My friends, today is an ending of sorts, while at the same time, a beginning! How so? The holy season of Easter ends with today’s liturgy—a time that speaks of mystery, of end times, and so much more.
This past Thursday we experienced, “The Ascension,” or we might say, the returning of our brother Jesus to a more “heavenly” state. This action is not something we can entirely understand with our human minds, and for the apostles/disciples who were present, it was probably like, “he was there one minute, and gone the next.” It is like many other astounding things that happen in life, an eclipse of the sun, a birth of a child, a creature from the animal kin-dom being born, the blossoming of every living thing this time of year! For the one experiencing the phenomenon, it is hard to adequately put into words, just what we experienced! And with Friday night’s light show, I can now add, the Northen Lights! So it was with these 1st followers of Jesus—they expressed it to the best of their ability.
In the beginning of my homily, I said this Sunday is an ending, as well as a beginning. The ending for these followers of Jesus was the tangible time when he was physically close, within reach, and they felt at peace, knowing that he was near. With all of us, today’s readings show us Jesus preparing his rag-tag band for the time when he would no longer be physically with them. Through our minds’ eyes, but more so, through our hearts, we can appreciate their real fear, as Jesus prepares to leave them.
When we have a strong, good, and merciful leader, we naturally want to hold onto the assurance they bring us. In our own personal lives, we know what it is like to have a good spouse, a dear friend, a capable mentor—but how will it be without them—we just don’t know, nor did these first apostles.
Jesus promises these fearful, but good friends, that he won’t ultimately “leave” them, but send his Spirit, to make them strong, and able to go out into the world, and with their renewed faith and love, do as he said, “even greater things than I did!”
With the readings specifically for this last Sunday of Easter from John, both in his Gospel and in his 1st Letter, we see how in fact the apostles and disciples, both then, and now—in us, will do these, “great things.” In John’s 1st Letter he says, “if you love one another, God [lives] in [you], and God’s love is brought to perfection.” We cannot forget that this “love” began with our loving God, for each one of us!
God, in Jesus is simply asking that we, in modern parlance, “pay it forward!” So friends, we get back to that simple to say, double commandment—“to love God and our neighbor as ourselves”—but oh, so hard to do at times! Jesus asks us, in any situation, to do the “most loving thing.”
Episcopal bishop, Michael Curry has addressed this issue by asking himself, and us, “How do we truly know that any action is the most loving thing to do?” His answer for himself and us is that “we must check again and again!” In other words, it is not a “one-time decision.” As we learn more, understand more fully, we should be reassessing our decisions. And for me, an additional check point would be if I have peace, for the most part, about what I am deciding to do.
With this in mind, I find it curious that many of the hierarchical men (bishops) within our Church are spending so much time and energy trying to get “the faithful,” back to reverencing the “Divine Presence in the Body and Blood of Jesus” on the altar, when Jesus has already “sent us forth” to reverence “his body and blood in all who we meet in our world!
Pope Francis is attempting mightily to do that through the synodality process, while these same bishops, mentioned above, are conducting an alternate process alongside, that to my eyes isn’t willing to see the face, body, and blood of Jesus in all they meet, unless they present in a certain, acceptable fashion, to them—ourselves here at All Are One, a prime example! What we do here each Sunday, at this table, which by the way, is not an “altar of sacrifice,” but a table of welcome, was always intended to “send us forth,” send us out to include—not to exclude, to place love before law—to in fact, live as Jesus did.
These past few days, I had the opportunity to read both our diocesan paper, The Courier, and the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). To read both, side by side, is to make one think that you are living in an alternate universe, where one rules one place, and one in another! In fairness to the diocesan paper, there is mention made of two sessions that were held preparing for the Synod in October in Rome, but in comparing the two issues, the Synod, and the Eucharistic Conference, it is clear which holds a higher place.
In addition to this slight mention of the upcoming Synod, The Courier has, article after article of local diocesan Eucharistic celebrations preparing folks for the big national celebration this summer, listing such aspects of “interest” as “eucharistic adoration” and lists of speakers proclaiming reverence for the Eucharist, in its very narrowest sense. Missing from their agendas is any mention of all the places and people –the body and blood of Christ in our world that is presently being abused, at times by themselves, in the LGBTQ community, in women, to name just two.
Now the NCR lists probably more social justice issues then we care to even read about, challenging us all, “to reverence” these “bodies” that “bleed” physically, emotionally, and spiritually in our world. And don’t get me wrong, I do value that “Jesus is made present” on our “table of welcome” each time we gather, but our “reverence, concern and love” was never meant to stay here! In other words, the “reverencing” of these elements at Mass, or adoration, mean nothing unless we carry that reverence into every wonderful and new presentation of life and love we encounter in our world!
Once again, this week, I viewed Ari Wallach’s presentation on PBS’ NOVA, entitled, A Brief History of Future Tomorrows. He stated that we humans, “tend to be negative when we look forward.” I for one can see that assessment as true within myself on certain days. But he goes on to say that we have not only, “the opportunity” to make things better in our world, but “the imperative” to do so!
The hour-long presentation showed new concepts being tested to construct better buildings, better methods of travel—all that are safer-climate-concerned additions to our world, ideas that assure that the wealth of our world is equally shared. He said that if this kind of world is to be—”we have to think it first –we have to think and re-think everything—think and write a bigger and better story about being human.” He talked about “smart” versus “wisdom,” asking, “how can I do this better?”
And friends, to me this is no different than, “walking in faith,” having a better idea perhaps about, “how to be Church,” “listening,” truly listening as Francis is encouraging us to do—because we don’t yet know what Church-belief-faith will call us to in the future, but I am quite sure that adoring the “Divine Presence on the altar,” with no concrete agenda for recognizing and ministering to the “divine presence” in our world will not ultimately bring more into our Church.
In conclusion then, Ari Wallach stresses in a holistic way that our world can be better than now if we each do our part, if we keep “checking” again and again as Bishop Curry says, and “listen, listen” as Pope Francis suggests. Additionally, and finally, as we read in today’s gospel from John, let us strive, “to be one,” the name of our parish community, as Jesus prayed the night before he died—a better world, a better Church calls us to change, to openness, not to hunkering down. Amen? Amen! Alleluia!
All Are One Church 