Go Out and Proclaim the Good News

Ascension Day
Today’s Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ps. 47; Eph. 1:17-23; Mk. 16:15-20 [Link to readings]

You’ve probably heard of Eton College, one of the most famous prep schools in England. It’s the high school that Prince William and Prince Harry both attended, as did quite a few of the future British Prime Ministers of the past several centuries. Needless to say, Eton is steeped in aristocracy and many rich traditions.

One interesting custom is celebrated every Ascension Day—the feast we commemorate today. For more than 500 years on this day, at dawn, the school choir climbs onto the roof of the college chapel and has a special service of hymns and prayers. The boys of Eton College think it’s great fun to run up the long flights of stairs and then get to stand so high up and gaze out across the surrounding countryside, especially at that hour of the day when most people are still asleep.

In case you’re wondering what the significance is of the rooftop service, the original intent was to try to get as close as possible to heaven—the place that Jesus ascended to. In those days, heaven was thought of as a physical place high up in the sky, where God sits on a mighty throne, surrounded by angels with big wings and haloes and dressed in white from head to toe.

While that description of heaven may be beautiful, it’s probably more Hollywood than reality. The Church’s modern interpretation is that heaven is more of a state of being, or a dimension of existence, than a physical place. For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definite happiness. To live in heaven is ‘to be with Christ’” (Cat. 1024-25).

What this all means is that the real importance of the feast of the Ascension is not so much how or where Jesus returned to his Father, but in the fact that before he did so, he commanded the eleven disciples—the original twelve less Judas, of course—to go out on a lifelong mission to evangelize. Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15).

The gospel, or the good news, is the core and foundation of our faith: that God created the entire world… people sinned and corrupted it… so in his profound love and compassion, God sent his Son into the world to redeem us by taking our sins upon himself and paying the penalty for our transgressions. The resurrection of Christ at Easter is proof of our forgiveness. And what makes the news so good—and the reason why Jesus insisted that his disciples spread the gospel far and wide—is that through our belief and our baptism, each and every one of us can participate first hand in this wonderful gift from God… so Christ wanted as many people as possible to hear about it from people they knew and trusted.

You’d think that giving people news of such a wonderful offer would be an easy sell… but guess what? Human nature being what it is, people can be skeptical… and stubborn… and even feel threatened. Jesus anticipated that, too. That’s why he promised the disciples that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit. This came to pass on Pentecost, the feast we’ll celebrate next Sunday… and most of us tap into this divine power when we receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

Jesus’ command on the feast of the Ascension—to go out into the whole world and proclaim the gospel—is meant for all of us, too. By “us” I mean all people who have been baptized. Christ wants us all to be part of a faith bucket brigade. It is our responsibility and duty to impact other people so they will be drawn to God, too.

Now think about what that means in terms of how we should do this.

A lot of people, unfortunately, think that evangelizing means fire and brimstone. They like to dwell on the negative aspects of our faith. The things that make us better than other people… the reasons why someone shouldn’t dare to take communion… all the ways one can get sent to hell… the terrible judgments we make on other people (in the name of Christ, of course)…

I don’t know about you, but those are not things that come across as “good news”! Those are not things that would make me want to find out more about your God.

Instead, let me recommend the famous approach attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. He said, “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”

In other words, live your life in such a way that it reflects the power and goodness and most of all the love of God. Be kind. Be tolerant. Be humble. Be gentle. Be forgiving. Be patient. Be accepting and understanding.

That’s how you plant God’s seeds. That’s what makes people say, “Wow. If that’s what it is to have Jesus Christ in your life, then I want it too.” That’s what it means to go out into the whole world and proclaim the good news. The saints understood this. That’s how another St. Francis—St. Francis de Sales—made another often-quoted remark: “You can catch more flies with a teaspoon of sugar than a whole barrel of vinegar.”

On this wonderful feast day, let our prayer be that the Lord will give us the grace and courage and wisdom to live and proclaim the good news in our daily lives wherever we may be—at home, at work, in school, in our free time—by our words, by the example of our lives, and especially by the kind and loving way we behave towards others.

Loving in Deed and Truth

The 5th Sunday of Easter
Today’s Readings: Acts 9:26-31; Ps 22; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8 [Link to readings]

This weekend, we celebrate Mother’s Day and we remember in a special way the love we have for our mother, and the love she has for us. Whether we are still blessed to have her with us, or even if she’s gone home to God, let us pray for her especially at this mass and ask God’s abundant blessings upon her.

Speaking of a mother’s love, one of the wonderful ministries that parish priests enjoy is to prepare couples for marriage. For the most part, I’ve been very edified by the seriousness and faith commitment that brides and grooms bring to the altar. It’s a real joy to watch that love blossom and mature.

Occasionally, though, we priests may come across two people who want to get married in the church mainly because the church is pretty and they think it would be a beautiful backdrop for their wedding photographs… or maybe they want to get married in the church for reasons of nostalgia: Mom and Dad were married here, and they think it would be nice if we were, too.

I’ll never forget a pair like that that I met about five years ago. This couple and I were having one of our marriage preparation sessions, and the man spoke very openly about his feelings for his fiancée—a woman, by the way, he had been dating for six years. The guy said that he hoped that their love would be strong enough to last a lifetime, but he was nervous. “Why?” I asked. He said, “Because I’m not sure she can make me happy.”

OK… foolish me: I took the bait. I asked him why not, which turned out to be rather uncomfortable. He went on and on—with her sitting right there—explaining all the reasons why she didn’t make him as happy as he wanted to be.

Feeling kind of embarrassed for his poor fiancée, I finally interrupted him and asked, “What kind of wife would make you happy?” The more he described what he was looking for in a wife, the more convinced I became that what he really needed was not a wife. He needed a goldfish—the pretty kind with the long tail that floats around… or possibly a golden retriever—well, maybe not, since even a dog can make demands on you emotionally. A goldfish would probably be perfect, since it just sits there looking pretty, and it doesn’t ask you to communicate. It doesn’t ask you how your day was or expect you to listen to how its day was. The last thing this guy needed was a wife, because his whole understanding of why the world existed was to meet his needs.

Thanks be to God, these two young people decided in the end not to get married. I think we managed to save the world from one more divorce!

I was reminded of this couple when I read the first line of the letter of St. John today: Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

John means that the most important thing is that we put our love into practice. It’s not enough just to have good desires or intentions. You’ve got to take that extra step to actually live out these good intentions with enthusiasm and a cheerful heart.

Back in the ’60s and ’70s, one of the popular catch-phrases was: If it feels good, do it! Lots of people of this “free love” era felt that if the going got tough, they were entitled to walk away from relationships, marriages, jobs or commitments of just about any kind. Sad to say, over these past 40 years, our society has taken a real hit. We’ve become so self-absorbed and narcissistic, so concerned with our own immediate happiness, that we don’t know too much about how to make a real commitment—in other words, how to love not just in word but in deed and truth.

Why are we so afraid of this kind of loving… this kind of commitment?

At one time, I thought it was because people wanted instant gratification and didn’t care about the long term. But I realized that that’s not really true. People do work hard for future rewards, and they don’t give up even when the going gets tough. People are willing to make the effort in some aspects of their life.

So what is it then?

Not too long ago, a friend of mine was telling me about how, when he was a kid, he used to go to lots of auctions with his dad. His father always reminded him, “Now, don’t scratch your nose at the wrong time or you’ll wind up buying something!” He also taught him that if he did want to bid, he should know his upper price limit beforehand. In other words, his wise advice was not to let yourself get caught up in the frenzy of the bidding or you could get into trouble.

If you think about it, that’s actually the kind of mindset that a lot of us have about life in general. We set an “upper limit” of how much we’re willing to pay… or do… or put up with—before we call it quits and walk away. When a boss or a spouse or a boyfriend or girlfriend crosses the line once too often, that’s the last straw.

The problem with living a real Catholic life—of authentic Christian loving—is that Jesus won’t let us set an upper price limit! That’s why he could die on the cross. That’s why he teaches us: If you save your life, you will lose it… but if you lose your life for my sake and the gospel’s, you will keep it.

You see, our calling to love is a vocation to a life of unconditional commitment where the price is unknown—and that, my friends, is scary stuff…

…unless you’re willing to keep your head faithfully up in the clouds where Jesus, Mary and the saints and angels all live. We may just be lowly branches, to use the analogy of today’s gospel, but we must never forget that we are grafted onto the true vine, Jesus Christ—so his power and grace course through us, as well. That’s how come all things are possible… even unconditional love and commitment in the truest, most profound sense.

Do you want to love and commit the way Jesus instructs? Well, begin by talking to the Lord in your prayer! Put yourself into his hands with faith and trust, and ask him to fortify you, take away your fear, and bless you with the gift of hopeful perseverance.

And as the gospel reminds us: By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. Amen.

Things that Make You Say “Yuk”

The 4th Sunday of Easter
Today’s Readings: Acts 4: 8–12; Ps 118; 1 Jn 3: 1–2; Jn 10: 11–18 [Link to Readings]


I want to talk today about disgusting things. Things that make you squeamish or make your stomach do flip-flops. Things that make you look away or say “yuk.”

Maybe it’s food. Kids are experts on things that aren’t fit to eat— like broccoli or stinky cheese. I once ate a Chinese specialty called a sea cucumber. It looked like a stewed piece of bicycle tire in a plate of soupy mud. Some of my dining companions thought that was pretty gross and couldn’t look while I ate it.

Perhaps you’re revolted by blood and gore. The thought of seeing a person or an animal who’s been hurt is too much for you to handle. Why, I even have a friend who used to pass out if she had to get pricked by a needle to give a little sample of blood.

Or maybe certain smells push you over the edge. Some folks can’t change a baby’s diaper or get downwind of a hog farm. Sometimes, even some cooking odors or perfumes can make you queasy.

And sometimes, the things that we find quite disgusting aren’t things at all; they’re people. It might make us too uncomfortable to admit it—maybe even admit it to ourselves—but we might really be revolted by our white daughter going out with a black man… or worse yet, marrying him and having bi-racial children.

What does God have to say about all this?

When it comes to things, I don’t think it matters to him whether or not you like certain vegetables or smells. But when it comes to other people, it’s a whole different story.

Jesus reminds us today that he is the good shepherd. He loves all his people, his sheep. He also tells us that all his sheep aren’t the same: I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

In other words, Christ’s love is universal. There is no one on the face of this earth that Our Lord finds disgusting or revolting. We all know that he embraced not just the “good folks,” but also lepers, prostitutes, the sick and dying, scoundrels, criminals and afflicted people of every kind.

What happens to us mortals, though, is that lots of times we let our feelings have free reign and dictate our attitudes. Sure, Jesus tells us that we’re supposed to love everybody… but maybe he never met your mother-in-law… or your cousin and her husband you cheated you out of your share of grandma’s inheritance… or the bully who has made your life miserable. But Jesus commands us to love our neighbor, and that means it’s doable… or else how could he have commanded it? I’ve read that command many times, and I’ve never seen any exceptions or footnotes. So as angry or bitter or even disgusted or revolted we may feel inside, that does not excuse us from the universal law of love.

In our country, especially in years past, I have no doubt that many people were seriously sickened over the whole prospect of integration. Imagine drinking from the same water fountain as a colored person! Or having your child sit next to one of them in a classroom or on a school bus. Or receiving a blood transfusion from one. And despite the clear teachings of Jesus, it was easy enough to find all kind of bible passages to justify your prejudice or hardness of heart that were all brought about by strong, culturally-conditioned feelings... that were dead wrong!

Fortunately, the civil rights movement has educated us over these past 40 years. Today’s generation is for the most part color-blind. People are people, and beloved by God, regardless of the color of their skin. Note that Christ’s teachings haven’t changed. It’s us. We have stretched and grown.

But the hatemongers are not out of business. They’ve just got other targets. And in our fear and ignorance—just like dumb sheep—we are an easy prey. Watch us get riled up!

Example: 400,000 people rallied in Grant Park this past Monday in support of immigrants’ rights. What do we do with the millions of people who came into this country illegally and stayed here? Do we embrace them and make them part of the fold, or do we let our fearful feelings convince us that they’re putting “real” Americans out of work, breaking down our social systems… so the best solution is to follow the letter of the law and treat them like criminals? Like racial prejudice, are our feelings out of date? What would the good shepherd want us to do?

Another example: there’s a movement in our state to get an advisory referendum on the ballot this November to oppose gay marriage… not that it’s legal now, but a precaution “just in case.” The promoters of this referendum are disgusted by gay people and they feel that the way to exercise their disgust is by denying rights. It’s funny that they think married homosexuals would be a threat to families, but they have no problem with no-fault divorce laws. And of course, lots of their argument is wrapped up in bible verses. But how about this verse? I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Again, are our feelings out of date?

Maybe you’re caught up in the hatemongering—not because you’re a bad person, but because you’ve listened to your feelings that are based just on your personal tastes and predominant cultural experiences to date… but not on Christ’s law of love.

Let me give you a simple rule of thumb to help guide your thinking on the moral and legal issues of our day. If the proposed solution puts anybody down or somehow forces them into an inferior class, it is suspect!

Jesus Christ wound up nailed to a cross because he preached the true faith—the law of God’s love, of acceptance, of inclusion, of tolerance, of the family of man standing together for one another. The powers of his day—both civil and religious—thought his ideas were dangerous and reactionary.

And yet here we are, 2,000 years later, and not much has changed. Thank God for our good shepherd who continues to lovingly lead the entire flock. If only we would trust our hearts to hear his true voice.