April
30, 2006
Baked
Fish
Pray for Father Jim
On Wednesday of this past week Father Jim had triple bypass heart surgery.
This was an unexpected operation, but necessary to correct blockages
to his heart. The bulletin is sent to the printer on Wednesday so we
have no update here. We will post daily updates here
The
Easter Sacraments
Tomorrow and Tuesday Bishop Emil Wcela will be with us to celebrate
Confirmation with more than 200 young people in our parish. Please pray
for them as they enter more deeply into the life of the church. This
weekend we began our celebrations of first holy communion with the children
of our parish. Please pray for these young people and their families
-- especially as they return each week to feed on the Body of Christ.
The celebration of these sacraments help us to remember and appreciate
when we first were joined to Christ.
Census
Continues
Of the approximate 6,000 families we usually send mail to, we’ve
received completed Census booklets from over 2,000. So we’ve got
a ways to go.
Is your booklet in?
CollegeStudents
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Past Columns:
April 23: What we hear
April 16: Out of the Tomb
April 9: Jesus, Our Source
of Peace
April 2: NOW, Can you Hear
Me?
Mar 26: Can You Hear Me
Again?
Mar 19: Can You Hear Me
Now?
Mar 12: Now Take 4Steps
March 5: Take A Step
Feb 26:Coming Home
Feb19: Visiting Heros
Feb 12: Passing Pastor
Feb 4: Annual Appeal
Jan 22: Abandoned Nets
Jan 15: Everlasting Life
Jan 8: I'm not going to
jail..
Jan 1: Happy New Year
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
After all that Jesus went through -- betrayal and denial by his apostles; condemnation to death; brutal torture, being nailed to a cross, being placed in a tomb, rising from the dead...after all that, he shows up in the midst of his friends and they give him a piece of baked fish? (That’s what today’s gospel tells us.)
OK, to be fair to
the apostles they weren’t really expecting him to show up when he
did or they might have gotten a cake. And the reference to Jesus asking
for something to eat was very important for St. Luke to include in his
gospel, because there had been rumors that Jesus didn’t really rise
from the dead in his body, but was more like a spirit. The apostles remembered
that he ate with them after the resurrection (this is only one of the
post-resurrection food stories) and it’s important even for us to
remember that when we rise to heaven, we too will have glorified bodies
-- we won’t just be souls floating in the clouds. (Remember the
apostles creed: “we believe in the resurrection of the body and
life everlasting.”)
With that said, I still feel bad
that the best they had was baked fish. Jesus gave his life for them (and
us) and they gave him baked fish. But then I wonder what we give to Jesus
in our lives. Do we give Jesus our “leftovers” or do we put
Jesus first? Sometimes people tell me that they don’t come to church
each week because they’re too busy. I’ve come to know that
we’re never too busy to do what is important in our lives. Being
“too busy” so that we can’t give God an hour (yep, one
hour) at church is like treating God as the one who can sometimes get
our leftovers, rather than the Lord of our lives from whom we get strength
and peace to live out the rest of our week.
These fifty days of the Easter
season are a perfect time for us to re-connect with Jesus as the risen
Lord of our lives, just as the apostles are doing. Why not take some time
this week to ask the question, “What am I doing to grow closer to
Jesus and the church?” I’ll bet we can all come up with more
to give Jesus than baked fish.
