Kathy Kelly to speak at Full Circle on May 1

Kathy Kelly is coming to speak at Full Circle this coming Sunday, May 1st. Kathy is a well-known peace activist who will be in Iowa City. We are pleased to be able to host her. Mass will be at 4pm and Kathy will offer her thoughts as our homily. Kathy Kelly (born 1952) is an American peace activist, pacifist and author, one of the founding members of Voices in the Wilderness, and currently a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. As part of peace team work in several countries, she has traveled to Iraq twenty-six times, notably remaining in combat zones during the early days of both US-Iraq wars. Her recent travel has focused on Afghanistan and Gaza, along with domestic protests against U.S. drone policy. She has been arrested more than sixty times at home and abroad, and written of her experiences among targets of U.S. military bombardment and inmates of U.S. prisons. Please join us for this special event. Directions to FullCircle are on our website www.fullcircleic.com

April 24, 2016 Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 24, 2016


Fifth Sunday of Easter


Acts 14:21-27, Revelations 21: 1-5, John 13: 31-33, 34-35

In today’s Gospel reading, the theme of love continues to demonstrate the relationship between God and us. Jesus begins by explaining God’s glorification. To glorify someone is to see the great good in them, to love them for that good, and to make that great good known to others. Now this is tricky, but it goes like this. God recognizes the good in Jesus, who is God the Son of Man. The good is all the more evident in the sacrifice Jesus is about to make for us. Jesus is in God and God is in Jesus. Because Jesus is acting out of love for the supreme good, God is glorified in his actions. Jesus is also glorified by God because he is revealing to the world by his actions the mercy and love of God. Jesus is simultaneously glorifying God by being the instrument of God’s mercy and love by means of his being and is glorified at the same time by God. This Gospel notes a shift then between the relationships of God to Jesus to the relationship among the followers of Christ—it is the extension of the relationship among the divine persons of God to the relationship between Christ and us and the relationship that should exist among all of us. Jesus has made the love that exists among the persons of the Trinity to be the love that now exists between Jesus and his followers. We are to see the greater good in our relationships with others and among ourselves. Jesus commands us to make love the rule of law among ourselves—we are to see the great good in our fellow humans, and that good is that they are created in the image of God and saved and sanctified by Christ. We are to love everyone for that good which is in them—to will their good to the point of our own sacrifice if necessary.

Doctrine: Love one another “as I have loved you” Christ is “our model of holiness,” whom we should imitate. The one new commandment we are to obey is love. To love is to will the good of the other through one’s actions, even to the point of sacrifice. It is the gift of self to the other. Love is the essence of every moral law: total love of God, love of neighbor as oneself, the Ten Commandments, the laws of the Church. It is even what is at the basis of every just civil law.

Practical application: How do we live love? How do we make a sincere gift of self to those around us? The answer is imitation of Christ. We learn many, many things by direct imitation, that is, by observing another and doing the same. Sometimes the one we imitate helps us by showing us and explaining things. We have all this when it comes to imitating Christ.

We, as disciples of Jesus, have continually fallen far short in our love for one another as well as in our love for those outside the community of faith. Theological and ethical arguments often descend into personal attacks and name-calling; personal interests often trump the common good of the community; those in need of compassion find judgment instead. Jesus could not be clearer: It is not by our theological correctness, not by our moral purity, not by our impressive knowledge that everyone will know that we are his disciples. It is quite simply by our loving acts—acts of service and sacrifice, acts that point to the love of God for the world made known in Jesus Christ.

I know that there are those who believe that this world is past the point of redemption. Maybe it is. But that is not for you and me to decide. God is the one who began life, and God is the one who will close it. In the meantime, we who have decided to follow Jesus have been given a commandment to carry on in love.

Whenever people who were suffering or in need came to Jesus, Jesus never said, "It is too late. You are not worth saving." Always, Jesus healed them. All they had to do was want to be healed and believe that God wants the world to be healed. If the whole world will not be healed, God still wants whoever will to respond to God's love and find life instead of death.

You and I, who look to Jesus, must allow ourselves to be the instruments of God's grace. Jesus demands that we do more than simply save ourselves. Jesus commanded that we do more. Jesus commanded that we not surrender as long as we live on earth. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to love even our enemies. We have a commandment—a mission. This earth we live in may be corrupt and filled with the poisons that people pour on it. But it also contains the very goodness with which God created it. It is the only life we know.

Let us work with God on the side of the goodness that God created, rather than write off the world and wait for the end and let the devil take what follows. To love is what Jesus clearly asked us to do. Soon enough, the end will come. Let us not wish for it, but be a working part of the new heaven that Jesus had brought already down upon this earth. After all, we are not yet part of the dead, but, by the grace of God, part of the living.

And while the passage that we read today trips off the tongue in a kind of benign

and comfortable way, “Love one another as I have loved you,” it is a commandment that is easier said than done; easier heard than fulfilled. In fact, I am convinced that it is not only difficult for us to love one another; it was never easy for Jesus to love his disciples. I think it was a trial at times. I think that it was hard for Jesus to love the disciples, not easy. As hard for him as it was for them to love one another. What was hard for him was to see the potential, the possibility of what they might be, and to know that they fell so short. I think it was hard because he knew how much depended on them, and how difficult it would be for them to live up to that. And it was hard because he knew how given to pettiness and jealousy and bullheadedness and sin that they were prone to be, and how far short they fell from the mark.

The disciples were an unlikely lot, several fishermen, a tax collector, a crook who
was the treasurer, a member of a subversive political party, a pair of twins; they didn’t necessarily have a lot in common these folks except for, of course, Jesus, which is why they were like us—basically good, but flawed.
There had been indications all along that the choice of these people was not
without its challenges. The gospels are replete with stories of the disciples’ pettiness, their lack of faith, their inability to pick up the mantle and cast out demons or perform miracles, their backbiting, their jockeying for position. Even Peter couldn’t accept Jesus’ repeated explanation that the Son of Man must, suffer and die, nor could he accept the inclusion of women as Jesus’ disciples. And so he tried to dissuade Jesus from his course of action, which frustrated Jesus no end; enough so that he rebuked Peter, called him Satan, and told him to get out of his way.
The inner circle of James and John, were diminished by the fact that their mother
wanted to get advance seating arrangements for them at the heavenly banquet, a move that left the other disciples jealous and bickering among themselves.

In fact, the words of loving one another come out of Jesus’ mouth immediately following Judas’ departure from the upper room. “Do quickly what you have to do,” Jesus tells Judas, and Judas took the bread from Jesus’ hand, and ran out into the darkness of the night to find his way to the council where they awaited his arrival. The other end of this teaching on love which begins with Judas’ betrayal is Peter’s denial. Jesus no sooner finishes his words to his disciples than they leave the upper room together, making their way to the garden where he is arrested and then stands trial before the high priest. And as he does Peter denies that he even knows Jesus.

Wow, that’s really some kind of love, isn’t it.

But in spite of all that, Jesus loved them. He loved them because he believed that
together they were a sum that was greater than its parts. That together they were better than they were alone. That maybe, just maybe, they might rise above their pettiness and bickering and limitations and achieve something that had the love of God in it. Something that had his love in it and in so doing, they might just love one another.

Somehow it helps me to think that it wasn’t easy for Jesus to love his disciples,
that he had to work at it the way I have to work at it, because all too often I get
discouraged by the frailty and brokenness and painful inhumanity of those whom God has created. It’s easy to blame the victim, to ignore the plight of others, to walk away from the situation. After all, others are not from my group; they’re not my kind—I wouldn’t normally associate with those kinds of people. And then I think that God has and is. That’s the real difference—God has. God has hopes and dreams for all of us. God wants more for us than we have dared to think possible for ourselves. And more importantly, God will not give up on us—God even wants us to love one another as God loves each of us. How has God loved us? Enough to die for us, enough to give his life for our sake; enough to put up with us. If Jesus could love the disciples, in spite of all their painful flaws and disgusting humanity, then we can surely love each other in the same way, in spite of all our flaws.

But then along comes this story of Jesus bookended by betrayal that expresses
Jesus’ best and fondest hope for us, that we love one another as he has loved us. He
thinks we can do it. And it helps me to know that it wasn’t easy, even for him, because it isn’t easy for us. Love one another as I have loved you, he urged us. As I have loved you. With patience, forgiveness, forbearance, peace of spirit, and a willingness to take the bad with the good.

Maybe Jesus had to tell us to do this because on our own we might not try. We
might give up. But for his sake we might attempt it—loving one another.
And who knows, maybe Jesus is right. If we do so, perhaps everyone will know that we are disciples. It’s about as sure a sign as there can be… that we love one another as God has loved us.

I remember this sign or billboard I saw once. It said: “If they were putting Christians on trial would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

What can we do to show our discipleship, to show we are Christians—followers of Christ. How do we serve each other as Christ commanded? Here are some examples that the Bible gives us, and they don’t cost a thing.

Accept others without judgment -- Esteem others [highly regard] no matter their circumstances in life -- Encourage others to be their fullest selves-- Show true empathy to and for others-- Serve one another by showing deference in matters of liberty--Be kind to others-- Speak the truth to others—be honest-- Show compassion toward others
Forgive others-- Comfort others with the hope of Christ-- Live in peace and harmony with others--See and seek the good in others--Pray for others—especially for their success-- Be patient with others-- Refuse to be resentful or hold grudges--Volunteer to help--Fight injustice and discrimination when you see it, and as much more as your imagination will allow because the love Jesus speaks about comes from the spirit and is a gift to us—we only need to express this love by what we do and how we see the world. With the grace of God, we can do it.

Let me leave you with these words from Mother Teresa:

“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”
-Mother Teresa

Funeral Mass for Estela Bern Sunday, April 17, 2016

Funeral Mass for Estela Bern
Sunday, April 17, 2016



Opening Song: "Be Not Afraid" (Dufford) # 608

First Reading: Ruth 1: 11, 14-18

But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband.” At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100

We are God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture.

Second Reading: Ephesians 4:28, 30-32

Do something useful with your hands, so you can have something to share with the needy. Be on your guard against foul talk. Say only what will give grace to your listeners. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all rage and anger, all harsh words, slander and malice of every kind. In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate and mutually forgiving just as God has forgiven you in Christ.

Alleluia

Gospel Reading: Luke 10:30-37

An expert on the Law stood up to put Jesus to the test and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?”
Jesus answered, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
The expert on the Law replied: “You must love the Most High God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you’ll live.”
But the expert on the Law, seeking self-justification, pressed Jesus further: “And just who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “There was a traveler going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, who fell prey to robbers. The traveler was beaten, stripped naked, and left half-dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road; the priest saw the traveler lying beside the road, but passed by on the other side. Likewise, there was a Levite who came the same way; this one, too, saw the afflicted traveler and passed by on the other.
But a Samaritan, who was taking the same road, also came upon the traveler and, filled with compassion, approached the traveler and dressed the wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then the Samaritan put the wounded person on a donkey, went straight to an inn and there took care of the injured one. The next day the Samaritan took out two silver pieces and gave them to the innkeeper with the request, ‘Look after this person, and if there is any further expense, I’ll repay you on the way back.’
“Which of these three, in our opinion, was the neighbor to the traveler who fell in with the robbers?” The answer came, “The one who showed compassion.” Jesus replied, “Then go and do the same.”

Homily:

Did you see the stars last night? There was a bright moon too. And it was maybe 70 degrees--a perfect spring night. The kind that makes you ponder some of the mysteries of life. Estela means star so she was very much present too.

So, what is the purpose of a star? Some would say, “nothing.” There is no purpose. Others could get very scientific, “It’s a fixed luminous point in the night sky that reminds us of how the world began.” I tried googling the question and found this:

“To illuminate what was and is our present time continuum. You look up and wonder how far back in time you are going. The light that we see from their small and distant glimmer is as old as our galaxy. The stars are beautiful giants that are one million times brighter than our very own small star we call the sun. Stars are there for a purpose and for what reason is yet to be guessed by one of us in this small but wonderful planet we call earth. Yet we look up and praise the wonderful and stupendous sky with its billions of giants. I can only realize that in our small world and our fragile existence we are actually staring at the face of God.”

Pretty good, right? Staring at the face of God. Stars help to reflect the majesty of God and creation. We wish upon a star to help encourage us and give us hope. When someone dies, we often look up to the stars to connect, to remember and to fix our longing on what we can never fully understand. Stars represent mystery, the unknown and the eternal. Perhaps, that is their purpose.

Estela was all that. She was our quiet sage who would sit in her wheelchair here and listen. At the kiss of peace, we would all take turns bending over to give her a hug or a kiss on her cheek. The smile on her face was priceless. She always said, “Thank you so much,” with just a touch of her native Spanish. Little did we know the powerhouse she was under all that charm.

I last saw Estela on Palm Sunday. She was staying at the Mercy Hospice Unit. I got a call from the chaplain who said that Estela told her that I was her pastor. When I arrived, she was in bed. She appeared to be much more frail than when I had last seen her but no less pleased to see me. She smiled and graciously nodded, her usual acknowledgement of me. I gave her some palm branches and stayed for a short time.

Today’s readings were chosen specifically for Estela. Each of them speaks of her and what she valued. In our first reading, we hear the familiar story of Ruth who chooses to stay with Naomi. She would be a foreigner in a strange land but that was less important than her loyalty to her mother-in-law, her devotion to stay and provide support.

Estela knew what it was like to be a stranger in a strange land. She was born in Mexico but came to the United States to become a nurse, graduating in 1946. Like the light from a star, she was way ahead of her time—a woman who knew the value of education. She wanted to develop her skills to help others, stranger or kin, she was devoted to being of service and taught this to her children and grandchildren. It’s no wonder they are the magnificent people they are.

In Ephesians, our second reading, Paul is speaking to a new Christian community, encouraging them in both doctrine and action. There are many “commands” or instructions that are worthy for us all to consider, being kind and compassionate, not letting anger get in the way of forgiveness. Estela’s favorite advice was to make stars out of scars. So simple and yet so profound. When we are wounded, it is natural to build our own defense, to not reach out for fear of further harm. Estela and Paul are insisting that that is not the way of Christ. With God’s grace, we are encouraged to risk, to have courage so that, not only may we heal, but that we transform our pain into something beautiful, something inspiring and full of light.

I do not know all of Estela’s pain in life. But we were able to witness her courage in the face of chronic illness, when aging becomes its own burden. She remained strong even in the face of weakness, cautious at times but never resigned. That’s star-making kind of stuff.

Finally, we hear the story of the Good Samaritan. The one least likely to offer help, the one who others despise and judge as unworthy, the Samaritan, is the hero. He helps without question. And not just a little. He offers compassion to the full extent of his ability. His example is a challenge to us all, to have the courage to care, regardless of expectations.

Estela had that courage, that sense of what is right. She fostered the virtue of being neighborly to all people. Maybe that’s why she fit in at Full Circle so well. Even in her late 90’s, she had no trouble accepting the Roman Catholic Womenpriest movement. My own parents are in their 80’s and they are much less generative, unable to accept my call. But not Estela. She has been fully supportive of women’s rights, perhaps because she herself experienced racism and sexism. With Estela, I never felt judged or questioned. Rather, her kindness and warmth were evident. The fact that she wanted me to do her funeral is a privilege beyond words. Hers is our first funeral here. We’ve had baptisms, confirmations and even a wedding. Now, it seems fitting that Estela brings us full circle. She is our matriarch. The mother of our fledgling little church.

May we honor her best by committing ourselves to her call—to make this world a better place through service, education and faith, faith that comes alive through our care of others: those who are in need, those who are different, those who we least expect to teach us compassion.

Through Estela’s life, we are reminded of the power of love; that God wants to use us as her hands and feet, her voice and her compassion. Just as the monarch butterflies of her homeland flutter forth from their cocoons each and every year to remind us of resurrection and rebirth, may Estela’s life ever remind us of God’s desire for community through service. May we remember Estela as our special star who very much reflected the face of God. Amen.

I now invite her family to come forward to write her name in the Book of Life.

Offertory Song: "The Servant Song" (Gillard) # 669

Communion Song: "You Are Mine" (Haas) # 649

Communion Meditation: At Peace BY AMADO NERVO

(Creator of himself, of his destiny.)

Very near my sunset, I bless you,

Life because you never gave me neither unfilled hope nor unfair work,

nor undeserved sorrow.

Because I see at the end of my rough way

that I was the architect of my own destiny

and if I extracted the sweetness or the bitterness of things

it was because I put the sweetness or the bitterness in them

when I planted rose bushes

I always harvested roses

Certainly, winter is going to follow my youth

But you didn’t tell me that May was eternal

I found without a doubt long my nights of pain

But you didn’t promise me only good nights

And in exchange I had some peaceful ones

I loved, I was loved, the sun caressed my face

Life, you owe me nothing,

Life, we are at peace!

(Written on March 20, 1915.)

Closing Song: "On Eagle's Wings" (Joncas) # 611​

April 3, 2016-Second Sunday of Easter

Second Sunday of Easter
April 3, 2016

First Reading: Acts 5:12-29

12Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. 13None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:9-13, 17-19

9I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet11saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” 12Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest.

17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this.

Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Sermon:

As many of you know, my daughter-in-law, Sonia, is now in Humjibre, Ghana. It’s a small village of about 3,000 people. She is the Health Education Coordinator for a non-profit that is helping mothers during their pregnancy and then stays with them until the child is two years old. It’s her way of saving the world, or so she thought. I spoke with her this week, because I can simply call her right up, amazing. She said she was having doubts about her work there. Even in a place so clearly in need, where she thought she would be able to put her idealism into practice, she is frustrated. First it is sweltering hot, all the time. It averages 95 degrees and she sweats through her clothes every single day. This time of year, avocados are in season which sounds wonderful until you eat them every single day for every meal. Mangos will soon be in season. Again, every day every meal. Even something as delicious as mangos could lose its thrill if you had to eat it all the time. She said that the flies are horrible; so persistent. Sonia sleeps under a mosquito net at night and often the power goes out so the one fan they have to move the air stops working. You get the idea. Reality has set in and she is longing for the basics of America. She said, “Maybe Matt and I will find a small house all by itself and I’ll learn how to make cheese and we can live happily ever after.” It's a pleasant fantasy for now but, she is concerned that eventually she would grow weary of that as well. Doubt has led her to fully reconsider what it is she wants to do with her life.

Today we have Thomas who had his doubts about the whole resurrection thing. Every Sunday after Easter we hear about Doubting Thomas. We shine the light on the dark side of being human, after we have just celebrated the light. In our daily conversations, we even use the expression, “Don’t be a Doubting Thomas” to caution anyone who would question or doubt. Poor Thomas. He gets such a bad rap when really he’s probably the most honest of all the disciples. It’s not like they didn’t have doubts! After all, they were still locked in the upper room when Jesus came back to see Thomas. But it’s always easier to scapegoat someone that to admit to our own fears, right?

Thomas was the same disciple earlier who had the courage to ask Jesus to explain himself when he said, “In my father’s house are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you and if I go there, I will come back to take you to be with me.” I read this often at the bedside of a dying patient to help reassure the family that there is a “place”, an afterlife to where we will go after we die. But Thomas didn’t get it. He said, “We don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” To which Jesus replies, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” Not that that made it much more clear but at least Thomas had more clarification (instead of just assuming).

Here he is again, after all hope has been dashed, trying to understand. And the amazing thing is, his doubt, his questioning causes Jesus to come back again, just for him. Jesus had already seen the other disciples so he could have just figured that that was enough. But for Thomas, Jesus reappears. He comes through the locked doors because nothing can stop him now—no barriers, no locks. And Jesus allows Thomas to probe his wounds. This is perhaps the most fascinating part of Thomas’ request—that he be able to put his finger in Jesus wounds. Thomas wants to fully appreciate what Jesus endured. That’s the power of doubt. It moved Thomas to embrace his fears and to be fully in the horror of what had happened. Yes, dead and alive—the two are now one in Jesus.

Notice that Jesus shames Thomas. He admonishes him for having to see in order to believe. All of us initially, when we are young in our faith need to see something that makes us believe. For me, it was having my Matthew on Easter morning. That did it! But, the more we grow spiritually, the less external proof we need. In fact, physical proof can become a bit hokey. My mom does novenas (probably for me) and often she will get a yellow rose on the last day. Granted, we all know yellow roses are her favorite so is it a miracle or just one of us being nice?

As adults, most of us come to a quiet certitude—that it’s enough to believe because we have lived a life of challenge and our faith has sustained us. Prayer has now become less of a “gimme this” and more about gratitude and trust.

Thomas had fears and doubts, just like his friends. He was desperate to understand. Ultimately he needed what all of us need in times of distress or despair, a companion to comfort and help guide us when the way seems overwhelming or dangerous. Thomas needed the Jesus he loved to show him that he was fully and completely back with them as they began their new way of life. With Jesus at his side, Thomas became an evangelizer to India and worked tirelessly to spread the good news. That’s why I’d like to rename Thomas. Instead of Doubting Thomas, I think he should be called Deliberate Thomas. Because of his intention to understand, because he was deliberate, he asked and received answers that empowered him and everyone else.

Deliberate Thomas’s response to Jesus, once he understood, was “My Lord and my God!” He was the first to claim Jesus as both Lord and God. Thomas had come to a deep appreciation of the resurrection because of his questions. May we be blessed to be just as deliberate.

Have you had doubts that led you to a deeper understanding? How was God at work in the process?

Communion Meditation:

WHAT THOMAS WANTS (Andrew King, 2016)
(John 20: 19-31)

Thomas knows all about crucifixion.
Knows the nails driven into the victim
really tear the flesh,
damage the bones.

And he knows that this
is a crucifying world,
with all its violence,
greed and oppression

still hammering nails into the hands of justice,
still thrusting spears through the ribs of love,
still hanging mercy and kindness to die
and sealing up the tomb.

Thomas knows all about it. So he knows that any real resurrection
will have to come out of ruin,
will have to come out of suffering,

will have to come out still bearing the scars
inflicted by the unjust world.

Ask him not
if he believes in
merely a God
who is greater than suffering or death;
any God worth the name
would surely prove immortal,
who may be able to pretend our pain
but could never share it in truth.

No, what Thomas wants to see
is the Lord who rises from
death by crucifixion,

who rises
from the worst that our world can do:

who rises
from hells of corruption and cruelty,
who rises
from violence and terror and hate,
who rises
from rape and torture and war,
who rises
from hunger and disease and squalor,
who rises
torn and terribly scarred
yet walking among us still,

who will touch us in
our woundedness,
who will hold us in
our brokenness,
who sees in us
the prints left by the nails,

who will put his own hurt hand upon
our heartache, fear and despair
and breathe his healing peace
into our souls.

This is who Thomas wants to see – the only
Lord he wants to believe in.

Thomas just wants to see
Jesus.

Easter Sunday 2016

First Reading: Acts 10:34,37-43

Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality—rather that any person of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life,appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Gospel Reading: John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

11 Meanwhile, Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Sermon:

Today’s gospel holds the key for who we are today. Each of us has been transformed by its words, by the acts of two people in relationship to each other. Without Mary Magdalene, we might never have come to fully appreciate who Jesus was. Today our alleluia is for the her-story (instead of his-story) and for her faithfulness as a seeker.

Like most of us, Mary’s journey began with questions. Who is this Jesus? What is he teaching? And now at the tomb, Why did he die? Mary’s grief is what has motivated her to keep searching. Where is Jesus now? Who has taken his body? The first time, she ran to tell Peter and the disciples. They came back and found the tomb empty as well. But they left without answers. Mary stays. Afterall, where else is she to go? Her world has been turned upside-down. She know that she must still seek.

Last week, I met a patient who was very leery of me. When I introduced myself as one of the chaplains, he said, “Oh, so you’re here to save me.” I burst out laughing. Mostly because no one has ever said something so direct in response to me before and because that would be the last thing on my mind in a visit with a patient. Over time he came to trust that I really had no agenda except to walk with him as he explored his situation and his beliefs. On one visit, I said, “You are a seeker!” He wasn’t sure how to take this so I said, “We should all be seekers.” As it turned out he had a deep belief in God, even if he couldn’t exactly name who that God was.

Most all human beings are seekers. We have this inner longing to understand, to discover, to find meaning in our lives. We are seekers at our core. How much we respond to that urge varies for all of us. Some of us have found answers, answers that later in life, we needed to revise or develop. That’s part of the spiritual journey. What’s important is that we keep asking questions, that we continue to seek to discover answers that can change our lives.

Mary Magdalene was certainly a seeker. Otherwise she may have heard Jesus, shrugged and walked away. What we know is that she stayed and learned from Jesus. She stayed through his ministry, and through his suffering and death. She stayed at the tomb when Peter and the other disciples left and went back home, unclear what the empty tomb meant. And that’s where our reading ends today for the entire Catholic church. The disciples walk away. What a horrible ending.

The next seven verses in John Chapter 20 are the most important part of our Easter tradition. The key word which begins these verses is “meanwhile.” Meanwhile Mary is still at the tomb. She cannot leave. This is where her beloved Rabbi last was—dead yes, but his body is her last connection. And so she lingers, unable to walk away. At times, we cannot move forward until we understand what has happened and its meaning for us.

Every Easter, we as Full Circle, will read John’s gospel Chapter 20 versus 1-18. We will NOT stop at verse 11. We will hear the story of a woman who was in such grief that she couldn’t bear to leave the tomb. Her grief, her deep desire to seek Jesus,is what caused her to be alone, in a place where Jesus would grant her the unique privilege of being the one who would see and hear him, the resurrected Jesus, before anyone else.

These verses where Mary suddenly becomes aware of Jesus now alive catapults the Christian faith to radical change. The world will never be the same. Jesus didn’t appear to the chief priest or to Herod, not even to Peter. Instead, he appeared to a woman, to the one person who had stayed with him throughout his entire life, even risking death because of her great love for him.

Jesus’s first question after his resurrection, is “Why are you weeping?” It’s a very simple question. Then, he asks Mary who she is looking for. Truly, Jesus already knows the answer to both of these questions. Which makes them all the more mysterious and compelling. They draw us in, which may well be their very intention.

Mary Magdalene is mentioned 14 times in the Bible, more than any other woman. And she appears to be independent, with no domestic responsibilities. This is either because she is very wealthy or very poor. When she is with other women, Mary’s name always comes first, meaning that she was the most important—except when she is with Jesus’s mother. We are to notice this, even if the Church does not. A woman receives the good news of the resurrection and is told to “go tell the others.” Mary Magdalene is commissioned by Jesus himself to evangelize this radical good news. Jesus has overcome death. Alleluia.

Perhaps the reason why Jesus asked those two questions of Mary before he reveals himself is to establish his care and concern for her and to remind us as readers and as fellow seekers that relationship is everything in the Christian faith. He needed to connect with Mary first. Over and over, Jesus does that which maintains or reestablishes relationship—it’s that essential to his life and its meaning.

My patient who thought I was going to save him, eventually came to trust me enough to share some of his beliefs. When I asked about what he believed about an afterlife he said, “As long as someone loves you, you exist.” It was a powerful statement of relationship, one that very much fits in our Christian faith. I told him how much that statement made me respect him. He couldn’t understand that but I think he was pleased by this.

Finally, when Jesus asked Mary, “Who are you looking for?” it may well be a question for us today. Who are we looking for? Who will satisfy our seeking? Who is our authority for how we live life? Who do we claim as our guide, our teacher? Is Jesus enough for us?

In the gospel, when Jesus is revealed to Mary, she is stunned. All she can say is, Rabboni! Teacher! And she rushes to embrace him. But He cannot accept her embrace. He is no longer reliant on the physical and wanted Mary to recognize this. We who so need the tangible, we can learn to trust the intangible too.

Mary’s joy is not diminished by this request. Everything is different now. She goes to fulfill Jesus’s request to “tell the others.” Unlike the disciples who simply go back to where they were staying, Mary has a powerful mission—to report what she has seen and heard. Who would believe her? How could they not believe her? It is a story that we are still trying to embrace and fully appreciate today. Jesus is risen.

May this Easter be our time to hear the good news and reclaim its meaning for us. Jesus is the one we are looking for. Let us reclaim our choice as followers of Jesus. Jesus is who we seek for answers, the answer to life beyond death. We need never despair again. No matter what life brings us, we turn to Jesus for guidance and hope, hope eternal. Happy Easter.





Easter Meditation 2016 by Richard Rohr

Christ Crucified is all of the hidden, private, tragic pain of history made public and given over to God. Christ Resurrected is all of that private, ungrieved, unnoted suffering received, loved, and transformed by an All-Caring God. How else could we believe in God at all? How else could we have any kind of cosmic hope? How else would we not die of sadness for what humanity has done to itself and to one another?

Jesus is the blueprint, the plan, the pattern revealed in one body and moment of history to reveal the meaning of all of history and each of our lives. The cross is the banner of what we do to one another and to God. The resurrection is the banner of what God does to us in return.

Easter is the announcement of God’s perfect and final victory.