Tag Archives: Jesus

Holiness is not stingy. Holiness gives and welcomes. A homily for the second Sunday of Ordinary Time – B

13 Saturday Jan 2024

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“Andrew taking Simon to meet Jesus” by Mary Evans. Image may be subject to copyright. 

Holiness and the life of grace are not stingy.  Holiness gives and it welcomes. This is my personal learning from the Advent and Christmas seasons. 

When I placed myself in prayer in the manger scene, Joseph and Mary did not just allow me to gaze upon the child, they welcomed me to hold the babe in my own arms.  They did not hesitate in inviting me to hold the child.  When I watched as Simeon and Anna rejoiced in encountering the newborn Messiah in the Temple, they both welcomed me into that joy and hope fulfilled.  When I prayed over Matthew’s account of the three magi journeying to find the newborn king, I found myself eagerly welcomed by the three wise men to journey with them. 

Holiness and the life of grace are not stingy.  Holiness and the life of grace welcomes, invites and encourages.  It does not seek to keep for itself. We find this is today’s gospel ((Jn. 1:35-42) also.  John the Baptist, the one who was declared the greatest of those born of women by our Lord, eagerly points out Jesus as the Lamb of God to his own disciples, not a bit concerned if that means he and his own proclamation would be lessened.  “Behold, the Lamb of God!”  John’s two disciples begin to follow Jesus and John does not begrudge this.  

The holiness of Jesus also gives and welcomes – and this is the deep truth of today’s gospel.  Jesus asks John’s disciples, “What are you looking for?”  “Rabbi,” they answer, “where are you staying?”  Jesus says, “Come, and you will see.”  We are told that they stay with him that day and then they too rush out to invite others.  “We have found the Messiah!” 

“Where are you staying?”  “Come, and you will see.”  It was more than an invitation to a specific physical place.  Elsewhere in the gospel, Jesus says that the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.  The invitation of “come and see” is an invitation by our Lord into that deepest place where he truly resides.  It is an invitation into his very relationship with the Father.  It is an invitation freely given and those two disciples, even in their imperfections and lack of understanding, are both freely welcomed.  It is precisely this new experience of being welcomed into the Son’s relationship to the Father that impels those two disciples to then immediately go forth themselves and invite others to know what they have found.    

Holiness is not stingy. Holiness does not begrudge. It does not try to keep all for itself. Today’s gospel invites us to that same honesty of heart that the two disciples of John had.  “Rabbi, where are you staying?”  Today’s gospel invites us to the same courage and faith that the two disciples had when Jesus responds, “Come, and you will see.” The gospel invites us to also go to that place where our Lord abides in his relationship with the Father and to know that we – even in our imperfections – are indeed welcome. 

Andrew first went and found his brother Simon and brings him to where Jesus is staying.  Jesus looks at him and says, “You are Simon the Son of John: you will be called Cephas (Peter)”,

Life changes when we go to where Jesus resides.  Life changes when we come to know that we also are welcomed into the Son’s relationship with the Father. 

The King who wants us to see the least among us

25 Saturday Nov 2023

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Once, when I was assigned in Chattanooga, I had the experience of driving by the regional airport just as Air Force One took off in flight.  The president had been in the city promoting an industry and now he was leaving for his next destination.  The sight of the plane filled my car window as it was directly in front of me and only a couple of hundred feet above me.  Air Force One certainly grabs your attention and this is intentional.  The plane is a visual statement about the power and the authority of the President of the United States. 

This is what we expect from the ruling powers of our world, whether it be the office of a president, a king or queen, a royal family, a dictator or a tyrant.  These authorities want us to look toward them and for the whole world to see in the trappings of their office – whether that be a plane, a crown, a missile launch – a statement of their power and authority.  The ruling powers of the world want us to see them.  They want our attention, and they want to be noticed. 

Our faith and today’s gospel (Mt. 25:31-46) tell us that when Christ returns in glory all nations and peoples will be assembled before him but until that great and final day, our humble king wants us to turn our attention elsewhere.  Our Lord wants us to look upon our brothers and sisters in need.  Jesus wants us to see the least ones.  Both those persons judged righteous and those persons judged unrighteous in today’s gospel ask the same question, “Lord, when did we see you…”  Jesus’ answer is that when we allow ourselves to look upon the one who is hungry, thirsty, the stranger, naked, ill or in prison and then act in compassion we encounter him and we are judged righteous.  When we do not allow ourselves to see, when we do not act in compassion then a harsh judgment follows. 

It all starts with seeing and Jesus proclaims the importance of being willing to see the other, especially the least among us, throughout his ministry. 

In the midst of the crowded Temple with people moving back and forth and all sorts of commotion, we are told that Jesus spotted the poor widow giving not from her surplus but from her poverty (Lk. 21:1-4). He saw her and he points her out to his disciples who were there present with him, and he points her out to us. Jesus saw her.

Jesus asks Simon the Pharisee (Lk. 7:36-50), “Do you see this woman?” referring to the woman who had come into the dinner party uninvited, a woman seeking mercy who was bathing the feet of Jesus with her tears.  Simon did not “see” the woman because in his heart he had already judged her a sinner not worthy of his attention.  Jesus forgives the woman her many sins and tells her to then, “go in peace” while it seems Simon and the other guests at table remain locked in their inability to see.   

Jesus, in the parable of the rich man and the poor beggar Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31), tells us that the rich man easily did not see the poor beggar lying at his doorstep and only after they both die does the rich man finally notice Lazarus, now at rest with Abraham, and then it is only to request that Lazarus be sent on an errand for him!  The rich man, both in life and then in death, did not “see” Lazarus and this led to his ruin.

Our Lord, who will come again in glory and before whom all the nations will be gathered, is quite clear regarding our pilgrimage through this world and where we should direct our attention – the royal road for entrance into the fullness of the Kingdom of God is found in being willing to see the least among us and to then act in compassion. 

A coin, census and citizenship (Mt. 22:15-21)

21 Saturday Oct 2023

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This last week I bought a 1935 buffalo nickel for $3.00 in an antique store.  The nickel has the image of an American Indian on one side and on the other side it has the image of a buffalo.  I like the coin because it is a piece of American history and it is a reflection of our nation’s complicated story with both the indigenous peoples and the buffalo – a story that is far from over and continues. 

(A funny story to share regarding a priest who has now gone home to God.  This priest was known for being very, very frugal with money, so frugal in fact that people joked that if he ever had a buffalo nickel, he would squeeze it so tight that the Indian would end up riding the buffalo!  But I digress.) 

In answer to the Pharisee’s question about the lawfulness of paying the census tax to Caesar or not in today’s gospel (Mt. 22:15-21) our Lord asks to see a Roman coin.  Remember that “census” is about citizenship and being a subject.  Subjects pay tax to the authority that rules and governs, whether that be a government, a king or an empire.  On the coin is an image of Caesar with his inscription.  This is more than the image of George Washington on our dollar bill.  Caesar was considered a god in the empire.  In fact, the common greeting that subjects would give one another in the Roman Empire was, “Caesar is Lord!”  When the first Christians began to greet one another with, “Christ is Lord!” they were doing something very intentional and even dangerous as the Roman authorities would regard such a greeting as an act of treason.  The first Christians gave this greeting precisely because they had learned what our Lord was teaching in this gospel passage. 

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (let him and all the powers of the world have their piece of dead metal) and to God what belongs to God.”  If the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image, then what belongs to God because it bears his image?  Genesis 1:27 gives the answer, “God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.”  We bear the image of God; we belong to God and while we walk this earth, yes, with earthly citizenship and responsibilities, we know that our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God and we strive to live our lives by God’s truth.  We must repay to God what belongs to God. 

There is another truth to our Lord’s answer that we need to let sink into our hearts.  God desires us, each one of us.  God desires the unique image of himself that he has crafted within each one of us.  God rejoices as we receive his love and as our own unique image of him begins to grow and shine!  We are not meant to repay half-heartedly nor grudgingly the image that God has placed within each of us but rather repay it back in abundance and love.  We do this by receiving God’s love and living in that love.  We come from God, we are with God and we are in journey back to God!

Census is about citizenship; it is about being a subject of a kingdom.  Our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God and even now, we strive to live by the light of God’s Kingdom.  Repay to God what belongs to God. 

The Toxicity of Anger even when Righteous

23 Wednesday Aug 2023

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Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.  Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.  (James 1:19-21)

We humans are not created to remain in anger and this includes even anger that is righteous.  All anger when it is held on to and nursed quickly becomes toxic and this toxicity deadens life whether that be the life of an individual, of a community and even the life of a people and nation.  Christians are not immune to the toxicity of anger and it is exactly because of the faith and hope we hold and profess as well as the ideals we cling to, that I believe Christians are even more susceptible to the toxicity of righteous anger than the non-religious person. 

We proclaim the coming Kingdom of God – a Kingdom where all tears will be wiped away and all injuries and injustices will be healed – yet we live in a world where there is grave injustice, violence and sin.  We see it and we can even be the victims of it ourselves.  Sometimes these injustices can be addressed and overcome on both the individual and societal levels in our world and history and these moments are to be celebrated and upheld (i.e. the end of slavery and segregation, the acknowledgment of the dignity and rights of women, the growing awareness of the rights and heritage of indigenous peoples, an abused woman gaining the strength to walk away from her abuser, a man caught in the mechanisms of addiction breaking free) but sometimes – for a variety of reasons – there cannot be full healing and restoration in this world.  Our belief in the resurrection and final judgment gives us the sure hope and belief that God – in God’s way not ours – will indeed wipe away all tears and answer all injustices but what do we do with the anger that remains in the meantime? 

This is the conundrum.  All anger, even when righteous, becomes toxic.

To me, there seems to be three options when we are confronted with injustices inflicted upon us that cannot be fully answered and remedied in this world.  The first option is to just lay down and die.  This happens, both literally and figuratively.  People do physically die from injustices endured.  Sadly, we see and read this in the news all the time.  But there is also figurative death that results from injustice endured.  People give up; quiet resignation sets in and people just subsist through life.  The hurt experienced overshadows everything and remains a constant shade in the background of the person’s life. 

The second option is to hold on to the injustice experienced, ruminate upon it and therefore nurse the anger within.  Here is where the wisdom and warning of James is worth heeding, …the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.  We are not created to remain in anger.  We are not made in the image of anger even when righteous but rather the image of God.  If we nurse anger then we make anger an idol – we forget God and we devalue ourselves.  All anger, when held on to, becomes toxic.  The righteousness of God is not found in anger.    

The third option is to – with God’s grace – stand up again, brush ourselves off, remember that we are a child of God and make the choice that – despite whatever may be thrown at us – we will live, walk and act always as a child of God.  This third option gets to the advice given by St. James, …put away all filth and excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.  Put away the filth of resentment and nursed anger and remember that the word we have been given, the word of salvation in Christ and our dignity as a child of God, goes deeper and is ever more enduring than any injustice inflicted.  No injustice can take away this truth.  If we focus on this truth and not the injustice and the anger that springs from it, we will move beyond the temptation to make an idol of our anger.  …humbly welcome the word …

All anger becomes toxic.  The good news is that we are not created to remain in anger.  We are created in the image and likeness of God and saved through the sacrifice of the Son.  This is the truth that endures and saves … humbly welcome it.     

Magic is an Illusion. Faith is real. Jesus and the Canaanite Woman.

19 Saturday Aug 2023

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In the time of Jesus, as there are now, there were faith-healers and people who claimed to have power over demons who could be hired and, for the right amount of money, would pretend to heal someone or cast out demons.  These people were charlatans, but people would pay the money in a desperate attempt to bring healing to a loved one.  These supposed “healers” took advantage of people in their suffering and what they offered was not real faith but rather magic – the illusion of healing that was not real.    

Our Lord knew of these faith-healers and how they operated.  He also saw how they took advantage of people.  The Canaanite woman also knew of these faith-healers and the promises they made.  It is possible that she had already paid faith-healers in attempts to bring healing to her daughter but all to no success. 

This context helps to explain this interaction of Jesus with the Canaanite woman. 

This woman, who has heard of the man Jesus and who initially sees him as just another faith-healer, calls out on behalf of her daughter and, more than likely, she is willing to pay the cost that Jesus will demand.  The disciples, as observant Jews could not abide faith-healers, they know that Jesus was not a faith-healer and they do not want to be associated with faith-healers so they ask Jesus to send the woman away because she, “keeps calling after us”. 

Jesus knows that he is not a charlatan and he knows that this woman is looking to hire him and that she wants a magical healing for her daughter and so he says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Jesus has a mission from the Father and he is not for hire for magical healings. 

But then something happens.  The scripture says that the woman, “came to Jesus and did him homage”.  The word “homage” is important here.  “Homage” implies faith, it implies kneeling in wonder and need before the divine mystery.  The woman does not come to Jesus to offer what she will pay him as one would when bargaining with a faith-healer, rather she gives him not money but “homage”. 

What changed for the woman?  Was it her desperation for her daughter, was it an intuition in her soul that something was different about this man named Jesus, was it the movement of the Holy Spirit in the woman’s heart?  Something changed and Jesus sees it. 

Jesus then tests it to make certain.  “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  Now, in this new moment, the woman responds, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  The woman shows her faith.    

Satisfied and probably with an abundance of joy in his divine heart, Jesus answers, “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish!”

Jesus is not a faith-healer for hire.  Jesus does not deal in the illusion of magic.  Jesus comes looking for faith in our hearts and it is in faith that our Lord meets us and brings the healing that only he can give. 

Magic is an illusion.  Faith is real and it is only in faith that Jesus encounters us. 

Two Images and One Truth: Tenderness

15 Tuesday Aug 2023

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The statue of the Madonna and Child is from my home growing up.  It belonged to my parents and sat in our living room on a table that served, for all intents and purposes although we never named it, as our home altar.  On the table was found this statue, our family Bible, various little statues and holy cards and baptismal candles.  Every day growing up I would see this statue – usually just passing by on my way to whatever I was up to but the statue was always there and remains with me to this day.

I have always appreciated the tenderness expressed by the statue.  Mary cradles her infant son and holds him close to her breast.  Her head leans in towards him and his towards her.  There is a familiarity and an intimacy and she presents her child to the world.  Here is the Son of God born of a humble woman in a small part of vast empire.  He will save us from our sins, 

The holy card is from the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome.  The basilica is one of the oldest churches in Rome and the first to be dedicated to Mary.  The card depicts an image from the mosaic of the Dormition of Mary.  The dormition of Mary is the Eastern Church’s celebration of the great mystery of the Virgin Mary being taken body and soul into the fullness of the Kingdom of God.  In the West, we focus on the Assumption of Mary and our images depict that.  In the Eastern Church the focus is on the Dormition – or Mary’s falling asleep to then be taken up into the Kingdom – and their images depict this.  It is the same mystery we celebrate.  Immaculate Mary, mother of the Incarnate Word, is brought into the fullness of God’s Kingdom.  Where she has been brought, we have the hope to also follow.    

In the icon of the Dormition of Mary it is common to see Mary asleep in her passing surrounded by the twelve apostles and in the icon is also represented the risen Christ tenderly holding the soul of his mother.  The iconographic tradition is to depict the soul – an immaterial reality – as a person wrapped almost like a child in swaddling clothes.  The son holds the mother in anticipation of uniting soul and body in the glory of the resurrection. 

There is a tenderness here too.  The Son, in love, holds the mother again in an expression of familiarity and intimacy.  Mary is wrapped in white which is an expression of the glory of the resurrection where all sin, death and darkness is overcome!  Christ holds Mary out also as a sign of hope for all the world.  Mary is the first to be brought into the glory of Christ’s resurrection.  A hope that every Christian now carries through baptism. 

One truth of these images and of today’s Feast of the Assumption is the tenderness of God as well as the value of tenderness in the Christian life.  God welcomed the tender love of a humble woman and, in return, Christ tenderly welcomes his mother home. 

We often underrate the importance of tenderness in life, I believe.  But tenderness, as depicted, stands at the heart of the relation of Christ to his mother and, it seems, also at the heart of our Lord’s relationship to every believer.  We have a tender God, a tender Savior.  This is important because tenderness gives birth to hope and hope produces perseverance.  We all need tenderness on the journey of faith.  Tenderness keeps us moving forward toward the fullness of the Kingdom of God that awaits us and that also beckons us.

Two images – a statue and a holy card – showing the truth of tenderness and giving a hope that endures. 

Holy Mary, tender mother of our Savior, pray for us!       

Peter’s Prayer: a reflection on Mt. 14:22-33

13 Sunday Aug 2023

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“Peter walking on the Water” by Lester Yokum. Image may be subject to copyright.

My friends, there is a simple truth found in today’s gospel that is worthy of our reflection. 

We are told that the disciples are in the boat in the middle of the night and are being tossed about by the waves of the sea.  The disciples are caught in fear and dread.  Our Lord comes towards them walking on the water.  Jesus calls to them and tells them to not be afraid and in response Peter cries, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

“Command me.” 

Peter does not say, “Lord, calm the sea.”.  Peter does not say, “Lord, take away this storm.”  Nor does Peter remain in the little safety of the boat, waiting for the Lord to arrive.  Peter says, “command me to come to you on the water.”  Peter (in his cry to the Lord, in his prayer) is asking for the grace to look beyond the crashing waves, to move beyond the limits of his own fear and to have the faith to walk towards Jesus on the water. 

This is the truth – there will be storms in life, there will be struggles and pain and doubt.  We will know fear and uncertainty.  The waves of life can be strong, high and crushing and it might even seem like everything is going to be lost.  The temptation in such moments is to pray to God to take away the storm, to calm the waters and to right whatever is the wrong that we are facing.  But is that the right prayer? 

The prayer that Peter made was not to take away the storm but to have the faith to walk through the storm, the faith to keep his eyes on Jesus even in the midst of the storm.  The gospel gives no indication that the sea calmed while Peter walked on the water.  The waves still crashed but Peter did walk on the water and when his faith faltered, Jesus was there to lift him up and save him. 

My friends, the right prayer may not always be “Lord, take this storm away.  Take away this struggle. Take away my fear.”  The right prayer may be, “Lord, give me the faith to walk through this storm trusting that you walk with me and that you are with me to protect me.” 

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”    

Union Square and World Youth Day: A tale of two crowds

06 Sunday Aug 2023

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This week the world has given us the tale of two crowds for our consideration. 

The first crowd was a group of a few thousand people brought together at Union Square in Manhattan on Friday afternoon by the internet streamer and influencer Kai Cetan.  The people came for a hyped giveaway hoping for free PlayStations, computers and other devices.  The crowd quickly turned unruly – climbing on vehicles, hurling chairs and throwing punches.  The police were called in and only after a number of hours were they able to disperse the crowd and bring calm back to the area.  Kai Cetan is now charged with inciting a riot. 

The second gathering is going on right now in Lisbon, Portugal.  Over four hundred thousand young people representing every nation in the world except one (Maldives) are gathering these days for World Youth Day.  These young adults are gathering with Pope Francis, cardinals, bishops, priests and religious from around the world.  Rather than unrest and rioting; this gathering is marked by prayer, song, service to others and worship. 

The two crowds are certainly set apart by their actions but also by what brings them together and their focus. 

A craving for material things and the need to be near the pseudo-celebrity of a social media influencer brought the first crowd together.  My hunch is that people saw the crowd gathered while realizing the limited number of items to be given away with the result being that the energy of the excitement of getting something for free quickly turning into a riot.  Hence the charge of “inciting a riot”.  In this crowd, people saw one another solely as competition for something they wanted.   

The focus of World Youth Day is not for a “thing” nor for the hollow fame of an influencer, the focus of the gathering of four hundred thousand in Lisbon is on the Lord of Life and an authentic encounter with Him.  In this gathering, the participants recognize one another not as competitors for things but as brothers and sisters in the great family of God – a family which crosses all borders, nationalities, languages and social divisions.  The participants at World Youth Day are gathered in Christ. 

Today’s Feast of the Transfiguration focuses our eyes on Christ.  Jesus is revealed as the long-awaited Messiah as prophesied by Daniel (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14) and witnessed to by the presence of Moses and Elijah gathered with Jesus on the mountain (Mt. 17:1-9).  The voice of the Father is heard by Peter, James and John and the same truth is proclaimed to us today, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

Listen to Jesus.  Stay focused on Jesus throughout the journey of life.  Do not seek after things that do not last and that fail to satisfy.  Such things only end in ruin and hurt.  Stay focused on the Lord of Life and, by so doing, receive life in abundance. 

The world has put before us the tale of two crowds this week.  In one is found only self-centeredness and rioting.  In the other is found true community, life, hope and joy. Choose wisely.     

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

John the Baptist, Pope Benedict XVI and Monsignor Bill Gahagan

14 Saturday Jan 2023

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In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we hear that the infant John leapt in the womb of his mother Elizabeth on the approach of the infant Jesus carried in the womb of his mother, the Virgin Mary.  Today, in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, when the adult John sees Jesus coming towards him, he leaps in his very proclamation that Jesus is the Lamb of God – the one sent to take away the sins of the world! 

It is easy to imagine that the scene contained just John and Jesus but Scripture tells us otherwise.  Many people, we are told, were going out to see John – this man who was proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was at hand and that the Messiah was coming.  Many people were heeding the message of John to repent of their sins and to be baptized in preparation for the Messiah’s coming.  And it is in the very midst of this crowd of people who were aware of their sins and wanting to repent that Jesus appears on the riverbank of Jordan. 

This had to have been disconcerting for John who was proclaiming a Messiah who would baptize not with water but rather fire and the Holy Spirit – the appearance of a humble messiah willing to be in the midst of sinners.  But the Holy Spirit who came upon Jesus during his baptism in the Jordan also enlightens the understanding of John that the true Messiah and King of Israel would not accomplish God’s will by the power of this world but by being the humble Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  God will bring about his Kingdom by His fire and His Holy Spirit and in His way.  John was gifted to be led into this understanding just as our Lord began his public ministry. 

And John points him out.  Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world … Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.  The proclamation of John is the mission of the Church.  The Church is to do what John did – point Jesus out and say, “He is the Savior!  Yes, humble.  Yes, ever willing to be in the midst of sinners, but he alone is the Savior.”  At every Mass we repeat the words of John when the priest holds up the Eucharist and proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world!”  By saying these words, we also remind ourselves who we are to be as Church.    

Pope Francis wisely reminds us in many of his writings that the Church must never proclaim herself but rather always proclaim Christ.  That the Church must never bring herself but rather always bring Christ – because it is Christ alone who frees people from their sins.  It is Jesus who is the Lamb of God and we, as Church, proclaim him to the world! 

Today, in a special way, we pray for the repose of the soul of Pope Benedict XVI.  Pope Benedict was a man who knew the same truth that John knew and who lived his life and found his fullest calling in pointing to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and calling people to the truth of Christ.     

I think it also worthwhile today to pray for the repose of the soul of Monsignor Bill Gahagan – a former pastor of St. Dominic Church and beloved priest of our diocese.  People who knew Monsignor Gahagan know that he was a man caught up in the love of God and a man who easily found his Lord present in the midst of his people. Monsignor Bill would count himself blessed to be in the midst of the crowd along the bank of the river Jordan standing beside his Lord and Savior.  

For people of faith there is sorrow in the death of a loved one but there is also a deep joy knowing that the dearly departed now fully beholds the face of their Lord. 

May these men and all the faithful departed rest in peace. 

Jesus – the Living One

17 Sunday Apr 2022

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My favorite Easter movie is “Risen”.  The story centers on a Roman soldier named Clavius.  A lifelong member of the military, Clavius is a dutiful and hardened soldier who has risen in the ranks.  He is looking toward the end of his military career.  He is sent by Pilate to oversee the execution of a criminal charged with treason – a man that many were proclaiming to be the King of the Jews.  Clavius watches Jesus die.  He returns to Pilate and gives his report.  Pilate, aware that Clavius is a man of ambition whose service will soon be ending, asks the soldier what he ultimately wants in life.  Clavius answers, “Rome, position, power…”  “What will this give you?” asks the governor.  “A villa in the country.”  “What will you find there?” asks Pilate.  “An end of travail … peace … a day without death.” 

The story does not end there. 

There begins to be reports that this dead man has risen and with these rumors unrest begins in and around Jerusalem.  Pilate again summons the soldier and assigns Clavius to get to the truth of what has happened and to prove that all of these accounts of a resurrection are false.  But they are not.  In the course of his tracking down the disciples, Clavius comes face to face with Jesus – the man he saw die on the cross.  His world is turned upside down!  Everything is thrown into question.  The hardened Roman soldier begins to tag along on the edge of the group of disciples – like a stray dog.  He watches the risen Lord and the disciples.  One night, on the shore of Lake Galilee, while all the disciples are asleep, Clavius approaches Jesus who is watching the night sky.  Sitting down beside Jesus, Clavius admits, “I don’t even know what to ask,”  “Speak your heart,” says Jesus.  “How can I reconcile this with the world I know?”  “Still you doubt … what frightens you … What is it you seek Clavius?”  Jesus then answers for him, “certainty … peace … a day without death?”  Clavius weeps, his heart and his pain have been recognized … and answered. 

The angels in the tomb ask the women, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?  He is not here, but he has been raised.”  Jesus alone is the “living one”.  Although we consider ourselves alive we are not the “living one”.  How do we know this?  Because, like Clavius, we often seek to find life in the midst of that which is dead.  When we seek peace and tranquility through worldly power, privilege and position – that is seeking to find life among that which is dead.  When we find a numbing comfort in life by holding on to grievances, resentments, fears, sorrows, addictions, failures and even our own sins and sense of unworthiness of mercy – that is also seeking to find life among the dead.  We are not the living one because we carry the wound of sin, because we so often look to find life among that which is dead.

“Why do you seek the living one among the dead,” asks the angels.  Jesus alone is the living one and he is not to be found among any of those dead things. 

Here is the Easter truth – Jesus alone is the living one.  Jesus, alone, in his obedience has conquered sin and death.  If we go on looking for life among that which is dead, we will find no life.  It is only when we allow the Living One to find us – to answer the need and pain in our own heart – that we will know healing and true life. 

Only in the fullness of the Kingdom, will we be truly living.  Only then will we know a day without death.  For now, we still carry the wound of sin.  But, the Living One is here, he walks with us, he loves us and he gives us his mercy and he says to us, “Do not seek me among the dead things.  I am not there.  There is no life there.  Let go of those things.  I am the Life and I am here for you.” 

“Why do you seek the living one among the dead,” ask the angels, “He is not here, but he has been raised.”