(The following is written by Mr. Mark Johnson, a very good friend of mine, a very good writer, and a pretty perceptive.  Mr. Johnson is a country boy as well and resides in South Dakota with his wife and two sons)

My wife and I have sheep.  We don’t have the space for cattle or the facilities for pigs. Since we are lovers of animals and gluttons for punishment, we have sheep. So somewhere in the racket of our daily routine, we make time for some shepardly husbandry. Although I will admit, they are strange animals that do strange things.

Any time the flock senses we are outdoors, to them, it must be feeding time. They call, begging us with their “baaaah!” Much to their displeasure they are only fed once daily, making it a time of frenzy. When we aren’t going to get the mail or just walking across the yard, and the woolen creatures actually get their way, the frenzy is on!

It starts when they see us go towards the hay. They charge towards us with reckless abandon. And of course, if one of them jumps whether it is something or nothing the thirty-nine followers all jump over the same spot. It is a race to see who can get to the bunk first. The sheep race each other, they also race me. A few rude old gussies will stand in the bunk, while others will lag behind. But they all know it is time.

It is all fun and games when the dry old hay is being fed. It is filling, but not satisfying. When the shake of a pail of corn occurs, it stokes the emotion of the flock. Some show rage, others enlightened euphoria. Make no mistake about it the corn is king! I wade through, struggling to get the grain to the feed trough, but I am always met by knee-high wooly hit men, struggling to be the first to get their sweet fix.

So why would I chronicle the life and times of a hungry old sheep? Because I had a realization that sheep and mankind really aren’t that different.

People are never happy. We want what we don’t have. We often follow, even though we’re not always sure who we’re following or what obstacles we will be jumping over. We push to get what we want. And we don’t care who is in our way.

We would be excited when it would rain.  A good summer thunderstorm would cause puddles to form in our drive way on the farm.  As soon as the rain had stopped and the lightening moved on to the east, we boys would run outside, grab sticks, shovels, or the hoe from the garden and rush to the puddles.  We would block up flows, creating dams in the tractor tire tracks along side the barn.  We would back up lakes on the drive way.  We would do feats of engineering marvels.

Dad didn’t always appreciate our efforts.  “Look at you kids playing around in the mud!” He’d say.

“Boys were meant to be dirty.”  Our mother would state and the dam building would continue.

Growing up with four boys in the house (and one younger sister), Mom’s statement seemed to be true.  If there was a puddle we would find it.  If there was someway to get dirty, we could get it on us.

Sometimes, we want to stay too clean.

Sometimes, we want it that way in our spiritual life too.

The Pharisee’s questioned why Jesus would spend time with tax collectors and known sinners, to which Jesus responded, “I do not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Sometimes, we want to keep our spiritual life away from the dirt and grim of the world.  Keep it in church, keep it in our hearts.

But our faith, like boys, was meant to get dirty.

We must actively live our faith.  We must go out in the world, amid the dirt and grim of sin and dispare and live our faith.  The poor, materially and spiritually need to nourished.  The hungry, in body and spirit, need to be feed.  The homeless, in physical or mental state, must be sheltered.

The sinners need the light of Christ.  We must be the physician for the hurting.  We must be the one willing to wad into the filth of every day life and bring the healing power of the Lord to the sinners.

But here is the secret - we are all sinners.

We must be Christ for one another.  We must love Christ above all else.  We must be like Abraham and hope in Him and Love him - and we must, realize that through His grace, we are all one with Him.  So by loving Him, we love our neighbors.  By loving Him, we are driven to help the poor, the hungry, the homeless.

Or put another way, by helping our neighbors, by helping our fellow sinners, by genuine and sincere love for our fellow man, we show our love for Christ.

We live sinful lives in a sinful world, but we must, for the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, wad into the grim, wad into the mud of our world to be Christ for one another…in the enduring hope that we will be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.

I will admit, I pray.

I pray for my family.  I pray for my friends.  I pray for wisdom. I pray for guidance.

But part of prayer is listening as well.  Opening your heart and mind to the will, to the voice of the Lord.

He can be sneaky.  And often times, the answers are not always what we want to hear and not often that recognizable at first glance.

I remember sitting at Mass on morning.  There were a thousand things going on in my life and in my mind.  I was struggling.  I prayed, Lord, just give me peace.

What Bible versus do you think was recited after communion?  “My peace I give you, but peace as I know it, not as you know it.”

Who says the Lord doesn’t answer prayer.

In this day and age, we want answers now.

Moses set before his people the blessing and the curse - follow the will of God and live, or disobey them and die.  Jesus says it in an even more recognizable way - through one of his many parables.  The wise man built his house upon the rock.  The foolish man in the sand.  When the storms hit, whose house was left standing?  “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts will be the wise man.” says the Lord.

It seems we might be in trouble - how can we be saved?

It is hard sometimes to hear the message, to hear the call of the Lord.  It is hard in these modern times to live a life of purpose.  Part of it is because our society is putting less and less emphasis on prayer and contemplation.  Part of it is because we are putting less and less upon listening.  Part of it too is that we need to be patient - which in this age of instant gratification is a tough concept to understand.

But there is hope.

If you listen to the words of the Psalm today, the Lord is giving us part of the answer:

Be my rock of refuge,
  a stronghold to give me safety
You are my rock and my fortress;
  for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.

Let your face shine upon your servant;
  save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
  all you who hope in the Lord.

As we go forward, may we continue to have that hope in the Lord.

As a child, I can still remember my first communion.  It was May 1st, my grandparents were there.  My whole family was there.  There was a reception in the church basement after Mass for all of my classmates, then we went home to a great meal.

What I also remember is the sense of warmth, the sense of peace that I received.

We sometimes forget that the Mass is more then just a church service we attend, it is recieving the body and blood of Christ.  It is that overwhelming feeling.  When I leave Mass, I feel a little lighter, my heart feels a little stronger, I feel like I go forward with the strenght of God to do his will in the wicked world.

Sometimes to, we forget that the Mass is a celebration, a communion, with the entire church.  We celebrate it just as it is celebrated around the state, around the country, and around the world.  On this feast of Corpus Christie, I’ve had the pleasure of celebrating it in Rome with thousands of other people with Pope John Paul II.  Today, I will celebrate the Mass at Westminster Cathedral in London, and I have celebrated it at home in our humble parish church.  But in the end, we celebrate it TOGETHER, as the the children of God. 

The Mass, the celebration, is never ending.

On this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, may we to realize that we are but one small part in this body of Christ, but as important as all the rest.

I’m a sinner.  I drink to much.  I gossip.  I waste time.  I’m not always kind to my friends and family, let alone strangers.  I don’t always make the right decisions.  Often times, I am blinded with my own fear, greed, or conceit.

In short, when Moses asks the Lord to pardon the wickedness and sins of his stiff-necked people, he might have been pointing at me.

The Lord gives us hope, and Paul gives us good advice.  “Rejoice!  Mend your ways, encourage one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

But perhaps John says it even better in his gospel, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

We are a stiff-necked people.  We often don’t see our sins, we don’t see how we hurt each other with our words, our actions, or through omission.

We must humble ourselves.  We must bend these stiff necks of ours, we must break our egos, we must break our hearts of stone and open our hearts and minds.

How hard it is to live a life in fear.  Fear of falling behind materially.  Fear of shame through doing or being something outside of the soceital norms.  Fear of leaving our sinful nature behind.  We know it so well…it is fear that sometimes prevents us from shedding it.

But think of how easy it would be to live the prescription that Paul lays out for us. Mend our ways - turn away from sin, turn away from temptation.  Encourage one another - a kind word, a remembered birthday, living our lives for those around us.  Live in peace - the troubles of the world are many, but the Lord will provide when we work hard and look out for those around us.

May we take these words to heart this Trinity Sunday.  And may we know the blessings Paul wished for us: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.”

“You are not wearing that shirt to school today.” Scolded my older brother Tom.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because you are going to Mass today and a college sweatshirt is not appropriate.”  Tom said.

Older brothers, especially home from college, could sure be bossy.

But upstairs I went, to change into a button shirt.  All the other kids would be wearing t-shirts and jerseys, but noooooooo, not me.  I had to wear a stuffy button shirt.

But it was the right thing to do, and while I hate to admit it…my older brother was right.  It might seem like a small thing, but it sure made me think about the service and what it meant.

Twenty-five years later, it should come as no surprise that today, we are celebrating my brother Tom’s ordination to be a deacon in the Catholic Church.  A deacon after is a servant.  In the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles had to focus on preaching the word, spreading the gospel.  They needed faith filled men, well respected to feed the poor, and serve the people.

That discribes my brother darn near perfectly.

Tom is the oldest of us five kids.  Ultimately, when Mom or Dad weren’t around, we were to listen to Tom.  I was pretty young when Tom went off to college, so the memories are little fuzzy compared to my other brothers.

But I remember clearly when I was in high school.

Our mother got sick when I was a junior in high school.  Though Tom and his wife Mary (a real partnership might I add) lived in central Iowa, they made the eight hour trek pretty often to spend a little bit of time with Mom and make sure that things were going ok.

For my graduation, it was Tom and Mary, with the help of some aunts, that made sure that things were done properly, from the food to the decorations.  They were there to help and support my younger sister and I when we needed it through those tough times.  From driving the eight hours to make it to a parents day at college that they knew my parents couldn’t make it to due to Mom’s illness, to making sure that we took a little time at Christmas to enjoy the season by taking us to the Fargo Theater for one of their winter concerts.

If that isn’t being a servant, I don’t know what is.

I’m proud of my brother and his wife.  They are embarking on a very difficult, but worthy journey.  Serving the their parish, serving their fellow man, and serving our Lord.

I guess I better not wear a college sweatshirt to the ordination…

I have tulips in front of my house.  Red and yellow tulips.  They are in full bloom today.  Living, flowers outstreatched towards the heaven.

For two years, I knew the tulips were their, but never knew what color were their blooms.  The first year I saw just the last remnants of them as I moved in.  Last year, just when I thought I would see them burst forth into flowers, the rabbits found them and nibbled them to nothing.

I am no gardner, and profess to know very little about flowers.  But tulips are an amazing plant.  Mine have been snowed on no less then four times this year.  They were chewed to nothing last year and still came back strong and healthy this year.  They lie in the ground, sometimes unseen - and yet still manage to stun with their beauty each year.

How fitting that mine should be in full bloom for Pentecost Sunday…

This weekend, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, we commorate that day 2000 years ago when the “tongues of flame” settled on each of the disciplines heads and they cried out in load voices, spoke in tongues, and worshipped God, and spread his good news.

Through Confirmation, and through our acceptance, we too are to have this gift of the Holy Spirit.

I’ll admit, sometimes it sure doesn’t feel that way.

I do stupid things.  I say stupid things.  Thinks that I know I shouldn’t, but I do them anyway.  If the Spirit is in me, why do I do these things?

I believe the Spirit is always there.  Guiding us, protecting us.  Like the tulips, sometimes they are hard to see.  Sometimes, they suffer through the coldness of our hearts and small minds.  Sometimes they are chewed down by the rabbits of our souls - haughtiness, pride, unfair judgements.

But like the tulips, the Spirit is always there.  Waiting to spring forth.  Sometimes, when the winter refuses to turn to spring, the tulips act as that reminder bursting through the snow and cold, saying that spring is coming.  There is hope.

So too with the Spirit.

I know there have been times, dark times in my own life.  Sickness in my family.  Times when I have doubted my abilities or purpose on this earth.  I have felt that overwhelming feeling of the Spirit.  That feeling of hope in a time of despair.  That guiding hand that clears our minds and acts as a lamp unto our feet.

With prayer and reflection, with the grace of God and the good works for His children here on earth, we soften our hearts and our minds.  We cannot help the Spirit, but we can chisel away at our imperfections and pride and allow our feeble minds to open our hearts to Spirit.

Religion is contemplative.  Religion is something that we must think about, reflect upon, and hold ponder in our hearts and minds.  We must keep our eyes fixed on heaven.

But that is only part of it.

Our faith is also about action.  All of the things listed above are true, but as we reflect on the Ascension of our Lord today, let us also remember the words of the two men dressed in white that appeared as the Apostles look to heaven, “Why are you standing here looking up at heaven?”

Sometimes we forget that true faith is an active faith.  It is important to keep our eyes on heaven, but without doing anything, it is an empty goal.

Sometimes I forget as well.  I say my prayers.  I go to Mass.  I go through the motions.  I short, I stand there looking up at heaven.

I forget that our faith is one of action.  We are called to help the poor.  We are called to feed the hungry.  We are called to visit the lonely.  We are called to be Christ for one another.

Our faith is not only one of thought, our faith is also one of deed.

When we think of Jesus’ life here on earth, part of it was thought, and reason, and contemplation, but part was a life of action.  Battling demons, helping the poor, curing the lame, helping the least of society.  Preaching a Gospel of love, mercy, and justice.  We are His instruments here on earth to continue the work of the Kingdom.

May we hear the voice of the men in white calling to us “Why are you standing there looking at heaven?”

There is an old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”  It seems we are living in these times today.  A time when our senses are being assualted.  We are overloaded with music, television, movies, internet, computers, radios.  We are expected to eat, listen, visit, interact with others all while being constantly on the move.

Our thoughts are being assualted.  Our world is getting more and more complex with each passing day, as our societies become more and more interconnected and intertwined, we must think more about what we do, but seem to have less time to do it in.

Sometimes it comes down to do what is right, what is noble, and what is easy.

The Good Lord promises us the Advocate, the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we might know that He lives, and so that we might live in Him and He is us.

It is hard in this day and age to live out faith.  To spread the word. 

Recently at a business training session, I went to breakfast early and ran into our facilitator, when I asked him how he was that morning, he answered “Blessed.”

Wow. Did that change my perspective.  It was a simple word to a simple question, but it changed my outlook on the day.  In this day, that simple word isn’t seen as politically correct.  That simple word isn’t seen as something a “normal” person would utter.  That simple word is not an easy one to say.  But it is the truth.  It is the right thing to say.  That is living life in the Spirit.

Our times are interesting.  Economic troubles.  World strife.  Polarization of our religions.  Families being ripped apart by differing opinions.  Drugs.  Young people being disallusioned by society.  Turning food into fuel.  Time seeming to move faster and faster.

Every day, we are faced with the choice - what is easy, what is right?

May we chose to live in the Spirit, and have the Spirit live in us.

Jesus tells us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God; have faith in Me also.”

How many times have we heard the reassuring words in the Gospels?  At his conception, we heard the angel say to Mary, “Be not afraid.”  At his birth, the angels said to the angels - “Do not be afraid, we bring you great tidings of great joy.”  All through his ministry, including up to the last meal with His Apostles, when He broke the bread and gave His flesh to eat, he told them “peace.”  Upon his rising, the first words were, “Do not be afraid.”

Yet we live in troubling times.

We are no longer put to death in the collisuems.  We are no longer hunted down and thrown to lions.  We have the freedom to ask questions of our faith.  We have the freedom, almost the expectation, to go to church and belong to a congregation.  Social norms now say we must have our children baptized.  Go through the motions of our faith.

But the cries for justice, for peace, for real faith are still there and still present.

There is hunger in the developing world.  There is people without food, without shelter, without freedom, without the basic rights that we have here in the United States.  Even when they have their rights, there are people locked in the viscious cycle of poverty, in the cycles of addictions.  Even when people have what they need, they get locked in the cycles of shelfishness, in conceit, in arrogance, in greed.

There is no peace.  There is no justice.  There is no goodness.

Or so it would appear.

In reality, there is goodness, there is justice, and their is peace.  For everyone that helps his neighbor, everyone who stands for what is right, whether during protests or activism, or just going to the ballot box - there is hope, there is goodness, there is justice.

We are all called to live a life of hope.  To do the deeds, to give ourselves in serving each other, to work to bring the Kingdom of God here on earth.  To leave the world a little brighter.

Jesus said “Do not be afraid.” and “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”  He did not say it would be easy.  He did not say stay safe.  He did not say we would not be disappointed by others or by events,

He said, “Have faith in Me.”