Homily for April 29, 2018 (5th Sunday of Easter B)

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There was a grapevine in my grandparents’ backyard. It wasn’t a vineyard, just a single grapevine. Sometimes on Saturday mornings I would go and pick grapes with my grandparents. My grandmother always looked at the grapes very carefully. She was going to use them to make jelly. My grandfather always looked very carefully at the vine. He would look at the vine and the branches before he would look at the grapes. He told me that the grapes would only be as good as the vine and the branches. My grandfather pointed to the branches that were broken from the vine. They had no grapes. If the branches were not strongly connected to the vine, then there would not be any grapes. It was that simple. The branches need the vine to bear fruit. It was that simple. The branches need the vine to bear fruit. 

Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. The branches need the vine to bear fruit. It is that simple.

Jesus is the vine. We are branches. The branches need the vine to bear fruit. It’s a great image and it’s absolutely true. We can see it: the vine and the branches.

It is a different image from last week. Last week we had the Good Shepherd who walks with the one sheep. That is such a tender image: Jesus carrying the one sheep on his shoulders. Jesus the Good Shepherd speaks to the flock and leads them to green pastures. We can see the sheep following closely behind the Good Shepherd. It is a different image. It tells us something different. And as beautiful as the image of the Good Shepherd and the sheep is, the sheep are always separate from the shepherd. There are shepherds and there are sheep.

But with the vine and the branches, there is complete unity. The vine and the branches are a single body. The branches are an extension of the vine. The vine produces fruit through the branches. The vine shares its life and its goodness and its blessing through the branches. The sheep walk with the shepherd; the branches are completely united to the vine.

Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. The branches need the vine to bear fruit. And the vine produces fruit through the branches. The branches are united to the vine. The vine and the branches share the same life. The vine and the branches share the same food. The vine and the branches share the same goal. The vine and the branches are completely united to each other.

And that means that all of the branches are united to each other through the vine. The image of the Good Shepherd allows us to think about an individual relationship with Jesus: the one sheep on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd. The image of the vine and the branches invites us to see our unity with each other. It is not one vine and one branch and one grape. It is one vine with many branches and many grapes. There are an abundance of branches extending from the vine. There are an abundance of branches producing many beautiful and delicious grapes. It is the fruit of the Kingdom of God. They are the grapes to make the wine of the Wedding feast of the Lamb of God.

We are a community of many branches and many grapes, but our life comes from the one vine. Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. The vine needs the branches to bear fruit. And the branches need each other. We need the branches that have been fruitful for generations. We need the branches that are now bearing their first fruits. We need the branches that have just begun to grow. We need all of the branches to bear fruit for the kingdom.

Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. The branches need the vine and each other to bear fruit. Amen.    

Homily for April 22, 2018 (4th Sunday of Easter B)

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In my parents’ house there is a picture hanging on the wall between the laundry room and the kitchen. This picture used to hang on the wall between a bedroom and the living room in my grandparents’ house. I don’t know if the picture belonged to my great grandparents. I know we have had this picture in the family for a long time. The image is clear. The image is powerful and comforting. The image is gentle and peaceful and enduring. The picture in my parents’ house is an image of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd is really one of the most popular images in Christianity. We like Jesus the Good Shepherd. He is gentle and peaceful, powerful and comforting. We see the Good Shepherd and we quote the Psalms: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. We see Jesus the Good Shepherd and we remember the search for the lost sheep. We see Jesus the Good Shepherd and we remember the words, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” We really like the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

 And maybe that is why every year on the fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear about Jesus the Good Shepherd. It’s called Good Shepherd Sunday. It’s the World Day of Prayer for Priestly Vocations. It’s the day when the Pope ordains new priests for the Diocese of Rome. In seminaries around the world on this Sunday, the men who are training to become priests will be encouraged, “Be a good shepherd; be like Jesus the Good Shepherd when you are sent to the flock.” It’s a good word of advice. It’s a good word of encouragement. Be like the Good Shepherd. We like the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd, for his part, loves us. And we like that too. The Good Shepherd loves us. John the Apostle tells us that. We are loved and we are called the children of God. The love of God will make us more like Jesus. Jesus will reveal his life and his love in our lives. We like this. We like that we are loved by Jesus. We like that we are loved by the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him. The Good Shepherd speaks to his sheep and they follow him. The Good Shepherd gives himself completely to the care of his flock. He protects them. He cares for them. He heals them. He leads them to fresh waters and green pastures. We love the image of the Good Shepherd surrounded by the sheep of his flock.

In the picture that hangs in my parents’ house, there are many sheep. They are in the background. You can see them. They are there in the green pasture. They are there next to the flowing waters. But one sheep is next to Jesus. He is comfortable there. The one sheep stands on all four legs, but almost leans on Jesus. There is one sheep that stays close to the shepherd. There is one sheep in the picture that Jesus could pick up at any moment and carry gently on his shoulders. There is one sheep that seems to have the total attention and love of the shepherd.

Each of us is that one sheep. 

Each of us is that one sheep.

Saint Paul knew this. He wrote to the Galatians about it. The Son of God loved me . . . and he gave himself up for me.

Jesus walks with each of us as if we were the only sheep in the flock. And so we can say: The Good Shepherd loves me. The Good Shepherd gave himself up for me. The Good Shepherd speaks to me and walks with me. And here, in the midst of the flock, the Good Shepherd will feed me and lead me to that kingdom where he lives with the Father and Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Homily for Sunday April 15, 2018 (3rd Sunday of Easter B)

http://fatherbhomilies.podbean.com/e/homily-for-the-3rd-sunday-of-easter/

Yesterday morning, Deacon Dave, Deacon Guillermo and I gathered with about twelve hundred other people at St. Mark Church for the ordination of fifteen new permanent deacons for the Diocese of Charlotte. Ordinations are always beautiful. The celebration begins just like a normal Mass . . . except that there are about one hundred people in the entrance procession. There are the servers. There are the men who will be ordained. There are the deacons of the diocese. There are the priests, and finally, there is the Bishop. He is the apostle who will ordain these men by the laying on of his hands and prayer.

After the reading of the Gospel, the candidates for ordination were called forward, each by name. The Bishop asked them if they were willing to accept the office of deacon and be faithful to the life of prayer and service which are part of the diaconal ministry. Then one by one, each candidate went and knelt before the Bishop. Each one placed their hands in the hands of the Bishop. The Bishop asked each one, “Do you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?” It is a promise of today and tomorrow and every day after that. Then the candidates lie prostrate on the floor as the congregations sings the litany of the saints. Everyone who has been ordained remembers that time on the Church floor. There is nothing quite like it. It is filled with memory, prayer, and emotion. The congregation sings, “Bless these chosen men; Bless and sanctify these chosen men, Bless, sanctify and consecrate these chosen men.” And then one by one, the candidates come before the Bishop and he lays his hands on their head. The prayer of ordination follows. The new deacons are vested in the stole and the dalmatic. And then each one goes before the Bishop and kneels. The Bishop places the Book of the Gospels in the new deacon’s hands and says, “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach.” And at that moment, they become witnesses of the resurrection.

We are blessed in this parish with the ministry and presence of four deacons: Deacon Sydney, Deacon Roland, Deacon Guillermo, and Deacon Dave. Among the four of them, our parish is blessed with over sixty-fix years of diaconal ministry. Like the fifteen new deacons, they are witnesses of the resurrection. They have seen and believed. They have believed and shared. They have shared and received by their sharing one of the most precious gifts that God can give. The fruit of sharing the Gospel is a fellow believer, a companion on the journey.

They are witnesses. Witnesses see and believe. Witnesses believe and share. Witnesses share and they receive.

We are witnesses. Jesus says we are. Peter says we are. We are witnesses.

Deacon Guillermo and Deacon Dave are currently working with the next class of deacon candidates. For the last two classes of deacons who were ordained, I taught one of their preaching classes. Today’s gospel gives us a clear pattern for Christian preaching. It is also a clear example of Christian conversation. Jesus shows us how to share.

The first word of preaching is a word of grace. On the day of the resurrection, Jesus did not say, “I am disappointed in you.” Jesus did not say, “You broke to the rules.” Jesus did not say, “Where were you on Friday?” The first words are words of grace and consolation, “Peace be with you.”

The word of grace comes before the word of challenge. The word of grace opens hearts. The word of grace opens minds. The word of grace brings comfort. It comes before the word of challenge.

The word of challenge is followed by the word of invitation. The word of invitation is followed by a word of hope. The word of hope is followed by the promise of renewal and a share in the mission. In this brief passage of the Gospel, we move from the word of grace in “Peace be with you” to the share in the mission, “You are witnesses of these things.”

Jesus shows us how to share. Jesus shows us how to be witnesses.

No, we weren’t actually at the Empty tomb on Easter Morning. No, we didn’t actually walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. And we weren’t actually in the upper room when Jesus appeared on that Sunday evening.

But we are here in this room, and Jesus is here.

Jesus is here in the Word proclaimed. Jesus is here in the community of the baptized gathered for worship. Jesus is here in the priest who proclaims, prays and consecrates. Jesus will be here in the simple gifts of bread and wine transformed into his precious body and blood.

Jesus is here and we are witnesses.

     

We see by the light of faith and believe by the light of glory. We believe and we will share. We will proclaim with lives radiant in the gospel glory. Like the disciples who came back from Emmaus, we can proclaim “The Lord is Risen and we met him in the breaking of the Bread.”