I.D., Please: Homily for Third Sunday of Easter
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter-First Communion
Third Draft
(Audio version available soon on the St. Aloysius Gonzaga web site)
I’m going to begin the homily this morning
by asking the children if it’s hard for them
to believe something they can’t see.
So, how about it,
do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you
even if what they tell you seems impossible?
For example, suppose I say to you,
“I’m going to take this paper strip
and cut it in half…but after I cut it in half,
it will still be in one piece.”
Is this easy for you to believe?
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
If I cut this strip in half,
it should be in two pieces, right?
Well, let’s give it a try.
Now, look at that!
I cut the paper in half,
but instead of having two pieces,
I have on longer piece.
Now that you’ve seen it,
you believe it.
“Seeing is believing.”
Boys and girls,
Jesus knows that, for people like you and me,
“seeing is believing.”
One night, before he returned to heaven,
he gave us something to see
to help us believe.
He gave us the Sacrament of his Body and Blood,
something we can see and touch,
because he never wants us to stop believing...
believing that he is with us in this world.
That’s why he’s given us this wonderful sacrament,
which you receive today for the first time.
What a wonderful day this is!
What a wonderful Savior we have!
_________
“Seeing is believing.”
You know, throughout this whole season of Easter,
this season of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ from the dead,
the Church zeros in on the issues of faith and belief;
zeros in on the question of what we believe…
and how much we need to see in order to believe.
Now we adults, in our “sophistication,”
usually demand that we see something
before we believe something…
unless, of course, it has to do with technology.
Let me give you an example.
You’ve probably heard of a new technology called
Radio Frequency Identification?
(It’s called RFID for short.)
It’s an upcoming technology
that allows businesses and corporations
to insert computer chips into their products
that identifies each and every product with its own serial number.
It works by way of radio emissions.
It’s better than a bar code
because you don’t need to pass the product
in front of a scanner to read some the black and white stripes.
In other words, with RFID,
you don’t need to see something
in order to get reliable information…
You don’t need to see in order to believe.
You just need to be close enough to pick up the radio signal.
It has all kinds of uses.
I’ve heard of ranchers out West who use RFID in their cows.
(That’s right, their steers become walking radio transmitters)
No longer will cowboys have to rope those calves
and drag them to the fire to brand them,
they just insert a computer chip behind their ear and say,
"There you be, Bessy, no rustler's going to steal you...
we'll just follow the sound of your beep wherever you go!"
Some people think RFID chips belong inside human beings too.
For example, if you work for a company
where you have to pass through a security gate,
if you have an RFID chip implanted beneath your skin
you won’t need a key to get into a secure area,
you won’t need a card, you won’t even have to say “Open Sesame”
because the door will swing wide open to
just like you're walking into Krogers
but it will only open for you...
and those people whose chips are programmed like yours.
Kind of scary, isn’t it?
Yet, it seems that when it comes to technology,
we just “accept” it.
We find it amazing.
We think it’s wonderful.
Eventually, we believe it and put our trust in it
even if we don't understand it.
In other words,
we’ll believe even if we don’t see it.
Now, let’s take this same discussion
and substitute the word “faith” for the word “technology.”
What happens?
Some people will be inclined
to revert back to what is known as
“The Thomas Hypothesis,”
an empirical approach to the faith
named for the famous, scientific-minded apostle
who once scratched his head and said,
"What? The Lord is risen from the dead?
Naw, ain't so!
I won't believe that until I see it!"
A lot of people still swear
by the outmoded theory known as The Thomas Hypothesis:
“I won’t believe it until I see it.”
________
You know, it’s pretty sad,
when we put more faith in technology
than we put in God.
Someday, an RFID computer chip
will be able to single us out from a crowd
of a billion other people.
But when it comes to God, we’re still tempted to say:
“I won’t believe it until I see it.”
How could there be a God who would know each of us?
How could there be a God who could possible love each one of us?
And, of course, this brings us to the most important question of all:
How could God possibly know me, really know me?
How could Christ possible love me, really love…me?
______
I was talking to a friend this past week.
He mentioned a time when he became aware of the fact
that God was actively at work in his life.
He became more and more convinced
that things “weren’t just happening,”
rather, he sensed a deep kind of goodness in all parts of his life.
Even when it came to difficulties at work
or tensions in his marriage…
he sensed the presence of God
and he knew, by faith, that it all had a purpose.
Not only that, he knew there was someone behind it all,
and that Someone was Christ.
The more he believed, the more he saw.
The more he saw, the more he believed.
We don’t call this R-F-I-D.
We refer to it as F-A-I-T-H.
Faith.
Faith in Christ.
Faith in the “sacramental technology” that he’s given us.
Faith in an actual person.
Faith in a real presence.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
in the Sacrament of Marriage;
his presence in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
and in the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Faith in his presence during family prayer in your home.
Faith in his presence even at those times when you are weak and tempted.
Faith in his presence at those times that you are lonely and alone...
except for Him.
See it. Feel it. Believe it.
Christ is a living reality,
not a package with a bar code.
Christ is a living reality,
not an RFID computer chip.
Christ, a living reality, who knows your name.
When your go home today, look up this fact up in your Bible:
Not one single Resurrection story involved a stranger.
Never once did the Risen Christ appear to someone
who did not know him,
someone who would not recognize in him something very personal…
the sound of his voice,
the wounds in his hands,
the compassion in his eyes.
He's real. He's alive.
His voice is calling your name,
the wounds in his hands bled for your sins,
that love in his eyes is for you…
all for you.
[Saturday evening, April 29: Wow! A lot of hits this week! Many thanks to author Amy Welborn for linking me to her blog. I hope the new visitors return often.
Unfortunately, despite the increase traffic, I didn't hear much shouting or horn blowing. (Come on, folks, this preacher needs some interaction!).
Blessedly, I did have a good conversation with Greg, a faithful commentator. I can always count on his humble faith and love of Christ to get me through a rough spot.
You'll see the influence of his input below in the second draft.
Thanks for checking in...don't be shy. JMS]
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter-First Communion
(Second Draft)
I’m going to begin the homily this morning
by asking the children if it’s hard for them
to believe something they can’t see.
So, how about it,
do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you
even if what they tell you seems impossible?
For example, suppose I say to you,
“I’m going to take this paper strip
and cut it in half…but after I cut it in half,
it will still be in one piece.”
Is this easy for you to believe?
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
If I cut this strip in half,
it should be in two pieces, right?
Well, let’s give it a try.
Now, look at that!
I cut the paper in half,
but instead of having two pieces,
I have on longer piece.
Now that you’ve seen it,
you believe it.
So, that’s my point,
to see something
helps us believe something.
Like that old saying goes,
“Seeing is believing.”
Boys and girls,
before Jesus left this world to return to heaven,
he gave us something to see
to help us believe.
He gave us the holy sacrament
of his Body and Blood
so we would never forgetthat having God in our life
is as necessary as the food we eat.
Jesus knows that, for people like you and me,
“seeing is believing”
and he never wants us to stop believing...
believing that he is with us in this world.
So he’s given us this wonderful sacrament
which you receive today for the first time.
What a wonderful day this is!
What a wonderful Savior we have!
_________
You know, throughout this whole season of Easter,
the Church zero in on the issues of faith and belief.
But sometimes we adults, in our “sophistication,”
demand that we see something before we believe something…
unless, of course, it has to do with technology.
Let me give you an example.
You’ve probably heard of Radio Frequency Identification?
(It’s called RFID for short.)
It’s a new and upcoming technology
that allows businesses and corporations
to insert computer chips into their products
that identifies each and every product with its own serial number.
It works by way of radio emissions.
It’s better than a bar code
because you don’t need to read some the black and white stripes.
In other words, with RFID,
you don’t need to see it in order to believe it!
You just need to be close enough to pick up the radio signal.
It has all kinds of uses.
I’ve heard of ranchers out West who use RFID in their cows.
(Yes, their steers are walking radio transmitters)
No longer will cowboys have to rope those calves
and drag them to the fire to brand them,
they just insert a computer chip behind their ear and say,
"There you be, Bessy, no rustler's going to steal you...
we'll just follow your beep wherever you go!"
Some people think RFID would work well in humans too.
For example, if you work for a company
where you have to pass through a security gate,
when you have an RFID chip implanted beneath your skin
you won’t need a key to get into a secure area,
you won’t need a card,you won’t even have to say “Open Sesame”
because the door will swing open to you
just like you're waling into Krogers
but it will only open for you...
and those people whose chips are programmed like yours.
Kind of scary, isn’t it?
Yet, it seems that when it comes to technology,
we just “accept” it.
We believe it and put our trust in it
even if we don't understand it.
In other words,
we’ll believe even if we don’t see it.
Now, let’s take a look this
from the perspective of faith.
Suddenly, the need "to see" in order "to believe"
swings right back and we find ourselves
retreating to the position of St. Thomas:
"What? The Lord is risen?
Naw, ain't so!
I won't believe that until I see it!"
You know, it’s pretty sad,
when we put more faith in technology
than we put in God.
We’ll believe that a RFID computer chip will one day
be able to identify us and single us out of a billion other people.
Bt when it comes to God,
well, how could there be a God who would know each of us?
How could there be a God who could possible love each one of us?
And, of course, this brings us to the most important question of all:
How could God possibly know me, really know me?
How could Christ possible love me, really love…me?
______
I was talking to a friend this past week.
He mentioned a time when he suddenly became aware
that God was actively at work shaping his life.
He became more and more convinced
that things “weren’t just happening,”
rather, he sensed a deep kind of goodness in all parts of his life.
Even when it came to difficulties at work
or tensions in his marriage…
he sensed the presence of God
and he knew, by faith, that it all had a purpose.
Not only that, he knew there was someone behind it all,
and that Someone was Christ.
The more he believed, the more he saw.
The more he saw, the more he believed.
We don’t call this R-F-I-D.
We refer to it as F-A-I-T-H.
Faith.
Faith in Christ.
Faith in the “sacramental technology” that he’s given us.
Faith in a real person.
Faith in a real presence.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of Marriage.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of Anointing and Confession.
Faith in his presence during family prayer.
Faith in his presence even during those times when you are weak and tempted.
Faith in his presence during those time that you are lonely and alone...
except for Him.
See it. Feel it. Believe it.
Christ is a living reality,
not a package with a bar code.
Christ is a living reality,
not an RFID computer chip.
Christ, a living reality, who knows your name.
When your go home today, look this up in your Bible:
Not one single Resurrection account recorded in the four Gospesl
involved a stranger.
Never once did the Risen Christ appear to someone
who did not know him,
someone who would not recognize him in something very personal…
the sound of his voice,
the wounds in his hands,
the compassion in his eyes.
He's real. He's alive.
His voice is calling your name,
the wounds in his hands bled for your sins,
that love in his eyes is for you…
all for you.
[Thursday, April, 27: At this point in the week, I think I might be delivering a multi-task homily come Sunday. This makes me nervous since most homilies of this sort seldom rise to their multiple tasks.
At issue is a First Communion Mass which is also a parish Mass. Another complicating factor is that this Sunday is only the first of two First Communion Sundays in my parish. So, in a busy week crowded with funerals with other unscheduled emergencies, I'm left trying to devise a homily that will 1) attend to the special occasion, 2) illumine the Easter mystery of the Resurrection and 3) be general enough to use on two different Sundays in the Easter season.
The first section of the homily is addressed directly to the First Communicants. It employs the use of a Mobius strip. I am indebted to the web site, "Sermons 4 Kids" for this section of the homily. The second section, addressed to adults, centers on the recognition element in the Resurrection narratives using RFID technology as an anti-illustration.
Please comment on the strengths and weaknesses of this first draft. Your input will help me decide if I need to tinker further with this document or buckle down and compose another homily for the other Masses this weekend.
Your critiques will be most appreciated. Thanks! JMS]
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
(First Communion)...First Draft
I’m going to begin the homily this morning
by asking the children if it’s hard for them
to believe something they can’t see.
So, how about it,
do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you
even if what they tell you seems impossible?
For example, suppose I say to you,
“I’m going to take this paper strip
and cut it in half…but after I cut it in half,
it will still be in one piece.”
Is this easy for you to believe?
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
If I cut this strip in half,
it should be in two pieces, right?
Well, let’s give it a try.
Now, look at that!
I cut the paper in half,
but instead of having two pieces,
I have on longer piece.
Now that you’ve seen it,
you believe it.
So, that’s my point:
to see something
helps us believe something.
Like that old saying goes,
“Seeing is believing.”
Boys and girls,
before Jesus left this world to return to heaven,
he gave us something “to see”
to help us “believe.”
He gave us the holy sacrament
of his Body and Blood
so we would never forget
that having God in your life
is as necessary as the food that we eat
that makes us strong and healthy.
Jesus knows that, for people like you and me,
“seeing is believing”
and never wants us to stop believing
that he is with us in this world,
so he’s given us this wonderful and all-important sacrament
which you receive today for the first time.
What a wonderful day this is!
What a wonderful Savior we have!
You know, throughout this whole season of Easter,
the gospel readings zero in on the issues of faith and belief.
Sometimes we adults,
in our “sophistication,”
demand a high level of proof
before we are willing to believe
in Christ or the Sacraments or anything else!
Let me give you an example.
You’ve all heard of Radio Frequency Identification?
(It’s called RFID for short.)
It’s a new and upcoming technology
that allows businesses and corporations
to insert computer chips into their products
that emit a radio frequency
that identifies each and every product with its own serial number.
It’s better than a bar code
because you don’t need to read some the black and white stripes.
In other words, you don’t need to see it in order to believe it!
You just need to be close enough to pick up the radio signal.
I know some ranchers who use RFID in their cows.
No longer do cowboys have to rope those steers
and drag them to the fire to brand them,
they just insert a computer chip behind their ear.
Likewise, if work at a company
where you have to pass through a security gate to get in.
If you get one of these chips put in you,
you won’t have to say “Open Sesame.”
The gate will swing open as soon as you get within a foot of it.
It’s a little scary, isn’t it?
Now, what does this have to do with our faith in Christ?
If you ask me, it brings the issue of “identification” into sharp focus.
It forces us to ask ourselves consider our “spiritual circuitry”
and whether or not it’s up-to-date.
More importantly,
it asks us to consider the basis
of the invisible, spiritual connection
we have with Christ himself.
He’s a living reality,
not a package with a bar code.
He’s a living reality,
some impersonal radio signal
from an RFID computer chip.
Think about the amazing accounts
of the Resurrection appearance
recorded in these ancient manuscripts.
Never once did the Risen Christ appear to someone
who did not know,
someone who would not recognize him…
by the sound of his voice,
by the wounds in his hands,
by the compassion in his eyes.
We don’t need to go “high tech” to recognize the Lord,
we just need to know him…truly know him,
as a friend, as our Savior, as our God.
Third Draft
(Audio version available soon on the St. Aloysius Gonzaga web site)
I’m going to begin the homily this morning
by asking the children if it’s hard for them
to believe something they can’t see.
So, how about it,
do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you
even if what they tell you seems impossible?
For example, suppose I say to you,
“I’m going to take this paper strip
and cut it in half…but after I cut it in half,
it will still be in one piece.”
Is this easy for you to believe?
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
If I cut this strip in half,
it should be in two pieces, right?
Well, let’s give it a try.
Now, look at that!
I cut the paper in half,
but instead of having two pieces,
I have on longer piece.
Now that you’ve seen it,
you believe it.
“Seeing is believing.”
Boys and girls,
Jesus knows that, for people like you and me,
“seeing is believing.”
One night, before he returned to heaven,
he gave us something to see
to help us believe.
He gave us the Sacrament of his Body and Blood,
something we can see and touch,
because he never wants us to stop believing...
believing that he is with us in this world.
That’s why he’s given us this wonderful sacrament,
which you receive today for the first time.
What a wonderful day this is!
What a wonderful Savior we have!
_________
“Seeing is believing.”
You know, throughout this whole season of Easter,
this season of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ from the dead,
the Church zeros in on the issues of faith and belief;
zeros in on the question of what we believe…
and how much we need to see in order to believe.
Now we adults, in our “sophistication,”
usually demand that we see something
before we believe something…
unless, of course, it has to do with technology.
Let me give you an example.
You’ve probably heard of a new technology called
Radio Frequency Identification?
(It’s called RFID for short.)
It’s an upcoming technology
that allows businesses and corporations
to insert computer chips into their products
that identifies each and every product with its own serial number.
It works by way of radio emissions.
It’s better than a bar code
because you don’t need to pass the product
in front of a scanner to read some the black and white stripes.
In other words, with RFID,
you don’t need to see something
in order to get reliable information…
You don’t need to see in order to believe.
You just need to be close enough to pick up the radio signal.
It has all kinds of uses.
I’ve heard of ranchers out West who use RFID in their cows.
(That’s right, their steers become walking radio transmitters)
No longer will cowboys have to rope those calves
and drag them to the fire to brand them,
they just insert a computer chip behind their ear and say,
"There you be, Bessy, no rustler's going to steal you...
we'll just follow the sound of your beep wherever you go!"
Some people think RFID chips belong inside human beings too.
For example, if you work for a company
where you have to pass through a security gate,
if you have an RFID chip implanted beneath your skin
you won’t need a key to get into a secure area,
you won’t need a card, you won’t even have to say “Open Sesame”
because the door will swing wide open to
just like you're walking into Krogers
but it will only open for you...
and those people whose chips are programmed like yours.
Kind of scary, isn’t it?
Yet, it seems that when it comes to technology,
we just “accept” it.
We find it amazing.
We think it’s wonderful.
Eventually, we believe it and put our trust in it
even if we don't understand it.
In other words,
we’ll believe even if we don’t see it.
Now, let’s take this same discussion
and substitute the word “faith” for the word “technology.”
What happens?
Some people will be inclined
to revert back to what is known as
“The Thomas Hypothesis,”
an empirical approach to the faith
named for the famous, scientific-minded apostle
who once scratched his head and said,
"What? The Lord is risen from the dead?
Naw, ain't so!
I won't believe that until I see it!"
A lot of people still swear
by the outmoded theory known as The Thomas Hypothesis:
“I won’t believe it until I see it.”
________
You know, it’s pretty sad,
when we put more faith in technology
than we put in God.
Someday, an RFID computer chip
will be able to single us out from a crowd
of a billion other people.
But when it comes to God, we’re still tempted to say:
“I won’t believe it until I see it.”
How could there be a God who would know each of us?
How could there be a God who could possible love each one of us?
And, of course, this brings us to the most important question of all:
How could God possibly know me, really know me?
How could Christ possible love me, really love…me?
______
I was talking to a friend this past week.
He mentioned a time when he became aware of the fact
that God was actively at work in his life.
He became more and more convinced
that things “weren’t just happening,”
rather, he sensed a deep kind of goodness in all parts of his life.
Even when it came to difficulties at work
or tensions in his marriage…
he sensed the presence of God
and he knew, by faith, that it all had a purpose.
Not only that, he knew there was someone behind it all,
and that Someone was Christ.
The more he believed, the more he saw.
The more he saw, the more he believed.
We don’t call this R-F-I-D.
We refer to it as F-A-I-T-H.
Faith.
Faith in Christ.
Faith in the “sacramental technology” that he’s given us.
Faith in an actual person.
Faith in a real presence.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
in the Sacrament of Marriage;
his presence in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
and in the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Faith in his presence during family prayer in your home.
Faith in his presence even at those times when you are weak and tempted.
Faith in his presence at those times that you are lonely and alone...
except for Him.
See it. Feel it. Believe it.
Christ is a living reality,
not a package with a bar code.
Christ is a living reality,
not an RFID computer chip.
Christ, a living reality, who knows your name.
When your go home today, look up this fact up in your Bible:
Not one single Resurrection story involved a stranger.
Never once did the Risen Christ appear to someone
who did not know him,
someone who would not recognize in him something very personal…
the sound of his voice,
the wounds in his hands,
the compassion in his eyes.
He's real. He's alive.
His voice is calling your name,
the wounds in his hands bled for your sins,
that love in his eyes is for you…
all for you.
[Saturday evening, April 29: Wow! A lot of hits this week! Many thanks to author Amy Welborn for linking me to her blog. I hope the new visitors return often.
Unfortunately, despite the increase traffic, I didn't hear much shouting or horn blowing. (Come on, folks, this preacher needs some interaction!).
Blessedly, I did have a good conversation with Greg, a faithful commentator. I can always count on his humble faith and love of Christ to get me through a rough spot.
You'll see the influence of his input below in the second draft.
Thanks for checking in...don't be shy. JMS]
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter-First Communion
(Second Draft)
I’m going to begin the homily this morning
by asking the children if it’s hard for them
to believe something they can’t see.
So, how about it,
do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you
even if what they tell you seems impossible?
For example, suppose I say to you,
“I’m going to take this paper strip
and cut it in half…but after I cut it in half,
it will still be in one piece.”
Is this easy for you to believe?
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
If I cut this strip in half,
it should be in two pieces, right?
Well, let’s give it a try.
Now, look at that!
I cut the paper in half,
but instead of having two pieces,
I have on longer piece.
Now that you’ve seen it,
you believe it.
So, that’s my point,
to see something
helps us believe something.
Like that old saying goes,
“Seeing is believing.”
Boys and girls,
before Jesus left this world to return to heaven,
he gave us something to see
to help us believe.
He gave us the holy sacrament
of his Body and Blood
so we would never forgetthat having God in our life
is as necessary as the food we eat.
Jesus knows that, for people like you and me,
“seeing is believing”
and he never wants us to stop believing...
believing that he is with us in this world.
So he’s given us this wonderful sacrament
which you receive today for the first time.
What a wonderful day this is!
What a wonderful Savior we have!
_________
You know, throughout this whole season of Easter,
the Church zero in on the issues of faith and belief.
But sometimes we adults, in our “sophistication,”
demand that we see something before we believe something…
unless, of course, it has to do with technology.
Let me give you an example.
You’ve probably heard of Radio Frequency Identification?
(It’s called RFID for short.)
It’s a new and upcoming technology
that allows businesses and corporations
to insert computer chips into their products
that identifies each and every product with its own serial number.
It works by way of radio emissions.
It’s better than a bar code
because you don’t need to read some the black and white stripes.
In other words, with RFID,
you don’t need to see it in order to believe it!
You just need to be close enough to pick up the radio signal.
It has all kinds of uses.
I’ve heard of ranchers out West who use RFID in their cows.
(Yes, their steers are walking radio transmitters)
No longer will cowboys have to rope those calves
and drag them to the fire to brand them,
they just insert a computer chip behind their ear and say,
"There you be, Bessy, no rustler's going to steal you...
we'll just follow your beep wherever you go!"
Some people think RFID would work well in humans too.
For example, if you work for a company
where you have to pass through a security gate,
when you have an RFID chip implanted beneath your skin
you won’t need a key to get into a secure area,
you won’t need a card,you won’t even have to say “Open Sesame”
because the door will swing open to you
just like you're waling into Krogers
but it will only open for you...
and those people whose chips are programmed like yours.
Kind of scary, isn’t it?
Yet, it seems that when it comes to technology,
we just “accept” it.
We believe it and put our trust in it
even if we don't understand it.
In other words,
we’ll believe even if we don’t see it.
Now, let’s take a look this
from the perspective of faith.
Suddenly, the need "to see" in order "to believe"
swings right back and we find ourselves
retreating to the position of St. Thomas:
"What? The Lord is risen?
Naw, ain't so!
I won't believe that until I see it!"
You know, it’s pretty sad,
when we put more faith in technology
than we put in God.
We’ll believe that a RFID computer chip will one day
be able to identify us and single us out of a billion other people.
Bt when it comes to God,
well, how could there be a God who would know each of us?
How could there be a God who could possible love each one of us?
And, of course, this brings us to the most important question of all:
How could God possibly know me, really know me?
How could Christ possible love me, really love…me?
______
I was talking to a friend this past week.
He mentioned a time when he suddenly became aware
that God was actively at work shaping his life.
He became more and more convinced
that things “weren’t just happening,”
rather, he sensed a deep kind of goodness in all parts of his life.
Even when it came to difficulties at work
or tensions in his marriage…
he sensed the presence of God
and he knew, by faith, that it all had a purpose.
Not only that, he knew there was someone behind it all,
and that Someone was Christ.
The more he believed, the more he saw.
The more he saw, the more he believed.
We don’t call this R-F-I-D.
We refer to it as F-A-I-T-H.
Faith.
Faith in Christ.
Faith in the “sacramental technology” that he’s given us.
Faith in a real person.
Faith in a real presence.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of Marriage.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Faith in his presence in the Sacrament of Anointing and Confession.
Faith in his presence during family prayer.
Faith in his presence even during those times when you are weak and tempted.
Faith in his presence during those time that you are lonely and alone...
except for Him.
See it. Feel it. Believe it.
Christ is a living reality,
not a package with a bar code.
Christ is a living reality,
not an RFID computer chip.
Christ, a living reality, who knows your name.
When your go home today, look this up in your Bible:
Not one single Resurrection account recorded in the four Gospesl
involved a stranger.
Never once did the Risen Christ appear to someone
who did not know him,
someone who would not recognize him in something very personal…
the sound of his voice,
the wounds in his hands,
the compassion in his eyes.
He's real. He's alive.
His voice is calling your name,
the wounds in his hands bled for your sins,
that love in his eyes is for you…
all for you.
[Thursday, April, 27: At this point in the week, I think I might be delivering a multi-task homily come Sunday. This makes me nervous since most homilies of this sort seldom rise to their multiple tasks.
At issue is a First Communion Mass which is also a parish Mass. Another complicating factor is that this Sunday is only the first of two First Communion Sundays in my parish. So, in a busy week crowded with funerals with other unscheduled emergencies, I'm left trying to devise a homily that will 1) attend to the special occasion, 2) illumine the Easter mystery of the Resurrection and 3) be general enough to use on two different Sundays in the Easter season.
The first section of the homily is addressed directly to the First Communicants. It employs the use of a Mobius strip. I am indebted to the web site, "Sermons 4 Kids" for this section of the homily. The second section, addressed to adults, centers on the recognition element in the Resurrection narratives using RFID technology as an anti-illustration.
Please comment on the strengths and weaknesses of this first draft. Your input will help me decide if I need to tinker further with this document or buckle down and compose another homily for the other Masses this weekend.
Your critiques will be most appreciated. Thanks! JMS]
Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
(First Communion)...First Draft
I’m going to begin the homily this morning
by asking the children if it’s hard for them
to believe something they can’t see.
So, how about it,
do you find it easy to believe what someone tells you
even if what they tell you seems impossible?
For example, suppose I say to you,
“I’m going to take this paper strip
and cut it in half…but after I cut it in half,
it will still be in one piece.”
Is this easy for you to believe?
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
If I cut this strip in half,
it should be in two pieces, right?
Well, let’s give it a try.
Now, look at that!
I cut the paper in half,
but instead of having two pieces,
I have on longer piece.
Now that you’ve seen it,
you believe it.
So, that’s my point:
to see something
helps us believe something.
Like that old saying goes,
“Seeing is believing.”
Boys and girls,
before Jesus left this world to return to heaven,
he gave us something “to see”
to help us “believe.”
He gave us the holy sacrament
of his Body and Blood
so we would never forget
that having God in your life
is as necessary as the food that we eat
that makes us strong and healthy.
Jesus knows that, for people like you and me,
“seeing is believing”
and never wants us to stop believing
that he is with us in this world,
so he’s given us this wonderful and all-important sacrament
which you receive today for the first time.
What a wonderful day this is!
What a wonderful Savior we have!
You know, throughout this whole season of Easter,
the gospel readings zero in on the issues of faith and belief.
Sometimes we adults,
in our “sophistication,”
demand a high level of proof
before we are willing to believe
in Christ or the Sacraments or anything else!
Let me give you an example.
You’ve all heard of Radio Frequency Identification?
(It’s called RFID for short.)
It’s a new and upcoming technology
that allows businesses and corporations
to insert computer chips into their products
that emit a radio frequency
that identifies each and every product with its own serial number.
It’s better than a bar code
because you don’t need to read some the black and white stripes.
In other words, you don’t need to see it in order to believe it!
You just need to be close enough to pick up the radio signal.
I know some ranchers who use RFID in their cows.
No longer do cowboys have to rope those steers
and drag them to the fire to brand them,
they just insert a computer chip behind their ear.
Likewise, if work at a company
where you have to pass through a security gate to get in.
If you get one of these chips put in you,
you won’t have to say “Open Sesame.”
The gate will swing open as soon as you get within a foot of it.
It’s a little scary, isn’t it?
Now, what does this have to do with our faith in Christ?
If you ask me, it brings the issue of “identification” into sharp focus.
It forces us to ask ourselves consider our “spiritual circuitry”
and whether or not it’s up-to-date.
More importantly,
it asks us to consider the basis
of the invisible, spiritual connection
we have with Christ himself.
He’s a living reality,
not a package with a bar code.
He’s a living reality,
some impersonal radio signal
from an RFID computer chip.
Think about the amazing accounts
of the Resurrection appearance
recorded in these ancient manuscripts.
Never once did the Risen Christ appear to someone
who did not know,
someone who would not recognize him…
by the sound of his voice,
by the wounds in his hands,
by the compassion in his eyes.
We don’t need to go “high tech” to recognize the Lord,
we just need to know him…truly know him,
as a friend, as our Savior, as our God.
posted by BlueCollarPreacher at 10:57 AM
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