Archives

All posts for the month March, 2002

Easter Morning

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on March 30, 2002

Posted in: Homily.

March 31, 2002 Acts 10:34-43 + 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 + John 20:1-9

This woman, Mary of Magdala, appears in all four Gospel accounts of the Resurrection. In itself, that fact, says more than we could imagine when it comes to measuring her significance and her impact upon the church in those days of Gospel formation. She plays a central role in this last of John’s great dramatic scenes. She is at the tomb before John and Peter, and she reports that the stone has been moved away Her tum to look in that tomb comes after they have gone. Once the Gospel has gotten Peter and John out of the way, Mary takes the center stage to unfold the Gospel’smessage of Gloiy and the church’s relationship to Jesus.

She is, in John’s Gospel the essence of Christianity and the model of one who has found the Lord and believed. She is first of all, remember, a sinner who was forgiven by Jesus, healed and restored by the casting out seven devils (Luke 8). It is a forgiven and healed sinner who becomes the first to encounter the risen Christ. It is her transformation that is most striking. The change that faith brings about in this woman is what John puts before us today The consequences of that change are what we ponder in the heart of this Gospel proclaimed.

At frrst she thinks the body has been stolen. something not uncommon in those days. Graves were robbed all the time. The detail of the veiy neat folding of the burial clothes suggest that what happened there was not the usual haste of a thief, but rather something veiy planned and determined.    Robbers would either have taken the body wrapped, or would most likely have left the cloth on the ground, thrown off in haste.

She sees this, and then John, in his usual dramatic style begins a dialogue, and I want you to notice the stage directions that keep interrupting the conversation. If they were not important, he would not have put them in the text. She keeps turning back and forth. toward the grave, toward Jesus, toward the grave, and then toward Jesus. It’s as though she doesn’t know where to look, but it’s certain that as long as she looks at the grave, she isn’t going to get anywhere, and not until she hears his voice and he calls her name does she finally tum away from the grave, from the past, from  death, toward the Lord and toward Life. Yet, even then she reaches out, and he must say to her: “Let go of me.” There is no hanging on to the past, there is no hanging on even to the Jesus of this earth, he must go to glory, and she must go back to the others in order to meet Jesus in glory She is sent into the community, into the church, into relationship with others where together they shall seek the Lord and share his glory.

We gather here this Easter day as sinners forgiven, as people who have seen Lord and turned toward him. Yet we are also people who have turned back around a time or two for one reason or another We are, in every way, this woman who is so much a part of the Easter Story. Our faith is not perfect. We do not always recognize Jesus, and do not always face the one who calls us by name. Yet we are here in the midst of others like ourselves, like Peter and like John, drawn by faith into the church, into a relationship with others who come again to an empty tomb.

Her message is our message today “I have seen the Lord.” Our faith does not necessarily mean knowing a lot about Jesus, it means knowing Jesus. It does not mean arguing about Jesus, it means meeting Jesus. In its purest form, it means the certainty that Jesus is alive, alive in our midst, in this room, in our hearts, and alive in the presence of the God who has visited us in him and draws us to himself.

Two people in John’s Gospel rise up as lovers and the first believers. Love and Faith are indivisible when it comes to Jesus. It is love that leads Mary to believe that Jesus is risen. It is love that marked the life of John who also saw and believed. So it must be for us as well. love of Jesus will lead us to faith and love of one another will lead us to glory.

Passion Sunday

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on March 24, 2002

Posted in: Homily.

March 24, 2002 Isaiah 50:4-7 + Philippians 2:6-11 + Matthew 26: 14-66

The Passion of Matthew reflects and deep and intense search for Justice, and when we proclaim it evecy three years, it ought to renew and deepen our own intense desire for Justice. Much of Matthew’s material is taken from Mark, and the additions that are unique to Matthew reflect that early Jewish community’s passion for Justice and their Old Testament rooted conviction that the suffering of the innocent cries to heaven for justice, and we shall find there, a source of Justice that will free and restore the innocent and confront those who have persecuted them so.

The death of Judas, the introduction of Pilate’s wife, the washing of the procurator’s hands, and the spectacular events following the death of Jesus offer us insight into Matthew’s intention. The issue is the fundamental quest for Justice and vindication of the innocent sufferer. So, the Passion according to Matthew is a presentation of the ultimate trial of the righteous Victim, and Matthew provides in his Passion Narrative the evidence of innocence in the face of this unjust death.

Listen to this Proclamation then from that view.Be moved by the injustice and the conspiracy against the innocent one, and be upset by the complicity between the Jewish authorities and the Roman officials.It is the year to be shocked again by this travesty – a travesty that continues,for this is not just a stocy of the past.We do not yet live in the age of perfect Justice,and we have not the right to be passive as long as there is any injustice oppression of the innocent.The innocent stlll suffer evecywhere,and the unattended suffering of so many still cries to heaven.

We who are Baptized and profess belief in Jesus Christmay not allow the passion of the body of Christ to go unchallenged, for doing so puts us in the same complicity as those who handed him over. falsely accused Him, and cried for the release of Barabbas in His place.

Here then, Matthew’s call to action in the search for Justice.

Lent 5

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on March 17, 2002

Posted in: Homily.

March 17, 2002 Ezekiel 37·12-14 + Romans 8:8-11 + John 11, 1-45

A Samaritan woman, a blind man, and now the third of our unlikely teachers, is a dead man. Unlike the others, he says nothing. The conversation in this dramatic piece of John’s gospel goes on all around him, but he remains silent. Perhaps it is in contrast to the Silence of Lazarus that the Word takes on such power You get a sense in this story that there is a lot being said. Messages are being sent from Bethany to where ever Jesus is. The Apostles are talking among themselves. Martha and Mary have things to say, and true to form, Martha is in charge. The bystanders are talking too, and John can’t resist making them look the fools. First they criticize Jesus for curing a blind man on the Sabbath, and now they pick because he failed to do something about this illness for Lazarus.You get an impression that it’s noisy, that everyone is talking, and no one is saying anything. Finally into all of that noise and comes the Word, and with that, things get down to business.

It is not a miracle that John presents in this Gospel today It is a sign. This is no “wonder” or “cure” that brings people to faith, this is a sign that takes place in the midst of faith. Faith is already there.What happens in this story is a consequence of faith and of love coming together in this household where there is so much hope and so much trust in the Word. It is the power of that Word we are privileged to see today, the glory of God.

The Word calls out to Lazarus: “Come out” and it echos for all ages and into every generation where there is faith and love. “Come Out” he says to us from the tomb of self-sufficiency that binds us from admitting our need for God and one another “Come out” he says to the tomb of our  narcissism and that bings us in hedonistic ways that seek our own pleasure first and above all others. “Come Out” says the Word, out from all the business where there is no time to listen, to be quiet, and to pray “Come Out” says the Word from that tomb of apathy and ignorance and be alive to the plight of the poor and oppressed. “Come Out” he says from the tomb of sin, and guilt, shame and grief, and be free by forgiveness.

The one who speaks to us today does so without words of his own. He comes out in response to the Word and the call of one who loved him, and his response to God’s call in love becomes the sign of  God’s glory The Word that calls the dead from the grave is still present where there is faith and love calling us to “Come out” from whatever holds us back from glory and binds us from those who love us.   Like the dry bones of Ezekiel’s prophecy, we can hear that Word and be stirred to life again, and this is God’s glory.

Told in Lent’s fifth week we are about to enter in our commemoration of Christ’s passion as we lead our Catechumens and Candidates into the Paschal mystery     We cannot do so unless we learn from Lazarus the lesson of love and faith, and hear with Lazarus the cry of Christ Jesus who still bids us to “come out.” More than a miracle, it is a sign to us of what has happened through, with, and in Jesus Christ. We shall, all of us, know the power of faith and love, and we are called in these days by a Jesus who weeps at our tombs and waits for us to come out and go free.

Lent 4

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on March 10, 2002

Posted in: Homily.

March 10, 2002 1 Samuel 16:6-13 + Ephesians 5:8-14 + John 9· 1-41

Last week we were privileged to witness the conversion of a woman from Samaria as she drank deep in the water of Jesus. We shared her joy in his friendship, and celebrated our membership in the crowd who have come to believe because we have heard for ourselves and know him to be savior of the world. This week in our midst is a man born blind. We watch and listen as Jesus confronts the darkness of sin. In verses just before this story, He has called himself the Light of the Word. What the man receives from Jesus is not simply physical sight, but a deeper spiritual insight of faith.Strangely, he is the only one in this whole story who seems capable of seeing Jesus for who he really is.

Jesus saw a man no one else would see. The disabled, the challenged in his time were invisible. They were at the margins of human life, ignored, restricted, and totally without rights. Those who could see looked past them as if they were not there. But Jesus, the Light can see, and he sees this man and looks into his eyes and into his heart. Like the woman from last week, he is an unlikely candidate for God’s gift, God’s call, and God’s favor, yet he’s the one who emerges from all this power and prestige to reveal and announce the time of salvation and the coming of Light.

It becomes a story of Baptism, and so it becomes our story Anointed and washed in that pool, he moves gradually to understand what has happened to him and who it is that seeks him out. First he says, it is “the mancalled, Jesus.” Then he calls him “a Prophet.” Finally he calls Jesus, “Lord.” As each scene of this story unfolds we follow the steps of grace leading to faith. It is a story of sin confronted by light and a story of salvation for those who seethe Light.

For John, sin is not some discrete failing but a fundamental blind spot with regard to the revealing Word of God. This blindness which means “Sin” is a refusal to be open to God’s action outside of one’s narrow expectations about how God is supposed to behave. It is the stubborn blindness that refuses to be surprised by God. It is the unwillingness to accept something or someone not expected. It is the choice of darkness over the light of life.

Because Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, those righteous, religious people closed their eyes to him because he did not behave the way they expected. Unlike the blind man who willingly accepted the mud/paste anointing and the water of the pool, these “holy” ones, all religious and proper refused to be anointed with the truth of works and words of Jesus, and that was sin. He did not meet their predetermined criteria or remain within the legal confines of the law they had made so burdensome to others.

A woman from Samaria leads us to the Messiah and a blind man leads us to the Lord. They are unlikely guides unless we are confess that we cannot see and that we need them to show us the way If we will accept Baptism’s anointing and take ourselves to the pool as he asks, this story suggests that he will come to seek us even if our faith may yet be a little incomplete. It is only our stubborn blindness that leaves us in the dark; that makes it impossible forus to see that God may come and God may work in places and in times where we would not choose nor expect to find him. In the smoke and rubble of a terrorists deed, in the tragedy of a child’s death, in the loneliness of broken and betrayed love, Light shines for those who wish to see. God can be there as well as in this church, a glorious sunset, or a beautiful face.

It is Lent’s Fourth Sunday We are now half the way, being drawn as we were, by the light of the Easter Fire. We have been seen by the Lord, even when we could not see, and we have been anointed and washed by his command. We are a people born blind not because of sin, but for the sake of the Glory of God. There is a price to pay for this sight. Cast out, ridiculed and judged harshly by others, those who chose to see will, like David in the first reading, be sought by the Lord and chosen above all others, and they will become children of the light, producing every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.

Lent 3

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on March 3, 2002

Posted in: Homily.

March 3, 2002 Exodus 17:3-7 + Romans 5:1-8 + John 4:5-42

For three weeks, beginning today, we shall touch upon the most significant symbols of our faith. water, light, and life. With them, we shall confront a thirsty, dark and dying world. Three very unlikely teachers will lead us in these lessons. a woman who has had five husbands, a blind man, and a man who has been dead for four days. It all fits in with what we know to be true, that God uses unlikely people to accomplish divine plans, and sinner is as good a teacher as a saint.

The surprising setting for this week’s lesson has less to do with the woman than it does with the location. Samaritans and Jews are simply not conversation partners, and drinking from a Samaritan’s utensil is more of a violation than the conversation. Centuries of anti feminist thinking have cast all sorts of doubts on this woman’s character, and the fact is, they are unfounded, and there is nothing in the Gospel to suggest that she was any worse than anyone else in the town. Having five husbands was easily possible in those times, and living with another who was not her husband was simply a matter of survival, for a widow or a divorced/abandoned woman to come under the protection of another man was the only way she could live. She could have been any of the women in that town, a Samaritan town, and she’s in her own territory The eye­ brow raising surprise here is what he’s doing there, not what she’s doing there. It’s her place. She belongs there. So, let’s not make too much out of her past. We know nothing of it. What matter is what happens when she enters into this conversation with the visitor; and little by little, this conversation becomes conversion.

This wonderful, rich story is a great two act play. Act one features the woman and Jesus. It is the main story Act two features the nature of Jesus as Messiah and the universal character of his mission. In the back ground, while Jesus and woman are talking, there is another plot: the woman and the townspeople; and then there is the great finale, a kind of final chorus with all of them gathered together closing the story. And it’s all about water, but we can be just as confused about this water as she was. It is helpful to remember that John uses double meaning words to lead to new and deeper understanding. Being    “born” is one of them. Remember how Nicodemus got all mixed up about how he could be born a second time? It’s the same thing here with Water. Jesus is not talking about H20 and the physical sensation of thirst. He has to talk her through that, just as we must reach beyond water to understand the gift Jesus has to offer”Living Water” in the context of this gospel mean the life-giving revelation of God in Jesus. In ancient Jewish writings, the Torah or “Law” was often described as both “the gift of God” and as “living water ” For John, Jesus is the ultimate gift of God.

On Lent’s third Sunday, we proclaim for all to hear what we heard in the Book of Exodus this morning, and what we believe from our own experience: that God has the power to satisfy every human thirst, and any substitute for God will leave us returning again and again to the well.

On Lent’s third Sunday, what we celebrate is the love of God and God’s gift of living water poured out in every human heart, for Jews and well as Samaritans, for sinners as well as saints, for women as well as men, In the wonder of this gift, we become like the woman of this Gospel, filled with a redeeming sense of grace that moves us to run and implore others. “Come and see!” It is not enough to move into recognition of Jesus. Accepting him as Savior is not all there is to it – you must run to others and implore them to Come and See.We are a church of zeal and evangelistic spirit at our very core. The gift of God brings with it some obligations. It is not just ours to hold, hide, and keep. It is a gift to be shared widely and broadly in a most universal way that reflects the universal dimensions of God’s plan in Jesus Christ.

What she finds at the well is a friend. which is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyhow Such an experience, such a gift is rare enough in this life, now and at the time of Jesus, and when people hear of it happening, they come running. As we make our way toward Easter, we do so with a friend, with a God who has chosen to include us, all of us, in the paradise of His love. It is a life that will know no thirst, no hunger, no sadness, no mourning, no fear, and for that matter no end.

A sinner, a woman, a Samaritan comes to teach us that lesson. Blessed are those who have ears to hear