Homily for 3rd Sunday of Easter 4/22/12

What are we Seeking?

Have you ever noticed that people always seem to be searching for the perfect something? I mean we are always searching for something better—searching for the better job, better career, better soul mate, the BFF (best friend forever), the better exercise program, the better church… the list never ends. I heard a story last week of lady who thought she had found the perfect church…

Mrs Jones was known as a chronic complainer, so it came as no surprise one day when she approached the pastor after Mass and announced to him “Father I will be leaving here because I have found the perfect church.” The priest responded, “May God bless you in your new endeavor”. She walked away somewhat taken aback, wishing the priest had at least asked her why she left. Just as she got a few feet away, the priest called out, “Oh, Mrs Jones, one more thing.” ‘Yes’, she replied. “Just remember that when you do set foot into that church, at that point, it will no longer be… the perfect church!”

Now that particular lady was searching for the perfect church.  But have you ever felt as tho you were searching for something different, but couldn’t exactly put your finger on what it was you were seeking? You’re looking for something to make your life more fulfilling, more rewarding, having more of a sense of purpose and meaning. In spite of all the efforts to improve one’s self-image, to become a better person, to be all you can be, it just doesn’t happen. Have you ever been thorough that journey?

 I know that I have. I went through a time where I must have read every self help book that was out there. It began with Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (I even went to the 1 week seminar), and carried on after that with Scott Peck, and other self help gurus. Patty said to me, “Why don’t you read something else besides self-help books? Try a novel or something else.”

But I found all this self help stuff had some very keen insights on how to make life more fulfilling. But they all had one thing in common—they all seemed to slowly build toward a crescendo, build toward a climatic final ending, and then stopped short of that final answer. They left me hanging, hanging on the last word. I was still looking for the definitive answer, an answer that never really came.

And after prayerfully considering all this, and about that time entering the deacon formation program, I slowly realized that what was missing was my failure to recognize the presence of the living God in my life. I couldn’t see his presence in the ordinary, everyday things in my life.

I was blind to the fact that my early morning rising, the sun bursting thru the shutters, the everyday meals, whether they be ordinary or special, God was there waiting for me to see Him in all that I did, all that I experienced. The missing part of the equation was all the goodness and all the bounty that God had bestowed on me all these years. Just recognizing all the gifts, and that from the unfortunate accidents to the happiest moments, it all comes from God.

All those self help books never mention God’s love for us, how all that we have comes from God, and how we should show our gratitude for that love in the way we treat other people. Just as Jesus washed the feet of the disciple on Holy Thursday, so we to, should serve our brothers and sisters in a similar way.

The self help books never ask who’s going to get you through the difficult patches. Who will be there to help when you so desperately need it? Who is your guiding light, your beacon in the night? But until you believe that God will send the Holy Spirit to come to your assistance can you realize a joyful, happy ending. Only then can you picture a rewarding life and be able to say Mission accomplished!

I think the apostles we hear about in today’s gospel also must have had similar feelings. We hear the final words to the well-known appearance of Jesus to the apostles on the road to Emmaus. Until then, they were feeling vey down trodden, in despair over what had just happened. The person they had put their faith in, the person they loved so much, had died.

He was the one who taught them how to build the kingdom on earth, taught them the values of mercy, forgiveness, humility, obedience to the Father, the real meaning of the Law. He had been put to a shameful death, and truly ‘suffered death’, as the revised creed emphasizes. He was now gone. They had no clue where to turn. They couldn’t figure out what was the next step.

Jesus appears to them and explains the meaning of the resurrection. The apostles had great difficulty connecting the dots—they were unable to see that the crucifixion had no meaning without the resurrection. By dying and rising he restored life. He conquered death, and in doing so gives us new life through our baptism, new life in the living God that dwells among us! And that my friends, is what we must realize, and come to grips with if we are to find fulfillment and meaning in our lives.

What we are looking for is right before us here today and every time the Eucharist is celebrated on the altar. God comes down and becomes present before us, right here, the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus himself. What more should we ask for?

Brothers & Sisters, Easter is more than just a day on the calendar; it’s also a whole season. And it’s much more than a season. It’s a way of life. It’s a way of living in the Risen Christ. Just look at the way saints, St Francis, St Peter, St Patrick, Mother Teresa  lived their lives. They lived a life that was absolutely committed to a life of following Christ.

So what if we were to live our lives “as if” Christ were truly risen? Now, I know that we as Christians already believe that, but what I mean is this: What if every moment of our lives was lived in the full knowledge that Christ had conquered death, that following him will lead to eternal life, that there is no need to worry, and that, as Julian of Norwich wrote, “All will be well; all will be well; and all manner of things will be well"?

I don’t always live my life with those things in mind: I worry and fret and often forget what happened at the tomb on that Sunday morning in Jerusalem. So here’s my prayer: May we live each day as if it were Easter Sunday, fresh with the knowledge that Christ is not only risen; he is with us, every moment of the day, every moment of our lives, from now until the end of time.