Would it be better if the Ascension never happened?

Mark 16:15-20 (Ascension, year B)

“The time has come for you to start building houses on your own.” This was the last instruction that a young carpenter in training received from his mentor, a master carpenter. These words terrified the young man. For years he had apprenticed alongside the master carpenter, learning from him. His mentor was always there to check his work and answer any question he had about the trade. The young carpenter felt safe working with him. He would have loved to continue working under his mentor for the rest of his career. He felt angry that the master carpenter would no longer allow him to simply assist him, but was forcing him to take full, personal responsibility for projects.

Hesitantly, the young carpenter began building houses on his own. At first it was very difficult. He was unsure of himself. As he progressed through his work day, the young man encountered many challenges and questions he wished he could discuss with his old mentor. This, however, was no longer possible. The master carpenter was always at some other job. The young carpenter was forced to figure things out for himself. He experimented, took risks and showed initiative. He made mistakes, but he found as time went on he was learning and becoming a better carpenter. His skills developed in a new way that would not have been possible had he simply continued assisting his old mentor. Eventually he saw the wisdom of the master carpenter. Had his mentor not forced him to build houses on his own, his growth would have been stunted. Being left on his own was necessary for the young man to develop his full potential as a carpenter. Years passed.  The young man became a master carpenter himself and began apprenticing others. Whenever he saw that a young carpenter in training had learned all he or she could from him he would say: “the time has come for you to start building houses on your own”.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus. As we heard in the Gospel, at the Ascension Jesus gave us a mission and then left us on our to take the personal responsibility to do it. Understandable, when we think about the Ascension of Jesus we can feel like that young carpenter did when his mentor left him to work on His own.

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, didn't ask us to build a house, but a kingdom, the Kingdom of God. He gave us a clear mission: go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. We are called to tell everyone the Good News about the love of God made manifest in Jesus who has died to save us. We are called to lead others into a relationship with Jesus. We are called to build up the Kingdom of God by transforming the world so that it is more guided by the values of Christ like love, mercy and humility.

Jesus gave us this mission and then He left us. Here is a question that comes into my mind when I consider the Ascension: would it not have been better for us if Jesus had stayed on earth? It is hard to understand why Jesus had to return to His Father. Imagine if Jesus were still with us as He was after the Resurrection and we could still see Him face to face and speak with Him. Whenever we faced a challenge, either in our personal life or as a community, we could simply call up Jesus in Jerusalem, Rome or wherever He happened to be and He could tell us what to do. What should we do today to ensure the poor are taken care of and no one is hungry? If Jesus had not ascended we could just set up a meeting and He could answer that. Want to know how to obtain lasting peace in the Middle East? You would simply need to get Jesus on the phone. How can we properly care for the environment? Get Jesus on Skype and He’d have a solution. At times we can think it would have been better had the Ascension never happened.

Jesus, however, clearly tells us that it is for our own good that He ascends and leaves us (John 16:7). The young carpenter would never have developed into a master carpenter if his mentor was always around him, answering all his questions and preventing him from making any mistakes. The young carpenter had to take full responsibility for projects of his own before He could develop into a master carpenter. Jesus wants us to become become mature in our faith, developing our full potential as His followers. He wants us to become master Christians and not remain apprentices.  We will make mistakes, but if we are to become an adult follower of Jesus we need to take responsibility for building up the Kingdom on our own.

When He ascends into Heaven, Jesus leaves us on our own and yet He doesn't really leave us on our own. The mission of building up the Kingdom of God is at the same time fully our responsibility and a project which God is in full control of. Here is where comparing us Christians to the young carpenter breaks down. In order for him to grow the young carpenter had to take full responsibility for building houses. The work had to be his alone. For this to happen, the master carpenter had to remove himself from the scene completely. Jesus, however, is not bound by this human limitation.  The gift of the Holy Spirit is how Jesus leaves us on our own and yet doesn't really leave us on our own. Pentecost follows the Ascension.The Holy Spirit is a gentle, guiding, strengthening influence in our life. The Holy Spirit allows us to take full responsibility for the mission Jesus has given. At the same time, the Holy Spirit is fully in control, supporting us, keeping us united and giving efficacy to our actions. The Holy Spirit makes the mission fully our work and fully God’s. In completing Jesus' mission "work like everything depends on you and pray like everything depends on God" (Mother Teresa).

“The time has come for you to start building houses on your own.” . The young carpenter not only listened to these words of his mentor but acted on them. For this reason he grew as a carpenter.  “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature”. Today we have once again listened to these words of Jesus. If we act on these words we will grow as His disciple. If we do not, we will never mature. Have you taken personal responsibility for building the Kingdom of God?

What is love?

John 15:9-17 (Sixth Sunday of Easter, year b, Mother’s Day)

Would you be able to explain to an alien what love is? How would you describe the concept of love to an extraterrestrial, a creature who has never encountered human culture? I recently discussed this question with students from our elementary school. Maybe you think that it is a strange question to ask, but it is one we Catholics should be able to answer. We believe in a God who is love. Jesus commanded us all to love one another as He has loved us. Love is the core of our faith and yet, though we use the word often, I suspect that many of us would struggle to explain the concept. If they were to ever meet an alien, here is how some students would explain what love is:

Love is a kind of feeling. When you’re with others it brings you together. 

When you are loved you feel happy. 

Love can be a sacrifice. 

Love is when you enjoying being with someone. 

When you love, you dedicate yourself to another person. 

Love is passionate.

I was impressed by the answers the students gave. I suspect our responses would be similar. Like the students, our answers would tend to focus on the emotional aspect of love. Like them, however, we would recognize that true love is more than a feeling. Love is a difficult concept to grasp. Fortunately for us, God did not simply command us to love. He taught us by example what love truly is.

God reveals to us that love has to do with actions rather than emotions. Love is not a feeling! Having good feelings about a person can certainly help us to love them. We can - and are indeed called to - love others whether or not we feel happy to be around them or not.  One student expressed it this way:

I don’t really like my brother but if he needed help I would help him and if something happened to him I would be sad.

Love is not a feeling, it is an action. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “to love is to will the good of another”. In other words, we love someone when we do things that are for their good. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for love is hesed. In the Bible, God’s love for His people is demonstrated by His good, saving acts. He choose them to be a people. He led them from slavery into the promised land. He gave the law. He sent the prophets. He was always faithful to His covenant. God teaches us that love is not a feeling. Love is choosing to take actions that are for the good of another person.

Further, God has revealed that love has to do with actions that are sacrificial. The life of Jesus is the ultimate lesson of love. Jesus demonstrated that true love requires us to sacrifice ourselves for others, to put their needs in front of our own. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us in many different ways. He was a humble servant who cured the sick, spent time with outcasts and washed the feet of His followers. His death on the Cross for our salvation is the ultimate expression of sacrificial love. No one has greater love than to lay down their life for their friends. As Mother Teresa said, “Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.”

In my discussion with the students, I asked them a follow-up question: “who is someone in your life that shows you true love?” Unsurprisingly, the most common answer was “my mom”. That is my answer as well! One student described the sacrificial love of his mother in the following way,

I know my mom loves me because even when I am annoying, she still gives me good food.

For most of us, our mothers have been indispensable teachers in the school of love, teaching us through the witness of their lives. A mother will repeatedly get up during the night to care for her crying baby. She puts the needs of her child before her own need for sleep. In so many ways mothers lay down their lives for their children - even when they are being annoying!

A particular example of maternal, sacrificial love is found in the life of St. Gianna Beretta Molla. Gianna was born in 1922 in Magenta Italy. Growing up, she loved music, fashion, tennis and skiing. As a young woman, she lived her faith generously. She served in Catholic Action, an organization for youth, and visited the elderly as a member of St. Vincent de Paul Society. Later, she studied medicine, eventually becoming a pediatrician. Soon after, she married Pietro and they had three children. When Gianna was pregnant with her fourth child, tragedy struck.  Doctors diagnosed a serious fibroma in her uterus that required surgery. The surgeon recommended that she undergo an abortion in order to save her own life. She refused. A few days before the child was due she said “if you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate. Choose the child. I insist on it. Save the baby.” Immediately after the birth of her child her health deteriorated and she died a few days later at the age of 39. After her death, her family and friends explained that her decision to save the life of her child was the natural culmination of how she had lived her entire life. Love guided all her actions and, as she once wrote, “One cannot love without suffering or suffer without love”.

Today on Mother’s Day, let us thank our mothers and show appreciation to them in a special way. Let us recognize that perhaps the best way we can honor them is by imitating the sacrificial love they have shown us. In this way, we can all better follow Jesus’ commandment to love others by laying down our lives for them.

How to become a fruitful branch on Christ the vine

John 15:1-8 (5th Sunday of Easter, year b)

While studying theology, I lived in a dormitory which has a large courtyard. Above the courtyard is a trellis in which grows an enormous grapevine, creating a kind of natural roof. The courtyard is a great place to read, especially during the summer as the leaves from the grapevine provided great shade. One day I sat in the courtyard reading Jesus’ parable that we heard in the Gospel, in which He says that He is the vine and we are the branches. That day, while looking at the grapevine above me, I was able to appreciate the lessons of the parable in a new way.

I noticed for the first time that fruit only grows on the branches and never on the vine to which the branches are connected. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.  It is through us that Jesus continues His ministry of love and healing in the world today. If we, His followers, do not bear fruit, we prevent Jesus from continuing His work. St. Theresa of Avila illustrates well this principle that fruit is found on the branches and not the vine:

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

Recently, Nepal and the surrounding area were devastated by a powerful earthquake. Thousands were killed. Hundreds of thousands are in desperate need of food, water and shelter. As we watch these events unfold on the news we can think to ourselves “Jesus, do something to help these people!” Jesus will help these people, but how? Will He make food and shelter drop from the sky? Hardly. It is through us that Jesus aids these people in need. Thankfully, different countries have provided assistance and many individuals have donated money. People are in need and we are in a position to help. Fruit only grows on the branches. Jesus is active in the world through the Church, which is His Body.

Another lesson described by Jesus in the parable that I observed while sitting beneath the grapevine was that when a branch becomes separated from the vine, it quickly shrivels up and dies. Sap, containing life giving nutrients, flows from the vine and into the branches. When the branch is no longer connected to the vine, the flow of this sap ceases and the branch perishes. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. When we are connected to Him, we receive His life, something we call grace. We receive grace when we stay close to Him in daily prayer and regular reception of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. In fact, Jesus’ parable has Eucharistic undertones as wine, the “fruit of the vine”, is an indispensable element of the Mass. When we separate ourselves from Jesus, the flow of His life into us is cut off. This can happen is different two main ways, one sudden and the other more gradual.

1. We are separated from Jesus the vine suddenly when we sin seriously. Breaking away from Jesus in this way is something that we are generally more on our guard against.
2. We become cut off from Jesus and His life in a gradually. We begin to pray less. We go to confession more and more seldomly. We give ourselves permission to miss Mass from time to time. This way of becoming separated from Jesus the vine is less obvious and expected and therefore in some ways more dangerous. Over time our actions demonstrate that we don’t think we need Jesus as much as He says we do.

The final lesson from the parable that became clear while sitting beneath the grapevine is that the branches must be regularly pruned if they are to bear fruit. Each year when the weather turned cold, a gardener would come and prune the large grapevine. It was surprising how much of the plant he cut off. Later in the spring, however, the grapevine grew back stronger and more fruitful than before. Likewise, God prunes us so that we can be more fruitful instruments of Jesus in the world. Being pruned is not a pleasant thing.  God prunes us effectively by means of people we live in community with: family, friends and coworkers. Life in community is a kind of heavenly rock tumbler. A rock tumbler is a small, hollow, machine that you put small stones into.  Each stone has its own jagged edges.  After the stones have been placed in the machine and you turn it on, it begins to spin.  As the machine turns over and over, the rocks tumble inside, hitting each other and grinding one against the other and the sides of the machine.  Slowly but surely, the jagged edges of the stones rub one another smooth.  After some time each stone becomes polished and beautiful. We are like these stones.  Just as the stones have their rough edges, each of us have our own weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, for example, impatience, pride, or laziness.  As we live together, we have confrontations and frustrate one another.  We smash into each other like the stones inside the rock-tumbler. Over time we begin to see that the weaknesses and idiosyncrasies of those we live with are opportunities for growth.  With God’s grace, living with others can make us more patient, sympathetic towards others and capable of cooperation.  Like the stones inside the rock-tumbler, we become more polished – our weaknesses become smoothed.  Living with others, especially those who we don’t get along with easily, is one of the ways that God prunes us, making us capable of producing greater fruit.

In the parable of the vine and the branches, Jesus gives us an incredibly encouraging message. He loves and trusts us so much that He wants us to be the instruments through which He continues His mission in the world. Provided we remain with Him, Jesus will always strengthen us with His life, helping us bear fruit. The parable of the vine and branches challenges us to rethink the way we view hardship. What is a difficulty you currently face, particularly when it comes to those you live with? What would change if instead of viewing this merely as suffering you wished would go away, you saw it as a way that God is pruning you? He sees you are already bearing good fruit. God is pleased with you and wants you to produce even greater fruit in the future.

Personal update: back to school!

With the recent publication of the Pastoral Appointments for 2015, it was made official that come mid-July I will be going back to school. Since the news has been out, people have asked me questions about what comes next and how I am approaching this change in my life. Here's some answers.

What will I study? Where? For how long?

Before ordination priests are required to study philosophy and theology. After we obtain a general degree in theology, it is possible to study deeper in a specific area. I will be pursuing further studies in Sacred Scripture. Specifically, I work towards completing a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture. A licentiate is the second of three degrees offered by Pontifical Universities: baccalaureate, licentiate and doctorate.

Pontifical Biblical Institute

I will study at the Pontifical Biblical Institute (aka Biblicum) in Rome. The Biblicum was founded by Pope St. Pius X in 1904 as a center for advanced studies in Scripture. From the start, the Biblicum has been run by the Jesuits. Interestingly, the current head of the school, Fr. Michael Kolarcik SJ, was born in New Westminster, Canada.

If all goes well, it will take me three years to complete my studies at the Biblicum. The program will require a lot of language studies, something I find more than a little intimidating. Before the program begins in October I will go to Germany for a couple months to study German. During my first year at the Biblicum I will study ancient Greek and Hebrew. In the following two years I will take courses in biblical history, geography, archaeology and methods of interpretation. While studying in Rome, I will live at the Canadian Pontifical College (in Rome everything is "Pontifical"!). Since 1888 this has been a residence for Canadian priests in Rome. It is run by the Sulpician religious community.

Pontifical Canadian College

How do I feel about the change?

As my younger friends would say, I have many “feels” about it! On the one hand I feel sad leaving behind my family and the friends I made in the three parishes I served at in the past few years: St. Matthew, St. Joseph the Worker and St. Paul. I really love working in a parish, particularly because I have the chance to interact with so many great people. I enjoy serving them and I appreciate the kindness and support they show me. Leaving this behind will be difficult. I also feel some anxiety. I am unsure about how everything will work out, particularly because my area of studies will be quite challenging for me. On the other hand, I am very excited to go back to school. I am a big nerd so studying is something I really enjoy. I love the idea of studying Scripture. St. Jerome famously said “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ”. By reducing my ignorance of Scripture, I hope to get to know Jesus better! The idea of being in Rome again makes me happy. Previously I lived there for three years while I studied theology and I love the city. I am very grateful to Archbishop Miller for this opportunity and I intend work hard and make the most of it. It will be a great chance for me to grow personally and I hope that these studies will help me to better serve the Archdiocese of Vancouver in the future. So many feels!

When I leave to study in July, the nature of this blog will probably change. Since I will no longer be working in a parish, I will not be regularly posting homilies. Instead, I hope to write some reflections about my experiences studying Scripture and living in Rome. Thank you all for your support and prayers during this time of transition for me!

Is life an all inclusive resort or a school?

Luke 24:35-48 (3rd Sunday of Easter, year b)

Mark Twain once said, “the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”  Unless we know the purpose of our life, the “why” we were born, we will never live a fulfilling life. The Gospel we have heard today in which the risen Jesus appears to His disciples helps us discover the reason why we were born.

What we see as the purpose of our life will depend greatly on whether or not we believe our existence ends at death. Do we live forever? How we answer this question influences our understanding of why we were born. If we think that there is nothing after death, then we can behave as though our life was one long stay at an all inclusive resort. At these resorts, guests pay a lump sum of money and in return they get to eat and drink as much as they like for the time of their stay. I have never stayed at an all inclusive resort and this is probably a good thing. If I did, I would try very hard to get my money’s worth by eating and drinking as much as I possibly could during the time of my stay. Sometimes we treat life this way. Being born is like the price of admission to the all inclusive resort. Death is the end of our stay. In the years that we are alive, we try to enjoy life as much as possible. We strive to obtain the best house, the best car, the best vacations, the best job and all the best conveniences. We seek to maximize the pleasure in our life and minimize the pain.

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved to us that our life does not end when we die. Death, in fact is only the beginning. The years we live before our death are like one grain of sand among the countless grains of sand on a large beach. When we believe that we have been created to live forever, we no longer view life as an all inclusive resort, but rather as a school. When we die, we do not get to bring our house, car, smartphone, money, fame or career with us. The only thing we bring with us when we die is ourselves, who we are, our character. The purpose of our life then is to develop our character and so prepare ourselves to live with God forever in heaven. During our life we are meant to grow to become more like Jesus. We might wonder why God even puts us on this earth for these years if the ultimate plan if for us to get to heaven eventually. Why do we have to suffer and go through pain? Why are we just not born and then go straight to heaven? The reason is that there are some lessons that we can only learn on this side of heaven. Our character grows most in suffering and challenges. The primary purpose of our life is not enjoyment. This will come later. The years before our death are meant to be a time of development, repentance and conversion. The readings of today all speak of this purpose. This side of heaven is supposed to be a school in which we learn to become more like Christ. We practice here was we will do forever in heaven: love God and love our neighbour.

How do we build character? How do we become more like Christ? How do we become more loving? More patient? More peaceful? More joyful? God does not suddenly zap us as we are walking down the street and produce these characteristics in us. There is no pill we can take and no book we can read that will make us have these characteristics.  We gain these characteristics by being in the exact opposite situations. For example, we develop peace in the midst of chaos. It is easy to be peaceful when you are laying on the beach sipping a drink from a coconut. When everything in your life seems like it is falling apart and you are able to trust God in the midst of it, it is then that you learn to be truly peaceful. Developing more patience follows the same principle. Do you know how you grow in patience? Go to Costco here in Richmond during peak hours and try to find a parking spot! Likewise, we learn to be loving by being around unlovable people. It is easy to be kind and caring with people that you like. We learn true love by being around unpleasant and difficult people. Finally, we learn how to posses true joy in the midst of sorrow. We gain Christ-like characteristics by being placed in the exact opposite situations.

Life is a school in which God is trying to develop our character through everyday events and interactions. For this reason, it is critical that we take on the attitude of good learners. In particular, we need to strive to have the virtue of docility. Sometimes when we hear we are supposed to be docile, we think that we are supposed to be weak or a bit of a pushover. Docility actually means something quite different. It comes from the latin word docere, meaning “to teach”. A docile person is someone who can easily be taught, a good learner. When we have docility, we are open to being taught by God. We have a different attitude when we approach experiences, especially difficult ones, in our life. When we encounter challenges or suffering our reaction can often be to ask God to simply make everything better. When we are docile, however, our reaction to hard times is to ask “what is God trying to teach me in this?” It is a tragedy in life when a child is unable to grow up to become an adult. We should think the same way about our spiritual life. Unless we work on developing docility, we will remain spiritual children. We will not grow and develop to become more like Christ.

The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. The Resurrection reminds us of our purpose. We are made to live forever. We were born in order to learn how to be people who can live in heaven. The purpose of our time here on earth is to develop our character, which is the only thing that we get to bring with us into eternal life. Let us be good learners.

In defense of Bandwagon Canucks Fans

I used to think that people in Vancouver were not very religious. That was until I went to my first Canuck’s game last year. My friend won tickets and although I do not know much about the sport, I was happy to go. Though the game was fun to watch, I found all the ceremony surrounding the game much more fascinating. It was a masterfully executed religious event! I would know, I am in a very similar field myself.

Walking to the game, I found the positioning of Rogers Arena significant. In the past, cities were often centered around a place of worship like a cathedral, synagogue or mosque. This tradition continues, only now the temple is the arena. During the game there were many effects aimed at producing an emotional response: special lighting, smoke, and music (complete with an organ!). Most impressive was the sense of ownership that was instilled in the spectators. The announcer repeatedly told us to cheer for “our” Vancouver Canucks. We are all Canucks! It’s like when I tell students in catechism class, “the Church isn’t a building, YOU are the Church!”

This new religion has its own system of morality for fans. The greatest virtue a fan can possess is loyalty. A good fan is a diehard fan, a real Canucklehead. The greatest sin a fan can commit is to only support the team when they are doing well. A bad fan is a bandwagon fan. Now that the Canucks have entered the playoffs, die-hard fans express their displeasure with the bandwagoners’ sudden interest in the team. It’s like Mass on Christmas Eve. The Catholics who come every Sunday start griping that the “Christmas and Easter” Catholics are taking up pew space.

Here’s the thing: supporting the Vancouver Canuck’s is not like supporting an orphanage somewhere in the developing world. Giving your time, attention and money to an orphanage is a good thing to do. Ignoring or withdrawing your support, especially when the orphanage is most in need, would be a bad thing to do.

The truth is, they are not “our” Vancouver Canucks. They are owned by people who hope to make money from the team. It is in the owner’s best interest that we feel the team belongs to us. It is in the owner’s best interest if team loyalty is exalted as a virtue. It keeps the money coming in when people follow the team with a religious devotion. I don’t know exactly how much the players make, but I assume their monetary compensation is enough to overcome the hurt feelings that arise when fan numbers and enthusiasm fluctuates.  We are not all Canucks. Those paid by the team are Canucks. The rest of us are just consumers.

Not that there is anything wrong with being a consumer! In the end, supporting the Canucks is entertainment. We all spend our time and money on a variety of things that entertain us. Do you enjoy being a die-hard fan, supporting the team through all its ups and downs? Fantastic. Do you enjoy being a bandwagon fan, only paying attention when the team is performing well? Wonderful. Be whatever kind of fan makes you happy. Be aware, however, that if you attach moral significance to fan loyalty or disloyalty, thinking one is “good” and the other “bad”, you’re the one who got played.

Easter: How we experience the Resurrection

John 20:1-9 (Easter Sunday, year B)

As part of a project for the students at our school, we placed a large, wooden cross in the Church’s sanctuary at the start of lent. During these past 40 days, the students gradually blanketed the cross with leaves they made from green paper. Finally, before the Easter Vigil, we covered the the cross with paper lilies students created from tracings of their hands. Eat your heart out Pinterest! This project caught the attention many parishioners, some of whom asked me what was going on. One woman summed up the questions of many when she asked “what’s up with the cross? It looks different!” I was glad she recognized that the cross looked different. The entire purpose of this endeavour was to help students and parishioners look at the Cross differently. Because of Easter, we want to look at both the Cross of Jesus and all the crosses we carry in our life differently. In fact, with this project we tried to demonstrate visually an ancient expression used by Christians as they struggled to look at the Cross differently:

Behold how the Cross stands revealed as the Tree of Life!

The first story told in the Bible is about the Tree of Life, Adam, Eve and a garden (Gen 2-3). We read that after God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a garden.  In the garden’s center were found the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam and Eve that though they could eat the fruit of any of the trees in the garden, they were not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, “for on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die” (Gen 2:17). We know the rest of the story. Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In response, God exiled them from the garden and barred them from eating any longer from the Tree of Life. This story reveals fundamental truths about our human condition. Because of sin, our relationship with God was severed. This is represented by our exile from the garden, the place of close communion with God. As a result of sin, death entered the world. This is represented by our being barred access to the Tree of Life. This death was eternal. After our physical death, we would be permanently separated from God, the Author of Life. This was the hopeless situation we all found ourselves in before the coming of Jesus.

One of the last stories told in the Bible is about the new Tree of Life, the New Adam, the New Eve and a new garden (John 18-20). Jesus is the New Adam and Mary is the New Eve because they always remained faithful to God, whereas the original Adam and Eve disobeyed Him. In the Gospel of John’s account of Jesus’ death and Resurrection, a garden plays an important role. “At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried.” (John 19:41) After His death, Jesus is placed in the tomb just like a seed is planted in the dirt of a garden. After three days Christ rose from the dead, like a seedling breaking through the ground. The new life of the Resurrection came about because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross. Christ, the New Adam has undone the damage caused by Adam in the original garden. We once again have access to the Tree of Life. Behold how the Cross stands revealed as the Tree of Life! The Resurrection of Jesus gives us a certain hope that after we die we will rise like Him. Because of Jesus, the Cross is no longer a dead piece of wood. His death transformed the Cross into a source of life for all of us.

We must learn to look at the Cross of Jesus differently. This is the only first lesson the student’s project teaches us. The second lesson lesson is that we need  to look at our own sufferings - our crosses - differently. The new life brought about by Jesus is something we experience here and now, not just after our death. In our lives, God brings new life from our sufferings just as He did from the Cross of Jesus. God is able to transform any painful or difficult experience into a tree of life. In this we truly experience the Resurrection.

This is something I have experienced personally. When I was in university I went to work at High Tech company in Japan for two semesters. My first few weeks were extremely difficult. The work was way above me, there was a large cultural barrier and I was hitting my head on the many low ceilings! On top of this, I began having health problems like I had never experienced before. Suddenly and without warning my heart would start racing and I would begin feeling terrible all over. To add to my stress, I had no idea what was happening to me. One night when I was walking towards a Metro station, I had my worst episode of all. At the time I thought I was having a heart attack. It got so bad that I could no longer stand up. In broken Japanese, I asked some people to call an ambulance. I thought to myself, “this is it, Nick, the end” and I laid down in the Metro square under the blinking neon signs and loud street noises. Eventually an ambulance came and the workers lifted me onto the stretcher and took me away. Now, when Japanese people lift something heavy, they tend to say “Yish! Yish!”. I can tell you that there were many “yishes” coming from the ambulance attendants that night! Eventually I found out that what I was experiencing were panic attacks. For two months they continued. They would come at work, on the bus or when I was out on the street. It was a very dark time for me. I felt helpless and lost hope that things would improve. Thankfully, after some time, the panic attacks became less and less frequent until it was something I could manage.

Though my struggle with panic attacks was a difficult cross, I see now that God transformed it into a tree of life for me. When I went to Japan, my faith was weak. I prayed little and was not really sure what I believed. At the time my plan in life was to become an engineer. My suffering made me rethink the purpose of my life. It started me on a journey to rediscover my faith. It made me question what my vocation was. God certainly brought life from my suffering. If I had not struggled with panic attacks in Japan I doubt I would be a priest today.

Behold how the Cross stands revealed as the Tree of Life! Easter forever changed the world. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus we have the certain hope that we will live with God forever. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus, God works to bring life from our suffering. Today, take a moment to think of one cross you carried that God transformed into a tree of life and give thanks. If you are currently carrying a cross that seems too heavy to bear, try to surrender it to God today, trusting that He will bring life from it. “What’s up with the cross? It looks different!” Because of Easter, we should never again look at any cross in our life in the same way.

Good Friday: Do I want justice or do I want mercy?

(Good Friday, year B)

The front page story of today’s Vancouver Sun describes the horrible terrorist attack in Kenya. Masked gunman killed 147 university students simply because they were Christian. The media has interviewed many people, victims’ relatives, politicians and members of the general public. They all express a desire for one thing: justice. This action was terribly wrong. This is not the way the world is supposed to be. Spoken or unspoken, those interviewed and all of us following the news ask the same questions, “Who is going to pay for this? Who will be held responsible?” Whether the hurt is grievous, like a terrorist attack, or minor, as when a friend insults us, whenever someone wrongs us our inclination is to want justice.

When we are the guilty party, however, things are very different. For example, at the end of one semester at university I become swamped with exams and assignments and completely forgot to do one essay. By the time I remembered it, the deadline had passed. I quickly finished the assignment in a day and went to the professor to personally hand it in. As I walked to his office, my mind was racing with excuses. There was too much to do! The due date was unclear! My computer crashed! Everything in me wanted mercy. But the truth was, I messed up. I was late and deserved to be punished by having marks deducted from my grade. What a difference in my response. When someone hurts me, I want justice. I want them to apologize, preferably in public, and make up for it. However, when I am guilty, I beg for mercy. I want to say sorry quietly and have my transgression quickly swept under the rug.

In his letters, St. Paul vividly describes the grave situation we find ourselves in because of our sins. “You were dead in your transgressions and sins… we were by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1,3). Let this reality sink in. We have all sinned, hurting others and destroying the order and goodness of God’s world. We all deserve punishment, not mercy. St. Paul explains that if justice were carried out, we would all be found guilty and sentenced to the ultimate punishment of eternal death. This is the hopeless situation sin leaves us in. We do not deserve mercy. We deserve to be held accountable for our sins.

But here we come to the reason why we call this Friday “good”. In the darkness of sin, the light of God’s mercy and love unexpectedly breaks through. When we look at Jesus hanging from the Cross, we realize that we did not get what we deserved! God gave us mercy, not justice! Justice looks to hold the wrongdoer accountable, following through with the appropriate punishment or consequences. However, in His infinite mercy, God chose to take the punishment for our sins upon Himself. He paid our fine. He suffered in our place.  “But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins ... by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5ff). We did not get what we deserved.

Mercy is not meant to end at the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus unleashed a fountain of mercy that is meant to flow in and through us to those around us. God is merciful to us so that we can be merciful to others. Each one of us has been hurt. We have all been insulted or betrayed by friends, family or coworkers. Some hurts seem impossible to forgive. Jesus knows our pain because He suffered the same. Mercy does not pretend no wrong was committed. Rather, when we are merciful, we choose to cancel the debt others incurred against us. In doing so, we break the power these hurts hold over us and become free to love as Christ calls us to do.

Does mercy end at the Cross for you? Is there someone in your life that you cannot forgive? Is there some hurt you cannot let go of? Are there people in your life from whom you demand justice and stubbornly refuse to show them mercy? What might this say about your understanding of what Jesus has done for you on the Cross?

Today when you look at the Cross, think of one person who has hurt you. Look at the Cross and soak in the unfathomable mercy God has shown you. We did not get what we deserved! In view of the Cross ask yourself, what do I want for this person who has harmed me? Do I want justice or do I want mercy?

Are you a bandwagon Christian?

Mark 14:1 - 15:47 (Palm Sunday, year B)

In the world of sports, there seems to be no worse name that you can be called by another fan than “bandwagon jumper”. As I understand it, this is someone who only supports a team when they are winning. When all is going well, they claim to be the team’s greatest fan. As soon as the team starts losing, however, they distance themselves from the team, claiming they never supported them in the first place.

In the readings for Palm Sunday we find many followers of Jesus who are bandwagon jumpers. At the start of Mass we heard the account of Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Jesus had many fans them. He was greeted by a jubilant crowd who acclaimed Him as their king and Messiah. If we fast forward to the Gospel reading of the Passion account from Mark, however, we find these same people calling for the death of Jesus. They beg Pilate to spare the murderer Barabbas rather than Jesus. Jesus’ inner circle - supposedly  his most die-hard fans - is also full of bandwagon jumpers. While in the garden with Jesus, Peter, James and John fell asleep when asked by Jesus to stay up and pray. Judas, one of Jesus’ closest followers, betrayed Him to the authorities. Peter, previously chosen by Christ to be leader of the apostles, denies three times that he even knew Him. When Jesus is apprehended, the authorities grab hold of the garments of one young man who leaves his clothes behind, choosing to run away naked rather than be arrested along with Jesus. He is a symbol for all the disciples of Jesus who became bandwagon jumpers at the start of His Passion. Those who once left all to follow Christ leave everything behind in order to flee from Him.

Why did Jesus’ supporters, both the casual and hardcore ones, turn into bandwagon jumpers, leaving His side when He became unpopular? Simply put, Jesus was not the kind of Messiah that they were hoping for. The crowds who greeted Jesus when He entered Jerusalem were expecting someone who could liberate the people of Israel from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. For those expecting this kind of savior, Jesus’ death at the hands of Romans meant He lost. He had no political or military might. He was a suffering servant who came to liberate us from sin, hatred, greed and ultimately death. This was not the kind of Messiah that most of Jesus’ followers expected or wanted. As a result, they deserted Him when they perceived He was defeated.

If I am honest with myself, I must admit that when it comes to following Jesus I can be a bandwagon jumper or fairweather fan. I suspect I am not the only one. It is fitting that in the liturgy for Palm Sunday, we begin by waving palms, acclaiming Jesus as king and finish by shouting for Him to be crucified during the Gospel. At times we wear the label “Christian” or “Catholic” as a badge of honor. When things get difficult, however, we can desert Jesus. We are bandwagon jumpers when:

• We conveniently ignore certain teachings of Jesus, like substantially sharing our money and goods with the poor
• Pretend that hard commandments like forgiving those who harm us and loving our enemy are more like suggestions
• Expect Jesus to be the kind of Messiah who removes all difficulties and pain from our life
• We stop praying or going to Mass when life becomes too busy

Though the readings are full of people who desert Jesus, we also find incredible examples of fidelity. We hear about the woman who anoints Jesus with oil from an alabaster jar in spite of being ridiculed by those around her. We find a group of women who watched the crucifixion from a distance: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They could not comprehend the tragedy they witnessed, yet they stood watch and prayed when Christ’s victory seemed impossible.

In our lives too, though we can turn our backs on Jesus, there are many other times that we are faithful. We struggle to pray when situations in our lives seem hopeless. We try to cope with suffering, trusting that Jesus walks with us. We continue struggling to overcome sinful habits even after many setbacks. We keep the faith, pray and go to Mass in a culture which is complacent at best and hostile at worst towards religion.

Palm Sunday is a time to honestly assess our situation. As followers of Jesus, none of us are diehard fans. At the same time, none of us are purely bandwagon jumpers. The most important message of Palm Sunday is that Jesus does not call us by any of these labels. Christ went to die on the Cross for love of those who denied Him and for love of those who remained faithful. He calls us all beloved. He calls us all friend. Above all, He calls each and everyone of us to greater fidelity.

The Cross is Communication

John 12:20-33 (5th Sunday of Lent, year b)

Why did Jesus need to die on the Cross? I know… Jesus had to do it to save us from our sins. But, couldn't God have done this in some other way? Could God not just offer us His grace and forgiveness in some other, less brutal fashion, and we could just accept it and be saved? The Gospel today is taken from a turning point in the Gospel of John. Jesus has finished His preaching and working of miracles and is about to enter into His Passion. In the Gospel Jesus Himself states that it is necessary for the Son of God to suffer and die in order to give us new life: “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Could there not have been some of other way? Why did God need to send His Son to die a terrible death on the Cross in order to save us from our sins?

The answer: it’s a mystery. Years ago when I was a student, nothing would get me more frustrated than when I would ask a question about our faith and the response I would get was “it’s a mystery”. I always saw this as shorthand for “I don’t know”. At times I am convinced it was. Now I see the concept of mystery somewhat differently. Some questions, like how to get from A to B, are problems. There is a definitive answer. Other questions, any which involve God, are mysteries. Mysteries are like spirals of infinite depth. We can go deeper and deeper in trying to answer the question and yet we can never answer if fully. We can, however, say much that is true about the topic under investigation. We just cannot fully or definitively answer the question.

The question “why did Jesus die on the Cross?” is a mystery. There are many angles from which we can approach this question. I would like to answer this problem by approaching it through the perspective of communication.

When we communicate with someone, we want to do two things: 1) transmit a message and 2) have the person we are communicating with act in response to the message. The degree to which we are successful in attaining these ends depends in large part on how we communicate the message. For example, if we want to warn someone who is about to walk into oncoming traffic, we shout “stop” loudly and forcefully in the hope that they will freeze in their tracks. Saying “stop” in a mellow, sing-song voice would probably not produce the desired effect. If, on the other hand, you wanted to tell your significant other how much they mean to you with the hope of eliciting the same feeling in them, you might say “I love you” in a kind voice, while gazing into their eyes and perhaps even handing them a gift. Shouting “I love you” at the person while throwing a glass of cold water in their face would be a less effective means of communication in this circumstance.

Throughout history, God the Father has been seeking to communicate to humanity. He wants to both tell us a message and have us act in response to the message. The message God wants to communicate is simple. He is an infinitely loving and merciful Father. He desires to be in relationship with us now and for eternity. Sin is a terrible, destructive thing. It hurts us and damages our relationship with God. In His great love and mercy, He has forgiven our sins, repaired the damage it has done and prepared a path for us back to Him. In response to this message, God desires that we all take one action: turn from sin and return to Him. This is what God has been trying to communicate all throughout human history.

Because of sin, we are have a predisposition not to listen to what God is saying and resist taking action in response to His message. Sin has given us a misguided understanding of God. We can think God is a vindictive tyrant or, on the other extreme, a permissive, non-demanding deity. We can fool ourselves into thinking that there is no such thing as sin, thinking “I’m okay - you’re okay”, to borrow a phrase from a famous self-help book. Sin makes us mistrustful, suspicious and even aggressive towards God. Even if we hear something of His message, our will is frozen and enslaved by sin. We avoid doing what we know is right.

In communicating His message, mere words are not enough to break through our sin-induced deafness. It takes more than a moral exhortation and Divine offer of grace to convert us. We saw this in history. God sent prophets to teach the people that He is a loving Father and to call them away from sin and back to Himself. All the prophets were rejected, their message largely ignored. Even the preaching and miracles worked by Jesus were not enough. All it served to do was unmask and provoke evil. Words were not a sufficient medium for God to communicate His message to us.

In order for us to truly hear God’s message and to respond to it, we needed tangible and convincing evidence to prove His message: the Cross. The Passion and death of Jesus is the only successful form of communication. It alone breaks through our deafness so we can hear clearly God’s message. On the Cross, God proves the infinite depths of His love and mercy. God became a man and took upon Himself and suffered all the effects of our sinfulness: hatred, violence, and ultimately death. He proved Himself beyond doubt to be a compassionate God. Every drop of blood shed by Jesus on the Cross screams to us how much He loves us. The Cross also tells us the severity of sin. Our sins did this to Him. Not only does the Cross allow us to appreciate God’s message, it alone is forceful enough to shake us loose from our fiercely defended idols and dislodge our chained will from slavery. When we look at the Cross it compels us to turn from sin and return back to our loving Father.

Why did Jesus have to die on the Cross in order to save us? Because it was the only way we would finally hear the message of how loving and merciful our Heavenly Father is and choose to leave sin behind and enter into a relationship with Him. The Cross is the ultimate means of Divine Communication. Each year during Lent we are given the opportunity to make sure we have heard the message and respond more fully to it.