But Him They Must See

A line from last Sunday's Gospel reading, the story of the disciples encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus and one of my favorite stories, jumped out at me during my time of worship and has haunted me throughout the week. 

In Luke's account, the two disciples - prior to embarking on this seven mile walk of dejection and defeat - had talked to the people who had seen the empty tomb and encountered Christ. This inspired them to investigate the situation for themselves. 

They go to the empty tomb and find it as described: empty. 

However, and herein comes the line that struck me:

"...but him they did not see." 

As a result, they leave. They walk away from their fellowship with the other disciples. Not encountering the risen Christ for themselves, they turn away and "looking downcast" they depart. 

It made me think of our schools. Our students, families, and teachers - looking for the truth of Christ either actively or unconsciously - must go through our programs and see, encounter, and know the way, the truth, and the life of Christ.

How often though, do members of our communities come to our schools search and hoping for an encounter with Jesus Christ and find them empty? Do our students and teachers and families come to us yearning for the absolute truth of Christ only to find a watered down, moralistic therapeutic deism instead? Might stakeholders turn to us expecting to witness authentic discipleship, yet see no notable difference in our how we live our lives?

But Him they must see. 

Christ on the Road to Emmaus, Jan Wildens, 1640s

Perhaps these disciples walked away from the empty tomb because they expected to find the living among the dead. Their search had taken them to the wrong place. 

Maybe - like me - they needed the additional catechesis Jesus supplies as He accompanies them on their seven-mile journey to Emmaus, which Bishop Caggiano states means "nowhere." They couldn't absorb the truth of the resurrection because they didn't have a strong enough foundation upon which to build. 

Could it be that because the disciples had not yet received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the witness of those who had encountered the risen Christ earlier that morning stemmed more from fact than faith, thus limiting their testimony to the head and not also incorporating the heart?

So, we must make sure that our schools do not resemble dead places where people will never find the living - punitive and vindictive discipline policies, academic approaches that don't account for the process of learning, liturgical opportunities that go through the motions without moving anyone.

We must make sure that our schools pour the foundations of faith with rich study of Catholic theology, scripture, and doctrine, ensuring that our schools proclaim an unabashed and irresistible Catholic identity. 

We must take seriously our own discipleship, recognizing that we cannot give what we do not have, and that "(people) listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if (people do) listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses."  

May we be the witnesses who allow all who interact with our Catholic schools to see, encounter, and know the way, the truth, and the life of Christ.

Because, Him they must see. Him they must encounter. Him they must know. 

Accompany. Inquire. Teach. Love. Send.

As Jesus did. 

As Jesus does.  

Serve With Love

At some point in the Spring of 2021, I stumbled across this reflection by Mike Donehey, lead singer of Tenth Avenue North who now has a solo musical career: 

In this interview, Donehey passionately argues that Jesus never told anyone to lead. Even Peter, the first Pope, was told to "Feed (Christ's) lambs", "Tend (Christ's) sheep", and "Feed (Christ's) sheep" (John 21:15-17). 

Feeding lambs and sheep presents as a much different posture than our typical images of leadership. 

The latter displays someone out in front with others following behind; the former unveils someone with outstretched hands, going toward others. 

Lowered. Humbled. Giving. Serving. Loving. 

The celebration of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, typically proclaims John's version of this Passover meal. In it, John positions Jesus at the feet of His disciples, washing their feet and offering a model of service and love that continues to echo throughout the centuries and across the world. 

Service done out of love - selflessly, sacrificially, humbly - has the power to change the world. 

In fact, it is the only thing that ever has. 

Feed and tend His lambs and sheep. Like Pope Francis urges, "(We) must be shepherds who smell like (our) sheep" not leaders who expect others to serve and cater to us. 

Like Christ, we must serve with love. 

Cooperators with Grace

"The proper and immediate end of Christian education is to cooperate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect Christian, that is, to form Christ Himself in those regenerated by Baptism." 

-Pope Pius XI, 1929, para. 94

The Gospel from this past Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent, offered the powerful story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. 

Jesus commands, "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11:43), and this man who had been in the tomb for four days comes out.  

A relatively new song by the artist Judah Akers (lead singer for Judah and the Lion as well as his solo project JUDAH) captures the essence of Christ's power in his new song, "Anything is Possible":

Anything is possible / When it seems improbable / That’s when He is unstoppable / In His name any grave is robbable / Unthinkable / Unreachable / Unbelievable / Unpreachable / That’s just who He is / It’s too good to be true / But it is

Jesus didn't come to make nice people better. He came to bring dead people back to life. Dead in our sinfulness, doubts, fears, anxieties, brokenness, addictions, ideologies, and failures, Jesus intends to awaken us to the reality of being created in God's loving, powerful, and intelligent image and likeness.

Jesus desires that we experience fullness of life through a relationship with Him, "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

This, ultimately, serves as the goal of Catholic education. "But (the Catholic school's) proper function is to create for the school community a special atmosphere animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity, to help youth grow according to the new creatures they were made through baptism as they develop their own personalities, and finally to order the whole of human culture to the news of salvation so that the knowledge the students gradually acquire of the world, life and (humanity) is illumined by faith" (Second Vatican Council, 1965, para. 8). 

Pope Pius XI framed the goal of Catholic education in supernatural terms, "Hence the true Christian, product of Christian education, is the supernatural (person) who thinks, judges and acts constantly and consistently in accordance with right reason illumined by the supernatural light of the example and teaching of Christ; in other words, to use the current term, the true and finished (person) of character" (1929, para. 96).

As Catholic educators, we cooperate with divine grace to carry out this important work. Much like the supporting cast in the story of Lazarus, we remove stones, untie hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouths, so that others can walk forward in the light and faith of Jesus Christ. 

His Word saves. His love moves. We can create the circumstances and orchestrate the atmosphere for these transformative encounters with Christ to take place. 

So, continue to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in creating supernatural people who will emerge from their graves of ignorance, selfishness, and sinfulness and set out to "make human society more peaceful, fraternal, and communitarian" (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1982, para. 19).

Let us continue to cooperate with grace so that Christ can continue to do the impossible.