THRESHOLDS
INTRODUCTION
Happy Easter.
The title of my homily is, “Thresholds.”
I was wondering where to go with a homily for today –
Easter Sunday. What do you need for your soul, for your spirituality, for your
life? Lent is over. It was 40 days of
borrowed time – time lent to us – for our spiritual life and growth. Now,
what’s now, what’s next? If Lent is a quieting
down – a withdrawing – a stepping back, experiencing the so called “Desert
Experience”, what is the next?
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Notice the gospel for today begins with Mary of Magdala
going out – heading for the disaster – coming to the tomb – the place of broken
dreams – the grave of nightmares. Notice the tomb is empty. She runs away from
crossing the threshold of that tomb. She runs back to Simon Peter and to the
other disciple whom Jesus loved. She tells them that “They have taken the Lord
from the tomb.”
Today’s gospel then tells us that Peter and the Beloved
disciple run to the tomb. The Beloved Disciple gets there first – but doesn’t
cross the threshold into the tomb. He lets Peter cross that threshold first.
Peter enters into the tomb. He sees everything – the cloths – but no body.
Then the beloved disciple crosses the threshold of the tomb. He goes in and is
the first to believe. He’s the first to cross that threshold of faith, that
belief in resurrection – because of Christ.
THE KID IN THE
DOLLHOUSE
Bernard Basset, a Jesuit retreat master, in a talk once
told about a personal experience from earlier on in his life. He was visiting a
home for kids who had severe relationship problems.
The head of the institute invited Bernard into a tiny
room that had a two way mirror – through which you could observe how the kids
reacted and interacted with each other in a big room on the other side of that
mirror.
Here’s how I remembered the story.
They give this kid lots of therapy. They put him in a big doll house that is in
that big room on the other side of the mirror.
There are some toys in there. The kid starts playing with the toys.
Then a door at the further end of that room opens up and
a whole group of about 15 other kids come in and head for the toys just inside
the door they just came in.
The kid in the small play house stands up and looks out
the window of the tiny house he’s in - towards all these other kids in play.
The director of the institute then says to Bernard – in the observing room with
the two way mirror, “If the kid opens up the door of his little house – steps
out into the big room – and heads towards all the other kids and starts playing
games and interacting with them he’s
going to make it.”
He opens the door – crosses the threshold and walks down
to where the others are – and starts playing with them.
EASTER
If you listen carefully to the Post-Easter readings for
the next month or so, you’ll hear about the disciples in the locked upper room.
They are afraid – very much afraid – and they finally break out of that locked
room – filled with the Holy Spirit of Jesus – and go out into our world –
interact with it – and change it.
THRESHOLDS
I always liked that story – because it’s a life and death
story.
I’ve heard of hundreds of people who climbed out of a
bottle – and crossed the threshold of AA meetings – like the Red House up the
street – took that step – did the steps – kept doing the steps and they were
healed. Some fall again – crawl back into a bottle – looking for God – comfort
– solution – salvation at the bottom of a bottle as they say – and wake up and
walk out and back over the threshold of an AA meeting again – and they are
healed once again.
Life is crossing thousands and thousands of thresholds –
some into life, some into death; some into heaven, some into hell?
At many a cemetery, some see the tomb and death and the
without, some look up to the sky and see eternal life and the next step in life
– starting again.
Life is giving up at times. We could have been dissed,
fired, dumped, hurt or it could be the experience of another death. Life is
running away from the tomb – and running towards resurrection here and
hereafter.
We had a boy on our block when we were kids – and he was
different – and we boys called him put down words. We didn’t know about being
homosexual or even what that word meant back then – or what our comments and
behavior meant to him.
Years later – and far away from him – I heard he came out
of the so called closet. He crossed that narrow threshold – and discovered
life. We are seeing in our lifetime people slowly coming out of those rooms of
ridicule and hurting others – rising from being dead in prejudice. That stone
has been rolled away – big time in the last few years.
Easter is a good time to be like Mary and go to the tombs
within us – where we put the dead Christ – and surprise – to discover they are empty.
Christ does not stay in death.
Christ is alive – and he wants to be alive in us. Easter
us, O Christ, Easter us.
CARTOON
Two weeks ago I received one of those e-mails that go all
around the world in minutes. I’m sure you got it at some point – and you were
told to e-mail to five people – you know – otherwise your toe nails will fall
off.
It showed twins talking to themselves in their mommy’s
tummy – and one says that he hears music or something out there. The other
says, “No this is all there is – and I’m staying put.” Then he adds that he
loves this life as is. One can see eating with his or her mouth – we have a
cord. One doesn’t believe in a mother.
Never saw one. The other does.
LAST NIGHT
Last night at St. John Neumann we saw 30 or so folks
coming alive with baptism and confirmation in the Catholic Church. Then Father
Harrison – who works with Deacon Leroy Moore – and a good group of parishioners
– as a team said to them, “It’s now your turn
to go out of this church and bring Christ to our world – your family,
your neighbors, where you work, and where you go.
He didn’t use the word threshold – but that’s what they
were told to do – to cross thresholds like hundreds of thousands of new
Catholics were told to do all around the world.
CONCLUSION
That’s my homily. Life is risks. Life is opening lots of
doors. Live is seeing there is resurrection and new life – all our lives.
Like the little kid in my first story, we’ll make it – if
we realize we can’t do this alone, but it would be better to do this with each other.
That’s the beginning of our resurrection – here and hereafter. Amen
