Happy Easter Everyone!
I love that we get to celebrate Easter for 50 days. In the Church's wisdom we have 40 days of Lent to prepare and 50 days of Easter to celebrate the wonderful mystery and gift of the Resurrection.
Below you can find my homily for the Third Sunday of Easter:
This week I drove Fr. Phil up
to Staten Island so that he could give a talk to some Secular Franciscans and
while he was giving the talk I surprised a close friend of my family who is
like another mother to me, I call her Aunt. I unexpectedly showed up at my
aunt’s front door. She was on the phone and slowly opened the door to see who
would be knocking at the door. Once she realized that it was I, she hung up the
phone and gave me a big hug and kiss. She recognized me immediately. She
invited me into her house and to have something to eat. We took time to talk
about how things have been going and what has happened since the last time we
saw each other. She asked about how it was to be living in Point Pleasant and I
said “It was all right.” No I told her that everything was great, especially
living with Fr. Richard (He was the presider at Mass). But after the initial
joy of the reunion was somewhat spent, we got down to talking about more
serious things that are important to both of us. For example she asked if I was
really happy living as a friar and how things have been going in my family. In
the end we both were reminded of how it is always a joyous occasion when
someone to whom you feel very close drops in to visit you unexpectedly. Maybe
you have experienced the same thing when a son or daughter who has moved away
to another state comes home unexpectedly to visit or when a close friend of
yours surprises you at work, there is tremendous joy in the reunion.
In the Gospel we hear of a reunion like this. Jesus
unexpectedly stands in the midst of the disciples. There was no knock or
opening of a door, Jesus just appeared. The disciples were startled and
terrified like my aunt was. They had no time to prepare for Jesus coming, in
fact the disciples did not recognize him. Jesus now in a resurrected state was
not easily recognizable, but Jesus showed them his hands and his feet, offering
them to touch them. He reminded them that he had flesh and thus was not a
ghost. The disciples were then filled with joy. Jesus and his disciples did
what we do with guests, they ate together. Even after Jesus rose from the dead,
he ate with his disciples like he always did. We see continuity between the
pre-Easter and post-Easter Jesus, he did a very human thing, sharing a meal.
We need to remember, that no one saw Jesus rise from the
dead. We do not have the event captured through any eyewitness accounts or
pictures. Jesus’ resurrection was made known us from the fact that the tomb was
empty and by his appearances to his friends and disciples, like the one we hear
today.
We know that Jesus and his disciples talked. Maybe they took
time to talk about how things have been going and what has happened since the
last time they saw each other. Maybe the disciples shared what is what like to
watch Jesus die or to live without him for a couple days. We do not know. We do
know that after the initial joy of the reunion, Jesus and the disciples got
down to talking about more serious things that are important to both of them.
I can’t imagine what it was like for the disciples to have
Jesus – now risen from the dead – in their midst talking about himself being
the fulfillment of the Scriptures. To have Jesus talk about the forgiveness of
sins, which is now to be offered to others through the disciples themselves. To
receive the mandate to preach to all nations in Jesus’ name.
This mandate does not stop with the first disciples of
Jesus. This mandate for the forgiveness of sins and to preach in Jesus’ name to
all the nations, continues with you and me. Forgiveness of sins may be done by
actually forgiving someone when they say “Sorry.” This may mean letting go of
past hurts, instead of holding on to them forming resentment towards those that
hurt you. Or talking to and supporting that family member that others seem to
ignore. Preaching Jesus’ name to all the nations, may be as simple as telling
your friends and family where you really are on Saturday Evenings (or Sunday
mornings) - at Church - instead of just saying you are busy at that time. It
could be writing "God Bless You", "God Loves You", or
"I am praying for you" in the next card you write or text you send.
Or it can be posting something about your faith on Facebook, Twitter, or
Instagram. What began in Jerusalem, continues here in Point Pleasant Beach.
What began with the disciples, continues with you.
Third Sunday of Easter Homily
April 19, 2015
St. Peter's Church
Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
No comments:
Post a Comment