Epiphany Sunday

Our readings for the Feast of the Epiphany:

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

• Finding God in family
• Various members of our families become estranged for one reason or another.  A bitter argument long ago caused wounds that don't seem to heal with time, one leaves the faith and they no longer feel welcome at family gatherings, tragedy strikes a member of the family and they are overwhelmed with isolation, or any number of causes.
• Do you think that God wants to heal such wounds (and doubtless many others) within our families?
• What do you think God needs to do to start a healing trend in your family?
• What do you think that you need to do to foster that trend?
• Do you think that such healing is even possible?
• Do you think that such healing is worth the effort?
• Is it worth trying, even if the attempt fails to bring healing?                   

• Walking by your shining radiance
• "Go in peace, glorifying God by your life" is one form of the Mass dismissal.  It forms the link between our worship and our works in the larger community, calling us to bring that larger community into our worship by means of prayer and service, and convey the blessings and graces that we are given in our worship to those around us.  Sounds easy.
• Who are some folks who are close to you who glorify God by their life?
• What inspires you about them? 
• How have they inspired you to do the same?
• Do you think that you could inspire others as well?
• Does someone have to be Christian to be effective at the ministry that you're thinking about? 

• Revelation for anyone with an ear to listen
• Revelation seems like something that has come and gone.  And even when God was revealing Himself, He pretty much kept that to a very special few.  God didn't just go around revealing willy nilly.  Or did He?
• Have you ever had something come to you in prayer?  Maybe it was a deep understanding of something about you that had puzzled you for years.  Maybe the revelation was insight into why it is that your sibling drives you so crazy sometimes.  Or maybe the revelation was a deepened sense of something that you've known forever, just not in this way.
• How has that revelation changed you, changed your perspective, changed your view of the world?
• How are you making yourself ready for God's next revelation to you? 

• Discernment
•  Ignatian spirituality teaches us now to make decisions in our lives, how to set aside or leave behind that which does not draw us closer to God, to our ultimate destiny, in favor of what will make us truly happy.  A good introduction to that spirituality can be found here.
• Who is someone that you know who is generous towards God?
• How did that person get to be that way?
• What have you learned from them regarding your own generosity?
• How has that generosity on your part changed you?
• How do you think that your generosity has changed others? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God offering me Himself in my family?
• How might I offer myself, my life more deeply to God?
• Am I humble enough to accept God's revelation in my life?
• How can I better serve with, in, through my community?

 

Shalom!

Feast of the Holy Family

Our readings for the Feast of the Holy Family:

1. Sirach 3: 2-6, 12-14
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. Colossians 3: 12-21
4. Matthew 2: 13-15

• Finding God in family
• Family.  You can't live with them sometimes and you can't live without them.  Yet in spite of all of the messiness that we find in typical families, that's where we find God as well.
• In what ways does God show His Presence in your family?
• How do you remind each other of your family history and heritage?
• What do you do/say with each other to bring out the best in each other?
• Do you ever thank each other for that influence in your lives? 

• The fruit of your handiwork
• We like to think that hard work will always be rewarded with peace and prosperity and security.
• Have everything that you have put a lot of time and work into turned out the way that you had hoped (career, your marriage, your children, ...)?
• Why do you think that is?
• Did it work out for the best in the end?
• What if it does not work out for the best in the end, what then? 

• Admonishing one another
• I've been firmly admonished a couple of times in life.  I really deserved it at the time, but that didn't make it feel any better.  I could wish that I received such gentle correction with better grace though.
• What prevents you from admonishing someone else?  Do you feel that you have to somehow "deserve" the privilege, or that maybe no one really cares about the problem that you see, or ...
• Have you ever admonished someone else?
• How did that turn out?
• Did it do anyone any good?
• What did you learn? 

• Discernment
• Making big, life-changing decisions can be agonizing.  They are particularly hard when there seems to be no time to consider, no time to "sleep on it".  At that point, most of us will turn to others looking for advice, some alternative perspective so that we can find some clarity.  Joseph appears to had only his dreams.
• If God is so almighty, would it kill Him to just send an e-mail with directions?
• How has God communicated His will to you over the years?
• Do you feel as though you're getting any more sensitive to that "still, small, voice in your life?
• How might you practice better listening to God? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God offering me Himself in my family?
• How might I offer myself, my life more deeply to God?
• Am I humble enough to accept God's correction in my life?
• How can I better serve with, in, through my community?

I Have a Dream

My world has become hostile and full of fear.
Where once I anticipated an ordinary life,
Surrounded by friends and family.
Making a quiet living building for others.

Suddenly, I'm nowhere I recognize.
Fleeing from despots who never knew me.
My anonymity shredded.
All hope of quite security gone.

And yet, when I look into Mary's eyes,
When I behold our child.
I find peace that tells me that we are right where we belong.
No matter where that happens to be.

Home is where God calls us.
Community is those we meet on the way.
Family are His children serving with us.
And tomorrow is what happens when you get there.

Lord, give me the courage to let go.
The humility to receive what You offer me.
The courage to stand for you with my family.
And the joy in You that passes all understanding.
 

Shalom!

Christmas Day

Our readings for Christmas Day:

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

• Finding God's comfort
• In Ignatian spirituality the comfort that God offers us draws us closer to Him, regardless of our circumstances.  God can provide comfort even in our trials and tribulations if we are open to and seek His Presence in and through those circumstances.
• In your life, how has God comforted you in the midst of trying times?
• How did that comfort come to you?  Was it a favorite Scripture passage that suddenly took on a deeper meaning, a visit from a dear friend, a prayer experience, ...?
• How confident are you that God will always be there to be a comfort to you? 

• Singing praise
• Singing God's praise is a constant theme of the Psalms.  Why is that?
• What do you accomplish by singing God's praises?
• Does God need our praise?
• Over the years, how has your praise to God changed, deepened? 

• Follow me
• Lately I've realized that there are limits to what can be expressed in language.  Perhaps, as Richard Rohr points out, that is why Jesus rarely told His disciples to believe Him, or what to believe about him.  Rather, Jesus' simple instruction was "follow me".
• How has your belief about Jesus shaped your decision-making, your following of Jesus?
• How has your following of Jesus gradually shaped your beliefs concerning Him? 

• The darkness has not overcome it
• Christmas comes at a time of year (at least in the northern hemisphere) of shortened days, colder temperatures, and (at least in my case) hopeful longing for Spring.  Christmas comes in stark contrast to the evils evident all around us.
• Who is someone that you see bringing Light to the world around us?
• How have their actions and words made the world a better place?
• How have they inspired you in your life?
• How would you like to inspire others?
• What would you like to be said of you at your funeral? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God offering me comfort?
• How might I be a better testimony to God in my life?
• How am I actively supporting God's plan?
• How can I better serve with, in, through my community?

At the risk of being accused of politicizing the freedom that Jesus' birth invites us to, I invite you to read Dr. Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech.  I found that these words continue to be challenging and pertinent.  Perhaps you will as well.

Tilting at Windmills

It seems as though no one dares to use the word "evil" anymore.
We are all afraid of being accused of being reactionary,
Succumbing to a fortress mentality,
Dividing the world neatly into "us", and "them".

No one wants to be found calling for the end of perceived evil.
When it turns out that they just misunderstood.
Or that evil results may have fallen from good intentions.
Or that they just did not see the bigger picture.

And even if something is evil, am I the one?
How do I know that, out of all God's children,
He's calling me to protest that injustice.
Could it be someone else's call that I'm hearing?

Lord, grant me
The humility to hear Your voice.
The courage to occasionally be wrong.
The passion to stand with your afflicted children.

Help me to fan your flickering light within me,
That I might be a beacon to those around me,
Who most need to see your face radiating through mine,
That I, too, might shine brightly enough -

To guide others to You this Christmastide.  

Shalom!

4th Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent:

1. Isaiah 7: 10-14
2. Psalms 24: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
3. Romans 1: 1-7
4.  Matthew 1: 18-24

• Finding God's direction
• Our God makes His desires known to us in lots of different ways.  Learning to "tune in" to those various ways is a large part of our maturing process as His children.
• How do you think your deepest desires factor in to God's desires for you?
• Where do you think that your desires come from?
• Why do you think that they are there?
• How do you even find those deepest desires? 

• It's all gift
• We speak of ourselves as God's stewards on this earth, using the things of this world to accomplish His kingdom in our midst.  But that leaves a lot to our imaginations regarding where those goods need to go.
• What are some things that you give that you alone can contribute?
• How has that giving transformed you over the years?
• How did you find that calling in your life? 

• Called to be an apostle
• Bringing someone to Jesus is not just about the message.  If it were, the text of our beliefs would be enough to convince anyone.  It's not just a matter of how its said, or even the timing.  Often the Gospel only penetrates past a persons fear when that message comes from the right messenger at the right time.
• What are some things that God has convinced/convicted you of that you might never have been able to accept from just anyone?
• What was  special about that person, that they were able to "connect" with you?
• Do you think that you might be the only one who can bring a special word to someone else?

• It takes a village
• The birth of Jesus was profoundly a community event.  The infancy narratives show God working through multiple people to make it all come together, almost as though all of these events were choreographed.
• What's an event, a time in your life, when something wonderful happened because you were able to accept help from others?
• How did you come to realize that you needed that help?
• What were your worries/fears at the time?
•  How did God inspire you through that season of your life?

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God calling me to be more authentic?
• Where is God moving in my life to get me moving in His?
• Where am I special in God's plan?
• How can I better serve with, in, through my community? 

Heartbreak, Fear, Awe

My father used to tell me that, as a youth, he looked for four things in life:
A brick house,
A Buick parked in the driveway, 
Well fed wife and children,
A dog in the back yard.

I never had the courage to ask him how that worked out for him.

I think that sometimes our vision of what makes success -
Gets in the way of true freedom.
We're so convinced that "good" can only look one way,
That we miss, or forget what real success means:
Bringing about the Kingdom by being our true selves.

The small self, that is a perennial coward,
Always afraid of losing what little it thinks that it controls,
Never wanting to step into greater freedom,
Greater authenticity,
Greater wonder in life.

The hard part is letting go of that smaller horizon.

And opening up to new possibilities
That are only now starting to emerge.
Letting them make themselves known in their own time.
Taking the attitude of a farmer.
Letting the mystery unfold on its own schedule.

Never daring to try to hurry things.

Trusting, waiting, listening for the signal
That tells me when the magic moment has arrived
To step into all of my tomorrows.
Finding those next horizons
Well beyond my latest dreams. 

Shalom!

Third Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the third Sunday of Advent:

1. Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10
2. Psalms 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10
3. James 5: 7-10
4. Matthew 11: 2-11

• Freedom is coming
• I suspect that each of us is shackled by something.  Maybe it's a need to be in control.  Maybe it's a need to be appreciated and noticed.  Maybe it's an addiction of some sort, or fear of failure, an oppressive job, an abusive spouse.  God offers us freedom in all of those circumstances.
• How have you become more free over time?
• How did you first realize that you were bound to begin with?
• What had to change in you before you were able to step into that freedom?
• Was that freedom a "one and done" transition for you, or do you continue to embrace/appropriate that new-found freedom? 

• Being that welcome
• It's sometimes a challenge to welcome someone new.  They might be just a little different from the rest of the comfortable community.  They don't think the way that the rest of us do, they don't express themselves the way that we have learned to.
• When is a time that you felt personally welcomed?
• Were there requirements that you had to meet before you were "a full member"?
• How did that welcome change you?
• When have you tried to be welcoming in your own way? 

• Complaining about one another
• Gossip seems to be second nature to most of us.  Once I was gossiping full tilt until a good friend called it to my attention.  I just thought that I was telling them some of the community stories.  So they could get to know us better.
• Have you ever been in a community, even family, in which you "lost" someone?  Maybe they no longer felt welcome, maybe their views changed and they were no longer in agreement with the prevailing opinion(s) on key issues, ...
• How did that make you feel?
• Did you speak up about that?
• Why or why not? 

• Taking no offense at Jesus
• Jesus can be hard to understand sometimes.  It's easy to be offended at the way things happen in our lives.  We wonder what sort of God would allow such things.
• What is something that has happened in your life that made you wonder whether God really cared about you.  Or maybe you thought that God cared, but He just wasn't able for some reason to make a difference in your life at that time.
• How did that occurrence affect you, how did it make you feel?
• How did you pray about that?
• What did you learn about God in that experience?
• What did you learn about yourself? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God renewing me?
• What does God's justice mean for me?
• Where is God calling me to be more grateful for others?
• Where might God be calling me to greater trust? 

Tell my cousin I love him

Jesus my cousin has stirred up the whole region.

Hope blooms in the breast of the afflicted.

The lepers find acceptance at last.

The crippled run and leap for joy.

 

Yet here I am, His herald.

Confined to this stinking cell.

With barely any room to roam.

Hardly enough food to live.

 

Maybe I missed my calling.

Called attention to the wrong messiah.

And now I, and my countrymen

Are all paying for that mistaken identity.

 

This isn't my vision of a successful ministry.

This is not the stuff of a mini series.

I'm all but forgotten, rotting here.

With no one to tell me why I might be here.

 

I was in the sun for a brief moment.

Turning eyes and hearts toward Jesus.

And yet, and yet, if He is the one,

Why am I here when I have served so well?

 

I don't worry so much for my part.

I worry for my bretheren who look to me.

To help them make sense of it all.

After all, that's what prophets are for!?

 

Perhaps, rather than an anvil,

God is shaping me with uncertainty.

Rather than finding Him in the light -

He's calling me through this darkness.

 

Give me patience Lord.

That I might stay the course 

That you have set before me.

And find my joy in you regardless. 

 

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the second Sunday of Advent:

1. Isaiah 11: 1-10
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
3. Romans 15: 4-9
4. Matthew 3: 1-12

• Making all things new
• God's action in our world seems to be about making all things new, rather than making all new things.  He's never started over, but always seeks to transform, to reinvent, to bring new life to what already is.
• Have you ever had a resurrection experience?  When something in your life gave way to something even better?  Maybe it was a child leaving home to begin life as an adult, or a relationship maturing to a new level, loss of a job to make room for a new career or a new take on work itself.
• How did you gain the courage to make that transition, cross that threshold?
• How did you come to realize that it was all for the best?
• Where was God in all of that? 

• Bringing God's justice, bringing God's kingdom
• Do you think that true justice has to happen for God's kingdom to be present?
• Do you think that God's kingdom on earth is the same as true justice?
• How would you define justice?
• What can we do to help bring that justice about? 

• Welcome one another
• I remember John Flaherty talking about the welcome that newcomers get at a church that he attended.  Newcomers would see a sign at the entrance to the parking lot "turn on your headlights if you are new here".  The newcomers each got a dedicated guide who would accompany them throughout the service so they felt welcome.  I love that.
• Welcoming can be hard.  Is there any one that you would have a hard time welcoming into a community that you are a member in?
• What about that person makes you uncomfortable?
• What does that say about you?
• What does that say about your community? 

• Bearing good fruit
• Richard Rohr frequently observes that Jesus never said "believe the right things about me."  Instead, He always called others to "follow me", which Rohr takes to translate to "do the things I do in the world."
• Who is someone close to you that has been fruitful for God?
• What are some of the fruits of their life?
• What of their attitude, approach, practice do you think that you could adopt so that you might become more fruitful? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is God renewing me?
• What does God's justice mean for me?
• Where is God calling me to greater generosity?
• Where might God be calling me to be more fruitful? 

Get Me to the River

I can hear the labored breathing of my friends as they bear my litter.

Even in my wasted condition, I am quite the burden, today and always.

 

I too was once straight and strong,

Clear of eye and bold of bearing.

 

But age has taken its relentless toll,

And I lie here at the threshold of eternity.

 

When I heard of this cry in the wilderness,

This ringing invitation to awaken,

 

I begged them to bring me to the river.

That I might be baptized into greater awareness. 

 

I realized that old age has not brought me comfort,

But it it has given me occasion to reflect.

 

To ask whether the world is better for my passing through,

Whether I have given more than I have taken.

 

And I realized that I have never asked the important questions:

Why am I here?  What is my ultimate calling?  Where is my true home?

 

And I realized that this preacher offers the answer.

Not in words so much as in awareness.

 

Awareness of how content I have been to let others suffer.

Telling myself that it was no concern of mine how they chose to live.

 

Awareness of how much I have been given all these years.

And what a gift I could be to those around me.

 

I only hope that in this, the twilight of my existence,

I might burn just a little brighter than before.

 

Help others to find their way here, to the burning sands of the desert.

That they might find their own flame, though flickering.

 

That they might find the heart of their maker

Beating within their own breast. 

 

Shalom!