Solemnity of Christ the King Yr A 11-26-23 Dcn. Bill Kenney

We had an open field not too far from the suburban home where I grew up. One perfectly windy Spring day my Dad took us out to fly a kite. It was a large box-kite. From an eight-year old’s perspective it was eight feet tall, when in reality it was probably more like 4~5 feet tall. Tethered by braided 50 lb test line it was sent into orbit. I remember watching it until it was a dot in the sky. As soon as Dad tried to reel it in, “the line that would never break” came back to earth at our feet while the kite went, I figured, all the way to heaven. I had hoped gravity would bring it back down to us so we could fly it again. Silly kid. Our reading from Acts got me to reminisce that kite flying story. The Apostles witnessed Jesus ascending into heaven on a cloud, watching him until he was only a dot in the sky. The big difference from that wayward kite and Jesus’ ascension is that Jesus promises to come back, just the way the apostles saw him leave. That kite is history. I lived and studied in Tucson, Arizona where you could practically count on one hand the number of cloudy days in the year. I use to naively and jokingly think as I woke up in the morning, “Another clear sky, I guess Jesus won’t be coming back today”. Be thankful for the cloudy days we have in Michigan. We know not when, but on the next partly cloudy day, look up to the sky to see if the Lord is descending on a cloud from heaven, for our redemption draws nigh. Maybe he’ll bring that kite back down with him. I am reminded today from our readings of the fundamental calling from our baptism as priest, prophet, and king, to become witnesses, testifying our faith to others, bringing them to faith, and ultimately, salvation in Jesus Christ. Bishop Robert Barron tells us, “Every one of the baptized shares in the priesthood of Christ and is therefore obligated to be a conduit of holiness, a bearer of the divine life, a spreader of the fire that sets the world a blaze.” These were Jesus’ last sentiments to his Apostles before his ascension. They remain one of the most important instructions in our calling as Christians. We are braided into that unbreakable life line of power promised to us by our Lord through the Holy Spirit to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”. What does it mean to you to be a disciple of Christ? We are called to lay down our lives in witness of our faith to win souls for Christ. In his wisdom, the Holy Spirit moves the Church to proclaim Christ to others, to make disciples of all nations. One of the tools we use is the OCIA Program. As a fishing net or a shepherd’s crook, if you will, we utilize the OCIA program to haul in the fish and gather the lost sheep, to win faithful disciples for Christ. Consider yourselves introducing wayward family members or neighbors to become Catholic, making them disciples of our Lord. Do this before they get too distant and hard to reel in before breaking their line of hope and conversion. Who do you pray for? Who do you pray for conversion and devout practice of the faith? Consider too how you may bear witness to your faith by assisting in the faith formation of our brothers and sisters in their OCIA journey “teaching them, [as Jesus says], to observe all that I have commanded you.” Jesus tells us, “I am with you always until the end of the age”. Jesus is indeed with us and in us as we partake of his body and blood at each Mass. The Eucharist is our tethered life-line- the strongest 4-braided test line made of his body, blood, soul and divinity that we may know “what is the hope that belongs to his call” and the power to “…make disciples of all nations”. Receive him in thanksgiving, purity, and humility, to gracefully do his holy will in your life. How do you experience God’s enduring presence in your life? How can you reach out to those who feel abandoned and alone? St. Augustine said, “Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him.” Heavenly Father, as we celebrate your Son’s ascension, may we follow him into paradise, for his ascension is our hope and our glory. May we also rejoice with all the saints in anticipation of the coming Pentecost. Come, Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful and give us the grace to bring others to Christ. May we remain tethered by hope and prayer to the power of the Holy Spirit to faithfully behold the coming of our Lord when he returns in glory, for our salvation and for the glory of God.

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, . . .” It’s good to have options. And this is especially important since no two people are exactly alike. Even identical twins who have the same DNA are not exactly the same in all things. We all have different likes and dislikes. We all have different dreams and goals. We all have unique personalities and quirks, different passions and interests. And the options we have in life provide opportunities for each of us to sort of choose our own path and shape our own little corner of the world. For example, we don’t all want to buy the same exact car. Some people want a sports car, while others want a truck or SUV. Some people want a big, fast engine, while others want something that gets good gas mileage. Some want a sunroof, some couldn’t care less. We do the same when we are arranging for new construction of a home. From the basic layout - to the color of paint - to the type of carpeting - to the fixtures in the bathroom - to the cabinets in the kitchen - to the landscaping --- the options are endless. And one might argue that nowhere are options more important than in the choosing of someone with whom to enter into a romantic relationship. Some of us want someone who is outgoing, while some of us are attracted to precisely the opposite. For some of us the person’s religion is extremely important, while for others, not so much. Some of us are drawn to people who are just like us, while others of us want someone who is much different from ourselves. You get the idea. Thank goodness we have options. What about in matters of faith? Do we have options? Organized religion is often criticized by nonbelievers as being sort of a delusional exercise in which human communities create the God they want to exist. They would argue that, because the meaning of life is impossible to grasp, human beings construct “answers” to the “un-answerables” of life --- to comfort themselves and alleviate their fears. Some of the arguments non-believers put forth can seem pretty reasonable. I can understand why they might think that way. After all, we’re talking about faith and mystery and wonder and the biggest questions concerning the meaning of it all --- not the sorts of things that can be empirically proved as the modern world so often demands. But I would argue that it’s not just formal, organized religion that can fall into the trap of creating the God that people want. I think it can also take place within the heart and mind of the individual believer --- you and me. So often we want our “faith” to sort of be consistent with the way we want the world to be, be consistent with the way we want to act, be consistent with our own prejudices, biases, earthly desires, and attitudes. We want to create our own God and our own moral Truths. We probably do this more often than we are even aware of. To shed some light on this, lets re-visit the question I asked just a moment ago. In matters of faith, specifically the Christian faith, do we have options? Well, it might be easier if I pose a slightly different question: Are there things about our faith, things about being a faithful disciple of Jesus --- which are NOT OPTIONAL? I think you know the answer. Each of us has been created in the image and likeness of God, with specific gifts to be used to build up the kingdom of God. God has created us to live a certain way and we thrive and find true peace and purpose when we live as faithful disciples. There are some things so central to what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus that they cannot in any way be considered “optional”. These are the things every Christian is asked to embrace and live out. This is why God, as our Loving Father, has set before us His Children the Ten Commandments, and Jesus has provided us with the Beatitudes and the Golden Rule. This is why honoring God through the gift of our time in prayer and worship at weekly Mass is not optional, this is why honoring our parents is not optional, this is why loving others is not optional. Now knowing exactly how to serve the Lord, as a faithful disciple, is more challenging because we do have so many options. Discerning our vocation or to what ministries the Lord is calling us to takes time. Part of living a life of faith is trying to discern the path which God wants us to walk. And he gives us a lot of latitude, a lot of choices, a lot of “options” as to how best to fulfill our life of Discipleship in this world. We are blessed to have the Catechism of the Catholic Church which spells out in black and white, many key elements of a life of Faithful Discipleship - that help us thrive as humans and discern God’s will. As we live our lives as disciples, our Second reading from the First Letter of Peter, gives us one more element of faith that is not optional which pertains to our efforts to evangelize others. We are asked to embrace this at every step of our journey. And it is this: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, . . .” One reason, is who we encounter and receive from the Altar, another is the Advocate, the Holy Spirit of Truth. What are your reasons for Hope?

If someone asked you where you were going for vacation, how might you answer? Obviously, there are an infinite number of possibilities. One person might answer, “To Rome.” Another might say, “To the Grand Canyon,” or “To Disney World.” Others might say something along the lines of, “To my Grandma’s house,” or “To a basketball camp,” or “To visit a friend in Colorado.” You get the idea. But it’s pretty safe to say that if someone posed that question to any one of us --- “Where are you going for vacation this year?” --- we would certainly not say, “Well, we’re going to back out of the garage, go west down our street until we come to the second intersection, turn right at the first stoplight, then make a left, get on the expressway going south, etc. . . .” That really doesn’t seem like an appropriate response to the question. The question asked was about a destination, the unusual answer given in the example above was about how we intended to get there. There’s a little bit of that type of thing going on in today’s Gospel passage from John. The conversation between Jesus and his disciples is familiar to many of us (and quite often chosen to be read at funerals). Jesus begins by talking about dwelling places, and how he is going to prepare a place for his disciples. And then he says something that I think is a little puzzling. He says, “Where I am going you know the way.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Where I am going you know the place.” No, Jesus takes the conversation in a somewhat different direction, moving from talking about a destination to talking about a journey --- a “way”--- to use his language. When Thomas inquires about this “way”, Jesus utters some of the most profound words in all of Scripture. “I am the way and the truth and the life.” And this should tell us something about a life of faith, a life of discipleship, a life in God. Living as new creations is not only about the destination --- no matter how important that destination may be (and nothing can be more important than being alive in, with, and for God for all eternity). It’s also about the journey, the path, the means through which we experience life to the fullest, the “way”. And for us as Christians, the WAY is a person, the Lord Jesus in whom we put all our trust. However --- trusting in, believing in, and having faith in the WAY (the Lord Jesus) is not a static thing. It’s dynamic, active, and alive. As disciples of the WAY, we are called to allow the Lord to enable us to embrace a particular way of life, a way of being, a way of thinking, and a way of seeing. It’s not just about the “what” that we believe in faith. It’s the “how”--- it’s the continual journey of taking steps in faith wherever Jesus leads. --- knowing perfectly well that at times we will mess up and need to be forgiven, at times we will become broken and wounded and need to be healed, and at times we will be confused and uncertain and will need to be comforted, guided, and reassured. That’s the journey of faith. That’s the pattern of our lives, the Paschal Mystery. That’s what it means to travel the WAY. One vacation that people who love the outdoors often take is to hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail. At over two-thousand miles there are plenty of places to get on and off the trail. Many people, called “thru-hikers” walk the entire trail at once (usually taking several months). Others walk it in segments, returning each year to walk another portion. While a few --- and this sounds unbelievable --- get to the end of the trail, turn around, and start hiking the other direction. I imagine that if you asked such a person, “Why do you keep on hiking?” they’d probably say something along the lines of, “It’s who I am.” In the spiritual life it’s who we are too, people on a journey --- men and women who don’t simply focus on the destination, but who know the importance and beauty of the journey itself. And just as there are many shelters and places to stop on the Appalachian Trail, so too is it in our own spiritual lives. The difference being, of course, that most of these points in our lives are often completely unknown to us, don’t show up on the map we have created for ourselves, are not in our “plans”. The truth is, most of these small destinations on our faith journeys are unexpected stops, circumstances and experiences for which we could not have planned and which we would never have chosen had we had the chance. Such is life. Yet, where we are on the journey is not nearly as important as the journey itself. When we say that we have faith in Jesus, it is more than mere words or a concept we form in our minds. No, when we say, “Jesus, I have faith in you, “we’re really saying, “Jesus, because of my faith, hope, and trust in you I am willing and eager to change, willing to be whomever you call me to be, willing to follow wherever you lead --- even though I might not see the path ahead.” The stops, like prayer and Mass, are pauses and refueling stations, on a great adventure, moments to gather ourselves, dust ourselves off, and venture once again into the unknown --- placing our steps in the footprints of our Lord, the Way. This life matters --- all of it --- the complexities, the messiness, the struggles, the triumphs, and the sorrows. And so let’s embrace the journey of faith knowing Jesus is our guide through prayer and our strength and nourishment in the Eucharist. Union with him is our final destination and staying close to him is the Way.

4th Sunday of Easter Good Shepherd Sunday

“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, . . .” If you’ve ever bumped into someone you haven’t seen in a very long time you know that it can go one of two ways. One --- it can be a fun, joyful, surprising moment --- one in which the person immediately experiences an “I can’t believe it’s you!” moment. That’s usually followed by handshakes or hugs or smiles or whatever. But that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes we get the second possible experience --- the one in which the other person knows exactly who we are, but we find ourselves thinking, “Who is this?” And if the conversation is brief, without many cues provided, we might find ourselves walking away and still not knowing who we had just bumped into. And that can be more than a little frustrating --- a kind of “missed opportunity”. The story we just heard is a familiar one, yet also a puzzling one. It’s the kind of story that makes some of us want to ask follow-up questions so that we can fill-in the blanks, that is, get the additional details we need to understand it better. And what immediately jumps into my mind is the question, “Did the two men on the road actually know Jesus before then? Had they personally met him or seen him before? If they did, then it seems that Jesus somehow kept them from recognizing him (as is stated by the text). But that doesn’t explain the fact that later the text doesn’t say that JESUS opened their eyes. It just says that “their eyes were opened”. So maybe they knew ABOUT Jesus, but didn’t really know him --- at least not know him by sight or by having met him. So which is it? Wouldn’t that make a difference in how we are to understand the story? Maybe not. At its most basic level, this story is about our ability to recognize Jesus or not, our ability to be ready to encounter Jesus or miss the God who is standing before us, the God in our midst. And the ambiguity in the story (in a sense) allows it to cover all possibilities, the entire range of human experience. That means the story has meaning for us regardless of whether we sense the divine often or hardly ever, whether we feel God is close by or far away, whether we feel we know him well or whether we wonder if we’ve ever even met him before. And that’s because no matter where we find ourselves on that range of experiences, the truth is --- Jesus will always seem to be absent from the places we don’t expect him to be, always seem to be hiding (in plain sight) if our hearts and minds are closed to the possibility of seeing him, always seem to be distant if we never expect him to be close. In other words, God wants us to see him, experience him, and recognize him in places, experiences, and people we would never expect --- “encounter” him where we can’t imagine he would ever be. In the boss we don’t like and in co-worker who is our best friend. In the neighbor who drives us crazy and in the one who always shovels our snow for free. In the person who “has it all together” and in the person whose life is a hot mess. In the college acceptance letter and even in the college rejection letter. In the most virtuous person we know and in the person who makes bad choice after bad choice, wrong turn after wrong turn. In church and in the supermarket. In our prayers at night and in the little league game we’re cheering at (no matter if our kid’s team eventually wins or loses). In the believer and (maybe to your surprise) in the non-believer. Even at this sacred, holy meal we share week after week, year after year. These God-moments are what we call “grace” --- our God pouring out his very life, his very self into our world and every person in it --- immersing himself and revealing himself in countless ways. He’s walking with us all the time, accompanying us on our journey --- wanting nothing more than for us to be aware of him, to recognize him, to listen to him, to be astounded by him. Yet too often our eyes remain closed, our hearts hardened by cynicism, our minds distracted by more things than we can count, our attention focused mostly on ourselves and earthly things. Yet, God doesn’t abandon us in those moments, doesn’t turn around and head in a different direction, looking for someone else who will pay attention to him. He just keeps walking with us, saying to us over and over again, “I’m right here….I’m right here.” The challenge is to not let these opportunities, these holy moments, these profound encounters pass us by. And if I make it sound easy, I don’t mean to. It’s not. It takes expecting to meet him in the unexpected. It takes pausing during these moments (especially the difficult ones) and asking ourselves . . . Where is God in this experience? Where is God in this person? What is God trying to tell me, show me, teach me, reveal to me? And maybe most importantly --- can I see God actually gifting himself to me in this experience or this person that doesn’t really look or feel like a gift at all? In other words, am I ready to let God come to me on his terms rather than on mine? How we answer that question might not just make a few moments more meaningful, it might just change the way we experience every single day of the rest of our lives. 

2nd Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday

After our repentant journey through Lent, and walking with Jesus through Holy Thursday and his Passion on Good Friday, now is the time for joy. Joy as we gather to rejoice in our incredible God --- a God who refused to turn his back on us, and refused to wash his hands of the whole affair (as Pilate did) as if to say, “It’s not my problem.” Rather he took our problems upon himself, our mistakes, our disobedience, our self-centeredness --- that is, all of our sin upon himself --- and in the process, in that saving act, he changed absolutely everything. No longer would humanity have to embrace the attitude, “Well, it’s always been this way.” Instead, he gave us the opportunity to begin down a new path, with new priorities, new purpose and new hope. Now, WE would no longer have to be who we had always been. He rose so that we can rise with him --- that is, so that we can experience an Easter for each Good Friday we are faced with. Even the Good Friday we will experience at the end of our lives is not the end of the story. Something more beautiful awaits. The empty tomb assures us of that. In one sense this incredible loving act came to us completely from the outside, from the utter graciousness of God. God redeems. God saves. God destroyed death forever. And we will forever be unable to be thankful enough for it. And in no way will we ever be able to repay it. That’s simply impossible. That is the God we have! But make no mistake about it, although salvation came from without, from “beyond” so-to-speak, it was won from within --- won by Jesus --- our God who entered our world the first Christmas in a profound and humble and concrete way. And that should tell us something. You see, God didn’t just “wave his hand” (figuratively) and make things better (although he certainly could have). No, this was an “inside” job. And that’s partly because God had to make sure we know just how much we are loved, make sure we know how precious we are in his eyes, make sure we know that we are not forgotten, and make sure we know that we don’t have to make this journey alone. Our God will always be making this journey with us, if we let Him. Our God will always be by our side and within our hearts --- guiding us and comforting us. And our God will always give us chance after chance after chance --- forgiving us and picking us up and drying our tears and pointing us in the right direction again and again and again. Put simply --- Jesus’ saving act might have been a once-in-history moment. That is true. He reconciled us to the Father in a way we could never do on our own. But the power of that act is not a singular kind of thing. Rather, it’s meant to be a day-after-day, year-after-year, generation-after-generation transformation of each and every human soul open to the power of it, the transformation of each and every human heart. In a very real sense, Jesus died to make each of us different --- truly different --- more alive, more loving, more connected --- that is, bring us into true “communion” with our loving God. Are we? That’s really the challenge of this holy day. Yes --- today is a day to rejoice. Absolutely. Yes --- today is a day to give our deepest and most sincere thanks. Yes --- today is a day to be filled with hope and optimism. Yes --- Easter is a time to gather with family and friends and eat great food and hunt for Easter eggs and eat a year’s worth of candy in one day. But it’s also a time to reflect --- reflect on the ways we will choose to respond (or not respond) to what we believe in faith, choose to respond (or not respond) in love to our God who has loved us completely. Will we reach out to others the way God reached out to us? Will we find ways to “lay down our lives”, as Jesus did? Will we forgive the things that seem unforgivable? Will we refuse to pursue revenge, refuse to answer violence with violence? Will we be truly generous, with our time, our gifts, our resources or will we simply give from our leftovers? Put simply --- will we faithfully love? Jesus laid down his life, in love for us. And he did it to show us that we become truly alive, when we lay down our lives for him and others. Challenge of Easter is to not just simply say “thanks” today and go back to doing things the way we’ve always done them thus making the death and resurrection of Jesus not mean very much. Rather, as people redeemed, we give thanks the only way that truly matters --- by more completely dedicating our lives to Jesus, by striving to be faithful, active, committed, loving Disciples, by worshiping God with heart, mind, soul. Jesus is risen! How can we, by our lives, live in such a way… that we boldly show the world - that Jesus has risen in us?

Parents teach their children. You parents out there know this is the case. And these “teachings” can be for good or for bad, helpful or hurtful. Some are taught deliberately --- through tasks, lectures and smart discipline. Other things get “taught” because, as you know, kids are sponges and mimic the behaviors of adults around them. Of course, every adult here was a child once, and almost always sees things in themselves that they first saw in their parents. Even in matters of faith the Church asserts that parents are truly the ones who bear the first responsibility to make sure what they believe gets passed on to their sons and daughters. The baptismal rite says as much. Yes, parents explicitly and implicitly and sometimes even accidentally teach their sons and daughters all sorts of things. Now, I want all of you parents out there to consider one particular question for a second. If you could have your children remember only one thing from all the hundreds, maybe thousands of things you have taught them over their lifetimes, what would that one thing be? That’s not an easy question, is it? What is most important for them to remember? I’m guessing that if I asked a hundred of you that question - I’d get at least eighty different answers. And that’s ok. We’re not all the same, nor are our children all the same. We just heard a passage from John’s Gospel that shows Jesus in this very predicament, in this very situation. Jesus knows that his death is near. And he is in the presence of his best friends, the ones who have been by his side for several years --- listening to him, watching the things he did traveling about from town to town. And there was a lot packed into a short time. The stories. The miracles. The explanations. The scolding of the self-righteous. The demonstrations of mercy and compassion and forgiveness and kindness. The reaching out to those on the margins. He had TAUGHT them a lot (through word and deed). And now, it was sort of coming to the end. And Jesus only has time to remind them of one teaching, one lesson, one thing that he wanted to make sure they understood and that they would never forget. And so he washes their feet. And tells them they must do the same. His last wish. At least this is what John chooses to include in his depiction of that fateful night. The other three Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, don’t include this detail. Rather, they describe at length the sacred meal that took place (which John chose to omit). And so, it might seem that Jesus was actually teaching them two things that night, two final wishes, two teachings that were meant to stand in a place of importance in the hearts and minds of those who called Jesus friend, brother, Lord. But are they really two? Two different teachings? For many of the faithful tonight’s Liturgy is sort of their personal “favorite” of the entire Church year. It really is quite beautiful and meaningful. So many “Catholic” things on display. So many feelings and emotions. So many profound things to contemplate and be grateful for. It really is such a special night. And the two pillars it rests on, are Eucharist (and the ordained priesthood that is intimately linked to it) and the washing of feet. And the amazing thing is, they aren’t separate at all. They are simply two essential parts of what it means to authentically embrace our faith, two parts of what it means to be a true Catholic, a true Christian, a true disciple of Jesus. Put simply --- we share in the one so that we can do the other, RECEIVE Jesus so that we can BE Jesus, turn to God for strength and nourishment and guidance and inspiration and forgiveness --- that is, for true communion --- so we can bring those very things to others, do those very things for others, BE those very things for others. In other words --- what we do around the Sacred Altar, who we receive in this holy meal, is not to be seen in some sort of isolation, as some kind of spiritual gift we “get” for ourselves and cling to tightly. Rather, the Eucharist is meant to transform us, help us actually become the One whom we receive. That means that if we come before the altar time and time again but never wash the feet of others --- never care for our brothers and sisters --- then God will not have achieved in us and through us what he wants to achieve. Rather, what was meant to be a channel of grace has become an obstacle, what was meant to be life-giving has been anything but, what was meant to be shared has been hidden away. That’s the challenge of this holy night --- to take all our gratitude and pay it forward through acts of love, take this heavenly, divine, food into our bodies and hearts and minds so that we can be more beautiful than we were yesterday, more merciful than we were yesterday, more compassionate and forgiving and generous than we were yesterday. And so, every time we share in the communion of Jesus may we not forget that that’s only part of what God the Father calls us to. The other part --- that’s up to us the moment we walk out the door into the world --- a world in desperate need of Jesus. The amazing thing is that the ones called and sent on this mission, are you and me. And God never wants us, his children, to forget that.

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