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The inner word

04 May 2014 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

In reading the Acts of the Apostles, you’re reminded of the newness of the teachings and life of Jesus. Where do you fit in the story? You are a witness of the life of Jesus today. When you see the gathering and sharing of a meal, God is there. When you walk with a stranger, God is with you. Inside you is the presence of Jesus, waiting to be shared with others. As a Christian, you abide in the confidence of your brother, Jesus the risen Lord.

meal New life gathering witness

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Exploring the word

08 Apr 2012 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle B

EASTER ISN’T PRIMARILY about the Resurrection of Jesus—that is, Easter isn’t fundamentally when we celebrate what happened to Jesus. None of the feasts of the church are meant to be days of holy nostalgia. We don’t all gather on this day to peek into the empty tomb and sigh together: Wasn’t it great of God to do that? To give our good Jesus a happy ending? The scripture stories of Easter reflect our proper orientation to this feast. These are narratives of discovery and insight, commissioning and departure. Most of all they are stories about witnessing. What happened to Jesus is the discovery. What it means for us is the insight. What we have to do about it is our commissioning. Where we go with it determines our departure. Whom we tell and how we tell it—now that’s our witness! It’s obvious that we each don’t have to tell it precisely the same way. The first witnesses didn’t. Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John each have their own spin on who got there first, who saw what, how many angels were in attendance, and where to go first with the news. In addition, each time you witness you don’t have to do it the same way. What Peter has to say on Pentecost morning—the first time he dares to speak of it at all—he’s saying to fellow Israelites. So he chooses to quote prophets and King David and to use heated and forceful terms that only work between insiders. Today we hear his testimony to Cornelius, a Roman centurion outsider. Peter chooses softer language, deflects the guilt, offers a much more welcoming message. If the first approach is more “woe to you,” the second is more “come and see.” When did you first stumble upon the empty tomb in your life, and how did you first understand what it means to say, “Jesus lives”? The man on the cross is nailed there, flesh and blood and bone to wood; yet the grave cannot contain him. Jesus escapes death, not by avoiding it but by faithfully passing through it, like a doorway. If this story is only about Jesus, good for him. But if it has meaning for us, what does it say? It’s important that we get the meaning right, because next comes the commission: to go and tell. Just as the event is not meant solely for Jesus, it’s not enough for it to have some private meaning for you or me. Where do we take this message: to those who already know it, or to those who’ve never heard the merest whisper of good news? Do we share it with people we like, or with enemies or strangers? What difference does it make that, on Easter morning, the tomb is always empty? Related scripture links The beloved disciple: John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7-8; 20-24 (possibly 1:40; 18:15) Peter’s bad disciple days: Mark 10:28; 14:29-31, 37; Matt. 14:28-31; 15:15-16; 16:22-23; 18:21; 19:27; 26:33-35, 40; Luke 18:28; 22:31-34; John 13:6-9; 13:36-38; 18:10-11 Anointing the body of Jesus: John 19:38-42 Simon do you love me?: John 21:15-19 Thomas and believing: John 20:27-29 Another contest between the other disciple and Peter: John 21:7-8 Catechism links Evangelization: CCC 2-3; 74; 425-429; 846-848; 900-913; 1816 Saint Peter: CCC 442; 552-556; 640-642; 765; 816; 862; 881

Authors Alice Camille

Easter Resurrection discovery insight commissioning departure witnessing

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The inner word

08 May 2011 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Give and receive witness to the truth of Jesus Christ: Those are two key messages in today's readings. Who are some of the least likely witnesses to Christ I've encountered? What did I learn from the strength of their faith? When I proclaim the gospel, do I speak with conviction? Can others feel the depth of my faith? Could I stand as Peter did in a crowd and speak of Jesus' resurrection and saving power? Where are my blind spots when it comes to my faith? If I had 15 minutes with Jesus on my way to work, what would I love to have explained by him? Like the breaking-of-the-bread moment for the disciples, what moments have you had when you saw Jesus in your life?

Truth witness Faith

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Homily stories

06 May 2012 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

“OH, YES, SHE’S A GREAT WORKER. I highly recommend her.” With those encouraging words from a former employer, my old boss hired a new assistant. It didn’t take long to realize that the former employer’s assurances were unmitigated malarkey. The new hire proved to be uncooperative, conniving, and insincere. Not the kind of person anyone should be vouching for. When we vouch for people (vouch from the Latin vocare, “to call”), we are speaking up on their behalf and bearing witness to their worthiness to join with people who respect and trust our judgment. Vouching for someone is serious business with lasting effects. Be cautious and wise. Here are some noteworthy examples of referrals that bore fruit and continue to pay infinite dividends: God vouched for Jesus and told us to believe in his name and love as he commanded, which led to humanity’s recognition of the miracle and mystery of the Incarnation. Barnabas vouched for Saint Paul, when the Christians in Jerusalem had their doubts about his conversion and faithfulness, which paved the way for the most influential missionary of the Early Church. Jesus vouches for each of us: “I am the vine, you are the branches,” which puts the world on notice that human beings are intimately entwined with the divine and called to give glory to God.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

recommend recommendation witness

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08 Apr 2012 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle B

“After the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene is the most important woman in the New Testament,” says Dominican Father Thomas Michelet, in an interview in National Geographic (March 2012). “And yet we speak of her very little. It’s too bad, as many could be touched by this woman, who was a sinner and who was chosen by Christ as the first witness of his resurrection. He didn’t choose an apostle or the Virgin Mary. He chose Mary Magdalene. Why? Perhaps because she was the first to ask forgiveness. It was not yet the hour of Peter. It was the hour of Mary Magdalene.”

Authors Joel Schorn

mary magdalene Peter Forgiveness sinner witness

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08 May 2016 - Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

I never truly understood what it meant to bear witness until I stood in a room with 250 refugees staring at me. I thought I had a better grasp of it. After all, I’m a journalist, who listens to and tells people’s stories. And I’m a Catholic, who is called to testify to God’s truth. But the idea of bearing witness always struck me as somewhat passive and not terribly difficult. Then again, I’d never before confronted anything as extreme as the desperation and hopelessness of these refugees—Iraqis who had fled to Jordan and were being sheltered by a Christian parish near Amman. They can’t go home, they can’t stay, and there’s little chance they’ll get to the West. I was there to write about them, as part of a press trip, but I felt so useless. However, they didn’t expect me to do anything for them other than my job; that is, listen and tell others about them. They wanted to be seen, heard, and acknowledged. They needed their experience, their existence, their truth to be shared. I realized how important this act is, and how tough when you can’t do much else. I can hope that my work moves hearts and leads others to help, but ultimately I learned how much just being present matters.

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

witness refugees

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Homily stories

16 Jan 2011 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

A coworker and friend asked me to write a letter of recommendation for his application to graduate school. I knew he was counting on me to make it good--which wasn't difficult. I loved this guy, son of a Brooklyn fireman, who could see through the smoke of political corruption and social injustice and get to the heart of the matter. He would be an asset to any classroom, newsroom, or boardroom. But more than anything, I thought he was one of the best journalists I'd come across. I sent off my glowing recommendation to the school with a copy dropped in the box of my colleague. Later he came up to thank me. He said he really appreciated my kind words, but he worried that perhaps I might have done more harm than good. "Everything was OK," he explained, "up to the point where you said you thought I was the next Mike Royko--Pulitzer Prize and all." "I do think that," I protested. "Yeah, but everyone else is going to think you're nuts!" That's just like what happened to John the Baptist. It was one thing to go around telling everyone to repent, but to testify that he'd met the Messiah--most people thought he'd finally gone off his rocker. John was vindicated for his witness in the end, and I'm sure I will be, too. You heard it here first: Mike Royko is alive and living in Chicago. But he's now a Mets fan.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

john the baptist witness testify

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The inner word

22 Nov 2009 - Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Cycle B

The feast of Christ the King recognizes the triumph of Jesus, the one who testified to the truth with his words and with his life. Reverend John Buchanan of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago says, “When it comes to ultimate truth, the most appropriate posture is modesty, silence, reverence, not propounding, shouting, condemning.” What was Jesus’ posture before Pilate when asked to testify about himself? How do I respond to Jesus’ claims of ultimate truth in my own life and as a preacher? Pilate asks Jesus, “What have you done?” assuming he must have done something wrong to be in such trouble with his own religious leaders. What do I believe that Jesus did that brought him to such trouble with the powers?

Truth witness victory

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Homily themes

12 Apr 2009 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle B

This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all people, but to us . . . . Many had seen what Jesus had done, but not all believed in him. Those who did believe, however, had the eyes of faith to see him after his Resurrection. For people without this vision, Christ seemed—and seems—a curious figure, but not much more. But to recognize in Jesus’ healings and other good works signs of his divinity, of the Spirit’s being with him, lets us see his risen body, his continuing presence in the church and the world. It may take time to learn to see him—even the early disciples did not at first understand the empty tomb—but if we believe we can see him ever more clearly, that sight will lead us to preach and testify to him. Homily points Witnessing to our faith is an essential part of being a believer. Discipleship begins for all of us at the empty tomb. Peter and the beloved disciple enter into some competition about getting to the tomb and getting the point of it. Faith is not a competition, so never mind how you get there—just get there!

Authors Joel Schorn

witnessing

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The inner word

15 Jan 2017 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

We make a big deal about how Saint John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord—saw him coming, witnessed the big epiphany moment when he baptized Jesus, told the crowd, “Behold, the Lamb of God”—and yet also said, “I did not know him,” and on top of that later sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Luke 7:19). You might be reminded of Jacob wrestling an angel but not realizing it until afterward: “Truly, the Lord is in this place and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16). These ambiguities highlight the need to look for God at all times. They also remind you that God is invisible but everywhere, absent but always present, seemingly inactive at times yet guiding you nonetheless. These paradoxes are at the heart of faith. Embrace them.

john the baptist baptism witness ignorance

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