Lent has arrived. Hooray!

Our theme is Radical Conversion: From Me to Mission. We invite all of us to explore the missionary process, the six components of mission, and the various, and complementary, models of mission. We will see why Pope Francis has looked to mission as the key to the renovation of the Church in our world at this time in human history.

We will be posting daily Lenten reflections, written by Dr. Don McCrabb, so join us as we prepare for the victory of Easter and the wonder of Pentecost.

April 21, 2019
Easter Morning

RISE!

The Church, in her wisdom and compassion, gives us two Gospels to ponder as we move into Easter; fifty days to ponder, celebrate, and appropriate Jesus’ victory over death and the implications of resurrection for human history and creation.
 
St. Luke’s Gospel introduces Easter themes for the Vigil. In this account, three women rise early on Sunday morning and go to the tomb. They find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. They meet two men in dazzling garments who remind the women what Jesus himself had said, “that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified and rise on the third day.” They returned to tell the eleven but what they said seemed like nonsense to them, and “they did not believe them.” But Peter got up, ran to the tomb, found the burial cloths, and went away amazed.
 
Easter morning provides the Gospel according to St. John, which is similar but different than St. Luke’s version. Mary Magdala rises early on Sunday morning but goes by herself to the tomb. She finds it empty and goes to Simon Peter and the “other disciple whom Jesus loved” and tells them “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” Peter, and the other disciple, run to the tomb, go in, and “saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.” The Gospel ends with them believing but not understanding; “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”
 
Rise. In both accounts, someone rises early Sunday morning and go to the tomb. Rolled away. In both accounts, the tomb is open; the massive stone rolled away. Empty. In both accounts, the tomb is empty. Rise and run. In both accounts, someone rises and runs to the tomb and finds it empty; in Luke’s version, it is just Peter and in John’s version, it is Peter and the “other disciple.” Burial cloths. In both versions, the burial cloths are left. In both versions, there is a testimony to the resurrection; in Luke’s version it is Jesus himself who taught that he would have to suffer, die, and rise and, in John’s version, it is scripture who testifies that he had to “rise from the dead.”
 
Rise. The tomb is empty. The burial cloths are still there. Why are the burial cloths so important? If someone was going to steal the body, would they take the time to unwrap the body from its burial cloths? Indeed, in Luke’s account, Peter enters the tomb “and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.”
 
Mission is about rising. The pain and sorrow the women felt did not defeat them. They rise early Sunday morning to go to the tomb. The witness of these women was enough to get Peter to rise and run to the tomb. Two men in dazzling garments, Jesus himself, and scripture all testify that Jesus would “rise from the dead.”
 
Mission is about rising. We must rise, go beyond ourselves, step outside of our comfort zone, and cross some type of border. We must go, even run, to find Jesus in others.
 
Even before they encounter the risen Lord, Mary Magdala, the women, Peter, and the “other disciple” must rise and go. The burial cloths will not bind Jesus, the tomb will not imprison him, and death will not defeat him.
 
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not the end of the story, it is just the beginning. The Church, in her wisdom and compassion, gives us 50 days to celebrate the joy and peace of Easter. We will be with the Risen Lord many times in the days ahead, eat with him, learn from him, talk with him, be comforted by him. In some accounts, the time between the Resurrection and his Ascension into heaven appears to be just a few days. In others, Jesus spends a lot of time with his disciples.
 
The purification of Lent tilled the harden soil of our hearts. Now, with Easter, we have 50 days to name and claim the new life taking root in us. The time of our preparation is over. It is time to Rise.

Humanity must rise to the challenge of climate change. With 7.5 billion people on the planet, humanity itself has become a force of nature. The question before us: can humanity live in peace and harmony with creation and one another or will we damage the earth causing conflict among her children and rending vast areas of land uninhabitable? Without the resurrection, we are already doomed. With the resurrection – with an empty tomb and burial cloths left behind – there is still hope for humanity and all of creation.
 
Missionaries are rising-up to address these issues everywhere. USCMA is committed to accompany them, discover with them best practices, and support them in their efforts. To learn more about our efforts to redeem our stewardship of creation see Nadia Barnett’s reflection. You can give your support through a gift to USCMA and three mission sponsoring organizations tackling the challenges of climate change.

April 20, 2019
Holy Saturday

Death

Jesus has died. On Friday afternoon they laid him in a tomb. A massive rock was rolled into place and sealed. The sun sets. People gather in their homes for the sabbath. They sleep.
 
The sun rises on Saturday morning. Where is Mary and John? Where are Peter and the other apostles? The Church provides lots of readings for the vigil tonight but, for the break of day, silence. All we have is a sealed tomb.
 
Three images. First, the picture of the black hole that scientists just recently released. The black hole is an astronomical phenomenon Albert Einstein predicted using his tools of math and physics. It was a massive effort of telescopes from around the world to focus on one region of space and collect vast amounts of data. That data was sent to one place to be compiled; it took two years to render a single photograph of a black hole. This is not the imagination of an artist. It is a photograph compiled by observation of the physical universe.
 
Notre Dame, the famous cathedral in Paris, that just suffered a devastating fire this past week. There is a wonderful photograph of a lone cross shining brilliantly in the dark and gloomy destruction.
 
Our own death. Us, laying in an open casket, as family and friends walk by. When we think of our own death, we tend to think of the experience of it, the moment it happens, the pain involved. Will it be a long and painful death by cancer, or will it be quick, painless death? Sometimes, we ponder death itself, the condition after life, and wonder what type of place we will inhabit. Is it an earthly paradise, or some type of white, cloudy existence, or is it dark, vast, emptiness?
 
No one is ever lost. Even in death, our bodies remind our family and friends of how we lived the time we have been given, how we honored and celebrated life, how we loved. Our lifeless body reminds them that life is much more than bodies. There is spirit and it is eternal. Just like the lone cross in the destruction of Notre Dame is a beacon proclaiming victory over death. Even the unimaginable density of a black hole holds what it draws to itself. No one is ever lost.
 
Saint Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians (15:55), wrote:
 
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
 
We have sojourned for 40 days; from me to mission. We began by recognizing our mortality and we end by embracing it. We are beloved sons and daughters of God. God has given us a purpose, a mission. It is his reign of love and justice we seek and serve. Jesus shows us the way and saves us from our transgressions. Death cannot stop him. Death cannot stop us. No one is ever lost.

April 19, 2019
Good Friday

 Suffering

Today’s Gospel has Jesus, on the Cross, gives John to Mary as her son and Mary to John as his Mother. The reflection for today, the Cross and Mission, is an article for this month’s ENCOUNTER.

 

April 18, 2019
Holy Thursday

 Service

Today’s Gospel, from Saint John, recalls the Last Supper when Jesus gathered with his disciples to celebrate Passover the night before he would suffer and die.
 
The journey of radical conversion is fulfilled in service.
 
Consider the exchange between Peter and Jesus. During the meal, Jesus gets up, takes off his outer garments, wraps a towel around his waist, takes a basin and pours water into it, and proceeds to go around to each one of his disciples and wash their feet. When he comes to Peter, there is this exchange:
 
"Master, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later."
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."
Jesus answered him, 
"Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."
 
We can empathize with Peter. Peter honors Jesus; sees him as “teacher and master.” He is uncomfortable that someone he views so highly would perform such a lowly service for him. Peter must learn to serve others, but he also must learn to receive service from others, or he will have “no inheritance” with Jesus. Jesus is doing an act of loving kindness for his disciples just as Mary did for Jesus when she anointed his feet a few days before at the celebration she, Martha, and their brother Lazarus gave for him.
 
When we receive service with humility and gratitude then we will be able to serve others with humility and joy. The lead article for ENCOUNTER this month features Joanne, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner, who works for restorative justice in Brazil.
 
We recall Holy Thursday as the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood; and rightly so because Jesus broke bread, shared the chalice, and anointed his disciples on the alter of service. Service is the bedrock for the sacraments. “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
 
Witness is the foundation for mission. Missionaries witness to the saving love of Jesus Christ through the integrity of their lives, what they do in service to one another, and in what they say. Many missionaries teach, just as Joanne teaches the principles of restorative justice, but they do so as a witness to the Gospel. Their service is a witness.
 
In the end, we do just what St. Paul said in today’s second reading, “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” May we receive the service of others with gratitude and humility and may we serve others with humility and joy.

April 17

Betrayal

Betrayal is a deeply personal injury. Every time we put our trust in someone, we risk betrayal. Betrayal, however, is different than offense or denial. Betrayal is intentional. It takes time and effort to betray someone.
 
In today’s reading, taken from the Gospel of Matthew, we hear the story of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. We do not know Judas’ heart, but he was clearly not satisfied with the way things were going. Although he walked with Jesus and the other disciples, he had already begun to remove himself from their company and mission. If he had conflicts with them, he could not come forward and present his concerns. Rather, he distanced himself from them and created a plan to end his relationship with them. He sought out the chief priests to see what kind of deal he could make with them if he handed Jesus over to them.
 
As we enter the scene, we see the trust of a stranger who provides a large room for Jesus and his apostles where they can celebrate the Passover. We see all of them gathered around the table in fellowship and celebration. Then, Jesus says that one of them will betray him, one who shares the same dish with Jesus. It is a very awkward moment, like having a dinner party in your home with your spouse’s secret lover as one of the guests. We can imagine the disciples looking at one another and claiming their innocence. Judas was brash; he had no shame. "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus’ response was understated, if not sad, "You have said so." The evening, that begins with the generous hospitality of a stranger ends with the betrayal of “one of the twelve,” those disciples that Jesus had chosen to continue his mission.
 
It is not hard to imagine Judas, at that moment, breaking down and confessing his anger or his shame. He could have lashed out with his complaints, criticism, even contempt and Jesus, and the others, would have heard him out and responded with love. Or, he could have broken down, like Peter would do after his denial, and confessed his infidelity. But he doesn’t – he keeps to the shadows, playing his little games, until Jesus is arrested.
 
Notice how incredibly patient and accepting Jesus is with Judas. He does not make a show, he does not accuse Judas, he does not belittle him or expose him.
 
Whenever we trust someone, we, like Jesus, risk betrayal. The question is if we are convinced of our purpose and mission enough to risk betrayal, we can love others even as we suffer through that betrayal. Jesus never stopped loving Judas. Jesus cannot force salvation on to someone. Like Judas, we are free to walk away from the love of God.
 
Betrayal is deeply personal. Have I been betrayed and if so, how have I responded to it? Have I betrayed others and, if so, have I sought their forgiveness and reconciliation? The Church provides the Sacrament of Reconciliation where we can turn back to God, confess our sins, and accept God’s mercy and forgiveness. Perhaps today is a good day for an honest assessment of who I have denied and who I have betrayed. God will have mercy on our souls.

Catholic Volunteer Network and Catholic Apostolate Center are offering a 2019 Lenten Reflection Guide, with reflections from current and former volunteers. It will help enrich your spiritual journey over these next forty days. Check it out.