Business as usual is the thought that came to mind when I reflected on
today’s passage from John’s gospel. In that reading, it looks like the
disciples of Jesus were back to business as usual - back to where they
had started, to doing what they had done before they had met the
charismatic, irresistible rabbi from Nazareth. They were fishermen
and here they were back doing what they knew best: fishing.
But the reading from Acts told quite a
different story. It fast-forwarded us in time to the moment when Peter
and his companions stood before the high priest who gave them stern
warning not to speak any more about this Jesus. And when Peter boldly
declared that his obedience was to God and not to human beings, well,
this was clearly not business as usual! Business as usual for
Peter was talking big but delivering small: “Even though all deny you, I
will never deny you!” Business as usual for Peter was shamelessly
caving in three times when the going got rough, denying that he even
knew Jesus.
Why the change? We know very well. Peter
had encountered the risen Jesus or, better, the risen Jesus had
encountered him. He had called out to him from the shore, surprised him
and his companions with a huge catch of fish, fed breakfast to him and
the others on the shore, questioned him about his love not once but
three times, prepared him for what his future would be, and called him
once again to follow. That marked the end of business as usual. The
encounter with the Risen Lord changed everything!
So, what about us? In the celebrations of
the past few weeks we have encountered Jesus. There were the powerful
celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter when we went from
Upper Room to Calvary to basking in the glorious presence of Christ
triumphant over death. But that was then. What about now?
Are we back to business as usual? Speaking for myself, and maybe
for you, I’d have to say that it’s not easy to stay on an Easter ‘high!’
On Easter Sunday I quoted some words from the
19th century Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins “Let Christ Easter in
us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us….”
Let Christ “Easter” in us. The poet cleverly
turned the Easter noun into a verb, turned it into something – no, into
someone – dynamic and alive, someone who can transform us from the
inside-out.
But how do we turn Easter into a verb?
How do we let Christ “Easter” in us? Jesus showed us the way in
his exchange with Peter in today’s gospel reading. “Do you love
me?” Jesus asked Peter three times, and each time, when Peter assured
him of his love, Jesus showed him that love was not only a verb but a
most challenging verb: “Feed my lambs,” he said, “Feed my sheep!”
My friends, that’s how Christ “Easters” in us. That’s how we keep
Easter alive. When we love others – love them in practical,
down-to-earth, selfless ways, Christ is “Eastering” in us. And love like
this makes Easter last far beyond a day.
Now, let me point to a very practical way by
which we can all respond to Jesus’ invitation to feed his lambs, to tend
his sheep. I’m talking about stepping up and making a gift to the Annual
Catholic Appeal. I suspect I just caused a little whiplash there (if so,
you can file an insurance claim!), but the Appeal really is about
feeding the flock of Christ.
Let me explain. Your support of the Annual
Appeal feeds the flock by helping our wonderful Catholic schools teach
our young people about Jesus while providing them with a first-rate
education. And your support covers the considerable costs of preparing
men for the priesthood who will one day feed the flock of Christ. And
your support for the Appeal helps Catholic Community Services do their
amazing outreach to the poor and immigrants and refugees, providing them
with housing, advocacy, and basic human services. And it provides
chaplains for our hospitals and prisons around Western Washington.
That’s only a small sampling of what the Annual Catholic Appeal makes
possible and all of it, in one way or another, is feeding the flock of
Christ. So, it’s a good cause, and a necessary one, and it’s part of
what it means to be a disciple and to be Catholic.
The goal set for us by the Archdiocese is
$378,000 - a little less than last year, so that’s good! And our hope is
not only to meet that goal but to surpass it because, as you know, our
parish receives back as a rebate everything that is given over and above
the goal. I’ve shared with you in my letter that our plan this year is
to use any rebate monies to help offset the major costs involved in
installing a sprinkler system high up in the Cathedral’s attic. After
what happened last month to Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, I doubt I
have to convince you that this is the responsible thing to do, the only
responsible thing to do, and the right time to do it. The total cost of
installing a sprinkler system will be in the neighborhood of $350,000. A
lot for sure, but not so much when you consider how much we love this
Cathedral. I think you’ll agree that anything we can do to make it safer
and to preserve it, we ought to do.
My friends, if Jesus is truly going to “Easter”
in us, it will only be because we keep finding ways to reach out beyond
ourselves to tend the lambs, to feed the flock. Your support of the
Annual Catholic Appeal is one way of doing this, one good way of turning
Easter from a noun into a verb!
Father Michael G. Ryan
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