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!

2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the second Sunday of Advent are:

1. Baruch 5: 1-9
2. Psalms 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
3. Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11
4. Luke 3: 1-6

• If you want peace, work for justice
• In 1971 Pope Paul VI published this.  In it, he provides a clear view of what peace amounts to, and how true justice is the only foundation on which to build a sustainable peace.  The two are really just sides of the same coin.
• Why do you feel that peace is a good thing?
• What of oppressive regimes?  Can they be reformed peacefully?
• What of injustices nearer to home?  How can those be mended peacefully?
• What do you think God is asking of us in light of those injustices?

• Change is in the air
• We like to think that God will reward our faith, our trust, our faithfulness with success.  We like to think that our God bestows prosperity on those He favors, and if we are not prosperous, we must have somehow missed the God boat and got left behind.
• How would you define prosper?
• Is it about making lots of money?
• Is it about being recognized?
• Maybe it's about appreciation?
• Or can you prosper by changing the world in unseen, and even unnoticed ways?
• Do you think God wants for all of us to prosper?

• A pilgrim people
• None of us likes the life of a nomad - never sure what tomorrow will bring, never sure where the next meal will come from, never sure where nightfall will find you.  We like security, safety, constancy.  But in a way, we are all nomads in this life, always called forward over the next horizon, into broader and broader vistas.
• What aspects of your life today would have surprised you five years ago, ten years ago?
• What did you used to pray for that you no longer pray for?
• What do you pray for now that you never used to pray for?
• What does that tell you about who God is making you into these days?

• King of kings
• Luke provides us two very different perspectives on the same point in time.  From the perspective of power, he tells us of a day located in the framework of kings, princes, and reigns.  From God's perspective, John's ministry is rooted in something far more ancient, and powerful in ways that earthly potentates are slow to recognize.
• Do you think God cares about all of the chaos and violence going on in our world today?
• Do you think that God wants to do something about it?
• Do you think that the time has come for us, any of us, all of us, to stand up and do something about any of what is going on around us today, any day?
• Where can you start?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where can I help bring about God's justice today?
2. What is God calling me into today?
3. Where is my prayer life taking me?
4. How might God be calling me to take a stand?

Shalom!

1st Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the first Sunday of Advent are:

1. Jeremiah 33: 14-16
2. Psalms 25: 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
3. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - 4:2
4. Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36

• Vitality in the stump
• Jesus is described as a shoot sprouting from the tree of David, telling us that the merciful God who gathered His people, guarded them, received them back into His welcoming arms over and over again, was continuing that same salvation history, with something both bold and new.
• We all encounter various of God's character traits in our lives.  How have you encountered God's faithfulness?
• How much do you count on that faithfulness of God day to day?
• How has God encountered your faithfulness?

• Formation vs. information
• One of the biggest challenges in celebrating the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is to make sure that the information serves the faith formation and not the other way around.
• What are some of the experiences, encounters with God if you will, that have shaped your understanding and appreciation of God?
• Was that revelation something that happened all at once, or over a period of time?
• Do you feel that you are still drawing deeper graces from that encounter?

• Defense against desolation
• One of the instructions that Ignatius gives his followers is that in the face of spiritual desolation (a conviction from the evil one that God has abandoned you, that you are not loved, that you are alone) that even though your prayer life may seem dry and without fruit, to not only continue what you are doing, but do it even more.
• What are your prayer practices?
• How did you come to those and not other forms of prayer?
• What is it like when you are able to pray regularly?
• How have you changed your prayer practices through the years?
• How has your prayer changed you?

• Carousing and anxiety
• A contemplative posture is not, as some would think, an escape from reality, but a deeper experience of events of the day, seeing God's hand in everything and everyone, and finding peace knowing that you are a part of a much larger plan that is even now emerging.
• What do you look forward to most?  Might it be retirement, traveling the country to see the grandkids, a family wedding, your next promotion, the 2nd coming, an uptick in the stock market?
• Of all of the things that you look forward to, which one(s) provide meaning and context for the rest?
• How do you strike a balance in your life between preparing for an uncertain and emerging future that is possibly very distant, versus the demands of today, tomorrow, next week?
• Which is easier to live: a long life or a short one?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How has God been faithful to me, and have I thanked Him for that lately?
2. How is God revealing Himself to me today?
3. Where is my prayer life taking me?
4. How might God be preparing me for tomorrow, the next day, eternity?

Shalom!

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!