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May 28, 2006

Ascension of the Lord - Who's In Charge?

I suspect that one of the most difficult things most of us have to do sometime during out life is to leave home. That may sound odd because many young people can't wait to get out of the house and be on their own. The reality, of course, is that many young people, young adults, never leave home, or at least they keep coming back home, whether temporarily or for longer periods of time. It's all about economics, of course: It's cheaper to live at home than to rent an apartment or a condo. So, at least in some cases, parents need to say, "you're old enough to cook for yourself. Get our there, get a job, show some responsibility for yourself." That gets embarrassing for you, of course, when you are at age 35, for instance.

Emotionally, however, most of us do go through a period of separation, a moment when we have to admit that we can probably handle life on our own, but there is always a sense of anxiety, a moment when we have to look back and say: "That's the end of that part of my life." That's not an easy thing to say even though we may have had no difficulty making decisions about life all the way from our high school days.

The point is, changes in life are never easy, particularly if we do not yet have a clear sense of what is ahead for us or if we do not know if we have the skills and insights to carry on by ourselves.
It occurs to me to say that people in the military have a slightly easier time of it. When you enlist in the Army, Navy or Air Force, you know automatically that your fife will be outlined for you: Your training, your schedule, your living arrangements, your advancement in grade, et cetera. That's a better feeling, of course, than simply striking out on your own, wondering if you can handle life by yourself.

I can remember leaving home for good back in 1945, only weeks after having graduated from high school. Like other young men my age, I couldn't wait to get out of the house, but when the time came for my father to take me to the train station and to be off for basic training in far off Texas, I shed a few tears. Fortunately, if the Army had not made the decision for me when and where to appear for training, I might have thought twice about it. Leaving home for good is a decision that goes to the heart. We may appear brave on the surface, but down deep we have our apprehensions because we are not simply leaving a place, a house, a neighborhood, friends at home, but we are making a life decision that we can never turn around. The past will be past and that's it. A whole new way of life lies ahead of us and we need to embrace it whether we feel ready for it or not.
In my own case, I don't even remember praying for courage. The most difficult thing was to know that I was separating from my family and that our family would never be the same again.

All that I have been describing, of course, happens every day in someone's life and most people get through it just fine. But that doesn't mean that it was not a difficult emotional experience.
It often occurs to me to ask how Jesus must have felt when he decided to leave home and strike out on his own for the first time. (This excludes the time he decided to stay at the temple when his parents left Jerusalem without him.) After all, there is quite a difference between sawing boards and deciding to go out preaching the Kingdom of God. I often also wonder how Joseph and Mary felt when Jesus said one day: "Folks, I'm off to preach the Kingdom of God." They probably said, "what does that mean? You're going to do what? Come on, go out and get a real job!"

All humor aside, that is a good question because Jesus did, in fact, need to leave home at some point even though the gospels say nothing about it.

We do, however, have a little more historical evidence of Jesus' final leave-taking, not from home but from the little community that he had assembled over the past 2 or 3 years. The gospels tell us that Jesus spent 40 days with that community after his resurrection. Then the text says he was lifted up and disappeared from their sight. But just before disappearing he said something to them that tells us about his feelings at this point: He says: "Go out to teach and baptize and remember I will be with you all days until the end of the world. Now, we know for a fact that Jesus did finally leave this earth but you also get the sense that he wanted to stay, because his work was not finished. So, he tells his friends, the apostles, that they would need to finish it up and that he would still be there in spirit to support and strengthen them.

What that tells me is that Jesus did, in fact, not totally leave home, leave this earth, because the work wasn't over; it was simply put into different hands.

I think what we can gather from all this is that Jesus is still with his church whenever preaching and baptizing are done in this world. There are a lot of other things that are also done in our contemporary church, but all of them somehow are linked to preaching and baptizing, that is, to evangelization, spreading the good news of Jesus.

The important thing to remember about evangelization is that it is not merely a clerical task of bishops, priests and religious. All of us, clergy and laity, are empowered to spread Christ's word in the world. As a matter of fact, lay people are often better equipped to communicate Christ to other lay people than bishops and priests are.
It kind of surprises a person that Jesus should have left the work of his church to all of us, but he must have said: "Well,[ can't hang around here on earth forever, and I can't let this great work of God's kingdom just fall apart. So, I'm going to hand it on to others with the promise that I will still be around to support them."
I have a hunch that is the reason why the Church is still around after all these years. It means that we Christians have taken our job of evangelization seriously So, Jesus did not need to worry about leaving his home here on earth. He made sure that he had the "bases covered" before he left. All of us, of course, must some day part this earth and return to the Father, but if we have done our part to carry on the work of Jesus, our little task, then we can be sure that there will always be a church, even to the ends of the earth, as Jesus promised.

The Scriptures: Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-11, Ephesians 1: 17-23, Mark 16: 15-20

Posted by Julie Galligan at 12:22 PM.

May 21, 2006

Sixth Sunday of Easter - Not To Choose Is To Choose

There are probably few things in our life that are more important to us than choosing and being chosen. Let's take the passive part of that assumption first: Being chosen. As youngsters in grade school or high school being chosen means everything. We imagine that our entire character, our individuality depends on it. To be passed over is no small matter Even as little kids it's important that we not get left out: In pick up ball games the worst embarrassment is to be left on the sidelines or to be the last and the least chosen to play a part in the game. That tells us something about the way we think about ourselves, it also says something about how we think people think of us. It is never a good thing. In high school, of course, there is always a lot of competition: Being chosen for the varsity team, being chosen as homecoming king or queen, being chosen to attend the best university in the country. That always makes us and our parents feel good.

Even in our adult years it is important that we be recognized for our work, our dedication. We like to "move up the ladder" and know that our efforts are appreciated

As people retire after many years of work it is good for them to know that they have meant something to the company they have worked for, that they receive the gold watch or whatever in recognition.

In short, throughout our life, we live on our identity, we guard and build our character. We want to be somebody and do something worthwhile. The worst thing that can happen to us is to have lived and never to have been known for anything worthwhile, never to have been chosen or recognized.

On the other hand, of course, there is the other side of the coin, the choices we make in life. We have all heard the phrase: "Not to choose is to choose." If we make no choices in life, choices will be made for us and that's not good.

Most of us make choices every day, of course, and probably do not even realize that we are doing it. But every choice we do make somehow affects the whole fabric of our life. In some cases a choice we have made or which has been made for us earlier in life sets us on a track that lasts a lifetime.

I think of my own life, for instance: When I was ready to attend high school, my mother decided that I should attend a local Catholic school rather than the public school which was closer by. I was devastated by that decision because I wanted to attend the school my classmates were planning to attend.

Looking back on that decision of my mother, however, I would have to say that it was probably the most wise decision she ever made (she probably did not realize it a the time, of course) In the process of attending a Catholic school I met priests and sisters, I became involved in doing "Catholic things," and somehow just absorbing Catholic culture. As 1 look back on all that today, I am sure l would not have thought of a vocation to the priesthood had I attended the local public school. It would not have entered my mind. It was just being in Catholic milieu that made all the difference. So, in this instance someone, my mother, made the choice for me, but it was the right one and one that has brought me to the place where I am still today.

Lay men and women also make choices every day in their lives. Perhaps the most important one is the choice to marry this particular person for life. Sometimes choices for marriage seem almost arbitrary, accidental: The right person just seems to be there at the right time. But perhaps that is all about grace.

Of course, we also have to admit that sometimes the choices we make are not in our best interests. Life is messy! But, again, not to choose is to choose. We have to trust our intuition even though it sometimes seems risky.

This leads us to a couple lines in the gospel for this Sixth Sunday in Easter season. Jesus makes the famous statement to several of his friends: "You have not chosen me, I have chosen you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last." It seems evident that Jesus did deliberately make some choices about the people he wanted to have join him on the great adventure of preaching the Kingdom of God. Whether they actually knew what they were getting into is another question, but we know that some did follow Jesus: Peter, Andrew, James, John and others. Had they decided that their secular careers were too important to them, that fishing was their first love, one wonders what would have happened? Would Jesus have chosen some other people? Would we have the church today that we do have if things had gone differently, if Jesus had chosen different people? It kind of scares you even to think about that. Nonetheless, Christian history was set in motion when some ordinary individuals decided that they would trust their instincts and follow Jesus. Of course, it could have been entirely different too. It just seems as though when choices are made life begins moving in a particular direction and we will never know how it could have been if other choices had been made. All of which brings us to ask the question about Jesus' choices: He did make them, of course. We know, for instance, that when he began thinking about his future career after his baptism by John in the Jordan river, he went out into the desert to think things over. He spent 40 days and 40 nights reflecting on the famous call that he heard when John baptized him, when he heard that strange voice out of the heavens saying: "You are my Son, the Beloved. My favor rests on you." Jesus must surely have interpreted that as a call to do something special because we know that he did eventually follow that call, that choice and began preaching God's kingdom.

It may sound like a strange assumption, but it is interesting to wonder what would have happened if Jesus had not chosen to do what he did, if he had decided to follow the career of his father, a carpenter. We know, for instance, that his family, his mother, thought he was crazy to take the chances he did with his preaching and disturb the peace of the state and the temple. But he went ahead, as we know, and his choice ultimately led him to the hill called Calvary where he was crucified. Sometimes choices take us into strange and dangerous places, but what other choice do we have. Not to choose is to choose.

So, what is the lesson in all this? Simply to realize that we too are called to make choices not just once in life, but day after day. Some of our choices may be enlightened, others may be poor, but we must trust the insights and the gifts that God gives us and do something good in this world. Just drifting and floating is not a good choice. We need to stand for something, like Jesus did. One thing for sure, the world will be the better for it and our hearts will be at rest.

The scriptures: Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48 1 John 4: 7-10, John 15:9-17

Posted by Julie Galligan at 02:27 PM.

May 14, 2006

Fifth Sunday of Easter - Progress Report

I have had a lovely little plant sitting near my living room window for at least the last five years. I don't even know the name of it, but I do know that it grows pretty much without my supervision. Thank God for that! A while back, however, it just seemed to be spreading out all over the place, so I decided to cut it back a little. Wouldn't you know it, within a couple weeks the ends of the branches I cut off began to produce more shoots. No luck! So, I just gave up. I said to myself, "plants seem to do what they are created to do and I'm just getting in the way. So, I'll just let it grow and it will probably do fine without me." And it has.

But people who know anything about plant life and plant growth will tell you that a little tender care will make things grow even better than they do on their own.

Culling or cutting is an ancient art or craft. Farmers have found that they can help the process of making plants grow by cutting them back and in the process they turn out to grow even better on their own. Don't ask me what the chemical process is all about. I'm a small-time farmer at best.

But, as in all practical human endeavors, there is always some meaning in things beyond what we already know from casual observation. So often we will say, "That reminds me of something."

I notice that it turns out so often in the gospel that Jesus was a very astute observer of ordinary things and events around him. He often found meaning in those experiences even though they may not have been very important to others.

Wine-growing and vineyard production has been a main source of work, and pleasure in many parts of the world for centuries. Vineyards are referred to back as far as the Book of Genesis. "Noah, a tiller of the soil, was the first to plant the vine." We also know, of course, that Noah also imbibed a bit too freely of the fruit of the vine and became inebriated. Not the first or the last time for this to happen, of course.

By the time of Jesus, therefore, wine growing and vineyard work was a normal daily routine. In order to make the vines grow and produce good wine, there was the need to cut them back each year. The meaning of this process may have escaped the ordinary citizen, but not Jesus. He saw something in the growing of vines and vineyards that reminded him of his relationship to the little flock that had decided to follow him. Their relationship to him was very important, obviously. He depended on them for support and they on him as well. So, he simply tried to make it clear to them that they were all very much part of him of his great vision and of one another, like vines and branches are part of the vine I'm sure the disciples must have picked up on that immediately, having walked along the lanes where grape vines were growing and seeing farmers out with their cutting tools, culling back the branches.

Now, the point that always arises when we read the gospels is this: That's all very fine, of course, but how does it all fit today? How should we interpret all this in terms of how we understand ourselves as Christians in our age? How does it help us to understand our sense of Church today? Jesus, obviously, was not simply talking to the people of his own day. That would make no sense. So, that puts the question into our own laps. We, as Christians, need to ask, if Christ is the vine and we are the branches, what does that mean? How are we part of Christ? What does it mean to be "attached" to Christ?

The better question is, what does it mean to be part of this church, not simply the Mystical Body of Christ, but this little community I belong to, the only church I really know anything about? I think what it means in part is for to keep asking in every age, how can the church, even the little community we call our parish church, how can that community say that it is joined to Christ? Is it doing the things that Christ did? Does it have the mind of Christ? That, it seems to me, is the best way of evaluating ourselves and asking whether we are an effective Church or not.

If Jesus were to ask our church for a little "progress report", what would we say? Would we be able to say, "We’re still connected." We still are trying to do what we can to do the things you did in our own little ways. We are still trying to pay attention to folks who come to us looking for compassion and understanding, maybe for food and support too. That's what you did, isn't it Jesus? We are also trying to pay special attention to our 'little ones because they were special to you. In short, we are just trying to be your presence in the world because we are the only link between you and the world we live in each day." I think that's what we should be able to say if Jesus is the vine of which we are the branches, that is, if we truly believe that we are members of the Body of Christ.

Another question Jesus might ask us if he were doing a little "Progress Report" on us would be the question, "If you Christians consider yourselves branches of one vine, how are you getting along with each other? Is there unity among yourselves? Are you all supporting each other? I think Jesus could validly ask that sort of question and we might not always have a favorable answer because so often there are differences between us. So often in the past we have gotten into our little private enclaves of liberals and conservatives, liturgists vs. justice advocates and other little private "special interest groups."

My hunch is that Jesus, were he with us today, would be a bit depressed over the ways we so often disagree with each other and, indeed, even find unkind things to say about the positions others take on various issues.

Over all, that does not seem to fit the metaphor of the vine and the branches or Jesus' hope that we should all try to be one. If we are not bearing much fruit, as Jesus seems to suggest we should, then perhaps we need to ask, where's the progress? Is Jesus' great hope for the church in the world coming to anything?

We are also doing many good things, of course, individually and as a Church, but an occasional "evaluation" or "progress report" is always good for us. Jesus had great hope for us and he is obviously still with us. We can't very well get along without the vine, can we? Vine and branches is great metaphor even though we may know nothing about farming or the advantages of cutting branches. We have to learn to think beyond all that and get to the heart of what it means to be Church.

The scriptures: Acts 9: 26-31, 1 John 3: 18-24, John 15: 1-8

Posted by Julie Galligan at 02:24 PM.

May 07, 2006

Fourth Sunday of Easter - Total Dedication

A while back a popular movie made the rounds of theaters around the country, receiving a considerable number of positive reviews in Catholic and secular magazines. It was also a big winner at the Academy Awards ceremonies. The name: Broke Back Mountain, a catchy name. Part of the reason for its popularity is the subject matter itself: It tells the tale of two-out-of-work cowboys, who accidentally meet seeking a job herding sheep high in the mountains of Wyoming. Once beginning their work, they realize that they are developing a close attraction for each other. The gist of the plot, therefore, concerns the fact that they are gay which poses a conflict with their desire also to marry and raise a family. In the end it turns into a modern tragedy: They realize that they need to terminate their relationship, but in the process their relationship with their own families also breaks apart and ends. Broke Back Lives

I leave the issue of gay relationships to others better qualified to speak of them than I. Nonetheless, the story illustrated for me the depths and sometimes conflicting human attractions that can complicate our lives and our conviction also that we need to be faithful to our word and to those to whom we have committed our lives. The title of the film, therefore, is apt: All our human relationships have a tendency to be frail and sometimes to break up despite our best intentions.

The reason, however, why I chose the image of Broke Back Mountain to introduce these words on this Fourth Sunday of Easter season is because of a sub plot in the film: The two cowboys are hired to spend an entire summer by themselves high in the mountains caring for a large herd of sheep. They find themselves torn on the one hand between living up to their contract to keep the sheep together and on the other hand to struggle with their growing attraction and affection for each other. In the process the sheep are, at least on one occasion, left to fend for themselves in the midst of a snow storm and being exposed also to the threat of roving coyotes and bears.

For people who seldom see large herds of sheep in rural settings and the effort it takes to keep them together this film can be an eye-opener. The two cowboys who suddenly become sheep herders discover that this is a task that demands constant attention day and night by turns. Weather can also make life miserable for both herders and sheep. The hours are long, the living conditions esthetically beautiful but primitive, the pay minimal, separation from friends and relatives a given. All of which makes you ask why anyone would want to take on a job like this, to say nothing of making it a life career. The answer, of course is dedication. You have to love sheep if you want to take on a job like this. Without dedication, you will be a very unhappy person. I'm not convinced that the cowboys in the film had this dedication, but in the ideal world of sheep herding, this is what it would take.

Americans, of course, are not the first to discover sheep herding and its attendant unpleasantries. The people of the Middle East have been engaged in sheep and goat herding for centuries. It is one of the main-stays of family life in that desert land. I'm sure it has never been a profitable career, but simply provided small families or clans with sufficient resources to live.

Jesus, of course, knew something about sheep and herding, although, I suspect he viewed it from a distance. Nothing in the gospels says that he wanted to take on this career. Nonetheless, Jesus had a great admiration for the men (women?) who did this kind of work, again for their dedication, their willingness to put their lives on the line for their sheep.

I can just imagine Jesus, watching these herders from a distance, saying to himself: "Now, this is a model of the way everyone should be living. We all ought to learn a lesson from herders because they seem to have a personal interest in these animals that depend on them to keep them safe, provide food, get them back into the corral at night, guard the gate and all the rest. And in the process, they get little in return except the "gratitude" of the animals."

What I am saying is that Jesus was attentive to life around him. He was always finding examples in daily life that provided him metaphors for what he called the Kingdom of God. Some examples were obviously more apt than others, but everything in the world provided Jesus with a story about God and our relation to God.

Several insights come to mind from Jesus' use of shepherding as a metaphor for life. First of all, there are people among us who are natural leaders: People in the world of politics, education, business, law, medicine. Parents too, people who have the responsibility of caring for others, particularly those who depend on them for responsible leadership. As we know, that ideal does not always work out in practice. But even in a less than perfect world it is an ideal that we could expect to be followed; it goes with the job. Of course, many people don't think of their role in life that way. It's often a responsibility they feel they deserve, sometimes even "paid" for. Hence, there is often little personal dedication to the ideals of their mission. That means, of course, that the rest of us need to "hold their feet to the fire" and demand that they live up to the responsibility which is inherent in the position they hold,

And then, of course, there are the rest of us. We aren't exactly helpless sheep, fortunately, but we are definitely a "flock", that is what the Catholic Church has been called for centuries, “the flock of Jesus Christ." Which means, of course, that we belong to one another, that we depend not only on our shepherds, but on one another as well. We are a "world-wide-web" as the communication industry insists. Which means, of course, that as members of this body we call Christian we are responsible for each other, we are literally shepherds and sheep at the same time, whether we believe it or not.

Anyway, it's nice that we have one Sunday in the Church year to remind us of all that: We call it Good Shepherd Sunday: Christ the shepherd, we the sheep. There's much to learn from that rich and simple metaphor.

The scriptures: Acts 4: 8-12, 1 John 3: 1-2, Jon 10: 11-18

Posted by Julie Galligan at 02:19 PM.