I checked in with Douglas  – and like last weekend – he has other commitments – so you’re stuck with me.
    You probably know that the Gospel of John is a little different than the other three Gospels.  Those three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke - we call the synoptic Gospels - synoptic being the Greek word for “one eye” because they all present a similar view or story about Jesus.
    John’s Gospel is in part structured around 7
“I AM”  statements of Jesus - most of which we are familiar with:
    I am the Light of the World
I am the Gate for the Sheep
I am the Resurrection and the Life.
I am the Way the Truth and the Life.
This one we heard last week:  I am the Good Shepherd.
One we hear for three weeks in August:  I am the Bread of Life.
And one we hear today:  I am the Vine - you are the branches.
All of these are meant to bring Jesus’ listeners to a better understanding of who he is - by using examples they would understand and relate to. . . So let us try to get  a better understanding of who Jesus is during our time together. . .


So once there was a man from a remote village who had the opportunity to visit a large modern city for the first time.
He had never been out of the hills before, and so had no experience with many modern conveniences - like running water or fancy kitchen appliances  – and had seen few automobiles in his life.
He of course wanted to bring something home with him to show off to his neighbors.  Since he was most amazed at the lights he saw everywhere – he decided that’s what he wanted to take home.
So he bought a sack full of light bulbs and sockets and switches.

And back in the hills, he hung the light bulbs in front of his house and on the trees and shrubs.
Everyone watched him with great curiosity and kept asking him what he was doing.  He just smiled and said, “just wait until dark - then you will see.”
Darkness came and he turned on the switches — but nothing happened.
Because no one told him about electricity.  And he did not know that light bulbs were useless unless they were connected to a source of power!
Connection:  it’s another gift Christ gives us during Easter:  the ability to connect with him - and connect with one another in community.
I think there are a lot of people today who want to call themselves Christian – and have no idea that means they have to stay connected to Jesus - as the source of spiritual power in their lives.
I am the vine you are the branches – AND APART FROM ME:  YOU CAN DO NOTHING!
This disconnection happens, I think, for several reasons. . .
1st- staying connected to Jesus takes time and effort – and people are not willing to make this commitment.
2nd - staying connected to Jesus means that they have to DISCONNECT from other things:  

all the bells and whistles our culture and society throws at us telling us money, or power, or influence, or even the right cologne or shoes will bring us happiness or contentment.
Little wonder that people have all kinds of time to pursue other things – but have NO time to devote to staying connected to Jesus.
Allow me to state the obvious:  If we want to truly call ourselves a Christian and to be a Christian:  we have to stay connected to Jesus as the source of our spiritual power.
Which is saying our values, our priorities, our expenditure of our time, talent, and treasure:  need to flow from our commitment to stay connected to Christ. . .
SO HOW DO WE STAY CONNECTED TO CHRIST?
Through prayer:  the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.  In prayer we commit ourselves to listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd so we can follow after him.
We stay connected to Christ through our reading of Scripture – the great Biblical scholar St. Jerome (who translated the scriptures from Greek into Latin) once said:
Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of God. . .
We stay connected to Christ by walking with like-minded people as we do today.  We must know that a truly Catholic journey with Christ is not just a Jesus and me experience – 
but a Jesus and WE experience.  We draw comfort, and strength, are challenged and consoled in the midst of community.
We stay connected to Christ through the use of sacramentals in our lives:  the rosary, the use of holy water, the wearing of medals or a scapular, the use of icons or other sacred images:  all to remind us of the ever-present love of God.
We stay connected to Christ by our works of charity - ever mindful of the fact that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters, we do for Christ.

We stay connected to Christ through the celebration of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments.  
Again, recognizing that as individuals we are part of something much greater than ourselves – we are members of the Body of Christ.
And we stay connected to Christ by keeping God’s commandments:  by acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.  As St. John told us in the 2nd reading:  those who keep God’s commandments remain in God, and God in them.
All of these things take TIME AND EFFORT - which is why many people are Chrsitian in name only - for they want to put their time and effort into other “more useful” things.
But, if we want to receive the gift of eternal life and enjoy the grace that frees us from our sins - two important gifts which Christ gives us not only during this Easter season but throughout our lives — then there are no “more useful things” to do.

Jesus has called us to be members of his flock – to be good sheep – to have both courage and hope in our following of him.

And to do this – we have to stay connected to Jesus – I am the vine, you are the branches– apart from me:  you can do nothing.

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It’s a word Jesus used 3 times in the Gospel last Sunday – and once in the Gospel today.
    It’s a word we use 6 times at every Mass between praying the Our Father and receiving Communion:  the sign of our unity.
    It’s a word that’s easy to say - but hard to achieve – it’s the word for the 2nd gift of Easter that Christ gives us – and the word is     PEACE:
    As in Jesus stood in their midst and said to them:  Peace be with you.
    As in “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” 


    Peace, Saint John Paul II once said:  “is not possible without justice.  And justice is not possible without forgiveness.  And forgiveness is not possible without mercy.”


    Here to talk more about peace - is our guest speaker from last week:  Douglas. . .








    Hey guys, it’s me again, Douglas.  And today I want to talk about one of Jesus’ favorite words:  PEACE.
    Like when he says:  blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  Or when he just simply said:  peace be with you.  As he greeted his disciples after his resurrection.
    Now I don’t know why - but it seems as a kid - being called a kid is one of the worst insults.
    Like if someone says “move it kid” that’s like the worst.
    But I know as adults, you have your own ways of insulting people and putting them in their place. . .
    One time, I was on the school playground, and there was this big kid - he wasn’t that much older than me - but he was huge!
    And he just shoved me - and knocked me down.  That wasn’t very fair:  because I did not deserve to be shoved to the ground.  
    And he said:  move it kid, you’re in my way.
    And I just thought, o man, I’m on the ground and he shoved me and insulted me and I was just so mad — and all the other kids saw this and came swarming around us like kids will do – and they started chanting:  fight, fight, fight.
    Because they wanted me to get up – and give that big kid what he deserved by shoving me – they wanted me to teach him a lesson by beating him up –
    Fight. Fight. Fight.
    Now even though I was a lot smaller - I was quicker - and I had a right to give that big kid what he deserved – so I think I could have taken him.
    I think if we did fight - I might have won.  And that’s what everyone wanted  – a fight.
    But is that what Jesus would want - a fight - I don’t think so. . .
    Blessed are the peacemakers, he said.  Peace be with you, he said.
    Jesus wants us to look at conflict - and to ask ourselves how we handle it. . .
    Not just like a physical fight – but even just arguments or disagreements – how to we handle them – how do we resolve them??  
    Everybody loves a winner – so if I would have gotten in a fight with that kid and won – I would have been the hero of the playground.
    But do I - or you - want to be the hero of the playground – or the hero is God’s eyes?
    Yes, if we would have fought – the others would be cheering me on because I had beaten this kid and taught him a lesson.
    And there is something deep down inside of us, call it our human nature – that when we are challenged by someone – we want to beat them – everybody loves a winner!
    So if someone calls you a name – your human nature wants you to call them a worse name.
    If someone does something hurtful to you – deep down you want to do something back to make them cry.
    And our words and actions would impress a lot of people - because everyone would see that it was fair:  an eye for an eye and a hurt for a hurt.
    But those words and actions would not impress God. . .
    Yes, it may get us an “atta boy” or an “atta girl” - maybe even a pat on the back.  Others would say : good job - you really showed them - aren’t you a tough one. . .
    But would you rather have the admiration of other people – or the admiration of God?  
    I hope you said God – because that’s the only good answer.  Because Jesus came to set us free from acting just on our human nature –
Jesus became human – so we can share in his divinity — that’s our calling through our Baptism:  to become more and more like Christ!!
    Just remember in any kind of fight – you have a choice:
    You can escalate the fight – making it worse and worse - or bigger and bigger –
    OR you can choose to diffuse the situation and just walk away.
    Now there are of course times when you have to stand your ground – standing up for yourself or for someone else.
    But if you can avoid a fight or an argument – or negotiate a settlement — that’s the truly impressive thing.
    Anybody can get into a fight – but it takes real courage and internal strength to avoid one.
    So the challenge is to be peacemakers. Instead of trying to win fights we’re called to try to end fights.
    You know when that kid pushed me - we could have fought - and I might have been able to beat him.
    But instead, what I chose to do – was just walk away:  to be a peacemaker.


    Do you think I got a cheer for doing that?  NOPE. But in the kingdom of God - it’s not an eye for any eye and a tooth for tooth – which would be fair - an act of justice  – but we are called to be unfair – not giving something someone deserves – but showing them mercy – which is why we can’t have peace without practicing 
 mercy. . .
Again, as St. John Paul II said:  there is no peace without justice.  No justice without forgiveness.  No forgiveness without mercy. . .
We will get a great model of justice, forgiveness, and mercy in next week’s Gospel – so be sure to come back.
    And remember:  blessed are the peacemakers - for they will be called children of God!

    
    



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      Not only does God give us the gift of freedom from sin and death through the death and resurrection of Jesus -- but God gives us a different gift every Sunday throughout the Easter season.   Here to tell us about the first gift of Easter is a guest speaker, Douglas.  [Douglas is a good Catholic puppet who tells stories about the faith.]

Hey guys, it’s me, Douglas, and today I want to talk to you about being fair - because God wants us to be fair.
    Being fair kind of means you do what you are supposed to do:  you follow the rules.  You give to others what they deserve.  And you take for yourself only what you deserve.
    Like if you are in the check-out line at a store - it’s not fair for you to cut in front of other people waiting in line to be the first in line.  That’s not what you deserve - and it’s not what the others waiting in line deserve.  So cutting in line IS NOT FAIR.



    And if you are playing a game – it’s not fair to cheat:  you have to follow the rules.
    It’s very important for us to be fair - that makes the world a more pleasant place.

    BUT, sometimes it IS okay not to be fair. . .

    Oh my gosh, you might be thinking – that’s awesome - I don’t always have to be fair - I don’t always have to follow the rules - I can get my way and everyone else can hit the highway!

    BUT, before you jump to conclusions, let me explain what I mean.

    My very favorite verse in the Bible is Micah 6:8, which says:
    “God has shown you what is good - and that is to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
    Now the first part is to act justly - do what you are supposed to do:
    Follow the rules, give to others what they deserve, and take for yourself only what you deserve.

    Now sometimes we don’t always act justly - especially when we TAKE more than what we deserve - but that’s a whole other story.
    The 2nd Part of Micah’s teaching is to LOVE MERCY.
    Now mercy is interesting because it can sometimes seem like the opposite of justice.  You know how I said you are supposed to give people what they deserve???  And take only what you deserve?
    Well, what if somebody pushes you – what do they deserve?  It would only be fair to push them back, right??
    But is that what God wants - an eye for an eye - and a push for a push?
    It isn’t.
    God wants you to be merciful.  God doesn’t always want you to give people what they deserve.
    Now if it’s something good - then God absolutely wants you to give them what they deserve.
    But to NOT DO unto others what they have done to you – that’s mercy.
    And God wants us to love mercy.
    And I for one am very glad that God loves mercy.  
    Maybe you don’t even realize that YOU love that God loves mercy. . .
    But the truth is - if you got what you deserved from God – you could never go to heaven.
    And that’s a pretty scary and sad thought.
    You know the Bible says that “God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners – Christ died for us.”
    We don’t deserve that – and some would say it’s not fair.  Because it’s not justice – it’s mercy.
    Now I don’t know if you realize how big of a statement that is.
    Basically what it is saying is that God loves us so much, that God is willing to be unfair.
    None of us deserved to have Jesus die for our sins.  Again, the Bible says that while we were still sinners –
    Unrepentant
    Maybe even rebellious
    Definitely walking in darkness –
Christ died for us!
    While we were the most messed up that we could ever be – Christ died for us.
    The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death – that’s what we deserve if we sin even once.
    But Jesus, never ever sinned – not even once in his whole life.
    And so Jesus never deserved to die the way he did.  We deserved that.  Jessu did not.
    And Jesus took the penalty for our sins - mine and yours - unto himself.
    Jesus paid the price that should have only been paid by us.  God showed us mercy.
    And so we should show mercy to other people.  
    We should be fair in what we do – act with justice.   We don’t want to do something that isn’t fair:  we should follow the rules.  We should show people the respect they deserve.
    BUT we should also be showing mercy.  We should be unfair in that way.  If you can be unfair in a good way – you should do it.
    Like forgiving others, even if they don’t deserve it.
    Loving others, even if they don’t deserve it.
    Being generous to others, even if they don’t deserve it.
    Being patient with others, even if they don’t deserve it.
    Giving others a second chance - even when they don’t deserve it.  THAT’S MERCY!

    So the first part of Micah 6:8 is to act justly.  The 2nd part is to love mercy.
    And then after that – to walk humbly with your God.
    To be humble means to know your place.  So if you are walking humbly with God – you are recognizing that God is God – and you are not.  You are just a tiny, teeny person.
    It doesn’t mean you hate yourself.  It means that you recognize who is who.  And if God, great as God is –  can show mercy to people even like you and me – then we should absolutely show mercy to others.

    So that’s the challenge to all of you today – is that you would be fair – but also that you would not be fair.  Be fair when it is good to be fair and unfair or merciful when it’s good to do that.
    It can really be a tricky path to walk down – but God wants us to.
    God wants us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God - AND - with one another!

    What a great Easter gift God gives us!
    

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