Common Conversations

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
At 5:30 on a normal Friday morning, there usually is not much excitement going on in our community. But this past Friday morning was not normal. On that particular morning, the magnitude 5.2 earthquake that rumbled through the Midwest at 5:37 am marked that day as unique. Some of us were already awake and moving through our regular morning routine, but a lot of people were still sleeping and were jolted awake by the shaking beds or tornado-like sound, or the rattling shower doors. We’re not used to earthquakes here in Indiana, and even though this particular quake did little damage and made little lasting impression, it did become the talk of the day. Virtually every conversation I had on Friday included talk of the earthquake – were you awake yet? What did you hear? Have you ever felt such a thing? Can you believe, an earthquake in Indiana? Friday’s earthquake quickly become a shared experience for everyone who felt it – it was a common link for all people, friends and strangers – and it was the hot topic of conversation for the rest of the day.

Shared experiences can be a powerful thing – they can bring communities and peoples together who might otherwise not interact with one another. They spark conversation where, otherwise, silence might have dominated. For even a brief time, they can bring unity, camaraderie, and mutual support. Of course, most of us will have forgotten this magnitude 5.2 earthquake after a few days – it certainly was a common experience in the short term, but in the long run will probably not have much of a lasting impact. But most of us can remember the great shared experiences of our lifetimes. We all remember where we were on September 11, 2001. For my generation, the first great shared experience was the Challenger explosion in 1986, for others, it was the assassination of President Kennedy. It’s easy to walk up to a stranger and ask, “Where were you on September 11?” These shared experiences are etched into our memories and provide a common ground with friends and strangers alike.

It is this type of shared experience that Jesus was for his disciples, even if they were not always aware of it. After hearing Jesus tell them that they know the way to where he is going, the disciples were confused. Thomas spoke up: Master, we don’t even know where you are going, how can we know the way? And Jesus told them, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus himself is the way to the Father, the way to eternal life – the only way we can get there is through him. He is the bond – the shared experience, the common link – for all people to touch the divine. If we know him, if we believe in him, if we follow him, then we will have life. The challenge of being Christian is first of all to recognize Jesus as the common ground of our existence and then to share His story, to do all we can to make our experience of Jesus a shared experience, the common link that connects all people with one another and with God.

Long after we have forgotten about this Friday’s earthquake; when memories of President Kennedy or the Challenger Space Shuttle or even September 11 are just stories in a history book, there will still be one common experience that connects all people of all times and places – the personal and communal encounter with Jesus Christ, who is the only way, the complete truth, and the fullness of everlasting life. If only our conversations revolved around him as much as they were consumed by Friday’s earthquake.