All Saints Day

Our readings for the All Saints Day are:

1. Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14
2. Psalms 24: 1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
3. 1 John 3: 1-3
4. Matthew 5: 1-12a

• We're all in this together
• One thing that impresses me about the scenes in Revelation is that there are no small crowds in heaven.  Everywhere John goes, there are massive gatherings.  These crowds are, right this minute, cheering us on.
• Imagine that friends and family who have gone on before you are clustered around you, watching you as you pray, as you arrive at decisions, as you strive to follow God's will in your life.  Who are some of these people?
• How do you think that various ones of them would respond to what you are going through right now?
• If they were here in front of you right now, what would you ask them to pray for on your behalf?
• What might they tell you?

• Does this career make me look fat?
• No one wants jeans that are not flattering.  No one wants others to feel sorry for them, maybe because they don't have a stellar position in life, or a fabulous income.
• So, if an epic fit in your clothing, a spectacular resume, a home in Bel Air are not important to you, what is?
• Where did you learn those values?
• How do you try to pass them along to others?
• How have those values helped you in your walk with God?

• I don't know who you are anymore
• Our identity is more than just our name, Social Security Number, or parish envelop number.  True identity speaks to who we are as a person.  What life has made of us, and what we make of life.
• If someone walked up to you and told you that they have an offer for you of an amazing vocation, something that you will find completely fulfilling, demanding, and meaningful, and you have 30 seconds to tell them who you are, where would you start?
• Given the description of this opportunity, what questions would you want to ask them?
• Do you think that you deserve such an opportunity in life?
• Do you think that God finds you deserving?
• What makes you think that you are not already living that way?

• Intentional mourning
• My late father-in-law followed the news of the day, and was totally bewildered by it.  He never got over wondering what had become of his country, his world.  Nothing made sense to him anymore, and he mourned the loss of what he called "common sense."
• What do you mourn in your life?
• When do you think that you will be able to "move on" in that part of your life?
• Do you ever think that God calls us to "get over" a loss in our lives?
• What are some of the things that Jesus lost during His time here?
• Some of us find it comforting to think that Jesus can have empathy towards us.  Do you ever try to empathize with Jesus?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How is my faith getting stronger?
2. Where is my treasure in this life?
3. Who am I becoming in God?
4. How can I find more empathy?

An Old Wooden Table

A friend of mine tells me that he prays in the same place each day.

At an old battered wooden table in a corner of his garage, where it's quiet.

On that table is his bible, a notebook, a pen, a candle, and some matches.

It seems that this table belonged to his grandmother years ago,

And it reminds him of the years that he spent living with her

While his parents were going through a rough time in their marriage.

It was here that his grandmother would pray each day,

Calling on God to visit her children, guard the grandchildren,

Bring joy, peace, and holiness to the entire family.

He still felt her presence there in that table.

Thanked God for her care during a difficult time,

And found a measure of connection in the worn wood grain.

God provides doorways for all of us, all of the time.

My friend runs his hand over that old table, and touches

The time that he has spent there in prayer

    The time that his grandmother has spent there in prayer

        The love of a dear family member still praying for him even today

            The love of past generations who have gone before him

                The God of ages, the author of all love, generations, the earth, its trees

It's all so connected, it's all one, and that oneness is beautiful.

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Exodus 22:20-26
2. Psalms 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
3. 1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10
4. Matthew 22: 34-40

• Remember who you are
• The friendless, the voiceless, the disenfranchised, the marginalized all share many things with all of us.  God calls us to empathy.  To really empathize, we first have to come to terms with the things that have happened in our lives.
• Have you ever been bullied, or had someone close to you bullied?
• How did you get through that?
• Who were the ones who helped you deal with that?
• Who are the ones in your life now who are pushed around, made to feel small and insignificant?
• What can you do about that treatment?

• Who are you calling strong?
• Strength comes in many forms.  Of course there is the physical strength of a suspension bridge, or a weight lifter.  There is the strength that comes from conviction.  Then there is a strength that comes of embracing your weakness, handing that weakness to God, and asking Him to transform that to strength in Him.
• Where does your strength come from to do difficult things, go outside your comfort zone to help a friend in need, be vulnerable to others?
• How do you see that changing as you grow older?
• Do you see your strength getting deeper with the passing years.

• I don't know who you are anymore
• The hard part about going through conversion is that we become uncomfortable with who we were, with who we were with before.  Freedom comes at a cost, and part of that cost is to leave behind a home that has grown too small for us, a neighborhood as it were that no longer gives us enough room to grow.
• How many conversions have you gone through?
• Let's define conversion as a turning point in life which draws you closer to God in new ways, changes your outlook on the familiar, and makes you far more aware of God's revelation in your life.
• How many conversions have you gone through?
• How have they (it) change you?

• Two sides of a coin
• How does a love of God find the deepest and most beautiful expression?
• How is it possible for us to love someone who is infirm, needy, depressed, and unable to give back?
• Jesus is looking for companions to be with Him on the way, now, today.  Without taking anything away from His divinity, He is asking for help, and company.  Where do you see that happening in your life?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who in my life is God inviting me to stand up for?
2. Where is God calling me to a deeper source of strength?
3. Where is God calling me to walk away, that I can walk toward Him?
4. How can my love for God ignite my love for others, and vice versa?

God Wears Leather Gloves and a Straw Hat

My son and I got the privilege of working at a Habitat for Humanity build once.

There were a myriad of things that all needed to come together that day.

The professional builders had their hands full with all of us well-meaning volunteers.

And I had to wonder whether we were making the work go faster, or not.

Safety was a big concern from start to finish.

Inexperienced or careless ones among us could have ruined the day for everyone.

The contractors there that day had their hands full keeping us safe.

And I had to wonder whether we were making the work go faster, or not.

But then I realized that the build itself was just an opportunity for us

To be in solidarity with those who could never afford a home like this.

To declare, one hammer blow at a time, that we are here with them, right now

To show them the love of God for them in human form.

I never saw the family who eventually moved in.

Maybe I don't need to know, maybe its better this way.

Because now I can feel the connection to every family seeking shelter,

Leftover humanity seeking a home, a place to invest in.

Maybe I can identify with the homelessness of Jesus

On his way to Golgotha.

Maybe I can see the eyes of Jesus in Gethsemane

In the eyes of those totally alone in this world.

Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 45: 4-6
2. Psalms 96, 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
3. 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5b
4. Matthew 22: 15-21

• Who are you working for?
• The Jesuit perspective on creation is that it's still happening.  That is, the final destination for creation is still emerging.  And God wants all of us to take our rightful place in the process of fulfilling creation's destiny, of bringing creation to fulfillment, of bringing God's Kingdom.  Whether we know or acknowledge that or not.
• Why do you think that God doesn't share His whole plan with us?
• Do you think that it would help if He did?
• What would God have to do in order to earn your trust?  Don't be shy here.  He's actually interested.

• What if the other team is praying too?
• The ancients believed that gods were regional.  When we go to battle and beat our foes, we prove that our gods are stronger than their gods.  The fact that God is God over all should be a starting point for how we relate to each other.
• Do you think that God has favorites?  Favorite communities, favorite cities, nations, ...?
• Do you think that all of us can and should pray to God for peace, freedom, security?
• How can we be "our brother's keeper"?
  
• Who are our brothers?

• Finding conviction
• What is more important: what you believe, or who you believe in?
• Which of those two is more likely to change your actions, make you a better person, help you to help others?
• In your past, what has threatened your relationship with God, pushed it to the breaking point?
• How can you be better prepared for such trials?

• Paying to Caesar ...
• It's another major election, chock full of propositions to worry over.  A common theme is trying to prevent faulty legislation from getting written into law.  "Faulty" generally boils down to squeezing the citizenry for more money to put into the hands of politicians accountable to no one to perform services that we're not sure are a good idea.  James Dobson once called our current level of taxes "confiscatory" which is pretty dire.
• What are our responsibilities as citizens?
• What help can we count on God for in these times?
• What does it mean that Christians of good intent cannot all agree on important debate points in the national rhetoric?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can I be freer to follow Jesus?
2. How can I better celebrate that we all have but one God in this world?
3. What am I doing to strengthen my relationship to Jesus?
4. How can I be a blessing to my community, my city, my state, my nation?

Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 25: 6-10a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
3. Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-10
4. Matthew 22: 1-14

• We are saved
• Are you saved brother?  Growing up, the ardent evangelicals among us would start a conversation with strangers that way.  Sort of "in your face", but I'm sure that many meaningful dialogs got their start that way.  Such evangelists were always looking to find evidence of a personal relationship to God.
• Are you & God on a first-name basis?
• What has God saved you from lately?
• What is God saving you to?

• Depth of trust
• The shepherd has to earn the trust of their flock.  The sheep need to become familiar with the shepherd and his/her voice, the shepherd has to demonstrate that they have the good of the sheep at heart.  For a sheep, needs are pretty simple: protect me from getting eaten, make sure that I have food and water regularly, make sure that I have plenty of company of my own kind.
• What has God done to earn your trust?
• If someone told you that they don't feel God is worthy of trust because of the bad things that have happened to them in life, what would you say?
• How do you demonstrate to God that you trust Him?

• Whatever ...
• We all want to feel secure, that we know what's coming, that reasonable expectations like a roof over our heads, clothing, food, ... will be met.
• How much of what you enjoy today is truly essential?
• If you were able to live without those things for a day, a week, maybe longer, would that open up more options for you in life?
• Is that freedom worth the risk?

• Invitation
• God always invites us into deeper relationship with him, that never changes.  But individual invitations within that grand invitation can have an expiration date.  That dream job that God wants for you will go to someone else if you don't take it.  That person that God is calling you to help will go elsewhere if you don't reach out to them in time.
• What is God inviting you to today?
• How long have you been putting off answering that call?
• What are you worried about?
• Have you talked to God about those worries?

• Preparation for Reconciliation?

1. Where is God calling me to greater freedom?
2. Do I really appreciate all that God has given me?
3. What is one thing that really has a hold on me, on my heart?
4. Where is God calling me to greater or different generosity?

Just One Pair of Sandals

You see these home buyer shows on the TV

The real estate agent proudly ushers the eager couple into the master bedroom

Then, before they get too enraptured with that, he hustles them to the walk in closet

Where there is enough storage space to accommodate a battalion,

And the couple heaves a sigh of relief.  At last, enough room for our stuff!

And I wondered what Jacob Marley would say to such sentiments.

Would he scream "all of that, all of it is only so many chains

That you, you have forged, link by link, foot by foot,

Until your life is consumed with storing, protecting, and acquiring

Yet more things."

And they don't have to be denizens of a walk in closet

The size of a NFL locker room.

The links in those chains could be the appreciation of others,

Friendships that demand that we conform to expectations,

People that we so desperately want to impress.

What price freedom?

What benefit from freedom?

What does freedom honestly look like?

How do you know freedom when you have it?

Can freedom itself be clutched at, like a well-endowed purse?

Holy Spirit

Help me to see the links that I've forged in my own chain

Help me to break those chains before it's too late.

Help me to value the freedom that you want for me,

More than anything else in this life.

Amen.

Shalom!