5th Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 5th Sunday in Lent are:

1. Ezekiel 37: 12-14
2. Psalms 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
3. Romans 8: 8-11
4. John 11: 1-45

• Settled, yet not complacent
• Here in the United States, we often hear from missionaries how lucky we are.  It's easy to take the abundance, comfort, security that we enjoy for granted, and forget the simple fact that so much of our world is in utter turmoil.
• Can you think of any daily practices that would deepen your appreciation of your blessings, all of them?
• If your appreciation and gratitude towards God were to steadily deepen, where might that lead you?

• Trusting is hard to do
• If you had to list ten things that you trust God to do for you, what might those be?
• If Jesus were here today, what would He say to your list?
• What would you like to be able to trust God for?

• Pleasing God
• Do you think that God is pleased with you?
• How is it that you know what pleases God?
• Does any of that change over time?
• How do you find out what would please God?

• Let us go to die with Him
• I've always been intrigued by Thomas in this passage.  Jesus announces that they are going back to Judea and I can imagine Thomas shrugging his shoulders, spreading his hand in resignation, and saying "Let us also go to die with him."  Fatalistic, flawed, familiar.
• Do you think that Jesus demands perfect faith from us?
• Do you think that this sort of indifference can be a blessing?
• How can we be more like Thomas?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What in my life needs to be rescued?
2. What is God calling me to trust Him for?
3. How am I seeking to please God today?
4. How am I showing the glory of God to those around me?

Sacred Listening

Problem solver, fixer of the broken, figuring out the puzzle
Any of those would fit well on my headstone.
None of them is particularly helpful in a crisis.

But that's all that I can come up with sometimes
When another wants to share their hurt with me.
And I've learned sometimes silence is my best gift.

Silence and presence, oh, and patience.
Total commitment of all that I am
To this time and place, this here and now

So that I can share their burden
Share myself
Offer strength out of my weakness.

We see Jesus, strong, focused, full of courage,
And yet He draws comfort from his disciples
As they journey together to His death.

I wonder whether I would have been any more help
Had I been there.
Or if I would have been just as confused as the rest.

Either way, I still think that Jesus is looking for companions
To be there for Him
To companion Him.

It's hard to tell what use I'll be,
But maybe it's in the lack of any utility
That I can be the greatest help and comfort.

Jesus, I don't know why you want me by your side,
I don't know what I'll be adding to the equation,
But I'll give it a try.  I just hope that's enough.
Shalom!

4th Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday in Lent are:

1. 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
3. Ephesians 5: 8-14
4. John 9: 1-41

• Chosen
• Our culture tells us that if we work hard, show initiative and skill at what we do, that we will inevitably succeed, indeed that we will be entitled to succeed.
• Have you ever thought to ask God why it is that He chose you for some of the things that He has led you into?
• What sort of response did you get from that line of questioning?
• What sorts of things do you think God is looking for in you to make you better at your current ministries?

• Want versus need
• Advertising in our culture has become a sophisticated game of leading us around by the nose of our own avarice (I'm not bitter, mind you, just a little jaded).  We're told that we deserve a great deal in this life, essentials like flawless skin, the perfect firmness in our mattress, a 20-minute workout that will make unwanted pounds melt away like butter and the list goes on.
• What do you think God wants for us?
• How important is it that our list of wants and God's list of wants line up with each other?
• What can we do to make that happen?

• Expose
• The press, at their best, help us to hold ourselves accountable.
• But are they the only ones?
• What good does it do to call evil-doers out?
• Just who is it that we are supposed to alert?
• Does it do any good?
• Does it matter whether it does any good?

• I see, and it hurts
• These three great stories: The Woman at the Well, The Man Born Blind, and The Raising of Lazarus all share a long dialog between Jesus and those around Him.
• Why do you think this sort of conversion experience takes so long?
• In your daily life, do you find yourself in the role of the blind man's parents, his neighbors, the Pharisees, the blind man himself?
• Which role would you most like to fill?
• What's stopping you?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to let God choose me for whatever He has in mind?
2. How willing am I to trust God to provide my every need?
3. Am I willing to be prophetic wherever God plants me?
4. Am I as patient with myself as God is?

Tell it again

"Hey Joshua, tell me that story about how you got your sight back.  Jacob wants to hear it.
I'll treat the two of you to a drink while you remember that day."

"Well, there I was, minding my own business, my begging bowl already loading up nicely,
And all of a sudden, there's this commotion all around me.  They told me Jesus had come by.

At first, I figured this would be great.  Jesus draws a crowd, inspires everyone to be generous,
There I am, an obvious target of said generosity, ready to help them scratch that itch.

Instead, Jesus comes over to me and heals me.  All I had to do was make my way over to the pool,
Wash, and voila, I'm good as gold!"

"What's it been like since then?" Jacob asked.

"Lots of changes since then my friend.  I picked up blacksmith as a trade, opened a shop
Work long hours, and finally get to pay taxes on all of that income.  What a treat that is.

All because I was willing to take a chance that day, go to the pool, and wash.
It boggles my mind how differently things might have turned out if I had been afraid to go."

"And now?"

"Now, I know that Jesus is there with me, no matter how strange or unexpected life gets.
I know that He's given me what I need for whatever lies just over the horizon.

I know that, in spite of the unknown, I have nothing to fear."

"And tomorrow?"

"Who knows?  Maybe I'll do something really crazy and run for office!  It's all in where I'm led."

Shalom!

3rd Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday in Lent are:

1. Exodus 17: 3-7
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
3. Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
4. John 4: 5-42

• Gauging by outcomes
• It's natural for us to decide whether something was worth it based on how it "turned out".  You start that Masters program, you stress about it for several years, but in the end, it all worked out because you got that degree, you got that rewarding job you were born to, you met the man of your dreams at a convention that your boss sent you on, ...
• How do we know whether something "turned out OK" from God's perspective?
• If we find ourselves in a dry, deserted place, with no visible means of sustaining ourselves, is that proof that we took a wrong turn at the Nile River?

• Grateful can be hard to do
• You often hear it said that the world is full of people who would give they eye teeth to have the problems that you do.  Your job is stressful, but at least you have one, and so on.
• What helps you to be genuinely grateful in tough times?
• Have you ever gone through a phase in your life when it was hard to be genuinely grateful for anything?
• How important is that "attitude of gratitude"?

• Making it personal
• It's easy to say that Jesus died for all of us, that sounds noble, heroic.  But the thought that Jesus died for each of us is rather mind-boggling.
• Do you ever wonder if Jesus has second thoughts about dying for you?
• Would you have second thoughts if you were in His place?
• How do you think that Jesus manages to love you, in spite of your foibles and failings?
• What would you think of a person who acted that way?

• Ongoing conversion is painful
• This Sunday is the first of the three Scrutinies within the RCIA program.  Following this week we get the Gospel story of the man born blind, and then the climactic recounting of the raising of Lazarus.  In all three accounts, Jesus has quite the challenge to change people's hearts.
• Why do you think that it sometimes takes so much time and effort to help us "see" things in the spiritual life?
• Why do you think that Jesus bothers?  Why not just "zap" us with an insight along the way, rather than this painful, awkward process?
• If these revelations can go on like this, how do you know when you are done and can finally say "ah, now I get it!"

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I willing to let my life be transformed by trust?
2. What am I doing to find where I'm being stubborn in my life?
3. How is Christ's sacrifice transforming my attitude toward Jesus, and myself, today?
4. Am I patient enough to be God's presence even to those who are slow to see?

Be careful what you ask for

My aunt Sophie always said "be careful what you ask for, you might get it."
"And Jacob, what's that supposed to tell me?" asked Mirriam in the hot Sinai sun.

"I'm just thinking, here we kept crying out to God for freedom from slavery
Freedom from oppression, freedom from the Egyptians, and look at us."

"I see your point.  We're so free that the entire race of us is free to die of thirst out here.
Without anyone to even know.  How long before anyone discovers our dead bodies?"

"Maybe never.  The buzzards are starting to make me nervous as all get out.
They keep staring at us with those hungry beady eyes, like they know something."

"Do you think this might be some sort of punishment?  All the complaining we did
Maybe God just got tired of it.  Sometimes, you hurt the ones you love the most."

"Or maybe that Moses character is just as lost as we are.  I don't see him with a map.
Who elected him to lead this expedition anyway?  I'm thinking we traded one tyrant for another."

"Or maybe this is all about teaching us some things along the way.
Maybe some things like humility and trust."

"That supposes that God is at all interested in us anymore in the first place.
I'm betting He got bored with the whole thing and has moved on."

"Well Jacob, you go your way, I'm going to hope that God has something better in store,
And that He's making us ready for that better, wherever, whenever it is.

From now on, I'll thank you to keep your despair to yourself."
"Huh" Jacob snorted.  "Here all this time I thought we were friends."

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday in Lent are:

1. Genesis 12: 1-41
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
3. 2 Timothy 1: 8b-10
4. Matthew 17: 1-9

• Leaving your comfort zone
• Have you ever had to leave the familiar, the comfortable, the safe to move into something new?
• Was that always a good thing, in the long run?
• How do you define "better" when making such life changes?
• If God is leading you, is that a guarantee that it's into a "better" life?
• How do you think God defines "better"?

• Can I get the mercy without the trust?
• Complete trust is such a hard thing to achieve.  Do you think that God is able to work with 95% trust?
• Have you ever started something new, something uncertain, and kept something back "just in case"?
• Do you think that God really asks total trust of us?
• Why would He make it so hard?

• Bearing hardship
• We all have hardships, things that we have to deal with that we wish we did not have to deal with.  How do you tell which of those hardships are of God, and which are self-inflicted?
• Do you think that God brings hardships into our lives to test us, make us stronger, for the entertainment value ...?
• Do you think that God is present in, or in spite of our hardships?

• Well, when you put it that way
• Where do you hear the voice of Jesus in your daily life?
• What makes it hard to hear Him?
• What does that say about your relationship to Jesus?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I comfortable leaving my comfort zone for God?
2. Where has God been asking me to trust Him?
3. Do I trust God enough to find Him in my troubles?
4. Where/when/how do I go to listen to Jesus?

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

That if I followed Him, He would never leave me.
Which sounded well and fine, but I thought to ask:
"This presence thing, does that mean my stock picks will prosper?"

He smiled, and said "I will be with you always."
"Well, I said", if not wealth what of health.
I always fancied living long and strong.  What about health?"

He gazed upon me and said "you'll always have the strength you need."
"Need for what?  This is beginning to sound very much
Like a decidedly one sided deal here."

He stretched out his hand and said "take my hand,
Come follow me.  Wherever this journey leads,
I will be there, I will be enough, I will bear you up.

If you are truly to be my disciple,
That will have to be enough."
I thought long and hard, He was patient.

Finally I said "and what if my courage fails?"
He breathed "at the end of all your resources
Lies the beginning of real life."

Shalom!

1st Sunday in 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

• The origin of sin
• Think back to those sins that are most persistent in your life.  Do you see any pattern to them, anything that is common across those sins?
• If you could change one thing about your life in an effort to reduce the sin in your life, what might that be?
• Has it always been this way for you, or have the most annoying sins in your life changed over time?

• Victimless crimes
• The notion of a victimless crime has a lot of appeal.  If no one gets hurt, then where is the crime?
• When I commit a sin, is it always the case that someone gets hurt?
• Is that someone necessarily directly involved in that sin?
• What role do we have in repairing that damage to the cosmos?

• Amazing grace
• When I was young, we would occasionally have someone get up and "witness".  If you've never been to such a gathering, such sharing can be rather enlightening, particularly if you yourself have led a rather placid life.
• Even if you have led a relatively placid life, can you think of places where God's grace to you was "over the top" abundant?
• Was there anything that made it difficult for you to receive that blessing?
• What can we do to be better receivers?

• I don't have anything to prove
• In our culture, we're strongly motivated to succeed.
• Have you ever felt that you were, in one measure or another, failing?
• Did that experience draw you closer to Jesus and those around you, or did you feel isolated, alone?
• Do you think Jesus ever felt the weight of loneliness?
• Do you think that the two of you might have something to share with each other in that regard?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What are the occasions to sin in my life?
2. Where has God been merciful to me this past week?
3. How am I being the mercy of God to others?
4. What am I doing to prepare for the temptations that are awaiting me?

It wasn't the apple

Every once in a while, someone would start a sentence with "if only"

And wild speculation would ensue, on how much different life would be

If our first parents had not let sin into the world, and left us a better legacy.

If only Adam had been more diligent, none of this would have happened.

If only the two of them had backed each other up in the face of temptation,

If only they had not been so gullible, if only ...

If only I was more trusting, then I would be able to let go and let God.

If only I was more humble, things denied me would have no allure.

If only I was more indifferent to the outcome of things, I could hear God's voice better.

If only I had more time in a day, I could learn to relax more

Be more attentive to my family, pray more regularly

If only these pressures would relent for just a week, a day, an hour even ...

If only ...

If my image of success were to walk with Jesus day in, day out

Be there by His side to support Him with my weakness,

Sustain Him with my brokenness, share my failings, faults, and fears -

Then, maybe then, I would have the courage to pray honestly

Reach out to others deeply

And given generously.

If only ...

Shalom!

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

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

• I'd love to forgive you, but I have to be honest
• Have you ever been wronged so deeply that you could not think how you were ever going to face that person again?
• What kept you from confronting that other person and letting them know how much grief they caused?
• How can we give ourselves, and each other, permission to be more honest?

• Healing of the heart
• When God restores us, is our new state just like it was before we were injured, or something better?
• How is "healing" different (better?) than "getting over" something that has happened to you?
• Do you think that there is a place in a good Christian's life for psychological therapy?

• Becoming wise without becoming a wise guy (or gal)
• What would you think are the differences between a wisdom that is of God versus a wisdom of humanity?
• How does one gain in the wisdom of God?
• Do you think that Godly wisdom is always easy to identify?
• Why or why not?

• Toxic giving
• A friend of mine used to say to those who wanted to pick a fight with him "If you have to be right about this, then fine, you're right."
• When we extend love to those who hate us, how can we do it in a disarming, winsome way?
• If that love doesn't help the other person, what does it do to/for us?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Whom do I need to forgive today?
2. How am I sharing God's mercy with others this week?
3. Am I willing to be humble enough to be a fool for Christ?
4. How is my love changing the world around me?

Shalom!

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

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

• You don't understand
• How often have you heard a teenager lament "you don't understand" to an authority of some sort as a defense for their actions?  What does "you don't understand" really mean most often?
• Have you ever longed for someone else to really understand you?
• What did you do to help impart that understanding to them?
• How did it make your life better once there was someone else who really "gets you"?
• To what extent do you think that God "gets you"?
• Why?

• Give me a discerning heart
• How would you define discernment?
• When would you see using that gift?
• Do you think that there is a community use of discernment as well as a personal one?
• What are you doing to become more discerning?

• Maturing is hard to do
• Thinking back on earlier times in your life, have you ever wondered whether maturity is really worth it?
• What would you say is the most painful thing about maturing?
• Do you think that we can accelerate that maturing process?
• What are the benefits of genuine maturity?
• Are they worth it?

• Ignorance is not bliss
• If someone injures you, and you never make that known to them, are you being the bigger person, or are you denying them the chance to make things right between the two of you?
• Is it better to forgive them and never let them know that they have injured you, or let them know, risking that they may never ask forgiveness?
• If you decide to not tell the person who injured you, but you do

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to understand God's motives?
2. How intentional am I about my discernment?
3. Where do I want my maturing to take me?
4. What do I need to truly forgive?

The Lord loves a cheerful forgiver

To a truly bitter person, injury is sometimes the only thing they have.
Friendships have dried up through the years.
Abandonment scars their hearts.
Forgiveness seems foolish.

Real forgiveness starts with introspection.
Looking for my contribution to the whole mess.
Seeking out where I thought, acted, spoke to make it worse.
Sometimes the way to forgiveness begins with "I'm so very sorry."

It's a rare day indeed when a really first rate mess
Is a solo expedition.
Usually it requires careful cooperation between a large cast
All working together to cause true tragedy.

The conceit that you were the only innocent party
In the midst of that emotional battlefield
Should seem unlikely at best in the cold light of day.
Causing you to see opportunity in the cold gritty dust.

Maturity is at least partially about taking responsibility
For what is mine, and forgiving the rest.
Not laying everything on me, because that's easier
Than holding someone else accountable for what's theirs.

If I bear the burden, that makes me a martyr.
And everyone knows that martyrs are saints.
Or maybe you prefer to blame it all on someone else.
And cast yourself in the role of detective.

The only way to true healing is humility.
Tearing away the veil of conceit from life.
Being willing to bear the pain of confession,
And the uncertainty of forgiveness.

Humility needs to embrace trust
Before it can really shine forth
Two sides of a single coin are they
Each supporting the other.

I say pray for both at once,
And while you're at it add courage to your shopping list.
Because both humility and trust
Ask for courage pretty routinely.

No one said this life was easy.
Just that it was joyous.
Now it's up to you to find
What joy can really mean.

Shalom!