Homily – Seventh Sunday of Easter  - May 23, 2004

 

 

Huston Smith, in his book The World’s Religions tells us:

 

Oren Lyons was the first member of his Onondagan tribe to enter college. When he returned to his reservation for his first vacation, his uncle proposed a fishing trip on a lake.  Once he had his nephew in the middles of the lake where he wanted him, he began to interrogate him.  “Well, Oren,” he said, “you’ve been to college; you must be pretty smart now from all they’ve been teaching you.  Let me ask you a question.  Who are you?” Taken aback by the question, Oren fumbled for an answer.  “What do you mean, who am I? Why, I’m your nephew, of course.”  His uncle rejected the answer and repeated his question.  Successively, the nephew ventured that he was Oren Lyons, an Onondagan, a human being, a man, a young man, all to no a ail.  When his uncle had reduced him to silence and he asked to be informed as to who he was, his uncle said, “Do you see that bluff over there?  Oren, you are that bluff. And that giant pine on the other shore?  Oren, you are that pine. And this water that supports our boat?  You are this water.”

 

 

In our first reading for this Seventh Sunday of Easter, as we prepare to cap off this celebration of Easter with our Pentecost Feast once again talks to us about Stephen, the proto-type martyr. It is Stephen who resembles Jesus not only in his living but in his dying. It is Stephen who illustrates for his community of Christians – and indeed for us- that to be a follower of The Christ means strict adherence to the Way. It is Stephen who is so alive with the Spirit and the message of Jesus that he can not do anything but live the Way.

In the previous part of this section of the Acts of the Apostles Stephen has told the community what God has done for us. He recounts for them the many ways in which God has worked to save us. He reminds them of how blind and hard and deaf and fearful they have been and thus have not heard the voice of this Loving God.  Stephen talks to them of the God who love them and is in them and wants them with him – this God who sent Jesus as an illustration of God’s love.  And their response is still out of fear – not wanting to see – and they stone him.

Their blindness makes it impossible for them to see themselves as one with Stephen. Perhaps they thought they were too evil to be loved by God.  Perhaps they thought they were too important to be one with Stephen.  Perhaps they were afraid of how they would change if they digested Stephen’s words. They just couldn’t see themselves connected with him, with God, with good.

 

And in our second reading the author is helping the community to see that indeed God is still with them – the Lord Jesus is still present – they are not alone but united with Him. Their problem is that they are in this in between time. The faithful were losing their connection. Jesus had promised them that he would return and they were waiting. And waiting. And they were losing patience. And so the seer John reminds them with all him imagery and prophecy and dreaming that indeed the Lord Jesus was there with them. They began to think they were alone- unattached – abandoned. And John tells them that they are connected to their loving God as much as they were before.

 

 

And finally in the Gospel Jesus’ prayer at the end of the Last Supper was a plea for unity. And his emphasis is great because he wants us to be just as unified, united as he is with His God. And so he calls us to be as connected as he and God are! That is his dream-vision- hope.

 

Needless to see we are still a work in process! Our unity is lacking – our connections seem terribly weak at time.

 

We tend to see the differences instead of the sameness.

We are threatened by what is different.

We are unable to find the treasure in each other.

Perhaps we are not unlike the crowd that Stephen confronted or the community that John speaks to in the Book of Revelation.

 

To really know that God wills through Jesus that all the others in my life are to be united to me is scary sometimes.

We know from out own experiences that this happens.

At The Center in Asbury Park this experience happens continually. The folk who come to the place for help – for a meal – for a cool place in the heat or a warm place in the cold would seem to be very different from the volunteers that staff The Center.  There is Kevin who is homeless and looks it – and even as he tries to keep off of drugs he succumbs. He spends time in jail quite often from one infraction or another. Or Maria who lives such a precarious life. The little bit of income she has doesn’t go very far and so she grabs for whatever she can get for nothing – extra food – extra clothes – extra vouchers to do laundry – even if she doesn’t need it –it’s a bit of security.

Or Fred who is getting sicker and doesn’t take care of himself and his fear exhibits itself in nasty behavior toward others. We can easily say we’re not like them – we can determine them as “the other”. It makes life easier to distance ourselves. But the Gospel overwhelms us. And Stephen’s preaching jolts us. And we realize that even those the great unwashed and seemingly different people are the ones we are to be bound to through Jesus. They are part of our vine. They are linked to us. Isn’t that what Jesus was living and dying for?

 

And so we can see how the crowd had to remove the messenger Stephen. And we can see how you and I can do our best to objectiviz people. Its more comfortable. But its not the Gospel.

 

And so we look for the Spirit to enliven us and warm us and make us look more like Stephen and the rest.

We look for the Spirit to make us Church – and what church is is community and what community is is people linked and bound together as sisters and brothers.

Let’s look this week for our sameness – for the presence of the risen Jesus in us – and in those many “others” in our lives.

Then we will be celebrating Resurrection. Then we will know Easter.