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April 30, 2006

Third Sunday of Easter - Table Manners

I realize that it is not the polite or mannerly thing to do, but watching people when they do not know you are watching them can be an interesting and instructive activity. You do not want to get caught at it, of course. It could be embarrassing. Nonetheless, in certain situations, you can learn a lot about people in their unguarded moments.

One situation where stealing a look at a couple or a group can be instructive is in restaurants, places where people are eating together. It gives you the opportunity to wonder what brought these people together? What is going on in their lives? Even by the look on their faces you can get the sense that something important is going on, whether they look pleasant, smiling, dour and forbidding. Their looks give them away.

When people are eating together you know that they are not simply eating together; the food may not even be the primary reason why they are here in this restaurant. They came to this place so that they could get something done, formal or informal, casual or serious.

Meals, obviously, are the context for lots of other things people do. We use meals for a purpose that often has little to do with physical nourishment: We have all heard of "power lunches", for instance, meals where serious decisions are made. Politicians sponsor dinners which may cost you a couple thousand bucks to support their campaigns. Then, of course, there are always the other special meals that celebrate special events: Birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, weddings, engagements and all the rest. In many instances 1 suspect that if you asked the folks afterwards how the food tasted, they would tell you, "Hey, I actually can't remember what we had to eat; I was too busy talking to people, enjoying the evening."

Now, that's the interesting thing about meals. We seem to need them to get other things done. We might actually be able to get those things done without a meal, but the actual eating seems to help the whole process of wrapping-up what we have come to do. It's a long-standing custom going back who knows how far.

Another interesting thing about meals is that they can be "moments of transparency" You can see clearly what is happening in the fife of your table partner when you eat together with them. You put down our defenses when you eat; the meal covers your anxieties or whatever may be of concern to you at this moment.

I suspect all that I have been saying has been going on for centuries because it is such a common thing that people do.

The Jewish and Christian scriptures which we are all familiar with have many references to meals. The customs in Middle Eastern culture made a big thing out of inviting friends, perhaps even enemies to your tent to share meat and bread and wine. A word which scripture scholars often use is commensally, sharing your table with someone. In the harsh and dangerous conditions of desert-life, it would have been unheard of to refuse a traveler a drink of water and a meal. You may not have been on the most friendly terms with this person, but you would surely not deny him hospitality if he were passing through.

It have also often wondered why there are so many references in the gospels to the situations where Jesus took meals with others, sometimes with people who were complete strangers, other times with people who were not politically or religiously on the most friendly terms with him. I have to say that there must have been something more to these occasions than Jesus simply sitting down to lunch or dinner with them. The reason I say that is because each time Jesus does take a meal with others, there is something going on, usually a conversation about some disputed topic. It always seems that Jesus had something to share at these meals. Remember, the scene in the home of Martha and Mary? Mary sat listening to Jesus. What was he saying? Who knows, but it must have been interesting because the gospel states that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening intently. I'd like to have been around to hear that little conversation.

During these post-Easter Sundays we find another interesting activity going on. Jesus meets his friends after his resurrection to let them know that he is still alive. In several instances he proves this, once by making a char-broiled fish breakfast on the beach for them, and on another occasion he meets his friends and asks them whether they have anything to eat. "They gave him a piece of baked fish," the text says. The implication seems to be that Jesus wants to make it clear that if you see someone eating, he must be alive! Simple assumption!

I also find it interesting that one of the last things Jesus did before his death was to have a meal. We call it the Last Supper, of course, but it was actually the Passover Supper which every Jewish family celebrated in the spring of the year as a remembrance of their delivery from slavery in Egypt.

I think it is worth remembering too that when Jesus wanted to leave a memory of himself for future generations, he celebrated this same meal and said: "Do this in memory of me." Continue doing this and when you do, I will be with you.

So, that is what we have been doing all these centuries, remembering Jesus in the breaking of the bread and the passing of the cup.

Unfortunately, the Mass is often thought of as a ritual, a rite and it does not seem to have the characteristics of an actual meal. Nonetheless, the symbolism is clearly there: Food and drink, a common table where the family comes together in peace to eat and drink.

Finally, that leaves us with a question about all the other meals we take together each day, each week: Are they anything more than simply the opportunity to eat and drink, to satisfy our hunger? Are they, could they truly be "home Eucharist," opportunities to share not only food, but what is of deepest concern to each other?

You know, it is interesting to notice that of all the occasions when we cannot escape each other's presence, the dinner table seems to be one such instance. We literally have to lift up our eyes from the plate and look each other. I suspect that even looking at each other can also be a kind of nourishment, don't you think? Just don't stare!

The scriptures: Acts of the Apostles 3: 13-15, 17-19, 1 John 2: 1 -5, Luke 24:35-48

Posted by Julie Galligan at 02:15 PM.

April 23, 2006

Second Sunday of Easter - "Take it From Me"

I am not ordinarily much of a "Prime Time" TV watcher. There are too many good books and periodicals to read. But once in a while, for a change, l may watch CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) or one of those other murder investigations. The work of those investigators always seems pretty professional, the way it's probably done in so-called "real life", whatever that may mean.

What strikes me about those programs is the attention they pay to bodily evidence to solve the crime, little things that anyone other than a forensics expert would probably miss entirely. In short, the body, dead or alive, can tell you a lot simply by looking at it.

Of course, we all know a little something about our own body and body language! Our bodies speak volumes. People, for instance, can tell in a moment by looking at us how we are feeling, sad or happy, worried or complacent. We can't help it; our body gives us away. Look around, for instance, in church, when the Sunday homily is going on a bit longer than usual: People get "antsy", they shuffle around in their seats, and they are getting impatient. If the preacher notices that, he may decide to terminate his remarks in a hurry; people have probably stopped listening anyway. The point I am making is that the body communicates whether we notice it or not. For CSI investigators, even dead bodies communicate something.

Another way of communicating, as we all know, is by word of mouth. It's the primary method for us humans to be in touch with someone. One of the main factors that make this kind of communication possible is the assumption that whoever is talking to us is telling us the truth. If we cannot depend on that, then the world is in real trouble!

Of course, we all know that a lot of lying goes on every day too, especially in the political arena (good word!). Seldom, of course, will they admit to lying; it's a bad word. They will not even admit to "wrong-doing." That's also too incriminating. But for the most part we do depend on the truthfulness of others to carry on the world's and our personal business. It's the only option we have and it's a good one.

What all this comes down to is the fact that we are all flesh and blood beings in this world. Everything depends on what we can see, touch, feel and hear. For the most part, we always trust our senses. They can tell us a lot.

As we all know, of course, we also depend a lot on material things out there to tell us something: It's all about symbolism, sign, language! We who are Catholic know all about that: Our churches are filled with statues, stained glass windows depicting sacred images; our sacraments only make sense because they are material signs of the sacred. We can learn a lot about our faith simply by walking into a church and looking, listening, even smelling the incense used in rituals.

All I've been saying then is meant to lead us to an understanding about discovering Jesus again...in signs. That is what the season of Easter is all about, discovering the risen Jesus Christ today.

The gospel story today about Thomas the Apostle and his problem believing that Jesus was still alive is one of those classical examples of believing in the flesh. Now, let us not assume that Thomas was simply not too bright or that he had to have hard-edged proof for everything. Any of us who have been present at a funeral are obviously convinced that what we are "viewing" is a deceased person. This was Thomas's problem. He knew clearly that Jesus had been subject to capital punishment. He died on a cross. To be asked to believe then that Jesus was still alive was something of a stretch.

So, I suggest that Thomas was not so much a doubter or a cynic as he has always been portrayed in Christian history. He simply wanted physical proof that his assumptions were wrong, that Jesus was still alive.

So, what happens? Two things: First, the other apostles say to him: "Take our word for it, Thomas, he's still alive." Then, seven days later when the whole group is together again, Jesus himself appears, and says (in so many words) "Thomas, if you could not take the word of your friends about me, here, take your finger and trace the wounds on my body. That should clear up all your doubts." And, of course, we know the end of the story. Thomas touched Jesus' body and was convinced he was till in touch with the Jesus he once knew "in the flesh."

Now, this story and the others you will hear in the next few weeks of Easter season are not just little pieces of history. They are what we call pieces of theology, stories to help us to believe. It's not that we are all a bunch of doubters, obviously, but trying to be a believing Christian is not an easy thing. Everything we read in the gospels about Jesus we accept on the word of others. Everything we believe depends on the truthfulness of our history, on human persons who have passed it all down to us. That may all sound like a pretty tenuous stretch to make, but it's literally all we have. As I mentioned above, all our relations with each other depend on the words we share, even our body language, our truthfulness in searching for the meaning of life.

Finally, John, the gospel writer who handed this story of Thomas on to us, ends his gospel with a beautiful little piece of explanation. He wants to tell us why he went to all the trouble to pass on the story of Jesus. Here is what he says: "Jesus performed many other signs as well---signs not recorded here---in the presence of his disciples. But these have been recorded to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this faith you may have life in his name."

What he is saying is this: "Friends, I have put all this down on paper because I know that you who read this down through the centuries may have a hard time believing it. I'm just telling you what I saw and heard, all those signs Jesus left us. It's all to help you believe that Jesus was who he said he was, the Son of God. Take my word for it. I'm still trying to figure it all out myself.

The scriptures: Acts of the Apostles 4: 32-35, 1 John 5: 1-6, John 20: 19-31

Posted by Julie Galligan at 02:03 PM.

April 16, 2006

Easter Sunday - How Many Years Was Easter Sunday?

I can remember a conversation I had with a lady some years ago around this time of year and she was saying to me, "You know, it's really a shame what they have done to Easter." By "they" I assumed that she meant the commercial or the advertising world, or something such. So, I said to her, what do you mean "what they've done to Easter?" She said, "well, you know, all those silly things like Easter bunnies, Easter egg searches for the kids, women wearing silly-looking hats only on Easter Sunday, Easter ham, Easter bread, Easter candy, all that stuff." I said, "Well, it's true, but look what they have also done to Christmas." But then I went on to say to her: "I think there might be something behind all these customs that people don't realize at first." "Odd as it may sound," I said, "I think it has something to do with resurrection. We have never been able to figure out exactly what Jesus resurrection means, so, instead, we try to find natural human symbols or customs that speak about it. I think that's what it's all about: When you are faced with mysteries, you always depend on symbols, simplistic as they may sound, to help you understand what you don't understand."

So, what is Easter all about? What are Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies and flowered hats all about? Well, strange as it may sound, these symbolic actions are about the human inclination, indeed the eternal longing, for everlasting life. They are about resurrection, not necessarily Jesus' resurrection only, but all our resurrections, the belief that all of us were created for eternal life. If that's not the case, what are we doing here this morning, why do we "go to Mass" every Sunday, indeed, why do we even get up out of bed in the morning at all?

Perhaps one of the things that make it so hard for us to understand the experience of resurrection is that we have the sense that this was a miracle, this was something that God did for Jesus alone because Jesus is literally the Son of God. So, resurrection is often seen as a special gift or privilege for God's only Son, whereas it was actually meant for all of us.

Secondly, resurrection is such a mystery for us because we may think of it as "resuscitation", that is, the raising up of a dead body, the deceased body of Jesus. But there is a difference between resuscitation and resurrection. One scripture scholar put it this way: "Resuscitation never happened. Resurrection always happens." Resuscitation means that a dead body is brought back to life, only to die again someday. Resurrection means that Jesus died physically, but continues to live with us, not in a physical, bodily sense but, as the theologians say, in his glorified body, a body that transcends time and place, a body that can be experienced without flesh and blood.

In other words, if Jesus Christ meant to be with us until the end of time, then a physical body would not be the means whereby he would be able to do this. Jesus lived in a physical body just like we do. But physical bodies simply are not built nor created to live for ever.

But that does not mean that we do not want to live for ever. If I were to ask any of you individually whether you want to live for ever, you would say, "absolutely; I can't imagine living, then dying and passing out of existence for ever. Why was I created in the first place, just to live for a few short years and then die and be forgotten?" That's a pretty depressing thought, and none of us believes it, I'm sure.

So, even though none of us really understands everlasting life, we long for it and believe that it does happen. For instance, why do we continue working at our jobs every day, even though they are boring and don't always seem to have much future? Why do we struggle to maintain our good health every day? Why do we plan for our future and our children’s future if this world is all there is? Why do we dream about better days when we fall ill? In short, we all say to ourselves: "If God could raise Jesus Christ from the dead, why not me? Why should I be left out of the loop? I want to live forever too."

The point, therefore, is that there is nothing wrong with searching for signs and symbols which seem to speak to us about eternal life. Is that not why we listen attentively to the scriptures each Sunday when they are proclaimed? Is that not what receiving sacred bread and cup at Eucharist means? Or again, on a less theological level? Why is it that parents are so delighted at the birth of their first child? Isn't it because they now know that there is a future of some kind for their family, if not eternal, then at least for now, for an "earthly-moment?"

There is an interesting line in the gospel for this Easter day. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb and does not find the body of Jesus. She goes back to the apostles and says: "They have taken the body of my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him." Mary obviously thought that someone had absconded with the physical body of Jesus and that she would never see him again. And yet, we know that Mary and the other disciples continued to experience Jesus on a number of occasions later on, albeit in rather mysterious ways: Entering through a locked door, preparing breakfast on a beach, to name a few. In other words, Jesus continued to be with them in a different, non-physical way. It took an act of faith to understand all that, of course.

So, Mary Magdalene's complaint that she did not know where they had laid the body of Jesus, that complaint should not be ours. We may not know where the physical body of Jesus lies, (it doesn't lie anywhere) but we should surely know where the Mystical Body of Christ lives each day. It walks in our own feet, in the feet of the Body of Christ, the Church. It walks wherever love and healing and teaching and feeding and compassion and care are going on. In short, resurrection always happens, it keeps on happening wherever we try to make Christ present again and again. In a sense, the resurrection-life of Jesus Christ continues because he depends on us to make it present in our world today.
"Wow," you will say, "that's a huge responsibility!" True enough, but ultimately it is easier to believe in the power of the resurrection than in the meaning of bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs! So, when someone asks you how many years are Easter Sunday, you can tell them, "don't start counting, Easter is for ever and so are we."

The scriptures: Acts 10:34.37-43, Colossians 3: 1-4, John 20:1-9

Posted by Julie Galligan at 02:09 PM.

April 04, 2006

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - Fallen Heroes

I have personally never been very much attracted to crowd events, large celebrations such as political rallies, sports events, et cetera. For some reason they always impress me as being a bit hollow, perhaps over-blown. Everybody gets caught up in the excitement of the moment; they do crazy things: Wave flags and banners, dress in weird ways, paint their faces, display foot-tall messages, yelling support for their personal hero on the field or the speaker's platform. Some people even get into fights at such events (too much beer, perhaps). What does it all mean? In the end, it all seems so unreal, so momentary so unlike what life is really like when the event is over and everyone has gone home.

Yet, in a certain way, even events such as this are truly what life is all about. Everyone occasionally needs a break from the ordinary, from the boring, work-day existence. We all need to pretend we are in a more idealistic world occasionally where everything looks rosy, not a care in the world.

Once in a while you get that sense from the scriptures too, the sense that the people described there were not so different from ourselves, separated by a couple thousand years. Most of them were working-class people who did not have many opportunities to celebrate life. For middle class folks, there were not many local heroes to lift their minds and spirits out of the ordinary, hum-drum experience of every day. You can begin to understand then that when someone special appears on the scene, someone who might offer people a chance for a break from the ordinary, they would immediately gather for a celebration.

That is exactly the picture we get from the description of the so-called Palm Sunday celebration that occurred in Jerusalem on that eventful day described in Mark's gospel.

My hunch is that it probably was not such a huge gathering as the gospel would have us believe. Jerusalem was a fairly large city in those days, of course. People came from all over to celebrate religious feasts. I'm sure that when a well-known political or military figure showed up, people would immediately flock to the streets to catch the action. But, by comparison, the Palm Sunday parade was probably not a very momentous event. Most of Jerusalem probably did not even know it was going on or could care less.

But for this little rag-tag group of country folks from Nazareth and Bethlehem and Capernaum, this was, indeed, a big day. Their local hero had come to town, the one who always had good news for them, the one who was able to cure people from illnesses, even raise people from the dead. You can begin to understand then why they would rip palm branches from the trees and wave them as Jesus, their hero came down the street. If national heroes could be celebrated, why couldn't they also have their special all-in-one "Fourth of July and Mardi Gras" celebration for their hero?

One of the great puzzles regarding Palm Sunday celebration, however, is this: Why do the gospel writers immediately attach the story of the passion and death of Jesus? Why not just enjoy the natural happiness of this one day in the fife of Jesus?

Well, the fact is that the folks taking part in the Palm Sunday celebration, like a lot of modern-day folks at big public events, got it all wrong: The favorite son does not always win, the popular quarterback sometimes get intercepted. Somebody wins and somebody loses and often it is the favorite son who loses.

So, this was also the situation in Jerusalem on that day: Jesus' followers imagined that this was going to be the big day, the day that their favorite Son would start a revolution that would put down the Romans, perhaps even take charge of the temple and they would all be winners.

The point is, of course, that Jesus ultimately disappointed a lot of people after the parade was over and the palms had withered up in the gutter. He had no intention of being their national hero. He had not come merely to solve problems and make life look rosy forever. He had come to teach that there are no easy answers to problems in this life, problems that national or religious heroes can solve for us. Rather, he came to teach about justice and peace, mercy and compassion, healing, hope and love, all those human gifts that we already have and can share if we wish to and so make the kingdom of Jesus present here and now.

So, the question remains: What do we do with the palms when Palm Sunday is over and we have all gone home? My hunch is that we may often have found them on the back seat of the car weeks later. Or perhaps we have hung them up behind the Sacred Heart painting on the wall and forgotten about them.

If that were the case, it would be a sad thing because these palms are not decorations or reminders of a day in church. No, indeed, they are reminders that once upon-a-time a good man came among us and tried to-teach us how to take care of each other and this world we live in so that we not need depend on heroes to do the work of salvation for us.
Finally, if this day teaches us anything, it teaches us that good days and bad days are always interconnected; happiness and suffering go hand in hand; there are no easy answers to life's questions. We go from day to day making the best of things, all the while knowing that Jesus never promised us a rose garden, but a field where weeds and wheat grow up together until the kingdom he promised us will finally be our's. In the meantime we struggle along each day, with the palms on our walls reminding us that someone, a great hero, has been along this path before us. "Follow me," he says.

The scriptures: Isaiah 50: 4-7 Philippians 2: 6-11 Mark 15: 1-39

Posted by Julie Galligan at 01:58 PM.

April 02, 2006

Fifth Sunday of Lent - Hero Worship

It's a peculiar human phenomenon, I mean this desire many people have to "get a look at" famous people, or even better to "get to talk" to them personally. What is there about politicians, movie and rock stars, sports "heroes" that makes us want to get close to them? I mean, some will even go so far as to rip at their clothes, try to get their autograph et cetera. (mostly teenagers!). Are these people really heroes? We have to admit that some of their life-styles leave something to be desired. EBay makes millions selling clothes and other artifacts that once belonged to famous people now long dead. It's all a great mystery to me because I do not personally feel the need to identify with so-called heroes, living or dead.

But one must say something good about the folks who will spend good bucks to see a rock star or a football legend and never get any closer than a quarter of a mile away. Perhaps they simply want to admire the good human qualities of this person (whether they are such or not). Perhaps it gives them a sense of pride that there are people out there who can do outstanding things and are worthy of being seen up close. In the end, we need to say that most of us are attracted by people who have done outstanding things or are at least a little better at doing certain things than we are. Hero worship has been with us for centuries, going back at least as far as we have a history of human activities. Remember, for instance, the ancient Romans and Greeks and their gods, their emperor worship? So, we Americans were not the first people to discover hero worship; we've just gotten a little more sophisticated at it. Remember Pope John Paul's funeral and the election of Benedict XVI. St. Peter's square was jammed with thousands of people for days. Obviously, we Catholics have our heroes too! What puzzles me is that heroes usually do not have much to give us, if, indeed, we are looking for a "handout." They are just interesting people to see!

When you hear the scriptures for this Fifth Sunday in Lent, you will notice that Jesus of Nazareth was also a hero of sorts. Lots of people tried to get close to him, even to "touch even the hem of his garment." Most of these people, of course, didn't simply want to see him, as though he were a "star!" They had learned that he was a worker of signs (miracles), that he could heal people, had even raised some people from the dead. So, many must have said to themselves: "Why not me? I'm sick too."
Mysteriously, of course, we know that Jesus, for whatever reason, did not heal everyone who came to him. Nonetheless, he remained an interesting person down to the end. Even King Herod wanted to see him.

So, today in the gospel, you have an interesting little scenario about some Greek-speaking persons who wanted to see Jesus (no reason why given), but realizing they were not Jewish, they probably thought they didn't have a chance. So, they approached Phillip a Greek-speaking follower of Jesus and asked him for an introduction. Oddly enough, however, we are never told whether they were successful or not because Jesus immediately starts talking about something entirely different. End of the story! Great mystery! Nobody will ever know why these two Greeks wanted to talk to Jesus!

That leads us into an interesting diversion. It is true that most of us do not get to meet important persons simply by walking into their offices or homes unannounced and ask for 25 minutes of their time. But if we are lucky, we may be acquainted with someone who does know the famous individual personally and he or she may be willing to give us an introduction. Sometimes it happens!

Now, the question for us today is this: How do we get to meet Jesus? Obviously, we are not going to talk to him physically, face to face. On the other hand, there are some people whom I consider very intuitive, that is, they can speak to Jesus very openly, pray very devoutly as though Jesus were standing right in front of them. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. It's just not that easy for me. I do pray, but not like the folks 1 just described.

But what I have found helpful for my spiritual life is to be introduced to Jesus through someone who was obviously closer to Him than I am: There are certain saints who have helped me in that: St. Francis, for one, St. Theresa of Avila, the one who rode her horse around Spain to visit the nuns in her monasteries. Others as well: Thomas Merton, the monk at Gethsemane, Kentucky, has helped me immensely to know Jesus, Mother Theresa of Calcutta too. Oddly enough, there are also certain Catholic novelists and poets I have read and who have also helped me get an insight into Jesus: Graham Greene, C.S. Lewis, Georges Bernanos, Flannery O'Connor, Gerard Manley Hopkins S.J., even some famous painters like Raphael, Giotto, Botticelli and others.

The point is, there are all kinds of people who have had some sort of relationship with
Jesus and who could introduce us if we were willing to listen. Of course, the best introduction to Jesus is still his own story, his life as it was lived among the people who knew him best. There is nothing better than reading and rereading the gospels even though we may have read them lots of times before.

Finally, of course, there may be no reason at all why we should need to wait for an introduction to Jesus. Perhaps the best way simply is just to get brave and introduce ourselves which is probably what we do each time we pray. If prayer is anything, it is a personal conversation with Jesus. I think we can assume that Jesus knows us, but probably does not always know what’s going on in our life at this moment and might just want to hear about it. Why can't we just assume that each of us may know Jesus as well as anyone else? After all, we struck up a personal relationship with Jesus on the day we were baptized and I suspect that has not been terminated.

If news came down from the Vatican one day that Jesus would be making an appearance in our town on such and such an hour, would I go out, stand on the corner and wait to see him? You betcha! If I got close enough to say, "Hey I know you," he would probably reply, "Hey, I know you too. How's it going?" Who needs introductions?

The scriptures: Jeremiah 31: 31-34 Hebrews 5:7-9, John 12:20-33

Posted by Julie Galligan at 09:40 AM.