The Nexus

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/ascension.html

“And know that I am with you always, until the end of the
world!”

The solemnity of the Ascension reminds us of the power of God
- how the Father glorified His Son Jesus and seated Him at
His right hand.  In the scriptures, we read of the Ascension
of Jesus in the Acts of the Apostles. In the passage, we find
Jesus promising them the power of the Holy Spirit so that they
can preach the Kingdom and be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in
all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. This
same message of Jesus is found also in the gospel of Matthew.
Matthew records the disciples making their way to Galilee, to
the mountain Jesus had summoned them.  It was here that Jesus
expressed that the Father had given Him full authority both
in heaven and on earth and thus commands His apostles to make
disciples of all nations: baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  And with the
promise of the Spirit at Pentecost, Jesus confirms also His
promise that He will be with the apostles always, [and with
the Church], until the end of the world!

After the feelings of discouragement, sadness, and fear which
the apostles and the disciples experienced with the death of
Jesus on the Cross on Good Friday, the experience of His
resurrection, ascension and the promise of the Spirit at
Pentecost gives them a renewed hope and an encouraging message.
With the Spirit not yet descending upon them, the apostles and
the disciples were still fearful for the Jewish authorities.
This is but a normal reaction since it was the Jewish religious
authorities and the Roman authorities that were responsible
for the execution and death of their Master.  However, there
was a turning point in their life as followers of Jesus when
they discovered their Master rise to life once more and then
ascend into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.
What before was darkness within their minds and hearts, has
turned into a flicker of strong hope by the Risen presence
of their Master amidst them.  By the time the Spirit descends
upon them in tongues of fire, they will be strong in their
witnessing to the great love of God personified in His Son,
Jesus.

Jesus as the Risen Lord and the Resurrected Master, is a
genuine inspiration for all of us who look to Him as the
source of hope and encouragement.  Knowing what He suffered:
the agony in the Garden, the scourging at the pillar, the
crowning with thorns, the carrying of the Cross, and the
Crucifixion - we feel a great awe at the fortitude, courage
and strength He showed by going through all these.  But
since Jesus had great faith in the Father, He suffered all
of these for love of us, so that we may learn to hope also
in the Father despite the sufferings and losses we have
experienced in life.  If we always focus on Christ, and
learn to place all our hope and trust in Him, despite all
the negative circumstances we may be faced with, and
even though discouraging news may swamp our family and
the places where we work, we will sense a peace and a
serenity that only God can give because we have placed
all our trust and confidence in Him.  Let us also pray
to the Holy Spirit, that He may come upon us and our loved
ones, so that we may be always encouraged to do the good
we are called to do, and never to give up, for we are
assured like Jesus, of the glory promised by the Father,
when we never give up our faith in Him.

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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/6th-sunday-easter-a.html

“I will not leave you orphaned; I will come back to you.”

The gospel for this 6th Sunday of Easter, Year A, is taken
from the gospel of John.  In the gospel, Jesus speaks about
His impending Ascension into heaven.  However, He assures
the apostles and his community of disciples that He will ask
the Father to send another Paraclete to be with them always:
the Spirit of truth.  He tells them that although the world
will not see Him no more, the apostles should not feel
orphaned by His departure.  This is because the Spirit whom
the Father will send will remain with them and will be within
them.  They will recognize that it is indeed the Spirit of
truth who will be with them, because the spirit of love shall
govern their minds and their hearts, and make them one family
in Christ.

This gospel prepares us for the Feast of the Ascension of
the Lord and for the Feast of Pentecost on May 11, 2008. In
some local churches, Ascension is celebrated on a Thursday
while the 7th Sunday of Easter is celebrated after it. In
other local churches, Ascension is celebrated on a Sunday
instead of the 7th Sunday of Easter.  The reason why some
local churches celebrate Ascension on a Sunday is because
their faithful often cannot go to Mass on a weekday.  And
so it is celebrated on a Sunday.  Whatever the local practice
of the church, what is really intended by these feasts is
the victory of Christ over sin, corruption, and death, and
the promise of God’s Holy Spirit to found His Church on
earth.

The season of Easter is a very important liturgical season
in the Church.  It teaches us the very essence of our
Christian faith: that Christ died for us and rose again so
that we may share in the victory of His resurrection. What
we hold in faith is that, as we learn to be faithful in
our following of Jesus and obey His commandment of love,
we too shall share in His glorious resurrection. But before
we do share in the glory of His victory, we must be aware
that we have to share in the pain of His suffering and
death on the Cross. 

As we go through life with all its troubles, sufferings,
pain and problems, we die to ourselves daily as we offer
everything that we do good to the Lord - despite the pain
and the struggles.  We may fall at times and err in certain
areas of what we are and do, but if we keep faith in the
victory of Christ, we shall share in His triumph over sin
and death.  So, what is important is to pray that we may
be given the strength to conquer our sinful selves and have
faith that even despite our failings, Christ will assure
us of His victory; and that He will never leave us.  He
will not leave us orphaned.  Rather, He promises the Spirit,
so that we will do His will and obey His commandment of
love for God, for our neighbor and for ourselves.

Archives http://enkindlefire.blogspot.com

Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/5th-sunday-easter-a.html

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

Last Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday.  It spoke of the
truth of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  This Sunday, the
gospel speaks of Jesus as the way, the truth, and the
life.  Jesus in the gospel takes the occasion to teach
this truth about Himself when Thomas asked Him how “we
can know the way” and when Philip wanted to know who
the Father was.  The response of Jesus was plain: “I
am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes
to the Father but through me.” “Whoever has seen me has
seen the Father”.

On many occasions in the gospels, we read about Jesus
having compassion over the people because He found them
like sheep without a shepherd.  We know that sheep who
are not led by a shepherd often go in different directions
and some may even stray very far away from the direction
of the flock.  Jesus sees this in the people of His time.
They lack a good leader to lead them to the fullness of
life.  That is why He was sent by the Father in order
that people may believe; and that all people will be led
to the right way, to the full truth and the fullness
of life.  He presented Himself as the Good Shepherd, who
was willing to lay down His very life so that His followers
may find their way to the Father.  But when His detractors
struck Him down, all of His followers have scattered.
After three days, the Father raised Him back to life so
that He can regroup His followers and tell them to wait
for the Spirit of Truth, who will lead them to the fullness
of life and the truth about Himself.

Knowledge of who Jesus is in our life becomes more
relevant when we discover Him in all our daily routines
and responsibilities. We are often tempted to seek for
signs of His presence - signs that are beyond the ordinary.
But it is in the very flow of daily life that we are called
to discover who Christ is for us. Even in our busy schedules,
we can experience the presence of God just by being aware
- having a reflective and contemplative outlook towards
events, people and things.  The key to knowledge of Christ
is awareness of His presence in the daily grind of life
where we immerse ourselves in family life and work.
And when we do keep to this contemplative outlook on
life, we shall indeed affirm Christ’s identification of
Himself as “the way, and the truth, and the life”. We
shall discover Him as the very source of the fullness
of life we often seek for.

Archives http://enkindlefire.blogspot.com

Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/4th-sunday-easter-a.html

“I came that they might have life and have it to the
full.”

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday.  And the gospel
for this Sunday is taken from the gospel of John. In
John, Jesus speaks of Himself as the “sheepgate”, the
“gate”, and as the “shepherd of the sheep”. He contrasts
Himself to the thief and the marauder - to the stranger
whom the sheep do not recognize.  These the sheep will
flee from as they do not know him and his voice. They
know that these come only to steal and slaughter and
destroy.  But the sheep will follow only the voice of
the shepherd who calls each of the sheep by their names.
The shepherd will lead them as they follow him and
recognize his voice.  Since the sheep recognize the
voice of the shepherd, they will be safe and find
pasture.  Through the shepherd, the sheep are able to
have life as they follow the shepherd and his voice.

With this teaching, Jesus teaches a leadership that
is different from other styles of leadership.  What
He teaches is a leadership that leads its followers
to life and to have it to its fullness.  As we just
celebrated the Easter Triduum several weeks ago, we
can have a glimpse of what this leadership entails:
self-sacrifice to the point of giving one’s very life
for one’s followers.  That is why Jesus is a Good
Shepherd.  By his very word and life, He has taught
many to believe and trust in the Father - who will
reward all who follow His Son with the fullness of
life, eternal life.  And the more we follow in the
steps of the Son, the more the fullness of God’s very
own life will be ours to inherit.

Many of us would probably shirk at the idea of
leadership, saying to ourselves, that is only for
those in politics.  But in our pursuit of Christian
holiness, we exercise a form of Christian leadership
in our ordinary life.  By our simple words and deeds,
we can witness to the truth that there is hope for
all of us - even those who have committed grave
sins or errors or those who have lossed something
very valuable in life.  By making Christ as the
source of our Christian leadership, we make His
light shine through us so that it may also shine
to others.  The more we are rooted in Christ as
our Good Shepherd, the more our Christian leadership
will truly lead others to the very life that Christ
has promised for all of us - eternal life.

Archives http://enkindlefire.blogspot.com

Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/3rd-sunday-easter-a.html

“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized
him…”

From the gospel of Luke, we find two disciples making
their way to Emmaus, seven miles distant from Jerusalem.
On the way, they were recounting what had happened to
Jesus in Jerusalem.  Their hopes were dashed when Jesus
was crucified and put to death, because they had hoped
He was the One to set Israel free.  So, as they went
along in their lively exchange, Jesus suddenly approached
them and went along with them. They did not recognize
that it was Jesus. Jesus asked them what they were
discussing and the two disciples were surprised and
said: “Are you the only resident of Jerusalem who does
not know what had transpired there these past few days?”
As the three went along, Jesus began to explain to the
two that the Scripture reveals that the Messiah was to
suffer and die and then rise again. Because of this
knowledge of Jesus, the two disciples pressed Jesus to
stay with them since it is nearly evening. As they all
seated for a meal and Jesus took the bread, pronounced
a blessing, broke the bread and distributed it, the
two disciples suddenly recognized that it was Jesus
who was with them. But Jesus suddenly vanished from
their sight afterwards.

The gospel of Luke tells us that one of these two
disciples of Jesus was Cleopas.  The other’s name was
not mentioned.  When the two recognized Jesus in the
breaking of the bread, then these two disciples may
have also been present on the many occasions that
Jesus blessed, broke and gave the bread to people.
These occasions were the multiplication of the loaves
and the event of the Last Supper.  There must have
been something distinctive in the way that Jesus took
the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to all
who would consume it.  So even if Jesus now appears
in His glorified form as the Risen Saviour, they
still recognize His very style of taking, blessing,
breaking, and giving the bread.  The disciples also
said “Were not our hearts burning inside us as he
talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures
to us?” The very Spirit of Jesus, in His word, and
in His actions, made such a great impact on His
apostles and disciples, that they can never forget
how His words and actions in the breaking of the
bread was so life-giving - imparting a Spirit that
inspires, enkindles charity, encourages, consoles,
and strengthens.

As we go on in our Easter journey, let us make more
precious our moments in prayer as we celebrate the
Eucharist.  If before, we were not as attentive to
the liturgical actions that are performed during the
whole celebration, let us this time channel our sight
to focus on the Word and the Eucharistic actions
during the consecration of the bread and wine. Let
us be more attentive to the presence of Christ in
those Eucharistic actions so that as we come into
communion with Him in consuming the bread, we shall
receive His life-giving Word and Sacrament.  We can
receive His life more and more, if we are faithful
to the very spirit that He has shown us by example:
a spirit of self-sacrifice, self-gift, life-giving
actions of service and charity, and a humble attitude
that truly pleases God as Father.