FULLY CATHOLIC

 

Today is Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter and the first reading is another powerful text from the Acts of the Apostles. It illustrates what happens when a group forgets what its mission is. On a given Sabbath the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. Paul and Barnabas were prepared to proclaim that word. Yet, there were people who were jealous and violently contradicted what they said. Surely this opposition came from pagans or those who hated God. No, it came from the religious leaders.

St. John has seven distinctive “I AM” statements in his gospel – I am the Bread of Life, I am the Way the Truth and the Life, I am the Resurrection and the Life, I am the Light of the World, I am the Good Shepherd, I am the Vine, and (in today’s reading) I am the Gate.

 

Each of these sayings symbolically represents (in kaleidoscope fashion) not just what Jesus does but who and what he is. They do not simply stand for or point to their meaning – they ARE their meaning. So, for example, Light of the World does not mean that light gives us some idea of how Jesus functions or how he enlightens. It means that Jesus is HIMSELF light; it is who tells us what light is.; he is what we see by.

 

 

In an article I read some time ago by Hispanic theologian, Roberto S. Goizueta, there was an account of the tragedy that befell a five year old African American child in inner-city Boston. Kai Leigh Harriot was playing in the porch of her home one day, when she was struck by a stray bullet from a drive-by. The bullet severed her spine and left her paralysed.

 

 

 

This year we will celebrate Easter again, as we did last year and God willing as we will do next year and the following. Yes the parish may try something new as we did last year and we wonder if it will have the same impact as what we tried last year did. Parishioners remember our celebration from last year and no doubt lives were impacted in some ways, on the individual level perhaps but was there any real impact on the societal level so that it could be said that the celebration of Easter brought about some change. Do we as a people or as a Church really understand Easter?

 

Today we celebrate the second day of the Paschal Triduum. It is the day of the victorious Cross, where Jesus Christ leaves the Virgin Mary his mother, forgives his murderers, and puts total trust in God The Father, and in so doing, He has made a way for all of us out of eternal damnation, into the hope of new life - eternal life. When ever I think of the extent to which God loves us all, I am amazed far beyond any set of words spoken even by the most eloquent of speakers.  There are simply no words that can ever express what God has done for us.  It seems crazy for God who is All Powerful, who is Eternal, who is Omniscient, who has no rival, who is Omnipresent, to care about me and about you to such an extent that he was willing to give all that He had so that you and I can spend eternity with Him - which is why we were created in the first place.  Not only was He willing to give it all - He actually did!  What an awesome God!