Friday, 20 May 2022
Friday, 13 May 2022
May 15 2022 - Fifth Sunday of Easter
Exclusive to this website English translation of a great homily from Vatican Radio for this Sunday's Gospel. The homilist, Fr Fabio Rosini, is a renowned speaker and fills the Roman basilicas with young people!
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Friday, 6 May 2022
May 8th 2022. Fourth Sunday of Easter
GOSPEL John 10:27-30
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .
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GOSPEL John 10:27-30
Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
SUMMARY OF HOMILY
1. Our desire for autonomy leads to suffering and division. We need to stop following ourselves and follow the Lord.
On this Fourth Sunday of Easter, the readings are all consistent with the theme of the Good Shepherd as the one who must be followed. When Paul and Barnabas are rejected by their Jewish listeners, they are compelled to turn to the pagans. Thus, we Gentiles inherit the promises made to Abraham, becoming his children by faith. In the Gospel, we are told that the sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow him. The drama of not following the voice of the Lord but of following one’s own volition is a drama that has unfolded since the Fall in Eden. When man emphasizes his own autonomy, then suffering, dictatorship and tyranny follow. How important it is in life to permit oneself to be corrected and guided by others! Teachers often discover that those who are self-taught often never arise above mediocrity whilst those that are open to the teachings of others attain a completely different level. As St Bernard of Clairvaux said, “He who makes himself teacher of himself becomes the disciple of a fool”. Our desire for autonomy leads to solitude because it causes rivalry with others and fixation with oneself.
2. By baptism we are washed in the blood of the Lamb and called to enter into the great tribulation, the battle of being transformed, no longer following one’s own passions, but following the voice of the Lamb.
The second reading speaks of this enormous multitude dressed in white before the throne of the Lamb. This is a symbol of baptism. These people have come from the great tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The tribulation is that of living out one’s baptismal calling, being freed from one’s own ego, from the violence of the passions, from the weight of a self-referential existence. Blood does not seem a good substance for washing something and making it white, but the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin. We are made brilliantly white because we have encountered the purifying mercy and pardon of God. This multitude is constantly in front of the Lord’s throne because they live for him, not for human respect. They exist in intimate communion with God and no longer have hunger or thirst for anything, having overcome the need for the compensation of the passions, “for the lamb who is in the centre of the throne will shepherd them”.
3. Intimacy with the Lamb is fundamental. We follow him not because he is dominant or forceful but because he knows us and loves us. It is his voice that leads us away from our self-deception and to true life.
It is a curious thing to be led by a lamb, because a lamb is a meek creature. Usually we are led by dominant forces, not by a creature who has lost the battles of this world. But the key to being led by this lamb is the fact that we know and trust him. Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”. To “know” someone in Hebrew refers to profound knowledge of the other. We Christians have the experience of being known and loved, even in our poverty and misery. We have been washed in the blood of the lamb and have been transformed, brought through the tribulation – the slavery to passions, trapped in lives of deception. The fundamental issue is to follow the Lord and not follow oneself, to allow oneself to be pastured. The first thing Jesus said to his disciples was “Follow me!” We have thousands of daily opportunities to trust in the Lord and follow him. May this liturgy lead us to the white garments, to the tent of intimacy with the Father, and to this voice of the Good Shepherd which guides us interiorly, instructs us and saves us, freeing us from our deceptions.
ALTERNATIVE HOMILY
This Gospel tells us so much about the spiritual life and about true discipleship! How are we to follow Jesus? How do we encourage others to follow Jesus? Should we give them a moral lecture, telling them all the norms that they need to observe? Should we frighten them into submission, warning them about the dangers of not following Jesus? All too often, our preaching has been of this sort! But in the Gospel for today, Jesus outlines a completely different way. He tells us that his sheep hear his voice. He knows them and they follow him. As a consequence, he gives them life, and this life leads them into communion with the Father. There is no imposition here or blind obedience! In fact, the Hebrew word for “obey” means “to listen”. Jesus speaks his word to us. If we are receptive to that word, then it penetrates within us and we feel known and understood by the Lord. This is what prompts us to follow Jesus! Of all the five senses, listening is the most important when it comes to receiving the Lord’s word. This listening leads us to be known by the Lord. To be known in Hebrew does not mean to have knowledge but to be in an intimate relationship. The foundation of my stability and security derives from my memories of the times when I have felt known and understood by the Lord. Let us cultivate our memory of these occasions! My weakness and my misery are not decisive! What is decisive is that the Lord has spoken his word to me, that he knows and loves me, and that he calls me to follow him in freedom.
Wednesday, 27 April 2022
May 1st 2022. Third Sunday of Easter
GOSPEL John 21:1-19
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .
(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)
GOSPEL John 21:1-19
At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We also will come with you."
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"
They answered him, "No."
So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something."
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught."
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?"
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."
Jesus said to him the third time,
"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time,
"Do you love me?" and he said to him,
"Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."
Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go."
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me."
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
SUMMARY OF HOMILY
1. How does Peter, who denied Christ three times, now have the courage to witness to Christ to the extent of being brutally flogged?
In the first reading from Acts we encounter a Peter who stands up courageously to bear witness to Jesus. He then endures being flogged (a harrowing punishment in those times) and does it all with serenity, freedom and joy. How does it happen that Peter, who denied Jesus in front of a servant girl, now has the courage to bear witness to the extent of being flogged? The answer is splendidly given in the Gospel. There are many significant details in this story of the miraculous catch of fish. Afterwards they eat with Jesus and then the Lord asks Peter three times if he loves him. At the third time, Peter is saddened. The scene recalls the threefold denial, which happened in front of a charcoal fire. Now, in front of the fire that Jesus had prepared, after having eaten a new type of food, reinforced by the relationship with the risen Christ, Jesus is healing that wound. The new life that we see in Peter in Acts 5 flows from that relationship with Christ. It is not a quality of Peter himself. Peter had claimed to be the greatest of the apostles, the one who would never abandon Jesus, but his true fragility and infidelity was revealed during the passion.
2. The sadness that Peter feels when he recalls his own poverty and misery is important. We must feel that sadness so that we will turn to God and abandon ourselves to him.
Peter felt sadness when he recalled his infidelity in front of Jesus. When he does his first preaching on Pentecost Sunday, the people who hear him are struck to the heart. This interior sadness is necessary, as it involves liberation from one’s ego. Peter, as the first among the apostles, was full of his own triumphal qualities, and needed to discover how poor and miserable he really was. At the washing of the feet, Peter did not want the Lord to cleanse him, but Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you can have no part in me”. What transforms Peter into the fearless man of Acts 5 is the fact of being loved and forgiven by Jesus.
3. At the denial, Peter was an immature person who followed his own desires. Now he has become a mature disciple, open to what the Lord ordains for him.
Jesus then says to Peter, “When you were young, you dressed as you wished and went wherever you wanted”. In other words, while Peter was still immature, he followed only his own whims; he made his own plans into absolutes. “But when you are older, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and take you where you do not want to go”. This perfectly describes St Peter, who becomes obedient to wherever the will of God will lead him, right up to stretching out his hands in crucifixion. New life does not come from effort, or personal coherence! It comes from being pardoned! It comes from the shattering of the ego. St Peter no longer is under the illusion of his own greatness. We see in this Gospel that the mature adult is the one who submits to God, who places himself in front of the Lord as one who follows. Indeed, the last phrase of this passage is, “Follow me!” This was the first call of Christ to Peter, but now he can fulfil it. When God’s promises don’t seem to be getting fulfilled, we wonder why not? What is missing? It is we who are missing! We need to submit in trust because we have been loved, convinced that he will never abandon us.
ALTERNATIVE HOMILY
The disciples have gone back fishing but they are catching nothing. Isn’t this often true in the life of the Church? How often we seem to be doing nothing, having no results, going nowhere! Why does that happen? Because we take our eyes off the risen Lord! When Jesus appears and tells the disciples to throw the nets in a new direction, then a bountiful catch results. It is when we cease depending on our own egos and become attentive to the word of the Lord, that our lives become fruitful. But that is not all that happens in this Gospel. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. Thus he leads Peter through a process of correction and healing for the threefold denial at the Passion. In fact, at the beginning of this Gospel, Peter was behaving just as he had during the Passion! He said, “I’m going fishing!” It is the old impetuous Peter who is following his own will. Jesus calls Peter to stop relying on himself and instead allow himself to “stretch out his hands and be led where he does not want to go”. In fact, the last line of this passage is, “Follow me!” This lesson is for all Christians. It is only when we cease to rely on ourselves and follow the Lord that our lives begin to bear fruit.
Friday, 22 April 2022
April 24th 2022. Divine Mercy Sunday
GOSPEL John 20: 19-31
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .
(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)
GOSPEL John 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them,
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nail marks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
SUMMARY OF HOMILY
1. Thomas does not encounter the Lord because he was not with the brothers. It is when we are in communion with the Church that we encounter the Lord.
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, as is traditionally the case, we read of the appearance of Jesus to the apostles on the evening of the first Easter Sunday. He breathes the Holy Spirit on them and gives them the most fundamental mission of the Church, that of the forgiveness of sins. Thomas is not present. We are told that his other name was “Didymus” which means “twin”. A twin remains always a twin, someone whose identity is marked (in a positive way) by the fact that he is a sibling. It is interesting that this “brother”, Thomas, is not with the other brothers when Christ appears. There is an important lesson here: we do not encounter the Lord as individuals but as part of the fraternity of the Church. None of the saints ever went to the Lord in an individual manner. Even St Paul, who had a direct revelation of Christ on the road to Damascus, was still welcomed into the Church by means of the action of the disciple Ananias.
2. Attendance at the Christian assembly for the commemoration of the day of the resurrection is the normal way to encounter the Lord.
Encountering the Lord requires this communion with the Church. In addition, this reading shows us how to achieve such communion. Thomas is present with the brothers eight days later. “Eight days later” is a Jewish expression for the passage of one week. We see therefore that the early Church was already settling into the rhythm of the weekly encounter with the whole assembly, the day on which the resurrection was celebrated. In this life of relationship with his brothers, there are appointments which are regular in nature. In fact, in the early centuries of the Church, the sense of the importance of Sunday was very strong, not least because it was something with solid Jewish foundations. The celebration of the Sabbath and the importance of repose on that day were essential to the Hebrew mind. The first Christians were all Jews and they maintained this sense of the Sabbath, but moved it by one day to the day of the Resurrection.
3. Salvation is not procured individually. If we wish to guide people to the Lord, let us encourage them to attend the Sunday assembly with the Lord.
Mercy is fundamental for our salvation, but it is not something received in an individual way. The nature of the faith involves the call to fraternal communion. As Scripture says, I cannot claim to love the God I cannot see if I do not love the brother that I do see. Mercy is not an automatic dispenser of grace whenever it suits me as an individual to present myself for it. As the prophet Isaiah says, “Seek the Lord while he is to be found, call upon him while he is near”. It is not up to us to decide when to approach God for mercy, the Lord himself has let us know where and when he is to be found. I might be under the impression that I can be redeemed in my own time on my own terms, but it doesn’t work that way. The Lord has given us the liturgical appointments. It is to these appointments with the Lord and his assembly that we must guide other people who seek faith.
ALTERNATIVE HOMILY
Too often the figure of Thomas is considered to be the classic model of doubt or unbelief. But this would be a superficial reading of the Gospel passage! In fact, Thomas expresses one of the highest professions of faith contained in the New Testament, “My Lord and my God”. Moreover, Thomas does not show greater unbelief than the rest of the disciples. They were all slow to believe when Mary Magdalene testified to the resurrection. What Thomas really demonstrates is something different than simple doubt or unbelief. The real reason that he does not believe at the same time as his brothers is because he was absent from the fraternal gathering when Jesus appeared. Eight days later - which is the Jewish way of sating “one week later” - he is present at the gathering and he too has an experience of the risen Lord. Our faith is not an individualistic thing! We come to have faith as a member of a community of brothers and sisters. And the goal of our faith is to enter into communion with our brothers and sisters! Thomas believes when he encounters Jesus along with the other disciples. This prepares them for the future time when they will no longer see Jesus in the flesh, but they will help others to see him by their testimonies - “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe”.
Friday, 15 April 2022
April 17th 2022. Easter Sunday
GOSPEL John 20: 1-9
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .
(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)
GOSPEL John 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
SUMMARY OF HOMILY
1. Easter always involves God doing something that human beings consider impossible
When Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb, she immediately thinks that somebody has taken Jesus away. Our first explanation for anything is always in terms of people and objects. This is the classic horizontal way of looking at things, a form of “existential Cluedo”. We always presume that someone is responsible for any given fact and we immediately ask ourselves who did it. Easter, by contrast, is always about God doing something that we consider impossible. At the original Passover, the people of Israel found themselves in an apparent dead end in front of the Red Sea, pursued by an enemy that wished to massacre them, but then they discover the way of God. The last line of the Gospel passage says, “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead”. In the narrative, in fact, it is the beloved disciple who arrives at the tomb before Peter. The Fathers of the Church understood this to signify that love arrives quicker than reason. Peter and the beloved disciple also appear in a later post-resurrection scene on the Sea of Galilee when John recognizes Christ on the shore before Peter does. It was John also who managed to get Peter into the courtyard during the questioning of Jesus on the occasion when Peter denied his master three times. Encounter with Christ is never a private affair, it always involves fraternity, an ecclesial elaboration. If the resurrection of Christ does not illuminate the fraternal relations we have with others, then it serves nothing. It leads to love. That is why it is the one who loves that recognizes and understands Christ.
2. The life of the resurrection involves leaving behind old habits and also old categories of thinking
When they enter the tomb, they discover the burial cloths folded up. Once we enter into baptismal life, we leave behind us the old man and vest ourselves in Christ. The garment of the risen body is not the garment of death. Whenever one encounters the resurrection of Christ, one changes “habit” in the sense of habits of life. The tradition was that newly baptised adults would wear a white garment for the first week after baptism, then they would deposit this garment on the tomb of a martyr. It was worn for one week only to signify passage from a habit (in the sense of a garment) to a habitual way of life. When one encounters new life, one leaves behind the old habits and objects that no longer serve. Then Peter too enters, sees and believes. Finally he is opened to the work of God and realizes that this is not the end but the beginning. Up to now, the apostles understood using their own categories of thought, but now it will be the Scriptures that will give them the categories for understanding what has happened.
3. The Scriptures revel that God offers us life by means of a pathway that is not ours
How often during life we discover that something that appeared to be a way of death is actually a way of life. Following Christ is not about adopting a moral or ethical system but about entering into a new way of existence. It is God alone who can bring life from death. This is the mystery unveiled by the Scriptures – that God offers us life by means of a pathway that is not ours. Let us open ourselves to the surprise of Easter and let us be willing to live it. Let us abandon ourselves to the power of God, trusting that he can find a means of escape from the dead ends that confront us. This means of escape does not follow the ways of this world – in fact, it leaves them aside, as the garments of burial were deposited in the tomb. This new way of life becomes a marvellous way of existence, the way of life of the resurrection.
ALTERNATIVE HOMILY
The passage from the Gospel for Sunday’s Mass doesn’t mention an apparition of Jesus. Instead we have an empty tomb and the search for a missing body. Wouldn’t it have been better if we had read of an appearance of the risen Lord? But the passage is important for us because it shows us the very moment in which the bewilderment of the disciples turns into faith in the risen Lord. We see how the comprehension of what they had not previously understood finally dawns on them. The fact is that none of us "understands" the way God chooses for us, his solution to things. God does not save us in the way that we expect him to. Christian life is based on the power of a God who resolves our questions, not with mathematical logic, but according to an Easter strategy. This is the sort of strategy that opens a way through the Red Sea and makes a teenage boy defeat the giant Goliath. The Lord does not resolve the question of dying by avoiding death, but by passing through the middle. Someone once said that God does not save us from the night, but saves us in the night. Jesus does not protect us from problems, but transforms problems into meeting places with him. Problems, difficulties and tombs become wombs that generate new life and transform us into new creatures. This is what Easter of the Lord does.
Friday, 8 April 2022
April 10th 2022. Palm Sunday
GOSPEL Luke 22:14 – 23:56
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio
Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .
(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)
GOSPEL Luke 22:14 – 23:56
A link to the Gospel can be found here
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ
SUMMARY OF HOMILY
1. Let us consider the passion narrative from the point of view of the three sayings of Jesus that are exclusive to Luke.
The Gospels all have their own perspectives on the passion of Jesus. This year we consider Luke’s account. It is not possible here to offer a unified reading of the entire narrative, so we will focus on those elements that are particular to Luke. We can look at the entire passion of Jesus from the point of view of his death. During these final hours, Jesus said seven different things, three of which are exclusive to Luke.
2. Humanity does not know itself and does not know what it is doing, hence the sin and violence of our existence.
The first is said at the moment that they were actually crucifying him: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. This is rendered in the Greek in a form known as the “verbal aspect”, which is like the present continuous. Luke was writing to a Greek readership and he does not use this tense casually. It is as if Christ is constantly repeating – while the nails are being driven into his flesh - “Father forgive them for they know not what they do, Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. It is a prayer, a litany, that accompanies the violence of humanity through the ages. But what is Jesus saying, that we commit these acts of aggression not knowing who he is? No, this phrase is much more profound and illuminates our real condition. We have planks in our eyes and do not know what we are doing. Like the prodigal son, we have need to re-enter into ourselves, in order to make contact with our hearts. How often we embark on wrong courses of action, filled with certainty that what we are doing is right. The truth is that we cannot add a minute to our lifespan, yet we presume to know everything. Even our laboured psychological analyses often do not deliver an authentic knowledge of ourselves. Man does not know what he is doing because he fails to comprehend his own inner mystery. Sometimes when we lose control and commit violence we say, “I was outside of myself”. We do not know ourselves and fail to appreciate how patient God is with us.
3. Jesus reveals that paradise is not a place but a relationship with him
In Luke’s narrative, there is only one person who admits that he is in the wrong. The good thief accepts that he deserves his fate. He is the only one in this whole scene who knows how to speak to Christ. “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom”. With this prayer the thief enters into relationship with Christ through the door of his own littleness, acknowledging his guilt and asking for help. He is asking Jesus for a place in his heart and Jesus responds that the place is assured. This exchange reveals that Paradise is not a place but a relationship, that of being with Christ. Dying, the thief finally steals the one right thing, a place in heaven! With his sincerity and his honesty he manages to attain something that he could never have expected. Paradise is not something that we deserve. We cannot earn it. It is a happy and joyful robbery and the Lord allows us to have it because he loves us and remembers us.
4. The tearing of the veil reveals the hidden life of God and that hidden life is the manner in which the Son entrusts himself to the Father
The last words in Luke’s narrative from Jesus are “Father into your hands I commend my spirit”. This is a glimpse into the life of Christ, which is a life of abandonment to the Father. Jesus is not on the cross because he is doing a heroic act, but because he is following the will of the Father. Interestingly, these words are said just after the veil of the Temple is torn in two. The veil covered the most sacred part of the Temple, where the high priest proclaimed the name of God on a single day of the year. Behind that veil was the inaccessible presence of God. Now that the veil is torn, we are given access to what is hidden there: the life of the Son who entrusts himself to the Father. At the moment when Christ seemed to have least motivation for entrusting himself to the Father, he commends himself entirely. This is the interior life of God – love, trust, abandonment, self-giving.
5. At the moment when everything is being taken from him, Christ gives everything
Christ in this narrative gives humanity pardon, opens the gates of paradise, and commends his spirit to the Father. At the moment of his death, when everything is being taken away from him, Jesus gives everything. Let us open ourselves to this passion narrative with the attitude of the good thief, aware of our poverty and smallness, allowing the Lord to love us and give us his gifts, allowing him to introduce us to the new life of sonship, the life of one who entrusts himself to the Father. This is a new kind of life, the kind of life that is risen and eternal.
ALTERNATIVE HOMILY
In his account of the Passion, Luke records three saying of Jesus from the cross that are not recorded elsewhere. The first is to ask his Father to forgive us for we do not know what we are doing. How arrogant we are! How often we think we know what we are doing, when in fact we are doing grave wrong, but have no idea of its gravity. The good thief alone recognizes his guilt and discovers how to pray: “Remember me when you come into your kingdom!” Jesus then utters his second phrase, “This day you will be with me in paradise”. How great is God’s mercy! The first person to enter paradise with the Lord is a thief! The third phrase is said as Jesus dies: “Father into your hands I commend my Spirit”. At this very moment the veil of the temple is torn in two. Behind the veil in the temple, the high priest alone was permitted to say the unpronounceable name of God. The tearing of the veil at the very moment of Jesus’s last words shows us that the Lord intends these words to be a revelation of the name of God, and we discover that his name is “Father”. This tortured and dying man - rather than sinking into the anguish of his horrific situation - surrenders and abandons himself to his Father. And his surrender will not be in vain. The Father will raise that flesh, revealing that the way out of anguish is not strength, is not intelligence, is not possessions, but consists in a relationship between Son and Father that endures through abandonment in the worst of moments. In the end what does the Lord Jesus do on the cross? Whilst we are stripping him of life, he is bestowing gifts. He forgives us our sins, he grants us to be with him in Paradise, he entrusts his Spirit to the Father.