April 26, 2011, Homily, Tuesday, May 3, 2011

John 14: 6-14.

Jesus said to Thomas, "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 Jesus, "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 now 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. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it."

The Gospel of the Lord.

Philip said to Jesus, "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.

The first day of class, the grammar school teacher decided to test for manual dexterity so she handed out sheets of paper and pencils to her class, and when, she had their attention, asked them each to draw a picture. Some just sat ther, but Harry bent over and started to work feverishly. The teacher went over. "Harry, what are you drawing?" "I am drawing a picture of God." "But no one knows what God looks like." Harry kept working, "They will when I am finished." In the words of Jesus from today's Gospel, "[B]elieve 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 [when I say] that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe because of the works themselves." When we witness to the Lord, when we do the works of the Lord, others see the Lord in us. "[W]hoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these. . . . And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

John 14:1 "Do no let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. [2] In my Father's house, there are many dwelling places[mansions]. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. [3] . . . so that where I am, there you may be also. [4] Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" [6] Jesus said to him, "I am the the way [to live as Jesus lived because He is the fullest. most perfect expression of God's love], and the truth [by living His life perfectly, submitting Himself to God the Father in all things, Jesus is the embodiment of truth: what it is to be truly human], and the life [Jesus through His life and example showed us how to live as God's children]. No one comes to the Father except through me. [7] If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."

John 10:30. The Father and I are one.

John's Gospel passages of the past few days talk about the relation between Jesus the Son and the Father. The Father and I are one. Two persons in one God; with the Holy Spirit, [the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are] three persons in one God.

April 6, 2011, Homily, Tuesday, April 21, 2011.

John 20: 11-18

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, he bent over the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." When she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and then reported what he had told her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

In the Catholic Weekly NY edition on Timothy Dolan, our new Archbishop, one commentator who knew him as the rector of the North American College in Rome, said that Dolan acts as a spiritual father to the faculty and seminarians, and by analogy to his priests, clergy and the faithful, reflecting the Rule of St. Benedict on the conduct of an abbot, that he should "arrange all things that the strong have something to strive for and the weak have nothing to fear."

So we turn to today's Gospel on the treatment of Jesus to Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene was strong enough to stay by the side of Jesus and of His mother during the time of Jesus on the cross and yet weak enough so that at His tomb, she was blinded by her tears as she sought to do her duty as she saw it. And Jesus on His way to His Father and to our Father, to His God and to our God, paused to tend to her, to call her name, "Mary!", to comfort her, and then to send her as his messenger to "His brothers" to the apostles to tell them that she had seen the Lord, that He had risen, to tell them and eventually through them to tell the whole world the message of Easter, that Jesus had risen, that Jesus had conquered death, so that we can say with St. Paul, "O Death where is your victory. O Death where is your sting."

This is one of the most beautiful passages in John's gospel. Jesus was fully man and fully God; this scene captures Jesus giving up his manhood and resuming his Godhood. The angels in the tomb each ask Mary Magdalene, "Woman, why are you weeping?" An angel is a messenger of God. Then Jesus who is the second person of God asks the same question of Mary Magdalene. "Woman, why are you weeping?" She is weeping because Jesus has died, and the angels and Jesus who are not mortal but immortal think she should not be weeping but be rejoicing because Jesus has risen - Jesus has reassumed His immortality.

April 16, 2011, Homily, Tuesday Holy Week, April 19, 2100

John 13: 21-33, 36-38

Residing at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what you need for the feast," to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only alittle while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come, so now I say it to you."

Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later." Peter said to him, "Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not Crowbefore you deny me three times."

The Gospel of the Lord.


John's Gospel is the Book of Signs followed by the Book of Glory. So here we have Jesus reclining at table "deeply troubled" and Jesus testified "Amen, amen I say to you, one of you will betray me." A prophesy by Jesus. Peter asks "the one whom Jesus loved [John, the writer of this Gospel]" to find out whom Jesus meant. And Jesus indicated Judas. Then Jesus sent Judas on his way. Judas "left at once." "And it was night."

Now starts the Book of Glory. For Jesus says, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him." Now starts the Passion of the Lord. And none of the "disciples" are to undergo the Passion with him except as observers. Each fail in their own way. Judas betrays him. And John with knowledge of the betrayer Judas takes no steps to stop Judas. Peter takes up the sword to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest. But Peter is stayed and the servant's ear healed. Peter goes on to deny Jesus "three times". Jesus forgives Peter (after the Ascension when he asks Peter "three times" whether Peter loves him) and forgives John (at the Cross where Jesus gives care of his mother Mary to John). Judas commits suicide, so that we assume that Jesus did not forgive Judas. But would Jesus have forgiven Judas. What precedent do we have. Well, Jesus forgave Saul (who orchestrated the murder/martyrdom of Stephen) for Saul became Paul the great apostle and missionary to the Gentiles.

Passion, Death and Resurrection. The three days of the Passion and Death are the prologue to the Resurrection of Jesus and the attendant eternity of the Glory of Jesus.