THE PARISH CULTURE

Every parish has a culture, no matter how big or how small. Our culture is who we are and how we do things. Some might call it the character of our parish community.

• Some parishes have a culture of excellence, a preciseness to liturgy done right.
• Some parishes have a culture of evangelism, where they’re constantly getting out into their communities, sharing the Good News with others.
• Some parishes have a missionary culture, constantly sending missionaries to the uttermost parts of the earth.
• A common parish culture I hear around the diocese is that of a welcoming culture, where people feel a heartfelt welcome when they enter the church. They love spending time with other parishioners and feel like one big family.
• Many parishes have a culture of service. They’re always outside the walls of the church, getting the smell of the sheep upon them by engaging in direct service to the needy and collaborating with other community service agencies.

In Acts, we hear an emphasis on the early church’s culture of harmony, as the believers were “of one heart and mind” and a culture of generosity and care for one another as “they [held] everything in common.” (Acts 4:32) The gifts “were distributed to each according to need” (Acts 4:35) so that “there was no needy person among them.” (Acts 4:34) Which was a solid foundation for the apostle’s culture of evangelization as “with great power they bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord.” (Acts 4:33) A parish’s culture can be seen by those looking in or seeking connection.

What is the culture of this parish? The parish mission statement is a good guidepost: “St. James Cathedral is focused on guiding people of all backgrounds into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is our hope that you will find our parish a place of welcome and hospitality, as well as a spiritual home for you and your family.” This is a statement that expresses a larger vision, a vision of invitation, fellowship, and belonging. How ministries are categorized, on the webpage, also gives the seeker a clue to the parish’s culture: “worship, learning, witness, & service.”

Like Nicodemus’ struggle to understand Jesus’ teaching on things from above and being born of the Spirit, as people begin returning to church and parish life. So, the question of “What is our parish culture?” shifts to “How will the people recognize the culture of this parish?”

It will be by the parish parishioners being and intentionally living the professed culture. We must be a witness to our personal relationship with the risen Christ; we must invite, welcome, and display full and active participation in worship and learning; and our generosity and care for each other and those most in need must go beyond the parish walls. Words in print or spoken are more fully expressed when we actively live the parish’s culture.

UNDERCOVER BOSS 3

In the TV series Undercover Boss, bosses of chain businesses go undercover to their own stores in various locations and engage in various jobs around the store to interact with the employees. Depending on the employee's impression, it will prove to the boss how important the job is to them. Sometimes an employee thinks they recognize the boss and they go off to the side and begin discussing their suspicions with other employees. Yet they would not dare to ask them, “Who are you?” (Jn 21:12)

Tuesday, we heard that Mary Magdalene was the first person to experience the risen Jesus. At first, she thinks Jesus is the gardener, until He tenderly calls her by name. The second story, the risen Lord appears in the upper room, although the doors were locked, and the disciples were hiding, thinking they are seeing a ghost. Until Jesus offers them peace. Today’s Gospel, the third appearance story, unfolds around Peter and some other disciples embarking on a fishing expedition. Once Jesus is gone, they return to business as usual. Our frustrated apostolic fishermen worked long and unsuccessfully through the night. As daybreak arrives, they see a figure on the shore. Something about this person’s dialog and command touches the Beloved Disciple, and he recognizes this person as the Lord.

Our Lord meets his disciples right where they are: frustrated, hungry, wet, and needing direction. He refreshes their spirits and their bodies with his eucharistic dawn on the beach. He waits on them with compassionate care. He models for us how we likewise are to serve one another, aware of the needs of all.

Yet, there is another aspect of the scriptures today. Peter finds almost superhuman strength, first, to haul in, by himself, the significant catch onto shore. The same catch that the other disciples, together, could not pull in. (Jn 21:6-11) Then, in our reading from Acts, Peter and John, who have healed a disabled person at the temple, results in a good bit of conversation, as the Sadducees ask, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (Acts 4:7) Peter, once again, rises to the occasion and with courage presents an apologia (a defense of their action) for healing in the name of Jesus Christ. He directly refutes claims that anyone other than Jesus Christ mediates salvation. “He is the stone rejected, by you, … which has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11) for all salvation. He is the savior of the whole human race.

As we approach this morning meal, will we be as slow to recognize the Risen Lord, will we have the courage to present our apologia beyond these walls? We need to consider the other ways the risen Lord appears to us throughout our daily life? Will we recognize our Undercover Boss in the disguise of the ordinary people we encounter today? How will we respond to this encounter of the risen Lord

DO YOU RECOGNIZE ME?

In the TV series Undercover Boss, bosses of chain businesses go undercover to their own stores in various locations and engage in various jobs around the store to interact with the employees. Depending on the employee's impression, it will prove to the boss how important the job is to them. In the end the unsuspecting employees are called in and the boss reveals their identity by asking, “Do you recognize me?” then shares the experience of their time together. The employee’s response is often tearful gratitude as the boss shares lessons learned and gives new opportunities.

In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is the first person to discover the empty tomb of Jesus and experience of the risen Jesus. What follows is a “recognition story,” describing the stages in which Mary comes to recognize who Jesus really is. At first, she thinks Jesus is the gardener. He tenderly calls her by name, in her native Aramaic tongue, the name she was called only by those most intimate with her, Miryam. Leading to the second stage: with encouragement from the risen Jesus, she responds, Rabbouni meaning “my beloved teacher” a recognition of her old teacher.

Naturally, Mary reaches out to Jesus, but she is told not to touch. Msgr. Charles Pope describes the exchange this way: “Don’t go on clinging to what, in me, is familiar to you. Step back, take a good look, and go and tell.” Christ wants to be more than physically present to her. He tells her, “go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (Jn 20:17) Mary finally comes to recognized the risen Lord, then runs to announce this good news to the disciples.

These recognition stories were told to encourage believers not to become discouraged if they cannot fully comprehend the reality of Jesus’ resurrection when they first encounter it. It is a mystery that unfolds in stages. For Mary, she had to let go of her past understanding of Jesus (Rabbouni) before she can grasp the deeper meaning of who he really is, her Lord and her God.

Because of Easter, the Lord’s relationship with Mary has changed and deepened, as with each of us, as He reveals His identity as our Lord and our God. As we approach this mystery, Christ, our undercover boss, under the form of bread and wine asks, “Do you recognize me?” As Mother Teresa puts it, “He makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the one in prison, the lonely one, the unwanted one…”  It’s been said, “If we can’t recognize Him in these people, we won’t be able to recognize Him here, in the bread and wine, transformed into His body and blood.”

As the risen Christ reveals himself to us in our daily lives, how will we respond?