Feast of the Epiphany

Our readings for the Feast of the Epiphany are:

1. Isaiah 60: 1-6
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
3. Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6
4. Matthew 2: 1-12

• Manifestations
• Some of us feel that God hides in the little things, others believe that He walks cloaked in coincidence.  I believe that His manifestations are everywhere, if we just look for them.
• Who in your life has shown you God's generosity?
• How did that abundance change your life?
• How did you come to recognize that manifestation of God in your life?

• Vote early, vote often
• It's easy to get cynical about politics, politicians, government and our ability to have any sort of impact in the public sector.
• Is it worth it to pray for our elected officials?
• Is it worth it to hold them accountable for their actions?
• Is it worth it for us to become familiar with and understand all of the complexities of the issues that they have to deal with day in and day out?
• If you did pray for our elected officials, what would you pray?
• How would you tell if God answered that prayer?

• From the wrong side of the tracks
• Here in California, the Jesus movement of the 60s caught many by surprise.  Established churches felt that they had little in common with, and less to offer those on the fringes, the hippies, the protesters, those who burned their draft cards or their bras, but others caught a vision of God working in and through those passionate members of that generation to make a bigger difference in the world than any of them could imagine.
• Who are the folks that would surprise you by coming to your church?  Would it be AIDS victims, the unemployed, the young, addicts, maybe folks sporting dreadlocks, ...?
• How would you be able to be a manifestation of Jesus in their lives?
• How can you prepare to be more welcoming, more inclusive, more holy?

• The power of God
• Being king is a stressful occupation.  Everyone else wants your job.  Unfortunately, in Jesus' day, when your rule was at an end, it was not a golden handshake that you got, or a nice apartment adjoining the palace.  Your end was likely to be violent.
• What are some things that you cannot think of living without?  Maybe its the home that has been the place for so many happy memories, or a person in your life who means so much to you, or a successful job where you are appreciated and cherished.
• Are any of those so precious to you that you could not give it up if you needed to in order to move forward in your life?
• What are you going to do about it?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can I manifest God's abundance through my life?
2. How can I find hope for my country, for the world?
3. Where is God calling me to greater hospitality?
4. Where is God calling me to leave things behind, to move on in my life?

God of Surprises

Oh God, beyond all praising,
Teach me the way of the humble,
The path of the lowly.

That I might see You
Whether you come by camel,
Life in all its messiness, or an extended hand.

Clear my eyes to see you as others see you
To see how you manifest Yourself to all of us
To realize the holiness of a warm welcome.

That my prayers may unite with theirs
In appreciation of your radiance
In all its thousands of hues and faces.

Merry Christmas!

Holy Family

Our readings for the Feast of the Holy Family are:

1. Sirach 3: 2-6
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. Colossians 3: 12-21
4. Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

• Learning humility?
• Caring for the elderly gives you a whole new outlook on life.  Things that you used to take for granted, like getting a fork full of food to your mouth, somehow becomes a significant challenge at some point.  When you were a kid, falling was just a part of having a good time.  For your aging father or mother, a fall could mean the beginning of the end.  Most of all, it teaches you to be humble, to shift your priorities to meet the needs of someone else, to see past disabilities, annoying habits, to God present in your life as someone lonely, confused, looking for help and comfort in a world suddenly grown so very strange.  And at bottom, we fear that all that loss of dignity and more is just around the corner for us as well.
• Think of a time when your priorities suddenly got shifted.  How did you respond?
• Did things ever get back to "normal"?
• How did that experience change you?

• Enjoying the work of your hands
• We all want to feel that hard work and determination will have predictable outcomes in our lives, that there is a cosmic justice at work and that we all get what's coming to us, in this life and the next.  Anything less demoralizes us, saps our drive, makes us indifferent.
• Have you ever gotten more than you deserve from effort that you have put into something?
• How did that make you feel?
• Did you want to do that same thing again?
• How does your work ethic jive with the grace of Jesus in your life?

• Hold still, I'm removing that splinter from your eye
• Admonishing each other is so hard.  If our own house is not in order, all that we end up doing is criticizing someone close to us for resembling us.  Or we see something in someone's life that needs a nudge, and we cannot bring ourselves to say anything for fear of what sort of reaction we will get from them.
• Has anyone ever told you of something in your life that needed mending?
• How did you receive that initially?
• What gave them the right to say that to you?
• What sort of community would be open to such corrections?

• The power of God
• I think that Hollywood's preoccupation with superhero movies lately might reflect a deep desire in our hearts for men and women of courage, who have the resolve to do the right thing, and have the resources to make things happen.  We don't want to don a cape and fly off to prevent some disaster, it would be enough to know that somewhere, some superhero will hear the call and answer.
• Sadly, we hardly ever get what we want in this life.  The supply of superheroes seems pretty well spent.  So that means that we all have to be heroes, we all have to look out for those weaker and more vulnerable than we are.
• Who are the heroes in your life?
• What did they have to do or say to earn that status?
• What have you learned from them?
• Would they be proud of you if they could see you today?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where are the opportunities for humility in action in my life?
2. How can I be free from my own expectations of what's right and just?
3. Where is God calling me to be prophetic?
4. Where is God calling me to be someone's hero?

God of many heroes

This God of ours must have nerves of steel
Entrusting frail, fickle folk like you and me
To safeguard His children in this world of His
To be the Samaritan who rescues His fallen.

The question is, who has the time?
Even Spiderman needs to sleep from time to time,
I have the mortgage to pay, tuition to tend,
A demanding career that puts beans on the table.

All of these things demand steady time and attention,
I live in an unforgiving world with no second chances
If you miss a payment, forget your heating bill,
Show up late to work.

Surely, out of all these people on the planet,
There is someone who can help,
Some agency commissioned to extend a helping hand
Why me God, why not someone else?

How do I make room in my life
For the unexpected needs, the "I didn't see that coming?"
A little appreciation would go a long ways
Toward making me willing.

Believe me, I will be the first in line to help Jesus
If he needs directions to an inn with vacancies,
Or how to get to the nearest Jewish settlement
Here in Egypt.  Just show me who He is.

After all, there's only one Jesus, right?
How much time and attention can He need?
I cannot save every puppy in the pound,
Can I?

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day

Our readings for Christmas Day are:

1. Isaiah 52: 7-10
2. Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6
3. Hebrews 1: 1-6
4. John 1: 1-18

• What Good News do you bring?
• If we are going to bring people to Jesus, we have to have something that they want.  The Prosperity Gospel suggests that God is here to fulfill our needs.  Not responsible Christianity.  But what do we offer that's even better?
• From your own life story, what promises would you make to anyone thinking about giving their lives to Jesus?
• How does your life announce the Good News?

• The grand stage of history
• God's goodness and love are in the little things, and the big things.  This very moment and the long sweep of history.
• Where have you seen God's work in your life, your family's, your community's, your nation?
• How do those actions of God shape your view of your existence today?
• Where do you fit into that bigger picture?

• Imago Dei
• We all bear the image and likeness of God.  I hope that doesn't mean that He's losing His hair too.
• Can you think of any ways that you share in the Shekhinah glory of God?
• What prepared you for that experience?
• What can you do to be more prepared the next time that God chooses to visit you?

• How much revelation is enough?
• We are all called to be prophetic, to herald the approach of God, who comes in large ways and small.  How much revelation do you think the world needs?
• How have others shown you the glory of God?
• Was that attractive, or frightening?
• If one of us doesn't do their job revealing God to those around them, do you think that God will find someone else?
• Is that a good thing?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How is my life Good News to those around me?
2. How am I being the ongoing incarnation of God?
3. How can I show the glory of God more in my life?
4. What am I inspiring in others?

I Can't Seem to Find my Harp

For some reason, popular imagination puts a harp into the hands of the angels.
I'm hoping that there is a corner of heaven where the angels play the bagpipes.

Bagpipes need a lot of room.  They don't fit well into a studio.
The only time I ever heard someone practicing on the pipes was outdoors.

The pipes are not pretty, nor polite, but urgent, calling you forward.
Over the brow of that next hill to see what awaits you.

The best part of heaven is that everyone there will praise God in their own way.
The way that they were created to praise Him.

No more will we try to praise God in ways that do not suit our character,
No more will we waste time and talent trying to find our true voice.

No more will we punish ourselves with uncertainty or false modesty,
But in humble ardor belt out narratives of God's glory in our own life story.

My hope is that heaven won't be a surprise, a shock to me.
That I will have found my true voice long before then.

That I will have found the way that God is coming to Earth in my flesh,
That I will know in my bones and sinews that resurrection is real and throbbing within.

Merry Christmas!

4th Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 7: 10-14
2. Psalms 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
3. Romans 1: 1-7
4. Matthew 1: 18-24

• What would make you happy?
• Ignatian spirituality encourages us to get in touch with our deepest desires.  One of the deepest desires that many of us harbor is to know that someone else cares what happens to us, and cares enough to take action on our behalf.  We want to believe in someone.
• What makes you believe in God?  Is it just that you cannot imagine not believing in Him, is it because God has proved Himself faithful, compassionate, honest to you enough times that you trust Him, is it a bio that you read of him lately ...?
• If God really wanted you to trust Him, what would He have to do to prove Himself?
• Would it be wrong to take that up with Him in prayer?

• Seeking what we cannot see
• Many from my parent's generation cherish memories of growing up in a supportive culture that fostered righteous living, where faith was part of the fabric of the community's life.  Much has changed.
• What good would come of creating a community, a neighborhood, a family where decisions were made in love, where compassion guided actions, where words were always meant to heal and where children could grow into adulthood firm in the sure knowledge that they are cherished and important?
• Where would you start to build such a community?
• Would that journey be a transformation of where you live now, or would you have to start over somewhere new?
• What are the odds of making that happen?
• Is it worth a shot?

• Looking forward
• The Gospel writers tell us over and over that Jesus' coming has been promised.
• God could have sent His son as a complete surprise, without the prophetic utterances down through the centuries.  Why do you think that He told us Jesus was coming?
• What good can come of waiting for God to come in our lives?
• What can we do to prepare better?
• What does it really mean to be ready for God?

• Discernment 101
• Joseph got through all of that without a spiritual director, but it was a near thing.  You have to wonder how accustomed he was to getting God's word in dreams.
• When you have tough decisions, where the consequences are large, do you have a process that you go through, or do you just "wing it"?
• Where does prayer factor into that process?
• Joseph sounds as though he had made up his mind, yet he took a different path?  What does that tell you about his character?
• Would you be as willing to change your mind on something so important?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I honest with God about my desires, my fears, my failings?
2. How am I renewing those closest to me?
3. What am I waiting for from God?
4. Am I willing to change my mind with God's guidance?

It's for you

Separating the sacred from the day to day seems like a worthy goal.

Keeping each to its corner of our lives helps keep the sacred pure.

But maybe there's another way to look at it.

Cell phones at church remind us all that we are there to worship

And yet, the rest of our lives are only barely held at bay

Demands on our time, our attention, our hearts lie in wait at the door.

The prayer of the faithful gives us a place to put all of that

On the alter, along with everyone else's "all of that"

And find connection with one another in each other's need.

Those needs are offered, accepted, transformed, and returned anew

An exchange of gifts between us, through us, with God

That we might learn compassion, and compassion lead to a helping hand.

So the next time I hear someone's cell phone go off during Eucharist,

I'll try to remember that we all are bound together in a fabric of need.

Need that Christ is looking to transform and then meet, maybe even in me.

Merry Advent!

3rd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10
2. Psalms 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10
3. James 5: 7-10
4. Matthew 11: 2-12

• The only thing that we have to fear is fear itself
• I wasn't born until well after the Great Depression, but I try to imagine myself, huddled against the cold of another winter with hardly enough money to keep boiled cabbage on the table, listening to President Roosevelt on the radio in the evening, and feeling deep down that I, my family, our community was not alone in this, that we were far from abandoned, that poverty and uncertainty were not all that life held for us.
• What do you fear most?  For me, I fear not aging gracefully.  I'm not likely to try to clutch at silly artifacts of years gone by.  I'm afraid that, as I shed one thing after another, I'll be slow to realize I really don't control nearly as much about my life as I think.
• Do you ever talk to God, or anyone else about those fears?
• What might you say to someone else who has your fears? 

• Howdy stranger
• The stranger lives a rough life.  No one can vouch for them, no one knows whether we can trust the stranger in our midst, and frankly, we're inclined to assume the worst until events prove us wrong.
• Have you ever been in a circumstance where you were a stranger to everyone there?
• How did you get over/past that feeling?
• How was God present to you in that process?
• How can you be God's presence to others going through that process?

• Pray like a farmer
• Farming, like no other human endeavor, reminds us that we are not in control.  All it takes is unseasonable weather, a blight, a tornado, and that year's crop is done.  At some point, no matter how hard a farmer works, they have to rely on God for the rest.
• Who are some of the folks that you rely on to help you in the really important tasks in your life?
• How do you thank them for all of the support that they give you?
• How do you know that you can count on them?
• How do they know that they can count on you?

• By their fruits you will know them
• All of us are called to be healers.  Maybe not anything splashy, but those who reconcile none the less.
• Can you think of a time when someone else was a healing presence in your life?
• Where are you "good news" to others?
• Is there anyone in your life who could benefit from more of that "good news" that God offers through you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When will I be willing to part with my fears?
2. How am I hospitable to others who are not like me?
3. Where do I need to give up being in control?
4. What fruit am I nourishing in my life?

Merry Advent!

2nd Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday in Advent are:

1. Isaiah 11: 1-10
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
3. Romans 15: 4-9
4. Matthew 3: 1-12

• The price of change
• Very few of us like change for its own sake.  Most of us feel deep down that if some institution, some tradition, some effort is really worthwhile, it will continue, and thus prove its value.
• God seems to delight in taking a small piece of something, a remnant, and building something wonderful with that.  Think of Adam's rib, Noah's family, the small force that Gideon marched on Midian, the stump of Jesse from which Jesus sprang.
• Why do you think God doesn't just chuck the whole thing and start over? 

• What does "flourishing" look like?
• We all know what a flourishing plant looks like: abundant new growth, blossoms in the spring, fruit in the fall.  But what of justice?  What does flourishing justice look like?
• In your life, where do you see greater justice?  Perhaps more generous maternal/paternal leave programs at your office, perhaps job-retraining programs instead of layoffs, perhaps concerned citizens buying locally to support the local economy, perhaps immigration reform, maybe better attention to Title IX provisions, ...
• Do those improvements add up to a better life for just those in need, the marginalized, or do the rest of us benefit from them as well?
• What really separates each of us from the needy, the voiceless?
• Could that ever change?
• Should it?

• Mercy all around us
• How would you define mercy?
• When has God ever shown you mercy?
• How did that mercy change you?
• Are you more merciful now than you used to be?

• Good fruit is hard to find
• The fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control Galatians 5: 22-23).
• Who are some people in your life who show one or more of those fruits in abundance?
• How did they get there?
• Why don't you ask them?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What is God building me into?
2. What am I willing to do to bring peace?
3. How am I growing in mercy?
4. What fruit am I nourishing in my life?

Back from the Desert

It had been a long, hard ride out to the desert
Sand eventually getting everywhere in my robs
Grinding into tender skin as a reminder
That our forefathers worked hard to get here
To the land flowing with milk and honey.

He looked me straight in the eye
When he sent my head under the water
And baptized me into readiness
For some coming Messiah.
I came up changed, freed, renewed.

And now, now I need to get home.
And somehow tell my wife what happened,
And find out how real this really is
This conversion that I've experienced,
This newness that I feel.

Because, if I cannot get her to understand,
Then no one will understand,
And if no one understands, I have to wonder,
Whether anything really happened at all?
Or if it was a wasted trip.

How then shall I live now?
Abandon everything and wait for Messiah?
Start praying daily to get closer to God?
Give more at the Temple?
Or try to pretend that nothing really happened?

But something did happen, I know it,
And I just need to give it a name so that I can call it
When I feel down, uncertain, lost
With no clear direction anymore,
No, clear guiding light in this life.

Something, someone, some cosmos
Reached into me and touched me
And I was one with everything
For just a moment.  I laughed and cried,
I suffered with the oppressed through the centuries,

And I knew that there was so much of life
That goes unappreciated because its not comfortable
And now I want to ponder it all, before, during, and after
Until I find the peace of the desert
In my right here and now

In my life.

Merry Advent!

1st Sunday in Advent

Our readings for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 2: 1-5
2. Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. Romans 13: 11-14
4. Matthew 24: 37-44

• Hospitality ministry
• Think of the various ministries that you are a part of.
• What is that community doing to draw more people in?
• How comfortable are all of you with the folks that you have right now?
• What criteria does someone have to meet before they can join that ministry?
• Who came up with those rules anyway?

• Peace in our time
• Those of you old enough to remember the 2nd world war, followed by one war after another ever since probably wonder what our chances are at ever achieving real peace.
• What does it take to achieve true peace?
• Where does that start?
• What is the relationship between peace and justice?
• What can you do to start building peace?

• At the gates
• It's easy to slip into a mindset that sees the world that we are in as threatening, menacing, and throw up defenses against the perceived threats.
• What are some of the threats that you see to yourself, your children, your community, our nation?
• Do you think that there are "the wrong kind of people" that might be trying to get into our churches, our schools, even our families?
• If Jesus ate with tax collectors and notorious sinners, how would He deal with those undesirable folks?

• Getting away from it all
• The examples that Jesus gives are all ordinary people, doing ordinary things.  Nothing about the one who is taken distinguishes them from the one left behind in these little vignettes.
• Jesus's words about the end times certainly paint a grim picture for humanity during those days.  What makes you sure that you will be spared the worst of those end times?
• What do you think it means to be "awake" and "watchful"?
• Do you think that we can/should be maintaining that level of vigilance on our own, or do we need others?
• What can we do to help each other be ready for whatever/whenever?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I humble enough to welcome new people into my community?
2. What am I willing to do to build peace?
3. Where can I be more hospitable?
4. What can I do to be more ready for tomorrow, next week, ...?

Arrival

The dust of past horizons cannot be found in our clothing,
The soil of other continents no longer clings to our boots.

But those experiences, those loves, the disappointments
All make us who we are, form the foundation of who we are becoming.

They are really all that we have to offer on the altar,
The only gift that we truly bear.

Not our wealth, or network of friends, or even knowledge.
All we have is all we are, broken, injured even, often afraid.

Nativity is not about taking and giving.
Nativity, arrival, our arrival to this universe bursting with potential

Is all about transformation, even a transubstantiation
Of those dark shadows into gifts to share with others

As they learn how to go through their own transformations
And we together shine the love of Christ

Bright enough to reach anyone who's looking
Bright enough to lead them to a vulnerable, helpless infant

The dawning of Christ within our hearts.

Merry Advent!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Malachi 3: 19-20a
2. Psalms 98: 5-6, 7-8, 9
3. 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12
4. Luke 21: 5-19

• Doing good is its own reward
• All of us like to see the good guy win in the end.  In fact, one model of a dramatic story arc consists of the good guy finally realizing who they are, emerging into a dangerous situation that calls for the very best from them, early setbacks while they come to terms with the demands that their destiny makes of them, followed by a final triumph of virtue over vice, good over evil, courage over fear.
• What do you think of when you think of leading a victorious life?
• Is that victory something that you are contributing to now, or something that you plan to get started on when you have the time?
• Who are some folks in your life who were victorious in their own way?
• How do you define victory?

• Praise is natural
• David Whyte has a poem that I invite you to read at: https://onbeing.org/poetry/everything-is-waiting-for-you/ that invites us to be alert to our place in the cosmos, and the place of the cosmos in each of us.
• St. Ignatius wrote in his Spiritual Exercises a brief paragraph called the Principle and First Foundation.  You can read about that here: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/what-the-principle-and-foundation-calls-us-to/.  There, Ignatius reminds us that all of creation exists to help us draw towards God.
• If then, all of physicality cooperates with our journey toward God, how ought we to regard those things that we posses?
• What about the people in our lives?
• How can we do better at a "balanced" attitude toward this world that we find ourselves in?
• How can we come to better appreciate the beauty that is all around us, sustains us, and inhabits us?

• Earning your keep
• Earning a living is more than merely an obligatory grind that we go through to put food on the table and a roof over our heads.  It is a doorway into the emergence of creation, an opportunity to join our hand with God's as creation continues to grow and evolve.
• How did you decide on the career/retirement that you have currently?
• Did you expect for it to be fulfilling?
• If it is not fulfilling, is that bad?
• For whom?

• Missing the forest for the trees
• It's so easy to lose sight of the why of things and get caught up in the what.  The Jews of Jesus' day found their national and historical identity in the temple of Jerusalem, but by the time that Luke wrote his Gospel, all of that had been reduced to rubble, and both the Christians and the Jews were trying to find the meaning of it all.
• What are some things that are truly essential to your life?
• What would happen if one or more of those suddenly disappeared for some reason?
• If that happened, would you still be able to say that God is good?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I willing to give to achieve victory in my life?
2. Are the things in my life helping me to live more prayerfully?
3. How is my work bringing God's kingdom to earth?
4. What do I need to let go of in my life?

Beauty

The ceramic vase occupied a place of honor on the mantel.

Fresh flowers always on display bursting from its throat.

It was a bargain, a find, a steal even from long ago

Passed from mother to daughter for generations.

That vase had witnessed many family gatherings,

Wakes, and baptisms, weddings and funerals, and much much love.

Whenever the family members saw that vase, 

It put them in touch with who they were, who they were becoming.

It seemed to say, in its own mute way "times come and they go,

But love and what nurtures love will last forever."

One night, a fire broke out in the house, and they all had to leave.

Everyone made it to safety with hardly the clothes on their backs.

And someone remembered the family vase, there in the home's funeral pyre.

And no one had the heart to tell grandma that no one had thought to get it.

When they finally had the courage to tell grandma, she closed her eyes awhile.

And then she opened them, looked around at family and loved ones gathered.

And said "you are all far more precious to me than any remembrance.

All of you are dying, and reemerging as you go through life.

Each passing to make room for the next flower to arise from the ashes.

As long as we have each other, we don't need anything to remind us.

Let this event, this memory, remind us always that the important things

Can never be taken from any of us."

Shalom!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14
2. Psalms 17: 1, 5-6, 8, 15
3. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 - 3:5
4. Luke 20: 27-38

• Doing good is its own reward
• The danger in doing the right thing because you expect that "they will get theirs" in the end is that God's notion of justice is probably far more liberal than mine, and "getting theirs" may look very different in God's eyes than it does to mine.
• At the end of the day, what is the reason that you make the tough calls, the hard decisions?
• Do those tough decisions ever get any easier?
• If someone were to tell you that there were some colossally hard decisions coming your way, how would you prepare for that?
• What's stopping you?

• Mighty in prayer
• History is festooned with men and women of prayer who are bold before God to the point of seeming audacious.
• Do you think that God wants bold followers?
• What do you think leads to that sort of relationship with God?
• Is it worth it?

• Finding strength
• There is more to strength than moving weight around.  Profound strength can be found in those who have the courage and determination to keep working at something long after conventional wisdom would conclude that they are wasting their time.
• Where do you find the strength to do the difficult things in your life?
• Is that strength increasing?
• What are you doing to pass that strength along to others?

• Missing the point
• Resurrection promises fulfillment.  Not necessarily of our passing fancies, but of our deepest longings, those longings put in our hearts by God Himself.  For my part, I long to truly understand those around me.  Not so that I can predict what they will do, but to know who they truly are and to empathize with them fully.
• Unfortunately, most of us, myself included, do not have the depth of character for that sort of awareness beyond a few close friends.  Any more is just too much of a strain.
• What do you long for at bottom?
• What are you doing to achieve that?
• Do you think that longing will last into eternity?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where do I need discernment?
2. Where is God calling to me to be bold in prayer?
3. Where must my strength lie?
4. Where are my God-given desires calling me?

Shalom!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 11:22-12:2
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9,10-11, 13, 14
3. 2 Thessalonians 1: 11-22
4. Luke 19: 1-10

• Kindness and mercy
• Think of a time when you felt led to correct someone else.  Maybe they did the right thing, but went about it in the wrong way, or they were not seeing the bigger picture, or they lost their patience and were unnecessarily harsh.
• How did you prepare for that encounter?
• Were you more interested in how you would be received, or whether you would be able to make that other a better person?
• How could you have been more like God in that situation?  Perhaps more humble, more patient, more courageous, ...?

• The bowed down
• There is a telling scene in The Green Book about a successful black pianist during the early 60s on tour in the deep south.  This pianist is a refined gentleman, accomplished, one of the first music PhDs, and yet discriminated against.  He and his driver end up stopping next to a farm field, and there in the field are a number of black farm workers, doing much the same labor that their ancestors had done, probably in that very field, likely under very similar conditions.
• We think of the "bowed down" in literal terms, someone overwhelmed by the pressures of life, barely able to make ends meet, falling exhausted into bed night after night with barely enough energy to turn off the lights.
• Who in your life would you consider "bowed down"?
• How do you think God should lift them up?
• Whose hands will do that lifting?
• When do you think those hands will arrive?

• Glory in the Lord
• We equate glory with eternity.  Some among us consciously look forward to joining God in His glory at the end of our journey in this life.
• What is glory?
• Do you think that any of that glory could come our way in this life?
• Should it?

• Saving that which was lost
• Loss is hard to bear.  It speaks of something, someone that was with us, and now is gone.  Sometimes, maybe if we're lucky, we can get that lost thing or person back, but if we are honest with ourselves, life is never the same again.
• But another sense of "lost" speaks about losing our way.  Maybe we take a wrong turn, or we stopped paying attention at a critical turn off and now we're not where we thought we were, or, more profoundly, we have lost sight of our final objective, and no longer have a direction at all.
• Do you think that our Church overall needs a strategy, something that gets published every 5 years or so, and is carefully considered?
• Do you think that some sort of strategy at the parish level would make sense?
• What about in your family?  No one thinks twice about starting a college fund for babies, given the high cost of an education.  Why don't we ever ask ourselves where we want to be as a family community in the years ahead?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who in my life needs kindness from me?
2. Where do I need to be the hands of God today?
3. Where might God be calling me to glory?
4. What in my life is God helping me to let go of?

He's Out of His Tree

Zaccaeus, I see you in that tree, scanning the crowd looking for me.
But what you really want to find is hope.
Hope that somehow you can find your way back
Back to family, to friends, to the peaceful village you once knew.

But today, I have a gift for you, a surprise.
I'm going to show you how to build community
In the midst of the ruins that you think cannot be repaired.
I'm going to show you how to show mercy.

I'm going to get so close to you, that your shame will become mine.
Others will not want to be seen with me because I am seen with you.
Others will doubt my wisdom because they have never known mercy.
But you, you are going to see what healing compassion can bring.

You are going to become my disciple in ways you could not imagine.
Spreading my Love to the unloved, restoring dignity to the oppressed,
Sharing the compassion of today for the rest of your life.
In losing your defenses around your heart, you will gain everything.

So, let's get down out of that sycamore and change the world together.

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 35: 12-14, 16-18
2. Psalms 34: 2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
3. 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18
4. Luke 18: 9-14

• Justice and humility
• In the movie The Butler, Ronald Reagan, in a rare moment of true heart to heart, asks one of the white house black butlers "am I on the right side of history with regards to apartheid?"  I have no idea if that conversation ever occurred, but it speaks powerfully to me of the difference between a prophet and a politician.  The prophet's concern is whether speaking out against an injustice agrees with God's timing.  A politician asks whether the people are ready to be stirred into action over that same injustice.  Subtle difference there.
• How would you define oppression?
• By that definition, who are the oppressed in our nation, your community, even your family?
• As long as that injustice doesn't impact you directly, why do you worry?
• Or do you?

• The sorrow of God
• Most of us are pragmatic.  We don't brood over the bad things that happen in life because we want to be upbeat, positive, cheerful.
• Do you think that there can ever be good to come of spending time in sorrow?
• Have you ever been transformed by a sorrow in your life?
• If you knew for a fact that God would be right there with you as you contemplated some sorrow in your life, and that He could renew you through that, would you?
• What about your life brings sorrow to God?
• Do you think He works hard at being upbeat?

• No regrets
• A person with no regrets is either arrogant or has been loving enough and disciplined enough to lead a holy life.
• We never really know all of the effects that our words and actions will have.  Nor will we ever know what might have happened if we had made other choices.  How do you typically make the big decisions?
• Has any of those big decisions turned out badly for you?
• What do you blame that one?
• What would you do differently if you had the chance?

• The eternal "they"
• Do you feel that you need mercy from God?
• Do you feel that you deserve such mercy?
• Why or why not?
• Do you feel that you're in a position to extend mercy, compassion, forgiveness to others?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I ready for God to do something new in my life?
2. Are there sorrows that God wants to find me in?
3. What am I discerning today?
4. How can I get more in touch with those around me?

Trapped

I recognized the filthy tax collector as I entered the Temple.

Thankfully, as an official, I have my own entrance far from him.

That must be a Pharisee up in front.  He looks so at home here.

I will pour out my heart to God quietly so as not to disturb him.

The God of my fathers is a demanding God, looking to us

For obedience, and careful attention lest we melt into the Gentiles.

I took this tax collector job so many years ago, thinking it temporary.

But expenses mounted, I had nowhere else to go, my family needed the money.

I have been successful as a Jew.  Much hard work, constant attention.

And now, look at me.  A pillar of the community, truly God's favored.

My old friends despise me, and I cannot blame them.

Lepers are better off than I am.  At least they had no choice in their disease.

My children tell me that times are changing, the ancient rites are dead.

I tell them without tradition, we are nothing.  And yet, sometimes I wonder.

God, I see no way out.  Forgive me all of those whom I have extorted.

Forgive me the fear that I have struck in the hearts of your holy people.

There is no way to survive as a people, a nation, a history without our past.

I must stand resolute against the evils around us, defend what Yahweh has bestowed.

Give me the courage to be honest in my work, help my family get by

On the paltry earnings that I will make as an honest tax collector.

God, I thank you that I am righteous in your sight, full of your grace.

Help me to defend you to those who would depart from your ways.

God I thank you for your mercy and compassion.

Give me strength to transform my life from within.

Shalom!

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Kings 5: 14-17
2. Psalms 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4
3. 2 Timothy 2: 8-13
4. Luke 17: 11-19

• Learning who you are
• Naaman was a great man in his home country of Aram.  He was a man of undisputed bravery, a man highly regarded by his king.  In spite of all of that Naaman had not come to know God, and so was a man in need.  He thought that he came to Israel for a physical healing, but God's dreams for him were bigger than that.
• When you think of "healing", what does that include?  Is it just a matter of the physical, does it include the emotional, the social, the mental, ...
• What are some things that you have been healed of?
• What/who brought that healing about in your life?
• Was it a process, or an event?
• If you were to relive those events again, would you change anything?

• Revelation
• We all want to be evangelical in the sense that we want to share what makes us happy.  Successfully married men and women rejoice when a friend gets engaged, we look with eager anticipation when a pregnancy is announced, we want to pass along bits of advice to that colleague who just got recently promoted.
• What's the best way for us to reveal God to others?
• Do you think that most "unchurched" hunger for God, for community, for union and just do not know it yet?
• How can we awaken that longing in them, and be authentic to our own brokenness at the same time?

• Creative perseverance
• As we grow in age, it becomes increasingly difficult to just keep on keeping on.  Things that used to be easy gradually become harder and harder, the joy that used to mark things that we did gradually fades, and we ask ourselves, when did this change from being a source of enjoyment, to being a chore?
• As you have aged, matured, how have you known when to leave something behind?
• How do you adjust to that loss?
• Have you really been honest with yourself?  Is it maybe time to admit that you're never going to go skiing again, or that your bungee jumping days are finally over?
• Who cares if the garage of your life is full of things that you cannot let go of?

• Growing through loss
• When we seek a healing, we often want for things to "go back the way that they were" so that we can resume life as though nothing had ever happened in the first place.
• Think back to a time when you were restored in some way.  That might have been getting a job back, healing a relationship that had suffered, receiving a loved one back after a serious illness or injury, ...  Were things really just as they had been before?
• Was that good or bad?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who am I in God's eyes?
2. Do others find me winsome for God?
3. What do I need to let go of today?
4. Where is a painful healing going on in my life today?

I Hate that Name

Minding my own business in the local watering hole.
Enjoying a little brew and relaxation that I've missed for so long.
I thought that it would be good to be back.
Then I hear an old familiar voice ring out

Hey, Simon, Simon the leper, is that really you?
What are you doing here, I mean, with all these people?
For some reason, my friend Jacob's voice
Has always had a piercing quality about it.

I'm not sure if that's just a matter of the pitch,
Or something deeper about Samuel.
But what I do know,
Is that it's annoying every time that he opens his mouth.

I almost want him to think that I'm still a leper,
Just so he'll keep his distance.
But then I realize that will only make him have to yell.
So I turn, pull out my certificate from the priests, and tell him I'm well.

Samuel runs over, hoists his ample backside onto a stool and turns to me
His face familiar, with a few more lines and creases
Witness to life he's lived in my extended absence
And he bellows "so where have you been?"

How do I tell him that I've been in exile in my own country?
That the spaces between villages and cities all look alike.
Nothing but wild animals and other lepers out there.

Occasional furtive contacts from loyal family members.

So I give him an answer that he'll understand.

"Here and there, up and down the coast, sight seeing if you will."

"So what brought you back" Samuel asks.

"Because, in all the places that I visited, this is the only one I call 'home'" I say.

Samuel gets quiet for a blessed moment, looks at my glass, and says 

"Barkeep, my friend's glass is unaccountably low.

And I'll have a round of what he's having.  Put it on my tab."

And then I know I'm truly home again.

Shalom!

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Habakuk 1: 2-3, 2:2-4
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
3. 2 Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14
4. Luke 17: 5-10

• Persevere or give up?
• No one wants to work and not see any results.  Faith, hope, and love work together.  Faith tells us that God is operating, whether we see Him or not.  Hope tells us that His work will bring about good.  Love guides us so that our actions can support His.
• What are you hoping for?  Do you think that "things" are improving?
• If you're old enough to remember the 60s, for many, that was a season of great hope, a time when change for the better was possible.  How have those dreams turned out?
• Do you see any forces for change for the better in our world today?
• How can we, as God's children, awaken our world to something better?

• Prove to me that you care
• God's people were in the desert without direction, no maps, terrible cell phone coverage, and their flocks were dying of thirst.  Clearly Moses had gotten it all wrong and some horrid mistake has happened here.
• Have you ever had a calamity in your life?  Some event that suddenly eclipsed everything else that you were doing, grabbed center stage in your life, and would not let go?
• What was your prayer life during that period?
• Do you think that you were particularly sensitive to God's guidance?
• What would have helped during that time of crisis?

• The good old days
• The reactionary finds all of their answers in the past.  They are convinced that somehow, we took the wrong off ramp and left behind some critical piece of our rightful heritage, and that's why we are in the mess that we find ourselves in.
• An authentic reform often looks to the past, not to return there, but to learn from who we have been, to discern who we are becoming, and be more faithful to that ongoing emerging, that ongoing act of creation.
• Who are you becoming?  Is today's you a better person than the one that you left behind 20 years ago (if you've been alive that long).  Is today's you a better person than the one that you left behind 10 years ago?
• Who are we becoming?  What role do you have in that larger emergence?
• How can we be more attuned to God's guidance along the way?

• Virtue is its own reward
• Think of someone that you would describe as a person of great faith.
• What makes you think of them that way?
• How do you think that they attained that faith?
• Is faith a gift, a consequence of our work, a grace?
• If you had greater faith, what would you do with it?
• What's stopping you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I making this world, God's Kingdom, a better place?
2. What should I be praying for today?
3. How/what is God creating in me today?
4. How am I exercising my faith today?

Baptismal Font

My scientific mind knows that the water flows 
over the top of the font
Down the sides
And into a pump.
And starts all over again.

But the poet within me sees something far grander.
An entire ecology, gazed at through the eyes of water.
Gently warmed and wafted into the heavens.
There to form clouds and come back as rain.
Flowing through secret channels to join a bubbling brook.

All of the earth cloaked,
Soothed
Nourished
Bathed
In its waters.

My memory can recall Easter Vigils held there.
Eager, yet frightened elect
Immersing themselves in the font
Attentive alter servers with towels at the ready
And an entire gathered assembly holding its breath

As a new life blossoms from within that person
As a new life blossoms from within us at that Mass
As a new life blossoms from within our parish
As a new life blossoms from within the heart of God
Bringing us all into His life, with, in, and through all that all of us bring.

And so, as each of us sprang from the dust in the Garden so long ago,
We are watered continually again and again

Lord, let me never look at water without seeing You.
Without seeing the entire earth that you have created us in and through.
Keep me ever mindful of those who are lost, alone, marginalized.
Remind me of those of your children without clean water to drink,
Without the fellowship of loved ones to sustain them.

I dip my fingers into the font,
But all of me plunges in.
Let me ever arise anew in You.
Strengthened in all of You, everywhere, every one.
That you and I may be one in everyone.

Shalom!

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
2. Psalms 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10
3. 1 Timothy 6: 11-16
4. Luke 16: 19-31

• How do you know when you care enough?
• Bill and Melinda Gates chair the world's largest private charitable foundation.  Looking up Mrs. Gates online, I see that she's Catholic.  More than the money that they have given away is their time.  These two individuals could do anything that they wanted to with their talents, and yet they chose to give themselves away.
• The rest of us have to earn a steady paycheck to stay alive, but we can all support the poor in some capacity or another.  How are you doing that support?
• We can always give more.  How do you balance your own needs, those of your family, your parish, this planet?
• Do you ever take time to look back over those decisions to see if they still reflect God's will in your life?

• Who is my neighbor?
• With our global economy, I could easily be wearing a shirt made in a sweatshop in Indonesia, shoes manufactured in unsafe working conditions in Malaysia, and a wedding band made with gold mined by slaves in Tunisia.  I was feeling pretty good about myself until just now!
• If God loves the just, He must have some plan for how His children can be just.  What do you think that plan might be?
• Does it include studying the supply chain of every good/service that we consume?
• Does it include electing politicians who support sustainable trade?
• Does it include trade sanctions against countries that have human rights violations?
• Are we as a nation in a place to tell anyone else what is moral and what is not?

• Name calling
• We each have a name given us by our parents.  What we make of that name is up to us.
• Have you ever tried to advise someone based on who they are, their fundamental nature?
• Remaining faithful to who God has called us to be, allowing His creation within us to emerge is the work of a lifetime.  None of us can really do it alone.  How have you helped other participate in their own creation?
• How would you like others to do that for you?

• Smelling like sheep
• A friend of mine has worked at the Long Beach Mission several times a week for years.  Once he was there, organizing some of the supplies.  It was hot work, and he was dressed accordingly.  Someone came in to make a donation and mistook him for one of the homeless clients, and treated him poorly.  My friend suddenly found a deep mystical connection with those he had been serving for so long.
• It's easy to pretend that you don't see the homeless guy at the freeway off ramp with his cardboard sign.  There's a chasm between you and him.  You work hard for a living, he stands in the hot sun with no shelter and a cardboard sign.
• You hear of corrupt governments that oppress their innocent citizens and you quietly thank God that you live in a democracy.  Another chasm: between a government of the people, by the people for the people, and a government that merely serves the ambitions of a few privileged despots.
• You hear that a percentage of the homeless lining our streets are mentally ill.  Another chasm: your mental health is superb, and they languish, unable to meet the challenges that life throws at them day in, day out.
• Do you think God expects us to bridge any of those chasms?
• What are some other chasms that divide us from those in need?
• What is God asking of us?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What of myself am I giving away?
2. How can I contribute toward greater justice in the world around me?
3. Is there anyone in my life that I care about enough that I would challenge them to be more faithful to their identity in God?
4. How can I be a bridge?

Table Prayer

Blessed are you Lord
God of all creation
For through your goodness we have received
The bread and wine on this table
Fruit of the earth, and the work of human hands.

Bless those hands who have labored over this fare.
Let us never forget them and their toil.
Let us always treat them with dignity
And treat them fairly.

Let this meal remind us of all of creation
And our humble place within it.
Show us how to steward the earth gratefully,
That we and this world sustain each other.

Let this meal remind us of those in need.
The forgotten, the oppressed, the marginalized.
All of us are your children, You love each of us.
Let us build a world based on that love.

Let this time and food that we share at this table
Nourish us in heart and body.
Take our stories, our lives as we share them here, now.
And show us how they fit into Your story, creation's emerging.

Shalom!

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Amos 8: 4-7
2. Psalms 113: 1-2, 4-6, 7-8
3. 1 Timothy 2: 1-8
4. Luke 16: 1-13

• Our God is a god of justice
• With global competition so fierce, it's easy to believe that mere economic survival calls for "creative financing" these days.
• Do you think that being totally honest in your dealings with others ever puts you at a disadvantage?
• Is that over the short term, or the long term?
• Does that seem fair?

• The power of God
• Think of folks in your life who have power of one sort or another.  It might be a teacher that you had once, a manager, maybe a local politician.
• What made that person powerful?  Where and how did they get that power?
• If that power was granted to them by someone else, how did they get to be powerful?
• How did they administer that power?  Did they achieve good with it, or not?
• Why is it that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely?"
• Why does that saying not pertain to Jesus?

• We're all in this together
• What difference do you think that it makes to God whether all of us are saved, rather than just some of us?
• Remembering that God "rebooted" humanity with Noah and his family, and God wanted to create a new chosen people from Moses, how many of us do you think God needs to save?
• If everyone on the planet were saved, what would be different from where we are today?
• What can we do to bring that vision closer to reality.

• We belong to you
• Trevor Thompson wrote a song called We Belong to You.  See the lyrics at: https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Trevor-Thomson/We-Belong-to-You.
• Think of the things that you have in your life.  Ultimately, where did all of those come from?
• How have you used those gifts?
• When you made decisions about how to use those gifts, how did you make those decisions?
• What would you change about some/all of those decisions?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I believe that God will provide my every need if I trust Him?
2. How do I administer the power of God in my life toward others?
3. What difference has salvation made in my life?  Why do I want that for others?
4. How am I as a steward of God's blessings?

Seashore

I come here from time to time to get away
Away from the pressures and deadlines
Away from the shoulds and the have tos
And just be.

I used to wait here on the shore for Jesus
Hoping that he would walk up as He used to
Calling me to bring others into His circle.
But I've learned that He is here, I just have to listen.

This sandy beach, the cliffs behind me
The water surging in towards the coast
The sun in the sky
All march their solemn procession

From this morning until tonight
And again from twilight to dawn
In harmony across all of creation
Counting an all of us to be creative in creation.

The sea, the sun, the cliffs hardly change to my eye
They all are emerging to their own heartbeat
All that I have to do
Is give them room to be the best that they can.

My children, my spouse, my dearest friends,
All deserve that same space, that same respect,
That same attentiveness and support.
And in doing so, I take my place in the dance -

The dance of the cosmos toward fulfillment
Not a place nor a destination, but a process
Unfolding our destinies together in chorus
Of praise to our common maker and God.

Shalom!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 32: 7-11, 13-14
2. Psalms 51: 3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
3. 1 Timothy 1: 12-17
4. Luke 15: 1-32

• Giving them what they want
• Pity poor Aaron.  In Exodus 32: 1-6 the children of Israel come to him looking for leadership in Moses' absence.  They have despaired of ever seeing Moses again after he disappeared on Mount Sinai.  Cell phone coverage was atrocious, and there was no way to contact Moses to even tell if he was alive.
• The people needed a sense of purpose while they waited for Moses to return and lead them from that place.  In a way, we are all waiting as well.  Waiting for our own salvation to emerge, waiting for the 2nd coming, waiting to see where God will lead us next.
• How do you find the time and energy to make sure that you are ready for all of those things?
• Do you ever get tired of such waiting?
• How can we help each other in this time of waiting?

• He's all that
• I'm not sure where that expression came from, but my kid's generation will say derisively "he think's he's all that" of someone who is a "legend in their own mind."
• Can you ever have too much true humility?
• How do we grow in this virtue?
• What is the benefit of authentic humility?
• Think of anyone that you have known who was truly humble.  Were you drawn to them?
• Why is that?

• Sins of the fathers
• As Westerners, I think that we tend to emphasize individual sin because sins of a culture, nation, race seem too distant, and hence unreal.
• But such group sin is very real to those who have been oppressed by such sin.
• How can the wounds from such sin be healed?
• What are our responsibilities for bringing that healing about?
• How do you think God will help in that healing?

• Finding what's important
• The parable of the two sons would have shocked Jesus original listeners for many reasons.  One of them being that the father did not write off the younger son.
• The parable depicts the father watching for his son to return, scanning the horizon daily, hoping against hope that he will return, having no way to tell when, if ever, his beloved boy will ever find his way back.
• Have you ever become distant with a friend or relative over some wound between the two of you?
• If you helped bring about healing, how did you do that?
• What was different about the relationship after that event?
• Is such healing an event, or a process?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I increasing my hope in God today?
2. Where do I insist on my own way, my own schedule, my own path instead of God's?
3. How has God been merciful to me in my life?
4. Where is God calling me to show mercy?

Ode of the Older Brother

There goes father again, off to keep watch for that worthless son of his.
Meanwhile, the rest of the village laughs at his patience, counting it foolishness.

They look with pity on me in the market.  I hear them talk, if only in my own head:
"There goes poor Raphael, the responsible one, the one who stayed home."

"Look at what he got for being faithful.  Half his inheritance gone.
No girl in the village will even look at him because of the shame of his brother."

My father seems oblivious to it all.  Barely going through the motions day by day.
The light gone from his eyes, the spring gone from his step.

I try to keep it all together, keep the vineyards and flocks prospering.
As much from stubbornness as anything, to prove the rest of them wrong.

For we all know that God favors His beloved children with prosperity.
I try to prosper to prove that God has love for this family, in spite of everything.

I will never forgive my thoughtless brother for bringing this upon us.
Selfish he is, without concern for anyone else.

In the dark watches of the night I try to forgive my father for his devotion
To this son of his who deserves nothing but death.

I do not know what sustains my father.  Is it stubbornness, or love?
What kind of love can bring such despair?

As for me, I will stay here, in the village, with my father
Until death finally releases him from his grief.

After that, I have no idea.

Shalom!

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 9: 13-18b
2. Psalms 90: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
3. Philemon 9-10, 12-17
4. Luke 14: 25-33

• If I knew then what I know now ...
• The passage of time usually gives us a different perspective on the present, and perhaps, if we're lucky, we can look back on today and say "it all turned out for the best."
• If you were able to choose between two outcomes, how would you judge which one was the best?
• Would you consider just the impact of that choice on you?
• Include your family?
• Your parish?
• ...
• How do you think God makes such decisions?
• How has He communicated His desires/wishes/dreams for you to you?

• In every age
• We in our mechanistic Western culture tend to have short memories.  Other cultures, like the Jews, are different in that they intentionally and deliberately celebrate, remember, make themselves present in, and through their shared stories.
• What stories of God's faithfulness do you have?
• Who have you shared those stories with?
• Who will share those stores when you are gone?
• What might we, as a community, do about that?

• Taking one for the team
• There is room for depth and greatness in every moment of the Liturgy, and the rest of our lives as well.  The prayers of the faithful can bring us into unity with those suffering in an ever wider, more inclusive, and more effective way if we allow them to.
• How wide is your prayer circle?  Do you pray for anything/anyone outside of your immediate circle of family and friends?
• When was the last time that you felt truly drawn to embrace someone else's need?
• What was it that made you take that risk?
• How did it change you?
• Would you do it again?

• Finding what's important
• As quickly as possible, name the five most important things in your life.
• What do those all share in common?
• How do you tell when something in your life has become a distraction from your life in Jesus?
• How do you shake that attachment?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How is God guiding me today?
2. How am I celebrating God's faithfulness to me in my life?
3. Where am I reaching out in prayer, in action, in contemplation in my life?
4. What of my life truly makes my essence?

Spiritual Beings Having a Physical Experience

To term death "throwing off this mortal coil"
Makes our demise sound like a liberation.
I prefer to think of it as a homecoming.

A mystic once said that our problem is simply this:
We see ourselves as physical beings occasionally having a spiritual experience.
But actually, we are spiritual beings, currently having a physical experience.

Not too long ago, a person's education was not complete,
Until they had made the grand tour through Europe,
Drunk from the wellsprings of Western civilization

See works of art, hear music unavailable elsewhere.
Learn the cultures that contribute to what it meant to be Western,
And bring all of that home again, transformed, and larger then when you left.

Revelation pours forth through, in and through creation every moment.
This time we have here is privileged, an abundant gift like no other.
To see God's face in ways seen nowhere else.

So sad that we lose the forest for the trees,
Mistake creation for the creator,
Latch on to managing the properties and so miss the play.

Lord, make my vision ever larger.
Broaden my heart and give it the courage.
To greet each day with open-eyed wonder and reckless desire.

Shalom!

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 3: 17-18, 20, 28-29
2. Psalms 68: 4-5, 6-7, 10-11
3. Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24a
4. Luke 14: 1, 7-14

• The value of atonement
• If we think back far enough, we can all think of things that we wish that we had not done, things that we wish that we had not said.  But God doesn't seem interested in erasing events in the past.  He would rather make use of them.
• How are you giving yourself away these days?
• Why do you do that?
• Do you think that the way that giving makes you feel is just a coincidence, maybe reward for being good, or could it be the Spirit guiding you?
• How do you think that plays with the old saying "no pain, no gain?"

• Generosity has a name, and that name is Yahweh
• For a great deal humanity, sustenance comes in flocks, herds, and crops.  When the land prospers, we all prosper.  When we learn to tend the land, rather than rape it, we leave our children a lasting legacy.
• How has God prospered you?
• Do you expect to hand any of that on to future generations?
• Why?

• Perfection at hand
• Do you think that everyone in heaven is perfect?
• What does that mean?
• Do you think that my perfection might look a little different than yours?
• How do you suppose we each find that perfection?
• Do we have to wait until we're dead?

• After you
• When I open the door for someone, I try to say to myself, "whatever errand you are about is probably more important than what I'm doing, so let me help you how I can."  That attitude helps me stay in touch with the humility of Jesus.
• Do you think it makes you any less when you defer to someone else?
• What do you think might "false humility" actually be?
• How do you know the difference between real humility and a fake?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How am I healing the damage that I have left behind in my life?
2. How am I sustaining the world around me?
3. What in my life is holding me back from perfection?
4. Where am I finding humility in my life today.

Our Dog Taught me Priorities

Our Guide Dog Puppy's name is Riker, from Star Trek Next Generation.
Life is pretty simple for him most days.
Breakfast as soon as he is out of bed in the mornings.
Followed by a trip out to the back yard to take care of business.

Steady supply of clear, cool water in his dish.
Someone around to talk to during the day, toys to play with,
A warm bed to sleep on at night,
And he's good.

One day, God willing, he'll be helping a blind person navigate.
And their needs are pretty simple too.
All they want is someone there to help them get around,
Whenever they need to get somewhere.

That someone has to be ready 7X24X365.
Faithful, loyal, ever attentive, ever alert.
The blind person's needs are pretty basic too.
It doesn't take much to make them happy either.

I think it's not about settling
So much as its about seeing clearly
And realizing what's really important in life
Before all of it, important or not, goes away.

I just hope that my vision clears soon.
So that I can see past the distractions in this life.
And maybe see what I've been missing out on
By having as much as I have.

Shalom!

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 66: 18-21
2. Psalms 117: 1, 2
3. Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13
4. Luke 13: 22-30

• Hey, who are you calling "brother"
• The term Balkinization refers to a geopolitical process that breaks a region up into smaller and smaller units based on culture, ethnicity, or other shared traits.  For a sad commentary on how that can happen within Christianity, read https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/2gg7dr/heresy/.
• If you look at the person next to you in Church, what do you assume about them?  Do you assume that they believe in the same God that you do, have the same values that you do, pay their bills on time, vote one way or the other, ...?
• Why do you think that it's important that we be welcoming to others?
• What are some tangible, meaningful ways that we can make that welcome clear and effective?

• God's fidelity
• No one likes a flaky friend.  We want to know who that we can really count on, so that we don't waste time with so called "fair weather friends."
• Think of a time of real hardship for you.  How was God present with you through that?
• How would you describe that Presence as an expression of God's fidelity?
• If a friend of yours had treated you that way, how would you have taken it?

• Feeling the love
• Athletes like to quote the saying "no pain, no gain".  Which does not necessarily mean that there is always gain from pain.
• Looking back over tough times that you have had in life, how have those made you a better, stronger, more empathetic person?
• Were those gifts?
• Would you go through those tough times again, if you were given the chance?

• Is heaven big enough for all of us?
• In Calvin & Hobbs, Calvin creates an exclusive club where no girls are allowed.  That exclusivity makes Calvin feel important, part of an elite, someone with advantages that might even be enviable.  We laugh at such childish sentiments.
• Would you be disappointed to find people who have betrayed you in heaven?
• What would that tell you about God?
• What would that tell you about those other people?
• What would that tell you about your sense of betrayal?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I have the courage to welcome everyone?
2. How can I mirror God's faithfulness in my life?
3. Am I grateful for everything that God brings into my life?
4. What is lacking in my generosity toward others.

You must be new here

I've heard of a church with a sign at the entrance to the parking lot:

"If this is your first time hear, please turn on your headlights."

That signal calls forth an usher standing by, a valet if you will.

Who guides you to one of the VIP parking stalls close to the door.

That valet then stays with your and your family through the service.

Showing you where the worship aids are, how to use the kneelers,

They introduce themselves and their family to you and your family,

Invite you to their table for coffee and doughnuts after the service.

Then, in the weeks following, they call you from time to time.

No pressure, just interest.  Asking how you are doing, 

Asking if you have any needs that the congregation can help with.

Making sure that you never fall between the cracks and disappear.

And the welcome continues.  In time, someone taps you.

Asks you whether you would like to join the parking lot ministry,

Or if you have the time on a few Saturdays to feed the hungry,

Or serve coffee some Sunday morning.

When does a good welcome really end?

To whom does the Church really belong?

What does our welcome say about who we are?

What would you like for our welcome to say about us?

Shalom!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10
2. Psalms 40: 2, 3, 4, 18
3. Hebrews 12: 1-4
4. Luke 12: 49-53

• The art of the unpopular
• Jeremiah's message from God to His people was that they needed to surrender to the Babylonians.  Not a message calculated to ignite patriotic fervor, or broad approval from his fellow Israelites.
• When have you felt called to speak up, knowing that you were not going to be well received?
• How did you decide whether or not to "rock the boat"?
• How did you realize that you were the one to share that message, and not someone else?

• What does it all mean?
• The terrifying thing about quicksand is, the more that you flail around, the faster you sink.  When our best efforts just make things worse, we can make poor choices.
• Think of a time when you were under a great deal of stress.  Maybe it was at the loss of a job, someone close to you attacks you for no apparent reason, you and your spouse have a big argument, you name it.
• Was your first reaction the absolute best reaction?
• How did you get past that first reaction to a better response?
• Was prayer a part of any of that?
• Are you sure?

• Finding the essentials
• An old Jesuit priest once said "as my earthly mobility steadily declines, I find that I am more and more able to run toward God."  I suspect that the definition of "aging gracefully" really comes down to how well we embrace the overall paring down of our lives one piece at a time that is so much a part of aging.
• An old friend of mine has observed "of all the things that I have lost in life, I miss my mind the most."  What do you fear losing as you look forward to old age?
• Do you see any way that losing that (whatever it is) could possibly make your relationship with God, others, yourself deeper or better?
• My father in law once observed "my only hope is that I don't linger at the end".  What do you think he meant by "linger"?  Is there any possible good that could come of that seemingly endless span of time at the end of your life?

• Sticking out like a sore thumb
• Yesterday was the feast day of St. Lawrence Martyr.  He probably takes the prize for courage under fire.  In AD 258 the Romans decided to roast him to death on a gridiron.  At one point, Lawrence told his torturers "I'm cooked on that side, turn me over".  Lawrence stood up to the Roman persecutors, and gladly paid the price.  I'm not sure that I would have carried my sense of humor to the end like that.
• When you see others marginalized, taken advantage of, silenced, what is your first reaction?
• What do you think that you should do about those feelings?
• Do you think that "taking the high road" would make any difference in the end?
• Does that make a difference to you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I have the courage to do/say what's right regardless of the consequences?
2. Do I trust God to get me through today?
3. What are the things that I really want to hold onto until I die?  Are they worth it?
4. What are examples in my life of God's faithfulness?

Comfort in unlikely places

I once worked for a manager fond of the information grenade.
He'd go to a meeting, toss out some bit of inflammatory information,
Wait a few minutes for the meeting to burst into flames,
And then he would have somewhere urgent to get to.

He took an odd comfort in discomfort.

Others find comfort in the predictable, the well worn path
Knowing what they know, content with what they don't know
Thinking, living, being inside the box all of their lives
Because the unknown is the lair of the unexpected.

These find comfort in control and predictability.

Others give to distraction
Generosity to a fault
Always shedding themselves in all directions
Hoping to atone for sins not yet committed.

These find comfort in self-inflicted penance.

Still others look to those around them for validation.
Every person that agrees with them is another friend.
Everyone else a danger, a hazard.
Closing off their minds and hearts to anything new.

These find comfort in sick solidarity.

"Peace give I to thee" Jesus says
"Not as the world gives, give I to thee"
I cannot promise everything will turn out the way that you think it should.
I cannot promise that you will always feel consoled or at rest.

But I can promise that every fiber of your being will be engaged

If you learn to find peace in living full throttle
No holds barred, no "plan B" no escape hatch
Trusting Me to be with you
As long as you are with Me.

The brave man dies but once, the coward dies a thousand times.

- Final stanza adapted from Julius Caesar by Sir William Shakespeare Act II Scene II
Shalom!