I like the old translation of Ephesians 5:22-24 better than the new one. What is the difference? Instead of “subordinate,” the old translation says “wives should be submissive to their husbands…”

Now before anyone starts readying an angry response to me, please read through what I am thinking, OK?

A few years ago I sent out a Christmas card I made that had the following in it:

Christmas

Christ’s Mass

Mass = Mission

Christ’s Mission: The Incarnation (John 3:16)

Let me expand that one more time:

Submissive

Sub-mission

Under-the-mission

What this is saying is that wives need to be “under the mission” of their husbands. What is the mission of the husband according to Paul? Two parts: 1. to die to himself for his wife as Christ died for the Church; 2. so that she can be holy and immaculate — truly beautiful before him and God.

Notice that both the wife and husband are called to give up themselves — in some senses — for the sake of the other. It is how wives and husbands become holy. To give up part of yourself and never take it back is a challenge that all Christians are called to accept. Wives and husbands are called to do that in a most visible way. A way that the world does not understand. Self-sacrifice is not something that comes to the front of our society’s collective consciousness. Yet married couples have the ability to witness to Christ — to both be submissive to Christ — through their marital giving of themselves to each other.

Is it any wonder that marriage is under such an attack? I know this is a hard reading for many. But the beauty of a life lived in submission to Christ is a wonder to behold. And when two people choose to do that together in marriage, all the world can do is stand back and “scratch its head” in amazement that Christ’s life can be lived out in today’s settings.

Do you want to dig deeper into this wondrous mystery? Pick up a copy of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, or one of the commentaries that have come out on it. Don’t let the world’s attitudes ruin the beauty God has given us in marriage. It has been distorted for far too long.

Why this reading today from John? It is believed that Bartholomew and Nathanael are one and the same. Well then, what was Nathanael Bartholomew (son of Tholomy?) doing beneath the fig tree?

Something I read once suggested he was reading or reflecting on one of the psalms as he sat beneath the fig tree. Maybe it was one of these:

Psalm 17 — a cry for justice from the Psalmist. Was Nathanael crying out for justice in his day as he looked at his own life and the lives of his fellow Jews in the Roman occupation?

Psalm 24 — a call to worship. Was Nathanael seeing himself as unworthy to praise God, and Jesus called him worthy when they met?

Psalm 32 — confession of sin, similar to Psalm 24 in this respect. Did Nathanael see a need for cleansing that he met in the Son of God?

Psalms 34, 35, 36, 52, 55, and 119 — also have the word for guile in them. Look at them all for similar ideas.

(WARNING: Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible. You could spend a long time looking through that one! The word shows up in verse 78.)

I like this interpretation of our gospel reading for today. If I had to pick a psalm Nathanael was reading, I would have to go with Psalm 24. There have been many times I have felt unworthy of my calling to be a follower of Jesus, let alone a priest. It is good to feel unworthy, as long as we also know that Jesus has called us, set us free, and named us “without guile.”

Today, beg the Lord for mercy. Cry out for holiness of heart. Then hear the Lord say: “Now here is one I approve of.”

It seems there are a lot of doom-and-gloom people around in these days. Though I suppose there have always been some if you look hard enough. Jeremiah, however, was not one of those in his day, though he was misunderstood as such.

What is the difference? It is a prophet’s heart. Jeremiah was a priest (Jer 1:1) before he was called to be a prophet by the Lord. It was probably his priestly heart that drew him to the prophetic role he took on in Jerusalem. Taking seriously the call to holiness and service of God, he looked around and saw mediocrity in the faith of those around him.

For a man whose heart is set on the Lord, that mediocrity was like a lance through the heart. Jesus apparently felt the same in Nazareth where his own people questioned his ability to speak of God.

Where is your heart? Is your zeal for the house of the Lord, the Church — your zeal for Christ Himself drawing you to cry out for the Lord’s honor? You may be called a doomsayer if you become zealous. You may be called a “nut-case” — even by family and friends you have known your whole life!

But if you take Jeremiah’s and Jesus’ example, and speak not “doom-and-gloom”, but “there are consequences for unholy behavior” — and speak those words from compassion, you can stand with Jeremiah at the judgment and hear Jesus say “well done, good and faithful servant!”

We are called in this day not so much to judge the world as to call it to conversion before it is too late. We may see clearly places and people in need of reform, but God’s desire is for conversion, not just reform. Having a prophet’s heart may not lead everyone to conversion, but it is one of the surest ways to our own conversion.

Lord Jesus, You are the way that leads to the Father. Lord have mercy.

Christ Jesus, You are the truth that sets the captives free. Christ have mercy.

Lord Jesus, You are the life that makes our joy complete. Lord have mercy.

This is one of my favorite ways to lead the Penitential Rite at Mass. My main reason is because “the way, the truth, and the life” is one of the phrases Jesus uses to describe Himself.

Relying on Him and His self-description when I think about my own sinfulness helps me to overcome the deadness of my own sins as He speaks to my soul just what He is for me.

Then, like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, I find myself coming out from the tomb — fully renewed. And I hear Him say:

“Unwrap him, because he walks in My way!”

“Unwrap him, because he has heard My truth!”

“Unwrap him, because he lives in Me!”

The life of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were never the same after this encounter with Jesus. Martha declared her belief and trust in Jesus, and for this she is honored today.

She was nearly as bound as Lazarus, but Jesus’ words set her free. However we find ourselves bound today, Jesus’ words can set us free.

Let His words unwrap your soul. Let His words free you, however you are bound.

Pay special attention to the responses Mary Magdalene makes in today’s Gospel. When she responds to the angels, she says “they have taken the Lord. . . .” When she speaks to Jesus, she says “they have taken my Lord. . . .”

This is not a “difference that makes no difference.” Rather, it shows the depth of anguish Mary is feeling. Her attachment to Jesus is not like the fantasy of The DaVinci Code. It is the attachment of one who has known the pains and losses — the terrors — this life can put someone in. She has seen the hope and the promise of Israel standing before her in Jesus, and now so much has changed.

Did she understand much more than the other disciples? I doubt it. But she stood without fear of the world, without fear of whomever she had to, just to be near the one she hoped in. And without understanding, she continued to hope — somehow hoping and trusting that His words would prove true. And they were. He was alive! With one word, one name, her trust was rewarded.

And for us? What word does Jesus speak to our souls in the midst of all our world fills us with? All the war, the terror, the droughts, the hurricanes, the murders. Our late Holy Father gave us that “word” in a phrase that has echoed through from the very start of his pontificate: “Be not afraid.”

Jesus’ one word to Mary removed her fears, her doubts. It restored more than just her teacher (rabboni), it restored her very soul.

Maybe what you need to hear today is more than “be not afraid.” Maybe it is less than your own name. Maybe it is enough to just hear Him say “I’m here.” Whatever He has to say to you — just listen. Then respond in His love.

Again, Paul is writing to Timothy from his prison chains: “Yet from all these things the Lord delivered me. In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you, remain faithful to what you have learned.”

Why that sentence about wicked people and charlatans? I think he is warning Timothy that there are those who will try to make the Christian life easy and comfortable. There are those who would accept a piece of glass instead of a diamond. People who try to follow Jesus, but do not expect persecution, according to Paul, are wicked. Taking the easy way to faith is actually wickedness.

Please let me repeat the line from Wednesday: “Can we dare to let the truth of the gospel cost us whatever it will? As one poet (the Reverend Calvin Miller) put it, ‘I don’t buy love, but I owe it everything.’ Obedience, love, the splendor of truth: pursue these, and you will have the peace that Paul lived and died in.”

Ignore these and be a deceiver or be deceived. Paul tells Timothy to keep digging to deepen the truth that he has already heard.

The digging may be slow, but the treasure to be found is worth the cost.

A lot of metaphorical language? Yes. Paul does make it very clear in our reading, though.  He tells Timothy that he will find what he needs in Scripture because there is “wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

May our Lord find the faith in our hearts as precious as any diamond.

“But the word of God is not chained.”

This is another one of Paul’s letters written from prison. He himself is in chains, but he recognizes that you cannot chain the word of God.

I would have loved to see the joy on Paul’s face when he wrote those words. Here is a man physically in chains, but he knows without any doubt that his spirit can never be chained again.

All of us have chains in our lives.  Some are caused by relationships, some by sin, some by our own choices, some by choices others have made for us.

There is only one set of chains I want to be bound by: the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here and here alone is true freedom: the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let no one bind me, except by the love of the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let sin not bind me; I am bound by the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let no evil block or bind me, for I am bound by the chains of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A couple of years before I even considered going to the seminary, I took on the job of arranging chairs in the basement of the church for a prayer meeting. I would go to the basement of the church almost an hour before the meeting, and I took great joy in seeing the chairs lined up “just right.” It was this reading from 1 Peter 4 that I found most satisfying, because I was filling a need for this particular prayer group that no one else wanted to do. At the time I did not do well at public speaking; I could not play a musical instrument; I had no great insights into Scripture. I was just part of the group. But this was a service I could give to God.

I had no clue at that time that God was going to call me into the priesthood. All I knew was that I wanted to be of service to the body of Christ and arranging chairs was one way I could do it. In our Gospel story today, we hear Jesus cursing at a fig tree because it did not produce fruit. The fruit we are called to produce may not be what we expected it to be, and indeed we may be surprised at just how Jesus wants to use us.

Jesus expects us to be fruitful for the sake of the Kingdom. To use a different type of tree, we may think we only have fruit the size of a crabapple to offer in service to the Kingdom. Jesus knows better. He takes what we offer and makes it into the biggest, juiciest, sweetest apple in the Kingdom.

What service have you been called to in your home, in your work, in your church? It may seem like a cliché to say Jesus could use us wherever we are, but there is so much more to in this than any of us realize. Service to the King and the Kingdom is not an option.

Now, let me return to my first story. I was happy to do that simple task for the prayer group. Because I was willing to do that, I believe the Lord called me to greater things. Now I find myself a priest who once was scared to stand in front of people to speak, but now rejoices in being able to share the Word of God. What “simple service” will God use to launch you into deeper service for the sake of His Kingdom? Wait, don’t say no! He knows your full potential. Trust Him. Be a fruitful branch on the vine… or the fig tree… or the apple tree… or wherever He plants you. Oh, and remember, he may uproot you for something else.

Acts 1:1-11 / Eph 1:17-23 or Heb 9:24-28/ Lk 24:46-53

I want to focus on the second option of the second reading, from Hebrews.

Let’s start with the phrase “by the new and living way He opened for us through the veil…”. You remember that only the high priest, the descendant of Aaron, was allowed to enter through the veil into the holiest of holies in the temple.  In this reading Jesus is identified as the high priest.  Remember also that the Gospels report that the veil was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died.  Now, it would seem to make sense if the veil was ripped from bottom to top that it would be a human event, but since it was ripped from top to bottom, it’s a God thing.

Our author compares the veil to the flesh of Jesus.  That would make our existence here and now as though we are standing in the outer court of the temple.  The holiest of holies, Heaven, is waiting for us when we pass through the veil of this life.

Keep reading: “And since we have ‘a great high priest over the house of God,’ Let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust with our hearts sprinkled clean….” The high priest sprinkled the blood of the animals that he sacrificed on the people just before he went into the holiest of holies, and we are washed clean in the blood and water that flowed from Christ’s side.

Unlike the worshipers in the temple, we have been granted access to the holiest of holies by our high priest, Jesus.  While we wait for the redemption of our bodies, we know,  we trust, we wait, and we pray that God in His goodness will bring us home.

I remember seeing a sign in a church once that read:

“Gone to see Dad, we’re fixin’ up a place for you, be back to pick you up soon.  Jesus.”

He has ascended and gone before us, not to abandon us, but to prepare for us a place for all eternity.  To Him be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Being chosen by God, what an awesome experience.  Yet, it is not just the Apostles that God has selected. Each one of us has been chosen by God in a very unique and powerful way.  That way began with our baptism.

Jesus said: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you….” God’s choice of us is irrevocable.

We are talking about the replacement of Judas today by the Apostle Mathias. While the Apostles were eye-witnesses to Jesus, the replacement of Judas was also a call to all of us to — in some ways — fill the same role.

The Apostles are:  irreplaceable — have been replaced by the Bishops — and, in a small way, continue anytime we reach out to spread the message of Jesus.

They are irreplaceable in that they are the witnesses, the original witnesses, to the ministry of Jesus.

They have been replaced by the Bishops in leadership for the Church today.

They continue as we spread the message of Jesus and fulfill His command to love one another.

Are we willing to allow what it cost the Apostles to be paid by us?  Only one of the Apostles did not die by martyrdom.

Can we dare to allow ourselves to be spent in the service of the gospel?  Can we dare to respond to Jesus’ love as He loved us?  “This is My commandment: love one another as I love you…”

God has chosen us.  He has chosen to love us. What choice is left to us?