Christ the King Sunday

Our readings for Christ the King Sunday are:

1. Daniel 7: 13-14
2. Psalms 93: 1, 1-2, 5
3. Revelation 1: 5-8
4. John 18: 33b-37

• Renewed
• "Old age is not for sissies" my father frequently said.  He may have been even smarter than I gave him credit for.  One challenge of old age is trying to reconcile the present to the past, find what has endured and what has not, and ask yourself, "if this aspect of who I was taught to be, who I am, seems so irrelevant today, what should I learn from that?"
• Imagine yourself thirty years in the future.  What do you think might have changed by then?
• If you knew for sure what life will be like by then, how would that affect the way that you are living now?
• What of your life today are you absolutely sure will still be there in 30 years (besides death and taxes, those don't count).
• If you could live the rest of your life without any change, would you?

• The call to holiness
• Maybe a problem that young people have today is that they look at work as nothing more than a way to make a living.  As such, the most efficient way is to have one brilliant idea, like Facebook, and then, somehow, you are set for life.  What if we got that wrong, and the best work comes from us when we follow our calling.
• How has God called you in your life?
• Who has God used to communicate His call to you?
• What do you think God might be calling you to now?
• What do you hope God is calling you to?
• Why do you think there might be a difference? 

• The power of the circle
• In the movie News of the World, Tom Hanks finds himself "restoring" a young girl captured by native Americans and raised as one of their own, to her white family.  Along the way, she tries to tell him that life is a circle, that everything comes back to the beginning.  He tries to tell her that the way to make progress is a straight line.  I found that scene to be truly epic.
• If God is the beginning and the end, what does that tell you about resurrection?
• What is ending in your life these days as we approach the end of the Liturgical Year?
• Should that be ending?
• What is beginning for you at this time?
• Should that beginning be happening at this time, in this place?

• Authenticity
• As an instructor, I constantly struggle with the fundamental question: "how well do I have to know this topic before I am qualified to teach it?"  A corollary to that question is: "what do I have to offer these students that they cannot get on their own?"  Jesus asks Pilate whether his question regarding Jesus' identity is something that springs from within, or whether that question is from someone else.
• Do you believe that we can be more "real" in our life as we give ourselves away?
• How prepared do we have to be before we can authentically give ourselves away?
• How do you tell when you're ready?
• What, really, is a hypocrite?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where might God be calling me to let go of something to take up something even better?
2. What is the passion that God has given me calling me towards?
3. What is God resurrecting in my life?
4. How might God be "loving me into real"?

Shalom!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Daniel 12: 1-3
2. Psalms 16: 5,8, 9-10, 11
3. Hebrews 10: 11-14, 18
4. Mark 13: 24-32

• Wisdom is its own reward
• Wisdom is sometimes described as a woman of great generosity, offering her blessings to anyone who will accept them.  Sometimes I think she doesn't get many takers.
• What are you doing to try to grow in wisdom?
• Where does your wisdom come from?
• How do you pass that wisdom along to others?
• Do you feel that your wisdom is appreciated by others?
• Does that matter?

• It's your body calling on line #1
• Our bodies can be more than mere victims, if we allow them.  Most of us are aware of the harm that a stress-filled life can wreak in our bodies, but we rarely find the time to listen to what our bodies might be trying to tell us at any given moment.  The psalmists seem to have a much healthier connection with their bodies than we in the West do today.
• When you pray, how do you "settle in" to that experience?
• How long does that take?
• How do you know that you are ready for some serious prayer?
• What role does your body have in your pryaer?
• How do you come out of prayer?
• Why do you come out of prayer? 

• Eternal unbloody sacrifice
• There is a creative tension between the reality of the crucifixion and the resurrection.  Christ in His passion is always there for us, always abandoned, always alone and thrust to the side of history, and always telling the Peter in all of us "feed my sheep" in all His glory.
• How does Jesus' suffering affect you today?
• If you had been in the crowds when He was tried, sentenced, and crucified, would you have have tried to make a difference?
• Do you think Jesus would have noticed?
• Do you think that there's any way that you can make a difference today?

• Survivalist
• Survivalists are quite certain that Armageddon is coming, and they mean to do what it takes to survive.  In their minds, anything less that careful planning and preparation for the end of civilization as we know it is either delusional or lazy, or both.
• So, how are you preparing for an uncertain future?
• How does your trust in God play into that preparation?
• How does living today to its fullest, despite the uncertainties of tomorrow, play into the preparation?
• Would your life be different if you knew exactly what was coming and when?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where might God be calling me to be a wiser woman/man of God?
2. What is God trying to tell me through my body?
3. What can I do to companion Jesus?
4. How might I be more ready for the four last things in my life?

Shalom!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 17: 10-16
2. Psalms 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10
3. Hebrews 9: 24-28
4. Mark 12: 38-44

• Random acts of kindness and senseless beauty
• Bold generosity in the face of a world caught up in acquisition is counter-cultural, even regarded as a little suspect in some circles, yet it is what Jesus calls us to.
• It is easy to over-commit yourself, especially to good causes.  How do you tell when God is calling you to a seemingly senseless act of generosity versus other people taking advantage of you?
• Do you think that Jesus ever felt used?
• How has your generous giving of yourself changed you through the years?
• Would you be richer today if you had not been generous at those times?

• Making waves
• God seems intent on being where we least expect Him.  Not in the halls of power, not in the seats of government, but with the poor, the lowly, the disenfranchised, the forgotten.
• Who are those in your life that you know of who seem to have no means of support, no security in their lives?
• How did they get that way?
• How do you think God would want for you to help them?
• How would your generosity help you? 

• Door, not barrier
• God made us physical beings, not as a punishment, but as a way for Him to be more intimately present in this creation, through us.
• What are some things, be they rituals, locations, prayer practices, people, Scriptures, ... that help to transport you to God?
• How did they all come to have that effect on you?
• How do you know when you have lost sight of God for the things that God has given you to help you connect with the rest of the cosmos?

• It's all a matter of trust
• The widow in the Gospel story achieved a heroic freedom by casting the last of her money into the temple treasury.  She no longer worried whether her remaining funds would stretch far enough.  Giving that to God left her free to pursue other concerns in her life.
• How much of your life is spent in maintenance?  You get the car down for a lube and oil, you go to the store for food for that week, you remember to call the furnace man to come out and take a look at your heater filter, and the list just never ends.
• Do you feel that maintenance is a service to God?
• Would He feel it's a service to Him?
• What do you think He'd rather you be doing?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where might God be calling me to be more authentic in my generosity?
2. What is God calling me to hidden kindnesses?
3. What are the blessings that God wants me to use differently?
4. How might I celebrate my trust in God more deeply?

Shalom!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Deuteronomy 6: 2-6
2. Psalms 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
3. Hebrews 7: 23-28
4. Mark 12: 28-34

• The reason in the season
• Today, like every day of our lives, is like no other, and yet it builds on past experiences, past celebrations of love, past loss.
• Why are you following God lately?
• How have those reasons changed through the years?
• How do you think they might change in the years that you have left?
• Is your faith strong enough to sustain you through what lies ahead?

• He is alive!
• And just as important, God is faithful to His people.
• How is God alive in your life today?
• How much of that Presence is a result of your prayer to Him?
• How might your life be different if you prayed more faithfully?
• If you had the time, the drive, the space in your life to pray more, how would you pray? 

• Expanding my horizons
• Jesus is our priest, the one who makes God present to us, and us present to God.  And yet, we as his adopted brothers are also called to that same priesthood.
• Who are you bringing before God in your prayer these days?
• What graces are you praying for on their behalf?
• How is your prayer making the world a better place?
• How is your prayer making your heart a better place?

• All is one, all is well
• Against the background of the beliefs of the day, monotheism must have struck Israel's neighbors as an odd belief system at best.  Perhaps even stranger is His intimacy with us.
• When it rains, do you just get wet, or do you feel the presence of God in the gift of life-giving water?
• Do you ever hear the voice of God in the breezes, as Elijah did in the desert?
• Does the sound of a baby's laughter inspire you to pray along?
• Does the face of God peek out at you in the starlight that has reached out to Earth?
• In your heart, do you find God one in all, through all, for all?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where might God be calling me to go deeper?
2. What are the graces that God has prepared for me today?
3. Where is God calling me to be His Presence in the world around me?
4. How might I celebrate God's oneness today?

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Jeremiah 31: 7-9
2. Psalms 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
3. Hebrews 5: 1-6
4. Mark 10: 46-52

• Family reunion
• Wars, natural disasters, severe pestilence, all can dislocate peoples from their homes, make refugees and immigrants out of them, make them vulnerable to abuse.
• Have you ever been dislocated?  Maybe transferred to a new job, or your job took you to a new city, you suddenly had to pick up and move to take care of a sick relative ...
• How did you adjust to your new surroundings?
• How long did it take before you really fit in, before it felt like home?
• How can we, God's people be more hospitable, more welcoming?

• What has God done for you lately?
• If someone were to ask you why you choose to serve God, what would you say?
• If they then asked you what it costs you to serve God, what would you say?
• And if they ask you whether it's worth it? 

• The immanent Jesus
• Jesus is still human.  He never shed that part of Himself in death.  He knows us, our weaknesses, our strengths better than we know them ourselves.  Which can be scary if you think about it.
• If, instead of praying to an invisible God, you and Jesus could go somewhere private, and you could pray to Him face to face, what would change?
• Would you pray more often?
• Would you pray at a different time of day?
• Would you pray for different things?
• Why is that?

• What do you want?
• If Jesus were to ask you "what can I do that would bring you happiness?" what would you say?
• Do you think that Jesus would agree with you that what you desire will bring you happiness?
• Once you received that gift, whatever it might be, how would that change your life?
• Are all of those changes necessarily good?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How has God been faithful to me?  How am I returning that faithfulness?
2. How has God's great gifts to me made me a better person?
3. What do I feel that I need to hide from God?
4. Do I have the courage to accept what God has for me?

Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 53: 10-11
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
3. Hebrews 4: 14-16
4. Mark 10: 35-45

• This was not on the recruiting poster
• In years gone by, the federal government would publish recruiting posters hoping to inspire the young to enlist in the armed forces to make the world safe for democracy.  If God were to publish recruiting posters to encourage people to leave behind their current way of life and come follow Him, what would they say, based on your experience?
• If following Jesus doesn't necessarily make the the world safe for democracy, what is the point of "joining with Jesus"?
• Why do we care if someone is Christian at all?
• What sort of promises does Jesus make to those who follow Him?
• Does it sound like a good deal?

• Shield from what?
• Skillful use of a shield seems to start with knowing your enemy.  Making sure that your shield is pointed in the right direction, keeping a firm grasp on its handles, and never letting it drop, no matter what your opponent rains down on you.
• What is God shielding you from these days?
• How good of a job is He doing?
• What do you think He's counting on from you in this battle?

• Infinite mercy
• Once in confession I had a mystical moment.  The priest said something to the effect that the sin I had just confessed was something that he heard from penitents clear into their 90s.  Several things went through my mind at once: a) this has to be boring for you, hearing the same litany of sins over and over b) you're telling me that I'm likely to struggle with this same stupid sin for the rest of my life c) this sacrament of confession, this infinite mercy that all of us live and breathe and have our being in, it binds us all together, heals us all together, and sends us forth, all together.
• Where has God been merciful to you lately?
• How do you feel about that mercy?
• How has that mercy changed you?

• Getting it done
• When I was in High School there was this kid, a couple of years older than I was, named Bob.  Bob had this incredible ability to walk into any situation, look around, figure what needed doing, and settle in and do it.  He never drew any attention to himself, but whenever he got involved, things happened.  I think that speaks of great humility, resourcefulness, creativity, and trust.
• What needs doing in your world?
• What talents, temperament, training do you bring to the party?
• Why would you say you are taking the role that you are in that situation?
• Could you do better?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How good am I at showing the benefits of serving Jesus?
2. What spiritual battles is God fighting with me, on my behalf?
3. Where has God's mercy been in my life?
4. Where is God calling me to lend a hand?

Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Wisdom 7: 7-11
2. Psalms 90: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
3. Hebrews 13: 12-13
4. Mark 10: 17-30

• What would be like to be wise?
• Every once in awhile, I wonder what it would be like to suddenly be wealthy.  Would I buy a house in the Hamptons so that I didn't have to worry about sketchy neighbors and homeless people in the park, would I give some generous endowment to one of the charities that we support, ...  That fantasy is pretty easy compared to trying to imagine what it would be like to be wise.
• If you were wise, likely word would get out, and you would find folks coming to you for help with their lives.  How would you react to that?
• If you were wise, you would probably see your decisions, large and small, in a larger context, be more connected.  Would you like that much responsibility?
• If you were wise, would you also be kind?
• If you prayed for wisdom, do you think that God would give it/her to you?
• Are you afraid to pray for wisdom?  Maybe you should be.

• At the end of our days
• I'm beginning to realize that of the challenges of advancing age, perhaps one of the toughest is the harsh realization that I'm running out of opportunities to make good decisions.  With each passing day, my future is less malleable.
• What of your life do you regret?
• Do you think that God can transform any of that to good?
• If He is able to somehow bring good from bad decisions in your past, how does that make you feel about the decisions still ahead of you?

• I'm not sure how I feel about that
• My father occasionally would say "I'm not sure how I feel about that" when confronted with a complex issue.  As a young man, I was imbued with the confidence of the ignorant, and I generally had great confidence in my own opinions, not to mention my motives.
• Do you think that our motives have to be pure before we take action/speak up about something?
• Do you think that we have to even be aware of our often mixed motives before we take action on something?
• Do you think that God honors a prayer to Him for discernment of our own motives?
• Do you think that God can bring us purity of heart along the way as we act on His will in our lives?

• Finding freedom in the desert
• Freedom is revered perhaps above all else in our culture and perhaps rightly so.  But maybe the ultimate freedom, the one that matters most, is more elusive than we realize.  Our God is the God of infinite freedom, calling us forward into the freedom to be who we were created to be, to horizons and vistas that are worthy of us as His children.
• What are some of the things that keep you where you are?  Perhaps familiarity, family, friends, a favorite restaurant, a pathway that you have walked with a loved one many times, a fulfilling job/career that gives you joy.
• Do you find God in these things?
• What would you think if one morning, you awoke and heard God telling you that He will be with you, will be at your side, somewhere else now?
• How do you think such an awakening might happen in your life?  Maybe out of meditation, scanning the want ads, an incredible offer coming through the mail ...?
• What are the odds of something radical like that happening in your life?
• Would you be happier answering such a call?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where can I grow in wisdom?
2. How is God calling me to build on, and transform, my past?
3. Where is God transforming me as I work in His vineyard?
4. Where might I fear to be free?

Shalom!