Friends, each year when we come to this last Sunday of Easter; I have made it my  practice to include in our reflection of the day, Ascension Thursday, which precedes it and for which we usually don’t meet.  The Church gives us the option of celebrating either the feast of the Ascension or the 7^th Sunday of Easter on this weekend; so I thought it might be good to blend the two as there is wealth in both considerations.   All the events/the mysteries of this entire season are a whole piece of cloth, as it were, and intended to once again convey that we are mightily loved by our God.  Our readings then today, as a result, are a blend of both feasts.  Also, parts of the homily are similar thoughts from three years ago as I couldn’t find a way to say differently or better perhaps some of what I will share here today.

When we think back through the events of this Church Year begun in Advent with our preparation for the birth of Jesus, the Christ, into our world; we realize that this fact is a wonder and a blessing in itself.  That God would want so much to be close to all of creation that Jesus would choose to be one of us, is an event we simply cannot wrap our minds around, and that is because it is a matter of the heart.

Going a step further, I would add the thought from Ilia Delio in her book, The Emergent Christ, and I paraphrase, that God would really do no less than become one of us, because that is the very essence of God—an entity that needs, “to bubble over,” she says, into creation—our God can do no less!

This initial action of breaking into our humanity, followed by Jesus’ life among us, the hidden years growing in wisdom and grace until he was fully prepared to begin his public life, proclaiming one wonderful and beautiful day in his home town of Nazareth that he was the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s words—that he had come to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to those held captive in their minds, hearts, and bodies, to bring sight to the blind and set those downtrodden, free, is over-the-top love in my estimation!  His teaching and healing among us challenged the powers-that-be—to bring justice for all.  Lust for power and ignorance took Jesus’ physical life in a most cruel way on a Friday that has ever since been called, good. And we know that it didn’t end there.

Jesus rose and as a result, so shall we one day!  It is all mystery and again, we can only attempt to get our minds around it—we would do better if we laid this mystery on our hearts.  It is definitely a walk in faith and trust and even though, I have no way of knowing for sure—I believe that it will happen!—that this life is not the end.

Often my friends, what life brings causes me to lay these things on my heart because I cannot understand why something happens and these things are a walk in faith, that I haven’t totally found the answer for as yet.  Sometimes I understand why something happens and I know if life is to go on, I must let go of what I know for a greater good. In each case, the things that I can’t understand and those that I can, yet still hard, it made most sense to lay these issues on my heart and to ask Jesus to help me carry what was difficult to carry alone.

Three years ago, Robert and I were experiencing the bitter-sweet joy of our daughter, Eryn relocating to Kansas City to be with the love of her life and to start a new phase together. It helped that Adam had promised to love and cherish her always! Since then, as you all know, their love has grown and produced, Elliot, a great joy that grew out of the first bitter-sweet joy.

In the three years since I put down some of these thoughts, several of our community here, have lost spouses—a life transition that no one prepares us for—a transition that we must simply walk through—a transition that we might be able to understand intellectually, but one that takes our hearts a while to catch up with.

Friends, we all experience times in our lives that cause us to ponder and to reflect on the meaning of life—each of us is called to faith, to trust and to a love that is bigger than our own needs.  Having Jesus as our brother, one who has shown us the way, certainly helps.

So, where does that leave us?  Jesus has completed his earthly work among his apostles—his friends, and returns to his loving, Abba God.  A mystery that again is hard to fathom. Who is Abba God?  And where does this Awesome God reside?  People used to believe that we lived in a 3-tiered, heaven—earth—hell complex.  So, if we went “up” as the scripture says—far enough, we could find God.  Or if we went down far enough;  we could find where the devil resides.  Modern science tells us that this in fact is not the case—heaven is indeed not a place, but perhaps a different dimension and most of us probably don’t care to know what “hell” is to say nothing of where it is. We know instinctively as we have pondered the scriptures of the Easter Season that we want to be, like those first apostles, where Jesus is.  Only death can show us that special existence, but still our human minds think about it and want to know.

But like the Apostles, we have work to do—a commission to fulfill and we must be on with it!  From Jesus’ ascension onward—those apostles and now, all of us, are the body of Christ.  They and we, were, and are, commissioned to proclaim the good news—we all must drive out the demons of doubt and despair, loneliness and pain where we find them; we all must embrace everyone with the merciful love of God.  We all must stand as the answer to the question, “Where did Jesus go?”

I am hoping in my retirement to spend a more concerted effort and perhaps, “effort” is not the right word—maybe to simply be more, aware and conscious, that Jesus is all around me, in each of you, in the ups and downs of life, in creation—of all kinds—in the playfulness of the young, in the wisdom and reflection of the elderly.

The 7^th and final Sunday of Easter tells us how to be about this awesome task—figuring out where Jesus went and it is an answer that we have heard before and will hear again—simply put, we are to love as Jesus loved—when we do that, we answer the question, “Where did Jesus go? He is here with us when we love, when we witness others loving—Jesus present, among us—simple as that!

And we know that this is not always easy, especially when we experience down-turns in our lives, when people we love die—when people get sick—good people, and we just don’t understand why.  When people we associate with, disagree with us, don’t see the whole picture and we just don’t know how to work around and through the seeming impasse.  Even the separations that are ultimately good and necessary to bring further growth are not always easy.  We are at in-between times like the Apostles in the readings today, when life’s path isn’t smooth.  Those of you who have lost life- partners certainly know this. Those first followers and friends of Jesus didn’t know what having the Spirit in their lives would be like.  We, on the other hand, do already know that the Spirit of our loving God is always with us, to be our strength, our hope, our determination. Hopefully we remember in our times of struggle to call on Jesus’ Spirit for the strength and guidance that we need. The Spirit of Jesus will never leave us—it was his gift to us before physically departing the earth—“I will be with you all days.” We must remember that even though Jesus has physically left us, he is still with us!

So my friends, as we prepare this next week for the feast of Pentecost, let us think back to that first time that God’s Spirit came upon each of us and we were confirmed in our faith—let us recall the fervor we felt at that time to be Jesus in our world. For me, it was when I was in the 6^th grade—earlier than it is done today, but I recall it as a special day of  commitment and feeling that the Spirit would always be with me to help me follow Jesus more fully. Let us be refreshed in the knowledge that we are never alone in our sorrows, or our joys—that our loving God is with us—cries with us, understands our pain and rejoices in all the good that our lives bring us.  And let us recommit ourselves to following our brother, Jesus, in a world that so desperately needs what he brings.

Friends, this homily was done by Pastor Dick Dahl in my absence. 

No one is perfect. Nor can mothers be. Yet I think mothers epitomize the theme of today’s liturgy–love–more than anyone. A happy Mother’s Day to each of you who are mothers and to all who have been mothers to us, living and deceased.

This past Wednesday I went to the Franciscan Spirituality Center in La Crosse for a webinar presentation by Father Richard Rohr. The title was “Rediscovering the Wisdom of Early Christianity.”

For the first three hundred years the Christian community identified with Jesus who taught us how to love. He did not seek power or status. In the 4th century Emperor Constantine changed things. He made the persecuted Christian church the religion of the empire.  Now it had status and power. Furthermore Constantine convened the Council of Nicea in 325 AD in which the Nicene Creed was formulated. A focus on correct belief gained importance. The self-image of Christianity became very different after Constantine.

Father Rohr explained that earlier Christians focused on living so as to experience the divine. Love characterized the early Christian communities more than theological definitions.They focused on how Jesus lived and what he taught–especially the Sermon on the Mount–Blessed are the meek, the poor, the merciful, the pure of heart, those who suffer in his name. It was the community of the powerless.

Then Father Rohr put the Apostles Creed on the screen. It highlights power. The all-mighty Father is mentioned twice. The word “love” does not appear once. Jesus’ birth is followed immediately by his passion and death. There is no mention of his life, his miracles or teaching; no mention of the Sermon on the Mount.

This does not mean that the creeds are wrong or bad, but a different emphasis entered the Church, and it became even worse after the Great Schism of 1054 when the Church split in two with the Orthodox in the East and the Roman Church in the West.

The Roman Church defined beliefs. Being one with God depended on believing the correct things.  We needed someone like Peter in the first reading today to declare that God shows no partiality. Any person who loves is acceptable to God. And in the second reading today John affirms thatlove is from God. One who does not love knows nothing of God. Would the Church have sanctioned the Crusades or the Inquisition had the earlier emphasis on love remained primary?

The phrase “Perennial Tradition” refers to the reflection of God’s presence and influence throughout the world in people and religions at all times and everywhere. The Divine Mystery is not limited or restricted to those in power or who know the correct catechism answers.

St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel; use words if you must.” God does not meet us in formulas, doctrines, and moralisms nearly as much as God meets us in everyday reality as it offers itself hour by hour. Is this not truly “our daily bread”? The Word became “flesh” because words can’t get you there, only experience can.

God has a predeliction, a special love, for the poor and helpless, the refugee, the suffering. People in these conditions are not always attractive. When a man saw Mother Teresa washing the wounds of a leper. he said, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” Mother Teresa replied, “Neither would I, but I would gladly do it for Christ.” One of her Missionaries of Charity said, “We care for Christ in his distressing disguises.”

Cory Booker is a Senator from New Jersey. I don’t know his religious affiliation or even if he has any. However he said the following: “Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people; before you tell me how much you love your God, show me in how much you love all His children; before you preach to me of your passion for your faith, teach me about it through your compassion for your neighbors. In the end, I’m not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as in how you choose to live and give.”

Father Rohr emphasized the importance of not judging others. He said it may be more helpful to work at not labeling others. Once we label someone, we put them in a box and it becomes much more difficult, if not impossible, to listen to them and understand them.

Disconnection is the source of much of our suffering. Love, however, creates connections which sustain us, connections that give meaning, connections that provide a pathway to the sacred.

Pedro Arrupe, a former Superior General of the Jesuits whom some consider a saint, wrote the following:

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you will read, who you will know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

Friends, this set of readings given us by the Spirit today is probably the strongest yet since Easter giving us a most clear direction in the way we as followers of Jesus must proceed—must, in fact, live our lives.  We see in the first reading from Acts that the budding Christian community is not at all sure that they can trust Paul, who as Saul was a rabid persecutor of Christians.  Understandable—perhaps. Barnabas steps up though and calls the others to love and forgiveness as Jesus modeled so well from the cross.  Fear was overcome by love.

In John’s 1^st letter—our second reading, we are instructed to basically, “walk the talk”—to love in deed and in truth and not just talk about it!  John continues and I paraphrase; love is our way of knowing that we are committed to the truth and are at peace with God, no matter what our consciences may charge us with.  This is a tremendous statement when you think about it!  We are to love, no matter what our consciences charge us with—love is always the test!   If the action isn’t about love, we may have to check the foundation of our consciences.

What is the loving thing to do?—always a question we must ask when we don’t know how to proceed.  Many times people’s consciences have been formed devoid of love and so we will see people rabidly defending the God of their own making, or morals intended to control others, lifestyle choices, truly believing in the rightness of their actions—all without the consideration of what is the loving thing to do—or what Jesus would have done.  As Easter people, we are challenged to this deep kind of thinking.

Often, we pray in our liturgies for the renewal of our Church—a renewal that needs to happen.  We try to do our piece here at All Are One, but I believe each of us realizes the challenge that is before us each day to do the loving thing.  Sometimes, I think we become confused and think that “the loving thing to do” is about “sweetness and light,” never saying, “No,” never speaking the truth as the Spirit gives it to us.   Not so; doing the loving thing, is hard work.  It is always easier to not say what needs to be said, to protect ourselves, our positions, our reputations.  But the loving thing is about bringing compassion, hope, mercy, understanding and truth–to situations often devoid of these gifts.  Our brother Jesus showed us so well how to bring these gifts to most all situations.

Jesus gives us the wonderful analogy today of the vine and the branches—we are part of something living and good and Jesus’ life force pulses through this vine/this family that we became part of at our baptisms—we grow as branches from that vine if we are people of love. If love is not the determining factor in how we do “church,” then the young that we hope to attract will walk away, as many already have. The younger generations want and have a right to expect that we be authentic—that we at least attempt to walk our talk.

Friends, it is good to regularly question our commitment, check to see that we are indeed, “walking the talk”—that our words do show up in our actions.  There was a wonderful example of this in last Friday’s Winona Daily News of a young woman, Allison, a high school sophomore at Lewiston-Altura, who, out of concern that her life-long friend, Trent, who lives with Down Syndrome, would be asked to the prom, asked him herself. The story describes how Trent continually throughout his young life has always reached out to others, whether he knows them or not, says, “Hi,” and offers a hug. Now Trent may be asked to live his life with an extra chromosome that makes him different from others, but he also possesses a trait lacking in many of us—an ability to consistently look on his world with love.

During the month of May, Catholics have traditionally turned to Mary, Jesus’ earthly mother and our sister for the journey.  Mary adds the human feminine face of God to our world, a face that has traditionally been depicted in a totally male form.   Mary was a woman of strength, a woman who said, “Yes” continually to God throughout her life on behalf of her son who showed us the way, the truth and the life to strive to live. I like to consider Mary more as a sister in my relationship to her, than as a mother, because it allows her more of a voice.  As a mother; she can be relocated to a pedestal, to be respected, yes, but I truly believe God intended more from her—as a challenge to us, as a model in how to follow her son, our brother, Jesus.

As most of you know, I retired from my position as chaplain at Winona Health this past week after 20 years of service in hospice, acute hospital and long-term care. It was quite a week too in getting to that final day on Thursday. The week included a funeral for a staff person that I officiated at, a special remembrance for her with staff at the hospital later in the week, crisis situations with several families, pastoral care to a long-time neighbor and friend along with his family and his ultimate death, later on, as well as all the day to day visitation and pastoral support of those in the hospital.

As I reflected on what it means to “retire” as I believe I will do for a while, I found myself being so grateful for the opportunities I have been given over these 20 years to bring God’s love and care to the situations that life brings to each of us on our personal journeys through life and home again to God.

So many people have asked me what I’m going to do now and while I see retirement as an end in some ways, to some things, I see it very much as a beginning in other ways—a refocus, a time to truly be more aware, asking all the questions of myself in a more profound way, that I continually ask all of us each week about how we live as Jesus’ followers and then  hopefully, responding in more concerted and good ways because I have more time now. Easter calls each of us, each year, to now carry on where Jesus left off making a difference in our world.  I look forward to the new ways now that our brother Jesus will be calling me.