ABIDE IN ME-I AM YOUR PERMANENT ADDRESS by Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

28^th April 2024

5^th Sunday of Easter-Year B

(Acts 9: 26-31; 1 John 3: 18-24; John 15: 1-8)

Introduction- Jesus delivers this teaching just after the last supper. As Jesus says these words, He was facing death and the collapse of His core leaders. One disciple was preparing to betray Him. Another was going to deny Him three times to save his own neck. The rest of the disciples were going to flee. Jesus Christ wants his disciples and his future followers to know that He is the True vine. And that without abiding in Him we will fall away. The vitality of our spiritual lives depends entirely on our connection with the vine. The question we must answer is this: Are we connected with Christ enough to produce good spiritual fruit? Jesus used two very important illustrations to discuss this aspect of fruitfulness the seed and the Sower (Mt 13:1-9; 18-23) the vine and the branches Jn 15:1-8.If you see the salvation story fruitfulness was expected from the beginning of creation. Fruitfulness was God’s command to Adam - Gen 1:28- "Be fruitful and increase in number." Fruitfulness was God’s promise to Noah - Gen 8:22- "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Fruitfulness is God’s desire for each disciple - Jn 15:8- This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. There are three stages of fruitfulness.

I. The Positioning Stage-The Greek word for remain or abide literally means to dwell or to stay. This conveys the implication of being in a fixed state or continuing in the same position. It gives us the idea of permanent address. The house belongs to Jesus and we take all our identity, sustenance, nourishment and rest in His house.  As long as you stay in His house and get all the nourishment you are bound to bear good fruit.  But the moment you cut off from this nourishment you bound to be fruitless. This brings us to the second stage.

II. The Pruning Stage- Sometimes the trees grow big and leafy. They look really great. They produce lots of fruits but small in size and tasteless. When this happens, the gardener knows that it needs heavy pruning. God does the same with our life too. He prunes areas of our life to make us yield quality tasty fruit. Sometimes the branches will have bad spots, misdirected shoots and discoloured leaves. All of these things need to be removed for the branch to become fruitful. In our life too we need little pruning. We all have bad spots in our lives that limit our walk with Christ. We all have aspects of our walk that are misdirected. We all have areas of our walk that are discoloured.  What could be the possible areas for pruning in our lives?  May be our attitudes, our passions, our relationships, our services, our motives etc.  What is the purpose of pruning? Why God wants to prune us?  There is only one purpose in pruning.  God prunes us not to punish, not to harm, not to damage but to make us more fruitful.

III. The Production Stage-Christians are expected to bear fruit. Christ fully expects us to live in such a way as to bear much fruit for the kingdom. So, the progression or the fruitfulness cycle is a.) No fruit b.) Some fruit c.) More fruit d.) Much fruit.  No two branches bear the same amount of fruit. The same is true of Christians. Not all Christians are 100 percent fruit bearers. Fruitfulness is directly related to Christian maturity. You have to give 100 percent to Christ in order to bear 100 percent fruit

Conclusion-God desires for each of his children the very same things that we desire for our own offspring. He seeks maturity both in terms of our relationship with him and our relationships with each other. Part of that maturity is that we learn to find our place in the body of Christ just like we expect our children to find their place in society and earn a living contributing to the needs and make up of society.

 

The Good Shepherd by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

21^st April 2024; 4th Sunday of Easter-Year-B

Acts 4: 8-12; 1 John 3: 1-2; John 10: 11-18

Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

NATURE OF THE SHEEP

Dumb/Stupid and stubborn; Dirty and Wayward; Frightened and Confused; Defenseless and Dependant. Need guidance and protection.

NATURE OF GOOD SHEPHERDS

1.    The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep-Intimate knowledge-While all sheep are alike in their fundamental nature, each has its own distinctive characteristics. The loving shepherd recognizes these and deals with all differently, yet with the same love. The 12 Disciples were different, but Jesus dealt with each of them differently.

2.    The Good Shepherd Leads His Sheep-Sheep know the voice of the shepherd and they follow only HIS voice. When the stranger comes, they run! Family Game –blindfolded mothers. Kids calling their names. Even blindfolded they found their children eventually, even with all other children calling for their mommies. Mommies know the cries of their children. We need to remember that the Good Shepherd wants us to know his voice that well. To be able to recognize it clearly amidst the calls of others who would lead us into the wrong places in our life. If we will only learn to stay within the sounds of his voice and listen for his call, he will lead us. He will give us an abundant life – far beyond anything we could arrange on our own. And He will protect us from the attacks of the evil one.

3.    The good shepherd protects the sheep-He is the sacrificial shepherd, one who places Himself between His sheep and any attacks.

4.    Good Shepherds are people of good character.

5.    Good Shepherds love those they lead.

6.    Good Shepherds are never in it for the money like the hired hand.

7.    Good Shepherds don’t run from problems or dangers.

NATURE OF HIRED SHEPHERDS: William Barclay writes: A real shepherd was born to his task. He was sent out with the flock as soon as he was old enough to go; the sheep became his friends and his companions; and it became second nature to think of them before he thought of himself. But the false shepherd came into the job, not as a calling but as a means of making money. He was in it simply and solely for the pay he could get. He might even be a man who had taken to the hills because the town was too hot to hold him. He had no sense of the height and the responsibility to the task. He was only a hireling.  d. Jesus is motivated by love, not selfish gain

Jesus as the Good Shepherd:

What characteristics of the Shepherd can we see in Jesus?

1.    The Good Shepherd knows his sheep and care for them individually. We see that well illustrated in the parable of the Lost Sheep. Story: A shepherd had 100 sheep and found that one of them was missing. What did he do?  He left the other 99 safely grazing and went off to find the one that was lost. And we read that when he found it he came home rejoicing!

2.    Shepherds protect their sheep. David was a Shepherd before he became King. It was as a shepherd that he killed Goliath. He said this to King Saul as he went out to battle with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:34. 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."  The Good Shepherd protects his sheep.

3.    The shepherd wants the best for their sheep-Jesus said this in John 10:10: “I am come that you may have life and have it in abundance. (Jn 10:10). The Good Shepherd wants the best for his sheep. God wants our very best He wants us to have a rich and full life. That we can spend eternity with Him.  Easter reminds us that Christ the Good Shephard laid down His life for the sheep.  Jesus loves us so much that he wants us to have a rich and full life. He is not going to give us up to the enemy. But to be safe, we like sheep need to stay close to the shepherd. In Psalm 23 we see he provides for his sheep He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

 

Application: A sheep pen was a place which had high walls to protect the sheep, but no roof or door.  The shepherd often lay across the entrance to act as the door. When Jesus said:” I am the door of the Sheepfold”, this is exactly what he was alluding to.  It was the Shepherd who regulated who came in and who went out. There is safety in the sheep pen, when the Shepherd acted as the door.  The Church should be like the sheep pen – a place of safety – with the Lord as its keeper When Jesus said: I am the Good Shepherd. He was telling us that it is only when we are in the presence of Christ – allowing him to be the door that regulates our lives – that we can be safe. It is said that sheep will only drink by still water and not by running water. It is when we come to a quiet place that God will restore our souls. Jesus often pulled away from the crowd to be with the Father. So, shouldn’t we?

 

 

 

Rejuvenating the ‘Defeated’ Church by the Power of the Resurrection by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

3^rd Sunday of Easter 14^th April 2024- Year B

(Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19; 1 John 2: 1-5a; Luke 24: 35-48)

 

The disciples had very intense roller-coaster experience of the events since the Palm Sunday leading up to the stories of the Resurrection of Christ.  Their faith had been tried and tested. When all was said and done, most of them ran for their lives in fear.  Planning to save themselves.  One had even denied ever knowing him. Talk about defeated. In today’s gospel we find that they have gone back to the life they lived before they had ever even heard of this man Jesus Christ.

Post resurrection the disciples think he is a ghost. They can’t believe he is real. Why is this surprising? The resurrection of Jesus is already well established amongst his followers yet we find this morning that they are still in disbelief.  In fact, they have already gone back to who and what they were before Jesus had called them. Friends, that’s what the defeated church looks like. Going back to who you were before Jesus called you. If Jesus hadn’t intervened, we would never have had the Gospels. We never would have heard the name of Jesus Christ. If not for Jesus showing up post resurrection there would be no church today no Christianity.  Verse 45 says “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”

Even after the resurrection, it’s pretty clear that they still don’t get it. It is not until this morning that we hear “Jesus opened their minds.” I believe that this awareness came to them only as a gift from Jesus. Their minds never were able to grasp what God was saying to them until he imparted it to them through his Spirit. Why? Because our minds will never be able to grasp what God is saying to us until he imparts it to us through his Spirit. I think the first thing we need to do is to acknowledge that our awareness of God is extraordinarily limited until such time we receive the gift of his Spirit. Understanding God cannot be learned it must be experienced.  As beneficial as Scripture is, it is incomplete without the Holy Spirit. That is why the disciples were at such a loss. They simply could not grasp the message without the gift of the Spirit.

Resurrection of Jesus makes all the difference.  Resurrection of Jesus rejuvenates the defeated disciples.  The resurrection of Jesus rejuvenates the almost dead churches.  Malcolm Muggeridge was a Marxist before he found Christ. During the Cold War he travelled to Russia to write a story about the Communist party and the decline of religion in that atheistic regime. After conducting a series of interviews with officials in the Kremlin, he attended a Russian Orthodox Easter service. The church was packed. At the close of the service the priest said, “Christ is risen”, and the people shouted back, “He is risen indeed!” Muggeridge looked into their faces and instantly realized that they were right and that Stalin was wrong. He said it was the reality of their joy that tipped the scales of his soul toward Christ.

Professor Charlie Moule, the famous NT theologian once said: "the birth and rapid rise of the Christian Church ... remains an unsolved enigma for any historian who refuses to take seriously the only explanation offered by the church itself - the resurrection." The Resurrection is a major pillar of our faith. St Paul puts it like this: “…if Christ has not been raised from the dead, your faith is futile” (I Cor. 15: 17)

 

Reflect: What does a defeated church look like? What does it take for new life to take place in the church?

 

Divine Mercy Sunday-The Doubting Thomas by Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

7th April 2024-2nd Sunday of Easter- year B

Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

Introduction: So here we are... One week ... after Easter. How has this week been for you? How are you this day, exactly one week after Easter? Is the excitement of Easter still in the air or has it begun to fade? Or has it vanished all together? I ask these questions because we find the disciples gathered once again exactly one week after Easter. Let’s see how these disciples of the Christ are doing one week after Easter especially Thomas.  There are four main characters in this episode: john, the "thinker", Thomas, the "checker”, Peter, the "talker", Mary Magdalene, the "seeker". Today we focus on Thomas.

Understanding Thomas:

Jesus prayed all night before He selected His 12 disciples and Thomas made the cut. He’s a man who shows promise. He’s a man who has the ability to believe and act on his belief.  In fact, all the other times Thomas shows up in the Gospels he looks pretty good. When Jesus is determined to go to Jerusalem in the midst of a dangerous situation, “Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’” John 11:16. And later, when Jesus told His disciples that “In my Father’s house there are many rooms” and I’m going to prepare a place for you….” John 14:4-6 Thomas piped right up and said: "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"  And Jesus responded: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

So, in Thomas we have the picture of a committed follower of Christ. He loves Jesus. He walks with Jesus. He’s willing to suffer and even die for Jesus. But then he shows up late to the party after Jesus rose from the grave. The other disciples try sharing their excitement with him but he’s having nothing to do with it. You can almost sense the anger in his voice: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will NOT believe it.” John 20: 25

Understanding the word DOUBT: In Greek the word doubt has three meanings.  There’s the word “diakrino”. It means to “hesitate.” That’s the word Jesus used when He said: “if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not DOUBT (hesitate) in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Then there’s the Greek word “distazo” which means “doubt.” That’s the word used when Peter walked on the water. And then the word used here in John 20 about Thomas’ doubt is “Apistos”. The Greek word “pistos” mean “faith”, and the “a” at the beginning of the word means “no”.  Thus, apistos literally means “no faith”.

If Thomas was such a loyal follower of Jesus what happened to him? How did he go from follower to famous skeptic?

David Dewitt explains the downward spiral of Thomas.

·       Thomas had deserted Jesus.

·       The desertion led to a delay

·       The delay led to a denial

·       The denial led to a demand

Thomas was given a specific demonstration-Jesus finally appears. 

Thomas gave a dynamic declaration-My Lord and my God

Understanding Jesus’ response to the reaction of Thomas?

Jesus appears in the room with all the disciples and he directly turns to Thomas, Thomas the one in need. Jesus knew that he had been excluded from the special revelation on the night he appeared to the others. Jesus knew what that last week must have been like for Thomas. Just ponder that for a moment the only one of the remaining 11 left out. The only one with nothing but the words of others to ponder that week. Thomas the one left out, spent that entire week wrestling with his doubts. Now, Jesus does not lecture him, Jesus does not chastise him, or discipline him for doubting. Instead, what happened? Jesus gives him peace and in his mercy. And now a marvellous event is about to happen. Throughout the book of John, Jesus is Lord to his disciples, to Mary Magdalene, to all his followers and now and only now, Thomas proclaims clearly, "My Lord and my God." (John 20:28)

Conclusion: Picture yourself for a moment in the room with the other disciples. Where do you sit?  Do you sit with Thomas, as one still seeking? Do you sit with the others still excited from the week before? Or perhaps you sit on your own, neither excited nor doubting. Now picture Jesus as he appears in the room and as he stands before you inviting you to see the nail prints in his hands. To place your hands in his side.  Have you ever felt like you missed something big that everyone else seemed to know? Have you ever felt like you were not spiritual enough because of your past failures? Have you ever felt like you could really believe even more in Jesus if you could just catch a glimpse of Him? If you have ever felt this or anything like this you would be in good company with Thomas.

"Were there no room for doubt, there would be no room for faith, either." Frederick Buechner