Distant yet Together

Rembrandt's "Raising of Lazarus"

The “distancing” to avoid the spread of the coronavirus has an unintended good effect: it can bring out the best in people. Relatives are checking in on one another more frequently via social media. Neighbors are looking after neighbors via telephone.  People are seeking prayer opportunities via the internet. Pope Francis, e..g., is providing online greetings and “gatherings” for the faithful and the weary worldwide. Seeing images of the Holy Father in a  virtually empty St. Peter’s Square tugs at our hearts and calls us to a deeper unity.

Sunday's Gospel features Lazarus.  At Oxford University, in the lobby of a chapel, there's a statue of Lazarus bound from head to foot.  The image could symbolize who we are and what we should be about:  asking God to untie us from the many things that undermine our relationship with God and one another.  A powerful prayer whenever we enter a church: untie me, God, from attitudes and behaviors that hinder me from becoming my true self.

The word of God this Sunday first carries us back to the sixth century before Jesus. The Hebrews are despondent; Babylonians conquered them, demolished their temple and deported many of them. But Ezekiel proclaims that God will breathe his spirit into the “bones” of the demoralized Hebrews. And the spirit of God will breathe new life into them. They will become new creatures.

That is our destiny and our challenge: to live as new creatures, called to become like God in our attitudes and behaviors.

Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Rome declares that the spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells within us. That spirit can energize us so that we will manifest the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Paul reminds us to pray that the spirit of God transforms us.

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus cries out, “Lazarus, come out of the tomb!” And out comes Lazarus, bound with burial wrappings. Jesus emphasized the raising of Lazarus as a threshold sign in the unfolding of our own salvation history, a sign of his power to give us eternal life; and a promise to put the imperishable on our perishable selves, to put the immortal on our mortal selves.Also, “Jesus wept.” Probably tears of friendship and solidarity.

Jesus gave Lazarus a “second chance.” I always wondered: did Lazarus ever describe what he experienced? Did the “second chance” change Lazarus? We have been given second chances. Are we doing anything differently with the opportunity?

Nothing will separate us from the love of God, to paraphrase Paul's words to the Romans. The triune God lives within us and we live within the triune God.

The Holy Spirit equips us with his gifts so that we can be our best selves: we possess the gifts of wisdom to focus on what truly matters; understanding and knowledge, to probe more deeply into the mysteries of God; counsel to make good moral decisions; fortitude to stand up for what is right; piety to give God praise and worship; and fear of the Lord: a healthy concern never to lose that relationship with God.

In light of Sunday's gospel, we might “shout out” to Jesus: untie me from the attitudes and behaviors that prevent me from becoming my true self: the likeness of God. In this sign and wonder, I pray that God will empower us to leap out of our own death into new life, eternal life within the triune God and one another. Amen.

The Spirit of God within Us

St. Peter's Basilica  Holy Spirit Window

Today we celebrate Pentecost – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem. The lesson of Pentecost is that the triune God lives in us; and we in God. Yes, as St. Paul taught: we are living temples of God.

There's not much to see visually on Pentecost Sunday. But the description I like best is “breath of God” or “gush of wind.” Not destructive like a hurricane, but life-giving. It's “catching” the Spirit of God. It's feeling the Spirit moving wherever it wants to recreate whatever it touches.

The vitality of the Spirit is within us. It inspires us, moves us, so that we can be a channel of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-discipline.

Pentecost concludes the Easter season and begins the mission of the Church, the people of God, you and me, to continue the saving work of Jesus Christ until he comes again. We can continue that work by embodying the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom (to recognize what truly matters in life), intelligence (to discern what's true), courage (to stand up for what's right), compassion (for the needy), good judgment (to do right), and wonder and awe (to worship the great God of this universe).

“Pentecost” is a Greek word meaning “fiftieth” – the fiftieth day after Passover. The Hebrews initially celebrated after harvesting the spring wheat. Later they associated the festival with the covenant God made with their forebears on Mt. Sinai. Pentecost gradually celebrated one aspect of the entire paschal mystery.

The Book of Acts describes how the Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival. Suddenly the Spirit -- described in images of wind and fire (symbolizing power and energy and vitality) -- was poured out and emboldened the disciples to preach the Gospel fearlessly in Jerusalem and throughout the known world.

The letter of Paul to the Christian community at Corinth in Greece speaks about the gifts the Spirit bestows upon us: all for the common good.

The Gospel according to John describes a post resurrection appearance of Jesus where he breathes upon the disciples (as God breathed life into us in the Book of Genesis) and in that gesture bestows the Spirit.

It’s an awesome truth of our faith: the God of the universe, the triune God, lives within us. So we are new creatures, with a destiny beyond this earthly life: eternal life with God. That life has already begun. And to see what the Spirit can do, look at the early disciples: transformed from cowards locked in an upper room into heroes proclaiming from the rooftops that Jesus Christ is gloriously alive.

Let us pray that the Spirit will empower us to live the results of the Spirit’s presence. The same Spirit of God who spoke through the prophets, overshadowed the Virgin Mary, enlivened the disciples, and lives within the Church community and guides human history toward its ultimate fulfillment—a new heaven and a new earth—that same Spirit lives and breathes within us and can transform us ever more fully into "living temples of God."

So we pray today,
“Come, Holy Spirit anew into our lives,
and re-energize us so that we can see God more clearly, love God more dearly and follow God more nearly. Amen.”