Companions on the Journey to Health and Wholeness

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 5.1-9

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

And we think we have problems with access to health care. Regardless of your personal opinions on our societal debate regarding health care—HMOs, PPOs, private insurance, the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medi-Cal, socialized medicine, and universal health care—our frustrations with accessing health care are nothing compared to what the invalid experiences in today’s Gospel reading. He obviously has a pretty lousy health care plan. He tries to get an appointment, but there are none to be had. Only walk-ins, which are treated on a first-come, first-served basis. And once that first patient walks in the door, the clinic closes for the day. Or for the week. Or until whenever the doctor decides to see patients again. Well, that’s not quite what happens, but almost. And if you’ve ever had to wait for an appointment or for a referral from your GP or through your HMO, you know a little of the frustration the invalid is experiencing.

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Who Are We to Hinder God?

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Acts 11.1-18; Revelation 21.1-6; John 13.31-35

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

There are certain doctrines that are foundational to who we are as Christians. These are statements of our beliefs that are inviolable. That are not open to negotiation. Commandments found in Scripture, such as the Ten Commandments and the Great Commandment. And statements of faith carefully crafted by Ecumenical Councils, such as the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. And then, of course, there are the two doctrines that reign supreme throughout the Church: “We’ve always done it that way” and “We’ve never done it that way.”

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"My Sheep Hear My Voice"

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 10.22-30

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

About 20 years ago, give or take, I was in a mall in Riverside a couple of weeks before Christmas. I had been so busy that I had to take a weekday off so I could do my Christmas shopping. This was before online shopping had become the favored means of commerce. I was in a women’s store looking for some things for my mother and my sister. There were obviously the store employees, as well as other shoppers in the store. As a result, there was the sounds of a number of voices. There was also the sound of Christmas music over the speakers, and a myriad of other sounds drifting in from other parts of the mall. All of this mixed together to create a sea of background noise with one single component almost indistinguishable from the rest. I was in the front corner of the store looking at some sweaters, trying to decide which ones to get for Mom and Lisa. All of a sudden, I noticed something vaguely familiar. At first it didn’t quite register, but there was something in that background noise that grabbed my attention. I whipped around in the general direction of the seemingly familiar sound. Sure enough, there in the back of the store, probably as far away as the front doors to the church, I saw my mother talking to one of the clerks. My mother does not have a particularly loud voice. Yet, over all the other sounds and voices in the place, hers reached my ears and was recognized.

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Tale of Two Conversions (Maybe More)

Third Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Acts 9.1-20; John 21.1-19

St. Thomas of Canterbury, Long Beach

As we journey through the 50 days of Easter, moving farther and farther from the Day of Resurrection, we notice a shift in the nature of our Scripture readings. On Easter Sunday and the first couple of Sundays after, our Gospel readings focus on various of Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances to his disciples. But fairly quickly, we run out of these appearances. After all, the resurrected Jesus was only around for 40 days before his Ascension into heaven.

During this same time, our first reading for each Sunday is from the Acts of the Apostles—the story of the early Church as it came to grips with the reality of life and ministry, not only post-Resurrection, but post-Ascension. The adventures, the joys, the challenges, the struggles, as Jesus’ followers navigate the religious landscape of their day to forge a new religious path based on the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, as we move forward through Eastertide, the stories of post-Resurrection appearances gradually give way to the stories of the early Church and its formation.

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