Today, in Mercy, our readings are filled with the sanctifying unrest of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts we read that, despite the internal peace of the early Christian community, they faced a hostile surrounding environment. Nevertheless, they were impelled by the Spirit within them to continue to proclaim Jesus Christ.
Our Gospel remembers Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. Grace burned in him too, but it was a subtle light shaded by his early fear. He came to Jesus in the shadows of the night to test the flame in his soul.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Again and again in salvation history, the world is “turned upside down and shaken” by God’s renewing power.We human beings find ourselves struggling to get our feet under us again as circumstances spin to a new truth. Like graceful ballet dancers pirouetting in space, we must keep our eyes on the fixed point of God’s immovable love.
The early disciples did this. Nicodemus did this. As our world now shakes into a changed reality, it is our turn to lock our hearts on God, opening to the new dream God has for all Creation.
Music: Shake – by Mercy Me (You been sittin’ in that chair a while? Here’s a song you can get up and dance-pray!)
Today, in Mercy, our readings offer us a snapshot of the infant Church – a joyful, loving, generous community confidently sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our Responsorial Psalm, written centuries before their time, prophetically captures their grateful Resurrection prayer:
R. Alleluia. The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.
Our second reading from Peter voices the community’s amazed gratitude:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Friends, how we need that living hope today, in these times that test our souls!
It is true that everyday of our lives we are reborn in God.New grace, new challenge, new blessing comes to us daily. But the need for that newness has seldom felt so momentous as it does in these pandemic times.
We are challenged:
to find God in clouded realty
to be a channel of God’s love even in suffering
to build the generous community despite isolation
to be the touch of Mercy in a touchless world
We may feel a little like Thomas as we pray with these challenges. It must have been so hard for him to touch the wounds of Jesus! And it must have been shocking for him to feel them — these apparent talismans of suffering –now charged with an infinite transformative power!
What changed for Thomas to make him a devout believer? Not his circumstances. Not the reality around him.Not the challenges before him.
The change came within him because he believed. By looking through suffering to glory, Thomas believed.
May we have that kind of faith in these times that so hunger for it! That kind of faith allows us to be reborn!
(Speaking of being reborn, I am sending a short second reflection today. Today is my 75th birthday and the Psalm is my way of celebrating with all of you.)
Music: Thomas Song – Halleal (Lyrics below)
Thomas’ Song – Hallal
Jesus you were all to me,
Why did you die on Calvary?
O Lamb of God, I fail to see
How this could be part of the plan.
They say that you’re alive again
But I saw death and every sin
Reach out to claim their darkest whim
How could this part if the plan?
If I could only
Hold your hand
And touch the scars
Where nail were driven,
I would need
To feel your side
Where holy flesh
A spear was riven,
Then I’d believe,
Only then I’d believe
Your cruel death
Was part of a heavenly plan.
Holy presence, holy face
A vision filling time and space
Your newness makes my spirit race
Could this be part of the plan?
I see the wounds that caused the cry
From heaven, ocean, earth, and sky
When people watched their savior die
Could this be part of the plan?
Reaching out
To hold your hand
And touch the scars
Where nails were driven
Coming near
I feel your side
Where holy flesh
A spear was riven
Now I believe
Jesus now I believe
Your cruel death
Was part of a heavenly plan
I proudly say
With blazen cry
You are my Lord and my God!
Today, in Mercy, our readings are about appearances and recognitions.
We pray this morning with the pioneers of our Christian Faith: Mary Magdalen, Peter, John, and all the Eleven. The scriptures tell us the story of their post-Resurrection discipleship – a time of joyous, dynamic commitment to build the faith community, to share the wonder of the eternally living Jesus with all people.
These first Easter Christians were shining with faith…. so much so that it could be said:
Observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders, and scribes were amazed, and they recognized them as the companions of Jesus.
Our Gospel summarizes the fact that, for a brief time, the Risen Jesus remained with these disciples to shore up their confidence and commitment. In this passage, He appeared first to beloved Mary Magdalen, then to the unnamed two who journeyed a country road, and finally to the Eleven gathered at dinner.
He had different messages at each appearance:
the intimate commission of Mary to be his first announcer
the companionable accompaniment of the two distraught disciples from Emmaus
the scolding of the “hard-hearted” Eleven with the uncompromising charge
“Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel
to every creature.”
Dear Friends, that charge is meant for each of us as well. For our times, we are the ones commissioned to proclaim that Christ is risen, that the Good News of God’s love is alive in us! Damn the Corona – We are a Resurrection People!
Our prayer today may lead us to consider:
Would we, like Mary, recognize the voice of Jesus calling us to deeper discipleship?
Would we, like the Emmaus travelers, listen beyond our fears to hear the Truth of Jesus in our circumstances?
Would we, like the hesitant Eleven, rebound through our failures to a stronger faith?
Would we, like Peter and John, by our faith-filled words and actions, be recognizable as companions of Jesus?
Music: They Will Know We Are Christians- This is a 60s song, reminiscent of the kind of music that flooded the Church after the breakthroughs of Vatican II. It’s not great music — but I always love hearing it, because it reminds of the joy and enthusiasm of those times when we first realized WE were the Church Alive in the world!
Late April and the sweet fullness of a spring morning pours down on the silver water. It had been a fruitless night for the weary fishermen, but not an unpleasant one. They had distracted one another from their labors by singing their ancient folksongs and telling the stories of their recent epiphanies. As dawn cracked through darkness, they trailed their fingers in the gentle wake and turned their tired souls towards shore.
And He stood there, misted in diffused radiance. “The starboard side”, he called. “Why?,” they thought; and then again, “Why not?”. With just that small opening in the closed door of their hopelessness, they were overwhelmed with the stunning presence of possibility.
How could these seasoned fishermen have failed to notice the abundance swimming at their side? How could they, so accustomed to the rocking sea, have been narcotized by its lulling darkness?
When we have abandoned hope and tired of the rolling waves; when we have turned the bow toward shore in acquiescence to a hungry morning, remember these disciples. Like them, may we listen for the soft suggestion, “Children…the starboard side…”.
There is always another side, another path to the fullness of life. The hopeless dirges we repeat in our darkness are the devil’s deceptions. The truth is that life runs beside us and with in us, just below the surface of our fears. Love stands on the shore and encourages us to go back for a moment into the darkness, to look again for the hidden blessing, and then to come to the feast in Love’s abiding presence.
Today, in the midst of pandemic’s long night, we are the Apostles. What bold command is Jesus calling to us in the morning mist?
Music: Edward Elgar – The Apostles – a long, beautiful piece you may want to play in the background if you have a quiet space in your day.
Today, in Mercy, Jesus asks his disciples, “Why do questions arise in your heart?”
Honestly, Lord? How could they not? You have, after all, just RISEN FROM THE DEAD! We’re not used to that, and we’re not sure how to handle it!
And about that Last Supper, when you said the bread and wine were your Body and Blood? It’s a pretty amazing statement, and we’re still trying to comprehend it.
Besides all that, Lord, just now the whole world is languishing in the midst of a pandemic, and we’re not sure exactly where You are!
We’re just human beings, Lord. Our minds naturally work to solve problems. That’s why we have questions – we like answers.
Only now, as Resurrection People, are we beginning to learn that you are much more the “The Answer”.
You will always be “The Mystery” – the Infinity we are invited to – where there is no end, only deeper, always deeper.
Help us to learn that our faith and our doubts are the same thing – they are our attempts to embrace the Question. Help us transform our doubts to faith by our unequivocal trust in your Mystery.
For God does not want to be believed in,
to be debated and defended by us,
but simply to be realized through us.”
― Martin Buber
Mystery is not to be construed
as a lacuna in our knowledge,
as a void to be filled,
but rather as a certain plentitude.
— Gabriel Marcel
Today, in Mercy, our passage from Acts describes a sacred practice of the early Church – the invocation of the Name of Jesus as a source of spiritual power.
Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”
These first Christians were so invested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they claimed the right to act in his Name. They also clearly believed that they had no power themselves, but only in that blessed Name.
To call someone by their given name is an act of familiarity, if not intimacy. For those closest to us, we often have nicknames or pet names, conveying a unique understanding of each other.
Calling God by name is an act of both intimacy and worship. In the book of Exodus, God takes the first step in that deeper friendship:
God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name “the Lord” I did not make myself fully known to them.
With the Incarnation of Jesus, God took the ultimate step in loving friendship with us. To help us understand the nature of this friendship, Jesus gives himself some “nicknames” throughout the Gospel:
Good Shepherd
Lamb of God
the Vine
the Way, the Truth, the Life
the Bread of Life
the Light of the World
Each of these names helps us to enter more deeply into the infinite love God has for us.
Do you have a special name for God? Sometimes, early in the morning when First Light touches my window, I pray with that Name. I ask my Bright God to light my life and the lives of those I love this day. At night, that same window is full of Sweet Darkness, a Name I call God as I ask that we all find a peaceful, protected sleep.
We might also ask if God has a special name for us. At different moments and moods of your life, does God speak to you with a personal, loving “nickname”? If you haven’t heard it yet, why not ask God to whisper it to you in your next prayer?
Jesus, Jesus
Let all creation bend the knee to the Lord.
In Him we live, we move and have our being;
In Him the Christ, In Him the King!
Jesus the Lord.
Though Son, He did not cling to Godliness,
But emptied Himself, became a slave!
Jesus the Lord.
He lived obediently His Father’s will
Accepting His death, death on a cross!
Jesus the Lord.
Today, in Mercy, our readings present us with a picture of the nascent Church as it works toward understanding itself in the physical absence of Jesus.
Throughout the Gospels, we see a Christian community forming around a Leader they can see, hear and touch. Acts reveals how that community awakens to itself when Jesus is no longer materially present.
Acts shows us a Church like us. We have never seen Christ, nor heard him, nor touched him. And yet we believe, or want to believe.
In our reading today, Peter preaches with brutal honesty:
Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.
Peter’s message gets through to the assembly, to the point that, when they hear it, they are “cut to the heart”. This phrase indicates a profound conversion in the way they believed. Peter tells them that their faith, like Jesus’ life, must now become a sign of contradiction to a “corrupt generation “.
What might this powerful passage say to us?
For one thing, the reading calls us to be honest about the sincerity of our faith. Is it the core of our lives? Or is it, at best, a Sunday hobby? Does it pervade our relationships and choices, giving witness to Christ’s commission to love? Or is it a tool to judge and vilify those who differ from us?
Now, in these pandemic times, as we are distanced from the opportunity to worship in community, we may be struck by all that we had taken for granted until now. Faith matters. We need it to be whole human beings.
The reading doesn’t demand that we “preach our faith out loud”. It calls us to a much deeper and more courageous witness:
to be Truth in a world of lies
to be Peace in violence
to be Justice in the face of abuse and domination
to be Servant rather than be served
to be Love for those deemed unlovable
in other words, to be like Jesus
And to do it all because we have been “cut to the heart” by the witness of the Cross and Resurrection.
Today, in Mercy,we enter the Easter Season which will last until June 8th. The next day we will celebrate Pentecost.
Throughout these several weeks, we will have a thorough reading of the Acts of the Apostles.
Theologian Walter Brueggemann says this about Acts:
In the Book of Acts the church is a restless, transformative agent at work for emancipation and well-being in the world.
As Easter People, transformed by the Resurrection of Jesus, that’s what we’re all called to be. Our models and inspiration will be found in these early women and men we read about over the next few weeks. This was a community that acted – within a culture of death – for an alternative, life-giving world.
“The whole book of Acts is about power from God that the world cannot shut down. In scene after scene, there is a hard meeting between the church and worldly authorities, because worldly authorities are regularly baffled by this new power and resentful of it.”
At one point, in chapter 17, the followers of Jesus are accused of “turning the world upside down.” (Brueggemann)
Our world sorely needs such an active Church, speaking clearly to the issues that threaten and limit human life and wholeness in God. It’s not easy to be that witness, but it is critical. Our Gospel suggests the difficulty, but also defines the motivation:
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the good news …
May we, though sometimes fearful, choose to be agents of the joyful Good News for our times. May we be brave in witnessing Christ, even in trying times!
Music: Alleluia from Mozart’s Exultate et Jubilate- sung by Barbara Bonney
This is the day the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia! Psalm 118
They woke up one morning beside each other as they had for fifteen years. The scent of last night’s acrid argument lingered in the corners of the room. After a few moments, he turned to her and said, “We need to learn how to love each other again. Can we try?”
Over the course of long-term relationships, the parties change. Phil and Judy wanted to remain committed to their marriage, but they found themselves strangled by years of unpruned misunderstandings. All heart commitments meet similar challenges. All dreams fray a little on their way to fulfillment.
We have followed Jesus through Holy Week on such a road. Passover Sunday filled his spirit with the fresh scent of palms and possibilities. But as the week waned, the Father led Jesus in a daunting direction. He asked his Son to pay the ultimate price for love.
Our lives too will teach us this: every ride on a palm-strewn road meets a fork toward Gethsemane. There is no true love without sacrifice. But the road does not end at the foot of the cross. Loving sacrifice lifts us to see this morning’s Easter sunrise. The life that had lain hidden in darkness now rises triumphant in our hearts. Today, we are offered the grace to live this mystery on our own journeys. Amazingly, Easter invites us to fall in love again with God and to begin our lives anew.
In this time global shadows, may the Easter Truth strengthen us to deepen in faith, hope and love. Yes, darkness can feel like a place of undefined danger, but it can also be the cocoon where the bulb gathers power to break forth in unimagined Life.
Music: Alleluia! Alleluia! (Lyrics below)
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let the holy anthem rise,
and the choirs of heaven chant it
in the temple of the skies.
Let the mountains skip with gladness
and the joyful valleys ring,
with hosannas in the highest
to our Savior and our King.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Like the sun from out the wave,
he has risen up in triumph
from the darkness of the grave,
he, the splendor of the nations,
he, the lamp of endless day;
he, the very Lord of glory,
who is risen up today.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed Jesus make us rise,
from the life of this corruption
to the life that never dies.
May we share with thee thy glory
when the days of time are past,
and the dead shall be awakened
by the trumpet’s mighty blast.
The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbein (c. 1522)
Today, in Mercy, we wait, entombed with Jesus. The waiting has a surreal sense every year as we commemorate this day with no liturgy of its own.But this year, it takes on a eerie resemblance to our own global stasis in this pandemic – a time in which we tap into many deep and unexplored feelings.
Here are two poems that may help us explore the spiritual dimensions of Holy Saturday in this unique Year of Our Lord 2020.
Again and again in salvation history, the world is “turned upside down and shaken” by God’s renewing power. We human beings find ourselves struggling to get our feet under us again as circumstances spin to a new truth. Like graceful ballet dancers pirouetting in space, we must keep our eyes on the fixed point of God’s immovable love.
Lavish Mercy 