John the Baptist

 

On You Tube, you will find many evangelical preachers screaming at you to “repent your sins.” Nobody likes being called out or being accused. That’s the real bummer we face every year on the Second Sunday in Advent when the gospel readings confront us with this freaky mass of zeal and passion of John the Baptist. John comes as Jesus’ advance man. He’s a bizarre figure outside the mainstream, dressed in animal skins and eating bugs and looking for all the world like the prophet Elijah. Like Elijah before him, John, in our Gospel is calling out society for turning away from God and warning folks to come to repentance. I think he was more persuasive than our You Tube preachers because tons of people came out to hear him and let him give them a dunk in the Jordan when they confessed their sins.

The gospel story tells us even Pharisees and Sadducees were curious about John. I’ll bet they only came out to hear this guy because they thought he was a novelty or because they were afraid he might be telling people something which would impugn the power structure the Pharisees and Sadducees so enjoyed. When John sees these bigwigs, he really gives them an earful. He calls them snakes and goes totally ballistic on them—telling them their vaunted pedigrees don’t amount to spit and, unless they actually started doing something worthwhile with their faith, there was going to be a lot of chopping and burning in their future.

I think both John the Baptist and Elijah before him saw a nation which had skidded off the rails. Given the borderline psychotic times we live in here in America, we could certainly use a prophetic voice calling us all to repentance.

If you watch Youtube, many speakers make the very interesting point that liberal ideas and values are everywhere in the media. You don’t need to go to church to hear them. So why, they asked, would anyone feel the need to attend church or your church every Sunday? My answer? For the same reason people came to hear John the Baptist on the banks of the Jordan. Maybe the folks came for the entertainment value of hearing this wacky guy preach, but that wasn’t what drew them into the water. They came because they knew in their hearts they needed to confess and be forgiven and be transformed. Progressive ideas alone don’t bring people to repentance. The hunger for God does.

As Catholics we begin every Mass to confess our sins and claim the renewing power of Christ. We ask forgiveness for what we’ve done and for what we’ve left undone—for the sin of not producing the fruits worthy of repentance. I find I have to ask myself every day, “Have I really served the Lord today?” In the swirling chaos of this present hour—when compassion, mercy, and generosity are so needed—have I born the fruit Jesus expects of me? Could I be doing more? The Baptist calls to each of us during this sacred time to examine our conscience and wrestle with our faith. And that’s a good thing.

When the Evangelical preachers of this world try to call us out, we’ll get defensive. But when we hear John the Baptist calling, we’ll hear the truth about ourselves and gladly come with both contrition and joy to the river.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they all have a blessed Advent.

Advent is About Hope

 

The night had "hope" written all over it. Anita and I had been married, eh, just over a year, and our hearts were full of hope for all the years of our life together still to come. We settled into bed for the night. Our hearts were full of hope for what God might do in our years of ministry that were still to come, and when we went to sleep that night, I knew I'd be preaching the next day. I was still a pastor at the time. It was Saturday night. I had a sermon on my mind, and I awoke with a startle about 11:30. Anita was stirring me to share the news: her water had broken. All the months of training, the Lamaze classes, the anticipation, the coaching, the prayers, it was all coming into reality. This was the night, the night with "hope" written all over it.

So we rushed to the hospital, Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Georgia. She was admitted into Labor and Delivery. We called our family members. Her parents headed out to meet us. For the next six hours, we shared a night of hope. I leaned over Anita encouraging her, trying to keep her mind off the pain, leaning over to remind her of the breathing the classes had taught me. Her kind words to me, "Your breath really stinks, Alan," were just the first in a number of very kind things she said to me between midnight and 6:00 AM. The most memorable was when I asked, "Does it hurt, honey?" Not a good question.

At about 6:30 in the morning, Sarah Anne, our firstborn, arrived. As the doctor wrapped her in a blanket and he placed her on Anita's belly for a moment, she and I sat there and the only word I can describe it with is "hope." There she was, a real-live person, and she was our responsibility. There was no turning back now. We had great hope, hope of what God would do in the life of little Sarah Anne in the years to come. Hope for her schooling. Hope for her salvation. Hope for her growth and dreams and joys. Hopes for her future spouse. Hope for grandchildren. All that hope rolled up into one. About that time, Anita's mom flung open the door to the room, swooped in, scooped Sarah Anne up in her arms, and I'll always remember the look on her face as she held little Sarah Anne for the first time and said, "I have been waiting all my life to be a grandmother." Hope was written all over her face. Hope was written all over that night and that early morning.

Every Advent starts, not with a baby shower for a pregnant Mary, not with Joseph the carpenter assembling a crib, but with Jesus telling us business as usual is coming to an end. 

But this apocalyptic Jesus, who talks of judgment and the end of life as we know it . . . ? We’re not so sure. 

For one thing, his timing seems way off. “Therefore you also must be ready,” he says, “for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” He sounds so certain. And, well, the longer we wait, the less we may be expecting his return.

One way Christians have tended to resolve the awkwardness of what seems like a delay is to come to Jesus’ defense and say: what he really means is that Christ comes among us in unexpected ways, at unexpected times, now. Get ready, because you never know when Jesus will show up, as Mother Teresa called it, “in his most distressing disguise.” She knew when she and the sisters of her community served lepers, the poor, the outcast, they were really serving Christ. And we can too. This is true. Like my Sonshine friend Deb who was bringing vouchers to staff members to buy groceries and gifts for their children. Or when I was asked to carve the turkey for a neighbor whose spouse had died a year ago. We can recognize and serve the Christ who comes to meet us in the person in need. Jesus himself said so. 

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and pray: Come Lord Jesus and let the light of your love lift the darkness from our hearts and make us instruments of your peace.

 

Bottom of Form

Bottom of Form

 

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

 

Dear Lord, I thank You for the gift of life, the breath I breathe, and the strength You give me each day. Thank You for family, friends, and the people who enrich my journey. Even in times of difficulty, Your blessings are countless and unending. Teach me to recognize and appreciate every small grace that comes from You. May my heart remain ever grateful, and may I never take for granted the love and mercy You pour out on me daily. Amen.

Bishop's John 40th Anniversary

 

Your Excellency Bishop John, Sherry (beloved spouse), daughter Becky, son Phillip and spouse Becky and their children Ellie, Robby and Teddy, son Andrew and spouse Brianna and their children Adeline and Shelby, sisters Felecia and Laurie and brother James, Holy Mother of the Rosary parishioners, friends and all.

I discovered something special about your Bishop Mack. At our recent travels to San Antonio, Texas, he was invited by St. Jude’s parish to confirm several young people and adults, then offer First Holy Communion to a young girl. The following day he ordained Father Robert Gizzelli to the Priesthood, and on the third day he presided at Fr. Robert’s First Mass. After the confirmation ceremony, this Hispanic community hosted and served homemade authentic Mexican foods in their parish hall. However, to his surprise as he walked into the parish hall, he was greeted by the music of a Mexican mariachi band to honor his 40^th anniversary as a priest with the people cheering, Then, while the music was playing, he was presented with a gift of a Mexican sombrero as the sound of Mexican music played on. Latter I learned from Sherry that in a prior visit to San Antonio he bought himself a pair of cowboy boots. In his vocation serving in various pastoral positions and now as bishop of 20 parishes scattered throughout the country, your bishop has humbly learned to adapt to different cultures and ethic traditions. Bishop John has always had a desire to serve as a priest and now shepherd of our Buffalo-Pittsburg Diocese.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what an extraordinary joy it is to celebrate this sacred milestone today! Forty years! Four decades of faithful service! Forty years of bringing Christ to God's people and God's people to Christ!

 

Today we celebrate not just an anniversary, but a living testament to God's faithfulness and love. And we do so on this magnificent Solemnity of Christ the King – how fitting that we honor a priest's four decades of service on the very day we proclaim Jesus as our eternal King!

 

Look at today's Gospel with fresh eyes. Here is Jesus, hanging on the cross, appearing at His weakest moment by any worldly standard. The sign above His head reads "This is the King of the Jews" – meant as cruel mockery, as bitter sarcasm. The soldiers are gambling for His clothes. The leaders are sneering. Even one of the criminals crucified beside Him hurls insults at Him. By every measure of earthly power and prestige, this looks like complete and utter defeat!

 

But brothers and sisters, this is precisely where Christ's royal authority shines most brilliantly! This is where we see what true kingship really means! Because what does Jesus do from that cross? He forgives! "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He pardons! He tells the repentant thief, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." He shows up! He is present in the darkest moment, sharing our suffering, our pain, our very death itself!

 

This is the King we serve! A King whose throne is a cross! A King whose crown is made of thorns! A King whose royal power is revealed not in domination but in self-giving love! A King who rules not by force or fear but by mercy!

 

And for forty years, bishop has lived out this same royal priesthood! Think about what that means! For four decades, he has been configured to Christ the King through his priestly ordination. The words spoken at his ordination remain eternally true: "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." Forever! That sacred character is stamped on his soul for all eternity!

 

But what kind of priesthood? Not a priesthood of earthly power or personal glory! No! A priesthood modeled on Christ the King hanging on the cross! A priesthood of service, of sacrifice, of showing up for God's people in their moments of greatest need!

 

Last weekend I took over 1000 photos of three celebrations, Confirmation, Ordination of a Priest and his First Mass. I edited to the best 100 taking out closed eyes, opened mouths or expressions you would be embarrassed to have posted on Facebook. When I am looking through my camera lens I am praying. There are over a million photos posted daily on the internet, but the most stunning are the ones that tell a story. There were three sacred moments that I captured that occurred in a blink of an eye. 

 

One, the moment the bishop laid his hands on the head of Father Robert at 11:43am. Yes, I check my watched at that precise moment for that is the split second the Holy Spirit came down upon Robert to make him a disciple of the Lord with the power to forgive sins. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Bishop John to feel that power coming from his hands as he pressed on the forehead of Robert. It is truly humbling and a sacred moment. 

 

 

The second photo is when Bishop Mack was offered obedience by his new priest and he placed his hands over the hands of his new priest offering his brotherly support and strength. He understands and knows after 40 years the sacrifice and trials this young man will face for the rest of his priesthood.

 

 

 

The third was the moment, Father Robert’s wife MacKenzie shared with me privately. It was when her husband made his vow of obedience and the bishop got off his chair, bent over and kissed her husband on the forehead. For her it was a gesture of humility and profound love and appreciation for her husband’s willingness to witness to Christ and say yes to serve the church and the bishop. It’s like those times when Bishop John sheds a tear delivering a homily when he says: “he’s gets choked up” meaning he knows what this man will face in his priesthood. It will not be easy and he knows that he will need the support the bishop can give him. 

 

 

 

For forty years, as a priest and now bishop he has exercised the royal power Christ gave to His Church! He has granted pardon through the Sacrament of Reconciliation – how many souls has he welcomed back to God's embrace? How many times has he spoken those beautiful words, "I absolve you from your sins"? How many hearts has he helped to heal through God's merciful forgiveness?

 

He has bestowed honor on God's people! Through Baptism, he has welcomed new members into God's royal family! Through Confirmation, he has strengthened young people with the gifts of the Holy Spirit! Through Marriage, he has blessed couples and honored their covenant of love! Through the Anointing of the Sick, he has brought Christ's healing presence to those who suffer!

 

And above all, he has shown up! Day after day, year after year, decade after decade! In hospital rooms and at bedsides! At weddings and funerals! In moments of joy and in times of crushing sorrow! In the everyday routine and in the unexpected crisis! He has been present as Christ is present – faithfully, consistently, lovingly!

 

This is what forty years of priesthood looks like! It's not about personal achievement or worldly success. It's about being "always for others" – never for yourself, but always for others! It's about making Christ's love visible and tangible in this world! It's about bringing the royal presence of Christ the King to every person you encounter! Being there for others also means “showing up for your family.” This is what I discovered about In the Bishop John‘s from his children: 

 

Becky remembered her dad taking them to places they were interested in like museums, basketball games and concerts. Andrew shared a funny story about a time his dad took him deer hunting, but he swore in the back of his dad’s head he was thinking “I hope we don’t have to drag anything out of the woods today!” Other moments included taking Andrew out to watch Phil’s hockey games, but no matter how late they lasted -dad would buy the hot chocolate and soft pretzels which became a special treat he enjoyed at the cold rink. There were also the times visiting Carnegie Science Center and going on the military submarine that was really cool. And Phillip shared his dad’s love for music. He would spend time with the kids helping them practice and develop their skills and attend their recitals, concerts and musicals to cheer them on. That’s what good dads’ do, they show up for their kids despite the fact you got endless bishop meetings, conferences and consultations to attend.

 

And brothers and sisters, we share in this royal priesthood too! Through our Baptism, we are united to Christ the King! We too have been given royal authority and power! We too can forgive those who have hurt us! We too can bestow honor on others by seeing Christ in them and treating them with dignity and love! We too can show up for one another in times of need!

 

Bishop has modeled this for us for forty years! He has shown us what it means to live as subjects of Christ the King! He has demonstrated that true power lies not in dominating others but in serving them! Not in being served but in serving! Not in seeking honor but in giving it away!

 

Sometimes, I am humbled to travel with the bishop to celebrate special occasions like the dedication of a new church in Las Vegas, or an ordination to Priesthood in San Antonio. Then there are other more challenging travels that deal with a community in stress or a parish hurting from financial or legal difficulties. While in the plane, he’s not a crewmember but he always offers me a sandwich or a homemade blueberry muffin from his goodie bag. Then once we are on the ground, he is the best uber driver while I serve as navigator with google maps on our way to church. 

 

Today we give thanks to God for the gift of bishop's priesthood! We thank God for his faithfulness through all these years! We thank God for every Mass he has celebrated, every homily he has preached, every sacrament he has administered, every person he has counseled, every prayer he has offered, every blessing he has given!

 

We also thank bishop himself for saying "yes" to God's call forty years ago and for continuing to say "yes" every single day since then! Thank you, bishop, for your dedication, your sacrifice, your love! Thank you for being Christ's presence among us! Thank you for showing us what it means to serve Christ the King!

 

And we pray for you today! We pray that God will continue to bless you with good health, with wisdom, with strength, and with renewed zeal for your sacred ministry! We pray that the years ahead will be filled with abundant grace and deep joy! We pray that God will grant you many more fruitful years of service.

 

My dear friends, as we continue this Mass, let us renew our own commitment to Christ the King! Let us embrace the royal authority He has given us! Let us forgive as Christ forgives! Let us honor others as Christ honors them! Let us show up for one another as Christ shows up for us!

 

And let us thank God for the gift of priesthood – for bishop's priesthood and for the priesthood of all believers! May we all live as loyal subjects of Christ the King, whose reign is eternal and whose love knows no bounds!

 

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man! Blessed be His holy priesthood! And blessed be this faithful priest who has served God's people for forty wonderful years!

 

At the end of every concert performance, the conductor turns to the audience and the audience stands. Let me kindly invite you to please stand and show our appreciation to Bishop John for his 40 years of ministry to God and his people.

 

 

Fr. Robert's Ordination

 

Your Excellency Bishop John, Father Robert, Father Marcus, Father Val, Father Steve, Mikenzie (Spouse), JJ, Jibril (Gabriel in Arabic son), Isabel (mother), Greg (father) Martin (brother from Assumption Seminary), Daniel (brother from Mount Angel Seminary), St. Jude parishioners and friends all.

I discovered something special about your Fr. Robert. At our recent clergy conference in Lancaster, New York we went out to lunch and Fr. Robert was checking out the menu at the restaurant. He asked me if they had roast beef on kimmelweck. Every culture and many cities have a special food that you can only find in their restaurants. In Buffalo, New York it’s chicken wings with Frank’s original hot sauce and roast beef on kimmelweck (a hard roll topped with caraway seeds and hard salt). I smiled and was glad to know that your Fr. Robert has a craving for this special Buffalo food. In San Antonia, a bolillos “bowl lee o” would be like kimmelweck without the caraway seed and salt. I did learn that one of his favorite foods is a patty melt from Whataburger. Just as we crave certain ethic foods, Fr. Robert has always had a craving to serve as a priest and shepherd of God’s people.

It’s a remarkable thing. That an ordinary man would be chosen by God to make his presence known among us. Yesterday, as Bishop John laid hands and invoked the Holy Spirit Robert would be changed forever.  But changed not for himself.  Father Robert didn’t lay down on that floor because it was comfortable, or because he was tired!  He didn’t make those promises because he would gain anything in return.  He did all that, first and foremost because God asked him to.  It is God’s will, God’s choice, God’s gift that we are here today.  And how we rejoice in that gift.  After so many years of study – at the University of the Incarnate Word, the Oblate School of Theology, the Mexican American Catholic College, Assumption Seminary all in San Antonia, and finally Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon after so many courses and degrees!  After so many years of preparation, and experiences in ministry serving at Baptist Medical Center and Westover Hills Baptist Hospital we rejoice in this gift of Father Robert’s priesthood to us, because we need it!

This world desperately needs the priesthood. The world needs this witness, it needs to be taught how to love. To be Christ’s witness is not easy – to love is not easy either.  St. Paul reminds us that Christ died for all, so that all who live might no longer live for themselves but for Christ.   Christ teaches us how to love, his cross is the greatest example of love this world has ever known.

Robert, yesterday at exactly  11:43 am (yes, I looked at my watch!) your whole identity was configured to Christ.  You now speak in his voice, at Holy Mass, his “I” is yours.  You, Fr. Robert are called to love Christ totally, and in a particular way to totally love as He did – incluso hasta el final (incluso hasta feenab) “even to the end.”

Today's gospel, and that of the next two Sundays, has to do with the end times. Jesus warns us to be ready. His descriptions are not very reassuring.... In fact, they're downright scary. And when we think of natural disasters like the wildfires in California or floods here in San Antonio and scary things in our country we wonder if maybe the end times are not nearer than we think. Cult leaders like to terrify their followers by saying the end times are near.

"There is a wonderful Texas story about two little boys whose mother asked them to chase a chicken snake out of the henhouse. They looked everywhere for that snake, but couldn't find it. The more they looked, the more afraid they got. Finally, they stood up on their tiptoes to look on the top nesting shelf and came nose to nose with the snake. They fell all over themselves and one another running out of the chicken house. 'Don't you know a chicken snake won't hurt you?' their mama asked. 'Yes, maam,' one of the boys answered, 'but there are some things that will scare you so bad you'll hurt yourself.'"

Well, that's true about the end times. If we nose around enough, wondering when the endtimes are coming and seeing them at every turn of events, we can hurt ourselves. Jesus says no one, not even himself, but only the Father in heaven knows when the end is coming. Jesus tells us simply to so live each day that we will be prepared to die, either as a result of nature taking its course, or because the end times have come.

Jesus makes four points clear:

1.   Beware that you are not led astray. Many, he says, will come announcing that the end is at hand. They are false prophets, and disciples are not to be misled by them.

2.   Do not be terrified. Bad times will come. But they are not the end of the story.

3.   Your persecution will give you an opportunity to testify. Our word "martyr" comes from the word for "testify." Disciples need not worry about saying the wrong thing. Christ will give each the "mouth" (stoma) and the wisdom needed to be effective.

4.   And, the climax of this reading, By your endurance you will gain your souls. [The Greek word for "endurance] can be translated "patient waiting for" or "steadfastness." It did not turn out to be literally true that "not a hair of your head will perish.” But in that coming of the Son of Man to which the rest of the chapter points there will be glorious redemption/

Dr. George Lara-Braud, a seminary professor in Mexico and the USA,  pointed out the seeming incongruity of Jesus' statement about the coming persecutions and his promise, "But not a hair on your head will perish” (Lk 21: 18).

He asked how Jesus could say that when in almost the same breath he said that, "and some of you they will put death" (Lk 21:16). He also pointed out that this was written fifty years after the crucifixion and also after the fall of Jerusalem, in which many Christians were persecuted and killed because they pledged their loyalty to Jesus rather than Caesar. He answered his question by proclaiming that Jesus was saying that even if a Christian were mutilated and carbonized, no part of that Christian will die forever. If, on the other hand, Christians betray the sacred in the individual and in the world, then those same Christians will have died even if they look alive. His conclusion was that in our time when there are massive numbers of broken lives around us, we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to be our Lord's midwives for God's new creation.

In all of these sermons there is the note of living our lives with a passion, responding to God in each situation, and seeing all of our experiences as opportunities for witness. The type of writing that deals with the end times is called apocalyptic and is peculiar. The authors who write in an apocalyptic sense do not see themselves to be predicting, in an abstract, uninvolved way, the "last things" that are to happen centuries hence; rather, they are interpreting the present crisis in which they are involved as the last crisis of human history, to be followed very soon by the end. The theologian, Walter Burghardt, says:

“No, my friends. Whether the Lord is coming this Thanksgiving or a thousand years from now, our task is to live as if he were arriving tomorrow. Better still, as if he were already here. Because he is. Some day he will come in power and glory to place all creation at the feet of his Father. But today he comes quietly, subtly, invisibly wherever you are. Look for him not on a pink cloud or with a jeweled crown or like a king. Look for him in your gathering together. Look for him in the preached word, in the Host on your tongue. Look for him inside you. Look for him at home, on the faces of your dear ones. But look for him especially where he told you to look: in the hungry and thirsty, the stranger and the naked, the sick and the imprisoned (cf. Mt. 25: 35-36).

Yesterday at your ordination I took over 500 shots. I edited to the best 50 taking out closed eyes, opened mouths or expressions you would be embarrassed to have posted on Facebook. When I am looking through my camera  lens I am praying. There are over a million photos posted daily on  the internet, but the most stunning are the ones that tell a story. There were three sacred moments that I captured that occurred in a blink of an eye. One, as you were blessing your mom, your son JJ reached up with his hand as if he were giving his grandma a blessing. 

 

 

The second when you offered your obedience to the bishop. He took your hand and the image shows his hands embracing yours as a sign of strength and support. 

 

The third was when you were blessing your beloved Mikinzie she huged you and there were tears coming down from both of you. Tears of joys. These were three God moments that He was well pleased with your decision to say yes. 

 

Fr. Robert you understand from serving as chaplain at Baptist Medical Center there were be plenty of tears. The apostles turned to Jesus, desperate for help, fearful for their lives as we just read in the gospel about end times. Our Blessed Lord came to calm stood to calm their fears  So much of our lives becomes confusing and difficult.  Life becomes painful and difficult, we are faced with tremendous challenges – sickness, poverty, death, loneliness, confusion, deportation. Even in priesthood.  Especially in the priesthood.

Fr. Robert, the priesthood is a total gift, but there will be many tears and many crosses.  There will be many who don’t understand what happened yesterday.  There will be those that hate you because of the collar around your neck or are jealous of your gifts to serve. Turn to the Lord in those moments of darkness and need.  Do like the Apostles did in the gospel we just heard and ask Christ to help.  

That is why you give your life, that is why you do everything you can to bring people to God forever. Remember, when you are 50 years ordained, like myself in two years, you will get up and you will go to the sick in the middle of the night and you may be tired and you may be exhausted but you will go, every time you are called because you believe that you are the bearer of the salvation of Jesus Christ.  To many you will open the gates of heaven, when there seemingly was no chance you will give them the words of comfort and forgiveness and peace and heaven will open for them because of what you did, never forget that.  In the midst of all the illusions, all the distractions, all the nonsense all the worries that you have, keep before you the heaven that awaits you and the Lord Jesus and His Mother Our Lady of Gaudeloupe who will be waiting to thank you for what you did for his brothers and sisters forever.

Always remember the glory of this weekend.  The glory to which you’ve been called and now, finally, been given.

Robert, for the rest of your life you will be called Father.  It is among the greatest joys of the priesthood.  As a father looks forward to coming home at the end of each work day to see your child JJ, so too do we priests look forward to each Sunday, to see our families, the parish, our spiritual children.  We laugh with our families and we cry with them, we enjoy their successes and we mourn their losses.  You have been blessed with a family and the support of your beloved Mikenzie (spouse) thank her for giving you the time to serve God’s children as well as your own.

It is weird that your close friends or even some distant relatives insist on calling you father.  Who am I, who are we to be worthy of that gift.  But priesthood is never something we can be worthy of.  Truly, it is pure gift.  Fr. Robert, it was the love you have for the Church and for Jesus Christ that has brought you to today. May that same love of Christ keep your priesthood holy and filled with many blessings.  And may we all never forget the blessing of today, we give thanks to God for another padre En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén.

Our God is God of the Living

 

At any given time, most of the world believes that death isn’t final, that some form of immortality exists.

Most people believe that those who have died still exist in some state, in some place, in some heaven or hell--however that might be conceived. As Christians, here is our belief: we believe that the dead are still alive, still themselves and, very importantly, still in a living, conscious, and loving relationship with us and with each other. That’s our common concept of heaven and, however simplistic its popular expression at times, it is wonderfully correct. After death we live on, conscious, self-conscious, in communication with others who have died before us, in communion with those we left behind on earth, and in communion with the divine itself.

In this Gospel story, Jesus comes faces-to-face with the Sadducees, who are the most powerful group of national political and religious leaders in Israel.

They were the group Rome turned to when they were looking to appoint a new high priest. They were the group that provided the members of the Sanhedrin, the national ruling body. By becoming embroiled with the Sadducees instead of the Pharisees, it was as if Jesus had gone from fighting with members of city hall to fighting with the most powerful — and ruthless — leaders of Congress and the White House.

The Sadducees gained their power by working hand-in-glove with the occupying Roman government. They had a hard-earned reputation for saying or doing pretty much anything to avoid rocking the boat and losing their privileged positions.

Of course, the Sadducees had religious functions, but their primary role was political. As our own leaders demonstrate, sometimes religious beliefs make it very difficult to perform certain political maneuvers. Therefore, for what I believe to have been pragmatic political reasons, the Sadducees refused to believe in any of what we think of as the Old Testament, except the first five books.

Who needs to hear that sort of thing when you have the very real and extremely dangerous power of Rome on your doorstep? Limiting the Bible to the first five books also, in their view, precluded belief in such silly ideas as life after death. So that’s where they focused their attack on Jesus.

To truly understand the question they posed to Jesus, you need to know about “levirate marriage.” That was an ancient law which came straight out Deuteronomy 25. It required that if a man were to die before he had a son, it was the responsibility of the man’s brother to marry the widow so that she could have a son to take care of her.

Our modern reaction to this law tends to focus on the way it potentially tramples over the wishes of both the widow and her brother-in-law. But that’s not how the ancients viewed it. We may have a hard time relating to this idea, but in Jesus’ day, women were always kept under the care of a man. First it was her father, then presumably her husband and eventually her son.

That was the ancient social security system — family looking out for family. The problem was that if an adult woman had no husband and no son, she would probably be on her own and be forced into begging or prostitution, since there really weren’t any other significant occupations open to women.

Levirate marriage was intended to provide widows with a son who would be considered the offspring and heir of her late husband and who would ultimately care for the widow in her old age.

But there was another aspect to levirate marriage that most people overlook. That was the belief that the only way a person could achieve a life beyond this life was through the memories of his or her children. \

Belief in a personal life after death entered the Jewish religion, but none of that appears in the first five books of the Bible, so the Sadducees were convinced that they had Jesus backed into a corner. And they played up the situation for all the comedic value it was worth, with their ludicrous question about the tangled domestic trail created in heaven by levirate marriage. The only minor problem was that they had radically underestimated Jesus. They thought they’d placed him in a theological box until he kicked the sides out.

Henri Nouwen said “We can live as if this life were all we had, as if death were absurd and we better not talk about it, or we can choose . . . to trust that death is the painful but blessed passage that will bring us face to face with our God.”

Jesus became the resurrection. He returned in a body that people identified as his by its scars.  They recognized him in his mannerisms, that particular way he had of breaking bread and of carrying on heart-stirring conversations.   “He ate fish, broke bread, cooked breakfast. He also walked through locked doors and vanished while people were looking right at him. He was the same, but he was different, and because he was both, our futures may turn out to be as astounding as his.”

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends to strengthen our belief that the Resurrection is not about our worthiness, but the power of God’s faithfulness and unspeakable love.  God is God of the living, for all are alive to God. 

 

 

The Power of Prayer

 

A Sonshine friend shared the following story about the power of prayer.

 

As you know I like you have witnessed the power of prayers.  One instance I carry in my heart to this day.  I was shopping in the outlet mall in a men’s store before Christmas about 5 or 6 years ago and while looking at the merchandise the elderly salesman was straightening the merchandise in the other isle, when an elderly gentleman came in that he knew.  

 

After greeting each other the salesman asked him how is your dear wife doing?   He replied it’s a miracle her cancer is gone!  What happened that’s wonderful.  He replied three months ago the doctors told us the cancer is no longer in remission and she has about six months to live.  We were shocked and in a few days she asked me if we could try one thing more.  I said of course, she said let’s go to Lourdes with the Grotto where the Blessed Mother appeared to Saint Bernadette.  

 

So I told her to make the arrangements. I took money out of our savings and we went to the Grotto at Lourdes on a religious tour.  I thought it’s the least I could do, because I didn’t know what else to do for her.  We visited the grotto and we prayed, on our flight home she said, I think I will go and see the doctor because I believe something has changed.  

 

So we went to see her doctor and she asked him if he could rerun the tests he did a month ago, which he did.  We got a call a few days later and he wanted to see her again.  We went to see him and he examined her and asked a few more questions.  He said I cannot see any signs of cancer. The tests came back negative and I don’t know how to explain it. She is cancer free, of course the doctor wants to check her out in six months.  His friend was speechless. I managed to leave the store unnoticed.

I swear by the grace of God that I witnessed this story and it has stuck with me forever in this detailed description. Your Sonshine stories brought this miracle back to life.  I know you must have witnessed many such miracles as well, to know and believe.

Thanks for this memory dear friend.

Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends and everyone on our prayer list.

In April, I visited the Mother Cabrini shrine in Golden, Colorado. Her grotto has a spring that people believe has miraculous powers. People are allowed to take this sacred water home.  Father Alphonsus, pastor in Denver delivered a vial of this sacred water to me to share and bless anyone in need. Kindly forward your email if you would like a blessing with the Mother Cabrini sacred waters. Located at the Mother Cabrini Shrine, it honors St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. The site features a beautiful chapel and serene natural surroundings. Sacred waters are believed to have healing properties, attracting many visitors. The shrine includes a statue of Mother Cabrini and scenic hiking trails. It serves as a place for reflection, prayer, and spiritual renewal.