Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
We’re in the first quarter of the octave of Easter, and our first reading has us jumping ahead 48 days to Pentecost. Why did the Church place this reading on this day? It reminds me of Stephen Covey’s prescription to “begin with the end in mind.” We’re beginning a fifty day season of Easter resurrection joy; where do we want to end? Perhaps Easter is a pep rally ahead of the sending mission of Pentecost, when we gleefully recall that victory over sin and death is ours in Christ. Perhaps we celebrate and act on our fundamental destination as the Church and as individuals. In an equal and opposite way as Lent, the Easter season is a gift that will hopefully change us for the better.
Monday of the Second Week of Easter
What would I do in the face of persecution? During these seasons in which we take a deep dive into the Acts of the Apostles, I find myself wondering about that. However, in light of today's readings, I am left to ponder a less often considered threat.
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
“Immaculate Conception Parish is a community of disciples” This is the beginning of the mission statement for our parish. Being disciples of Christ is a central focus for our worship and our service to others. Today’s scripture readings remind us that the first disciples of Jesus experienced the challenges and blessings of living out their faith. These early followers of Jesus struggled with doubt despite the fact that they had been a part of His inner circle during His ministry. In spite for their unbelief, Jesus still commissions them to go out and proclaim the Gospel. It is through the grace of the Holy Spirit that they can boldly go forth and spread the Good News. We are called to do the same.
Friday in the Octave of Easter
During the Easter Season, we do not read the first scripture lesson from the Old Testament as is customary the rest of the year, but we read from the Acts of the Apostles. This is partly to emphasize that Jesus’ resurrection has brought about something new. God is doing a new thing in the midst of the old and we emphasize this by reading only from the New Testament. But there is another, perhaps more significant reason to bring in readings from the Acts of the Apostles: we cannot fully realize the meaning and importance of the resurrection without understanding its aftermath.
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
In today’s gospel, the story continues after the two disciples encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. When the two disciples saw the risen Lord, they could not contain their wonder and awe and they returned to Jerusalem to tell the others what they had seen. The other disciples were gathered in the upper room trying to make sense of what was happening in their lives. In that moment, Jesus became present among them and wished them peace. The disciples were terrified thinking that he was a ghost. Even though Jesus let them touch him, they still did not recognize him until after he ate a meal and spoke the words that helped them to understand the fulfillment of the prophecies of old—that Jesus had to suffer and die, but would rise from the dead.
Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
Whenever I read today’s passage from Acts, I flash back to a Vacation Bible School many years ago at Kirkmont Presbyterian Church in Beavercreek. This VBS took place in approximately 1998 when my two sons were quite young. The children who attended were given cassette tapes (remember those?!) with recorded music for the week. We listened and sang along in the car so that we could learn the songs they would sing each day, songs that helped to tell the Bible stories that they would learn that week. One of the lessons came from this story in Acts. I can still sing that children’s song in my head, and it’s a part of the chorus that resounds yet today in my heart and my soul. “Walking and Leaping and Praising God, Walking and Leaping and Praising God . . .” As I write these words, the Lord is calling to mind one of my own experiences as a very young girl attending Sunday School at 1st Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, KS. I’m recalling a Sunday morning when our teacher taught us this story about Peter and John and the crippled man using a flannel board and cut-out characters that she placed on the board to tell us, children, the story visually as well as verbally. I’m recalling that it was the “walking and leaping and praising God” response of the healed man that captured my imagination and my heart that day in the late 1960’s. And so, I ask myself, what is it about this man’s response that so captivates me through the decades? I wonder if it might also captivate you this day.
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
We’re in the first quarter of the octave of Easter, and our first reading has us jumping ahead 48 days to Pentecost. Why did the Church place this reading on this day? It reminds me of Stephen Covey’s prescription to “begin with the end in mind.” We’re beginning a fifty day season of Easter resurrection joy; where do we want to end? Perhaps Easter is a pep rally ahead of the sending mission of Pentecost, when we gleefully recall that victory over sin and death is ours in Christ. Perhaps we celebrate and act on our fundamental destination as the Church and as individuals. In an equal and opposite way as Lent, the Easter season is a gift that will hopefully change us for the better.
Holy Saturday
At daybreak on the first day of the week the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
These women ventured out at daybreak, which means they prepared in darkness. That darkness is the pregnant pause we call Holy Saturday. As you read this, Mass has not been celebrated since Holy Thursday. No one but the dying will receive communion between Good Friday and Easter Vigil. The Eucharist, which the Catechism calls the source and summit of our faith, has become virtually inaccessible. The poignancy of this should not be lost on us.
Monday in the Octave of Easter
In this week's Scripture readings everything is 'new'. The excitement and joy of Easter continues in the days and weeks following the Resurrection of Jesus and in our own lives as well. We may look back on Lent and wonder how (or if) we have been transformed through our Lenten journey. So often, though, the 'treasures' God gives us take time to reveal themselves. They may not be at all what we expect and can tempt us to hesitate and resist. But let us be patient, keep moving, and spend time 'mining' the treasures of Lent.
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
Today’s scripture readings are heavy, filled with both tragedy and courage. We read about the extraordinary courage of Jesus and Mary. When the soldiers and guards say they are looking for Jesus the Nazorean, Jesus, “knowing everything that was going to happen to him,” answers “I AM,” not just once, but twice. And Mary, his mother, stands by the cross. In an early episode of the podcast series “Another Name for Every Thing,” Franciscan friar Richard Rohr talks about the power of Mary standing at the foot of the cross, saying, “I just read this some years ago that a woman had a formal role in the whole Mediterranean world. In the presence of death, she is to wail, fall on the ground, scream, pound her fists against the enemy...to protest death. Mary is signified with such dignity, she ‘stood’ at the foot of the cross.” Jesus and Mary accepted the struggle, rebuked the cultural norm, and stood fearlessly despite death and injustice. At the height of his suffering. Jesus not only offers us saving grace and the gift of his very life, but also gives us his mother, saying to all of us, as disciples, “Behold, your mother.”
Holy Thursday
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
I will never forget the first time I participated in a Holy Thursday service that included foot washing.
Wednesday of Holy Week
During Holy Week we journey with Christ in his Passion. Our readings today offer glimpses into his suffering. The Isaiah passage and the psalm describe some of the physical abuse, ridicule, insults, and rejection that Christ endured. The Gospel presents Jesus’ betrayal by Judas Iscariot, one of his closest companions. As we contemplate Christ’s suffering, we not only recognize the extent to which he was willing to suffer for our sake, we also better understand the passionate, unconditional, eternal love that motivated his suffering.
Tuesday of Holy Week
The difference between what we are called to be and what we actually are can be pretty stark sometimes. In the first reading, we heard what might sound like a coach’s pep talk before a big game. “It’s not enough for you to be my servant. I will make you a light to the nations!” Then in the second reading, Jesus predicts Peter will deny that he even knows our lord, not once, but three times. Peter, the first Pope, leader of the Church, which is a light to the nations! Whose idea was it to put him in charge?
Monday of Holy Week
“What’s the fastest plane in the world?” was a question my 7th-grade class asked our teacher. We were playing a favorite game of ours, Stump the Chump. As of yet, we had been unable to stump him. His response surprised us all as he asked, “Jet turbine or rocket-propelled?” We once again realized that we were out of our league. It turns out the fastest manned, jet turbine plane on record is the SR-71 Blackbird. The best part of that plane is that it is completely unarmed.
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Both readings today speak of God’s desire to gather into one all that has been torn apart. This unification comes after suffering, sin and a rejection of God. The prophets of the Old Testament speak of this promise, and Jesus becomes the person whose life, death and resurrection fulfill the covenant that God has offered. As followers of Jesus, we are called to imitate Jesus by our lives of sacrifice and love so all may be one.
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
This past Wednesday, March 24, was the memorial of St. Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador who was martyred in 1980 and canonized in 2018. Shot and killed at the altar while saying Mass, he was said to have anticipated this violent end to his life as he stood in solidarity with the poor of his country. In his words, “One who is committed to the poor must risk the same fate as the poor. And in El Salvador we know what the fate of the poor signifies: to disappear, to be tortured, to be captive, and to be found dead.” This awareness did not stop Oscar Romero from continuing to live the life of discipleship to which he was called. However, this was not without struggle. A conversion of heart occurred even while Romero was bishop. Similarly, while not without struggle, risk of death did not stop Jeremiah or Jesus.
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
In today’s first reading, the prophet Isaiah offers a messianic message, “The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us!” We have come to know that it was Mary, a young girl of no status, from the village of Nazareth. She was the one who was called from an insignificant place, chosen to be the mother of God.
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The leadership of our parish have very intentionally defined what discipleship means for us as a community. Our mission statement tells us, “Immaculate Conception Parish is a community of disciples that embraces Christ's call to holiness, community and servant hood. We live our call to be Christ's disciples through our spirit-filled worship, empowering reflection on God's word, and genuine service to our neighbors. We also strive to Think like Jesus, Talk like Jesus and Act like Jesus®️, and in this way make God's unconditional love evident for all.” How do we become better able to Think, Talk, and Act like Jesus? We become more Christlike as we remain in his word and are set free by his truth. Today’s Gospel invites us into this liberating possibility.
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Following Jesus is hard. Really hard. And for good reason. And just in case we did not know that or somehow forgot it or otherwise have been distracted from it, the text from John today puts it to us directly.
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
On my computer monitor, I have a post-it note with a quote I don’t remember finding and it says, “Never accept a label in place of a story.” This is the call we are offered today. We are called to seek out the story and ask what else is going on that we are not seeing right away. And there is always more to the story.