3RD SUNDAY EASTER 2007

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER C– JOHN 21:1-19 12:15 The farmer’s son was a lot more religious than his dad. He also worked a lot less than his dad. His dad simply farmed well, worked hard, and helped his neighbors - the ones close by and (through the church) those in other countries. One day the son, who did very little work but was very religious, was lying on the haystack and saw a sign in the clouds. He saw the letters, “PC.” He rushed off to dad. “Did you see those letters, dad? he exploded with fanatic fervor. PC! Preach Christ! God is calling me.” “Yes son,” said his dad. “God is calling you all right. But the letters PC stand for Pick Corn. Now get busy.” Jesus doesn’t tell you today to pick corn. But he is telling you to share your fish i.e. to share what you have with others. Bring some of the fish you have just caught, he tells you. And he is commanding you as certainly as a teacher demands a research paper to get busy, there is a lot of work to be done. Notice Jesus, with the cordial openness of selfless love, does not ask for all the fish – just enough for him to have something to eat. So too Jesus doesn’t demand that you share everything you have with others – just enough to help them in their need. What he wants from you is a kind of tame recklessness in your generosity. As Pope Paul VI stated in his encyclical A Call To Action, The more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others. You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give. And what should you give most of all? Kahil Gibran, the mystic author of the book, The Prophet, answers, You give little when you give your possessions; it is when you give yourself that you truly give. As far as your possessions are concerned, remember this: If you want to have it all, you’ll find all of it has you. Perhaps the question this gospel story confronts you with today is this: Do I give grudgingly, or only to a few, chosen ones? The one work Jesus calls you to and expects you to do with spendthrift generosity is that of continuing his resurrection by causing resurrections in others. You can cause a resurrection in someone who is depressed by offering honest words of encouragement but not flattery. You can find some good in that person and affirm that good. In this way you help that person to rise out of the death of depression into a new life of enthusiasm. You can cause resurrections in people by your acts of kindness, causing people to rise out of the death of the drudgery of everyday living into the new life of the unexplored joy of seeing each new day as a fresh adventure. You can cause a resurrection in someone who is self-righteous and judgmental by reminding that person that the judgment seat of God belongs to God alone and that those who condemn will be condemned, no matter how pious a pose they strike. In this way you cause that person to rise out of the death of judgmentalism into a new life of compassion. You can cause resurrections in those who habitually manipulate others in their relationships by confronting them with the need to be honest with themselves about themselves – perhaps even suggesting therapy. In this way you cause them to rise out of the death of superficial and self-centered relationships into the new life of loving and caring relationships. You can cause resurrections in others, sometimes by expressing honest and justified anger at those who attempt to control you. Those who try to manipulate you by being bullies. Those who constantly nit-pick or start frivolous arguments and you need to let them know that they just cannot dominate you by force. You can cause a resurrection by helping them to rise out of the death of brutal domination into a new life of gracious sensitivity. You can pray for the students of Virginia Tech by causing resurrections, helping them to rise out of the death of grief and sorrow into the new life of coping positively with the horrific tragedy that occurred on their campus this past week. Keep the image of the disciples sharing their fish with Jesus in your heart and ask yourself how much you are sharing Jesus’ resurrection power by causing resurrections in others but with all others, not just a chosen few. HUMOR A teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the children came back and one by one began to share their stories. "Tony, do you have a story to share?""Yes ma'am. My daddy told a story about my Aunt Karen. She was a pilot in Desert Storm and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a flask of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't break and then her parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops. She shot fifteen of them with the gun until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last terrorist with her bare hands." "Good Heavens" said the horrified teacher. "What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from this horrible story?" Little Tony replied proudly, "Stay away from Aunt Karen when she's drinking" THOUGHT: Always cause resurrections in others.