7th Sunday of Easter, Feast of the Ascension
READING 1:
Acts 1: 15 -17, 20a, 20c-26
Psalm
103 READING 2: 1 John 4:11-16 GOSPEL: John 17: 11b-19
This is Memorial Day. We want to always remember the reason for the holiday is to remember our heroes who gave their lives for our country. May they all enjoy the rewards of sacrificial love in heaven. May we as a great nation be worthy of their sacrifices and the lose their families suffered. On one of San Francisco ’s streets there was a store front funeral parlor with some beige colored curtains covering the windows. In front of the curtains there was a sign which read, “Why walk around half dead when we can bury you for $3800.00?” The lazy, hazy days of summer vacation start with Memorial Day weekend. No more homework, no more car pools, time to sleep in, time to enjoy baseball. The goal of baseball is to return home to the origin of the journey. The batter begins a trek which hopefully will lead him home to complete a circle of accomplishment. On the way he or she will meet many obstacles and challenges, and many attempts by the opponent to stop his progress. Baseball is a team sport. No matter what the circumstances, a player can never reach home purely as a result of his own efforts. The game was designed as a team sport. The player needs his own talent and initiative combined with the help of his teammates, as well as other less tangible factors. I don’t think we should place so much emphasis on the home run. The home run invites big egos, self promotion and gain and individual headliners. Baseball is a game of teamwork and speed, coaching and strategy. And that’s the metaphor I’d like to use today. You see our readings are about teamwork and goals. The first reading has the Apostles filling their roster with a new player to replace Judas. The second reading suggests that without love, all is lost. And the gospel reflects our prayer to be united with Jesus and each other. One thing about Christianity, for sure, Jesus planned a team oriented game. Believers are not supposed to be alone. We have power, given us by Jesus, but not given to any individual. If any of us think we’re on our own in this world, we’re not. We have rules. We may think about other ways or get distracted running the bases in our life, but the facts are the facts, and we either stay within the base lines or we go foul; we either run the base paths or we wind up in the outfield and the opponent will put us out. We may not like being coached, but we need the coaches in our lives. We need our parents, our teachers, our religious leaders and even though some are better than others, they are there to help us be better. We need teammates. A praying community, a support community, a family provides us with greater security, encouragement and sometimes when we are in a slump, the others can pick up the slack. My friends, summer is here. May we enjoy the blessings in the quiet and the excitement of the game of our lives. Jesus Christ is our good news! Fr. Jeff McGowan |
