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!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 18: 6-9
2. Psalms 33: 1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
3. Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19
4. Luke 12: 32-48

• Burning bridges?
• You have to wonder whether there were any of the Jews who stayed behind in Egypt when the Exodus took place.  Once the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, there was no going back, figuratively or metaphorically.
• When you have started a new venture, be it moving to a new job, leaving a home that you have been in for years, breaking up with someone that you have been with for a long time, is it easier if there is no going back, it has to be a clean break, or is it easier if you can change your mind later?
• When you make those sorts of big changes in your life, it represents a commitment on your part.  Who are you committing to?  Yourself, your family, your community, God Himself?
• What does it mean if things don't "work out" when you make such a change?  Was God unfaithful, did you maybe get His direction wrong, was the timing wrong, ...?
• How do you know if such a change actually "works out".  What does "works out" really mean?

• Waiting for God
• In some ways, all of us are waiting for union with God.  Some are more intentional and focused on that than others.
• What do you think that eventual union will entail?  Vindication for all of times that others have not appreciated your devotion to God, reward for your faithful service, finally understanding the meaning of life, reuniting with lost loved ones, freedom from having to mow the lawn each week, ...?
• Given your expectations, how ought you to be preparing for that?
• How much time and attention should you put into the preparation?
• Is there any part of your life that is not supporting that preparation?

• What legacy?
• 20 years after you are gone, what do you think of your present life will still be around in any form?
• Is that encouraging, or discouraging?
• What sort of a legacy do you want to leave?
• Do you think that is at all realistic?

• Losing my way
• "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is attributed to Lord Acton in 1887.  I suspect that observant folks have felt the same way long before then.
• Are there any servant leaders in your life?  These leaders put their people first.  Servant leaders see their first obligation to serve, to protect, to foster the growth of their people.  Everything else grows out of that.
• Are such leaders always successful?
• Define success.
• All of us lead in some manner.  What sort of leader are you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How committed am I to the course that God has set me on?
2. How am I getting closer to God today?
3. What's on my "bucket list" for this life?
4. How can I be more Christ like toward those who depend on me?

Clearly we Needed a Plan B

My mother hen instincts are raging full throttle.
I'm sure that the tribe straggles over far too much terrain
To be safe out here in this howling wilderness.

So far, our most visible companion is not the God of our fathers,
But the buzzards circling effortlessly on the rising thermals.
In my experience, the buzzards are never disappointed.

This Moses character told us that we would be free
Free from the shackles of our Egyptian task masters
Free to worship our God with all our heart, soul and mind.

From the looks of things, that freedom will be cut short
By lack of water for us and our flocks,
Lack of food for our bellies, and lack of shade.

This God we worship seems to have a sick sense of humor.
First getting us past the clutches of the Egyptian army
Only to abandon us to a far worse enemy, the desert.

Maybe there's still time for me and my family to go back.
Sneak away from the community late at night.
Find our way home in time for a hearty breakfast.

This nomadic life that we seem to have embarked on
Was not what we voted on at the last meeting.
I wrote the minutes, I ought to know.

I'm pretty sure that I would not have signed up for this
This wanton deprivation, if anyone had asked me.
The risk of failure is too high, the consequences too dire.

I'm not even sure that anyone did a cost benefit analysis here.
And yet, there is still singing in the camp.
Dancing even around our camp fires at night.

Folks here are giddy with delight that they have been delivered.
Confident that things will somehow work out in the end,
If only we stick together and rely on our God.

I suppose that if I and my family bail on this venture,
We could start a trend, and avalanche of departures,
And ruin it for everyone.

Out here in the desert, we need each other more than ever.
Finding God here in the desolation is easier.
Fewer distractions than we've ever had before.

Maybe not knowing for sure where my next meal will come from
Helps me focus on things that are even more important.
Maybe its better to support my tribe, this nation, this people,

And hope that God who got us on this journey so dramatically,
Plans to stick with us to the end.
Wherever that "end" might be.

Shalom!