Year after year, Easter Sunday celebrates the reality of
Jesus’ resurrection as the foundation of our Christian identity. As St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been
raised, they empty is our preaching, and empty is your faith.”
And yet, in the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his
disciples, failure to recognize Jesus is a hallmark of his resurrection
appearances. So rather than Jesus they
see a ghost, and rather than joy they experience fear. The evangelist says: “the disciples were startled and terrified
and thought they were seeing a ghost.
Before the disciples were going to become fearless evangelizers, they
needed a deep spiritual learning curve.
The meaning of resurrection faith was that Jesus was going to change the
disciples “slowness of heart” and fearful misunderstanding into “opened minds”
and joyful recognition.
Fast forward to our lives and our failures to recognize the
presence of the Risen Christ in our midst, the question for us is how will
Jesus appear to us in this day and age?
Will we be any better able to recognize him than those first
disciples? Jesus showed his first
disciples his wounded hands and feet and spoke “peace” to them. Could it be that Jesus is showing us his wounded
body in the sick and the homeless who need our care, in the immigrants or
prisoners who need to be rekindled by our Easter zeal?
In the Gospel account, Jesus stood in their midst and said
to them: “Peace be with you.” As Jesus noticed the disciples the disciples
were startled and terrified, he asked:
“Why are you troubled?”
In wishing us peace, Jesus also asks us why are we anxious,
why are we fearful, why is your life shaped by our worries in our economy, why
are we dominated by the possessions of our life, why do we give to another
person so much power over our lives when it is not life-giving?
The question why are you troubled is often asked in the
Gospel of Luke. Recall the annunciation
when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she was going to be the mother of the
savior, and Mary was confused as to what this meant. Then the angel asked Mary: Why are you troubled? Be assured the Lord goes with you.
These words are spoken as well in the midst of the questions
and fears of our lives: “Why are you
fearful?” The Lord is with you and the
Lord’s gift to you is an inner peace and joy that no one nor any situation can
take from you.
As we reflect on the Gospel, I would highlight three
components of the Gospel story that are also three movements In our spiritual
journey.
1.
The disciples were a community of people. The two disciples on the way to Emmaus had
rejoined the community of disciples in Jerusalem. Jesus appeared to them in their midst. Even
if our faith is a jumble of commitment and confusion, we like the first
disciples gather as a community to welcome Jesus. We are not just individual disciples. We are a community of disciples. We are a Church who celebrate the presence of
Jesus in our midst.
2.
We are a Eucharistic people. “While they were still incredulous, Jesus
asked them: “have you anything here to
eat?” As for those first disciples, and
so too for us, our own privileged encounter with the Risen Jesus is at table on
the Lord’s day, in the context of the community’s meal.
3.
The first disciples were to be a missionary
people. Jesus commissioned them “to be
witnesses of these things.” Jesus sends
forth the disciples to bear witness. How
often Pope Francis reminds us that we “touch the flesh of Christ” in the wounds
of our suffering brothers and sisters to whom we are sent forth from every
Eucharist as witnesses of Jesus’ self-sacrificing love.
4.
With your permission, I would add a fourth
movement that gives me an opportunity to give you an update on our capital
campaign on this Commitment Sunday. The
first disciples were committed to the mission of Jesus. As the first disciples were committed to the
mission of Jesus, so too we are committed to the mission of Jesus by our
commitment to our Mission Driven capital Campaign. We are making very positive progress toward
of our goal of $1.8 million. We have now
pledged over $1 one million and One hundred eighty three thousand dollars in
pledges. This has been made possible of
over 320 of your fellow parishioners.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our campaign and we are
extremely grateful for your support.
I hope that everyone has had a chance to
review the campaign brochure that and other material that have been mailed to
your home. As a brief recap, the three
components of the Mission Driven campaign include:
·
Constructing a gathering space at the east transept
of the Church where parishioners could meet and hospitality be provided. From the Gospel, the first disciples were a
community of disciples who experienced in their midst. We will provide the facilities to enable us
more fully to be a community of disciples who know one another and recognize
the presence of the Risen Jesus in our midst.
·
Providing improved security for the children and
staff of St Joseph’s School. It goes
without saying that we place a high priority on providing a safe and secure
environment for our school children and staff.
·
Replacing our electronic organ with a pipe
organ. Our current organ is aging and
tired. A new pipe organ will enrich the
sacredness of our Eucharistic celebrations.
Now is an exciting at St Joseph’s Church and St. Joseph’s
School. The brochure and the campaign
materials detail what we can look forward to in the coming months. We are excited to announce we have been meeting
with the architects, LaBella Associates, and the contractor, LeChase
Construction. At this stage, we are
working out the details of our building project.
We are making good headway but for us to reach our financial
goal and see this project come to fruition, we need everyone to consider a
pledge toward the campaign. We ask that
everyone be as generous as possible.
To reach our goal, we need some
people to pledge over three years at the $15,000 level; others to consider a
pledge of $3 to 4,000 over three years.
Obviously, the circumstances of each family are different. We very much appreciate whatever you are able
to give. Trust that each commitment is
deeply appreciated. We are hopeful you
are able to complete your pledge form and place in the collection today.
Please know that I and the entire staff of St Joseph’s live
with an attitude of gratitude. We are
grateful for your generosity and may the Risen Lord bless you many times over
for all the ways you give to make our Church a Community of Disciples who
celebrate the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst,
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