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 Peter. 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!’
In one of his poems,
the great 19th century Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins comes
close to coining a word: “Let Christ Easter in us, be a dayspring to
the dimness of us” the poem goes. Let Christ “Easter” in us. The
poet cleverly turned the Easter noun into a verb, turned it into
something – no, turned it into someone – dynamic and alive, someone
who can transform us from the inside-out.
But, my friends, how
do w 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 Annual 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 and CYO camps
for our kids. 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 $320,000 - 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 significant costs involved in our parish’s
extraordinary Immigrant Assistance Program.In recent months, through
St. James Immigrant Assistance, we have been able to welcome Afghan
refugee families into our midst, helping them settle into a new life
in the United States. And in the coming months, we hope to welcome
families fleeing the war in Ukraine. So your support of this
important ministry could not be more timely. We'll hear more about
the work of St. James Immigrant Assistance in a moment.
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!
And now, to share a
bit more about what we are able to accomplish through our St. James
Immigrant Assistance Program, I’d like to invite to the ambo Sarah
Riggio, who with her family has been actively involved in our
outreach to refugees for several years. Please join me in welcoming
Sarah.
Father Michael G. Ryan
* * * * *
I am so honored to be able to share briefly with you the gospel work
of “welcoming the stranger” that takes place through the Immigrant
Assistance ministry here at the Cathedral. My family has personally
been involved with this ministry for the past several years.
For those who do not know, St. James Immigrant Assistance has been
serving the immigrant and refugee population in the greater Seattle
area for a little more than 45 years, offering ESL tutoring, legal
assistance, citizenship preparation, educational programs, and
advocacy: welcoming the “stranger” in our midst, and saying “we will
join you in the whole process of establishing a life here in the
United States”.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the recent work of welcoming
Afghan refugees. Over 20 people have formed a Cathedral “sponsor
circle,” volunteering countless hours to welcome two Afghan families
recently resettled here in Seattle, after the evacuation of tens of
thousands from Afghanistan this past August. One of those two
families spent their first month and a half in Seattle living in my
home with my family.
We were so honored to welcome this father and mother and their
one-year old daughter into our home. Over cups of tea and sharing of
naan, we learned their story, which is one of unspeakable hardship,
as well as bravery and resilience. We formed deep bonds, in spite of
incredible language and cultural barriers. It felt like Pentecost
being lived out through Microsoft translate and playing charades!
There was such a deep desire on both sides to connect in spite of
coming from different worlds. The ongoing joke in our house during
this time was the marvel of machinery in America. Through the eyes
of our Afghan guests, we could see their wonder as for the first
time they encountered things we take for granted--a can opener, a
dishwasher, a laundry machine, an electric toothbrush, a rice
cooker, a blender--everything was “America- machine” …one day the
father joked with a big smile holding up a fork with a bowl, and a
banana in the other hand— pointing to the fork and saying “Afghan
machine.”
Members of the Cathedral sponsor circle have procured licenses, spent
hours on hold with DSHS getting food benefits and accompanying to
doctors’ appointments, especially for one of the Afghan mothers who
is currently pregnant with her second child. Volunteers, and other
generous parishioners, have found items to fill and furnish the new
apartments. They have helped find work for the fathers and taught
them to shop and use public transportation. In all of this, across
language barriers, we said to these Afghan refugees: “you are
welcome here. We want to walk with you through this incredible
challenge of being a stranger in a strange land.”
On behalf of all the Sponsor Circle, and the Afghan families
themselves, we say “Tashakur” “Thank you” to the St. James community
for prioritizing the least of these—the refugees and asylees and
immigrants in our midst. Your support, through financial
giving, volunteering, and prayer, has been life-giving to these two
families and to the thousands who have received assistance through
St. James Immigrant Assistance. As more refugees find themselves in
our midst, may we continue to do this gospel work of welcoming the
stranger with love, understanding, and compassion. Thank you.
Sarah Riggio
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