enemy, but did not treat him like an enemy. He knew Judas wanted him dead; yet he still washed his feet. By this Jesus teaches us that we cannot control what people will do, but we can control our reaction to what people do. Yes, we also know people who have hurt us in our family and among our friends. Are we going to pay them back or are we going to wash their feet? Tonight we will wash each other's feet. If all your family and friends were here tonight, whose feet would you rather not wash and who will you not allow to wash your feet?