Easter Sunday

Our readings for Easter Sunday morning are:

1. Acts 10: 34a, 37-43
2. Psalms 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23
3. 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8
4. John 20: 1-9

• Border walking
• Acts 10 chronicles how the apostle Paul was first invited to preach to the Gentiles.  Lucky for us, he listened to this unlikely invitation, luckier still that the Holy Spirit elected to take him out of his comfort zone.
• Think of a time in your life where you felt a call to do the unlikely.
• Did you feel ready to take that step?
• How did you finally decide to move forward into that uncharted terrain?
• Are you glad that you did?

• Patterns of mercy
• Finding the mercy of God in our past can be hard sometimes.  Tragedy strikes, calamity works to separate us from our loved ones and family, and years later we look back on those events and wonder where God was in all of that, or what we had done to deserve His anger, or even what sort of God would allow such to happen.
• Do those questions have answers?
• Should they?
• Where have you found your answers to those questions?
• What do those answers tell you about God?

• Transformation
• The Gospel of John portrays a risen Jesus with mortal wounds still evident.  A meditation on this can be found here.  It would seem that the wounds of Christ are not eradicated, but transformed.
• What are some of the biggest changes that you have come in your life?
• Were any of those caused by a tragedy, hurt, disaster?
• What gave you hope in those circumstances?
• Does that hope color your perceptions today?

• Meta cognition
• How we learn things, what it really means to learn, and what is worth learning are all important questions.  An even deeper one is where lies the distinction between faith information and faith formation.
• The first disciples had the reality of the empty tomb to bear witness to the resurrection.  What, in your life, gives witness to that resurrection today?
• Jesus made several appearances to His disciples before He ascended.  Where is He making His presence known in your life today?
• The Liturgical seasons are gateways, doors to the sacred realities that are always with us.  Those realities are eternal, transcendent.  Hence, it is always Advent, always Lent, always Easter.  How is it Easter in your life today?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God calling me to reach out to the untouchable today?
2. Where has God's mercy been hardest to find in my life?
3. What hurts of mine does God want to transform?
4. Where is God calling me to hope unexplainable?

Shalom!

Palm Sunday

Our readings for Palm Sunday are:

1. Isaiah 50: 4-7
2. Psalms 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
3. Philippians 2: 6-11
4. Mark 14:1-15:47

• Talk is cheap
• We have all known people who talk a good game, but who have no follow through.
• What are some issues that are important to you?
• What have you been doing to bring about change in those areas?
• Has that work of your been enough?  For you?  For those that you're trying to help?  For God?

• <your name here> the evangelist
• Who in your circle of friends/relatives wants to be happier?
• Do you feel that a stronger/deeper relationship with Jesus would help them?
• Why don't you say so?

• Disordered attachments and letting go
• Jesus strives always to help us gain our freedom.  Freedom from sin, in all its forms, includes freedom from attachment to anything that God gives us - respect from our peers, the things of this world, our ancestors, all these and more can become a liability if we get too attached to them.
• What are you most attached to?
• If God called on you to give that up, so that you could draw closer to Him, what would be your reaction?
• How can you be better prepared to make that decision in a generous way?

• Random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty
• We value efficiency, effectiveness, success.  Who could argue with that?  When we take action, speak up, seek change, we want to make sure that our efforts will make a difference, that they are worthwhile.  But is that really important to God?
• Has there ever been a person in your life that was in real need.  Maybe they had lost their job, their investments suddenly tanked, they had a health crisis, ...  How did that need make you feel?
• Did you get closer to them in the midst of that crisis?
• What made that time difficult/awkward/uncomfortable for you?
• What made that time difficult/awkward/uncomfortable for them?
• Do you think that it made any difference that Joseph gave Jesus his tomb, that Simon helped Jesus carry His cross, that Veronica wiped Jesus' face, that Peter tried so hard to be faithful to the very end?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I willing to give up for the pearl of great price that God is offering me today?
2. Who needs to hear about God's love from me?
3. What do I need to give up?
4. Am I willing to give, even it it looks like a lost cause?

All Alone and Yet, All One

The same sun that warmed my back along the dusty roads of Judea and Galilee,

Now parches me with thirst as I crouch here on this humble instrument of torture.

Those crowds of hopeful sons of Abraham who joyfully welcomed me to Jerusalem,

Now take comfort knowing that they finally can tell who and what I am: a hoodlum.

The very wood of this instrument of torture was once a great shade tree, a solace.

But it's fiber has been tormented into this purpose, yet I still feel the sapling within.

I know that the heart of Abraham still beats within the breast of Gods people,

Here and everywhere.  All of God's children share that heritage of hope and joy.

This sun that smites me now with its light and heat, danced when my Father,

Looking over all creation, rejoiced in what He had made, and counted it very good.

And so I hang here, melting in agony, to bring my Father's creation full circle

That His plants, animals, and the cosmos, may once again find peace in purpose.

And find purpose in Him.

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday of Lent (using the Cycle A readings) are:

1. 1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
3. Ephesians 5:8-14
4. John 9: 1-41

• A discerning heart
• Preconceived notions save a lot of time.  Doubtless our ancestors benefitted from them.  If you see a saber toothed tiger walking up behind you, it's a safe bet that your on the breakfast menu.  But sometimes preconceived notions get in the way of genuine growth.
• How do folks get selected for ministry in your church?
• If someone is shy, or uncertain of themselves, what are the odds that they will ever get invited to serve?
• How do you think active discernment, like what we read about in Acts 6 might work in your communities?

• How verdant are your pastures?
• How good has God been to you?
• Do you feel as though His followers deserve to prosper?
• Do you feel as though prosperity is a mark of divine favor?
• If not, then what is the benefit in this life for being a child of God?

• Blissfully ignorant
• During COVID 19, some folks have gotten news overload, and find themselves so depressed by all of the bad news, that they just stopped watching/reading.
• As children of God, what do we need to be aware of in the world around us?
• How do we know what it is that God wants us to "stay on top of"?
• What sort of help can we expect from God in our efforts to bring about the Kingdom?

• The meaning of disabilities
• Every day thousands of children are born into this world with birth defects of one sort or another.  It's heart-wrenching to see and can call into question our notion of a merciful God who loves all of us.
• Have you ever had something befall you in your life or those close to you that made you wonder about why God would let that happen?
• Did you ask God yourself?
• How did He respond?
• Do you think that he would like to hear your take on that event today?
• What is stopping you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who are the anointed ones around me that I'm not seeing?
2. What do I feel that I deserve from God?
3. What do I need to wake up to?
4. Where do I need to be more honest with God?

Nothing to Lose

The old man shuffled back out into the sunlight with a weathered wooden bowl held proudly aloft.

"I found it" he said.  "I knew it was back there somewhere!  No one would believe me."

I felt the weathered curves on the bowl, imagined the beggars who have used it through the years,

Finding comfort in its familiar contours and tangible weight.  A consistency in their lives.

"How much do you want for it?"  I asked, little caring about the bargaining soon to ensue.

I only played the game to honor the old man, and let him know I was no tourist.

"It's yours."  He said.  "I can tell a mystic when I see one.  You made a connection just now.

You would honor me and my family if you accept this as a gift and honor it in your home."

Knowing that to refuse would be an insult, I thought of a way to save face for both of us.

"A thousand thanks my friend.  I am famished, and I was wondering if you would share my lunch?"

Passers by stared at us as an unlikely pair.  I asked him "how did you come by this relic?"

"No one knows anymore.  It's been in the family for generations.  We passed it, and the story along."

"Why would the man born blind leave behind his beggar's bowl like that in the first place?"

The old man looked off into the distance and said "perhaps he used it to leave a lot of things behind.

Being a beggar is a hard life.  No one wants to be seen with you, plenty want to be seen giving to you.

People make up stories in their own minds, and share them with others, to make sense of it all.

But the fact of the matter is, who is born whole and who is not does not make sense, 

And it does not have to.  Our God never guaranteed us that this life would make sense."

"Have you ever eaten from this bowl?" I asked on impulse.

"Yes, I have.  To remind myself to be humble, to appreciate what I have, take nothing for granted."

"Then I shall do the same." I said, thinking that this would help me stay in better touch,

Touch with the world as it really is, touch with those that no one ever sees."

"Thank you for the gift.  And the reminder that I, too, am a man with many blessings.

Who needs to share them with others.

Shalom!