Homily Fifth Sunday of Easter (John 14:1-12) “Which Way Do We Go?”
Fifth Sunday of Easter (John 14:1-12) “Which Way Do We Go?”
“I am the way.” At one point in Christian history, our religion was known simply as “The Way.” Maybe some of us remember a Bible translation that came out years ago that was called, “The Way.” “The Way” of Jesus has been misrepresented at times. “The Way” is always challenging in periods of uncertainty.
We might have the sense that the early church did well at following the teaching of Jesus. But that was not always the case. We hear about one of the earliest conflicts in the primitive church in the scriptures for this liturgy. The conflict is an example of the tensions within the church that have always been there. Also, the argument discussed in Acts, points to the stresses which are still present in the world even though Christ’s teaching has been around for two millennia.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we see a fight between the Hellenistic Christians and Jewish Christians. The groups represented the earliest way that Christians tended to divide themselves. The Hellenistic Christians were the Greek speaking Christians. These Christians lived outside Israel. Jewish Christians lived in Israel and spoke Hebrew.
The argument came about because the Greek Christians felt like the poor among them were being neglected. Widows were always symbolic of all vulnerable persons. Many had to live on charity. Jewish widows had received money from the common purse while Hellenistic Christian widows were not getting the help they needed. The anger that resulted could have destroyed the church at its inception. As human beings we have an innate tendency to take care of our own. Where does that come from?
One thing some of us are doing in the last seven weeks is that we are reading. Every so often people have asked me, “Well’ what are you reading?” I am interested in how the present social distancing is affecting everyone, so I have been drawn to a book entitled Together. The book is written by Vivek Murthy the former surgeon general of the United States. Murthy contends that the number one health crisis in the United States is loneliness. His book was written months ago. The situation we have right now is exacerbating what was already a problem.
In some early remarks in the book, Murthy contends that on the one hand we need social interaction to remain healthy, but we tend to stay in groups of people that look like us. He begins by reflecting on the experiences of newborns. A baby is interested in the faces of people it sees. What researchers notice is that babies, in the first six weeks of life, seem to have the same reaction to all faces. Babies like to see faces, to them, every face is fascinating, but then babies start to differentiate. A young child will gradually start to grow more comfortable with faces of people they often see. After a while, a toddler will have a harder time telling people apart in ethnic groups that are not their own. We might notice as adults that people in other racial groups seem harder for us call by name. But there is a deeper consequence, which is, that when we find ourselves in situations where we are the ethnic minority, we are uncomfortable. We are anxious. We are fearful. And this can lead to conflict.
The reality of this is leads us to where we are in our world today. The virus that we are fighting can sicken us, not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. The virus can drive us apart. We can begin to fall into the temptation to want to protect our own. We can be afraid to interact with people who look different than we do. Perhaps, we can take the stance, that if our families are safe that is all that matters. We might feel that people who live somewhere else don’t matter as much as we do. We might believe individuals who have a different skin color than our own are people who can take care of themselves. At risk people can be seen as expendable. We know that people who are migrants that hold service jobs, are more likely to get sick from COVID 19. Such people are less likely to have health insurance, more likely to suffer from underlying health problems. And consequently, more likely to die. The virus can cause us to be selfish. What does “The Way” of Jesus instruct us to do?
We are not to give in to sinful inclinations. “We ask God to give us strength so that we will not let our physical isolation lead to a more divided world.” We remember that Jesus had the pure vision of a newborn baby. He saw every face as unique. He saw every person as valuable, as an image of God. When Jesus looked in the mirror, he saw the face of a brown man who had a subsistence job. He saw a face that was part of a group of people who were discriminated against. But he did not see a face that looked at the world with suspicion and fear. He saw a face that looked at the world with compassion. Jesus has shown us “The Way” we must follow if we are going to survive this difficult moment in our history. Let’s follow the right way. Jesus’ Way.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do I catch myself distancing myself not only physically, but emotionally from others right now? What might I do about it?
2. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors and our enemies. What types of people might I love better?
Dear Parishioners,
Thank you for submitting the name of mothers who have passed away. It was touching to remember them at our Sunday Eucharist. It felt like we all were just a little closer for a few moments didn’t it?
We will have a couple of other opportunities to pray as a parish community before the end of the month. We will have May Crowning after the 4 p.m. Mass next Saturday. We also will be praying in a special way for graduates on May 24th. Please submit the names of young people or not so young people graduating this spring. It seems important that we recognize them in whatever way we can since they cannot have public ceremonies at this time.
I would remind parishioners of some ways of viewing Mass online more prayerful. We can make a prayer corner at home where we can view Mass. Atmosphere is important. Having a small table to act as an altar, sitting in straight back chairs, answering prayers, having candles lit, standing sitting and kneeling can all help to make view Mass more prayerful.
I remember how priests imprisoned at Dachau during WWII because they protested Nazi occupation were unable to celebrate or receive Eucharist. They managed in other ways to worship God. I try to recall how even though I pray without a congregation most days, I have it easy compared to them. Let’s all pray as best we can.
May our Lady and All the Saints and Angels Protect Us,
Fr. Mark