Third Sunday of Easter

The weather is warming up. And I heard a story about two nuns who were shopping at Trader Joe's on a very hot day. As they passed the beer cooler, one said, “Wouldn’t a cool beer be a delight?” The second nun answered, “Yes, but I wouldn't feel comfortable buying beer, as the cashier probably would recognize us.” The other nun replied, “Don't worry, let me handle this,” and she picked up a six-pack.

The cashier appeared a bit surprised as the nuns approached. “We use beer for washing our hair,” the nun said. The cashier non-nonchalantly put a bag of pretzels with the beer, smiled, and said, “The curlers are on the house.” The moral of the story: you can't fool all the people all the time.

The pyramids in Egypt are a wonder of the ancient world. Over two millennia, numerous scientists, tourists, and grave robbers had searched for the burial places of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Many gave up, but Howard Carter, a British archaeologist, pressed on. In 1922 he unlocked the world’s most exciting archaeological find: a pharaoh’s embalmed body in a nest of three coffins, the inner one of solid gold. On the king’s head was a magnificent golden portrait mask, and numerous pieces of jewelry were on the body and in its wrappings. Other rooms were crammed with statues, a chariot, weapons, chests, vases, jewels and a throne.

It was the priceless tomb and treasure of King Tutankhamen, who died in the year 1323 BC. King Tut’s tomb was discovered because Howard Carter was persistent, because he persevered.

I believe God reveals himself to us if we persevere.

The word of God highlights how Peter proclaimed everywhere he went the good news, the kerygma: God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus Christ lives. And because He lives, we live. He is the author of all life.

Peter concluded: “repent,” refocus your lives upon God, seek God's forgiveness so that God’s light within you can shine through your daily activities.

The letter of John proclaims we have Jesus Christ as our advocate, our mediator, the One through whom God gifts us with his eternal life. But to participate in God’s life we must be not only hearers but doers of God’s Word.

In the Gospel according to Luke, two disciples tell the other disciples about their extraordinary experience, how in the “breaking of the bread” at Emmaus they recognized with their eyes of faith the new, transformed reality of Jesus Christ.

As they recount this experience, the Risen Christ suddenly appears in their midst, shows them the marks on his hands and feet and side, and dines with them.

Yes, God transformed the earthly Jesus into a new indescribable, transcendent reality; and God also will transform us into a new transcendent reality in the mystery of our own dying. In death there is life, God's eternal life.

In today's passage from the Book of the Acts, the spontaneous but impulsive Peter stands out. Who was Peter? He appears to have had a good fishing business on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. He probably was uneducated but street-smart, married, and left the business to become a disciple of Jesus. Yet Peter denied he was a disciple three times, but then begged forgiveness, and persevered in discipleship with Jesus until he was martyred in Rome. Peter, for me, is a model of perseverance, persistence, seeking and finding God despite his stumbles.

I like to think that God reveals himself if we persistently seek him. Yes, we seek God in prayer, and especially in the Mass. But we should also seek God's wisdom in the bible, seek his Spirit in trying to do right thing, and seek his presence in our daily activities. 

Yes, seek God's wisdom in the prayerful reading of the bible, a privileged expression of our faith. God is the author of the bible in that it highlights what God wants us to know about himself, his relationship with the universe, his purpose for us. The bible in particular is about religious, not scientific truths. The authors communicated religious truths through the languages, images and literary forms with which they were familiar. At the heart of the bible is the Christian belief that Jesus, the God-man, entered into our history so that we could be in relationship with God forever. Jesus Christ is our way into the future, our truth who exemplifies our truest self, and our life in and through and with whom we breathe and live.

We open the bible to hear from God about the baffling questions of life: who really am I? What is my purpose? How should I live? Why is there evil? Yes, seeking God requires discipline and patience and perseverance.

Second, seek God's Spirit persistently. Jesus encourages us to pray. He explains the importance of persistence in our relationship with God. Keep on asking...keep on seeking...keep on knocking... For everyone who asks receives; and they who seek find; and to those who keep knocking, the door shall be opened. That’s what Luke Chapter 11, verses 9 onward is all about. Yes, we may have doubts. We may wonder, if I ask will I receive? We may find it difficult to believe that God would give us anything, let alone something as wonderful as his Spirit and the gifts of his Spirit. Wisdom to know what truly matters. Knowledge and understanding to delve into the mysteries of God and the truths of our faith. Courage to stand up for what's right, good judgment to make right decisions and so forth. 

Remember, Jesus emphasizes, “How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13) Obviously, we should seek the right things. The point is this: never give up seeking God, his kingdom, his grace, his Spirit.

Finally, seek God's presence enthusiastically in our daily activities.

Some think the only thing that matters is how we relate to other people. How we relate to others is tremendously important and is the subject of seven out of the ten commandments. However, our relationship with God is even more important. It is out of this relationship that our love for others flows authentically: our family relationships, our relationships with colleagues and neighbors.

Recalling the searchers for the Egyptian tombs, we should be persistent in the pursuit of our ultimate purpose in life.

Seek God daily, as the disciples did, and we will find God in all his fullness. God’s life—his awesome divine life--will transform us into new creatures in the way we love and serve one another.

Even though we may stumble or fall, if we seek God, he will lift us up, as he lifted up Peter, so that we can discover and enjoy our true treasure: God and the things of God.