Epiphany Sunday

Our readings for the Mass of Epiphany Sunday 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

• Mission statement
• Organizations with no articulated mission merely survive.  They might mange to keep the wheels on the bus, the lights still work, but nothing new is emerging.
• Do you feel that you have a mission?
• How successful do you think that you have been at that mission?
• What about your parish?
• What about the entire people of God on earth, yesterday, today, and in the future?

• Finding wisdom
• Most of us look for wisdom as a commodity.  We have a tough decision to make, we don't know what to do, and we crave a dollop of wisdom to get us through the immanent crisis, and then it's business as usual.
• If you had to choose between being wise, and being smart, which would you choose?
• Who are the wise people in your life, those who seem to be able to make sense out of what's going on?
• How do you think that they got that way?
• Do you think that we can ever have too many wise people?
• What would you do with deep wisdom?

• Howdy stranger
• The Gospel of Matthew starts with a genealogy of Jesus.  Through all of those generations, upheavals, revolutions, betrayals, deaths and wars, God was quietly at work bringing about salvation history.  Some see that genealogy as a tribute to God's control.  I see it as a tribute to God's resilience.
• Paul regards with wonder that salvation history includes the likes of you and me, that the fullness of God's glory is reflected in the fact that His grace is ineffably inclusive, broad, deep, boundless, infinite.
• How does that inclusiveness of God's mercy reflected in our worship together?
• How is the boundlessness of his mercy illuminating the way that we treat each other?
• How is the sheer, courage of God's grace changing the way that you look at yourself?

• Watching for I know not what
• Whatever else you might think about the wise men of the east, you have to give them credit for being watchful, observant, seeking, flexible.  Finding God in a child is no mean feat, particularly in that culture.  One lone star might easily go unnoticed, particularly from a distance.  Yet these magi saw, pondered, discerned, and acted.
• When do you typically find time to ponder what happens to you in your daily life?
• What do you typically take away from such meditations?
• Would you call such times prayer?
• Why is that?
• How much of your action is the product of meditation?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How well am I fulfilling God's mission for me?
2. Where is God teaching me wisdom?
3. How are you welcoming others into God's emerging salvation history?
4. What are you watching for?

Shalom!

Christmas Day

Our readings for the Mass of 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

• You can't go home again
• If you are lucky, "home" is a place of belonging, where you "fit in", feel affirmed and appreciated, a rooting from which you draw sustenance even after you are long gone from the geography, the time, even the people of what constituted home.  The tricky part is, that our relationship with home has to evolve and grow in order for it to continue to sustain us.
• Where/what/when/who do you call home?
• Where is God in your roots?  Do you regularly pray for those that make home?  Do you ever pray your way through any of your old experiences, good and bad, and bring Jesus to those memories in new ways?
• How does your sense of belonging make you a better person today?
• How can you help others find their way home?

• Showing the face of God
• Our God is not confined to one stretch of ground, one race, one culture.  It is precisely that He transcends any boundaries that we can make up that is a mark of His greatness.  Truly, all of the ends of the earth have seen His saving power.  Or have they?
• Maybe you see God manifesting Himself on a regular basis.  Ministries that you participate in, or benefit from remind you time and again that God has a deep and personal love for you, so you feel sure that everyone around you feels the same.
• How are you warm, welcoming, hospitable to others in your family?
• How about your parish?
• If we in the US really were serious about showing God to the world around us, what would that look like?
• How might it change the world if we did some of those things?
• Where can we start?

• Is there a prophet in the house?
• Jesus should not have been a surprise to anyone.  God had been promising the advent of a savior for centuries through His prophets.  Now that Jesus has come is there anything left to be prophetic about?
• What are some of the qualities of a contemporary prophet?  Is it boldness, courage, profundity, ordination, official recognition?
• Who are some prophets of our day?  Martin Luther King, Pope John Paul II, Billy Graham, Mahatma Gandhi, Sister Theresa, ...?
• How do you think they became prophets?
• How do you think that they heard that call in their lives?
• If you heard that call, would you recognize it?

• Incarnation incognito
• "Hey honey I'm home!" was a stock greeting from the man of the house when he joyfully stepped through the front door of his home after a long day at work.  When Jesus tabernacled with us, it should have felt like a home-coming for Him.  Instead, Jesus was born on the edges, scarcely noticed, hardly acknowledged.
• If Jesus were here today, where do you think that He would find most at home?  Maybe a soup kitchen, a hospital ER room, your local day-care center, your home?
• Where would Jesus be welcome?
• What can you do today, to make Jesus feel more welcome?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God inviting you to be more inviting?
2. Where is God welcoming you to be more welcoming?
3. How are you speaking up for God?
4. Where is God finding a home in your home?

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent are:

1. Micah 5: 1-4a
2. Psalms 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19
3. Hebrews 10: 5-10
4. Luke 1: 39-45

• What it takes to be great
• Greatness is possibly as ill-defined as it is elusive.  We think of a great football player who has stunning statistics on the field.  Or a great violinist who is able to transport audiences with their fervent playing.  You hardly ever hear of someone lauded for being a great family woman, or family man.  "Great integrity" is not a phrase you hear often these days.
• If you could choose, where would your greatness lie?
• How would you be able to tell whether you had achieved greatness in that area?
• Is it possible for someone to be greatly humble, or great in their humility?
• Who gets to tell who the "hall of famers" are as Christians?

• Seeing the face of God
• Matthew 14: 22-34 tells us of Jesus walking on the water, Peter following him out onto the deep, and Jesus rescuing Peter.  In all of that, Peter never lost sight of Jesus.  Probably a good thing for Peter.
• Do you feel as though you are where God wants you, that you are here today because God planted you here?
• If not, where do you think you took a wrong turn in life?
• Do you think that God can take you, just as you are, right where you are, and make something wonderful of you?
• How would you help God in that wonder-making?

• A body you prepared for me
• If you were to meet a complete stranger to pick them up at the airport, and you described yourself to them so that the two of you might have better luck finding each other, how would you describe yourself?  Now, pretend that they are able to see inside of you, discern your character, your strengths, weaknesses, where you are full of courage, and where you can be cowardly.  Now how would you describe yourself?
• How is your body a reflection of who you are?
• How is your body a reflection of who you are becoming?
• Do you like what you see?
• What would it take to like yourself better?

• Leaping for joy
• All of us look for joy, for things in our lives that bring us joy.  We don't often give it much thought.
• What most often brings you joy?
• How long does that joy last?
• Do you think that Jesus felt the joy of the Lord?
• Do you think that joy ever left Him?
• Then what is the difference between the joy of the Lord and what we so often call joy?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God calling you to greatness today?
2. Where is God inviting you today?
3. How are you and your body coming closer to God today?
4. Where is God offering you joy in unexpected places?

Shalom!