5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER–5/2/10
by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL
READINGS: ACTS 14:21-27; REVELATION 21:1-5; JOHN 13:31-33, 34-35
I. Nightmares And Things That Go Bump In The Night
A. Remember waking up from your last nightmare? Clammy with sweat; heart pounding; looking around wildly to see if what you dreamed had followed you into the real world. Just as individuals can have nightmares, so can humanity. And one of the greatest nightmares that seems imbedded in our collective human memory is the nightmare of the Four Horsemen.
B. St. John gave this horror flesh and bones in the Book of Revelation, but the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have always been with humanity. John pictures them riding to judgment on a world decayed by sin and deliberate rejection of God. They are Conquest, War, Famine and Death and millions fall under their sword and the pounding hooves. And they are the nightmare of the future, destined to come riding across the human landscape.
C. Even in our modern day, poets and storytellers evoke this nightmare of a future gone mad with terror and despair. William Butler Yeats, a great poet, summed up the nightmare in two lines from his poem "Second Coming": "And what rough beast, its hour come at last, Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?" Televangelists and traveling preachers keep shouting at us–"The End is coming! The world will be destroyed by conquering armies, violent warfare, famine/pestilence, and death! And looking at the events in the world, there’s just enough truth in what they say to make us fear the future.
II. A Dream Of Peace Based On Love
A. How can we succumb to that temptation? How can we lose hope? How can we surrender to despair? Simple: by being afraid and doubting the power of Christ. Nightmares can never be reality for the Christian. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are not our future. "Horsemen, pass by!" that’s our cry. They come for others, not for those who love the Lord, not for those who follow the Christ. For St. John the Apostle tells of another vision in the reading today of what our future shall be. What we await is a time when all things shall be made new, where every tear shall be wiped from our eyes, where there shall be no more death, no more mourning, no more pain.
B. For the Christian, the end of time brings beauty, not horror. At the end of time, there will be a mysterious, wonderful renewal that transforms humanity and the world. Called by Scriptures, "a new heaven and a new earth" it will be creation as it is meant to be–totally in harmony with itself and with Christ as its head. This is not a time for fear, but for real hope and optimism.
C. Why? Because we do not have to wait for the world to end to start making the new heaven and the new earth a reality now. Jesus gave us the blueprint on which to begin building that Christian dream: his new law of love. When Jesus tells us to "Love one another as I have loved you," he is asking the Christian to put aside standard operating procedure in this world, and begin to function on a different level.
D. For instance, by love, Jesus doesn’t simply mean an emotional feeling towards those we care for. His love is hard edged, decisive action, best described as justice and mercy combined. The love that Jesus wants is justice/mercy.
1. Justice is the idea of human dignity put into practice. Want to unseat two of those Four Horsemen; want to unseat conquest and war? Justice is our sword. Seeking to build a society that honors all people and treasures all human life; striving to end racism and poverty; seeking to build bridges rather than destroy the ties that bind humanity together; this is justice–human dignity put into practice.
2. Mercy is a compassionate and healing love that forgives and cures. Want to unseat the last two Horsemen; want to strike down famine and death? Mercy is our shield. Forgiving others, showing compassion to those in need, healing the sick, comforting the dying; this is mercy–the touch of God transmitted by human hands and human hearts.
E. Justice and mercy are the building blocks of a new heaven and a new earth. It’s fashionable to mock the Church right now. But look at our history; really look at it. Though sinful, we have done so much good. Made up of sinners, yet saints stride through our history as shining lights of the human race. Billions of people with the Cross on their hearts have through the centuries changed the world for good. Can’t we do what they did? Can’t we show mercy and justice in our daily lives? Can’t we bring a new heaven and a new earth into being? Of course we can, not perfectly, not completely, but we can start. And by practicing Christ’s Law of Love, we take away the nightmare of a world gone mad with conquest, war, famine and death. We are not meant to rage in despair as cultures decline, countries fall, morals evaporate, and people turn from God. We are meant to be a sign of hope, we Christians, and by the love we show, we will bring that hope into real life.
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