“My sheep hear my voice,” – Jesus calls us to himself today.
I am not sure how many people reading this reflection are shepherds, live on a farm, or raise sheep. Many of us are most likely removed from the daily life and commitment of a shepherd. With such ignorance as our starting point, we can fall prey to a false romanticism of the life of a shepherd as a reaction to the fast pace and hustle and bustle of modern urban and suburban life.
The commitment and demands of shepherds during Jesus’ time were all consuming, with little acknowledgment or recognition. In fact, many shepherds were looked down upon, considered the lowest of the low, at the bottom of the society of ancient Palestine. Yet Jesus compared himself to being a shepherd.
Just scratching the surface of the social context of shepherds could help to shed light on John’s Gospel today where Jesus paints an image of himself as the Good Shepherd as he says. “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27).
A good shepherd lived among his sheep, watched over them, cared for them, helped to birth and raise them. He would smell like his sheep. The lamb would hear the voice of the shepherd in the womb, in the first days after its birth, and on through its life. A good shepherd protected his flock with his life from predators and thieves. If there was danger, he would call the sheep to himself. Though we may not be fond of being compared to sheep, Jesus does the same for us. He watches and cares for us, protects, nourishes us with his own Body and Blood, and has given his life for us. Jesus guides us, if we are willing to hear his voice in the silence of our hearts.
We get in trouble when we stray from his protective care and wander away. Yet, Jesus will come when we are in need, baying for help. Each one of us are precious and important to him. He will find us if we are willing to be found, if we just call out to him, for he knows our voice too. He will come to us and will carry us back home on his shoulders.
With the humility and simplicity of a lamb, allow yourself to be still today, rest your head on the lap of the Good Shepherd, surrender to him all your cares, doubts, anxieties and fears. Allow your self to be healed by confessing any sins that are weighing you down, let him impart some healing balm on past hurts left unforgiven, and let him bind up any recent wounds. At some point in your contemplation, also let soak in the ultimate gift the gift Jesus has given us: his very life, that we might have life in him, a life not merely to exist or survive, but a life of joy and fulfillment.
Listen for the voice of Jesus calling us to himself today, to receive, rest in, and renew in the Shepherd’s love. This is the Lord’s Day, the day he rose again, conquering death for ever and always for himself and for us, the sheep of his flock.
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Charcoal print, “The Good Shepherd” – Prints by Shawn, Shawn Costello
Link for the Mass readings for the fourth Sunday of Easter, May 12, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051219.cfm
“We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God”
Even though Jesus had fed the five thousand and they were satisfied and there was plenty more where this gift of grace came from, even though they traveled by boat and followed him to Capernaum seeking a sign, the discourse regarding eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood was just too far of a stretch for most of the disciples to take. In fact: Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it” (Jn 6:60)?
Many of his disciples walked away from Jesus at that point. They returned to their former ways of life because they could not believe what Jesus was saying. They could not believe because they did not fully appreciate who Jesus was, the One from above, who was sent by the Father. They had not developed a deep enough relationship with him such that they could trust him and what he said was true, they could not believe in the One whom God had sent.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:67-69). Peter’s response is one of belief and trust. I am sure they reacted in the same way as the other disciples gathered there, but they trusted Jesus enough that even though this teaching was hard, even inconceivable, he would make sense of it for them, just as he had done so when he helped to share with them the deeper meaning of his parables.
This is to be our response as well. When we find some of his teachings are hard to digest, we need to resist the temptation to walk away. Instead, may we follow Mary’s model of pondering, as she did when Gabriel shared she would bear the Savior of the world. She did not fully comprehend what the message meant, but she trusted God and said yes. May we follow Peter, who may have also been dealing with mixed emotions and doubts, remained firm in his belief in Jesus because he trusted that Jesus was the “Holy One of God”. Peter had experienced that Jesus had known what he was saying and doing before, he would continue to trust him this time as well.
Jesus is a model to follow, yes, but he is so much more! Jesus does not give us more burdens to bear, but graces that build on our nature that we are invited to receive. He did not want to die, but he was willing to say yes, to submit his human will to his Father because he trusted him and knew he would bring about a greater good. Jesus gave his life so that he died and in so doing conquered death, transcending the time and space of our present dimension so to be present to us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus lives, he is the firstborn of the new creation, and he wants to not only lead us to eternal life, but impart his life in us, in such an intimate way that we may consume him, that we may be one with him in this life and for all eternity! May we with Peter come to believe and be convinced, that Jesus is the Holy One of God!
Amen. Amen.
I’m alive, I’m alive,
Because he lives.
Amen. Amen.
Let my song join the One that never ends.
Because he lives.
The verse from Matt Maher’s song, “Because He Lives (Amen)”.
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Photo: Sharing Jesus at my first Mass as a deacon
Because He Lives (Amen), Matt Maher, from cd: Saints and Sinners, 2015
Link to the music video: Music video by Matt Maher performing Because He Lives (Amen) [Official Lyric Video]. (C) 2014 Provident Label Group LLC, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBvU7arNhQs
Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, May 11, 2019:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051119.cfm
Behold the Lamb of God!
All that Jesus has been building up to is now coming to a climax. Any silent shock of disbelief or quiet murmuring has now escalated. The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat” (Jn 6:52)? Jesus hears the growing concern and disbelief. If he was speaking in a figurative or symbolic way, this would be the moment to clarify his point.
Jesus does speak, but he does not walk back or qualify his comments. Jesus doubles down: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you” (Jn 6:53). Jesus does not only repeat that his disciples are to eat his Flesh but he also insists that they are to drink his Blood. Drinking or even eating meat with the blood of an animal was inconceivable for devout Jews. Also, the Greek used here in John’s Gospel for eat is trogein, which is used to describe how an animal eats, by gnawing and tearing at the flesh. The imagery that Jesus is using here is more graphic than the customary use of phagein, which would be used for chewing, as a human would chew their food.
Jesus continues to make his point that whoever does eat his Flesh and drink his Blood, will not only remain in him, but also Jesus will remain in them, and they will have eternal life. A wonderful end goal, but would any be able to make the leap of faith to get there? In tomorrow’s Gospel reading we will be able to see the response to Jesus’ claims.
Almost two thousand years later, we continue have the opportunity to celebrate daily the person of Jesus in our midst. This happens through participating in the source and summit of our faith, the Mass. Our hearts have the opportunity to be set on fire as we hear the word proclaimed during the Liturgy of the Word, and then Jesus is made known to us in the breaking of the bread in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We are invited to experience an intimate encounter with the Son of God, as we consume him, Body, Soul, and Divinity.
That we are to eat the Flesh and Blood of Jesus may sound just as bizarre as it did to Jesus’ followers. The term we have for this miraculous transformation of bread and wine is transubstantiation. What happens at the calling down of the Holy Spirit and the words of institution are invoked by the priest is that the substance, the reality, of the bread and wine is transfigured into the Body and Blood of Jesus, while the accidental form or appearance remains the same. So we consume Jesus’ unbloody, acceptable sacrifice.
Jesus is giving all of who he is of himself corporally, fully, holding nothing back of himself so we can receive all of him. We become what we eat. In consuming Jesus, we become “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh” (cf. Genesis 2:23), we become divine as he permeates or whole being. We are then dismissed at the end of the Mass to go, like Mary, to bear Jesus Christ, to love others as Jesus loved us, by giving of ourselves to others as he has given himself to us. This is the Good News we are called to proclaim. Jesus is risen, he has risen indeed, and he has not left us orphans but remains with us now and for all ages! We are alive, because the Bread of Life lives within us! Amen. Alleluia!
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Photo: Our tabernacle which is in the chapel at Cardinal Newman High School. Jesus is present to us in the consecrated hosts within. I begin each day looking at Jesus as he looks back at me!
Link for the Mass readings for Friday, April 10, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051019.cfm
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever;…”
As we have been reading through chapter six of the Gospel of John we have been reflecting upon the conversation and teaching of Jesus with those who have experienced his multiplication of the loaves and fish. Step by systematic and deliberate step, Jesus is setting the stage for today’s insertion into his presentation.
Each step of the way Jesus is not willing to be tamed. He, as the One from above, the One who has seen and has been sent by the Father, is fully divine, as well as fully human speaking among those who have come to him. He has responded to the people’s request regarding how they were to “accomplish the works of God” and his response is that they are to believe in him, he who had been sent by God. They were to “work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give”. Jesus himself, as he did with the multiplication, will provide the food that will endure for eternal life. Jesus shared that he is this food, bread from heaven, that will give life to the world.
What Jesus has shared thus far and what he shares in today’s Gospel message has been given to him to say from his Father and is for everyone who is willing to accept his invitation: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” We have an advantage, that those listening to Jesus, did not have. We just experienced Lent and we can certainly draw a line to how Jesus certainly does give his very life, his Flesh, that is sacrificed and hung on the cross. We believe too that Jesus died and experienced utter God forsakenness by giving his very life for the life the world.
But for those in the crowd who only the day before sought to unanimously make him their Messiah by popular acclamation are growing a bit uncomfortable. This discourse is now starting to move away from a more figurative discussion to a more dramatic and concrete presentation with horrific implications. After an initial gasp or two, some murmuring would have begun, centering around such questions as:
“Did Jesus really just say he would give his flesh?”
“Jesus is equating himself with the bread from heaven, and the bread he is offering is his flesh?”
“Is Jesus saying what I think he is saying?”
Yes! The Son is because the Father has given all that he is, holding nothing back, emptying himself into the Son. The Son has received all that the Father is and returns himself, giving all that he is, holding nothing back to the Father. This eternal giving and receiving, this eternal communion of Love shared between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. Jesus is offering participation in this divine communion as he offers all that he is to his disciples and to us, to be consumed. He is holding nothing back in his offer. We are invited to receive all that Jesus is. We are to receive all that Jesus is and give ourselves away in return.
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Photo: Artistic rendition of the face of Jesus based on the Shroud of Turin.
Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, May 9, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050919.cfm
Jesus is present and loves us in our brokenness and chaos.
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me” (Jn 6:37-38). Jesus does not reject us, he accepts us as we are, first and foremost. Jesus has come to do his Father’s will which is to lead us all to salvation, to be redeemed and restored to the proper order of freedom from our enslavement to sin. This is why Jesus met Cleopas and the other disciple on the road to Emmaus. They were walking the wrong way! Jesus did not tell them that, he just opened up the Scriptures to them, so they could see that he was who he claimed to be and then revealed himself to them in the breaking of the bread. Once they had a deeper encounter with him, they determined on their own to turn back, and even though evening approached they went back to tell the Apostles the Good News of their encounter with him.
It was through sharing a meal with them that they recognized him. How many meals had they shared together before his death? A close reading of Sacred Scripture shows how important table fellowship is for Jesus and his followers before his death and after his Resurrection. True, Jesus eating with his disciples after his Resurrection shows that he is no ghost, he is human, but also he is reestablishing the cornerstone of his ministry, table fellowship.
Here the basic needs of sustenance are met, for the body, and his sharing his time and conversation with anyone willing to eat with him, no matter their level of ritual purity touches the deepest hunger within each of us, which is to belong, to be accepted as we are, for who we are. The majority of the crowd that Jesus is speaking to have continued to come to him because he fed them with only a few loaves and some fish. In the miraculous multiplication, Jesus is providing for their bodily nourishment, but also preparing them for the deeper spiritual nourishment of the body and soul to come in the next verses as he goes deeper into his Bread of Life discourse.
Jesus loves us, he wills the best for us. Many are resistant of this claim because of our own callouses, scars and growing cynicism as a result of our own wounds inflicted upon us because someone else burned us, did not fulfill our expectations, betrayed us and in being let down by those we have looked up to and trusted. If we are involved in a relationship long enough, we will experience disappointment or worse, sooner or later, and it is often from those closest to us, because these are the people we let in to our inner circle.
We need to remember that none of us are perfect, ourselves included. We are all on a journey, and we are going to fall short of our goal, and that is why we need a savior. Someone who we can trust that will be there for us when we are let down, when we fall down face first into the mud. Someone who, when that happens, will lay down in the mud with us, look us in the eye and smile.
Even if we are not able to look past the predicament, or smile in return, we might just be able to catch his eyes looking at us and then he will offer us his hand. Both of us then rise together, and we are able to stand again. That is how Jesus shows mercy and loves us. He meets us in the muck and grime of our brokenness and chaos. He loves us there, and when we are ready to accept his offer of love, he invites us to get up, and begin to walk again.
As our relationship grows and deepens and as our trust strengthens, we begin to believe that we belong. We realize that we are a part of something greater than ourselves and we are then strong enough to share that same mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love with others that we have been blessed with. This is the path of discipleship. This is the road we are on, together. Let us be willing to love, to be there for and accompany one another, no matter what lies ahead.
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Photo: Me, as Jesus in the Living Stations, Jesus falls the third time, Good Friday around 1991 in the streets of the Bronx
Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, May 8, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050819.cfm
“I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger”.
Yesterday and today’s Gospel reading for John are laying the groundwork for the discourse of Jesus to come. In yesterday’s account Jesus shared with the people who gathered about him, the people who had already received the miraculous multiplication of bread, that they were not to “work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life” and Jesus also shared that they were to “believe in the one [God] sent” (see Jn 6:27-29).
In today’s account the people are asking for a sign, just as Moses gave to their ancestors in the desert. Jesus reminds them that his Father had given them the bread from heaven, and also added: “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (Jn 6:32-33). Certainly, this offer is appealing, and so the people not only want some of this bread also, they want an endless supply of it. Now Jesus moves from the subtle foundation he has been building to the core structure of his point: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn 6:35).
Jesus encouraged his listeners to pursue the food that “endures for eternal life” to believe in the one his Father sent, then he shares how his Father gives them the true bread from heaven “for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Jesus is the one his listeners are to build their relationship with, for he is the very presence in their midst, Jesus is the promise of eternal life. Jesus is the one sent by his Father to give life to the world. Jesus is the bread of life!
We are a living craving, hunger and desire to be one with God and each other, and this is true for the atheist and the believer alike. That which God has created, he has created good, but the material and finite will not fulfill us. We, in short order, find the limitations to the finite and seek something more. This is how we are wired, because ultimately, our deepest desire, what we seek to fulfill us, is the eternal. The One to satisfy this eternal hunger which we can never exhaust is the bread of life, Jesus Christ.
Do we believe this to be true? Do we believe that Jesus is the bread of life, that he is the source and sustenance, the very foundation of our being and existence? If we have forgotten this, if we have been caught up: in the business of life, in the mere existence or survival mode of the day to day, in our sin, addiction, brokenness or disillusionment, or if we feel like we are just running on empty. If we have just taken this reality for granted, then let us “believe in the one who God sent”, commit or recommit our selves, our very life to the one who is our source and sustainer, Jesus, the Bread of Life. This is why we are an Alleluia people. This is Good News, let us share the divine life we have received with others and radiate his joy today!
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Painting: Portrait of Christ, The Savior, Heinrich Hofmann, 1894
Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, April 7, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050719.cfm
Do we believe that Jesus is the one whom God has sent?
One of the best way to celebrate the Easter Season is to continue to conform ourselves to the one who gave his life for us that we may experience and be engaged in our life to the full. We can accomplish this by living the Gospels in our everyday encounters with God and one another. Today’s Gospel reading from John picks up the storyline we have been following. After Jesus walked across the Sea of Galilee and guided his disciples safely to the shore, that morning, those who had eaten as a result of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, got in their own boats to follow Jesus to Capernaum as well.
When the crowd found and gathered around Jesus, he continued to teach them, guiding them to “not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” The people asked him what they could, “do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent” (cf: Jn 6:27-29).
The people asked Jesus what they were to do to accomplish the work of God, and he said to believe in the one he sent. The response of Jesus may not appear to fit the request. But to believe is not just a passive activity. Belief is to be followed by action. If we say that we believe in Jesus, do we pray with him, do we worship him independently and in communion with fellow believers, to we sing songs praising him, do we serve him through our giving of ourselves to one another by practicing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy?
When we experience set backs, interruptions, conflict, or outright tribulations, do we turn to cursing and yelling or turn instead to Jesus for guidance and direction? Do we turn within ourselves or only surround ourselves with those of like mind, color, political and/or religious views, or do we embrace the richness, uniqueness and diversity of God’s people?
If we are not consistently doing any of the above, then do we really believe in Jesus Christ, the one whom God sent? Where are we spending our time, talent, and treasure? Answering these questions is a good way to assess what and in who we truly believe. Admitting to ourselves where we really are in our relationship with Jesus is good to do. If our diagnosis today is that we are not as faithful as we would like, my recommendation is to take a spoonful of belief in Jesus, and do one small thing today in his name with great love.
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Easter flowers surrounding the altar at St Peter Catholic Church, Jupiter, FL
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, May 6, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050619.cfm
Jesus asks us, “Do you love me?” Do we know what he is asking?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus forgives Peter for denying him three times by asking him three times if Peter loves him. Again, Peter does not quite grasp the teaching, for after the third request of “Do you love me?” Peter is distressed, and with an impatient tone said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” (Jn 21:17).
Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter is not just about the repentance of Peter’s denial but the true nature of discipleship. To be disciples of Jesus is to love one another as Jesus loves us. Peter is called to repentance not for himself but to love others, to serve others. After each affirmation of love by Peter Jesus responds with: “Feed my lambs.” “Tend my sheep.” “Feed my sheep.”
I have written often that love is best defined by St Thomas Aquinas as willing the good of the other as other. This is expressed vividly in Jesus’ imagery to Peter. If we say we love Jesus like Peter did, we will feed and tend the lambs and sheep of his flock. We will forgive, take care of, nourish, empower, support, guide and accompany one another. This means we will also love those who hate us, those who seek to persecute us, and love our enemies as ourselves.
Loving is a free gift of sharing the love we have received from Jesus and giving it away, person to person, expecting nothing in return. We do not love to get, but love to freely give without cost. The expression of our love will be different for each of us because Jesus commissions each of us to serve his lambs and sheep in a different ways.
Ultimately, what Jesus sends us to do is to enter into and build relationships with people. We begin relationships first and foremost by allowing the love of Jesus to flow through us, by loving the person as they are and where they are, just as Jesus has done with us. Jesus does not define us by our worst mistakes, Jesus loves us more than we can ever mess up, and Jesus loves us more than we can ever imagine. Are we ready to go into this week, day by day, encounter by encounter, online and in person, willing to do the same? Willing to feed Jesus’ lambs, willing to tend his sheep, and willing to feed his sheep?
Painting: Head of Christ, Rembrandt, 1640
Link for the Mass readings for the third week of Easter, Sunday, May 5, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/21:1
Spiritual Stepping Stones 