April 2008 Sanchez Commentaries & Sample Homilies
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (A)
April 6, 2008
Open Eyes – Burning Hearts
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez
Acts 2:14, 22-23
1 Pet 1:17-21
Luke 24:13-35
Whenever my mother had to leave my father, brother and me for a few days, she left all our meals prepared and ready in the freezer.While she cared for a sick friend or relative, we were cared for, too, because she had planned ahead and seen to all our needs.In a certain sense, Jesus made similar provisions for his own in leaving behind the memorial meal of the
Eucharist.
Celebrated in today’s Lucan Gospel, Eucharist became the spiritual and physical food for Jesus’ disciples.At Eucharist, they experienced his real presence and became what they were truly meant to be — companions. The word “companions” is derived from the two Latin words:cum (“with”) and panis(“bread”). Companions are those who share bread together, and through their sharing are profoundly bound to one another in faith and fellowship.
Companions are also fellow travelers who share the journey that Jesus began.Thematically, the notion of the journey is woven into the very fabric of the Lucan Gospel.With many references to that effect, the evangelist made it clear that Jesus was always en route, pressing on to the fulfillment of his mission in Jerusalem.It is not a coincidence that the disciples in today’s Gospel met Jesus while they too were en route.But their journey was rerouted by Jesus; their experience of him in bread and word caused them to return to Jerusalemto begin a new journey for the sake of the Gospel.All the while, as they traveled from place to place and person to person, their food, their companion, their strength would be Jesus himself.
Like a loving mother, he continues to provide for the needs of his own. At every eucharistic gathering the Word is unwrapped and shared; the Bread is blessed, broken and given; and Jesus is present. That long-ago evening in Emmaus, at supper, the disciples acknowledged their realization of this mystery by saying that their eyes were opened and their hearts were burning within them.But to what were their eyes opened?For what did their hearts burn?
An answer to these questions is suggested by the following story adapted from one told by William Bausch in A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers (Twenty-Third Pub., Mystic, Conn: 1998):
A young medical student about to take his final exam had to leave his fiancée behind for a month to travel from Ithaca, N.Y. to New Haven, Conn., where the testing would take place.En route, the bus stopped at a rather dilapidated station, and the young man sat down at a U-shaped lunch counter.Directly across from him was an elderly woman who said, “You sure do look depressed.”
He answered, “I am,” and without warning he began to cry.Suddenly the woman reached across the counter and, with dirty hands and fingernails, was about to wipe his cheeks. But he pulled back, repulsed.
She simply asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?”And his words came tumbling out about the pressures of his studies, the upcoming exams and the pain of missing his fiancée.When he showed the woman her picture in his wallet, she was full of admiration.“I’ve never seen such a beautiful young woman,” she said.
Then she shared her story about her traveling salesman husband who had passed away.She told the young man how she and her husband used to hug each other and cry each time he had to go away but how happy they were together when he returned.“Marriage is wonderful,” she assured him. “You are going to be very happy; you’ll see!”
Then the woman suggested that the young medical student might feel better if he had something to eat so she ordered a donut from under the scratched plastic dome displayed on the counter.She took it, broke it and gave it to him. As she did, an announcement boomed over the loudspeakers about an imminent arrival. “Oh, my goodness!My bus is here,” she said, and, with that, she disappeared.Only then were his eyes opened, and he recognized the visitation in the breaking of the donut (“The Bus to Emmaus,” page 210).
Through her simple sharing of herself, her sympathy and the donut, the woman became companion to the man. We are companions to Jesus and companions to one another, sharing what we are and what we have. For it is in these acts of authentic sharing that eyes are opened to others’ needs; hearts begin to burn with love and caring.Through these simple acts of sharing, the community will surely grow, and the world will begin to know better the saving power of God.
Acts 2:14, 22-23
The attitude of many Jews regarding Jesus has evolved considerably since the time Luke portrayed Peter making this appeal to his fellow Jews to accept Jesus. Editor Beatrice Bruteau compiled the thoughts of many rabbis and other scholars in Jesus Through Jewish Eyes (Orbis Books, Maryknoll, N.Y.: 2001).Concerning Jesus, contributor Joseph Gelberman writes: “In some ways I identify with Jesus. He came from a very orthodox family as I did. He didn’t like what he saw as regards authentic worship and social justice and he spoke out against it, as do I.” Another contributor, Arthur Waskow, admired Jesus’ ability to reach out and touch people from all walks of life.Waskow praised Jesus’ compassionate caring: “he brings comfort to the discomfited and has a compelling way of discomfiting the comfortable.”
Lance Flitter chose to comment on Jesus by way of an anecdote: “An elderly Jewish woman was a patient in a Catholic hospital, and facing her bed was a large picture of Jesus.A considerate nun asked if she would like the picture removed. ‘Oh, no,’ replied the old woman. ‘Such a success by one of our boys. Leave it up!’ ”
When Peter preached to the crowds in Jerusalem, he hoped that his Jewish listeners would accept Jesus, not just as one of their own who had succeeded in his God-given mission but also as their messiah.For that reason, his appeal to the Jews was supported by references to their own scriptures.Peter’s citation of Psalm 16 offers the purported witness of David, who was traditionally credited as author of the Psalter. This psalm, as Beverly Gaventa has pointed out, describes salvation from death and restoration to life(Texts For Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995).Since it was obvious that David was dead, he could not have been referring to himself in the psalm.Therefore, reasoned Luke and Peter, he must have been referring to Jesus.
What Luke and Peter affirm here is that God is fully invested in human history, and that Jesus’ mission among us has been in accord with God’s preordained plan all along. God’s hand, at work in Jesus throughout his earthly life, is ultimately revealed in his resurrection.All this, insists Gaventa, reminds us that Easter is a celebration of both the vulnerability of God — who chose to be open to the needs of sinners — and the power of God, who chose to meet those needs through Jesus.Because of God’s vulnerability and power, humankind is privileged to encounter a God who is in touch with their lives.Ours is a God who chose to be weak so as to empower the weak; ours is also a God whose power and strength are our salvation.
1 Pet 1:17-21
First described as the “catholic epistles” by the church historian Eusebius (circa 300), 1 Peter, along with 2 Peter, James, Jude and 1-3 John are general writings addressed to the church at large rather than to a specific community. The attribution of these pseudonymously written letters to an apostolic figure (Peter) or to those in Jesus’ family (James and Jude) was intended to lend to them an air of authority and to keep alive the teachings of those eyewitnesses for later believers.
Probably written circa 70-90 to Christians in northern Asia Minor, 1 Peter is regarded by some as being a composite of two documents.The first, which is comprised of 1:3–4:11, appears to have been addressed to those who might face persecution; the other, 4:12–5:11, is intended to support believers already suffering for their faith.If this supposition is correct, then today’s second reading, as well as the other three selections from 1 Peter that will be read on each Sunday of this month, are addressed to those being threatened with persecution.To that end, it was the ancient writer’s intention to affirm the Christian identity and dignity of his readers and to set forth the norms for appropriate behavior for Christians living in a pagan world.As John H. Elliott has pointed out, today’s reading references the transformation effected in believersthroughtheir conversion to Christ(“1 Peter, Its Situation and Strategy,” from Perspectives on First Peter, C.H. Talbert, ed., Mercer University Press, Macon, Ga.: 1986).Sanctified, reborn and purified by the costly sacrifice of Jesus, believers can no longer return to the way of life they led before their baptism.This may have been a temptation for many who feared the losses that impending persecution would bring into their lives — the possible loss of property, livelihood, freedom and even the loss of their own lives.
Compared to the struggles that faced those first generations of Christians, ours is a rather easy lot.Few of us in the old world or the new world are burdened by the problems that faced the early church and continue to persist in the Third-World church.Free to live our faith as our convictions dictate, we are indeed fortunate.However, if ours is to remain a relevant voice in this world, a voice that speaks to the fact that many do suffer for their faith and struggle to maintain basic human rights, then we must adapt our mission toward the needy.With an eye toward this adaptation, Walbert Bühlmann, quoting S. Burgalassi, insists that there must be a change
from individual, self-regarding activity to community and social activity;
from the approach which goes from the world to God to an understanding of God coming to meet the world;
from reliance on routine to awareness of purpose;
from a spirituality of renunciation and segregation to a reverence for the earth and the part it plays in humankind’s journey to God;
from unquestioning obedience to the hierarchy to collaboration and shared responsibility;
from a ghetto mentality to ecumenism;
from power to service;
from “religion is all” to “all is religion.”(in The Coming of the ThirdChurch, St. Paul Publications, Slough, U.K.: 1976; quoting Burgalassi’s La Cristiantà nascoste. Dove va la Cristiantà italiana?Bologna, Italy: 1970)
Jesus, always ready to adapt to changing circumstances and people, remains our model.
Luke 24:13-35
Luke tells his readers that as the two disciples made their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, they were conversing and debating.They had thought Jesus was the one sent by God to accomplish the redemption of God’s people and to establish them in peace, prosperity and justice. But everything they had hoped for ended on a cross at Calvary. As N.T. Wright explains, they had been traveling up a road they thought was leading to freedom and it turned out to be a cul-de-sac — or, to put it bluntly, a dead end(The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill.: 1999).They had been living out a story built upon prophetic promises and historical precedents (exodus, return from exile), and for these reasons they hoped God would step in and deliver Israel yet again.They also had an idea as to how God should step in: through a revolt against Rome whereby God would empower the remnant to defeat their oppressors.But with Jesus’ crucifixion, it seemed clear, explains Wright, that their exile was continuing, that God had not forgiven their sins and that the pagans were still ruling the world.
As they explained all this to the yet unrecognized risen Jesus, the hopelessness of the traveling pair was obvious.But rather than commiserate with them over what might have been, the risen Jesus took their story and began to tell it differently.Rather than view their sufferings and struggles as punishment from God, he helped them to see that it is always darkest before the dawn.In fact, it was within the very experience of their suffering that God acted most powerfully.Through the many political crises that constituted their history, God never failed to act, but that action usually came when all seemed at the breaking point. It was the same way in Jesus’ seeming defeat, and in what seemed to be the finality of his death, God effected salvation and a new beginning for Israel and all of humankind.
In Jesus’ rereading of the scriptures and through the gift of himself in broken bread, suffering and salvation come together; dying and rising become one great act of the love God has for sinners. Each time believers remember and celebrate this action, hearts burn with the recognition that Jesus is present.As we travel through this life together; as we debate who Jesus is and who we are to be because of him — we can be thankful for his continued presence in word and bread and for the manner in which he is continually retelling the story that is my life and yours.
Sample Homily for April 6, 2008 Third Sunday of Easter
Fr. James Smith
“We Have to Hope”
The disciples were walking along dejectedly. One of them said: “I hoped Jesus would liberate Israel from Roman occupation.” The other one replied: “I hoped he would bring the kingdom of God down to earth.”
Or let’s imagine a scenario closer to home: You and a friend figured out a brilliant new business idea. You found a venture capitalist who said he would bankroll your project. All excited, you both quit your jobs, cashed your pensions, got a second mortgage — and hoped to be rich and successful. But before the deal was made, your backer was killed in an accident. You and your friend meet for a drink to commiserate. You say: “I hoped to retire at 40.” He says: “I hoped to go national.”
Now, why do you and your friend and the disciples keep talking about what might have been? Jesus and George are dead; they are not coming back to life. But hope is hard to kill. We don’t want to give up. We will accept glimpses of hope from anyone, even strangers.
Like the stranger who started to walk with the disciples. He seemed to know even more about Jesus than the disciples did. He pinpointed his place in Jewish scripture all the way back to Abraham. He was so convincing that the disciples were almost ready to buy into his explanation. But no — they had lost hope once; it hurt too much to build up hope again.
Meanwhile, a stranger sits down beside you and says: “I happened to overhear your conversation. I am in the same field as you. And I think your idea has merit. So much so that I would like to invest in your project.” You and your friend are amazed at your good fortune and thrilled that someone else understands. You are about to make the deal when you both look at each other and say: “No, we have already lost our jobs, our homes — we cannot dare hope this will finally turn out right.”
Which brings up a good question: What do any of us dare to hope for? They were just ordinary fishermen, you are just ordinary businessmen. Maybe you and they set your hopes too high; maybe it’s better to aim lower and have a better chance of success. Or not even hope at all, and never be disappointed.
But a hopeless life is a dreary, inhuman life. So how can we integrate hope in a realistic way? Is there any guarantee for any hope at all? Yes. The one hope that is always fulfilled is the hope of living forever with God. Every other hope depends on that one.
On earth, however, God does not micro-manage, so our hopes can be misplaced, even with the best intentions. In fact, they are just misguided wishes unless they can be fitted in as part of our personal journey to God.
To finish the story: The disciples invited the stranger to dinner. They asked him to say grace. He prayed: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation; through your goodness we have this bread to offer. It is my body.” The disciples were stunned into recognition. They immediately realized that their hopes had been fulfilled beyond all imagining.
When our journey is over, we will sit down at table with Jesus. He will say: “So we don’t eat together as strangers, let me introduce you. This is my Father. These are my friends.” And we will be stunned into recognition of the God we could never see before. And our wildest hopes will be fulfilled.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (A)
April 13, 2008
To Be Shepherd, To Be Gate
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez