Dear parishioners and friends of Saint James, 

Apparently, we have survived The Apocalypse or whatever else was supposed to happen to us after Last Monday’s Solar eclipse. The world or civilization as we’ve known it may not have come to an end but I do think there were some consequences. Seems so many people are tired or more tired than usual. But what would you expect after Palm Sunday, Holy Week, the Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday, a strong Nor’ Easter, an earthquake, Divine Mercy Sunday and a Solar Eclipse? That’s a lot. 

Today is the Third Sunday of Easter. To me, it’s an important moment in our liturgical calendar. Maybe we should call it Commitment Sunday. We had the expected crowds on Easter Sunday. We had the Low Sunday experience on Divine Mercy Sunday. Who will there be on the Third Sunday of Easter? 

“A hen and a pig approached a church and read the advertised upcoming Sunday sermon topic, “What Can We Do to Help the Poor?” Immediately, the hen suggested they feed them bacon and eggs. The pig thought about that for a moment and said, ‘There is only one thing wrong with feeding bacon and eggs to the poor. For you it only requires a contribution, but for me it requires total commitment!” 

Holy Week and Easter are history. For many, the thrill is gone away. The flowers are clearly past their peak, the decorations looking like they’ve always been there. We’ve heard most of the traditional Easter hymns. The Resurrection has been absorbed back into the regular fabric of urban life. 

Our Gospel is the continuation of the Gospel for last Wednesday, with the disciples who had been going away from Jerusalem on the way to Emmaus. Jesus appears to them, rebukes them for their lack of faith and belief and eats a meal with them. They go back and tell everyone how they met Jesus alive and while they were saying this, Jesus appears again and they are all having panic attacks, ready to pass out. Jesus has to prove himself all over again. He has another meal with them. Then, he opens their eyes to understand the Scriptures. They probably knew most of the Bible by heart and didn’t even realize they never really understood it. 

The resurrection of Jesus is the most significant event to occur in human history and in the spacetime continuum. But to understand it will take more than popping in to church every-so-often, a prayer here and there. This isn’t easy. Let’s stop fooling ourselves. They say nothing arouses more false hope than the first four hours of a diet. People who knew Jesus in his earthly life and actually witnessed him as resurrected still didn’t get it. It took time and God’s grace. 

To gain eternal life requires diligence and hard work – commitment. 

Shalom, Fr. Bryan Patterson