I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.

Why is it that Jesus doesn’t pray for the world?

We would love to have Jesus pray for the world. We would love it if He would perfect the world. It would make everything easier, peaceful, kinder, wonderful. We live here and would like it to be a little slice of heaven. Jesus, why didn’t you pray for the world? Also, why is it that Jesus prays only for the ones the Father has given Him? Is He only praying for the Apostles and disciples? Did He neglect to pray for everyone?

Brothers and sisters,

We ask: Jesus, why didn’t you pray for the world? The answer is: Jesus does not pray for the world because the world is not our destination. The world is the place where we battle against every type of sinfulness. It is a battleground and a crucible in which we are proved.

St. Peter tells us that as Christians we are to avoid and reject sin. We should not be made to suffer on account of committing sins:

But let no one among you be made to suffer
as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer.

St. Paul lists the many sins Christians are to avoid. In 1 Corinthians 6:7-10 he says:

To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?
But you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that even your own brethren.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts,
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

In 1 Timothy 1:9-10 St. Paul goes on to describe that:

the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine

We are to battle against all that and all sin. We are to fight the urge to malice, gossip, calumny, and bickering. We are to resist the temptations laid out before us by the world: fame, lust, greed, contempt for others. We must resist the world and resist every temptation, here in our parish, in our parish meetings, in our homes, at work, and at play. We are to fight against every evil. We are to love, even when loving is hard.

My friends,

We do not have it easy. That is why Jesus’ prayer for those the Father has given Him is Jesus’ prayer for us. We are the people the Father has given Him. In fact, every person in the world is to resist evil because the Father has placed the whole of mankind into Jesus hands. The Father has seen the whole of mankind washed in the blood of His Son – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus prayed for us. For this parish. For you and for me. He knew the strength of temptation and the lure of evil. Knowing that He reminded the disciples, just before they left for the Garden on the night He was betrayed:

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me;
but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.

The ruler of the world has no power over Jesus or over us. That is why we are to reject sin, reject the world’s easy and wide road of sin. In rejecting sin we make ourselves ready to do the Father’s will, to show the world that we love the Father.

We are Jesus’ disciples. We bear His name – Christian. We must do as the Apostles, the women, and the brothers did:

All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer

We are to be of one accord. We are to pray together first, then work together, bear with one another, and above all love each other. We are to forgive and in forgiving reject the root of sin – selfish desire to put ourselves first, to call ourselves perfect and just.

St. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:11 that we were sinful worldly people:

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

We have been washed and we are renewed. We, the people of this parish, the people of our Holy Polish National Catholic Church are to do our best, and with God’s grace fulfill Jesus’ prayer; that He be glorified in us.

Reject sin. Love and serve God and each other. Amen.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.

Jesus’ promise is counter to everything we know and think. We believe in a God we cannot see. Many try to empirically understand Jesus. They provide lengthy narratives on the proof of God – why Jesus is God, why He came to us, why He died, and that He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Attempts at proving the truth of Jesus are noteworthy, and help us in deepening our faith, but because of our human limitations, fall short. Jesus said that the world would no longer see Him, so it takes something more, something greater, something we all have the capacity for, faith.

Brothers and sisters,

That faith is in us. Jesus is telling us that we – the faithful, will see Him. The world sees Jesus because we live, because we love, worship, adore, and have faith in Him. Some will come to us and they will say, ‘Show me Jesus. I have faith, I want to see Him.’ We must be prepared to say to them: ‘See Him.’ As St. Peter tells us:

Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope

This is not an explanation in human terms, but in divine terms. It is an explanation of our faith and hope. It is an explanation that comes from our essential faith.

My friends,

Our humanity, and most especially our weaknesses, prompt us to define ourselves, our Church and parish, our faith and belief, our life together as a human endeavor. We think – well if we have a process, a strategic plan, goals, a committee, a work team, if we read The Purpose Driven Church and put it into action, that will be the key. That will work. We work and work and work and in doing so we forget Jesus’ warning:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’
For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.—

Brothers and sisters,

Listen to what the Deacon Philip did:

Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.

All of us, and all the people out there – the unchurched, the lonely, the sad, the rich, the poor, need to see something other than a plan and a process. They need our witness to Jesus Christ. They need to see us seeing Him. We need to do what Philip did – proclaim Christ to them.

If people see the Holy Church as dogma and rules, if they see us as adherents to process and committees, they will flee from us. We must proclaim what Bishop Hodur proclaimed. Our Church is a union of free men and women, all of whom are seeking the Kingdom of God, all of whom freely subscribe to the journey of faith. All of whom start and end with faith. All of whom live, breathe, act on, and witness to faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus promised us:

“Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.—

We have His commandments which are His words. We have faith and we love. We are a union of free men and women, joined together in our ascent to the heavenly kingdom. Set aside the plans and the processes. Set aside the self-reliance. Build a foundation on rock, the rock of faith. Have faith. Show faith. Live faith. Do so and Jesus will reveal himself. Do so:

—…and all these things shall be yours as well.—

—Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.—

Christ is risen, alleluia!—¨
He is truly risen, alleluia!

A special message for you Madeline Ashley, and a message for all of us.—¨

We are blessed today. All of Christendom is blessed today. A new member will be added to the faith. A new member of the Holy Church will be born through water and the Holy Spirit. Just like the early Church we continue to grow.

The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly

By the addition of this one life, we are increased greatly.

In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we learn of the Apostles struggle to keep on top of everything. They had spiritual duties, evangelical duties, and administrative duties. The Church kept growing, and it was getting difficult to do it all. They decided to appoint seven – the first seven deacons – to assist them. These deacons would assist them in their administrative and charitable works.

Within a few chapters from the Acts we will see deacons witnessing to the faith in myriad ways. Stephen the Deacon will be dragged before the Chief Priest and the Council and will strongly proclaim the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. For preaching the Word and Truth of God he will be stoned to death.

In a few more chapters Philip the Deacon will be be prompted by the Holy Spirit to go out to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. There he will come across an Ethiopian eunuch traveling on a delegation from Candace the queen of Ethiopia. Philip will explain the work of Jesus Christ to the eunuch. He will expose the references to the Christ that are found throughout scripture. Philip will baptize the eunuch and when he comes up from the water the eunuch will rejoice, because he has Christ.

Madeline,

Today you will come up out of the water and you will have Christ.

Look at this Bible. This Bible – a book of books. A lot of people have a bible. It is a great work of literature. It is history, poetry, songs, wisdom, many many things. Some are very pretty – well manufactured Bibles, they look great on a table or in a library. Some are historic and quite valuable – like the Gutenberg Bible.

Today you will come up out of the water and this Bible will mean far more to you. You, like all members of the Holy Church, will truly have this Bible. You won’t just own one, you will have one – and its words will be written upon your heart and soul. It will still be history, poetry, songs, and wisdom, but most importantly it won’t just be those things. Its books make use of those forms to reveal to you the life of Christ Jesus your Savior.

Like the Ethiopian eunuch you will have the revealed Word of God and you will know its true meaning. The Bishops, priests, and deacons of the Church, along with your parents and grandparents will explain its words to you. They will tell you that its meaning is this. Madeline – God loves you. God sacrificed Himself for you. He died and rose so that you might live. He has gone before you, and He tells you:

I am going to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself

You have that assurance by your entry into the Holy Church – into the Body of Christ. Today you are buried with Him so that you may rise again on the last day. Today you meet the One Who said:

“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.—

Today you come to the Father through the Son. Let no one fool you Madeline. There is no promise greater, no assurance stronger, no one who or no thing that can give you what your parents and the Holy Church give you today. You have entry to the Kingdom of God through your profession of faith in Jesus Christ in this baptism. He is the one who is the way, truth, and life. In Him you will live forever.

So Madeline, and all my brothers and sisters,

—Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.—

…Who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Proclaim His name, fear not, go out and baptize all in His name, for the salvation of the whole world. Live as witnesses to all He has has said and done. He is with and in you. He will be forever.

Amen.

Los sacaré de entre las naciones, los reuniré de entre todos los pueblos, y los haré regresar a su propia tierra.

For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.

Christ is risen, alleluia!—¨
He is truly risen, alleluia!

Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, and today we will baptize Caterina. What an appropriate thing to do.

Jesus has come to us and has announced to us that He is the Good Shepherd. He is here, with us, constant in His vigilance, knowing us, and allowing us to know Him. By this baptism Caterina will be welcomed into the sheepfold. She will enter through the gate, which is Christ, and she will abide with Him.

As Caterina grows, as she matures in life and in faith, Jesus the Good Shepherd will be with her. Today her parents, Roman and Cecelia have assured Caterina that the Good Shepherd will be with her. They have given her the greatest of gifts. The gift of eternal life.

Caterina’s family comes to us from afar, with a different language and a different culture. Though different in some respects this family lives as one with us in faith. Christ Jesus is their Shepherd and our Shepherd, Shepherd of all nations and of all peoples without exclusion. It is this faith in the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd who loved us so much that He endured death so that we might have life, that joins us now and which will join us forever in the resurrection on the last day. It is our faith in Him that breaks down all walls, all barriers, and binds us together as one nation and people.

Jesus came to us, and on the day of His baptism in the Jordan, we hear the Father’s voice.

—Tíº eres mi Hijo amado; yo tengo en ti mis complacencias.—

“Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”

The Father was well pleased in His Son who came to Shepherd us, to lead us to the Father, to eternal life.

Caterina will now share in that life. By her baptism and her faith, by listening to the words of the Good Shepherd and the faith that her parents will share with her, she will remain constant – focused on the joy and the happiness to be found in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Today we welcome you Caterina, and your family, in the name of the whole Church, in the name of the faith we all profess.

En esta mañana damos la vienbenida a Caterina y su familia en nombre de las Iglesia y la fe que todos profesamos.

Amen.

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus

Christ is risen, alleluia!
He is truly risen, alleluia!

That very day, the first day of the week,
about a hundred of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a town called Latham.

That my brothers and sisters is us. So here we are, on the first day of the week.

Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

We have a problem. That problem is our inability to recognize Jesus. When we try to recognize Jesus we often compartmentalize our recognition.

Some of us look to the clergy. They must surely represent Jesus. They have all the training, have Holy Orders, are leaders in our spiritual journey. I can see Jesus there. That works for all of about one second, until the clergy make mistakes. Till their humanity shines forth in all its brokenness. No Jesus there.

Some look to the poor. Surely Jesus is there. They are poor like Jesus, rejected like Jesus, and we are supposed to treat them like we would treat Jesus – the least of my brothers. That works for all of one second, until, in the face of our charity, they remain distraught in poverty and brokenness; till they blunder in not being thankful for our charity. No Jesus there.

Some look to secular leaders. They have power and might like Jesus. They are all for the common good like Jesus. Anyway, Jesus told us to render unto Caesar – He had no problem with government per se. Certainly government leaders talk about Jesus a lot. They have faith. That lasts for all of one second, until we see the corruption, the violence, and the selfishness of human power; till we see their words as a ruse. No Jesus there.

Some look to Jesus. Ok, He’s the One. He has it all down – and anyway He is completely perfect. After-all, He is God. Yep – that’s right, I’m looking to Jesus who is in heaven. When He comes on the clouds in all the glory of God, with trumpet blasts and smoke and fire and sits on the judges bench… Oh yeah, that. Maybe it would be better if I didn’t look there. No, no, that’s not my Jesus.

Brothers and sisters,

How do we recognize Jesus?

Look around you. The rich and poor, the powerful and weak, the employed, retired, and unemployed. Look at the person next to you and look at yourself. Look at this parish – from its priest, to the parish committee, to the organizations, to the pew dwellers. Jesus. There He is in those we agree and disagree with. In the meek and the know-it-alls. There He is. His image. Jesus.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

We have to live together, work together, and most importantly we have to start right here, this moment, in these pews facing this altar. In a few minutes Fr. Andrew, in the person of Jesus Christ will raise that bread – and Jesus will be here. Just prior to communion Fr. Andrew, in the person of Jesus Christ, will break that bread. We must stop – think – and recognize Christ here, among us, and in us.

My friends,

It starts and ends right here. The in-between stuff is hard. When we are about to slip and think – no Jesus there – stop! He is there and He is here. He is in the clergy, the poor, the powerful. He is there. He is in you. He is in us.

I urge you. Take Jesus out of the compartment. Take Jesus with you and see His image in each-other, in all those that we meet. Do not let doubt, hurt, or anything separate us from a member of this parish or from any other person. Start here, recognize Jesus, and walk out of here knowing that Jesus lives in and with us. Christ is risen, alleluia! He is truly risen, alleluia!

Amen.

They devoted themselves
to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life,
to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

Christ is risen, alleluia!

The way Easter falls this year we celebrate Low Sunday just before the observance of the birth of our founder and first Prime Bishop, Franczek Hodur.

One-hundred forty-two years ago Bishop Hodur was born in Zarki, Poland. By the time of his repose in the Lord, in 1953, the Polish National Catholic Church was well established, first here in the United States, then in Poland and Canada. Today the Church and its sister Churches in Poland and Norway continue to proclaim God’s truth as revealed to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When we read of the early Church we see their communal life as a sort of ideal, people living and working together and ultimately bound in the breaking of the bread and prayer. People gave everything they had to join with that band of believers. They didn’t give to join, there was no buying in, but they gave freely to build up the community. Their life together, their faithfulness to carrying out and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was an outward mark of their shared faith. Because of their faith – and for that reason alone, they were blessed.

And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

As members of the PNCC we hold the same faith and work in the same manner as the early Church. We come together in the breaking of the bread and in prayer. We live as the very same one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We bind ourselves together in our democratic Church – sharing in the ownership of our buildings, lands, and of all the gifts God has given to us. We share not just in common ownership, but also in the common decision making inherent in our democratic form of governance.

As members of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church we give of ourselves, of our gifts, of the work of our hands, all focused on upholding the Holy Faith, and our motto – through truth, work, and struggle we will be victorious.

As Polish National Catholics we continue to welcome all who seek Christ. We hear same voices Bishop Hodur heard in 1897 as they cry out today. Help us find Christ. Bring Christ into our life. Help us to live and work together as a community. Build up the poor, the weak, the uneducated. Teach us about Jesus – who liberates us from sin. Help us to work with fellow believers and clergy – standing side-by-side in God’s field. Hear our voices. Be accountable to Holy Scripture, Tradition, and the people who build-up and support the Church.

Brothers and sisters,

St. Peter proclaimed the blessings God the Father has bestowed on us. These blessings are an inheritance for us – an inheritance that is:

a new birth to a living hope—¨through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

We have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us. By God’s power we have been granted faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Because of this gift, because of faith, because we are joined together as a community, as the Holy Church, as brothers and sisters to all who proclaim the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior, the words of St. Peter ring true for us:

Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Today we rejoice because eternal life has been won for us. We rejoice and are glad because of the tremendous gift of faith that we proclaim, as brothers and sisters united in the self-same Church that the Lord Himself gave to the Apostles.

When Jesus entered the room He told His followers:

—Peace be with you.—

Let us resolve to carry that as our message to all. Jesus says: —Peace be with you.— The world is longing for that message. The people next door, your co-workers, the folks in the malls and on the street. They are struggling. They are crying out, and this Holy Church – the Polish National Catholic Church has the answer.

Jesus expects us to bear that answer to all who call out, to all who do not know Him, to all who seek answers, to all who are in need, to all our brothers and sisters. He told us:

—As the Father has sent me, so I send you.——¨
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
—Receive the Holy Spirit.—

We have the deposit of faith, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the words of Jesus Christ, and the very same strength evidenced in the early Church. We have faith! Show the world His Word. Teach the world about Christ and tell them:

But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

Amen.

Peter proceeded to speak and said:
—We are witnesses of all that he did—¨
He commissioned us to preach to the people——¨

These three lines are excerpts from our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. What an aptly named Book. The Acts.

Peter stood up and spoke. The act of an apostle. He told everyone that he, and those with him, were witnesses. This was the witness of an apostle. He told them that he, and those with him, have a commission – to preach to the people. This was the work of an apostle.

Today, this very day, we are witnesses, and we have received God’s commission. We are to be apostles.

Look here. The tomb is empty. Christ is risen, He is truly risen. Alleluia. Look closely, the tomb is empty. We must tell the Good News.

Because of this empty tomb we are changed. It is not humanity – that big vacuous group without names and faces that has been changed, but us, you and me, Andrew, James, John, Joseph, Peter, Mary, Estelle, Janice, all of us. We are changed, irrevocably. We are forever changed. Because we are changed, because we are His appointed apostles, the world can change. There is hope. It is the hope of the empty tomb and it is the forgiveness of sins. God loves us.

The door to heaven is open to all of us. All we have to do is say yes to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yes Lord, I will stand up. Yes Lord, I will tell them that I have seen the empty tomb. Yes Lord, I will tell them all that I know about you. It won’t be fancy words, or particularly elegant, but my words will have the fire of truth behind them. You died and rose again Lord. Death is no more. You are the way, the truth, and the life. Those out there, the unbelievers, the skeptics, the hurt, the sad, the lonely, the rich and the poor, the great and the small. They are all welcome to come. To see the empty tomb.

They can come to life too. They can come to eternal life because you and I, along with Peter, will be apostles. You and I will act! We will tell them:

—[Jesus Christ] is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,—¨
that everyone who believes in him—¨
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.—

Amen.

—This day shall be a memorial feast for you,
which all your generations shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.—

Two days ago I was standing next to our Bishop, along with the priests of the diocese. We took part in the Holy Mass and the blessing of the various oils —“ the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Holy Chrism.

After the Holy Mass the priests of the diocese took their stocks of oil and returned to their parishes.

I would like us to focus on what this means.

From our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit present in the hands of our bishop we received a gift.

Oil to bring healing —“ the healing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Oil to strengthen and prepare those who are about to enter into the Holy Church in baptism. The Holy Chrism to anoint, strengthen, and indelibly seal the members of the Holy Church in their witness at Baptism and Confirmation and in Holy Orders.

What marvelous gifts —“ and what a magnificent witness —“ the Holy Church gathered around her bishop and proclaiming the ancient faith. The true faith.

We returned from that event and came together yesterday and this morning in our preparation for this most sacred time. The church is decorated; the flowers in place, the candles purchased, the hymns have been practiced. What a marvelous gift —“ the gift of hands and voices working together to witness our faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now this evening. Jesus presents us with more gifts. The gifts of Holy Eucharist, the Priesthood, and Forgiveness of sins.

All of these things, all of these gifts, are gifts from God. He has sole authority over them. He heals, He anoints, It is His body and blood, He wipes sin away. We can do none of this of our own accord. Only God. Yet He gave them to us – His power, His authority, His love have been given to us.

Jesus said:

—What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.—

Brothers and sisters,

By tomorrow it will be even more difficult to understand. Jesus will be dragged around, slapped, scourged, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a cross. He will die and be pieced with a lance.

God’s gift —“ His life for our lives. That gift is hard to understand. It is hard to get out minds around that concept.

In the psalm we sang:

Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

All of these gifts, all of these treasures are sealed in the blood of Christ. They are the rock upon which we are to build our lives.

Everyone has a solution. Everyone has a plan. Everyone has an idea. Sometimes we think we need to have something new. We are ready to buy the newest concept in the hope that it will work. We miss the true hope – what we know will work. It is what have, and what we must rely on. It is these very gifts, God’s gifts. These gifts are the plan, the idea, and the solution to all of our problems, concerns, and issues.

With this knowledge St. Paul proclaimed:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Brothers and sisters,

Our Lord said:

—I have given you a model to follow—

So this day is a memorial feast —“ a feast we and our brothers and sisters in Christ will celebrate perpetually. It is the memorial of His awesome gifts —“ God’s power among us.

He has given us everything we need – everything. Come and receive His gifts —“ and rely on them as the source of all life. Rely on them and be saved.

Amen.

Peter said to him in reply,
—Though all may have their faith in you shaken,
mine will never be.—

We make empty promises and we have empty arms. As humans our longing far outweighs the world’s ability to fulfill those longings.

Look at Peter. All his marvelous statements, all his strength and bravery, all the grand pronouncements. Certainly they came from a deep down longing. He wanted to love, but couldn’t quite get it right.

The result: Telling Jesus what he could and could not do:

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.”

Telling Jesus he would be loyal – and the result:

Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the cock crowed.
And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”

Afterward Peter wept bitterly – and don’t we all weep bitterly after our unkept promises, after our empty arms.

We stand alone with our great sayings and gestures. We long, yearn, and are even willing to suffer and die for love, but still find it slightly out-of-reach.

Simone Weil said: —To say to Christ: ‘I will never deny you’ was to deny him already, for it was to suppose the source of faithfulness to be in himself and not in grace…. Peter did not deny Christ when he broke his promise, but when he made it.—

The problem with empty arms and empty promises is that they exist apart from the love of God. As Christians we are called to love the way God loves, to promise the way God promises, to put our faith in His grace and His path. We have to let God take hold of us and put our complete trust, our complete faith in Him. We have to trust in God’s ways regardless of what the world, what our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers think.

The women who stood off at a distance, Joseph from Arimathea, they worked in accord with God’s will. They were loyal, they stayed close to Jesus to the last, without regard for their personal desires. They desired what the Father desired: serve My Son, follow My Son, bury My Son.

Brothers and sisters,

God made a promise – and He came among us to fulfill it:

Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

He showed us His empty arms – and in their emptiness, fastened to the cross, He showed us love beyond measure, the love of God for His people.

Our arms and our promises will be full, and love with envelop us completely. Invite Jesus to take hold of you. Come Lord Jesus, take my arms, my promises, my will, and make them in accord with Yours.

Amen.