Deacon
Jerry Franzen Cathedral April 24, 2016
Acts
14:21-27 Revelation 21: 1-5a John 13:31-33a, 34-35
Praised Be Jesus Christ. Good Morning!
The
news always seems to be filled with examples of people
who have encountered hardships:
families victimized by crime and
those
convicted of various crimes,
workers laid off by employers and
companies
trying to remain financially solvent,
homes destroyed by floods and
earthquakes.
We
don’t have to go to the news;
we have all encountered hardships in
our lives.
Some
of us have had it easier than others,
but hardships have been there none the
less:
times when things have not
gone well,
times
when each of us has had to struggle.
Hardships
–
Mentioned in the first reading and
implied in the Gospel.
We will look at that connection, but
first a story.
I
*Maria
and her daughter Christina lived
in a poor neighborhood on the
outskirts of a Brazilian Village.
Maria
was a single mother determined to raise her daughter herself.
By
age fifteen, Christina, old enough to get a job,
had developed an independent streak
like her mother.
She
wasn’t interested in marrying early and raising a family,
although her olive skin and brown eyes
brought a steady stream of suitors to her
door.
Her
spirited curiosity made her keep men at arms length.
She
often spoke of leaving home for the exciting avenues
and the bright lights of Rio de
Janiero; this worried Maria.
She
was quick to remind Christina of the harshness of the streets.
She
told her that jobs were scarce and life in the city was cruel.
“What
would you do for a living?” she asked.
Maria
knew just exactly what Christiana
might
have to do for a living.
That
is why her heart was broken when, on one morning,
she found her daughter’s bed empty.
She
knew immediately that Christiana had left for Rio, AND
Maria knew exactly what she must do.
Maria
packed a bag with clothes, gathered up all of her money
and rushed to the bus station.
On
her way, she stopped at a drug store for pictures;
she sat in the little booth, pulled
the curtain
and spent all she could afford
on pictures of herself.
With
her purse full of black and white photos of herself,
she boarded the bus for Rio de Janeiro
Maria
knew that Christina had no legitimate way of earning money,
and that she was too stubborn to give
up and come home.
When
pride meets hunger,
a human will do unthinkable
things. Maria knew this.
She
began her search in bars, hotels, nightclubs,
any place with a questionable character.
At
each place she left her picture taped to bathroom mirrors,
pinned on bulletin boards, taped to
corner phone booths.
She
wrote a note on the back of each picture.
It
wasn’t too long before Maria ran out of money and pictures.
She
wept as she rode the bus on the long journey back to her village
without Christina.
It
was a few weeks later, that Christina descended the stairs
to the lobby of a hotel.
Her
young face was tired, her eyes no longer
danced with youth;
they spoke of pain and fear.
Her
dream had become a nightmare.
She
longed to trade the countless beds for her own pallet at home.
As
she reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed a familiar face.
There
on the lobby mirror was taped a picture of her mother.
Christina’s
eyes burned and her throat tightened
as she walked across the lobby to
remove the small photo.
Written
on the back was the following:
“Whatever you have done, whatever you
have become,
it doesn’t matter, Please come home.” She did.
II
In
today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas
reminded the disciples
that they would have to
undergo many hardships
to enter into the kingdom of God
Being
a true follower of Jesus would not be easy.
Things
would not go well at times.
In
the short gospel reading we just heard
Jesus, at the Last Supper, told the
apostles
that he is about to be glorified,
glorified
in his suffering, death and resurrection.
Jesus’
hardships were brutal.
His
suffering, death and resurrection were the means by which
Jesus showed his disciples and us the
character of his,
and the Father’s love.
He
made it very clear that in order to be true disciples,
they would have to love one another as
He loved them.
Jesus
loved them and he loves us
to the point of suffering and dying
for them and for us.
Paul
and Barnabas preached that same message:
being a disciple, loving one another
as Jesus loves us,
will involve hardships.
III
Maria’s love for Christina
certainly involved hardships.
All the tears and worry,
all the time out of her life,
all the money for pictures and travel
all the effort to distribute the pictures,
all the anger and frustration she must have experienced.
But Maria loved Christina
as Jesus has loves us;
she gave all that she had for her daughter.
Many a parent might shun a
daughter with such a reputation.
Maria loved Christina to
the point of giving up all her pride
and welcoming Christina back in complete forgiveness,
no
conditions.
This is how God loves us
and
we, as followers of Jesus, must do the same for others
as Pope Francis has emphasized in this
Jubilee Year of Mercy.
After I had told the story
of Maria and Christina to another deacon as
we were talking about our homilies of this weekend,
he said that it was interesting how
Maria had used her own picture in her search,
since when a person
goes missing these days,
it is the
picture of the missing person
that is usually distributed.
That got me to thinking: “Isn’t
that just what God has done for us?”
We, like Christina are the
lost ones, separated due to our sin.
God doesn’t put our
picture up as being lost.
God put His picture up for
us.
His picture is Jesus
Christ.
Jesus is the picture we
have of God.
Maria put her picture and
herself out there.
God has come after us as
Maria sought out Christina.
In a famous poem by
Francis Thompson,
God is described as the “Hound of Heaven,”
ever coming after us, ever searching us out.
As sharers in the ministry
of Christ,
we are called to put our picture out there,
let our
faces, our Christian faces, be seen by others.
We are each to be another
face of God.
So, “How are we doing?” Are we trying to be the face of God?
Do others see in us the
face of someone willing to endure hardships for
the sake of others?
Did we come to this Mass
with a countenance
that exudes love of God and our neighbors here beside us?
Did we make a sacrifical
offering
to the Diocesan Parish Annual Appeal because we love Jesus
and want to help to care of the less fortunate in His
flock?
Do we love our spouses
because we see Jesus in them,
want them to see Jesus in us and give our lives to
them?
Do we love our children
and do whatever it takes for them
because they
are Jesus for us?
Do we love our parents,
and will we endure the hardships of their aging,
because we really believe that Jesus
endured his hardships for us?
It boils down the simple
question,
which you may have
heard in some form:
“If you were accused of
being a Christian,
would your picture be with the most wanted list
and would there be enough evidence to convict
you?”
