Divine Mercy Reshapes History (Divine Mercy Sunday - Cycle A)

One of the most significant sites for human history is the Upper Room, located in the Mt. Zion area of Jerusalem. It was in this room that Jesus ate the Last Supper with the Apostles. It was here that Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, when they were hiding behind closed doors. And it was in the Upper Room that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples at Pentecost. The original building is no longer there, but in the 12th century, the Crusaders, who worked hard to preserve the holy sites of Christianity in the Holy Land, erected a new structure in its place.

Today, the Upper Room is under the control of the state of Israel. Pilgrims and tourists are welcome to visit the building, but Christians are usually not permitted to hold services there. One rare exception was Pope Francis, who was allowed to say Mass in the room. Today, Christians are limited in their access to this holy place; whereas the first disciples were afraid to leave it, for fear of being arrested.

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Photo Credit: Church of the Divine Mercy, bird's eye view from Wikimedia Commons.

Love Is the Message of Easter (Easter Sunday - Cycle A)

In the midst of our beautiful celebration of Easter, we should remember that, in a way, each Mass is also Easter. On the one hand, each Mass celebrates the fullness of our faith. On the other hand, the Church has given us the gift of the Liturgical Year, a cycle of seasons and feasts, which helps us to focus in on different aspects of our faith. At Easter, we celebrate in a special way the resurrection of Christ.

But just as each Mass is Easter, each Mass is also Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Holy Thursday is rooted in the Jewish Passover celebration. When the Israelites were captives in Egypt, Pharaoh persistently refused to let them go. In response, God sent 10 plagues to overcome Pharaoh's resistance. The last plague involved the Angel of Death flying over Egypt and striking down the first born male in every household. The Israelites could escape this punishment by sacrificing and eating a lamb and smearing its blood on the doorframe of their houses. When the Angel of Death saw the blood on the doorframe, he passed over each of those homes, thereby sparing the family inside.

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Photo Credit: The Empty Tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.

What Is Our Promised Land? (Palm Sunday - Cycle A)

When I went to Rome for the first time, over ten years ago, I spent many hours looking at the ancient Roman ruins in and around the Forum Romanum. Today, only fragments of the original buildings remain, and it is hard to picture what the area would have looked like in its glory days. And yet, once upon a time, those buildings were the heart of mighty Rome, the Empire that straddled much of the known world. The lives of millions in many lands were shaped in various ways by the decisions that were made in those ancient edifices. But today, so little remains. Tourists come and go, taking selfies or snapping pictures of the cute cats that roam the ruins. Those old stones are little more than just curiosities.

Contemplating the former glory of the Roman Empire makes me wonder about our own country. Will our magnificent government buildings in Washington, D.C., one day be nothing more than ruins where cats wander and tourists take pictures and buy souvenirs? Dystopian science-fiction stories often depict such scenarios, but hopefully nothing of the sort will happen for many centuries. But no country is permanent. No political oder is forever. Civilizations rise and fall, as the march of history goes on. That is also one of the lessons of Palm Sunday for us.

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Photo Credit: View of Jerusalem from the Kidron Valley by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.

Much More Than Endless Life (Lent V - Cycle A)

The famous Christian writer C.S. Lewis once suggested that Lazarus was the first Christian martyr. Why did he make this unusual claim? His contention was that Lazarus had already gone through the experience of death when Jesus called him back to life. Lazarus would then need to go through the process of dying again at a later time. By being brought back to life, Lazarus was, Lewis suggested, the first disciple who was called upon to commit to dying for Christ.

This take by Lewis might seem a bit strange, but it points to a deeper reality. Our physical life in this world is not our final end. It is not the ultimate life we hope for. As is often the case in The Gospel of John, there are layers of meaning in the passage for this Sunday.

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Photo Credit: First Century Jewish Tomb by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.

Are We Blind to God's Blessings? (Lent IV - Cycle A)

Today's Gospel passage reminds me of an ironic time. When acquaintances would ask about how things were going in my life and I would give them a brief overview, they would invariably tell me how happy they were that things were going so well for me. The irony was that I was feeling absolutely miserable about my life during this time. I was simply unable to see the blessings that had been given to me.

In the Gospel passage for this Sunday, the leaders do not see the blessing that is so plainly before them. Ironically, the blind person regains his sight, but the people who have been able to see physically are not able to see spiritually, and they disregard even the physical evidence before them.

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Photo Credit: Jerusalem Skyline by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.

Christianity Is a Proposal of Marriage (Lent III - Cycle A)

Back in the 90's, I saw a quote that has stayed with me over the years. The quote said: Christianity is not a religion. It is a proposal of marriage. In many ways, those few words capture the essence of our faith.

In the Old Testament, the relationship between God and Israel is often depicted as a marriage. Israel is the bride, many times unfaithful, and God is the aggrieved husband who keeps calling his beloved back to him. As Scripture scholar Brant Pitre expounds in his book Jesus the Bridegroom, the marriage metaphor continues in the New Testament.

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Photo Credit: Mary's Well in Nazereth by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.

The Glory That Awaits Us (Lent II - Cycle A)

Jesus is God Incarnate, who came among us as one of us. He lived like one of us and died like one of us to offer his sacrifice for our salvation. At the same time, a part of the reason for the incarnation was for God to reveal himself more fully to humanity. Jesus revealed himself through his teachings and through events we call theophanies, which are direct manifestation's of God's divinity.

We see such a moment in the Gospel passage for today, which describes the event knows as the Transfiguration. During the life and ministry of Jesus, theophanies happened at transitional moments or phases: At his conception; at his birth; at the Temple at the age of twelve, which was the time of coming of age in his culture; at his baptism, which was the start if his ministry; his miracles during the course of his ministry; the Transfiguration, marking the start of his journey to Jerusalem to be crucified; the Resurrection; his appearances after the Resurrection; his Ascension into Heaven; and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

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Photo Credit: The Church of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor by Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.