CYCLE C EASTER 5TH
1. Last week as we celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday, we talked about the importance of VOCATIONS in the Church. Deacon Dick reminded us nicely that all in the church are called by God to serve Him. A few as Bishop, Priest, Deacon or religious. Many as a man and woman Sacramentally Married or as a person living the single life. We all fall in to one (or more) of these life styles.
2. This week the idea of a VOCATION is still in the Scriptures and it is certainly on the mind of the church as God’s word unfolds for us. Only today, VOCATION comes to us not in ‘WHAT’ life style we are living, but VOCATION in the ‘HOW’ we are called to live the life style. Today we discuss the MOST VALUABLE VIRTUE for our VOCATION. And that Virtue is LOVE. Described in another word, it’s the PASSION with which we live God’s call.
-Someone might describe themselves as a passionate Notre Dame Fan. They eat, sleep, drink the Fighting Irish, and you know it, they wear the colors, know the coaches, go to the games. Get upset when they lose. They have parties, bumpers stickers and knick knacks galore. They even think Brady Quinn was the greatest QB ever.
-Others could be passionate jobs, sports, fishing, shopping, gardening. You ‘know what’ someone is passionate about when you meet them. They exude passion.
-Not everyone would be described as PASSIONATE about something. Some might be described with a lesser love as AVID or others could be describe with the word OCCASIONAL.
3. Jesus is very pragmatic about the necessity for each of us to develop the use of this M-V-V of love or passion in our lives. He gave us a command… IN FACT a New Command. Because to the point of Him coming in to this world, no one had ever LOVED like he did. Therefore he could say, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” Then to show that this love or passion must be perpetuated, He said…’THIS IS HOW ALL WILL KNOW YOU ARE MY DISCIPELS.”
4. Our scripture passages give us great insight that helps us to understand the PASSION or LOVE that is the M-V-V. necessary to each Life Style Vocation we find ourselves living.
In the GOSPEL we find our selves at the last supper. Jesus wanted the disciples to carry on the mission that His Father gave him. To bring all mankind back to the glory that we lost, through the Forgive- ness of sin. His PASSIONATE LOVE would lead him to die for our sins only hours later. He had to make them understand that only a Passionate Lover would embrace the mission. That a Avid lover might help some. but he would never see it through. That an Occasional lover …lets not even go there. The Passion for the mission calls for people to live, sleep, drink and eat the Fathers will. We know where the Love of Jesus stood.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles: St. Paul was a Passionate man. At 1st he was a passionate persecutor of Christians. It was Very hard for him to shake that image. But in the end he was a Passionate disciple of Christ. His redirected passion makes him arguably one of the greatest Evangelizers. His passion along with the Apostles opened the door to the Gentiles to believe in Christ. And we recognize the passion of many great saints who kept that initial effort alive.
In the book of Revelations reading: The Mental Picture we take from this reading, is kind of what underlies our Passion for God’s Kingdom. We realize what we have now is not lasting. That what we lost, we can have back. The splendor of God’s mercy, gives us reason to be passionate. Our hearts then eagerly await the New Heavens and New Jerusalem.
5. Now, we each should gage our DISCIPLESHIP. Is it PASSIONATE? Is it AVID love of mission? Is it OCCASIONAL? Is it non-existent?
We today find our selves at the Lord’s Supper. We to, in our own time are being challenged to ‘Love as Jesus loved us’. We are called to live it in our life style vocation. So that in our WORDS and WORKS, other people will KNOW, they will SENSE beyond the shadow of doubt that we to are His disciples. Not TIMID, OCCASIONAL or even AVID disciples…but Passionate Disciples, engaged in the task of living in and building the Kingdom of God.
Is it POSSIBLE? With out a Doubt. But is it PROBABLE?
-It’s UP TO YOU to take the steps to live Passionate HOSPITALITY in this Parish.
-It’s up to you to take the steps to a Passionate PRAYER life.
-It’s up to you to passionately FORM your FAITH.
-It’s up to you to passionately SERVE others in Jesus name.
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