Anamchara

HOMILY FOR EASTER 2012--CHRIST IS RISEN!

EASTER 2012

 

　by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL 

READINGS: ACTS 10:34,37-43; COLOSSIANS 3:1-4; JOHN 20:1-9

 

I.  What Has Happened?

A. The Scriptures transmit to us the feeling of awe and wonder that the disciples felt on that first Easter. Awe, wonder, and confusion. They had not been present at the Resurrection so they weren't sure what happened. They wondered as we wonder: What happened at the moment of the Resurrection. Don't you wish you could have been there?

B. It's worthwhile picturing what probably happened, if for no other reason than to recapture some of that awe and remember the great message of Easter.

II. At the Tomb

A. This is the story of a garden filled with olive trees, but it is not the Garden of Gethsemani. It is the Garden that Joseph of Arimathea owns. It is the garden where the tomb of Jesus lies. And on that Sunday morning so long ago, there were soldiers at the tomb, Roman guards, who were making sure that Jesus' followers could not steal the body and then claim Christ had risen. And those soldiers were watching carefully.

B. "What is that noise?" they say, hearing a rumble in the earth. And then the quake, and then the blinding light, and then the cracking of stone, and then the thunder which, had they listened carefully, was a cry from the tomb saying, "I can no longer wait! It is time!" And from the tomb steps the Son of God, fulfilling the Scriptures by staying buried for three days, but impatient to rise, eager to conquer death, longing to see his loved ones.

C. The soldiers cannot see him--the light is too bright; the sun's rays too strong. But they hear his passing, and the earth trembles with his footsteps. Where is he going, this God who walks among us? Where is he going, this Christ the Risen One? Where is he going, this Lord of Glory?

III. Christ is Risen!

A. I will tell you where the Christ is going. The story is ancient and ever new of how he appeared before Mary his Mother, the weeping virgin who only hours before had cradled her son in her arms. And she gasps in wonder as he holds her in his arms and all she can say is, "My son, my son, you have returned to me; my son has come back, come back to me." Picture it in your mind, the Son of God laughing again with his Mother, telling her, "It's true, it's true, everything the shepherds heard, everything the wise men saw, everything that the angel's sang so long ago, everything the prophets predicted is true--I live, and death is no more!" That's what he says to his mother that first Easter morning.

B. I will tell you where the Christ is going on that first Easter. The story is ancient and ever new of how he appeared before Peter his friend. There is Peter the guilty, crushed by his denial of Christ, running with John to the empty tomb. There is Peter the Rock, seeing the broken stone of the tomb, bending inside and seeing the emptiness. There is Peter the Apostle, crushed with waves of new guilt as he sees the facts and wonders whether it could really be true. There is Peter the humble, stumbling outside the tomb, hearing his name called and collapsing into the arms of his friend Jesus. "Forgive me, Lord," he sobs. "I am no longer worthy to be your follower." And the Risen Lord, lifts him up and say, "Your sorrow is true, your faith is strong, your friendship is dear to me--be healed."

C. I will tell you where Christ is going on that Easter morning. The story is ancient and ever new of how he appears to you. I know you say you have never seen him. But think for a moment. Those who saw him on that first Easter were desperate people. Mary, the grieving Mother, Peter the failed friend. Mary Magdalene, James and John--the shattered followers of Jesus. Their need opened their eyes of faith. The depths to which they had fallen made them reach for the only one who could save them. Their desperation made their hearing sharper, their vision clearer and they saw. Oh, the soldiers heard the thunder and saw the lightning, but they did not see Christ, because they did not believe. But the Virgin Mary, Peter, and the others saw and heard--because they knew their only hope lay in Christ. Nothing could answer the hunger in their hearts but Jesus. No wealth, not pleasure, not power, not anything! Only Jesus! Once they realized that, Christ felt them ready to see him and he appeared--he appeared to them as the Risen Lord.

D. He would appear to us, too, if we only knew how desperate we are. If we only saw our need for the God who cannot die. If we only knew that Christ is the only answer to the problems, difficulties and burdens we bear. But until we realize this, we shall only be like the soldiers at the tomb--aware of something magnificent just beyond our comprehension, but not really knowing what the magnificent something is. But if we realize our need for Jesus, then we shall meet the Risen Lord and he will call our name and he will take our hand and hold us and we shall be whole, we shall be well, we shall be alive, we shall live forever, we shall be his friends and walk by his side and live in glory. That's the promise of the Resurrection. Christ our Lord is Risen! Open wide your hearts and welcome him for he comes to meet you today! Alleluia!

 

 

HOMILY FOR GOOD FRIDAY 2012--THERE HE DIED FOR ME

GOOD FRIDAY 2012

  BY Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL

 

 

 

I. There He Died For Me

A. There He died for me, upon the tree, upon the tree at Calvary. And I cannot look at Him. For I Helped put Him there. It was my sins He died for, my transgressions nailed Him to the Cross as surely as any Roman soldier did.

B. And so I look to his left, and see a criminal hanging there, still alive, still cursing and swearing as he cursed and swore at the Son of God. A criminal dying a criminal's death.

II. The Good Thief

A. And I look to the right of my Lord, and there I see another crucified. Criminal too I am told. But how different he is, the Good Thief. And as I come closer, I look at him, this Good Thief and I speak:

B. "Who are you, sir, who have lived a life in darkness and now see the light? How is it you can believe in this Christ today, you who have walked in the night for so long?

1. You did not see Christ on the mountain of the Transfiguration, nor the night He walked the sea.

2. You never saw corpses color with life again when coffin and grave felt the force of His cry; you never saw Lazarus rise from from his grave or the son of the widow of Naim come to life.

3. You did not hear His Parables which told the stories of God to hungry hearts, nor did you hear His tone of voice when He talked of His Father.

4. You weren't even in the Upper Room last night when others heard Him speak of service and love of friends, and bread becoming his Body and wine becoming his Blood.

5. You were not in the Garden of Gethsemani to hear Him cry out to the Father and sweat drops of blood; you did not see the angel lift Him in His sorrow, nor Judas come to kiss Him into custody. And yet in the dying hours of Good Friday, you became one of his best friends.

6. O Good Thief who dies by the side of God, O master of courtesy and manners, who enlightened for you your part in this savage violence on the hill of Calvary? How could you speak so calmly, so courtly, so courageously? I heard you say, "Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom." How could you trust, believe, and love so much?

7. O Good Thief, you who stole Paradise this day when you were to die for your own sins, you who gave the one thing that was truly yours, your love and loyalty to the Son of God, you who showed the last act of kindness Jesus was to experience in the last few moments of His life, pray for us, that we before the hour of our death have the gift to see Him and know Him, as you saw Him and knew Him.

II. B is a paraphrase of a poem by Saunders Lewis, "To the Good Thief." Published in Joseph Clancy's Twentieth Century Welsh Poems,(Gomer Press, 1982).

HOMILY FOR HOLY THURSDAY 2012--LOVE IN THE MIDST OF CONFUSION

 

 

HOLY THURSDAY 2012

   by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL 

 

I. Confusion

A. We spend most of our lives in confusion--isn't that right? Never quite understanding which way our lives are going. Never quite understanding our spouse or our kids. Never quite figuring out if God is close, far away, or if he really exists. We spend most of our lives in confusion.

B. Even when things get clear for us, like when we attend a wedding, or see a new born baby, or get together as a family, or take part in a winning sports event, we still are haunted with confusion. If we go to a wedding, part of us is excited and happy, but we miss those early times of love when things between man and woman seemed simpler. If we see a new born baby, we rejoice but often in a bittersweet way as we long for the times when our own kids were just kids instead of adults with problems like us. If we get together as a family we are happy to see everyone, but confused when we still feel grudges or jealousies we thought we had put behind years ago. If we take part in a winning sports event, we are ecstatic but a bit melancholy remembering our own lost youth. In this life, confusion and uncertainty fog the best emotions and the clearest thoughts.

C. It's that way with our faith too. We always think religious faith should be so clear, so easily accessible, but it's not. And the Scriptures tell us that tonight. In the two biggest events in the Bible, confusion reigned.

1. The Israelites were not entirely sure that the Angel of Death would pass over them. They had sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and now they waited. Their God was helping them, but God had been pretty quiet for the past few hundred years and now that he was close, they weren't so sure what that meant. And yet, imagine their relief when they found they lived, they were free, and they went into the desert. But imagine their confusion when they were pursued by Pharaoh right to the banks of the Red Sea. And then, wonder of wonders, using God's power, Moses parts the Sea and the People walk on dry ground. When they reach the other side, they look back and see their pursuers coming. Confusion again. Saved only to be killed at last? But God sends back the waters and the soldiers perish. The event of Passover ends with the people exhausted and alive, but wondering who is this God with such power to free them.

2. On the night before Jesus dies, he has supper for the last time with his disciples. It is a Passover meal. And the disciples are confused. They've heard him talk of his approaching death. Their hearts are filled with sadness on this holy night. How can one so powerful--he raised Lazarus; he healed the blind man; he fed the 5000--how can one so powerful be conquered by evil? They are confused. And Jesus knows their pain. And he gives them Eucharist. He says holding the unleavened Passover bread, "This is me; this is my body which tomorrow will hang upon a tree." He says holding a cup of the sweet red wine, "This wine is my blood which will flow from my side tomorrow at Calvary on the Cross where I die." Confused, the disciples do not know what to make of this. Why should they do this in memory of Jesus; why should they remember such a horrible death? They are confused for they do not know what Jesus knows. Like the lamb's blood on the doorposts of the Israelites protected them from the Angel of Death, so Christ's blood will save all people who are washed in it. What Christ knows this night and his disciples do not is that fear and confusion will drive his friends away this night. Few will stand at the foot of the Cross tomorrow. Few will be there to see the hope of the world die. Few will hear the centurion say, "Clearly this man was the Son of God. Few will witness the Savior of the world save the world. And yet he dies for us all. And so on this night he gives us a sacrament--the Eucharist--so that anyone who eats his body and drinks his blood at the Eucharistic meal will experience being at the foot of the Cross. They will be washed in the blood of Christ. They will be saved from sin, death, and evil as surely as the Israelites were saved by the blood of the lamb on their doorposts in Egypt. Christ gave us this sacrament so that he would not be alone on Calvary, so that we could be with him, so that we would never be alone in our confusion again.

II. Experiencing Salvation

A. So many times we think that life just doesn't make sense, that God is far away. So many times we are afraid because we have made bad choices, because we don't believe enough. So many times we are just confused. The Eucharist was given to people like us.

 

B. Tonight, you have come for a variety of reasons. For whatever reason, you have come to a sacrament that brings you back to that night of wonder and that night of fear--a night when Christ gave us a way to experience his presence each day of our lives, a night when we see Christ taken away in shackles to be slaughtered tomorrow. We have mixed feelings tonight. If our religion is so powerful, how can our God die? If Jesus is truly all powerful, how can he be in such agony as he prays in the Garden of Gethsemani? Yet on the other hand, we know that even in his pain and weakness, even in his own fear and dread, he is our God. We shall not fall asleep like the disciples did in the Garden. We shall be with him, like the angel who strengthened him as he sweat drops of blood. We shall be with him tomorrow as he walks to Calvary. We shall stand with him at the foot of the Cross. We shall not run away. For we know, that in his suffering he heals us. In his death, he saves us.

C. Nothing could be more confusing, frightening or wondrous than what happened on this night 2000 years ago. And yet, what happened, saved us all. Often confused and unsure like the Chosen People were, like the disciples were, we thank Christ for the gift that clears away the mist of confusion and the fog of indecision. The Eucharist gives us the strength and power to come together and stand as a people, as a Church, knowing that we are saved, that God is with us, and that we will never be alone.