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May 16, 2021

5/15/2021

As we celebrate “The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord” I cannot help but reflect on the many ideas and concepts that swirl around this feast...some with unintended consequences! The word “ascension” itself congers up images of Jesus rising up into the clouds to join the Father and the Holy Spirit somewhere “up there”...far, far away. The problem with this is it can lead us to believe that heaven is “up there” and we are “down here” and that God is far off and distant from us and from our lives. This stands in stark contrast to the heart and soul of the meaning and significance of the incarnation. The truth of our God having become “incarnate” (in the flesh) in Jesus, meaning that God is with us...and not off... watching us from afar. We need to recall Jesus’ promise “I am with you until the end”! These simple words are most profound...there is no need for us to stand gawking skyward with our jaws hanging open. While the physical presence of Jesus Christ as a singular human and divine presence no long- er walks the earth...but Christ is here, as close to us as our own breath, keeping us alive to be his presence in our world.

As we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus let us celebrate the presence of the Risen One in our midst! Before his ascension Jesus gave a clear command and mission to his disciples...to us. We are charged with preaching the “Good News” of Jesus Christ and to be that healing, loving and welcoming presence in a world filled with sickness, hatred and exclusion. Filled with the “real presence we are sent forth to stand up and be the voice of the voiceless, to speak out on behalf of those who are silenced or ignored, to make sure that hatred, racism and bigotry are not left unchecked. Filled with the Spirit we speak the truth of the Gospel to power, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether garnering us friends or marginalizing us, it is our call as disciples of Jesus Christ! And we are able to do this precisely because “in God we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Filled with the very presence of Divinity itself we are empowered and emboldened to go forth and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ even to the ends of the earth, not just with words but with action, by how we live our life.

And so I ask myself, how might I be a healing, loving and welcoming presence to those who are “other”? How can I “stand up” for the Gospel, in the public arena and in my personal life? How do I experience the real presence of God in my daily life?

Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim

May 9, 2021

5/7/2021

On this sixth Sunday of Easter we hear one of the foundational beliefs of our Christian faith: Jesus proclaims to his disciples that just as the Father has loved him so he loves them and that there is no greater love than for someone to lay down their life for a friend…which of course is exactly what he is about to do! In the second reading St John tells us clearly that God is love itself!

And Jesus calls us to abide in this love, to dwell in it, to live from it! During this Easter season we are invited to reflect on this amazing deep and passionate love that God has for each one of us; to reflect on the reality that we are loved even in the midst of our brokenness and sinfulness.

Jesus was willing to lay down his life to show us that boundless love of which he spoke to his disciples. This deep and passionate love that God has for us is for all people and even St Peter comes to realize this -- we hear him recognize that God shows no partiality. And we are called to love one another as Christ loves us. We are empowered to do this in and through the grace of the Eucharist which not only empowers us but emboldens us to reach out to embrace “the other”, especially those most in need, those most despised and dejected, and those marginalized by ourselves and by the broader society.

Just as St Peter came to recognize that God’s love stretched beyond the people of Israel so too we are called to see God’s amazing and transformative love for all peoples and allow it to change our hearts and minds that we might draw near to all those who suffer and are in need -- those to whom racial justice is denied and to those whom others dehumanize and distance themselves from. This love holds the power to shape and impact our world view and how we see other people, other cultures and other countries. It helps us understand how we are called as disciples to interact with others, to reach out to them in love. Reaching out and embracing “the other”, the one who is different, can be difficult but it is precisely what we are called to do as Jesus’ disciples.

So this radical love shapes questions like: In the midst of this pandemic “should we” share the vaccine with other countries? It shapes it to become rather, “how can we do it,” and “how quickly can we do it”. We no longer see the residents of other countries as “others” but as sisters and brothers in need. And this radical love from God transforms us and reshapes how we live with one another and how we live in the world around us.

So the question it raises for me is: What can I do to better accept God’s love for me in my life that I might share it with others? And I ask myself, to whom is God’s love calling me to love and accept, in my family, in my school, in my community, in my country, in the world?

Easter Blessings,
Fr Tim

May 2, 2021

4/30/2021

In this section of John’s Gospel, we find Jesus, having just finished the Last Supper, explaining to his closest friends what he expected of them and helping them to understand what he had taught them. He tells them that they are intimately connected to him, like vines to a branch; it is from him that they draw their very sustenance, their life. They have life in and through him. He tells them they have already been pruned and will bear great fruit. He tells them to remain in him as he remains in them! What a wonderful image for us to ponder, this indwelling of Christ.

In the verse that comes immediately following the final verse we heard in today’s reading Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love”. These are amazing images of love and intimacy being shared between Jesus and his disciples, as he knows his life with them is about to change dramatically, he tells them that they will be able to continue on and they are ready to produce great fruit and that they are connected to one another and to him and will always remain so.

In the first reading we heard of some of the fruit born of these relationships and this enduring presence. But we also know that there were great struggles as well in the midst of the presence of the Risen One. The disciples were human -- they argued and disagreed -- and still they produced great fruit. Even in the midst of human weakness and failures Christ’s presence has the power to save us from ourselves!

And now as we find ourselves in a cycle of unbelievable law enforcement shootings of unarmed black and brown people and shocking violence towards Asians and Pacific Islanders, and over fifty mass shootings just since March! We watch in terror as COVID-19 ravages the country of India, setting new world records for new cases and deaths day after day. There is so much discord in our world and even in our lives in general, for many of us, how do we hold it together?

I believe that it is through maintaining a conscious connection and awareness of the presence of the risen Christ within us and with us at all times, even when we can’t seem to feel that divine presence and we run out of hope. Christ is still there, still loving us through our darkest moments. This is at the heart of the Gospel message -- we are never abandoned by God.

How or when have I let the power of Christ’s presence within me shine through, guiding my thoughts and actions? Jesus spoke of pruning…What pruning might I need to do to make my life more Christ centered that I might abide in his love more fully and share it with others?

Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim

April 25, 2021

4/23/2021

The image of Jesus as the good shepherd is one of the oldest images in Christianity. I remember seeing it in the catacombs of Rome...painted on the walls of an ancient cavern by Christian people from long ago. What is it about this image that has captivated the minds and hearts of Christians for centuries? Surely for the postmodern mostly urban culture of the West, this image may well seem a bit arcane and less accessible than it was to our ancestors. Jesus is depicted, through the use of this image, as a shepherd, who was, in that time and in that culture, relatively unimportant and certainly not powerful. The disciples and all those who followed him around experienced Jesus as kind and gentle, like the “good” shepherd who watches over the sheep with great care and concern and even risks his/her own safety for the sake of the sheep. This image of a kind and gentle god was somewhat unique, but then so was the idea of a god who would be will- ing to suffer and die for us. I believe that this image of the Good Shepherd has endured precisely because of its radical departure of the common image of a distant and disinterested and sometimes even vengeful god as found in some passages of the Old Testament.

This image tells us that our God loves us and cares for us and journeys with us as we travel through the valleys and hills of our lives. But too, it may well speak to us of what we are called to be...in Christ’s image...”good shepherds” of the lost and vulnerable, the poor and the forsaken. That we are called to go after them, to reach out to the marginalized and the ones our society dismisses or demeans or outright abuses. Good shepherds actively work for true racial justice and an end to white supremacy. Good shepherds seek to be allies to the oppressed and the marginalized, to all people of color and the immigrant and the refugee.

I think we should all be writing all the members of the senate demanding they pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act... this is one way we can live out our discipleship of the Good Shepherd, crying out for a more just society by more just policing!

And as we celebrated Earth Day this past week we recognize that truly “good shepherds” also recognize the importance of creation and our environment, for their sheep depend on a healthy ecosystem. So as “good shepherds” we are also called to care for creation, to be aware of how our lives impact the earth and the lives of others, especially the poor.

How am I being called to be a “good shepherd” in my family, in my school or place of work, in my community, in my nation, in the wider world? What am I willing to risk “as a good shepherd” for the sake of the flock...for the sake of creation...for the sake of building up of the Reign of God?

Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim

April 18, 2021

4/16/2021

In today’s Gospel Jesus ask the disciples “why are you troubled?”....WHY ARE THEY TROUBLED? Because they are not accustomed to seeing someone who has died raised from the dead! They are trying to wrap their hearts and minds around what it all means for them and for their future! And Jesus knows this and lays out their future, he sends them forth into the world, to preach to all nations that He is the Christ who suffered, died and rose from the dead on the third. And the repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all nations and that they are the witnesses of these things! And filled with the Holy Spirit they are sent forth to tell the world of its salvation!

It is through this Easter miracle that all of us have been raised to new life in Christ, that we gain with Christ immortality because of the love of God, who so deeply and passionately loves us, even in the midst of our brokenness and sinfulness! We are the beloved, and this is what we celebrate each Sunday but especially during the Easter Season and we too are sent to spread the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and our salvation!

How do we do that, how do we share God’s amazing and passionate love for each of us with others in our lives, in our families, with our friends, at school, at work, in our neighborhood, our county, our nation and the world? In the face of war and famine, in the midst of political and racial injustice and the immigration and refugee crisis, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, in the midst of family disputes or conflict how can or do I share or show forth God’s amazing and passionate love for each one of us and for all of creation?

What gestures or actions can I make this week that in some way will help someone else discover or feel God’s love for them? This is central to our discipleship, that we — each one of us — that we preach the “Good News” that we are the “beloved of God”! That we are never abandoned, no matter how sad or lonely we feel, we are never left alone, our God is with us whether or not we feel that Divine presence. God is within us and surrounds us with love!

Regardless of our sinfulness and our brokenness we are deeply and passionately loved by God, each and every one of us, without exception! That my sisters and brothers is the “Good News” of Jesus Christ, so let us not be troubled!

Easter Blessings,
Fr Tim

April 11, 2021

4/9/2021

So often when I hear this Gospel I focus on how Thomas gets a bad rap for doubting what we know to be true...even though it was all so totally preposterous...remember, he was among the first human beings to hear of the resurrection. This scene, in of itself, is so unbelievably powerful...remember the last time they saw him, he was being tortured, nailed to a cross, stabbed with a lance and died! So would you believe he was alive without seeing him...without touching his wounds? It’s kind of easy to understand Thomas’ disbelief. But again this year I decided to take a look at Jesus’ greeting... ”peace be with you”! Jesus’ disciples had witnessed that terrible first “Good Friday”, and now there were those who were saying he was alive! How could that be possible? In the midst of death, sorrow and immense disappointment, from the midst of a sense of total loss and failure...there Jesus was; the one upon whom they had pinned their hopes. There he was in their midst...speaking of peace after such violence had had been done to him! And yet there is no hint of revenge or “settling of scores” ...no accusations of betrayal and denial...only the offer of peace of the Risen Christ!

How do we, as disciples of this Christ; as individuals, as a church and as a country react when we are assaulted and have violence done to us...do we speak words of peace? Are we open to having words of peace spoken to us after having been hurt? Jesus offers us, not just any peace but, “his” peace...the peace of Christ! It is the peace of the One who was struck, beaten and crucified...a peace that knows so well, pain and suffering. His peace is a peace that brings forth forgiveness and ultimately leads us to new life! This peace of Christ is transformative. It holds the power to change us and to change how we see and understand the world around us and how we see each and every one of our sisters and brothers, especially those who are different from us. This peace of Christ can transform our communities, our nation, and the very world itself! We must however be willing to accept the peace that Christ offers to us and be brave enough to allow it to transform our very selves, then we can share it with others and build up the Reign of God in the here and now. The Reign of God in which all peoples are equally valued, loved and appreciated for who they are and for whose they are.

Just as the scared and confused disciples gathered in that up- per room, we too need this peace of Christ more than ever in the wake of all of trials and tribulations we find ourselves liv- ing through. In these most difficult times may we open our hearts to that transformative peace of Christ and share it with all the lonely, depressed, the despised and targeted, those seeking racial justice and equality. May this peace of Christ embolden us to stand with and stand up for all those whose voices are silenced or not listened to, to stand with and for all those who are threatened and harassed each day. May this peace of Christ bring us together to help build up the Reign of God where all peoples are equally valued, loved and appreciated for who they are and for whose they are.

What kind of peace do I offer when I am hurt by others? To whom do I need to offer “the peace of Christ”? How can I make “the peace of Christ” show forth in my daily life...within my family, my workplace, my community...and my country? The peace of the Risen Christ is with you always!

Easter Blessings,
Fr Tim

April 4, 2021

4/2/2021

On that first day of the week, while it was still dark...Mary went to the tomb only to discover it empty....then she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple.” She was in a hurry to share what she had found; and by her sharing, a small community took up the search for Jesus...only to eventually discover “The Christ”... “The Risen One”.

Though we know well the Easter story, do we ever fully grasp its meaning? The stone has been rolled away...the tomb is empty for resurrected life cannot be contained! Like the first believers, we so often must continue to live even with our dashed hopes, our suffer- ing and our misunderstanding of God’s mysterious power.

Like the first believers, we do not always realize that all of history has been broken open and is now filled with the resurrected presence of the Risen One! Even in the midst of war and famine, even in the midst of suffering and loss, the presence of the Risen One is with us, and never leaves us, even if our pain and suffering causes us to be blind to that Risen Presence. It is this presence that gives us the strength to carry on and speak truth to power, to stand up for the poor and the marginalized and fight against evil in all its ugly forms, that we know so well.

Christ has Risen...this is the day the Lord has made...let us rejoice and be glad!!!

Like Mary Magdalene and the other disciples let us actively seek the risen One in our midst...in the ordinary of our daily lives...for as surely as Christ appeared to the disciples, Christ now appears to us in our lives! Let us keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to the presence of the Risen One. Let us, like Mary, run forth to share the good new of Jesus Christ with all the world!

I pray you all, God’s Most abundant Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim

March 28, 2021

3/26/2021

Today’s readings carry the sorrows and the weight of the world. The false accusations, denials, betrayals, injustice and beatings Jesus faced are heart- breaking. Today’s Eucharist begins with great joy with palm branches in hand, we sing victorious hymns to commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Like the crowds, we to welcome and rejoice in his reign. Similar to the disciples, we are also excited and filled with wonderful expectations. However when we listen to the passion of Jesus Christ, the mood of the crowds as well as that of the disciples changes swiftly. The crowds are fickle, cheering for Jesus one day and shouting “crucify him” the next day. Even many of his closest friends and followers sheepishly deny their knowledge of and association with him, and in cowardly fashion, abandoned him out of fear for their own safety.

Jesus, on the other hand is resolved to faithfully car- ry out his mission; the proclamation of the advent of the reign of God and of God’s lavish love and forgiveness poured out for each one of us, and for the earth itself...”for God so loved the world”. Through the suffering and death of Jesus we have been saved, forgiven, and our sins and guilt put as far from us as the East is from the West! We may wonder at times if God really loves us...and just how much. Today we are reminded how much -- as Christ spread his arms wide upon the cross, this is how much we are loved by God!

How do I live out my identity as the “beloved of God”? How can I share this message of God’s love and forgiveness with others? To whom am I being called to open wide my arms to embrace them in the midst of their need? Who are being crucified today...the millions of refugees, people, because of the color of their skin, people crucified for their im- migration status, who they love, what language they speak, what part of the world or country they were born in, their age, their gender, their intellectual or physical abilities? As I enter this Holy Week, whose burdens will I help to shoulder to the foot of cross as I journey with Jesus this week, and meditate up- on the gift of love and forgiveness which he has so lavishly poured upon me, and upon all of humanity?

Lenten Blessings,
Fr Tim

March 21, 2021

3/19/2021

Here we are in the fifth week of Lent, careening towards that horrible first “Good Friday”, and today we hear Jesus warn his disciples of what is about to befall him. Few people truly want to die, not even Jesus... “let this cup pass from me if it is your will”. But Jesus approaches with reverence and awe, knowing that he is heard and loved by the One who sent him. Jesus knows the cost of what is being asked of him and embraces it... and in embracing the cross, Jesus embraces us! Jesus uses the metaphor of the grain of wheat that must die to produce fruit to help us understand that death is not the end but rather a moment of transformation that bears new fruit!

The amazing thing is that in the midst of dying, as he hung upon the cross, Jesus knew he was not abandoned; that the One who sent him was with him. And precisely because he knew this he cried out to that One in prayer, praying Psalm 22, the opening verse which begins with “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That psalm does not end in abandonment and death but rather in triumph, “they will proclaim his righteousness, to a people yet unborn. He has done it!” For the faithful Jew, Jesus’ praying of the 22nd Psalm, as he died upon the cross, would have made total sense...the psalm moves from fear of abandonment to the proclamation “He has done it!”....I have not been abandoned!

It is also of note that the next Psalm, the 23rd Psalm, is the Psalm of the Good Shepherd...”The Lord is my Shepherd there is nothing I shall want...even though I walk through the valley of death”. The message is that even in the midst of suffering and death we are not abandoned; our God is with us! And we celebrate this each time we celebrate the Eucharist. We retell this very story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are strengthened by His very presence to go into the world and proclaim the Good News!

We gather for Eucharist in good times and in bad -- in the midst of a horror of a pandemic, in the midst of sorrow and in the midst of joy -- strengthened in our discipleship to go forth as Christ-bearers into a wounded world desperately in need of forgiveness and healing.

We are called to be that healing presence, that presence of peace in the midst of fear and war, that presence of open arms in the face of rejection and discrimination. We are the ones called to continue the work of Christ in the world to- day. Be it working to end gun violence, or to end racism and bigotry or working towards a just immigration policy that recognizes the sacredness of family or speaking out to end all forms of discrimination based on gender, or age or sexual orientation or “otherness.”

All of these are sins we are called to call out and work to eradicate from our society. Just as Jesus opened wide his arms on the cross so as to embrace the entire world in his love, so too we are called to open wide our arms and embrace “the other”! Who is “the other” that I am being called to embrace, to include, to stand with, and to walk with?

Lenten Blessings,
Fr Tim

March 14, 2021

3/12/2021

“For God so loved the world”...these words that we hear in today’s Gospel set up for us, for all that follows in the Gospel of John...all of Jesus’ words and healings and miracles... everything...yes even the cross, or should I say “especially the cross”!

In the Gospel of John everything needs to be viewed and understood through this reality...that all of God’s saving actions have happened, and continue to happen, precisely because God so deeply and passionately loves the world! I know you hear me say this over and over again but please understand this is the reason that I do what I do...it is why I am still here today...to share this amazing truth that you are deeply and passionately loved by God...just as you are!

Now, I could do a reading of today’s text using strictly a historical critical methodology or perhaps the textual critical method or even a sociological methodology...but all of them fail in the awesomeness...yes I just said “awesomeness”...of this reality that God is, above all else, love! Yes, the very essence of that Divinity which created all that exists...is love! And we are the object of that Love! Imagine what our lives could look like if each one of us lived as if we were the “beloved of God”!
So in this fourth week of Lent it may seem peculiar in the midst of all of the suffering in the world, in the midst of this heart breaking pandemic, in the midst of our own pain and sorrow to talk of God’s audacious love for us...but I think not. Yes, in the midst of all of the pain and suffering of the world and of our lives we need, very much, to reflect on how deeply and passionately we are love by God! In the midst of our Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving we need to ask ourselves “why”...why are we praying, why are we fasting and why are we giving alms...because I am so deeply and passionately loved by God?

What do I have to do to open my heart wider to God’s love for me? Do I really believe that God loves all people equally...even my enemies? How can I share God’s deep and passionate love for all human beings with others? Based on God’s love for all of us how do I respond to situations of racism, sexism, ageism or xenophobia, homophobia? Through what environmentally conscious acts can I show my understanding of God’s love of all of creation? I think these are some important questions for me to spend some time meditating on and then acting on.

Lenten Blessings,
Fr. Tim

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