Weekly Reflections
The Ascension of the Lord, May 21, 2023
Jesus is always with us, helping us spread the good news of the kingdom
Gospel: Matthew 28: 16–20
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Jesus is always with us, helping us spread the good news of the kingdom
Matthew 28: 16–20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Music Meditations
- Ahavat Olam (Song of thanksgiving) sung by by Ben, Jonah and Henry Platt
- Christ in Me Arise
- Our God is Here
- Christ Has No Body Now but Yours—Josh Garrels, (for a praise and worship version, choose Rexaband)
- Come, Thou Font of Ev’ry Blessing
Opening Prayer
I pray for hope, Lord. Hope for those who are lost, afraid, homeless, lonely and tired, many of who are invisible to me. Hope for my friends, who are dealing with their own issues and challenges, but who often put on a brave face. Hope for my family members, for their happiness and joy. And finally, hope for myself I times of stress or worry. Teach me to be thankful for all the gifts you give me each day, including life on this earth. Help me to show your face to others in all that I do and say.
Companions for the Journey
Excerpted from The Story Revealed, by Rev. William Bausch
The disciples of Jesus were surely disappointed at his pending departure. They loved this man. There was nothing they would not do for him. He was their friend, their teacher, their Lord. Now he would be missing from their company. It was a moment of great sadness. But they did realize that Christ was too big for Galilee, too big for Jerusalem, too big even for earth. The physical world could not contain him. He needed to be set free from the confinements of this earthly body so that his spirit might soar and be accessible to all.
They were right, and so that Spirit was bequeathed to them. The Ascension is that turning point, that transitional point. Ascension celebrated the passing on of that Spirit to that assembly of disciples who would collectively be known as the mystical body of Christ, the Church. The Spirit was given to ordinary people to witness to Jesus, to do the works of Jesus in this world, to celebrate his memory and invoke his presence in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
The Ascension is, then, if you will, our swearing-in time. You are now Church. You are the priesthood of the faithful. You are Christ in the world. Get busy. You have been empowered to witness to the wonderful works of God. Move!
Again, from another of Bill Bausch’s books:
As an old Quaker story puts it, by accident a lady happened in on a small Quaker congregation. They were all sitting in silence, as Quakers are wont to do. “When does the service begin?”, she whispered to a man sitting near her. His answer: “when the meeting is over.”
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Have I ever felt deserted by someone in a moment when I needed him/her the most?
Have I ever felt deserted by God?
What did I do? - What have been some important transitions in my life?
Did I celebrate them?
Did I mourn them? - In this version of the last time with Jesus, the disciples have returned to Galilee. What does that indicate to you about their state of mind?
Is it a reminder that Jesus is to be found on our home ground, in ordinary circumstances? - This passage, although used for the Feast of the Ascension in this particular liturgical cycle, there is not an actual “ascension scene.” Why is that?
- This is also on the mountain where the transfiguration took place. Is there a connection between that event and this scene?
What does that tell you about the risen Jesus?
Do I think of heaven as “up there” in outer space somewhere? - How can Jesus be in Heaven and here with us?
- In this passage, some disciples doubted. What are my doubts about God?
What are my doubts about the future? - Do I believe that Jesus was also speaking to me on that last day?
Do I believe that I am disciple?
Do I think that they were better prepared, better educated than I am? - Do I believe God wants me to bring hope and healing into the life of another?
- Do I have to be perfect to be a witness to Jesus Christ?
Am I afraid to leave my comfort zone? - What is the role of prayer in discerning my commission from Jesus?
- What do I do to make the presence of Jesus real to others?
Do I ever teach others about God, Jesus, the Church? - How am I called to preach with my life?
- Do I believe Jesus when he says: “And behold, I am with you always.”?
Do I really believe Jesus is with me always?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
Read the account of Matthew again. Imagine that you are one of the disciples trying to make sense of all that has happened to Jesus. Think of his death, his appearances after death and all that has happened in the last month or so. Then imagine yourself there on that mountain in Galilee. What do you see and hear? What is your reaction to seeing Jesus again on the mountain top? Why would Matthew say that the disciples “worshiped and doubted”. Do we do the same? Why? What is your reaction to the words of Jesus telling you: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”? Have there been times in your life when you have been comforted by the presence of Jesus during difficult times? Close your eyes and thank God for the gift of Jesus’ love and presence in your life.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
Review the various scripture references to the Ascension event >> (separate article). Notice that the three synoptic gospel versions close each book, and the Acts version opens the book. (Note, the Gospel of John makes no reference to the Ascension event at all.) What does that tell you? Which version leaves you still looking for either comfort or more information?
Which version speaks to you the most? Read that passage every day this week.
Poetic Reflection:
The frightening poem “The Second Coming” was written by William Butler Yeats shortly after the First World War, when the world seemed to him to be in chaos and despair. In our present dystopian culture, with its chaos and fear, does the agony of this poem resonate? How is the grim prediction of this poem offset by the poem “Ascension” (by Colleen Hitchcock) which follows?
excerpt from “The Second Coming”
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
“Ascension”
And if I go,
while you’re still here…
Know that I live on,
vibrating to a different measure
—behind a thin veil you cannot see through.
You will not see me,
so you must have faith.
I wait for the time when we can soar together again,
—both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to its fullest.
And when you need me,
Just whisper my name in your heart,
…I will be there.
Closing Prayer
Adapted from J. Janda; Julian: A Play based on the life of Julian of Norwich:
Ascension Scripture References
The story we most associate with the Ascension is not in any of the gospels, but is in the beginning of Acts of the Apostles. The three synoptic gospel versions close each book, and the Gospel of John makes no reference to the Ascension event at all.
NOTE THAT THE STORY WE MOST ASSOCIATE WITH THE ASCENSION IS NOT IN ANY OF THE GOSPELS, BUT IS IN ACTS OF THE APOSTLES:
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1:6-11
6 When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going* to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
10 While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
THE ENDINGS OF THE THREE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE WRITTEN
MATTHEW 26: 16-20
16 The eleven* disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
18 Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go, therefore,* and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.* And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
MARK 16:15-20
i15 He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.
18 They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.
20 But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
LUKE 24:46-53
46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things.
49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
NB: The Gospel of John ends with the little breakfast barbecue by the lake after a little night fishing. It does not reference the Ascension at all and may have been appended later:
JOHN 21:
1 After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way.
2 Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.”
6 So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.
7 So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
8 The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish.
9 When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
11 So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three* large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
12Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him,* “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord.
13Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.
14 This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”* He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
16 He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.
18* Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
19 He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”
21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?* What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”
23 So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? [What concern is it of yours?]”
24 It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them,* and we know that his testimony is true.
25 There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.
Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 14, 2023
Jesus will always be with us; if we truly love Jesus, we will act like it…
Gospel: John 14: 15–21
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you
Jesus will always be with us; if we truly love Jesus, we will act like it…
John 14: 15–21
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Music Meditations
- Ubi Caritas—Taize
- If Ye Love Me—Cambridge Singers (Composer is John Rutter)
- Come My Way, My Truth, My Life—Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Love Has Come—Matt Maher, posted by Emily Pietro
- A Prayer of Saint Patrick—written by John Rutter
Opening Prayer
Lord, I need not rely on my own resources if I turn to you who promises to help me, ready to send your Holy Spirit. Open my eyes and heart to recognize your Spirit working within me, sustaining me. Allow me to see your Spirit working within those around me, and free me from judgment about how they individually respond to that Spirit. Help me to understand what it means to keep your great commandment to “love others as I love myself”.
Companions for the Journey
From ‘First Impressions’, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Jesus is about to pass to God and he is concerned for the disciples’ well- being; how will they get along without him? In addition, they are in need of consolation in the light of what he is telling them about his departure. They won’t have him with them in the same way; he won’t be there when they need encouragement, prodding, advice or comfort during difficult times. Today’s gospel is part of his farewell speech and reflects his awareness of what is about to happen to him and his concern for those he is leaving behind. This is his last will and testament and he wants to leave them something of great value; but not an inheritance that will rust, wear out, get stolen, cause a squabble, or be irrelevant for future generations of believers. He wants, in a manner of speaking, to leave his descendants the family jewel, the pearl of great price, the unfailing treasure. He is like the parent providing for the children’s future well- being; he is giving them something that will remind them of him, help them to grow together, but also get them through difficult times
First, he instructs them: “keep my commandments.” That will be the memorial they will raise in his honor after he is gone—not a tombstone, granite monument, wall mural or triumphant arch. Not even a grand cathedral can be as eloquent a testimony of our love for him. Very simply, before they set about forming a building committee, he wants them to show reverence for him by keeping his commandments. Which commandments? Let’s do a little background and then approach this question.
Some have a rather harsh image of God. They envision a distant God, ruling over everything and everyone from an on-high vantage. This God is a ruler and tester, expecting us to live up to a set of regulations and requiring us to pass the “final exam” which weighs our accomplishments against our transgressions. In this perception, Jesus’ role was crucial: to go before God and assuage God’s anger over our sins. God was deeply offended by our sin and Jesus was our Advocate before a fearsome God. We needed him to get us on the straight and narrow and die to appease an angry God. God and the Son are kind of like a “good cop, bad cop” duo. Jesus is our “good cop” persuading us in a nice tone of voice to change our lives. If we don’t, we get the “bad cop” who will shout, pound the desk, threaten us with punishment and scare us to reform. In this perspective of our situation before God, the Advocate is seen as our ongoing intercessor before the throne of God. In other words, the Advocate becomes our next lawyer after Jesus leaves, our defense attorney before the throne of the Judge. Scratch the surface and we will find that in the way some speak about God and how they pray—a lot of people in our congregations still hold these notions of God. Another perspective is necessary, one that fulfills the hope Jesus has for us in the gospel, especially in this last discourse section in John’s gospel (chapters 14-17). There he promises to take us to a place of intimate union with God.
Maybe we need the Advocate, not to argue our case to God, but to argue God’s case to us. The Advocate Jesus will send his followers, will intercede on God’s behalf and remind us of God’s love for us and help us live Jesus’ way of love for others. The Advocate will persuade us and enable us to do what Jesus tells his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus’ commandments are about love; we are asked to love as he loved. At the table he had just demonstrated this love by his washing the disciples’ feet; he will further demonstrate his self-giving love the next day by giving his life on their behalf. Such love will require an enormous bigness of spirit and persevering commitment.
These days, battered and struggling, we pray for the healing of all those harmed by the sickness and crimes of our past and present. We pray too in this breaking-open- time that we have the courage to face the truth and make whatever changes we must make in our society and in our church. We are encouraged this day in Jesus’ promise that we are not left as orphans. We need a loving and strong parental hand to guide us on our path to become the community that faithfully reflects Christ’s loving and caring presence in the world.
In almost every verse of today’s gospel passage Jesus assures us that we will not be left on our own—“another Advocate to be with you always”...”You are in me and I in you”... “reveal myself to him/her.” Jesus is just like a mother giving last orders to her children before she leaves the house (“no fighting, go to bed on time, wash your dishes, not too much television, do your homework, etc.”). A person’s last words before parting usually sum up the essentials. These are Jesus’ last words and he repeats himself because he wants to make a point, “No matter how bad it gets or how severely you mess up remember, I will not abandon you.”
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Describe a time in your life when you felt “orphaned”—left out or abandoned by friends or loved ones, or maybe even a colleague or professor.
- What, in our society, writ large, creates a sense of abandonment?
Is there anything in my current life right now that makes me feel abandoned and alone?
Is this a time to pray? - What in our present world, cannot accept the “Spirit of Truth”?
What has to happen for this to change?
What in myself do I have to change? - Jesus said: “Because I live, you also will live.” Do I believe this?
- Do I find Jesus’ love for me in the love of others?
- Jesus, in his last discourse to his beloved disciples, promised to send his Spirit—also known as the Paraclete, which could be translated as comforter, advocate, counselor, helper. (Paraclete is never translated as a bird; I’m just sayin’). Which of those translations of the term Paraclete speaks to me the most?
- Paul never met Jesus, yet he felt the strong presence of the Spirit of Jesus within him, which made his extraordinary missionary work possible. How do I access the Spirit of God within me?
- Have you ever felt the presence of God in. your life, assuring you that you are not alone?
What signs around you help you to be aware of God’s presence in your life? - Is it ever too late to recognize the presence of God in my life?
- Do I have hope?
Can I explain why I do so?
What voices and motivations in my life keep me from hearing the voice of your Spirit within me? - What is my motivation for living as I should—fear of God, or love of God? What is the difference?
- Do you read a difference between the phrase “Keep the Commandments”, and the Phrase “Keep my commandments”?? If so, how would you list the commandments in each category?
- Which of Jesus’ commandments is the hardest for you? Which is the easiest?
- What would qualify a person as a “real Christian?”
What daily practices would they have to observe?
What basic knowledge must they have?
Does keeping Jesus’ commandments mean the absence of bad behavior or something more? - Father Paul O’Reilly, S.J., once wrote: “Love is not in words; it is in actions”. Do you agree?
How does that impact your understanding of the commandments we are to keep? - The reverend William Sloane Coffin once said: “If we fail in love, we fail in all things.” Do I agree or disagree?
In what ways did I love today?
In what ways did I not love today?
What can I do about the “not loving” part? - For John, faith is to be in a loving relationship with Jesus. What is my understanding of faith?
- What is the role of prayer in my personal life?
What is the role of guilt in my personal life?
What is the role of “doing” Jesus’ commandments in my personal life?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
Adapted from “First Impressions”:
Jesus isn’t speaking about how we feel towards others. How could he command us to “feel” love for another? How could we maintain such a feeling for those we barely know; people not in our family? It’s a lifetime effort to act lovingly towards those we do feel love for, so how could we possibly have and convey those feelings toward others who are strangers? Even enemies? Jesus’ teaching is not merely about liking a person. Rather, he wants us to make an act of our will and do what is for another’s good. It’s not about liking everyone because, I don’t know about you, I don’t! How can we mere humans, who have a mental list of those we love, those we like, and those we dislike, ever live up to Jesus’ commandment of love? We already know the answer to that: on our own, we can’t. But Jesus makes some promises to us today that make what he asks of us possible. Jesus is soon to depart, but the Spirit he sends back will never leave us on our own, “I will not leave you orphans.” How often do I, in my personal prayer life, address myself to the Spirit, who is with me always?
Towards whom, in my life, do I find it difficult to act lovingly? How do I continue to love this person as Jesus would? Have I ever called out to Jesus for help and in my heart felt the presence of his Spirit standing with me, to help me be the kind of loving person I am called to be? I pray in thanksgiving for those moments of comfort and strength.
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Adapted from “Sacred Space” 2023, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
I imagine Jesus sitting with me here where I am at the moment, I see him looking at me with love and I hear him saying to me: “I give you peace”. How do I feel? Where in my life do I need the peace of Jesus at the moment? Can I talk honestly now to Jesus about my need for peace in relationships, work, or just in my own heart?
“I give you peace”. I sit with Jesus for a while, allowing these words to sink into my heart.
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
I read Luke 8: 22-25 (Jesus calms the storm). In this story, Jesus has been standing in a boat to teach the crowds because there are so many people along the shore of the lake who have come to see and hear him. I imagine how tired Jesus must be after trying to come up with parables to explain his message and then projecting his voice for several hours to so many people. Then I imagine that I am one of the disciples to whom he gives orders to go to the other side of the lake. As I start rowing, what does Jesus do? I try to picture the size of the boat, the look of the sky above as the storm blows in. I imagine the sound and feel of the wind, the waves, the water coming inside the boat. Is the water cold? Am I wet? Afraid? What is Jesus doing now? Why do I wake him? Am I afraid we will drown if the boat goes down? Do I want him awake to share my fear? Do I think he can do anything to help? What does Jesus do when he is awakened? Am I surprised? How do I feel when he turns to me and asks why I am frightened? What kind of faith did he expect me to have? I reflect on the times I have been in a panic and turned to God—did I think God would ignore my well-being unless I begged for help? Did I ever stop to consider that God is watching out for me always, whether I know it or not?
Poetic Reflection:
Janet Lewis, in The Dear Past, looked to The Last of the Mohicans as inspiration for a prayer of trust when we are spiritually, physically or emotionally lost. See if it somehow reflects the thoughts of today’s readings:
“Four Hymns”
Let us lift up our grateful Hearts to Thee
Who are the light of all who strangely roam.
Thy rod, thy staff, shall ever comfort be,
Thy love shall never fail to guide us home.In our own hearts we find a wilderness,
lurking despair and hidden cruelty;
From mindless fear, from blind revengefulness
Shield us so that we may come unharmed to thee.Lord God, who art the sum
of mercy and of love,
Though we are far from home,
And lost the way thereof,
Let us not blindly roam
But to thy kingdom come.All loving God, in my most deep despair,
As I am Thine, receive my trembling soul.
For in Thy will, in Thy will only rest
Hope and salvation and acceptance blest.
Closing Prayer
Lord, the peace that I seek is not necessarily freedom from care, although that would be nice. The peace you give is the ability to face uncertainty, disappointment, failure and sorrow without the overwhelming fear that all is lost. Strengthen me in adversity and in joy so that I may live in your love through attention to and fulfillment of your command to love unconditionally. I pray that others may experience your presence and comfort when they are facing adversity or loss. May I be a presence and comfort to them as your representative on this earth.
Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 7, 2023
Jesus asks us to trust in God and trust in Him
Gospel: John 14: 1–12
Do not let your hearts be troubled
Jesus asks us to trust in God and trust in Him
John 14: 1–12
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.
Where [I] am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”
Music Meditations
- Let Your Restless Heart Be Still—Catholic Community at Stanford Choir (this is gorgeous, folks!) on YouTube video/slideshow
- On Eagle’s Wings—John Michael Talbot
- Lord I Need You—Matt Maher
- Hymn of St. Patrick—Dwight Beal or Jean Watson
Opening Prayer
From Thomas Merton in The Sign of Jonas:
You have made my soul for Your peace and Your silence, but it is lacerated by the noise of my activity and my desires… But I was created for Your peace and you will not despise my longing for the holiness of Your deep silence, O my Lord, you will not leave me forever in this sorrow because I have trusted in You and I will wait upon Your good pleasure in peace and without complaining any more. This, for Your glory.
Companions for the Journey
By Jude Siciliano, O.P. From “First Impressions,” a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Jesus is addressing his disciples; it is his Last Discourse. His tone and words convey a calm before the storm. Jesus is reflective, concerned and gentle as he instructs his disciples for the last time. He must give both them and the future community (us) courage for what is immediately going to happen to them. He is like a parent who soothes the anxiety of his/her children by telling them, “There, there, everything is going to be alright.” What is going to happen to him will be painful, but in the long run, it will be for their benefit, for he goes to prepare a place for them. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.”
I have often read this passage at the bed of a dying person or a funeral. It is very comforting to hear Jesus’ promise of a dwelling place for his disciples. A place with God is awaiting us and the knowledge of that place of security with God is both comforting and encouraging. But in the theology of John’s gospel, what is promised and waiting for us—has already begun. If Jesus has prepared a dwelling place for us, it is available to us now. His disciples do not live detached from the world, but are touched by it and face its challenges daily. We try to be a sign of Christ in a world that is tumultuous and often feels like a foreign land. Each of us has a special calling to live our unique lives in our family, job, school, and service to those in need. No two of us live in exactly the same way and so no two “dwelling places” are the same, for each of us has a special share in God’s life. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” Though we face confusion, ambiguity, struggle and challenge to our faith, we still dwell and share life with the divine. Jesus has not left us orphans on our own. By his death, resurrection and breathing of the Holy Spirit on us, Jesus has, in a manner of speaking, moved over and made room for us in God.
Jesus’ promise speaks to the itinerants among us—and we are all itinerants who have stopping-off places at various moments on life’s journey. We first live our lives with our parents, then we set out on our own. Many “stopping-off places” follow: we start a career or go to college, marry, have children, work out relationships, face the challenges of sickness and old age. Each stage of our lives we carry much with us that life has given; both in blessing and injury. But each new moment also offers us another “dwelling place” where we experience the life of God for us and in which we receive help as we strive to live the “way” Jesus taught us. (“I am the way and the truth and the life.”) There are no guarantees in life—except that as we move through the changing landscape, we do so in Jesus’ assurance that we dwell with God. Jesus has gone ahead so that he can come back and take us to God—now.
Like the disciples, we too can feel left behind trying to figure out the mess we are in and the seeming absence of God. These words of Jesus today assure us that God is not just up ahead waiting for us. We already dwell with God. That much is secure in our unstable world. In addition, anything we undertake to right the wrongs of our world, we do with the faith that God is up close to us—dwelling with us.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Do not let your hearts be troubled
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- How does this gospel speak to these stressful times?
- Is it a demonstration of lack of faith if we are “deeply troubled” about things?
Was Jesus ever “deeply troubled”? - Do I believe that Jesus understands my confusion and anxiety about the future?
- A return to the Father does not happen at death; it happens now if we align ourselves to the will of God. Do I look on this gospel text as more about life after death or more about life here and now?
What do I think of when I read the phrase “my father’s house”?
Is it heaven?
Is it anywhere God is present? - Some have suggested that this gospel, which says “I will come back again and take you to myself” not only applies to the second coming of Jesus (Parousia), but also the coming of Jesus for us personally when we die. What do you think?
- This passage is calling us to a radical trust in the goodness and love of God. How hard is this?
Has anyone ever betrayed your trust in him or her?
How does that affect your trust in God? - Do I see Jesus as the face of God, or do I see God as something quite different—a judge, maybe?
- Jesus says that if we believe in him, we will do the works that he does. What are those works?
How can we complete those works, since we do not possess His power or His goodness?
How does the Spirit fit into this consideration? - Do I ever feel like Thomas: “We do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”
Does Jesus’ answer to Thomas comfort or challenge me? - One commentator suggested that Philip’s problem was not that he did not know the Father, but that he had not realized that he knew the Father because he knew Jesus. What do you think?
What then does Jesus show me about the Father? - Has there ever been a time when someone trusted you to help him or her and you came through?
- Describe a situation in which you trusted in the Lord. What did you expect to happen?
How did it turn out? - Was there ever a time when you prayed for a certain outcome and it did not happen that way?
How did you feel?
What was the final outcome?
What did you learn? - From Father John Harrington, S.J.:
How do you try to keep Jesus’ memory alive?
How might the church today be more effective in keeping Jesus alive? - From “First Impressions” 2023:
Thomas said to Jesus, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Jesus invites his disciples to come to him and put their lives into his hands. We do that by living in relationship with him, listening to his teaching and following his way. In my daily life, in what ways am I choosing Jesus as “my way”?
What other “ways” am I tempted to choose?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
Adapted from First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Thomas wants to know the traveling directions to where Jesus is going, “how can we know the way?” But Jesus is using “way” to mean his way of living. Jesus has, as he promised, returned to God, and has been “glorified.” He chose the way to God through suffering and death. The way others have rejected, Jesus chose as his and he invites his disciples to follow. His is the way of giving and sacrifice and because of what he did and who he is, we too can live his “way” to the Father. Believing in him and his way assures us that, in some real sense, we have already arrived into God’s presence. And Jesus has told us that where he is going, we already know the way. How would you define the “way” of Jesus in this present life we are living? What concrete actions can I take this coming week to try to follow the “way” of Jesus?
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
From Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, by Thomas Merton:
One thing above all is important: “the return to the Father”. The Son came into the world and died for us, rose and ascended to the Father; sent us His Spirit, that in Him and with Him we might return to the Father. To “return to the Father” is not to “go back” in time, to roll up the scroll of history, or to reverse anything…. It is a going forward, a going beyond, for merely to retrace one’s streps would be a vanity on top of vanity, a renewal of the same absurdity in reverse.
Our destiny is to go on beyond everything, to leave everything, to press forward to the End and find in the End our Beginning, the ever-new beginning that has no end. To obey him on the way , in order to reach Him in Whom I have begun who is the key and the end—because He is the beginning.
Like the Jesus as portrayed in John’s gospel, Merton seems to be approaching the mystical in this passage as he encourages us to let our restless hearts be still and focus on God as our lodestar. In that way, we are partaking in eternal life right now. What distracts us?
What worries and concerns, what regrets and failures keep us from focusing on the presence of God in our midst at this very moment? Is this gospel passage a comfort or a challenge?
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
What “troubles” your heart these days? One could easily wonder, as the disciples must have, a couple days after their dinner with Jesus when the authorities were looking for them—“So where is Jesus when we need him? Is he who he says he is? Why doesn’t he show himself and help us end the sufferings in the world?” What aspects of Jesus’ person, teaching and activity are most important for you? Reread this gospel today and try to see that Jesus is with us, even if we cannot see Him, and see that He has gone before us to prepare a welcome for us. Share with Him your hopes for a life with God.
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Adapted from “First Impressions,” a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Do I trust that God is my father, and the father of all of us? Do I believe that heaven exists because God is there? Is God’s name holy to me? Do I really trust that God will give me whatever of this world’s goods I need, or do I worry a lot about money, possessions, security? Do I believe that God forgives me? Do I forgive those who have hurt me, or do I still carry old resentments and pain into my relationships? Do I believe that God would never ‘tempt’ me to sin and thus lose eternal life, or do I believe that God sets traps for me so that I must constantly prove my love? Do I believe that my God, my Father, will deliver me from evil; that God, my Father, is my strength and my salvation?
And finally, I recite the Lord’s Prayer, praying each phrase as an affirmation of my trust in the Lord, rather than as a series of petitions.
Poetic Reflection:
Read the following poem by the late Denise Levertov, a former professor at Stanford. Try to remember a really foggy day in the Bay Area and see if you can recapture the trust expressed here:
Morning Mist
The mountain absent,
a remote folk-memory,The peninsula
vanished, hill, trees, —
gone, shoreline
a rumour.And we equate
God with these absences Deus absconditus.
But Godis imaged
as well or better
in the white stillness
resting everywhere,giving to all things
an hour of Sabbath,no leaf stirring,
the hidden placestranquil in solitude.
—from Evening Train
Closing Prayer
Lord, I am trying so hard, in the face of my everyday problems, to focus on the knowledge that you love me and want what is best for me. I really do have faith in you, and I believe you when you say the Father feels the same way, that the Father wants me to be close and safe, both in this world and the next. I can readily imagine a parent wanting the best for her child, feeling sad when that child is sad, and wanting to be with that child forever. Help me, Jesus, to apply that knowledge to my relationship with my divine Abba, my loving Father God. Help me to remember your words: “I am going to prepare a place for you”. See you then…
Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 30, 2023
Jesus came to give us life more abundantly
Gospel: John 10: 1–10
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Jesus came to give us life more abundantly
John 10: 1–10
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Music Meditations
- The Lord Is My Shepherd—John Rutter
- Shepherd Me O God—Salesiankids
- Jesus I Need You—Hillsong (Praise and Worship)
- Lead Me, Guide Me—Selah
Opening Prayer
From Thomas Merton in Entering the Silence:
Good Shepherd, You have a wild and crazy sheep in love with thorns and brambles, But please don’t get tired of looking for me! I know You won’t. For You have found me. All I have to do is stay found…
Companions for the Journey
(a distillation of ideas from various sources, including “America”, “First Impressions”, and others):
Many listeners have been put off by this imagery, thinking that the passage is about us and how stupid and needy we are. And sometimes we have been treated as such. However, the focus is really on Jesus here, on his caring and loving nature. All of us at one time or another have felt protective of someone else, and most of us, at one time or another have been gently and lovingly cared for. So once we get past our indignation at being treated like sheep, then we can focus on an image of Jesus (and God) that goes beyond fear, obedience, docility, reward, punishment and all those words that keep us from embracing true realization of God as our loving Abba. Only then an we see Jesus as someone constantly looking out for us. Only then we can take great joy and comfort in this passage. This relationship is really what the shepherd imagery is all about.
We now jump from post resurrection narratives back to John 10—to a speech Jesus made to the Pharisees earlier in his ministry right after he cured the man born blind; this “jumping around” is common in the lectionary where readings are not necessarily sequential, but are often organized thematically. But why insert this speech here? John Harrington, S.J, said: through his resurrection the slain Lamb has become for straying sheep “the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” This startling transformation is a neat summary of what Christians believe about the paschal mystery. I also think it is to remind us that Jesus’s whole life had a mission, a purpose. There were many hints in John of what this purpose was, and who Jesus was, but there is a hope here that after realizing the importance of the resurrection as an event, we must also realize that it is part of the entire mission of Jesus, and therefore, the mission of all his disciples down through the ages: to care for one another as a shepherd does the sheep, and to bring life in abundance, wherever and whenever we can, to those around us.
We begin today to consider two images that Jesus gives of himself: the that of a shepherd and the second that of a sheep gate.
We have to imagine a sheepfold as an area surrounded by walls or wooden fencing but open to the sky, and with only one entrance. The walls kept the sheep from wandering and protected them from wild animals at night, and a shepherd slept across that one entrance as protection for the sheep inside. Only a genuine shepherd enters the sheepfold through the single gate. Thieves and brigands will try to enter by another way, such as by climbing over the walls or breaking through the fence. “All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep do not listen to them.” Jesus is referring to all the “false shepherds”, including some of the Pharisees and religious leaders of his time who are quite unlike the true prophets of the past. The real shepherd, however, enters by the gate and is recognized and admitted by the gatekeeper (the one mentioned above who sleeps across the entrance). There are many sheep in the sheepfold belonging to different shepherds so the shepherd calls his own sheep out one by one. He then walks ahead of them and they follow their shepherd because they know his voice. They never follow strangers. (This is quite different from the European or Australian custom where the sheep are driven from behind.)
We are told that his hearers failed to understand the meaning of what Jesus said. They failed to realize that the parable applied particularly to the religious leaders. (Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in this section—those who purported to be examples of proper religious observance). So he spoke more clearly: “I AM the gate of the sheepfold.” On the contrary, Jesus, as the Gate, the Way, has come “that they may have life and have it to the full.” This is a constant theme we have heard many times already and especially in chapter 6 about Jesus as the food and nourishment giving us life. But it is not mere existence that Jesus promises here, it is life in abundance. What do we think Jesus means by life in abundance?
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Have you ever defined yourself in terms of whom/what you were not?
What was the purpose of doing so? - How do you usually respond to the biblical imagery of sheep and shepherds?
Is it helpful?
Or does it put you off? - In Jesus’ time, sheep on the range (as opposed to in the villages) were often penned in after dark, with walls of wood, vines and branches and a small opening for them to get in or out. The shepherd stretched himself across that opening as a “gate” so that sheep could not get out or human and animal marauders get in. Does this idea affect your image of Jesus as the gate of his sheep?
Have you ever thought of Jesus protecting you in times of uncertainty, danger or trouble? - Again, in Jesus’ time, many flocks were penned together, especially in the villages. It was uncanny how the sheep recognized their own shepherd by his voice and followed only him. What in our culture keeps us from hearing the voice of the good shepherd?
How do we distinguish His voice from all of the other voices that clamor for our attention (our prevailing culture, advertisers, messages from our childhood, for example)? - How have the demands of love in your life led you to shepherd another or others?
How did it work out?
How did you feel? - Have you ever been nurtured in your faith life by someone who had your best interests at heart?
- How someone speaks to us can be life-giving or harsh and destructive… What has generally been the quality of things spoken to me—harsh and unforgiving, or inviting and nurturing, calling me to growth and to life?
What is the quality of my messages to others? - From “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
What lifts your spirit, satisfies your soul, gives you lasting peace and fills you with life?
What drains you, steals your energy, leaves you lifeless and empty?
Native Americans have been known to tell their children that deeply imbedded in our hearts are two wolves each wanting to kill the other… the child is meant to ask:” And who wins? The parent wisely answers: “The one you feed the most.”.
What wolf am I feeding? - In what ways am I only half-alive (boredom, pain, loneliness, sadness)?
When have I felt gloriously alive? - What does it mean to me to be alive in Christ?
Walter Burghardt, SJ. Said: “Eternal life does not begin at death, it begins when we believe.” Or as John 17 puts it: Eternal life consists in this; that they know you, the only true Go, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.”
Do I realize I am living in eternal life right now?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
One translation of Psalm 23 is: “The Lord is my Shepherd, he keeps me from wanting what I can’t have”.
“And what you thought you came for is only a shell, a husk of meaning from which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled, if at all. Either you had no purpose or the purpose is beyond the end you figured and is altered in fulfillment.” (T.S. Eliot: “Little Gidding”)
I make a list of all the things I want at this moment.
Then I think of something that I really wanted that I didn’t get; and something that I didn’t even want that somehow came my way. How have these things impacted my life for good or for ill? Have I been able to see the hand of God working things out for the best? I go back to the list of things I want and offer each one to the wisdom of the Shepherd’s providence.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
What does it mean to you to “have life”? How about “life in abundance”? Does this mean that you should always expect to be rich, healthy, important, successful? Does it mean that you should always love what you do, be excited about your life, be happy all the time? Reflect on these passages that have cropped up throughout the whole gospel of John, which is focused on this gift of life: “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (1:4). “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:1). “I am the resurrection and the Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (11:25). “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (17:3). “But these are written so that you may believe… and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).
What lifts your spirit, satisfies your soul and gives you lasting peace and fills you with life? Insert your definition/expectation of the promise to have life in abundance….remembering to give thanks for all the benefits of abundant life you have received.
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Read Psalm 23, then transpose the words so that you are speaking directly to God. (I.e. Lord, you are my good shepherd, I shall not want. Rich and green are the pastures where you give me repose, etc). Savor each phrase as you speak from your heart to the God who loves you and wants what is best for you, the Lord who wants you to be happy in your relationship with your God.
Then Imagine God Speaking the words of this psalm to you directly: I am your good shepherd, you shall want nothing.” At the end, take time simply to be silent and rest in the immensity of God’s loving embrace.
Poetic Reflection:
Read this poem by Ed Ingebretzen, S.J. This is another way of looking as Jesus as our good shepherd:
“A Story that will save us”
Tell us a story that will save us (and that will have been enough) all the great songs have been prayed save only one Tell us a story that will save us Go down Lord, & bring us home May our promises free us not chain us May what we desire fill us not entrap us May those persons we love finish us not bind us Go down Lord, & bring us home You are our history, Lord We neither begin nor end outside you May you be for us not weapon, not answer, but cause of peace May our questions show us not division but the smallness of human answers. Go down, Lord & bring us home May our words create Not destroy May our hands nurture Not break May our dreams lead and encourage us Not trap us in despair Go down, Lord & bring us home We are anxious about many things We are lost in many ways Go down, Lord & bring us home.
Poetic reflection:
A humorous take on Psalm 23 for students:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not flunk; He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying. He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break; He restoreth my faith in study guides. He leads me to better study habits For my grade's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades, I will not have a nervous breakdown; For Thou art with me. My prayers and my friends, they comfort me. Thou givest me answers in moments of blankness; Thou anointest my head with understanding. My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize. Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me All the days of my examinations, And I shall not have to dwell in this university forever. Amen!
Closing Prayer
Lord, today I especially pray for all those whom I have shepherded in this life so far. Help me to nurture them gently, help me to protect them where I can, and end their sorrow and hurts when they have strayed. Help me to be understanding of other’s mistakes, knowing I have made many myself. Give me the wisdom to understand that, unlike you, Lord, I do not always know what is best for everyone. Give me the power to protect those in my care insofar as I am able. Help me to let them run free when I need to give them freedom and the power to make their own decisions, and even their own mistakes.