“Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, my love shall never leave you…” (Isa 54: 10).

“We assume that because we have turned from God, we’re not welcome back, and we impose exile upon ourselves. Or we soak in self-induced guilt, thinking we are unworthy and cannot possibly be loved, and we impose upon ourselves a sentence of despair. But God is our shelter in the storms we create. All we have to do is turn and face the unshakable mountain of God’s love.” (Mary DeTurris Poust, Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas; Waiting in Joyful Hope 2022-2023, published by Liturgical Press)

I don’t know about you, but if I had seen Jesus die on the Cross and laid in a tomb I would have a bit of a hard time believing the story. But that discussion is for another post…

In today’s gospel reading (John 20:24-29) we learn what happened with Thomas. Jesus appears again giving Thomas an opportunity to touch His wounds… and Thomas believed (“My Lord and my God”). I imagine that Thomas, after following Jesus in His ministry, knew that He was special. But after touching the wounds of Christ his belief must have become rock-solid.

Thomas’ faith grew to its fullness when he touched the wounds in Jesus’ hands, feet and side.

We are also called to touch His wounds, in the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed. Are you willing to believe? To touch His wounds?

The parable of The Prodigal Son is perhaps the best known parable in the Bible. Much has been said about the main characters.

• The young son who demands his part of the the inheritance due to him, manages to spend it all, and after hitting absolute bottom (feeding swine) returns to a loving father.
• The father who meets to his son’s demands then embraces his son at his return, kills the fattened calf, and throws a great celebration for his return.
• The older son who feels slighted by the whole thing. All the years working at his father’s side and never being celebrated as his rebel brother.
• The servants who witness the whole thing: the young man’s demands, the older brother’s reaction, the father’s long days keeping watch for his son’s return.
• The fattened calf… well, maybe we do not see any part of this character in ourselves… but I had to throw it in.

We all have a bit of the rebel in our pasts, some more than others (I know I did). But if the father’s reaction in this parable is any indication, we have nothing to fear. Our return Home – back into the family of God Himself! – is always met the same way. A Father that is scanning the horizon for your return. A Father who will run towards you the minute you turn to Him, and embrace you, and kiss you, and put a ring on your finger and sandals on your feet. THAT my friends is worth coming back home for.

“When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains; so a man’s filth remains in his thoughts.

The kiln tests the potter’s vessels; so the test of just men is in tribulation.

The fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree; so the expression of a though discloses the cultivation of a man’s mind.

Do not praise a man before you hear him speak, for this is the test of men.”

Sirach 27: 4-7, Revised Standard Version Bible; Catholic Edition (RSV-CE), 2006.

The events of the last few years concerning our beloved Catholic Church has certainly caused many to pause and think, long and deep, about our relationship with God’s Church. It would be naive to think that the Church is perfect; far from it.

Even as Jesus was preparing the then nascent Church, as seen in His disciples and apostles, there was already reason to pause and think long and deep. He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter who at one point was called Satan by Jesus Himself. Two of his apostles argued about who was going to be first in Jesus’ kingdom.

During the first 100 years the Church could not agree on whether only Jews could become Christians. That meant that men, wanting to be counted among Christians, had to be first circumcised. We can read about this in the Acts of the Apostles.

As the Church grew every generation had to deal with scandal and persecution. The scandals of our times feel particularly evil in part because they are; and because they feel so immediate, so now.

What are we to do? It is certainly our duty to demand much more from our Bishops. We must hold them accountable for the horrendous abuses that we are all learning about, and for trying to hide them.

We are also required to search deep in our own hearts what our faith means to each one of us. The beauty of our Church, the Truth of Jesus Christ is present in the Church He handed to Peter and the Apostles.

This Truth has been handed down through history to imperfect men. Only Jesus is the perfect man!

We are all now, at this very moment in history and in our lives, being tested by fire, like the potter’s vessel. Our hope is still in Jesus Christ. It is only in His Church that we have the sacraments, and where we can encounter the living God in the Eucharist, becoming one in Jesus and He in God, and God in us.

We must remain on guard for evil has breached the sacred walls of our Church. Let us stand firm and strong on our faith, for Jesus Christ Himself promised that the hell will never prevail.

In today’s reading from the Gospel we hear the exchange between Pilate and Jesus. 

“So Pilate said to him, ‘Then you are a king?’ 
Jesus answered, ‘You say I am a king.'”

Pilate did not recognize Jesus for who He was… so he asked. Plate’s question – “Then you are king?” – is not so much a question but an affirmation of Jesus’ true identity; He is not just King of the Jews, but King of the universe. He is our King!

As we are presented with the Eucharist – Jesus’ flesh, blood, soul, and divinity – we are also presented with the same question: Is this true Jesus’ identity? Is He indeed King of the Universe but your King?

The only proper response is to bow in front of our King and respond AMEN!

Soon the short days of winter will be replaced by the longer days of spring. One of the rituals I look forward to, especially towards the end of the winter season, is going out for ice cream with my wife.

Every year we go over all the available flavor choices asking for samples of those we have not tried before (or we forgot that we did… it happens). But at the end of the day she has chocolate and I have vanilla. These are our bestests and vavoritests.

I always hope that the server squeezes in a bit more of ice cream into the cone as she prepares them. That way, as we get to the end of our treat we still have one last bite of ice cream.

In today’s reading Jesus instructs his disciples (you and me as well) to give and to forgive. We are reminded to not to judge or condemn. We are told that in the measure we judge, condemn, give and forgive we will be judged, condemned, given to and forgiven.

Sometimes, what keeps us away from God is our fear of being condemned or judged. It helps to be reminded that God is love itself, and that by the time you muster the courage to turn back to Him He has already forgiven you.

Very often it is our self-judgement and condemnation rather than God’s that is at fault here. Let God be God! Turn to Him and He will fill you with His love; “good measure, pressed down, shaken together” and running over.

We have all experienced that moment in life when everything changes in an instant yet remains the same. That’s how I felt as I read Mark’s version of the Transfiguration.

Six days after being asked by Jesus – who do you say that I am – Jesus calls Paul, James and John aside and leads them up a mountain where they experience the transfiguration of their beloved friend.

They saw Jesus in the brightest of whites speaking with Moses and Elijah. In the midst of their terror – for they were terrified and unable to understand what was happening – they were surrounded by a cloud from where came God’s voice: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”

Just as quickly everything changed, they found themselves alone with Jesus; back to the ordinary. Oh, they knew something happened but did not understand what it meant.

Yet they pondered…

I have found myself at times in situations that are outright scary; losing my job with the prospect of losing my home; holding my young son in the early days of his epileptic seizures, when we didn’t know what was happening.

In all of this, as in everything, God Himself made His presence known. Perhaps not as dramatic as during Jesus’ transfiguration but He was certainly there.

It usually takes a lot of strength to question and to ponder the meaning of situations like these. I can see how sometimes we can feel lonely and desolate. The last thing we want to do is to discuss this with God in prayer. But, how else are we to get answers if we don’t take the time to speak with Him?

If anything, ask God to give the strength to speak with Him. Who knows, perhaps you too will be transfigured. And in the midst of your transfiguration you will hear God’s voice whispering into your ear: “You are my beloved daughter/son; and I hear you too.”

The Summons is a song that I usually cannot finish. The words speak to my heart from the opening phrase; tears are fairly common. But when we sang it at this morning’s Mass I let my voice be heard. You see, I could not stop thinking about my encounter with Tim.

Here is the last verse, which we usually don’t get to during Mass, but today we did.

“Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.

Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.

In your company I’ll go.

Where your love and footsteps show.

Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.”

I was standing in line at the coffee shop located in the baggage claim area of terminal C in Newark airport when I felt someone gently touch my arm. My wife had just boarded an early flight to visit her family in the Dominican Republic and I was starving.

“Would you buy me some food” said the stranger. For some strange reason I did not hessitate as I usually do when I am approached by homeless people asking for money; maybe because this time he was not asking for money. “Yes” I responded. “What would you like?” “Anything” he said. With that I turned around to reasert my position in the line.

“What just happened? I agreed to buy this guy a meal!” I thought to myself. I turned arround only to be greeted with “… and a coffee. Thank you. God bless you.” I said to God: “You take the lead here. I don’t know what just happened.”

I ordered two eggs, ham and cheese sandwiches with two coffees while he sat next to a column where he waited for me. I knew that I wanted to sit with him but I was full of questions and apprehensions. Will he welcome my company? What will we talk about? Will he want to talk at all?

As I approached him with our meal he extended his hand and said: “My name is Tim. What is yours?” We chit-chatted about this and that as we shared our meal, all the while him leading the conversation.

I watched Tim go his merry way as I thought about our brief encounter, how at ease I felt sitting next to a total stranger who has probably experienced a lot of rejection and scorn. As I watched Tim go I asked in my mind “Is that You?” Tim looked briefly to his left as if he meant to look at me but stopped midway, and he waved his hand to say goodbye.

The following day – Sunday – I listened to the priest as he gave his homily. He told the story of a young woman who was doubting her own faith. She asked her grandmother why Jesus doesn’t touch her; why she does not feel His presence. In reply, her grandmother told her to close her eyes and pray for Jesus’ touch. As she prayed her grandmother touched the young woman’s hand.

We cannot love God without loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22: 34:40). Our love for God cannot be expressed only in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ – important as it is – but also by walking hand-in-hand with those who God has us meet.

On Saturday, October 28, 2017, in the baggage claim area of terminal C I met Jesus, his name isTim.