FIFTH SUNDAY EASTER
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER A 10:30 John 14: 1-12 2008
Story: Every week a beggar would come to a millionaire philanthropist and tell him his tale of woe. And every week the millionaire would graciously dole out enough to get the beggar through the next week. One day the millionaire took the beggar aside. “Listen,” the millionaire said, “you don’t have to tell me your tale of woe every week. I will always give you something. You know that. So a little less cringing, a little less whining and we will both be happier.”
The beggar drew himself up to the full stature of his ragged pride and dignity and said,
“My good sir, I don’t tell you how to be a millionaire so don’t you tell me how to be a beggar.”
This story tells you obviously that the two men have different life stories.
We all have different life stories, but our different life stories are influenced with the force of a striking meteor by one life story, the life story of Jesus. And the life of Jesus story has a common impact on our life stories, evoking the particular response of each one of us.
In our gospel story, Jesus announces with a flash of divine revelation: I am the way, the truth and the life.
His words, I am the way, the truth and the life signal the dynamic, transforming interaction between Jesus’ life story and your life story.
It is by entering the Jesus story that you come to the truth that is the way to living life to the fullest.
You come to the Jesus story in the gospel with your needs and interests and emerge from the Jesus story with clarity of vision to see your life and relationships with urgent honesty, and with values that empower you to live your life with shameless generosity as self-sacrificing as a mother giving birth.
Since Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, you need to approach the gospel story with an answering imagination.
John Shea in his book, Starlight, says our answering imagination responds to the inspired imagination of the gospel writer and expands the meaning of the gospel.
For example, the story of the woman who begs Jesus to heal her daughter. Too much attention is given to Jesus’ statement about not giving the food of the children to the dogs.
The deeper meaning that should come out of this story is that this story is about differences between Jesus and the woman coming together and being overcome.
Then you enter your life story: with whom do you have differences? How can you come together and find some unity, some togetherness?
It may be, for example, differences between husband and wife or between parents and children or between a divorced couple or between two classmates or between the piously lukewarm and the fanatical zealot.
You need, for example, to especially imagine how you can resolve conflicts or give yourself more self-sacrificially. You need to imagine where in your life story you can put the Jesus story into action.
There is another example of a gospel story which your answering imagination can probe for a deeper meaning.
It’s the Jesus story of the paralyzed man lowered through the roof. The emphasis is put on the four people who carried the paralyzed man on the mat. What about this angle? Those who gathered to listen to Jesus blocked the paralyzed man from access to Jesus.
You enter your life story. How are you blocking others from coming to Jesus?
For example, is your piety so self-righteous that you demean the piety of others making them feel unworthy of approaching Jeus? Or does your refusal to forgive make others feel too guilty to come to Jesus?
Jesuit Fr Walter Burghardt in his book, Long Have I Loved You: A Theologin Reflects on his Church, says, Our people need to hear a word that nourishes as well as challenges them.
The Jesus story is forever like a challenger in an election race, challenging you, challenging especially your self-satisfied complacency, challenging you, for example, to be more welcoming to everyone, to have an all-inclusive love that treats a homeless person on the street with the same respect as you would treat a celebrity on a pedestal.
HUMOR
The first grade teacher was reading the story of the three little pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where the first pig was trying to accumulate the building materials for his home.
She read, “... and so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said, “Pardon me, sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?”
The teacher paused and then asked the class “And what do you think the man said?”
One little boy raised his hand and said, “I think he said, “WOW! A talking pig!”
The thought I leave with you today is this: make the Jesus life story your life story.
Story: Every week a beggar would come to a millionaire philanthropist and tell him his tale of woe. And every week the millionaire would graciously dole out enough to get the beggar through the next week. One day the millionaire took the beggar aside. “Listen,” the millionaire said, “you don’t have to tell me your tale of woe every week. I will always give you something. You know that. So a little less cringing, a little less whining and we will both be happier.”
The beggar drew himself up to the full stature of his ragged pride and dignity and said,
“My good sir, I don’t tell you how to be a millionaire so don’t you tell me how to be a beggar.”
This story tells you obviously that the two men have different life stories.
We all have different life stories, but our different life stories are influenced with the force of a striking meteor by one life story, the life story of Jesus. And the life of Jesus story has a common impact on our life stories, evoking the particular response of each one of us.
In our gospel story, Jesus announces with a flash of divine revelation: I am the way, the truth and the life.
His words, I am the way, the truth and the life signal the dynamic, transforming interaction between Jesus’ life story and your life story.
It is by entering the Jesus story that you come to the truth that is the way to living life to the fullest.
You come to the Jesus story in the gospel with your needs and interests and emerge from the Jesus story with clarity of vision to see your life and relationships with urgent honesty, and with values that empower you to live your life with shameless generosity as self-sacrificing as a mother giving birth.
Since Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, you need to approach the gospel story with an answering imagination.
John Shea in his book, Starlight, says our answering imagination responds to the inspired imagination of the gospel writer and expands the meaning of the gospel.
For example, the story of the woman who begs Jesus to heal her daughter. Too much attention is given to Jesus’ statement about not giving the food of the children to the dogs.
The deeper meaning that should come out of this story is that this story is about differences between Jesus and the woman coming together and being overcome.
Then you enter your life story: with whom do you have differences? How can you come together and find some unity, some togetherness?
It may be, for example, differences between husband and wife or between parents and children or between a divorced couple or between two classmates or between the piously lukewarm and the fanatical zealot.
You need, for example, to especially imagine how you can resolve conflicts or give yourself more self-sacrificially. You need to imagine where in your life story you can put the Jesus story into action.
There is another example of a gospel story which your answering imagination can probe for a deeper meaning.
It’s the Jesus story of the paralyzed man lowered through the roof. The emphasis is put on the four people who carried the paralyzed man on the mat. What about this angle? Those who gathered to listen to Jesus blocked the paralyzed man from access to Jesus.
You enter your life story. How are you blocking others from coming to Jesus?
For example, is your piety so self-righteous that you demean the piety of others making them feel unworthy of approaching Jeus? Or does your refusal to forgive make others feel too guilty to come to Jesus?
Jesuit Fr Walter Burghardt in his book, Long Have I Loved You: A Theologin Reflects on his Church, says, Our people need to hear a word that nourishes as well as challenges them.
The Jesus story is forever like a challenger in an election race, challenging you, challenging especially your self-satisfied complacency, challenging you, for example, to be more welcoming to everyone, to have an all-inclusive love that treats a homeless person on the street with the same respect as you would treat a celebrity on a pedestal.
HUMOR
The first grade teacher was reading the story of the three little pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where the first pig was trying to accumulate the building materials for his home.
She read, “... and so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said, “Pardon me, sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?”
The teacher paused and then asked the class “And what do you think the man said?”
One little boy raised his hand and said, “I think he said, “WOW! A talking pig!”
The thought I leave with you today is this: make the Jesus life story your life story.
posted by The Ronald | 7:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home