In the Gospel we hear Jesus ask, “How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” we see a side of Jesus we don’t see too often.
From the sound of it, I am reminded more of the role of the frustrated parent than the Christ.
We parents know that feeling. Your awesome child, the one who seems to be so smart and even further along than others, has just done something completely out of character and without reason….. and you are so exasperated by it all you can only stand there and say What have you done? What were you thinking? What could have possessed you? How can you say that?
Those occasions are usually when they have doubted themselves, neglected to realize their own potential, or somehow totally forgot instructions we gave them.
And if we don’t catch ourselves we can be less than charitable and let our frustration take over.
But it isn’t that we don’t love them. It isn’t because we didn’t trust them or trust God to take care of them. It’s because we knew them and the great things they are capable of …..and now for a moment that belief was turned upside down and we stand confused unable to understand what happened.
We had guided them, watched them, provided what they needed, let them take those first steps, drive a car, go on a first date…only to hear they lost their wallet … for the third time that month…(how could you, we think) or forgot to pay that parking ticket or phone bill which is now hundreds and hundreds of dollars (what could have possessed you)….or even as we are saying our good byes to our new freshman at the college dorm and they ask us again…what room was I assigned again? Really? You’re ready to go it on your own…we think…to ourselves…its too late now…our chance to teach, to make an impression is over….
We thought they were prepared, we believe we did all we could to get them there but they still seem to be asking some pretty fundamental questions we believe they should know and more importantly…are needed for survival.
It seems that was the point of view of Jesus as he looked on the disciples, these men as we heard in the First Letter of Peter would be the first stones to be laid to build up his church. The very foundation of the church.
So we have to ask where do we fit into this discourse? Where and who are we …or how would Jesus be speaking to us today, with the Gospel at hand, with the Eucharist available, with 2000 years of Christianity and tradition, where would Jesus find us today?
Do we get Jesus? His message? His offering? What wonderful things he can do for us and with us?
Do we know the way? Do we feel we are on it or just keeping it in sight so we can hop on when things get tough?
Are we the living stones mentioned in the First letter of Peter?
Have we allowed ourselves to be built into a spiritual house? And what does that even mean for us?
Today as we see Jesus looking at the disciples with disbelief in their questions we need to ask if Jesus has been the foundation stone in our lives or the stumbling block?
If we want to know how we are doing as baptized Christ Followers we need to ask how have we been following Christ.
How was our day today? Did we find that God was with us and feeding us to do our best in his name, whether we played today, worked today or relaxed …. was he part of our day?
{{Or did we have to remind ourselves that we needed to get to Mass {{cause we forgot to get up this morning}} so we didn’t have to get up tomorrow.}}
Were we tempted to blow off Mass because there was more fun things to do.
Are we here tonight because we wanted to go to the fastest, least painful mass available on the weekend?
Are we living stones building up the church or is Jesus a stumbling block that we have to carry on our backs?
Today the good news is Jesus is patient and charitable and loving beyond our comprehension. Even when we would expect him to be frustrated with us he is still standing there to answer our questions, open his arms to love us and to welcome US to be an active part of his church, someone who has built a life centered on his teachings.
There are many ways to live our life. The world says Jesus Way is only one option and there are many more just as good. They are wrong.
The world says there are easier ways and more attractive ways. But they lead to death.
We can choose a way, a path that leads away from Jesus, away from his Church, away from the Eucharist..this is a step toward the evil one and death
We can choose the way that says we don’t need to prioritize teaching our children about God above everything else including soccer and baseball and recreation. That way does not lead to life for them.
We can choose a path that says we can live together and play marriage without the blessing of God in our life…that also does not lead to life and blessings.
We have a choice, renewed for us each day to choose His Way and live with Christ at the center or to choose ways that lead to death. And the more times we choose a way that does not lead to Christ the harder it is to turn back. But
Jesus believes in us, and sees our potential. He believes in us more than any parent ever believed in their child. He knows us. He knows we have the potential to move mountains and do works even greater than he did.
Remember his words…..
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”
Jesus stands waiting and expecting the best from all of us today.
We can ask all the dumb questions we want. He will answer and will always love us and expect the best.
We live in a world that is turning away from his love and his teachings. We live in a post Christian age when those who are Christ Followers will be called to explain themselves and be judged. Those who have not followed his way above all else will find he IS a stumbling block, something that gets in our way of getting along with the status quo, those who ask us to be reasonable as the world sees it …. those who deny him and replace him with man made gods and priorities. We will be tested as to our faith and our Christianity. The disciples in our Gospel had to face death for his sake. We live in a time when we too may very well find we need to choose His way or the way of the world, the way of life or the way of death.
This is our time to grow closer to Christ. To ask for the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and strength to build our lives into living stones, part of his church– so that we can withstand the world and the evil one.
God has given us what we need to survive and one day join him. We ARE prepared and we DO know the way. Who is Christ to us today? A rock we built a life on or a stumbling block that will soon see us fall?
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me. “
Today we still have time to renew our faith, turn toward the way that leads to life. Jesus calls us out of darkness and into light. It is our time to say yes to the light, yes to Jesus and yes to life.
Deacon Tony Pynes 