Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4: 8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preaches to the people about the reason he is able to cure the sick.  I would imagine that it would be quite tempting for Peter to say, “It was I who am responsible for this miracle.  He, however, points to the power of God working in him.  He is an instrument of God’s love and kindness but ultimately it was “in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean” that the man is healed. 

In our own lives, we have received many blessings.  It would certainly be tempting to say, “I am a great guy and that is why these blessings come my way.”  Or we could say, “My smarts and hard work are the sole reason I am doing so well.”  This reading invites us to think about the blessings that have come to us in our lives and give thanks to God because He is the true source of all that is good.

1 John 3:1-2

The reading says we are the children of God.  What does that mean?  I would like to think that we are actually the “adult children of God.”  We ask God’s help but we are called to follow our own path and make our own decisions.  We pray that those decisions reflect our faith.  Yet, even if those decisions deviate from God’s plan, we can still be forgiven and we are still loved.

“what we shall be has not yet been revealed.”  Even though, we are God’s children, what the future brings is still hidden in some way.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could know how our story will end?  Wouldn’t it be great if we knew the end so we could avoid all the mistakes in between?  But that won’t happen.  We will make mistakes and we might sometimes get lost on the path.  Sometimes we will be in darkness and won’t know where to go next.  But all will be well.  We shall see him as he is.  We shall be like him.  That is a great comfort to me.

John 10:11-18

Many times, a pastor of a parish is called the Shepherd of his Flock.  It is a nice image that gives off some nice feelings but it does have some problems.  I read a book of meditations on the 23^rd Psalm and one of the meditations said that sheep are not so smart.  I find parishioners to be very intelligent and holy people.  They are, in many cases more intelligent and holy than I am.  I am a fellow Christian, sinner, questioner just like you.  I would like to think that we could learn from each other. 

Parents (and grandparents) could be called Shepherds of their children but I would imagine that they too learn from their kids.  Parents are fellow travelers with their children but are in a special place of authority and protection over them. 

As we talk about Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we could pray for all the people who have shepherded/loved/cared for/walked with us over the years.  We pray that we may be good shepherds to others around us.

I invite your comments.

Easter

There are two people – Judas and Peter - who are extremely important to the story of Jesus’ Passion and Death.  They are important for very different reasons but these two apostles figure prominently in the Passion narrative.  I hope these reflections give you insight into the story.

Judas 1  The Gospel of John is referred to as the Book of Signs.  Jesus is always performing miracles/signs in order to indicate the presence of His kingdom.  Judas is a sort of “anti-sign.”  In John 12, as Jesus is anointed by Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha, Judas criticizes the action as wasteful.  “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”  “He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.”  Judas immediately assigns an earthly/monetary value to the kindness of Mary.  He focuses on the earthly kingdom and his place in it.  Mary’s kindness is a “priceless” act of kindness but Judas evaluates it by its cost.  He will do this again when he sells out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, placing a monetary value on the life of Jesus.  Judas receives this money from the chief priests, who presumably get the money from the Temple treasury – the money used for sacrifice.  Very appropriately, the money for Jesus’ sacrifice comes from the Temple sacrifice money because he will be the final sacrifice for the sins of the nation.

Peter  There are some very important aspects to Peter’s actions in the Gospel.  First, Peter is there with the disciples at the Last Supper/Washing of the Feet in John’s Gospel.  The disciples argue about who is the greatest and then Jesus shows them what they are called to do – wash the feet of others.  Jesus takes on the job of a lowly servant – foot washer – in order to show an example of humility to his disciples.  No king, mayor, senator, alderman would ever do this, but Jesus, King of the Universe, does.  Peter says, “No.”  Maybe he is afraid of water after his failed attempt of walking on water with Jesus.  Just kidding.  Finally Peter consents because Jesus tells him he will understand later.  Sometimes God may ask us to do something even though it may be unintelligible to us.  Have faith that all will be well.

Judas 2  Judas gave Jesus a kiss.  A kiss is a very powerful symbol for us.  It means love, care, devotion and Judas cheapens it.  When Judas kisses Jesus, it is for betrayal and not for love.  “It is night,” the Gospel says and rightly so because humanity has betrayed Jesus.  The light is gone.

At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Judas repents of his sin.  He takes the money back to the chief priests and they will not accept the tainted money.  The money weighs Judas down rather than making him free.  Judas then takes his own life.  I think this event shows the result of a life without Christ.  Judas has lost hope.  He used the world’s possessions to serve himself rather than God and that is death for him.

Peter 2  Peter is in the high priest’s courtyard after Jesus is arrested (JN 18:15).  There is a fire in the middle of the courtyard and as Peter gets closer to it to warm himself, he is recognized as one of the disciples.  He denies knowing Jesus.  It is important to pay attention to the details of the story.  As Peter moves closer to the fire (the light) his weakness becomes more recognizable.  He also focuses on keeping comfortable and warm around the fire, rather than tell the truth about his relationship to Jesus.  We are not called to be comfortable but to be faithful.  As we move closer to the light of Jesus, we can see that we are sinful.  We see clearly our faults and failings.  Peter sees his faults and failings and weeps.

  I invite your comments.