Second Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday in Lent are:

1. Genesis 12: 1-4a
   
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
   
3. 2 Timothy 1: 8b-10
   
4. Matthew 17: 1-9
   

• Leaving it all
  
• Abram likely had a pretty good life back in Ur of the Chaldees.  He likely had the warm embrace of family, familiar places, a community that supported him.  His wife Sarah was from there.  Journeys can take many forms, the difference between "here" and "there" can be vast in some ways, barely noticeable in others.
• What is a journey that you have been on, one which changed you profoundly?
• How did you get started on that journey?
• How much did you know about where you were going?
• Are you still glad that you went?
• What made you start?
  

• Earn my trust
  
• Trust is precious.  Without it, working with someone else becomes nearly impossible.  Trust  grows slowly, sometimes over years.  Yet if that trust is violated it is gone in a moment.  Sometimes that trust can never be recovered.
  
• Do you trust God?
• What has He done to earn that trust?
•  If you could dictate terms with God, what would you like to have Him do to prove to you that He can be trusted?
• Has God ever violated your trust?
• Have you forgiven Him?
  

• Our share of hardship
• Do you think that hardship can be rewarding?
• If you are totally "in the right place at the right time" with God, is it easy?  Does our following God in such circumstances "just flow", or is that too much to ask?
• How do you tell whether hardship in life isn't just because you "took a wrong turn" somewhere in your following God?
• How do you tell that you're where you're supposed to be?
  

• Rise and do not be afraid
  
• Human touch has been corrupted by violence so much of late.  We were meant to be healing for each other, a means of connection, our very bodies a living invitation into a larger community.  Instead, so many use their flesh to threaten and coerce.
• Think of a time when human touch meant a great deal to you.  It might have been a hug that you received during a tough time, the gentle embrace of a loved one, a blessing given you by a friend.
• Would that have been as meaningful without the actual contact?
• When was the last time that you healed anyone with your touch?
• Why do you think that the Gospels record so many instances of Jesus touching others?
• How can we be more like that?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. What is God calling me to journey toward this Lent?
2. Where do I need to talk about God about my lack of trust in Him?
   
3. Is God calling me to a new right place and time?
   
4. Where is God calling me to find courage to touch another?
   

One Last Star Rise

My father used to tell me that the stars are always there.
We just cannot see them during the day because their light
Is drowned out by the light of the Sun, so much nearer than they.

I watch the sun setting one last time over the familiar hills
Of my homeland, the burial place of my ancestors.
Turning the nearby lake into liquid gold with the last rays of day.

Then, one by one, some more boldly than the others,
The stars begin to show, as if summoned by the sun's quiet exit,
They take their places on the stage of the night, to say good bye.

Tomorrow I, my family, flocks, and herds will leave this place,
This gentle vale that has sheltered me all my life.
To make our way to a new home, in a distant land that I have never seen.

My wife has said her good byes already, for we start at dawn.
She looks to me with anguish and determination in her eyes -
Knowing that we will never return.  Determined to find what I'm looking for.

All that I really want is the peace of place -
Of being in the right place, doing what's needed, at the right time
Hitting just the right note at the right time in the orchestra of life.

Being totally at home, at peace, ineffably holy before God
Able to live totally His, all out, no holds barred.
I just never thought it would be so fearful, hurt so much.

The stars tell me that even if I travel so far away
That they will no longer rise above the curve of the horizon
That they are there for me, just as present as ever.

So I memorize their shapes, the pictures in the sky that they paint.
Knowing that my old friends will be ever faithful to me.
Even if I cannot see them.

The tell me that God is always faithful, always there.
Even when the immanent, the day to day blot out his face from view.
He is there, He is here, supporting me, just as surely as this staff in my hand.

All that I have to do is lift up my eyes to see Him,
Stretch out my hand to grasp His,
And let my trust run riot, my faith burn furious, and my feet -

Let my feet carry me over the next horizon, beyond imagination
Beyond all sight,
Into what only He can see.

Shalom!

First Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 1st Sunday in Lent are:

1. Genesis 2: 7-9, 3: 1-7
   
2. Psalms 51: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17
   
3. Romans 5: 12-19
   
4. Matthew 4: 1-11
   

• Avoiding sin
  
• Most of us know some of our weaknesses, and have the sense to avoid them.  The alcoholic avoids parties that they know will be swimming in alcohol.  The person who lashes out in anger will avoid those who perversely seek to arouse that anger.  Down through the ages, folks have wondered what Adam and Eve could have done to avoid bringing sin into the world.
• What is something that you do to avoid the occasion to sin?
• How did you come to that practice?
• Do you think that God would ever call you to set that avoidance aside for a greater good?

• Awareness of sin
• Sin in our lives is easy to miss.  Just the daily challenges of survival can occupy all of our available energy and concentration to the point that we miss our own yearnings for closeness to God, we settle for something less than what He has to offer us, and we die a little inside.
• How do you tell when you're straying from God's best for you?
• How much effort does it take to be sensitive to those messages?
• How might you be more sensitive to those warning signs?
• What can you do to make that increased sensitivity a part of your daily life?
  

• Receiving the abundance
  
• Presumption and despair are two sins that seem unrelated.  Presumption tells us that our sin is not that great, that it is not mortal, that God would never exclude us for what we have done.  Despair tells us that God's mercy is not wide enough to cover our sin, that God could never admit one such as us into heaven.  God offers hope.
• What is it in heaven that you hope for?
• How has that hope matured, deepened, evolved through the years in your life?
• Do you think that your hope is better founded now than it was in the past?
• What can you do to deepen that hope further?
  

• Temptation strategy
  
• The enemy of human nature (as Ignatius terms Satan) is nothing if not clever.  Tempting us with our basic needs, calling into question our identity before God are hard things to turn away from.  But the hardest temptation might be seize what we had once, and have given up for something even better.
• What are some things that you've given up in your walk with Jesus?  Maybe a promising job so that you could be close to your kids or to care for an aging relative, moving from one ministry to take up another, giving up the freshness of your youth that you might be more seasoned.
• How do you feel about that decision?
• If you had it to do over again, would you?
• How did you make that discernment?

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Am I putting myself in sin's way?
2. Where is God calling me to be more aware of myself and my sin??
   
3. How strong is my hope?
   
4. Am I too attached to anything in my life?
   

Where are you?

I looked for you in our garden today.
The one that we have tended together.
Hand in hand, heart to heart,
Gently coaxing the fruit of the field,
That you might live abundantly.

Through you, I could feel the soft, yielding loam
The eager soil, ever ripe for fertilization.
I felt the sun on your back,
The gentle coolness of spring water,
Refreshing you as you drink, and give thanks.

In your eyes, I could see the sun's abundant rays,
And know that it was all good,
All fertile, all life-giving,
All a celebration of my love poured out
To and for you, and all the cosmos.

And now, now you have banished me.
Your pride has severed our communion
You and I no longer able to touch,
To hold,
To listen, each to the other's heartbeat.

My grief is as great as my love.
My heart is consumed in an ache,
That I can find no cure for -
As I longingly watch you stumble
In the darkness that you have chosen over me.

In your confusion,
All that you can think of is who to blame.
You don't even miss what you've thrown away.
You don't even know where your nakedness comes from,
Just that you no longer know where home has vanished to.

Down, down, down through the centuries,
I call your children telling them:
Come back to me, with all you heart,
I am merciful, merciful is your God.
I offer you light and wholeness.

Just tear down the walls of indifference,
Pride, greed, fear.
And trust that I Am who, what you have always needed.
Come to your true home
That's been there for you from eternity to eternity.

Shalom!

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Leviticus 19: 1-2, 17-18
   
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
   
3. 1 Corinthians 3: 16-23
   
4. Matthew 5: 38-48
   

• Reproving each other
  
• None of us likes to be corrected.  Even if we 100% agree with the correction, we hate to hear (or see) that correction.  We get defensive, and often say things that we regret later.  By then it is very difficult to ask forgiveness and start the healing process in that damaged relationship.
• If someone you love is not living up to their potential, is it more loving to keep silent, or to let them know that you are concerned?
• Is there any solid way to make sure that your correction will be taken in the way that you mean it?
• Is there any solid way to make sure that you mean that correction the way that you like to think that you do?
• How might be the best way to "remove the beam from your own eye before removing the splinter from your brother's eye?"
  

• Finding the kindness in God
  
• In the first reading, God calls us to be holy, for He is holy.  That holiness has many facets, one of them is kindness.  But God's kindness can sometimes be hard to find, or recognize.
• How has God been kind to you during your life?
• How did that kindness of God change you?
• Is that kindness still changing you?
• Have you become more kind because of that?
  

• Tabernacles or tabernacle?
  
• Looking at ourselves and seeing that we are temples of the Holy Spirit is a sobering reflection.  But what if it doesn't end there?  What if we as a community, with all of our hurts, warts, and weaknesses are also a temple of the Holy Spirit?
• What do you think a temple of the Holy Spirit is supposed to accomplish?
• Is that possible if the temple has been through trauma?
• Is there a communal healing needed in our church, and beyond?
• Where do we start?
  

• The secret of happiness
  
• Fr. Peter was often heard to say that to be happy, we needed to seek holiness.  Those around us have different priorities.  We are taught in a thousand examples that security, fame, plentiful liquid assets, and a well-appointed summer home in the Hamptons are all ways to happiness.  Jesus leads in other directions.
• What makes you truly happy?
• How do you tell true happiness from something less than what God has for you?
• Have you ever been disappointed by something/someone that you thought was going to make you happy, but did not?
• Is it necessarily the case that greater happiness comes with greater freedom?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Is there any hatred or anger that God is calling me to set aside?
2. Am I known for my kindness?
   
3. How is God calling me to build a stronger, more centered us?
   
4. Where is God offering me happiness that I might be afraid to venture?
   

It's All Holy

I try to remember to bless myself when I pass a Church.
Catholic or not.  God's Presence is probably there.
And I'm not taking any chances.

In the blessing I salute the acts of generosity,
The hands that have reached out to touch the weak,
The absorbent shoulder that others can cry on.

I touch the kindness and mercy that has been celebrated there,
The healing that has restored hope to the despondent,
The warmth of hugs given and received.

I hear words of comfort borne of love and courage.
Love that bears the hurt of another,
Courage that opens a heart in tender empathy.

I smell the aromas of a thousand community potlucks,
Gallons of coffee brewed and consumed at AA meetings,
Fellowship rejoiced in over bread generously given and received.

All of it sacramental,
All of it conveying Christ intimately and immanently,
All of it present through all time.

And if present through all time,
That Presence is Present through all space.
And I know that, to honor that Presence, 

To honor that Presence will take more than a gesture on my part.
It requires that I open myself to the knitting together
Of God's children wherever I find them.

Every place, every time, every circumstance
Is charged with the Presence of God if I let it.
It's All Holy if I can just open up to that Holiness.

Shalom!

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 15: 15-20
   
2. Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
   
3. 1 Corinthians 2: 6-10
   
4. Matthew 5: 17-37
   

• An understanding God
  
• God understands us.  He knows why we do what we do, why we say what we say, why we think what we think.  Too bad there's no way to book a weekly appointment with God as a therapist.  Or is there?
• How many people in your life do you think you truly understand?
• How did you get to be so familiar with them?
• How does that familiarity benefit you?
• How does that familiarity benefit them?
• What good does it do you that God understands you?
  

• Praying for the desire
  
• Depending on your body build, it's generally about a foot between your head and your heart.  But somehow, getting something that is crystal clear to your intellect into your heart can be quite a journey.  One such journey is getting a desire for the better things in life, such as humility, patience, courage, good judgement, and so on.
• Have you ever wanted some grace, like patience, and were afraid to pray for it?
• What do you think would happen if you prayed for the desire for that gift?
• How about praying for the desire to pray for the desire for that gift?
• What are you afraid of about that prayer?
  

• The slow growth of wisdom
  
• I have come to believe that wisdom is holistic.  That is, it's more than mere knowledge of Scripture, or the writings of the mystics, or even knowledge of famous Jesuit poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins.  Rather wisdom is the result of a life lived intentionally, an inner compass that gradually brings the outside world into sharper and sharper focus.
• Who are some people in your life that you would consider wise?
• How do you know that they have this wisdom?
• How do you think that they got there?
• How is there wisdom benefiting the community?
• How could you benefit more from that wisdom?
  

• Asking the hard questions
  
• Our days go by so fast, it's easy to let them just blur one into the next until something comes along in life that forces us to hit the "pause" button for awhile.  Ignatius of Loyola required his companions to daily pray the examen prayer.
• When did you feel particularly close to God today?
• When did He feel far away?
• What was the difference between those two times?
• Is there anything that you can learn from either or both of those times?
• Are you grateful for either or both of those times?
• How are those experiences changing you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Am I willing to let God speak to me my secret name, to call forth from me who I truly am?
2. Where might God be beckoning me forward into something new?
   
3. Where is God growing true wisdom in my life?
   
4. How is God calling me to greater closeness today?
   

Steps of Trust

Surely God will defend me from all woe.
For I am His and He is mine.
I trust God to defend me from all ill
That I may demonstrate to those around me
How generously God treats His elect.

Well, maybe not.

Surely God will never allow anything
That I don't know how to handle.
God in His infinite wisdom will make sure
That I'm completely prepared for every
Every thing that comes into my life.

Well, maybe not.

Surely God will never allow anything
That is too much for me, to enter my life.
God knows me better than I myself.
He knows what I can sustain and what I cannot.
He would never take me past my breaking point.

Well, maybe not.

One thing, no two, I know I can count on.
God will never leave me nor forsake me.
In spite of how I feel.
And God can bring good out of misfortune -
If I have but the courage to let Him.

My only armor is gratitude,
My only defense is trust.
Gratitude for all that is set before me
Trust that God is there to lead me.
Teach me gratitude and trust oh Lord.

That will have to be enough.

Shalom!