3rd Sunday of Easter April 18-19, 2015

Year after year, Easter Sunday celebrates the reality of Jesus’ resurrection as the foundation of our Christian identity. As St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching, and empty is your faith.”

And yet, in the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples, failure to recognize Jesus is a hallmark of his resurrection appearances. So rather than Jesus they see a ghost, and rather than joy they experience fear. The evangelist says: “the disciples were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. Before the disciples were going to become fearless evangelizers, they needed a deep spiritual learning curve. The meaning of resurrection faith was that Jesus was going to change the disciples “slowness of heart” and fearful misunderstanding into “opened minds” and joyful recognition.

Fast forward to our lives and our failures to recognize the presence of the Risen Christ in our midst, the question for us is how will Jesus appear to us in this day and age? Will we be any better able to recognize him than those first disciples? Jesus showed his first disciples his wounded hands and feet and spoke “peace” to them. Could it be that Jesus is showing us his wounded body in the sick and the homeless who need our care, in the immigrants or prisoners who need to be rekindled by our Easter zeal?
In the Gospel account, Jesus stood in their midst and said to them: “Peace be with you.” As Jesus noticed the disciples the disciples were startled and terrified, he asked: “Why are you troubled?”

In wishing us peace, Jesus also asks us why are we anxious, why are we fearful, why is your life shaped by our worries in our economy, why are we dominated by the possessions of our life, why do we give to another person so much power over our lives when it is not life-giving?
The question why are you troubled is often asked in the Gospel of Luke. Recall the annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she was going to be the mother of the savior, and Mary was confused as to what this meant. Then the angel asked Mary: Why are you troubled? Be assured the Lord goes with you. These words are spoken as well in the midst of the questions and fears of our lives: “Why are you fearful?” The Lord is with you and the Lord’s gift to you is an inner peace and joy that no one nor any situation can take from you.

As we reflect on the Gospel, I would highlight three components of the Gospel story that are also three movements In our spiritual journey.

1. The disciples were a community of people. The two disciples on the way to Emmaus had rejoined the community of disciples in Jerusalem. Jesus appeared to them in their midst. Even if our faith is a jumble of commitment and confusion, we like the first disciples gather as a community to welcome Jesus. We are not just individual disciples. We are a community of disciples. We are a Church who celebrate the presence of Jesus in our midst.

2. We are a Eucharistic people. “While they were still incredulous, Jesus asked them: “have you anything here to eat?” As for those first disciples, and so too for us, our own privileged encounter with the Risen Jesus is at table on the Lord’s day, in the context of the community’s meal.

3. The first disciples were to be a missionary people. Jesus commissioned them “to be witnesses of these things.” Jesus sends forth the disciples to bear witness. How often Pope Francis reminds us that we “touch the flesh of Christ” in the wounds of our suffering brothers and sisters to whom we are sent forth from every Eucharist as witnesses of Jesus’ self-sacrificing love.

4. With your permission, I would add a fourth movement that gives me an opportunity to give you an update on our capital campaign on this Commitment Sunday. The first disciples were committed to the mission of Jesus. As the first disciples were committed to the mission of Jesus, so too we are committed to the mission of Jesus by our commitment to our Mission Driven capital Campaign. We are making very positive progress toward of our goal of $1.8 million. We have now pledged over $1 one million and One hundred eighty three thousand dollars in pledges. This has been made possible of over 320 of your fellow parishioners. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our campaign and we are extremely grateful for your support.

I hope that everyone has had a chance to review the campaign brochure that and other material that have been mailed to your home. As a brief recap, the three components of the Mission Driven campaign include:

• Constructing a gathering space at the east transept of the Church where parishioners could meet and hospitality be provided. From the Gospel, the first disciples were a community of disciples who experienced in their midst. We will provide the facilities to enable us more fully to be a community of disciples who know one another and recognize the presence of the Risen Jesus in our midst.

• Providing improved security for the children and staff of St Joseph’s School. It goes without saying that we place a high priority on providing a safe and secure environment for our school children and staff.
• Replacing our electronic organ with a pipe organ. Our current organ is aging and tired. A new pipe organ will enrich the sacredness of our Eucharistic celebrations.

Now is an exciting at St Joseph’s Church and St. Joseph’s School. The brochure and the campaign materials detail what we can look forward to in the coming months. We are excited to announce we have been meeting with the architects, LaBella Associates, and the contractor, LeChase Construction. At this stage, we are working out the details of our building project.

We are making good headway but for us to reach our financial goal and see this project come to fruition, we need everyone to consider a pledge toward the campaign. We ask that everyone be as generous as possible.

At this point, I ask thee usher’s come forward and hand out pledge forms to those who would like one. We are asking all parishioners who have not already done so to return their completed pledge cards and place them in the collection of this very Mass, if possible. Simply pledge the pledge in the collection along with your weekly offering. If you have any questions regarding our campaign, you may visit our campaign volunteers in the hospitality room after Mass. To reach our goal, we need some people to pledge over three years at the $15,000 level; others to consider a pledge of $3 to 4,000 over three years.

Obviously, the circumstances of each family are different. We very much appreciate whatever you are able to give. Trust that each commitment is deeply appreciated. We are hopeful you are able to complete your pledge form and place in the collection today.
Please know that I and the entire staff of St Joseph’s live with an attitude of gratitude. We are grateful for your generosity and may the Risen Lord bless you many times over for all the ways you give to make our Church a Community of Disciples who celebrate the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst,