Resurrected body

One of the lovely things about the Gospel today (Luke 24:35-48) is that it deals with the nature of the resurrected body of Jesus and demonstrates that the disciples did not share the same drug-induced hypnotic experience, or simply remember the warm and fuzzy experiences of Jesus invoked by a vision of his ghost, and then go onto bear witness to his resurrection and commission to be bearers of reconciliation and peace in the world. Jesus has already appeared to the women (Mary Magdalene, Johanna, Mary the mother of James, and the unnamed others), to Simon Peter as well as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Cleopas and another); when the two return from their encounter when their "hearts burned within us" as Jesus shared the scriptures with them, and after they had recognised him in the breaking of the bread, they returned that night to be with the Apostles and other disciples.
When Jesus turns up in the room, they are still shocked and amazed, and despite the witness of the two disciples, Peter and the women, they really don't know what to make of this Jesus who is able to suddenly appear before them. So they think they must be seeing a ghost. Which provides Jesus with a teaching moment to demonstrate by pointing to his wounds and asking for something to eat that he is not just a Platonic form of his former self, now that his soul or spirit have escaped from his body - which is still the most common and radically wrong understanding of heaven that way too many Christians believe. What does Jesus want us to know about the resurrected body and what it points to for our own future?

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Recorded at St Paul's, 6pm (9'27")
E3B - Easter, Third Sunday B

A questioning journey from doubt to faith

Although in the debate on Monday night on the ABC1 TV program QandA between Richard Dawkins and Cardinal Pell, it seemed that doubt and questioning of faith was a very recent and modern phenomena, if you study the scriptures and Christian tradition carefully such doubts and questions are immediately apparent.
The passage from John's Gospel that we have just read would originally have been the conclusion to the gospel; chapter 21 is an epilogue added probably by John himself sometime later. When we look at the gospel with the filter of doubt and faith, we see lots of the characters struggle to make sense of what John presents so clearly in the opening line: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In story after story, beginning with Nicodemus who comes to Jesus at night (in the darkness of unbelief), to the Woman at the well, to the man born blind, and finally to doubting Thomas, insiders and outsiders alike are shown to legitimately struggle with making sense of who Jesus is, how he can be who he claims to be, and how to respond to these claims. Each one in turn is led - sometimes gradually, always through a process of questioning faith - to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and how best to respond to him. Like Thomas, we are invited to fall down in worship and take his same declaration upon our own lips: 'my Lord and my God.'

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Recorded at St Paul's, 6pm (9'49")
E2B; Easter, Second Sunday B

Breathing and forgiveness

On this tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, it is providential that the Church offers the profound reflection that Jesus offers to Peter in response to his question 'how often must I forgive?' The answer that Jesus gives to Peter's already generous question - as many as seven times, when the standard Rabbinic answer at that time was three times - is stunning.

Whether we interpret the Greek text (ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά) to mean seventy-seven or seventy-times-seven, the point of this declaration and the parable that follows is clear - in the way of the kingdom of heaven, there can be no limit to the number of times that we forgive. Yet learning how to live like this - especially in the face of the world that we live in - requires a profound understanding of the nature of forgiveness.

Perhaps it is a bit like learning to breathe again?

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Recorded at SJV, 8.30am (8'54")
Sunday 24, Year A. Matthew 18:21-35.

The way of forgiveness

Sometimes we might imagine that scripture is full of good advice and nice parables that are of quaint historical interest to those kind of people, but it is of little practical use to the rest of us living somewhere in the early twenty-first century. Today's passage from Matthew 18 should provide a necessary antedote to any such ideas! This compelling passage provides clear and deeply practical counsel about how to deal with any dispute that may arise within the Christian community. How different our world would look now if we had the courage to embrace this as a way of life!

The first thing to note is that Jesus realises that disputes will happen - a Christian community is full of saints-in-the-making - not people who are already holy and who have everything all together. Members of the body will sin and make mistakes. And we need to learn to deal with this. But dealing with it does not mean ignoring it or pretending that nothing happened in the first place. Forgiveness does not mean saying that it doesn't matter. Sin does matter. Anything that breaks the unity of the body does matter, because it is serious.

When there are disputes, when someone has done something that breaks the communion of the body, then we need to resolve this, to ensure that the concern of the Father - that not even one of these little ones should be lost - is fulfilled. We are rarely told in the pages of Scripture what the will of God is - so when we are told so clearly, we need to sit up and take notice!

So when a dispute happens - when someone has done something that is against the teachings of Jesus and the spirit of the kingdom of heaven, then we have in Matthew 18 a four-stage process to follow. One of the great tragedies of Christian history is that this clear process has so rarely been followed, and leaders and others have been too quick to jump to stage four and neglect the first three stages.

So first we need to ask for the courage to confront our brother or sister in love with the concern that we have. Note - take it directly to the person. Not your friend down the road, or to talk about it at work, to write about it on your blog, or on Twitter or Facebook; not call your local radio station and discuss it with the shock-jock or write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. No, go in love to the person and share your concerns. If they listen - you have won back your brother or sister into the communion of the church. If not, and only then, take it to stage two.

Here Jesus invites us to seek the wisdom of others in the church - take it to one or two others, who can listen to both sides of the questions - who may be able to offer other insights and discern with both of you a way forward. If the person does not see a way through to reconciliation here, then you should take it to stage three - involving the wider body of the church. Note, there are only two cases where the word for church - ekklesia (the called out ones - the community that have been called from the world, into new life together with God) is used in the four Gospels - here and in Matthew 16, which we had two Sunday's ago. For Matthew and Jesus, their idea of the church community is probably much smaller and more intimate and way less institutional than our usual idea. The church community were those that you shared life with, and were able to know the essential details of the whole situation. They don't have in mind nameless and faceless bereaucrats on the other side of the world!

If there is still failure to win back the one who is breaking communion with the church after this three-stage process has been thoroughly undertaken - then, and only then - should the fourth stage be contemplated - which is to treat the person as a pagan or a tax collector. We must note, of course, that we find this passage in the Gospel of Matthew, the one who is called by Jesus in chapter 9, and who is a tax collector himself. He knows very well that the way that Jesus treats tax collectors is with great kindness and compassion - he eats with them, forgives them and shares life with them. A great model for true excommunication!

What would our church look like if we applied this passage with great courage and compassion?

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Recorded at SJV, 8.30am (12'20")

The road from Emmaus

This powerful resurrection story is well known and often repeated. It shows the creative power of Luke's narrative and has intrigued saints and scholars over the centuries. One saint who has a wonderful commentary on the story is St Bede the Venerable, the famous 8th century English historian and doctor of the Church. He brings his analytical insights to the narrative to provide us with the power of this story for our own lives.

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Easter Sunday 3A. Luke 24. 9'36"

Peace be with you

'Peace be with you' - this is the greeting that Jesus proclaims to the disciples when he appears to them - even if they are locked behind closed doors for fear of the same fate falling on them as has just happened to Jesus. But the peace that Jesus promised, and the peace that he now gives to them is much more than the absence of fear, conflict, violence or noise. This peace, the true 'shalom' of the Lord, is infinitely creative and becomes one of the true signs of the new creation that happens in the resurrection. This is the peace that we are invited to share in and to be ambassadors of the peace that is only known in the wounds of Jesus.

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Recorded at St Brigid's, 9am (9'43")
Easter Sunday 2A - Octave Day (John 20)
Divine Mercy Sunday, Beatification of Pope John Paul the Great