My friends, as I said in the bulletin, this Sunday gives us the opportunity to truly come to know our God if we carefully study the messages within the Scriptures today. 

   Let’s begin with the reading from Exodus.  The 1^st thing we should notice is that God initiates the encounter with Moses, not the other way around.  This is important!  This truth reminds me of the 23^rd Psalm in the biblical translation, The Message. The writer of this translation opens up the traditional line, “Only goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,” to “Your beauty and love chase after me, every day of my life.”  I don’t know about you, but I rather like the idea that God is, “chasing after me” through the ups and downs of my life.  It speaks to the intimacy of our God and that wanted relationship with us. 

   If we look at God’s words to Moses, we can see this most clearly.  “I am…a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger and rich in kindness and faithfulness.”  This is really such a beautiful and telling reading and one unfortunately, that I have heard far too many homilists get stuck on—the beginning that is, which is apparently God’s answer to Moses’ question of, “Who are you?”  God says, “I am who I am,” or some form of that.  This again, is an example of “staying” on the top level of a message and failing to go deeper to truly understand what is being said. 

   It doesn’t matter what we call God, as much as who God is and we learn that going deeper— “I am a God of tenderness and compassion…”

   This reminds me of a young man who was interviewed on public radio, MPR, this past week.  He is the valedictorian of his high school graduating class and will, as a result, be giving the commencement address to them.  The interviewer was interested in knowing what he might speak to them about. 

   He was quite clear that he didn’t want it to be about him alone, what he had done and so on, but he wanted it to be about all of them.  He wanted them to know that just because his grades allowed him to have the highest place in their class, academically, he had the same worries and struggles that they all had and that they were all in this together.  He realized that he hadn’t gotten to where he was alone, and that he had much to be thankful for.  He saw himself as no better than anyone else and he wanted his classmates to know that. 

   The interviewer had also invited several adults to be on the show who had given commencement addresses in the past to learn what they had imparted to the newly graduating students.  One man said it best I think when he shared a general list of good things, he had heard other speakers remind graduates of as they look at their lives ahead of them.  Some of the things that we would expect to be on the list, included, work hard, when you don’t quite make it, pick yourself up and try again, and so on.  He ended his comments sharing an idea he had heard along the way that he found very compelling, in making your way in the world— “be kind.” 

   This notion seems to be in sync with what Moses heard from God on Mount Sinai—his, and our God said that we all could expect, “tenderness and compassion, one, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness. 

   So, if we were merely to stop in the Exodus reading with, “what should we call God?” we would miss the deep relational response that God offers here. The valedictorian that I mentioned above ended his comments by saying to his peers, “It is my hope that each of us will make our own particular way.” A “kind” response, I would say. 

   Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians says as much; “Encourage one another –live in harmony and peace.” 

   And John’s gospel today confirms this idea through Jesus’ words: [God does not] “condemn, but through Christ, the world may be saved.”  Once again, we must get beyond the surface meaning.  The “saving” that our brother Jesus came to do was in showing us—each of us, through the justice, mercy, understanding, and kindness, that he showed in his own life, how in fact to do the same in our lives. 

   And as always, we must take the Scriptures and apply them to our own lives.  To read about Jesus but fail to do the same in our own lives, or to at least try, seems to miss the point of Christian living. 

   If we were truly, each of us, following Jesus, there could not be two tiers in our society in so many ways—the rich and the poor, white and black—we call that, “racism,” by the way, something our country is far from getting its arms around. We call this, “white privilege,” –another concept to take to our prayer. We might be closer to a resolution if we laid our “hearts” and not just our “heads” on these issues. 

   If we were truly following Jesus, gender issues—sexism, which really is about patriarchy—who has the “right to speak and act,” would also, not be an issue.   This is true in state, country and Church. Again, we must look back to our brother Jesus and what he had to say about these issues.  He was crucified in the time he lived, “not for our sins,” but because he was speaking, in his time, against inequality, patriarchy, and more, and the powers that existed then, needed to silence him. Pure and simple. Makes me think of women today following our God-given calls to be ordained. We have been told that this will immediately excommunicate us if we do, as they wish to silence us too.  So, if we get caught up in that old theology of “reparation for our sins” in the face of a tyrannical God, that takes us off the hook to really follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

   We would do better to look to the beautiful words of Psalm 8 today, and remember who God truly is, “Who are we that you should be mindful of us?”  Being “mindful” seems to me, a “relational” skill.  In this regard, this past week, I heard a news special on the social and political divide in our country.  All of those interviewed were asked to state their beliefs, and on the merit of what they said, were then paired with someone who held an opposite view.  They were asked to sit together and “truly listen” to each other. 

   The amazing thing that they discovered was, when you, “put a face” to the opinion, trying to see why each other felt as they did, it helped break down some of the animosity. Now, you might be thinking, and questioning as I have, “what do you do if you have someone in your life who has told you, they don’t want to hear your opposing view.” And my friends, this is precisely why being a Christian is not for wimps. 

   Our lives today in the midst of so many concerns, many of which I have mentioned here, call for what I will name, “eucharistic moments.”  If you think about it, you probably could all name for me a time when something truly wonderful and unexpected happened between you and another person, or group that was able to move you and them, beyond the things that divided you to a place where you could truly be one. Naming such times, “eucharist moments” where the “body and blood” of our Savior Jesus, was truly evident—not on the altar, but in the humanity of our every day lives seems to be most appropriate and what Jesus had intended the Eucharist to be. We will continue this conversation next week when we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi—the Body of Christ.  Amen? Amen!

   My friends, if we are simply checking a liturgical calendar today, we see that with the feast of Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, we come to the end of the Easter Season.  But we as our brother, Jesus’ followers, must go deeper.  If he taught us anything while with us, it was that we must, “always go deeper,” especially when we aren’t sure of the way to go.

   With this thought in mind then, Pentecost must be seen, not as an “ending” to one season, but truly, as a “beginning” to our life, walking in Jesus’ footsteps.  As I prepared for this homily, reading what theologians, prophets, and writers have had to say about Pentecost, I have come across many words to describe the feelings, the outlook—perhaps, that we should have coming into this feast. 

   Some of the words that I have encountered are: “passionate, alive—not simply breathing.”  Further on, from the section in Acts used for our 1^st reading today, Luke continues, [Pentecost is about] “seeing visions and dreaming dreams.” Acts 2: 17

   In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians for today, he tells the people of Corinth and ultimately us, that when we are under the influence of the Spirit, “only good” should be the fruits of that encounter with heaven.  That is why, as we discussed last week, it makes no sense to ever unite the words, “Christian” and “nationalism.”  United, they form the title used in our present day to describe a group of so-called, “religious” individuals (Christian Nationalists).

   Looking back once more to the 1^st reading from Acts, we see its author, Luke, speaking about the coming of the Spirit as, “wind from heaven,” thus our first hymn today, by Marty Haugen, Wind Upon the Water.  Additionally, he said the Spirit comes as “tongues of fire.”  Those who witnessed this first group of disciples afterward, were said to be, “amazed and astonished” at what they saw and heard.  Probably one of the best things that these people were “amazed and astonished” about, was the fact that “everyone hearing them that day was included,” even though they came from different places.  We might think about whether seeing us in action would cause anyone to be amazed or astonished!

   I would like to, just for a few minutes, pick up on the idea of the Spirit coming as, “tongues of fire.”  One of the wonderful things about the Catholic church that I have always appreciated, has been its sense of ritual—the use of appropriate colors for each liturgical season, and the signs and symbols used to enhance each season, each time of year. 

   You have no doubt noticed the color red in my vestments and the altar drapes.  Red picks up on the notion of “fire” and “passion” spoke of earlier that tells us in no uncertain terms how we should approach our mission as Jesus’ followers. 

   This reminds me of a mentor of mine who has gone home to God, but one, who, for many years was a most inspiring model of what it truly means to walk and to live as Jesus taught.  Jim Fitzpatrick, an active priest in the Winona diocese for 10 years during the 1960’s and 70’s, eventually left active priestly ministry because he was aware that some of his brother priests were sexually abusing children, and when he took what he knew to the bishop, rather than doing the right thing, this bishop chose to enable this grievous wrong in order “to protect the Church from scandal.”  In other words, for this bishop, the institution was more important than the people.

   When I first knew Father Fitzpatrick, I was a first-year student at Cotter High School in his Old Testament class.  He was an exciting and stimulating educator because he believed what he was teaching, was passionate about it, and wanted us to be as well. When he found us not being engaged enough, he would exclaim, “C’mon people, catch fire!” 

   My friends, as we now begin this new time of “calling” really, to be our best selves, attempting to live as Jesus did, we too must, “catch fire.”  Passionate people are not, “lukewarm,” just going with the flow.

   I am presently reading Senator Amy Klobuchar’s new book, The Joy of Politics.  As you all know, Amy is Minnesota’s senior senator in Washington, advocating for the needs of our state, but also for the needs of our entire country. When she was highlighted recently on the PBS Newshour and asked “why” the title of this book, she said, when you can get things done for people in need, it is truly a joyous thing!

   One of the most refreshing things she said in this new book, reflecting on the past several years that included a pandemic, a campaign for the presidency, a time of ever-increasing inability for Congress people to work together, and an insurrection, to name just a few things, was, and I paraphrase, why would anyone run for office except to make life better for the people they are serving? Why indeed?!

   So my friends, that brings us back once again to our lives, to the here and now and what we are called to do, because we are always called to do something!  There were several things this past week that came to my attention that I will just list here for us to consider, and perhaps get our “juices” going too as to ways that we each can live “passionately” in our world. 

• The people of Florida are now living under a dictum from their governor who has proclaimed, “Don’t say gay!”  There has been some blowback to this from groups who have canvassed the state with billboards proclaiming, “We say gay!”
• You all know of my love for Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister.  She offers a couple of things for us to ponder on this Pentecost Sunday:
• [Today] “is a time of holy hilarity when the Church points again and again to the empty tomb.”
• Joan additionally says, connecting our earthly world to our spiritual world, which, by the way, is as it should be, “Flowers confront us with our responsibility for beauty,” [in our world]. A question to perhaps ponder this week, “Do we bring beauty into our world?”
• A couple of thoughts from John’s gospel today:
• Speaking of being “passionate” followers of our brother Jesus, John fine-tunes how we might do that when he refers to the “fire” [of God’s love for us] saying that it [always] comes with “peace.”  “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”

Our presence in this world must not only be “passionate” –that which is truly caring, but it must also be filled with “peace.”  Someone else said of this combination of passion and peace, [Come with the] “power of a tornado, and the gentleness of a whisper.” 

• Then finally, and this is especially for the times we may feel weak and not, up to the task, to remember Jesus’ words in today’s gospel, “Receive the Spirit” –that which you forgive, is forgiven, that which you retain,

is retained.”  On the merit of the above words which do indeed give us license to object to statements from Rome that aren’t about, “including all,” but simply about “power over,” we should, and we must call for a Church that is passionate and on-fire with the Spirit—not through stipulations, rules and regulations, but with peace, understanding, mercy, and justice –in a word, love! Amen? Amen!

My friends, with this weekend, we have come to the end of the Easter Season, which will be followed by a few special Sundays, Pentecost, the coming of the Spirit of our brother, Jesus, Trinity Sunday, remembering God in his/her glory as Creator, Savior, and Spirit, and Corpus Christi Sunday, wherein we strive to understand, through our imaginations—really, and through our faith, the holy presence of Jesus, our brother, in the form of the simple gifts of bread and wine upon our altars.  Following these three, the Church shifts back to Ordinary Time, which we have come to see, deals with much more than, “the ordinary.” 

   As I have in the past, today then, we will join this final weekend of Easter and the Ascension, being that the themes of each correlate rather well.  So, you saw that the first reading from Acts describes Jesus’ ascension into heaven, a new plane—space of life that we can only imagine.  The 2^nd reading and the gospel come from the 7^th and final Sunday of Easter, showing us rather well, I think, what was expected of those first disciples and us, going forward. 

   The reading from Acts tells us that [these disciples] “will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes.”  I think so many times we read these stories of the first disciples and hear them rather, matter-a-factly, and don’t let our imaginations run a bit into just what they faced and were perhaps feeling at the beginning of their ministries, carrying on where Jesus was leaving off.

   We see this in their purely, human reaction to Jesus being, “taken from their sight.”  “They were still gazing up into the heavens,” Scripture tells us.  And to this reaction, two, apparently, “heavenly creatures” appear and inquire why, in fact, they are doing this.

   Why indeed, we might echo, but for an entirely different reason than the heavenly visitors.  Here it is important to remember that the sole focus of these disciples’ attention for the past three years, Jesus of Nazareth, for whom they had walked away from families and livelihoods to follow, and whom they had watched die a gruesome death and then, miraculously rise to new life, conquering death, so that we could too, one day, was now being taken from them again!  No doubt there were many unanswered questions for them. 

   Jesus was very conscious that the apostles and disciples were afraid and that was why he promised to send his Spirit to be with them, giving them strength to be, to do, what he had called them to be about in the world, in his footsteps. 

   Jesus knew too from his own, lived human life that the temptation was always there to take the easier route, the way that didn’t cost so dearly.  That is why he prayed so earnestly for them in the gospel selection today from John.  “O God most holy, protect with your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” 

   And friends, I think it is good for us to reflect in this year 2023, that marks our 15^th year of existence as a Vatican II parish, that we take our name from this Scripture passage, where Jesus prayed not only for his first disciples, but for all who would follow their lead, that they all, “would be one!” 

   Next Sunday then, we will celebrate Pentecost, the day that marks 50 days since Easter, when Jesus’ Spirit was unleashed in a special way into the world.  It might be good this next week to remember our own special day of confirmation when we first said, our own, personal “yeses” to the indwelling of the Spirit that would give us the strength too, to faithfully carry on the Good News of God’s love in our world.

   Once these first disciples receive the Spirit, we see Peter in the 2^nd reading today proclaim, “Happy are you when insulted for the sake of Christ, for then, [you will know] that God’s Spirit, in its glory, has come to rest on you.”  And he goes on, “If you must suffer, let it be because you have been a follower of Christ,” [not because you have done evil things].

   We can hardly hear these words and not realize that truly “following Jesus” will not be easy.  The end of the Easter Season, Jesus physically leaving the earth, and sending his Spirit are truly about more than us, “looking to the heavens” for answers.  Jesus has shown us the way, and for him, it was all about love—and for us it must be the same!  Each of us, my friends, will do this differently, and if, at the end of the day, whatever we choose to do, however we choose to respond to our world, if we can honestly say that our response, was all about doing the most loving thing—we will have walked faithfully in Jesus’ footsteps.  Amen? Amen!

My friends, it is with great joy that I can stand and perhaps at times today, sit before you, and for all of us to gather once again.  We have been away from each other for four weeks as I have been recovering from knee surgery. 

   Now I compare this time to where we were three years ago in the beginning weeks of shut-down due to the COVID pandemic for which there was no vaccine to keep us safe, except for masking and social distancing.  We all stayed away from each other in order to keep us safe.  And now today, this is the first Sunday with masks being optional, following the lead of all the hospitals in the area. 

   These past several weeks then, have not been about you, but about me, as I was simply not able to either prepare much, or to be present to you due to my recovery.  I found myself being filled with gratitude for your out-pouring of love and care for me, through cards, emails, calls, gifts of food, and all other expressions of love.

   Being that we are still in the season of Easter, the Scriptures are filled with ways that the apostles—now, also filled with the Spirit are reaching out, not just to the Jewish people, but to all who will listen to the story of Jesus, the Christ—and of how he spoke to, visited with, and was generally present to all who he encountered.  It didn’t matter where people came from, who they associated with—he welcomed all, and offered alternatives to lives without hope and as a result, showed all who he encountered, the best ways to live.

   John’s gospel for today includes Jesus’ wonderful words of promise and hope— “I will not leave you” [alone]—actually, he says, “orphaned”—which is the same idea!

   A word on these first disciples…we see them going out among strangers—for the most part, preaching what Jesus had said to them that gave them such hope. With the life of the Spirit, they had the faith and the strength to proclaim Jesus’ message of love, justice, and mercy to all who would listen.  We might consider friends if we would be able to do the same.

   In many ways, for these first disciples, this is all that they, as Jesus’ true followers could do—share with others what had been so graciously shared with them.  The psalmist today says rightly what should be the song of us all, as we attempt to follow in Jesus’ footsteps— [Let us] “make a joyful sound to God…” [over] “all the earth.” 

   There is much talk in our country today from folks who claim to be, “Christian Nationalists.”  To my mind, these two words seem to contradict each other.  To be a “Christian” in Jesus’ footsteps is all about “including” everyone, whereas being a “nationalist” seems to advocate for “excluding” many, except, “our own kind.” 

   Jesus, when with us, always talked about knowing someone’s identity by, “the fruits” they produced—is it about justice, mercy, love, and care, not just for ourselves, or for others too? When a group tends toward angry statements, untruths, an inability to really listen, and to hear, and basically a self-serving stance in our world, we have to wonder what Christian actions are in fact taking place. 

   This time of year within Catholic and other Christian churches is often when young people are confirmed within their faith communities and challenged to be their very best as inspired followers of their brother Jesus. 

It is also a good time for those of us to recall our own confirmations, even if it was many years ago, and re-confirm within ourselves what that meant then, and if it means the same today.  Peter’s opening to the people in the 2nd reading today seems appropriate for those of us who wish to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, “Venerate Jesus, the Christ in your hearts.”  We might also say, keep his message, his actions, always before you, if you truly wish to follow him. Amen? Amen!

  Friends, on this Earth Day, I am going to “cut to the chase” this weekend which brings us to the 3^rd week of Easter and say very simply and succinctly that the message we all should reflect on as we ponder today’s readings is— “It’s all about love!”

   Now that having been said, next; we need to understand that to truly love is a most challenging activity! It calls us— “this loving” to be our very best selves.  It calls us in our present-day world to somehow get past ignorant statements in place of leadership, selfishness when merciful governing is called for, and move toward those who are truly leading in our Congress and State houses, keeping our eyes on their reflections—witnessing that while, difficult, are what is best for our nation and our world. 

   Today’s gospel from Luke lifts up the fact that in the strange, fearful, yet hope-filled times after Jesus’ rising to new life, people, like those disciples on the way to Emmaus didn’t know Jesus until he did “something that was familiar to them.”  Scripture says, “Their eyes were opened” when he “broke the bread.”  This action of, “breaking the bread,” we must remember, is sign and symbol of Jesus’ own “breaking open” of his entire life—for all of creation, showing us how to truly live. 

   In our time we must move beyond the present chaos, of so many things that plague our Church and Nation: misdirection about issues of gender and sexual expression—the consideration of what constitutes “life,” and whose life is most important, time and energy being spent on “Eucharistic Conferences” designed to keep the “Eucharist” in a tiny, little box with no connection to the “real presence” in the world of Jesus, the Christ.  We must ask, “What is it now that truly “breaks our hearts open” and as the disciples on the way to Emmaus, makes those same hearts, “burn within us?”

   “Being our best selves” in these times that calls for nothing less, will help us to understand the truth when we hear it—truth that works for the good of all, as opposed to lies that are simply—self-serving and many times, dangerous.  On the other hand, our hearts “break open and burn within us” when we hear the head* of the United Nations Food Program share the truth that millions of people in this world are on a trajectory toward starvation!  This number tends to double when anything extra is added, like a world virus, climate catastrophe, etc. *This information was from 3 years ago, but the same could be said today about starvation.

   Last week we talked about what perhaps needs to be “resurrected” within each of us to make Jesus’ resurrection complete.  For me, it comes down to, listening with a heart truly broken open to what our God is trying to tell us, now, in 2023.

   What faces our world, like the call of our brother Jesus, is all about rising to the occasion and becoming all that we can be.  Being OK with the fact that more than half of the people in this world live on less than $10,000 a year is not being our best.  Being OK with the fact that millions of people are headed toward starvation if not for the United Nations feeding them weekly is not being our best selves.  Being OK with the fact that poor and dark-skinned people in this world are hardest hit when a pandemic, or any other catastrophe hits,  is not being our best selves and should call us to make some long-term changes .

   And you might say—well, Pastor, I’m not OK with any of this!  And even though it hurts me to say it, because I indict myself as well, if we don’t actively work to change the present disparity between the rich and the poor in our world, we ARE OK with it! 

   All of the readings this Sunday speak to the idea of “being on a journey.”  In the 1^st reading from Luke in Acts; we hear that God “sent” Jesus with “miracles and signs”—which [show us], “the path to life.”  Psalm 16 confirms this notion, “You will show me the path that leads to life.”  Peter, in the 2^nd reading, consuls, that we should, “conduct ourselves reverently during our sojourn in a strange land.”   The gospel, also from Luke speaks of disciples, “on their way to Emmaus.” 

   Today, our world celebrates Earth Day plus 50 years.  We have been on a long journey trying to save our planet these past 50 years—there have been ups and downs on this journey.  The “ups” are reflective of the “reverencing” that Peter speaks of today—the literal, breaking open of our hearts at our earthly home’s beauty, so much so that we have been willing to be about initiatives with the countries of the world to save our planet from global warming.  The “downs” of course, are reflective of a lack of that same “reverencing.”  I have to wonder at our diocesan Church in Winona/Rochester, planning to “reverence” the Eucharist in the “mere bread” without making the vital—connection to our beautiful, and in some ways, dying planet.

  Sometimes my friends, the concerns of our daily lives are all, it seems, that we can handle, and that notion is reflective of my life as it is of yours.  As you know, I am recovering from knee surgery and that is about all that I can handle just now.  I say this, not to garner sympathy, but to let you know that I’m cognizant of the reality of “life” at times. 

   We are all on a unique journey together—all belief systems have a sense of this, and this journey is toward an existence greater than this one; where all people—no matter their gender, race, sexual orientation, financial status, or any other, perceived impediment, will be welcomed.

   I began this homily with the statement that basically, “it is all about love” and the challenge that to truly love, is no small task.  I would like to conclude with some words from a ballad by local, singer-songwriter, John Smith, entitled, “Love’s Not Through With Me Yet!”

   I included mention of this ballad three years ago in a homily and I know that in the past, I have thought of its sentiment in a somewhat negative way, thinking that “love is not through with me yet, because I am not yet doing it right.  But this go-around finds me thinking more positively: John Smith very poetically asks, “Can you love without needing?”—which speaks to the notion that “love” is bigger than just about me.  And again, he asks, “Can you love without bleeding?” which is all about the “reverencing” that we must show toward our earth and its people.  And if you can do these things, than basically, there is hope for our world, because, indeed, “love isn’t through with us yet!”

   After the resurrection, Mary Magdala and the disciples on the way to Emmaus knew Jesus when he did something, “familiar”— “calling her by name,” and “breaking bread” with them.  Let us know and realize, that as Jesus’ followers, what others should recognize in us as, “familiar” is doing the “good” and the “right” in our world and for its people.  Amen? Amen!