Christ has power over death

5^th Sunday of Lent year A 2017:

Today we hear this powerful story of the raising of Lazarus.  Today we hear about Jesus exercising his divine power.  I think all of us recognize that death seems to be a power completely outside of human control.  As much as we might try to fight death with medicine, health, diet, exercise, etc.  Death is beyond our control.  As much as we hate death, as much as we try to avoid it, or overcome it, we recognize that we are powerless against it.  Human beings cannot conquer over death.

And then there is Jesus.  Today we just heard him cry out: Lazarus come out.  And the way the gospel puts it is so amazing it says: the dead man came out.  There was no doubt that Lazarus had died, he had fallen as yet another victim of the power of death.  And yet, at the voice of Jesus, the prophecy of Ezekiel is fulfilled: God opened the tomb and caused Lazarus to rise.  And, of course, this story prefigures the resurrection of Jesus as well.  Again, Jesus shows his divine power in his triumph over death.

I can’t stress enough the importance of this reality.  Christianity proclaims an amazing truth: Jesus has power over death, Jesus can raise the dead, even Jesus who died, rose from the dead and lives now forever.  If we don’t get this truth right, we won’t get anything right.  If you go through the catechism you will see that we believe and teach a lot of stuff about God, faith, prayer, morality.  But, at the heart of everything we believe is this one central message: Jesus died and rose again.  He has power over death.  So, whenever we encounter the scary power of death, we have a hero, we have a defender, we have someone we can rely on.  Hopefully our faith in Christ will fill us with hope, even if we suffer, die, or go through the suffering and death of those we love.

Speaking of that, Friday was a sad day for our whole parish community.  Friday we celebrated the funeral Mass for Jonathan Nusbaum.  I think Jonathan and his family are pretty well known here at St. Jude.  But, Jonathan had been battling cancer for a number of years, and he died on Tuesday morning.  It was a sad day for many of us.  We have been praying all these years that Jonathan would be healed.  But, it didn’t work out that way.  But, we have a hero, we have Jesus.

I think the words of Lazarus’ two sisters speak pretty well to the pain we feel in our hearts.  Did you notice that both sisters say the exact same thing to Jesus: Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.  Maybe many of us could say the same thing this week: Lord, if you would have intervened, Jonathan would not have died.  I think this is an appropriate prayer really.  On the one hand, it takes into account the pain that we are feeling at the loss of a friend.  On the other hand, it also acknowledges that we believe that God is all powerful.  It’s actually a bit of a faith statement.  Both the sisters in the Gospel, and all of us, believe that Jesus Christ is God and all powerful.  So, a prayer like this one can really be helpful when we are saddened by the loss of a loved one: Lord, if you had been here.

But, one other important thing to take away from this gospel story is not just the fact that Jesus does have power over death and that he can give life to Lazarus, Jonathan and all our deceased friends.  The other thing to take away is that Jesus is close to us, he is never far away.  My favorite line in this gospel is also the shortest: and Jesus wept.  What a powerful statement!  Jesus wept.  He didn’t weep because he was powerless against death, he knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  He wept because he shared in the lives of Martha and Mary.  Jesus is not distant and remote from them, he is united to them and he weeps with them when they are sad.

The same is true for us.  This has been a tough week for so many.  But, Jesus isn’t far.  He is still united to us, he is still with us and he shares our lives with us.  He is still weeping with those who are sad.  And while the pain remains, it helps to know that Jesus shares that pain with us.  We can always turn to Christ.

So, this gospel gives us three things to remember: 1, Jesus has the divine power to overcome death.  This should fill us with amazing hope, especially when we think about our own mortality, or the loss of someone we love.  2, don’t be afraid to share your grief with Jesus, just like the two sisters did in the gospel: Lord, if you were here.  3, we are not alone in our pain.  Jesus weeps with us, Jesus is close to us.  Hopefully that thought can give us some strength in tough times as well.

Christ is the light

4^th Sunday of Lent Year A 2017:

            Today is the 4^th Sunday of Lent and we are celebrating the Second Scrutiny for the elect of our parish who are preparing for the sacraments at Easter.  The gospel we just heard focuses on light and blindness.  Christ is the Light.  He takes away the physical blindness of the man who was born blind, but even more, he gives the Light of Faith to that man as well, while the Pharisees stay in their blindness.  This reading helps us all to see.  This reading helps us all to recognize Christ as the light of the world.  No matter how much darkness we might face in life, and sometimes it’s a lot, Christ is the light.  The darkness will not win.  So, keep praying for these two elect of our parish.  We pray that Christ will take away their spiritual blindness and give them the light of faith.

            But, today for the homily, I wanted to focus on the passage at the beginning of the gospel.  It really struck me as being important.  The disciples find this poor blind man and they ask Jesus a seemingly innocuous question: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?”  Jesus responds: neither one.  I think this question needs some more analysis.  And, at the root of this question is a spiritual issue that I see quite often when talking with people.

            At the root of this question, the disciples are really asking Jesus: “why do bad things happen?”  Don’t we all have this question?  We want to blame problems on something or someone.  There has to be someone who is at fault right?  Sometimes it is easy to pinpoint evil on the concrete actions and decisions of human beings: the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened because of the wicked decisions of the murderous terrorists.  We know exactly who to blame.  But, what do we do with things like hurricanes, tornadoes, cancer, or blindness in the gospel reading?  We have the same desire to figure out who to blame.  So the disciples say: somebody must have sinned.  Therefore, God is simply punishing this person for his sin or his parent’s sin.  In some ways, this theory would be satisfying right?  We could simply say: God just punishes us for our sins.

            But, Jesus’ answer is mind-blowing: this man is not blind because of sin.  This man is not blind because God is punishing him.  In fact, this is not how God works at all.  I can’t tell you how many people have told me: God must be punishing me.  But, God doesn’t do that.  God never does anything evil.  It’s impossible for him to do something that is evil.  Rather, all the evil we have ever experienced in our lives comes from two sources: #1, bad choices by ourselves and others; #2, we live in a broken world because of Original Sin.  That’s it.  All the evil we have ever experienced either comes from bad choices or the fact that we live in a broken world. 

            I really don’t like those two reasons.  I want something more.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  It must be someone’s fault.  We have to blame it on someone.  Maybe we want to blame it on God: “God has a plan” we might say.  But, God never does evil things just so something good would happen.  No, the evil in our lives either comes from bad decisions or the brokenness of the world.

            So, does this mean that everything is hopeless?  Of course not.  Why do bad things happen?  Christ answers the apostles and us with these words: “it is so that the works of God might be made visible.”  In other words, God sent Jesus precisely to overcome the evil we experience in this world.  No matter where the evil comes from, Jesus is the light that can overcome the darkness.  Whether that is the darkness of our bad choices, or the darkness of our broken world, the death and resurrection of Jesus has the power to sweep away all the darkness of the entire universe and replace it with his wondrous light.

            In the face of sickness, sadness, or the loss of a loved one, people will often ask me: why did this happen?  Why did God do this?  I always try to answer the same way.  God doesn’t cause evil.  It’s true that he does allow evil, he could stop it, but he doesn’t.  But, God doesn’t cause evil.  So the answer to the question why is often just the fact that we live in a broken world.  So it’s not a great answer to a tough question.  But, I suggest a different question.  Rather than asking why God allowed evil, ask “what did God do in response to this evil, this darkness?”  The answer to that question is much more inspiring: in the face of the darkness and evil experienced by his people, God the Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to be the light of the world.  And, Jesus Christ laid down his life out of love for us.  In moments of darkness, despair, suffering, let the light of Christ shine in our lives.  Faith doesn’t take away our pain and sadness, but it gives us hope, it gives us light, even in darkness. 

Let's go up the mountain

2^nd Sunday of Lent Year A 2017:

Today we hear the story of the Transfiguration.  My favorite part about this story is that it takes place on the mountain.  My Grandma and Grandpa live in Rapid City South Dakota, in the Black Hills.  I try to get out to visit them once a year.  And, even though it’s a long drive, I like to drive.  I think it gives me a couple days to unwind and relax.  But, without question, my favorite part of the drive is when I get close to Rapid city and start to get into the mountains.  I don’t know what it is about mountains, but I just love them.  I think part of the reason is because the land around here is so flat.  I mean, the Adam’s Center Landfill has to be the highest peak in the county.  I’ve lived here my whole life.  So, I’m used to flat.  Then when I see hills like those, I’m mesmerized.  I just feel like mountains are magical.

So, I love hearing about the mountains in the Bible.  The mountains are images for a place where human beings can encounter God.  Think about Moses and the Law, he goes up the mountain to meet the Lord.  These disciples meet Jesus in his glory on the mountain, along with Moses and Elijah.  Certainly this seems like an image for heaven.  Isn’t that interesting: Jesus took these disciples up the mountain, and image for heaven, and image for the place where we meet God.

The same will be true for us.  Jesus wants to help us climb the mountain as well.  Jesus is the one who grabs these disciples and leads them up the hill.  Tuesday at the Lenten series I said: “and what a wild ride Jesus took them on.”  Not only was the story of the transfiguration a wild ride.  But, think about the rest of their lives.  They became these great saints who gave everything for Jesus.  Ultimately, they climbed the mountain all the way to heaven.  But, it started with this moment on the mountain.  They see a glimpse of Jesus in his glory.  Just a glimpse.  And then Jesus says: do not be afraid.

I really like to think about this passage as referring to our life of faith as well.  Our lives as disciples begin with Jesus’ invitation.  Even if you were baptized as a baby, I’m hoping, praying, that you have had the moment in your life where you had a personal experience with Christ.  I’m hoping you have felt him grasp your hand to lead you on this adventure.

I can remember when it happened for me. I was an RCIA sponsor in 2001.  I started loving my faith more and more, I heard Jesus say: follow me.  But, I was scared.  There was a lot about my life I wasn’t ready to give up.  It was scary, but it was an amazing experience.  At the time, I had no idea just what kind of wild ride Jesus had in store for me.  I still don’t know.  But, he took me by the hand.  He led me to seminary, to priesthood, to St. Jude.  Who knows what he has in mind for the rest of my life?  It’s been great so far, and I’m going to keep letting him take me on this wild ride up the mountain.

Are you ready for that wild ride with Jesus?  It won’t be anything like you expect, but it will be amazing.  Ultimately, he wants to take you up the mountain, to be with him and his Father, and all the angels and saints for all eternity.  But, you have to let Jesus guide you on the way.

Lent is a journey towards Easter.  It’s not an easy season.  It means self-denial, prayer, fasting.  It might seem a little scary.  But, by entering into this season of grace you can catch a glimpse of Jesus, just like the apostles.  You can hear Jesus say to you: do not be afraid.  Let Jesus grab you by the hand and lead you up that high mountain.  Let him take you on a wild ride.  Don’t be afraid to climb the mountain.