The Gospel for this Sunday, the 6th Sunday of Easter, Year B, comes from the of St John Chapter 15, a direct continuation of verses from last week, where Jesus continues to reveals Himself as the True Vine and what the implications are for us.

When you look at a classic grape vine, it is very hard to tell where the trunk ends and the main branches begin.

The more our lives are in alignment with Jesus, the more fruitful they will be.

God the Father poured all of His love into Jesus, and Jesus poured all of that love into us. In imitating this ‘agape’ love we will be fruitful. That is allowing the love of Jesus to be poured into us; and pouring that love out on to each other.

This is the simplest explanation of His Will for us.
Simple yes;
easy no.

Sometimes we wonder if we could possibly be in the right place at the right time for God’s kind purposes when it seems so arid and dry. But these are the words He says to us:

“You did not choose Me. No, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

It is no accident. The Divine vine-dresser selected us to be precisely here, and has pruned our lives in such ways that we will be the most fruitful here. He has commissioned us, appointed us, deliberately set us in this place, so that we can be fruitful. And not an ordinary level of fruitfulness either; He wants quality long lasting fruit – the kind that go to make up Penfolds Grange and will still be extraordinary 100 years from now, not the kind that is only suitable for cask wine.

If we let His love fully in (1st challenge)
and pour that love fully out onto others (2nd challenge)
then this highest kind of quality fruitfulness is assured.

It is precisely in this seemingly barren place that any flourishing will be seen as something only God could do.
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May God grant that the obstacles in our lives to receiving His love may be melted away, and that the obstacles in our lives that prevent us from loving more fully, may they be melted away too. May His infinite merciful love melt all those obstacles away and cause us to be more fruitful in Him than we have ever been before. Amen.  

The Gospel for this Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Easter, Year B, comes from the middle section of St John Chapter 10 where Jesus reveals Himself as the Good Shepherd.

Most of us have very little to do with sheep, apart from purchasing cuts of meat from a supermarket or similar. Those of us who do have something to do with sheep in Australia have an average size herd of just under 3000 sheep. In the time of Jesus the average number of sheep per shepherd was 100. The smaller size herds make knowing individual sheep possible.

So what could possibly induce a shepherd to be willing to risk his life to save his sheep?

To modern minds this is beyond comprehension; and verging on crazy.

And it is, until you consider the amount of time the shepherd spends with the sheep, and how frequently a shepherd has to check for wounds, health of gums, and the quality of wool. For much of the time the shepherd is alone with the sheep; and has plenty of time to study them and to note and remember their individual differences.

Some will be placid, some will be adventurous, one might have a stiffer leg, a higher pitched bleat, a floppy ear, or be a fussy grazer. It is this long term build-up of the knowledge of what makes each sheep unique, which makes the sheep matter to the shepherd. In the same way it is the long term build-up of relationship of the sheep with the shepherd that engenders trust, making the shepherd matter to the sheep.

Jesus knows us this well. He has studied everything about us, and He can also see the traces of our various lineages too. He remembers who our parents and grandparents were, and He knows the various character traits we share with them.

He knows us this well that we matter to Him, despite being merely sheep.

Yesterday the residents at the local aged care facility had Mass for the first time since Christmas. Many of them we see each week for Communion services, and those unable to attend receive individual visits. Having been reflecting upon this Gospel passage, I could see the parallels. The more we get to know each resident, the more they matter to us. It was so good to have so many of them in the same place, and to reconnect with some we haven’t seen for a while because someone else has been doing their individual visits. At the same time, the absence of those who couldn’t be there was keenly felt.

It strikes me that this is the kind of long term deep relationship that Jesus wants with us, and that He wants for us with each other. It requires us investing time with Him; and investing time with each other.

​Therein lies the challenge because there is no shortcut to this process. 

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There is nothing to compare with one on one time for getting to know someone, or even few on few.

Perhaps that is why parish visitation used to be a core part of a parish priest's ministry. 

These days it tends to be meetings and administration, but it is still possible to carve out time to go and visit the flock, 'just because'.

Admittedly these days it is not advisable to go alone without a companion as a witness and a protection, but it could still be done with a bit of planning and rotations of visiting companions.

I note with some sadness that once upon a time bishops used to come and visit the children preparing for Confirmation. It was an effective way of knowing that the children had been prepared. But these days the bishops seem to delegate that to the priests, and the priests in turn delegate that to the sacramental co-ordinator, and he or she depends on the group leaders - and even then it is a very brave group leader who will say a child is not prepared because they missed lessons, didn't pay attention, or doesn't seem at all interested.

Visiting parishioners and spending time with them is crucial if we are to imitate the Good Shepherd.     

The Gospel for this Sunday, the 5th Sunday of Lent Year B, comes from chapter 12 of St John and is situated chronologically between the Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem and the washing of the feet on the evening of Holy Thursday.

Against the volatility of that week, the caution shown by Philip and Andrew becomes understandable. At any other time and place a request to see/meet with Jesus wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. An observable interaction in Jerusalem just before the Passover with the potential to send His message beyond Jewish borders and the stakes suddenly get higher for both the Jewish authorities and for Jesus.

Just like the arrest of John the Baptist, which was the catalyst for Jesus to begin His public ministry, this event feels like a catalyst or an expected sign that confirms that This is The Passover for Jesus, the Passover when He will be sacrificed.

Just like the Baptism in the Jordan, and the Transfiguration, this event includes a theophany; an audible response from God the Father. While the Transfiguration happened in private, and the Baptism may or may not have had more than one witness, this theophany is public.

Therefore what Jesus is saying here carries great significance.

What we have in this passage is a glimpse into how Jesus approached His Passion, and what kept Him committed to seeing it through despite the frightening personal cost.

Unless a wheat grain dies, it does not produce a rich harvest.
Only by surrendering His life will the better, eternal life be attained.
Only by His death are the powers of evil overthrown.
Only by His death does the conquering of each heart for the Kingdom begin.
Only by His death is ultimate victory accomplished.

Verse 31 deserves special attention:
“Now sentence/judgment/justice is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world (satan) is to be driven out/cast out/ejected.”

This is a mission statement, a declaration of war, and a declaration of victory.

The purpose of Jesus is to drain the whole world of evil.

He definitively did this on Calvary.

The decisive battle is won, and it is a victory that keeps on growing.

Jesus began changing the world and began draining the whole world of the swamp of evil on Calvary.

In each era of history since then, He has continued to drain the swamp of evil and advance the kingdom of God.

Jesus is still draining the various swamps of evil today.

Every day we can declare with Him, ‘Now the prince of this world is ejected’.

Today we can declare with Him, ‘Now the prince of this world is ejected’.

And it’s true.

In our own era the swamp of evil has become boldly visible to extents and complexities never before seen.

Jesus is still about His mission of draining the swamp, and a major victory is immanent.

Sometimes an enemy has to be lured out of the shadows before it can be vanquished on a massive scale.
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This seems to be what is happening in our era.
So do not be dismayed.
The plan to massively vanquish evil is in operation.
Jesus will attain His full purpose.
‘Today the prince of this world is ejected.’
Amen.

The Gospel for this Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Lent Year B, comes from chapter 3 of St John and contains part of the late-night conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

It also contains one of the best loved and well-known verses in Sacred Scripture: John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

We are very fortunate that the details of this important conversation were recorded for us. Can you imagine how different our understanding of Jesus and His mission would be without them?

Nicodemus is a member of the Pharisees, a movement within Judaism that tried to live out God’s law as perfectly as possible; and Nicodemus was respected and influential which meant that if he didn’t have the official status of elder he certainly had the unofficial status. In him we see someone seriously trying to please God in everything, and who had a much greater knowledge of scripture and the law than most people of his time.

To Nicodemus Jesus can talk and entrust knowledge succinctly, and in many layers, because He knows this fine mind will retain this teaching/knowledge and mull over it and wrestle with it from many different angles, through many and varied conversations, and over many years until true understanding comes.

So what does Jesus entrust Nicodemus with?

Firstly with an understanding of the depth of the agape love of God, and secondly with the eternal ramifications of our responses to that agape love of God, among other things.

To give one’s only son is a sacrifice few can comprehend, and even fewer can make. Many see the life of their only son as more precious than their own, because the whole future of their family rests on him. Without a child to assist, provide for, dream for, aspire to make the world a better place for, life loses almost all of its purpose and motivation.

God’s commitment of covenant love for us is so great, that even as He tells Nicodemus this, He has already begun the process to sacrifice His Son for each one of us. This is incomprehensible love verging on outright lunacy in its extravagance and costliness.

The only appropriate response to this covenant love of such unimaginable magnitude is to accept such a gift of salvation with gratitude and to commit our lives in covenant love to this only begotten Son of God.

One of the eye-openers of this passage of scripture is that there is no in-between. Either we respond with agape love to God and dwell in His light, or we respond with agape love to evil and dwell in darkness.

There is no middle ground.

On the choice of where we give our agape love is what hangs our eternal future.

The sad and bad news is that more of us choose evil and darkness over God and light.

The good news is that we still have an opportunity to choose God and light, but it has to be a total agape love response. It can’t be anything less.

We were made to give ourselves in agape love.

What we have chosen to love with agape love will be given us eternally.

Choose well.

​#GospelReflection

Write Non Fiction In November : #WNFIN Day 7
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The topic for today is experiencing God's love. Without a profound encounter with God's love nothing of the Christian life makes sense. However, once a person has experienced such an encounter, then everything makes sense, and what was once a chore becomes a delight.

The good news is...that there is always more. Whatever we have encountered of God's love, there is always more for us to encounter, and in new and deeper ways.

It stands to reason that the experiences of God at the beginning are usually powerful and life changing. As we grow and discover more about this God who loves us, those times of sensible encounter decrease and the times of encounter that are beyond feelings increase. For many people the hardest times are in the lengthening periods when the presence of God seems absent. But they are necessary, because how else do we and God find out whether we love Him for Himself or because of what He does and can do for us. When the testing times are over, He invites us to deeper levels of encountering His love.

In the testing times relief from the aridity of personal prayer comes from four sources, group prayer, lectio divina, time sitting with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and time spent with those who are suffering – either as a companion or in service to them.

So what are these encounters with God like?

Some are like everything at once, tears of joy, laughter, repentance, dancing, adoration, singing, amazement.

Some are a personal message with or without audible words, usually at unexpected moments. Change of direction and vocational calls can frequently be like this.

Some feel like a collapsing kaleidoscope where a whole manner of different things suddenly fall into place with astonishing clarity, and this confirms that you are in the right place, at the right time, for His kind purposes.

Some contain burning, tingling, and physical healing.

Some come in the form of visions and dreams of significance.

Some experiences we should be a whole lot more grateful for than we usually are…the ones where He lays a precise finger on the parts of our lives that are displeasing to Him as an invitation to ask His help to clean them up through His mercy and pardon.

Some are like a sensation that all barriers are gone and prayer is effortless and going straight to the heart of the Father.

Some are more external when the realisation happens that God has arranged everything 'just so' and the outcomes could have been much, much worse, and that you have been saved from those greater layers of disaster and that the outcomes have several unexpected silver linings.

Some can be profound encounters through a near death experience.

But whenever you go seeking encounters with God, or try to replicate the conditions under which the previous encounter took place….nothing happens. We can most certainly ask Him for an experience of His love, but we need to let Him be God and let it be in His chosen time and place and not when we think it should be.

We certainly love the extraordinary manifestations of God's love, who doesn't? But there are many ordinary manifestations that we usually overlook on a daily basis; the gentle breeze that refreshes and lifts your spirits, the beautiful bird that caught your eye and lingered for a while, the gift of a good night's sleep, an unexpected extra kindness or tenderness from a child or spouse, the unexpected meeting in an out of place location with someone who had been on your mind, the gift of meeting someone truly holy.

Evangelisation is meant to help people open up their hearts to God, so that He can encounter them with His love. Catechesis only makes sense and becomes fruitful after a person has had a profound encounter with God's love. Prior to that encounter you may as well have been speaking a foreign language to them.

So let's pray, firstly for a loved one, and then for ourselves.

Heavenly Father, I bring before You ……………….. He/she has yet to experience Your love, otherwise You would be the number 1 priority in his/her life and not the last on the list after many things more important and urgent to him/her. Only You can quieten down the other voices in his/her life long enough for Your cry of love to break through. Please tonight, tomorrow, sometime during the week ahead, grant them an experience of Your love that will transform his/her life. Please grant them all that he/she needs to respond wholeheartedly to You, and to place his/her life completely at Your service. Amen.

Dear heavenly Father, I know You exist, I believe in You, but it feels so long since I experienced Your love at the life-changing level. I want that. Thank You for being active in my life. I really appreciate how You have been taking care of me and my loved ones. But I feel like I am surviving on empty fumes. The exterior proofs of Your love are amazing, but my heart longs for something interior, deeply personal and profound. Please tonight, tomorrow, sometime during the week ahead please break through my darkness and let me experience Your everlasting love in a new and fresh way that leaves me amazed. For the sake of the people who You are bringing into my life who need to hear how You are acting now and not the barely remembered yet much treasured encounters of past decades, please come. I give You permission to show Your love to me in any way You desire. Amen.