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3rd Sunday of Easter, C Cycle
April 22, 2007
Fr. Joe McCloskey, S.J.
Three challenges face us in our Gospel of today: the challenge of community, the
challenge of following instructions, and the challenge of recognizing Christ.
Each of these challenges is aggravated by our need to do things our way.
When Christ appeared to the disciples in the upper room, Thomas was not there.
He would not believe the apostles because he wanted or needed to be able to see
Christ for himself. He was there the next time and heard Christ speak his
conditions for believing. Christ showed him the wounds that made it obvious who
he was. Thomas in our Gospel of today was not going to miss out in a community
action. When Peter said he was going fishing, Thomas -- who perhaps had never
gone fishing -- was there at the head of the list of those who went. Christ
belongs to the community and comes to the two or more that gather in his name.
My work takes me to many different communities. Most communities have their
unique ways of doing things. It is hard to fit into a community that you are not
a regular part of. A community provides a comfort level that arises from the
frequency of participation. Over the years, I have watched communities change
their way of doing things. Some changes deal with the essential of what makes a
community Catholic. There are certain basic dimensions of liturgy that are what
is called "sine qua non" (without which it is not what it is supposed to be").
There are other instructions for liturgy that are optional. Many different
canons are approved and valid and it is at the discretion of the priest
following certain norms to make his choices. The optional is a choice developed
over the years that keeps us faithful to our traditions. The choices others make
for us are where difficulty arises. Fads come and go. I like going down to greet
the community and I have been doing it for many years. The instruction not to
leave the altar because you are giving your back to God seems incongruous when
you are greeting the Christ of each other. I
cannot tell you how many times I witness conversations which belong before or
after Mass distracting from the liturgy. The Sabbath is made for man, not man
for the Sabbath. In my old age I find that rituals make it easier to pray the
Mass. Changes challenge us to look more closely at why we do something. When
Christ tells the fishermen to put the net on the other side of the boat, I
imagine he saw a school of fishes they did not see. The catch of fish from
following instructions made the change worthwhile. Always having been
uncomfortable with communion distributors going last to communion, I was glad to
hear the instruction asking those communities that had changed to return to the
old tradition. Receiving Christ makes sinners worthy to share Christ.
Communities that share a common ritual make it possible to feel at home in other
communities. It is hard to belong when you feel uncomfortable.
The Christ of the Resurrection is the stranger who comes into our communities.
How we make each other welcome and what makes us welcome is the wonder of
Liturgy and each other. We are called to welcome the stranger as we would
welcome Christ. Our effort to make the strangers comfortable by welcoming the
Christ in each of them is what brings growth to a community. What we do together
is what gives life to the Community and allows strangers to find a home with us
because they are no longer strangers in Christ.
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