Wednesday the Second Week of Easter (John 3:16-21) “It’s About Jesus”

Wednesday the Second Week of Easter (John 3:16-21) “It’s About Jesus”

Whenever this passage is read at Mass, I can’t help but think of the man who used to sit behind the goal posts at many nationally televised football games in the 1980’s.  He wore a rainbow-colored wig that had piled up curly hair.  He also would wear a white tee-shirt with the inscription John 3:16. When a team was kicking an extra point, this crazy looking man would jump around so his hair would move back and forth.  You could not help but notice him.

He obviously felt like he was evangelizing people by his actions.  One was left to wonder how he had the time to travel from place to place and get into all these sports venues.  He was not only at football games, but baseball games and nationally televised basketball games as well.

The man started out with good intentions, but the travel and evangelizing technique gradually became an obsession, more about him then about pointing people to Jesus.  His story in the end turned into a very sad one.

The early Christians must have some of the same struggles.  We get the impression that some of the Apostles had great success.  Some people were enthralled by their preaching.  In a sense, they were celebrities because they had seen the risen Lord.  It was probably easy to have the ministry start to be about them and not Jesus. 

To come into the light of Christ only to fall back into darkness is a distressing thing. Do we engage in religious actions to draw attention to ourselves?  Our motivation must be to point to the Risen Lord!  He is the way the truth and the light.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Have I had the experience of being around a religious person who seemed only to want to gain notoriety for themselves?  Have a I felt hurt by that?  What did I do about it?

2. How do we measure whether a person is sincere in their religious life?  Could it be that when it is not fashionable to be a follow of Jesus they persevere?  What religious leaders seem to persist in the difficult days we are living in?

Dear Parishioners,

          Remember that there are missalettes by the back door of the rectory for those who might want one.  If we have a familiar book to pray with that can be very helpful as we participate in our livestreaming Masses.

          Bovard studios is back and working in our church reinstalling windows right now.  We hope that almost all the work will be completed by the time we are ready to have public worship again. The workers are wearing protective gear and trying to be safe.  Let’s pray that they will be. The windows look very beautiful. I would reminder that the church is closed to the general public.

          Several people have asked about how St. Mary food pantry is doing.  I have talked to a few of the coordinators.  They say that they have enough money for now and that they can serve their clients.  Their traffic has ebbed and flowed depending on whether people feel safe or not.  We give thanks that this good work continues, and that people are being fed.

          May Mary and all the angels and saints intercede for us.

                                                                   Fr. Mark