St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

scene: Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James, and a third woman Salome……..came to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. Problem: a big stone in front of the tomb. “who will roll back the stone for us????  The stone was gone and a ghost was sitting in the tomb.    reaction: FEAR

The ghost or angel spoke and told them that Jesus was raised up from the dead…….. More Fear…… The angel continued: Jesus will go before you to Galilee. Go tell Peter and the others…… reaction: more fear.

“They made their way out and fled from the tomb bewildered and trembling. Because of their great fear they said nothing to anyone.”

Fear is the operative word.

1. Tonight we started outside near a fire and we lighted a holy candle. The candle broke up the darkness.

e.g. Have you ever been afraid of the dark????

10 years old…..Southern California…..Late Saturday afternoon movie…..double feature…..dark outside….walking home in the middle of the street…..Whistling….the importance of the street lights….Fear left when I was in the safety of our well-lighted home.

2. The darkness of the church and the brightness of the Pascal Candle…..What a difference a little light makes in a dark world.

Fr. Keller, founder of the Christophers.

“It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

The light of Christ, symbolized in the Pascal Candles, lights up our world and drives out the fear of the dark.

e.g. NBC Television program: “What are you most afraid of?”

The moderator was Clifton Fadiman. Bennet Cerf, respected publisher and author for Random House was on the panel. Several people spoke of their fears. Fear of the dark, fear of nuclear annihilation, fear of being buried alive, fear of death, fear of chemical accidents,  fear of earthquakes and tornadoes …..etc….Bennet Cerf had not spoken. Clifton Fadiman  interrputed the flow of fears and asked Bennet Cerf about his personal fears. A long pause and Bennet Cerf said in a humble voice that he hesitated to voice his fear because it seemed to be so trivial beside the terrible fears like nuclear destruction or catastrophic plagues. But he went on to say that the purpose of the program was to share what you really thought, he might as well admit that what he feared most was “not being loved.”

Sometimes we miss the most obvious. we all want to be loved. We all need to be loved. We all fear not being lovable or losing our love. We all have a need to belong. What a great opportunity we have in the parish of St. John the Baptist and the Catholic Church to create a community of love and acceptance where love is king and fear is put aside. The early Christians were known by their love. We still sing a song: “They will know that we are Christians by our love.”

I challenge you to reflect upon someone who needs your loving attention. Reflect upon someone who is afraid of not being loved. Who is that fearful person???  Your love can drive out fear and darkness. What can you do to be the light of Christ for your friend?

This evening we will welcome  new members into the Body of Christ and the Catholic Church. Just as Jesus is our light in a dark world we pray that the Light of Christ will enlighten the hearts and souls of our sisters and brothers who will enter officially into our Catholic family.

Mary Magdalene & Mary mother of James and Salome were so fearful at first that they count not tell even their friends the apostles about the Resurrection. They needed Jesus to help them get rid of their fear.

I challenge you. When was the last time that you invited a friend to join you in worship and prayer. If you are truly the light of Christ and if you carry the light of Christ within your soul, you will not keep your light under a bushel basket. You must overcome your fear. You are called to let your light shine in the darkness and to share your light with others.  Who can you share your light with? Who is in darkness? Who needs your help to find the gift of faith?

2. I am sure that you have heard about “bio-feedback.” Science tells us that sometimes our emotions take cues from the reaction of our bodies.

For example: we are told that if we look in a mirror first thing in the morning and smile, we will put ourselves in a good mood. It is not necessary for us to be in a good mood in order to smile. We smile and the good mood follows.

Knots in our stomach tell us that we are afraid. We may not have any consciousness that we are experiencing fear until our body tells us.

Many people find out that if we live out our Catholic faith,

if we deliberately seek to be loving, then we will be the loving Christians that Jesus expects us to be.

Our experience is self-validating.

As we see ourselves as the light of Christ, we will drive out darkness within ourselves and the darkness around us. We will be men and women of faith and not of fear.

story: Second World War a group of war prisoners were told to build a bridge over the River Kwai. Remember the movie and the song??? However in real life the prison camp had become a den of thieves. Betrayal was everywhere. Each man was for himself. Envy and suspicion were the order for the day. One day a new prisoner who was a major,  introduced a buddy system called the “Mucker System,” in which buddies “mucked” for each other, that is, they took care of each other.

One man became deathly ill and was placed in what was called the “hot house” — a bamboo hut. If you died there the guards would simply burn the bamboo hot and build another hot house.  Once you ended up in a hot house you usually died. There was not much hope for you. So this man got sick and went into the hot house and the camp began to anticipate his death. However, in two weeks the man was stronger and was able to leave the bamboo hot house and return to work building the bridge over the River Kwai. A few days later the recovered sick man’s buddy, his “mucker,” got sick. He had been quite healthy, but was placed in a hothouse and died very quickly.

The story behind the story is that the sick man’s friend used to take his own food from the dining room and sneak it to his buddy in the hothouse. You could get shot for doing this. However, the buddy brought food and water every day and he denied himself to help his friend and in this very act of sacrifice he took ill and died. His buddy lived to tell the story. ……Now the result of this self-sacrifice transformed the camp. The prisoners started to help one another. They began to work together to both build the bridge over the river Kwai and to destroy the bridge in an act of liberation.  The darkness had been turned into light. The fear had been turned into hope and love.

You can be that person who turns a system around.

You can be that person who can sacrifice even your life for another, if you overcome your fear of failing.

You can be that radical non-conformist who can make justice blossom in the midst of injustice, if you take a chance.

You can make a difference, if you believe that you are the light of Christ.

3. One last example about fear of death.

Cardinal Bernadin, Archbishop of Chicago. Energetic Catholic leader. Preached about a “Consistent Ethic of Life” which he described as a ’seamless garment.” He encouraged Catholics with divergent views to talk together lovingly and to listen to one another. He called this the “Common Ground Initiative.” When he found that he had terminal cancer, he accepted this cross and gave us all an example of not being afraid of death. We walk in the light of a Risen Christ who tells us not to be afraid. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house and I am going to prepare a place for you…..”  For Cardinal Bernadin and hopefully for us the shadow of the cross is our hope of eternal life  and everlasting light.

A challenge: If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, you will never be afraid of even death itself. You will live in peace and you will walk bravely in the light.

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