Can you hear that? Can you hear that? It’s God’s message of forgiveness and life, and it CANNOT be silenced.
The stench of dead decaying bodies fills the air. Splintered wood, broken glass, demolished concrete is everywhere. 11 days have passed since the earthquake leveled the city of Port-au-prince in Haiti. Thousands are dead. The destruction is unfathomable. Jean Pierre is on top of the rubble, grieving the apparent loss of his brother who is no where to be found. And then there is the sound. A voice. Life. A faint sign of hope beneath the destruction. Could it be a person? Below him under nearly 20 feet of concrete, wood, metal and rubble lay his brother. After 11 days of being buried he is still alive. All of the rubble, the concrete, the desperation, the wood, the depth could not consume him. His life, his voice, could not be silenced.
The shame inside of Simon Peter choked him. There was the Sea of Tiberius. There was the charcoal fire. There was Jesus. His friend. The one who had done nothing but love him. The one who called him out to be great. The one who had given him so much. The one who had risen. Yet, Peter was silent. How could he speak? When it really mattered, he failed to stand by Jesus. When it really mattered, he only could deny him.
How much are we as seminarians just like Peter. Jesus has called us his friends. He has done nothing but love us. He has called us to be priests. He has called us to life. We know that he is risen.
Yet so often we still remain silent.
We think of…
Our lives before coming to seminary….we cannot speak.
Those we have not forgiven… we cannot speak.
Our judgments of others are too great… we cannot speak.
We live for this world…we cannot speak.
The fear is too much…we cannot speak.
The media is bringing us down…we cannot speak.
Atheists blast our beliefs…we cannot speak.
Like concrete, splintered wood, metal and rubble, we are buried beneath our shortcomings, our culture, our fears. The weight is too great. But my brothers, can you hear that? Can you hear that? It is God’s message of forgiveness and life, and it cannot be silenced.
Back on the shore Jesus gazes at his friend Peter. He knows. He knows. Like the words of absolution spoken for the first time, Jesus speaks to Peter. Three questions about love say that all of this stuff, the concrete, the wood, the metal, the culture, the shame, the regret, the mistakes the sin…..IT IS ALL FINISHED. Don’t you know Peter, Jesus says, I have conquered all of that. I have conquered all of that.
Now Peter, Aaron, Stu, Andy, if you believe that. If you love me, forget all of that. Feed my sheep. Feed them with my Father’s message of forgiveness and life. For it cannot be silenced.
I was in the missions in North Carolina over Holy Week. In three whole counties there are Catholics who have no resident priest. Their churches are small. None of the furniture matches. There is no gold and no silver. They barely can afford a crucifix. They are a minority who is criticized and looked down upon by the communities. Yet when I came down there with a priest from Glenmary for Holy Week the people were not silent. Every person washed each other’s feet. They came with tears in their eyes to kiss the cross. They prepared music for over 5 hours for just one mass. They filled the churches so much that children had to sit on the floor next to the altar. They had been given so little attention, so little guidance, so little of anything in life. But they knew. They knew from the depths of their hearts of the message that Jesus wanted Peter to know on the shore. The same message that he wants us to know. Out sins, our shortcoming, our shame, our insignificance. None of that matters. Jesus has taken care of everything. Because of that, God’s message of forgiveness and life cannot be silenced.
As we journey from here, we are going to stand in front of a world that is like the officers and the Sanhedrin. It is telling us to keep quiet. To not speak of the message that we hold to be true inside of our hearts. We will have to be courageous. But be assured brothers, even if we do not speak, scripture promises us,
Every creature in heaven and on earth and in the sea, everything in the universe will be crying out, “to the Lamb be blessing, honor, glory, and might, forever and ever. Amen”
God, through Jesus has taken care of everything. His message of forgiveness and life will not silenced.
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