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Volume II |
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 Contents: Volume 2
5th & 6th SUNDAYS of EASTER (B) - 4/28/2024
1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP - 5th Sunday2. -- Dennis Keller - 6th Sunday 3. -- John Boll OP - 5th Sunday 4. -- 5. --(Your reflection can be here!)
***************************************************** In this day and age, it can often feel difficult to stay connected to the Vine. Sometimes, situations occur such as scrambling to help a modern day version of an outsider or a divergent thinker like Saul was. One can also feel rather withered or a bit sensitive from a pruning. Then what? Then you take a breath and feel the breath of the Holy Spirit! It is the Holy Spirit who brought peace to the early church when conflicts occurred. It is the same Holy Spirit, no matter the name invoked by whom, who is alive in the world today to bring guidance, peace, and compassion to each of us. Our Triune God indeed is greater than our worried hearts and does know us better than we know ourselves. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing, however, but remain downtrodden, helpless wanderers who are indeed lost. Thanks to the One who is all knowing, all loving, all powerful, and so very merciful, however, all of us who wander are not lost. Before Pentecost arrives, try this: find the time to slow down and notice when you are breathing heavily. Invoke the Holy Spirit to restore calmer breathing. Remember that the Holy Spirit is within you at every breath you take. Let us pray that by Pentecost, we will have revived our acquaintance with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always available so that we can ask for and receive the nourishment that will help us stay connected to the Vine and, as branches, flourish and bear good fruit. Blessings, Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP Southern Dominican Laity lanie@leblanc.one ****************************************************** 2. ****************************************************** Sixth Sunday of Easter May 5, 2024
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles starts midway in a narrative about Cornelius, the God-fearing Centurion of the Italian cohort. Cornelius was righteous, caring for the people he was charged to keep peaceful. His whole household were almsgivers and God fearing as well. Peter, in Joppa, was in prayer after resuscitating the righteous woman, Tabitha. Tabitha was a respected woman in the community at Joppa. Her death caused universal grief in that Christian community. She was known for making cloaks and shawls for widows among other good works.
Peter falls into a trance. In his vision he sees a huge sheet descending from heaven, containing all sorts of four-footed animals, birds of the air, and snakes. Peter hears a command to slaughter and eat. Peter objects, saying that never in his life has any common or unclean food passed his lips. Peter hears an answer, “What God has cleansed you stop making unclean.”
Peter is summoned to the house of Cornelius in Caesarea. Peter understands the message of the trance and his summoning. He understands associating with Gentiles will not make him unclean. Peter puts this understanding in his words: “God shows no partiality.” God does not judge by appearances: not the color of a person’s skin, their language, their nationality, their socio-economic status. All persons are God’s concern. In efforts to consider ourselves better than others, we often judge by appearances. Rarely has it anything to do with rational thought. Such judgments are hard wired in us through culture, through tradition, through nurturing in family and community. Thus, racism and the feelings of racial superiority continue. It takes divine power to overcome racism, nationalism, cultural differences. The diversity we encounter can enrich lives. Or it can produce a hubris that keeps us separate and off-putting. John’s gospel, proclaimed this Sunday, teaches us to accept persons and cultures different from our own. Diversity enriches lives. We must have a change of heart to enjoy that enrichment.
Confirmation of the equality of even Roman occupiers opens followers of Jesus to accept all nations as equal followers of the Lord. The story of Cornelius, his family, relatives, and friends is completed by the Holy Spirit overshadowing all who heard Peter’s preaching. They began speaking in tongues and glorifying God. And so begins the evangelization of all nations as foretold in Isaiah.
In the Gospel, we learn what power overcomes the tendency to judge. Such judgments focus on discovering what makes the other less than we. Discovering a person’s flaws is an effort to ignore our flaws – even though the flaws discovered in the other are often our flaws as well. If the flaws are significant, we have a reason to hate, to create a scapegoat on which to heap misfortunes, violence, crime and whatever is negative and failure in our living. Thus, immigrants struggling to make a life for themselves, and their families are blamed for everything. Even though the facts deny the truth of such accusations.
Jesus gives us a command, a very straightforward demand for how to live. “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. REMAIN IN MY LOVE.” There is no room in Jesus’ love for hatred, for discrimination, for denial of dignity and worth to anyone. Only love can thrive/survive in the Love Jesus extends to us. And the love of Jesus is the love the Father has for Jesus. It is a love that is committed to us even to the point of torture and death. To initiate this change in our hearts, we must become mindful of the false judgment before we take action on it. This takes a lot of practice and patience with ourselves.
The narrative in the first reading is the first step for the follower of Jesus accepting those not circumcised. The fight isn’t over with these words of Jesus. But for those who hear the words and take them to heart this is clearly the opening salvo creating the Kingdom of Heaven. The question remains: are we willing to be righteous as was Cornelius and his household. It is worthwhile and effective, this fight with the counter kingdom of Satan.
Dennis Keller
Dennis@PreacherExchange.com
-- Fr. John Boll, OP
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