Fr. Bob’s Weekly Reflections

Today in the Gospel we read that the disciples of Jesus were hiding. They were hiding in fear behind closed and locked doors. They were shutting out the rest of the world which was hostile, persecuting and terrifying. They felt better huddled together, in isolation and planning what to do next, and where to go.

In our Gospel today we read the prayer of Jesus the night before he died. It is the longest prayer in the Bible. He says, “Father, most Holy, protect them which You have given Me. I gave them Your word and the world has hated them for it.

In Graham Greene’s novels, “The Power and the Glory” the unlikely hero is a priest. He is caught by the revolutionary Mexican government and condemned to be shot. On the night before his execution, he sits in his cell and thinks back over his life.

Most of us have a natural aversion to spiders. Rather than marvel at a delicately woven web in the corner of a room, we cannot wait to destroy it. The spider dangling from the ceiling does not evoke amazement in us at his feat, he disgusts us or even causes fear. But spiders have a lesson for us.

Carole King wrote some lyrics in a song that could be applied to our Gospel of the Good Shepherd: “Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel so uninspired. And when I knew I had to face another day, Lord, it made me feel so tired. And when my soul was in the lost and found, you came along to claim it…”

Bette Midler in her song, “The Rose” sings, “It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It’s the dream afraid of waking that never takes a chance. And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.”

Many years ago there was a movie called the “Seventh Seal.” In one scene, death takes the form of a human person and appears to a man. A conversation followed: The man said to Death, “Why does God hide Himself? Why doesn’t He reveal Himself? Why doesn’t God stretch out His hand and touch us? Why doesn’t He at least say something to us?”

Every year at the Easter Vigil a new spark is struck from the flint to light a new candle. New holy water is blessed, and new hosts are consecrated. We are beginning all over again, making all things new.

Today we start the holiest week of the year, and the week moves from Sunday to Saturday. The mood of the gathered assembly will also move, from adulation and adoration to murder, mourning, and mayhem.

We hear in our Gospel today about some people who have come to Jerusalem for the Passover. They have heard about this miracle worker, Jesus, so they approach a friend of His, Philip, and they make a request: “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”