22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Jeremiah 20: 7-9
2. Psalms 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
3. Romans 12: 1-2
4. Matthew 16: 21-27

• If this is the way that you treat your friends ...
• Jeremiah never had good news for the people of Israel during his time.  The truth can often be inconvenient.  We express truth in our actions as well as our words.  For instance, reaching out to a forgotten member of the family when everyone else has given up on them, giving someone a second chance when everyone else says they don't deserve it challenge those around us.
• Who are some folks in your life who have impressed you with their courage?
• What do you think made it difficult for them to act/speak that way?
• If the outcome of those actions/words don't work out well, does that mean that they were wrong to do/say those things?
• How can we become more courageous?

• Gazing toward God
• We've all known devoted people.  They are the ones who never miss a First Friday, make daily Mass, they somehow find out when someone's in the hospital and they go visit them, they are the Eucharistic ministers to the sick...  You may look at those folks and think "maybe when I retire, I'll have that sort of time."
• Do you think that someone can spend too much time at Church, too much time in God's service to the exclusion of essentials like meal preparation, even earning a living?
• Is there an essential difference between someone who does parish work for a living, and, say, a doctor, or an auto mechanic if they are doing exactly what God wants of them?
• Can it be a service to God for us to take adequate care of ourselves in the midst of all of the other demands on our time?

• Transformation can be hard to do ...
• Transformation essentially takes something and radically changes it.  But there are still elements of the original left in the final result.  Limestone gets transformed into marble, plant matter gets transformed into crude oil.
• If we let him, God is transforming each of us this very minute.  When that transformation process is complete, what of the old you do you think will be left?
• When we hear that God loves us, what do you think that encompasses?  I'm hoping God's rather taken with my sense of humor.  I'd hate to come to life in the resurrection and find that was one of the things about me that had no place in heaven.
• Do you think that we might be surprised at what remains when we get to heaven?
• Do you think that it matters whether or not we know what those parts are now?

• Generosity is its own reward
• No one likes a self-determined martyr.  Oddly, this individual turns their giving around so that their giving to someone else, some group becomes all about them, rather than those who they are supporting.
• Think of someone in your life who is genuinely generous, who takes no thought for recognition, who takes honest joy in their giving?
• How do they manage that?
• What do they get out of such service?
• Where does their energy come from?
• What can the rest of us learn from such an example?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I being faithful to all that God has given me?  Am I letting my light shine?
2. What is my deepest desire, my deepest need?  Where is God in that desire?
3. Are the sacrifices that I'm making truly for others/for God?
4. How can I learn to think more and more as God does?

You'll find Jesus in room 137b

Mother Theresa always made a point of looking for the person of Jesus in the forgotten ones.
She lovingly served those with no resources, no support structure, destitute.

But what of those who have good care, who need constant attention, what of them?
Can they be somehow forgotten even in the midst of a vast armada of specialists?

Is it possible for someone to be visited by the hospitalist, the lead nurse, the physical therapist,
The dietitian, the phlebotomist, and who knows who else (all before lunch) be forgotten in some way?

And how do the rest of us reach places where the professional never seems to venture?
Reassuring the patient that they are loved, cherished, and not just cared for, but cared about.

Listening to the mumbled responses from them even though we're pretty sure
That once we piece together what they said, it still won't make any sense.

And buried in the midst of all of that need, and neediness, how to find Jesus?
Maybe the Jesus of Gethsemane, broken, exhausted, challenged -

Maybe that's the Jesus that I'm called to serve here,
Maybe that's the Jesus who I'm asked to be for them.

Shalom!

21 Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 22: 19-23
2. Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
3. Romans 11: 33-36
4. Matthew 16: 13-20

• Being an authority
• How would you define authority?
• Where does that authority come from?
• How are we to recognize true authority?
• What helps does God give us for recognizing true authority?

• You are never truly alone
• Have you ever felt abandoned by someone that you had trusted?
• Have you ever felt abandoned by God in your life?
• During that tough time, what exactly were you expecting God to do.  In other words, what made you think that He had left you?
• How did you ever come to forgive God for that?
• How would your reaction to those circumstances be different today?

• The sweat of my brow
• Some attribute the quote: "Pray as though everything depended on God, work as though everything depended on you."
• What is our part in bringing God's kingdom to earth?
• Do you think that we are all expendable, that if one of us completely fails in God's will for our lives that he'll just tap the next person in line and get the job done anyway?
• Have you ever felt a calling to do something and responded "not me God, you have the wrong number?"
• Or - Working for God
• Do you know anyone that you can say is "working for the Lord" in their life?
• What does that make the rest of us?  Maybe since people pursue hobbies during their free time, and we work for God during our free time (that is, the time that we are not working for pay), that we are reduced to mere hobbyists for the Lord.
• Or is it possible that any labor, when done properly, is for God?
• If so, what do we have to do, what must our attitude toward our work be, so that we are working for God?

• A question of identity
• Think of someone that you are close to, a good friend, your spouse, some family member.  How would you describe that person to someone else?
• What do you base that on?  If someone challenged your assessment of that person, what would you bring forth as evidence?
• How have you developed your appreciation of God's character in your life?
• What would you say is God's personality?
• Why are you drawn to God today?
• How has that changed over time?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to hold those in authority accountable?
2. How am I taking my fears, my anger to God in prayer?
3. What is God saying to me lately?
4. Who is Jesus in my life?

Yes We Are

"The body of Christ"
"Amen"

"The body of Christ"
"Amen"

"The body of Christ"
"Amen"

And so the litany went in the Communion procession ahead of me.
The chorus of Christ's Presence among us swelling with each reception.

Finally, it was just one guy ahead of me.  "The body of Christ"
"Yes we are!"

I looked the Eucharistic minister in the eye and said "I need a moment."
"So do I" she said, and we both contemplated what we just heard.

Finally, conscious of the shuffling feet behind me, we both moved on.
Both of us affirmed in our true identities before God.

Shalom!

20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Our readings for 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 56: 1, 6-7
2. Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8
3. Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32
4. Matthew 15: 21-28

• If you're happy and you know it ...
• My mother-in-law often found things that brought her joy.  I remember her frequently saying of some event or accomplishment in the family "that makes me so happy ..."
• What brings you joy?
• Does that joy stem from events, people, things, accomplishments ...?
• Does this joy that you feel last?
• Would you like something better than what you have?

• I've taken a shining to you ...
• What are some of the blessings that God has given you and your community?
• How do you think those blessings benefit those around you?
• How do you think that those blessings demonstrate the glory of God on earth?
• How does your use of those blessings demonstrate the glory of God on earth?

• Mercy me
• How would you define mercy in general?
• What are some examples of Divine mercy in your life?
• What can you conclude about someone who shows mercy?
• What mercy have you shown of late?

• Children of promise in odd places
• Humility, trust, ... what are some of the qualities that we need in order to receive God's blessings in our lives?
• What are some of the things in your life that have blocked God's blessings, His graces in your life?
• How are you removing those blocks today?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What about my prayer life brings me joy?
2. How am I being a good steward of God's blessings in my life?
3. If I asked my closest friends what it is that I gave others the most, what would they say?
4. How am I opening my heart to a wider community?

We are what we give away, and who we give it to

I had a friend, call him Jim if you will,
Who never felt comfortable giving handouts.

So, one day, he sees a guy begging,
Jim pulls over in his car and invites the guy in.

"When's the last time that you ate?" Jim asks.
They guy couldn't remember.

So they go to the local MacDonald's and draw a lot of stares,
Mostly from those downwind of Jim's new friend.

Then Jim notices the guy has no shoes,
And his clothes are pretty threadbare.

So they drive over to Choc, get him fitted out.
Not exactly ready for the cover of GQ, but better than he was.

By this time, Jim's late for an appointment,
And drives his new friend to a busy corner,

Doubtless so that he can get money for his next meal.
They part, both of them changed.

They guy says, "thanks.  My name is Robert".
Jim shares his name in return.

So, the question today is:
Which of them was more the Presence of Jesus: Jim or Robert?

Which of them is most like you?
Which of them got the most out of that exchange?

Why does any of this matter?

Shalom!

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a
2. Psalms 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14
3. Romans 9:1-5
4. Matthew 14:22-33

• The sounds of silence ...
• Elijah ended up on Horeb because he was on the run from King Ahab, his wife Jezebel, the priests of Baal, seemingly the whole of Israel.
• Has there ever been a time in your life when the day to day, the immediate concerns made it impossible to concentrate on the big picture?
• Which of those distractions was the most difficult to get past?
• How did you manage to get your concentration back onto the right track?
• Where was God in all of that?

• If you want peace, work for justice
• That quote is attributed to Pope Paul VI.
• If he had said "if you want peace, pray for justice", how would that have changed the sense of the quote?
• What do you think are the connections/dependencies between peace and justice?
• Which is more effective at bringing about peace: better military hardware, or humility?

• Friends don't let friends live without Christ ...
• Have you ever thought to yourself "that person over there would be a whole lot happier with Jesus at the center of their life?"
• When was the last time that you told someone that?
• Why does that seem/feel so unnatural?
• Do you even believe that to be true?

• Sorry Jesus, these are new Gucci shoes ...
• For some reason, walking on water seems to utterly define power and authority.
• Why do you think that Peter wanted Jesus to ask him to come on the water?
• What do you think enabled Peter to do that walk on the water?
• Why did he sink?
• When was the last time that you "walked on water" in any sense?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Which are the loudest voices in my life?  Which are of God?
2. What have I done to bring about justice in this past week in the world that I live in?
3. What have I done to bring another true happiness?
4. How much can I say: 
5. "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth." -Mark Twain

Hey, wait, at least leave your bucket!

That Peter, he never had any real staying power.
We got stuck in the middle of the lake, with a storm
Like none of us had ever seen before.

Boat shipping water faster and faster.
Meanwhile, our pathetic attempts at getting the water out
Were getting slower and slower as we tired.

Then Peter takes off after Jesus over the water.
That's fine for him, but the rest of us are stuck in this sinking boat,
With nothing between us and great beyond but our own hands and these buckets.

Every pair of hands needed for bailing.
Backs breaking from the strain,
Hope of survival ebbing with our poor foundering ship.

Skies black, waves high, wind shrieking.
Death circling us like a bloated vulture.
And Peter decides to take a walk in all of that chaos.

Then, as we watched, he started to sink along with us.
So it didn't look as though he was any better off really.
Except for that one moment of glory.

Forever after, I wondered what it was like to shed everything,
Step out of the sinking ship of life and cast myself totally on Jesus.
To feel the strong grip of His hand pulling me back to life.

Maybe it was worth the risk of losing everything,
Just to depend on Jesus and no one, nothing else.
Maybe.

Shalom!

Transfiguration of the Lord

Our readings for Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14
2. Psalms 97: 1-2, 5-6, 9
3. 2 Peter 1: 16-19
4. Matthew 17: 1-9

• I see a family resemblance ...
• I once worked with a woman who had been abused by her father as a child.  One of the effects on her was that she could never really relate to God as Father, but she finally managed to vision God as Grandfather.
• If God were to appear in human form to you, what would that look like: man or woman, tall, slender, white, black, ...?
• What would God's appearance tell you about his character?
• What about you, as His disciple, reflects His character?
• How did that come about?

• Might makes right
• The presence of a mighty king in the land is reassuring.  You know that the kingdom is well run, that someone is paying attention to the big picture, looking after their subjects.
• Looking at the world around us, what evidence do we have of the might of God as our king?
• How is God's might different from the might of earthly kings?
• How does that difference impact us, God's followers?

• Remember who you are
• When I was growing up, my father was always serving as a council member or elder.  I could go anywhere in my church, tell someone that I was Tom Brown's son, and they would be pleased to meet me.  Trouble was, I had to honor that lineage.
• Do you feel that God is pleased to call you His son/daughter?
• How does your identity as a son/daughter of God change the way that you look at things, and how you act?

• Coming in loud and clear
• What has God told you lately?
• How/when did you hear that from Him?
• What have you done in your life to enable you to listen better?
• How is that working for you?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to deepen, broaden my image of God this week?
2. How is God showing His might in me?
3. Why do I seek to please God?
4. What progress have I made in learning to listen?

Same Song, Second Verse

"Where is God children?" asked the Sunday School teacher.
Some said heaven, others, Church, still others said creation.
Finally one student, listening attentively said proudly "everywhere!"

As a young man I hiked wilderness trails in the mountains
Seeing God in the rush of streams, soaring peaks, majestic clouds
And the face of God seemed so huge, majestic, beautiful.

As I grew older and saw how all of the plants and animals rely on each other,
How they sustain and nurture each other
I began to see God in connectedness and relationships.

Later still, as I saw how easy it is to disrupt that beautiful balance
I began to see God in the fragility and shortness of life,
To find sweetness in the "here for so short a span of time".

Lately, when I see how all of us, from the ancient Sequoias to the field mice
Live, grow old, die,
I try to find God even in death and passing.

And his creation still speaks to me
As I make my way through life.
I only pray that I never stop listening, however He speaks.

No matter how much pain I witness along the way,
No matter how tempted I am to turn inward,
No matter how hard it is to hear that voice around me.

Shalom!

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 3: 5, 7-12
2. Psalms 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
3. Romans 8: 28-30
4. Matthew 13: 44-52

• Servant leadership
• Mcdonnell Douglas used to have a slogan "McDonnell Douglas, a company of leaders." to emphasize that every employee, regardless of their formal title, was called upon to provide guidance, leadership, and help to others on the teams that we served in.
• Who are some of the phenomenal leaders that you have worked with?  When I say "worked with", I'm thinking "labored along side of, to create something new out of something old."
• Do you ever try to emulate them?
• If you were going to be more intentional about that emulation, where would you start?

• I see your point ...
• My father-in-law is currently recovering in the hospital from heart surgery.  He's on the mend, but for awhile there, he was uncomfortable in several dozen ways, and I tried to think what it would be like to be in that bed, all of the tubes, the constant interruptions to your sleep, utter lack of cheese burgers, ... and it occurred to me that what I would want most from those in the room with me would be empathy.
• Think of some time when you reached out to someone in real need.  What was the hardest part about that outreach?
• How did that connection change them?
• How did it change you?
• How might you have done better in that situation?

• The family resemblance is striking ...
• You tell someone that you have known for some years that you are a practicing Catholic.  And then, who knows why, you ask them to tell you what they conclude about the nature of the God that you worship from what they see in you.
• What would the first characteristic that they might mention?
• Is that what you really want to convey about God from your life?
• How then should you live?

• I can tell that the hand of God rests upon you because ...
• Historically, people have used various means to tell whether God favors someone.  Good health, great stock portfolio, even beauty have all been thought to indicate the favor of God on a person.  What would you say marks someone who is particularly close to God?
• What does that tell you about God's values?
• What does that tell you about your values?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to become more wise?
2. How am I meeting those in need in my life?
3. How am I fulfilling my destiny?
4. How much do I treasure my relationship with Jesus?

Two-edged sword

A young man dreamed a dream, both terrible and real.
In the dream, incense filled the room, and God himself stood before him.
God asked "from deep in your heart of hearts, what do you want most?"

A thousand things came to mind: the admiration of his coworkers,
Success in all of his business dealings, even the love of his wife and children.
But what he finally settled on was wisdom, remembering Soloman.

"Done!" said the voice.  Then, ominously, "Maybe you should have thought a little harder."
The man woke up the next morning and wondered about the dream.
Went to work as was his usual, thinking about what he remembered.

Getting coffee that morning, it occurred to him to wonder how that coffee got there.
He looked up the brand and found that the native farmers who grew the beans
Were remorselessly exploited until they died of overwork and malnutrition.

Just then, a fellow employee, who had been a thorn in the man's side
Came rushing in with some new objection to the way a project was going.
The man invited him in, asked him to sit down, asked what the problem was.

Along the way he heard more than just a simple office issue, but deep pain.
Finally he asked how his colleague was, and found that the other's wife was dying
And that this colleague felt so alone and frightened.

Later, in a meeting, during a discussion that had raged for weeks, the man asked innocently,
Why he could not remember anyone bringing input from Marketing to the discussion.
The room fell silent, finally someone said "everyone knows that would just slow things down."

And so it went.  Finally, exhausted, the man got home to his family, and he immediately saw,
That his wife was exhausted as well.  Without a word, he began to address what needed doing,
Promising himself that he would relax over his customary beer a little later.

Dinner served, the blessing said, his wife looked at him over the heads of their children and asked
"How was your day dear?"  Thinking back on all of the strange thoughts and occurrences he said
"I've never felt more alive, challenged, and aware in my life.  I don't know what's happened."

That night, in another dream, the room filled with incense again, this time the voice said
"So, what do you think of wisdom as a gift?  Would you recommend it to your friends?"
The man replied "making decisions is so much harder than it used to be."

"The pain of others is so much more apparent.  The consequences of what I do and say,
They are all painfully obvious where before I never stopped to wonder, to question.
Life is so much harder this way.  I hardly know what to do with myself anymore."

"Sounds like a good day to me."  Said the voice.  "Care to go another round?"
"I need help living this way.  If I were to pray for just one more gift,
So that I could make better use of this wisdom that you've given me.  What would that be?"

A deep chuckle resonated through the room.  "It would give me joy to give this to you.
Just say the word and it's yours.  But if you think wisdom is tough,
This next gift is even more challenging."

"And what would that be?" The man asked with a tremor in his voice.
"Humility"

Shalom!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 55: 10-11
2. Psalms 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14
3. Romans 8: 18-23
4. Matthew 11: 25-30

• Fruitful or going to seed?
• What are some characteristics of someone who's led a fruitful life?
• What are some of the fruits that your life has born?
• Were those the fruits that you expected?
• Are they better than the fruits/results that you expected?

• The ultimate source
• What are some of the accomplishments that you are most proud of?
• What portions of those accomplishments were pure gift from God?
• What portions of those accomplishments were totally your contribution?
• How do you tell?

• The meaning of suffering
• Is suffering essential to our growth?
• What is it that suffering can teach us?
• How can we be more open to those lessons?
• How can we best help those who are suffering?

• Listening to more than words
• What do you think others who are close to you have learned from your life, the way that you have lived it?
• What would you like for them to lean from your life?
• How can you get that message out better?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What fruit am I bearing for God?
2. What do I have to be thankful for this week?
3. How am I growing this week in faith?
4. Based on my prayer life, how would I describe Jesus?

Tombstone by committee

An old man wanted to find the sum and substance of his life before he died.
So he gathered his closest family and best friends, and asked them to write his tombstone for him.

He was discouraged and depressed.  His health was beginning to fail, his mind to dim,
And he wondered whether it had all really amounted to anything.

He told them not to confer with each other, but to simply write a few words of summary
And then turn them in for the man to review and turn over in his heart.

His wife of 62 years wrote "He loved even when it hurt to do so."

His daughter wrote "He knew how to make room for healing silence."

His son wrote "Dad learned that you can't fix everything, and sometimes presence is the best thing."

His manager wrote "Somehow, always found him in the right place at the right time."

A coworker wrote "The humblest man I ever knew."

One of his fellow ushers wrote "In three seconds flat, he made you feel like family!"

One of the kids that he had coached in soccer wrote: "He taught me how to truly listen and learn."

The man looked over these expressions of thanksgiving and realized how blessed he had been.
To have had so many opportunities to give himself away, and to have had so much to give.

Shalom!