All Saints Day

Our readings for the All Saints Day are:

1. Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14
2. Psalms 24: 1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
3. 1 John 3: 1-3
4. Matthew 5: 1-12a

• We're all in this together
• One thing that impresses me about the scenes in Revelation is that there are no small crowds in heaven.  Everywhere John goes, there are massive gatherings.  These crowds are, right this minute, cheering us on.
• Imagine that friends and family who have gone on before you are clustered around you, watching you as you pray, as you arrive at decisions, as you strive to follow God's will in your life.  Who are some of these people?
• How do you think that various ones of them would respond to what you are going through right now?
• If they were here in front of you right now, what would you ask them to pray for on your behalf?
• What might they tell you?

• Does this career make me look fat?
• No one wants jeans that are not flattering.  No one wants others to feel sorry for them, maybe because they don't have a stellar position in life, or a fabulous income.
• So, if an epic fit in your clothing, a spectacular resume, a home in Bel Air are not important to you, what is?
• Where did you learn those values?
• How do you try to pass them along to others?
• How have those values helped you in your walk with God?

• I don't know who you are anymore
• Our identity is more than just our name, Social Security Number, or parish envelop number.  True identity speaks to who we are as a person.  What life has made of us, and what we make of life.
• If someone walked up to you and told you that they have an offer for you of an amazing vocation, something that you will find completely fulfilling, demanding, and meaningful, and you have 30 seconds to tell them who you are, where would you start?
• Given the description of this opportunity, what questions would you want to ask them?
• Do you think that you deserve such an opportunity in life?
• Do you think that God finds you deserving?
• What makes you think that you are not already living that way?

• Intentional mourning
• My late father-in-law followed the news of the day, and was totally bewildered by it.  He never got over wondering what had become of his country, his world.  Nothing made sense to him anymore, and he mourned the loss of what he called "common sense."
• What do you mourn in your life?
• When do you think that you will be able to "move on" in that part of your life?
• Do you ever think that God calls us to "get over" a loss in our lives?
• What are some of the things that Jesus lost during His time here?
• Some of us find it comforting to think that Jesus can have empathy towards us.  Do you ever try to empathize with Jesus?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How is my faith getting stronger?
2. Where is my treasure in this life?
3. Who am I becoming in God?
4. How can I find more empathy?

An Old Wooden Table

A friend of mine tells me that he prays in the same place each day.

At an old battered wooden table in a corner of his garage, where it's quiet.

On that table is his bible, a notebook, a pen, a candle, and some matches.

It seems that this table belonged to his grandmother years ago,

And it reminds him of the years that he spent living with her

While his parents were going through a rough time in their marriage.

It was here that his grandmother would pray each day,

Calling on God to visit her children, guard the grandchildren,

Bring joy, peace, and holiness to the entire family.

He still felt her presence there in that table.

Thanked God for her care during a difficult time,

And found a measure of connection in the worn wood grain.

God provides doorways for all of us, all of the time.

My friend runs his hand over that old table, and touches

The time that he has spent there in prayer

    The time that his grandmother has spent there in prayer

        The love of a dear family member still praying for him even today

            The love of past generations who have gone before him

                The God of ages, the author of all love, generations, the earth, its trees

It's all so connected, it's all one, and that oneness is beautiful.

Shalom!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Exodus 22:20-26
2. Psalms 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
3. 1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10
4. Matthew 22: 34-40

• Remember who you are
• The friendless, the voiceless, the disenfranchised, the marginalized all share many things with all of us.  God calls us to empathy.  To really empathize, we first have to come to terms with the things that have happened in our lives.
• Have you ever been bullied, or had someone close to you bullied?
• How did you get through that?
• Who were the ones who helped you deal with that?
• Who are the ones in your life now who are pushed around, made to feel small and insignificant?
• What can you do about that treatment?

• Who are you calling strong?
• Strength comes in many forms.  Of course there is the physical strength of a suspension bridge, or a weight lifter.  There is the strength that comes from conviction.  Then there is a strength that comes of embracing your weakness, handing that weakness to God, and asking Him to transform that to strength in Him.
• Where does your strength come from to do difficult things, go outside your comfort zone to help a friend in need, be vulnerable to others?
• How do you see that changing as you grow older?
• Do you see your strength getting deeper with the passing years.

• I don't know who you are anymore
• The hard part about going through conversion is that we become uncomfortable with who we were, with who we were with before.  Freedom comes at a cost, and part of that cost is to leave behind a home that has grown too small for us, a neighborhood as it were that no longer gives us enough room to grow.
• How many conversions have you gone through?
• Let's define conversion as a turning point in life which draws you closer to God in new ways, changes your outlook on the familiar, and makes you far more aware of God's revelation in your life.
• How many conversions have you gone through?
• How have they (it) change you?

• Two sides of a coin
• How does a love of God find the deepest and most beautiful expression?
• How is it possible for us to love someone who is infirm, needy, depressed, and unable to give back?
• Jesus is looking for companions to be with Him on the way, now, today.  Without taking anything away from His divinity, He is asking for help, and company.  Where do you see that happening in your life?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who in my life is God inviting me to stand up for?
2. Where is God calling me to a deeper source of strength?
3. Where is God calling me to walk away, that I can walk toward Him?
4. How can my love for God ignite my love for others, and vice versa?

God Wears Leather Gloves and a Straw Hat

My son and I got the privilege of working at a Habitat for Humanity build once.

There were a myriad of things that all needed to come together that day.

The professional builders had their hands full with all of us well-meaning volunteers.

And I had to wonder whether we were making the work go faster, or not.

Safety was a big concern from start to finish.

Inexperienced or careless ones among us could have ruined the day for everyone.

The contractors there that day had their hands full keeping us safe.

And I had to wonder whether we were making the work go faster, or not.

But then I realized that the build itself was just an opportunity for us

To be in solidarity with those who could never afford a home like this.

To declare, one hammer blow at a time, that we are here with them, right now

To show them the love of God for them in human form.

I never saw the family who eventually moved in.

Maybe I don't need to know, maybe its better this way.

Because now I can feel the connection to every family seeking shelter,

Leftover humanity seeking a home, a place to invest in.

Maybe I can identify with the homelessness of Jesus

On his way to Golgotha.

Maybe I can see the eyes of Jesus in Gethsemane

In the eyes of those totally alone in this world.

Shalom!

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 45: 4-6
2. Psalms 96, 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
3. 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5b
4. Matthew 22: 15-21

• Who are you working for?
• The Jesuit perspective on creation is that it's still happening.  That is, the final destination for creation is still emerging.  And God wants all of us to take our rightful place in the process of fulfilling creation's destiny, of bringing creation to fulfillment, of bringing God's Kingdom.  Whether we know or acknowledge that or not.
• Why do you think that God doesn't share His whole plan with us?
• Do you think that it would help if He did?
• What would God have to do in order to earn your trust?  Don't be shy here.  He's actually interested.

• What if the other team is praying too?
• The ancients believed that gods were regional.  When we go to battle and beat our foes, we prove that our gods are stronger than their gods.  The fact that God is God over all should be a starting point for how we relate to each other.
• Do you think that God has favorites?  Favorite communities, favorite cities, nations, ...?
• Do you think that all of us can and should pray to God for peace, freedom, security?
• How can we be "our brother's keeper"?
  
• Who are our brothers?

• Finding conviction
• What is more important: what you believe, or who you believe in?
• Which of those two is more likely to change your actions, make you a better person, help you to help others?
• In your past, what has threatened your relationship with God, pushed it to the breaking point?
• How can you be better prepared for such trials?

• Paying to Caesar ...
• It's another major election, chock full of propositions to worry over.  A common theme is trying to prevent faulty legislation from getting written into law.  "Faulty" generally boils down to squeezing the citizenry for more money to put into the hands of politicians accountable to no one to perform services that we're not sure are a good idea.  James Dobson once called our current level of taxes "confiscatory" which is pretty dire.
• What are our responsibilities as citizens?
• What help can we count on God for in these times?
• What does it mean that Christians of good intent cannot all agree on important debate points in the national rhetoric?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can I be freer to follow Jesus?
2. How can I better celebrate that we all have but one God in this world?
3. What am I doing to strengthen my relationship to Jesus?
4. How can I be a blessing to my community, my city, my state, my nation?

Shalom!

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Isaiah 25: 6-10a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
3. Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-10
4. Matthew 22: 1-14

• We are saved
• Are you saved brother?  Growing up, the ardent evangelicals among us would start a conversation with strangers that way.  Sort of "in your face", but I'm sure that many meaningful dialogs got their start that way.  Such evangelists were always looking to find evidence of a personal relationship to God.
• Are you & God on a first-name basis?
• What has God saved you from lately?
• What is God saving you to?

• Depth of trust
• The shepherd has to earn the trust of their flock.  The sheep need to become familiar with the shepherd and his/her voice, the shepherd has to demonstrate that they have the good of the sheep at heart.  For a sheep, needs are pretty simple: protect me from getting eaten, make sure that I have food and water regularly, make sure that I have plenty of company of my own kind.
• What has God done to earn your trust?
• If someone told you that they don't feel God is worthy of trust because of the bad things that have happened to them in life, what would you say?
• How do you demonstrate to God that you trust Him?

• Whatever ...
• We all want to feel secure, that we know what's coming, that reasonable expectations like a roof over our heads, clothing, food, ... will be met.
• How much of what you enjoy today is truly essential?
• If you were able to live without those things for a day, a week, maybe longer, would that open up more options for you in life?
• Is that freedom worth the risk?

• Invitation
• God always invites us into deeper relationship with him, that never changes.  But individual invitations within that grand invitation can have an expiration date.  That dream job that God wants for you will go to someone else if you don't take it.  That person that God is calling you to help will go elsewhere if you don't reach out to them in time.
• What is God inviting you to today?
• How long have you been putting off answering that call?
• What are you worried about?
• Have you talked to God about those worries?

• Preparation for Reconciliation?

1. Where is God calling me to greater freedom?
2. Do I really appreciate all that God has given me?
3. What is one thing that really has a hold on me, on my heart?
4. Where is God calling me to greater or different generosity?

Just One Pair of Sandals

You see these home buyer shows on the TV

The real estate agent proudly ushers the eager couple into the master bedroom

Then, before they get too enraptured with that, he hustles them to the walk in closet

Where there is enough storage space to accommodate a battalion,

And the couple heaves a sigh of relief.  At last, enough room for our stuff!

And I wondered what Jacob Marley would say to such sentiments.

Would he scream "all of that, all of it is only so many chains

That you, you have forged, link by link, foot by foot,

Until your life is consumed with storing, protecting, and acquiring

Yet more things."

And they don't have to be denizens of a walk in closet

The size of a NFL locker room.

The links in those chains could be the appreciation of others,

Friendships that demand that we conform to expectations,

People that we so desperately want to impress.

What price freedom?

What benefit from freedom?

What does freedom honestly look like?

How do you know freedom when you have it?

Can freedom itself be clutched at, like a well-endowed purse?

Holy Spirit

Help me to see the links that I've forged in my own chain

Help me to break those chains before it's too late.

Help me to value the freedom that you want for me,

More than anything else in this life.

Amen.

Shalom!

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 5: 1-7
2. Psalms 80: 9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
3. Philippians 4: 6-9
4. Matthew 21: 33-43

• We are called ...
• We don't often think or even hear about God's emotions.  One entry into prayer is to ponder how your life, the way that you live it, your response to what comes your way, impacts God.
• Picture God gazing on you now.  What sort of expression is He wearing?
• Tell Him about your day, the ups, the downs, and especially where, maybe now for the first time, you felt closest to Him, and farthest away.
• Has that expression on God's face changed at all?
• Why do you suppose that is?

• Family therapy on a grand scale
• Imagine that God gently suggests to you that your relationship with Him needs some help, and that the two of you should see a therapist together to bring some healing to that relationship.  You're in the therapist's office for the first time.
• What things would you bring up?  Maybe it would be some times that you felt betrayed by God, times when you felt that God had not been faithful to you, or times that you felt that God was capricious or not steady.  Remember, you can tell this therapist anything, they are very professional.
• What do you think that God might say in such a meeting?
• Most of us are not trained in this sort of counseling, but what sorts of homework do you think the therapist might assign the two of you?

• Ask, and ask again ...
• I'm finding that prayer is transformative for us.  We start in prayer with one set of issues, one set of desires, and as we pray, we see things from a different perspective, and our prayer changes.  That cycle might happen several times over before we're done.  Maybe it never really finishes.
• What are some of the things that are going on in your life lately that you have not prayed about?
• Why not?  Were they too minor an issue, you didn't want to bother God with it, you didn't really care about the outcome that much, you were too busy, ...?
• What might have happened if you had prayed about that matter?

• To whom much has been given ...
• God's biggest miracle in circumstances of real tragedy is that He's able to transform a hardship into a growth opportunity if we're willing.  In those cases, what looked like a disaster has in it seeds for new life.  In a way, if we are willing to accept them as such, every event in our lives is a chance for growth.
• What are some of the tough times in your life where God was able to tend you, make you stronger, more empathetic, draw you closer to Him?
• What did it take for you to find those growth opportunities?
• Can you think of another way that would have been easier, less traumatic that you could have achieved that same growth?
• Why do you think that other, easer, path did not happen?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. When have I taken the chance lately to gaze on God and He on me?
2. How healthy is my relationship with God, and what am I doing about that?
3. What is one difficult aspect of my life that might bring growth?
4. Where is God calling me to be generous with what he has nurtured within me?

Shalom!

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Ezekiel 18: 25-28
2. Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. Philippians 2: 1-11
4. Matthew 21: 28-32

• Getting what's coming to you
• It's hard to watch injustice go unpunished.  One cold comfort is to tell yourself that the oppressors will get theirs in the next life.  All we have to do is wait.
• Think of someone who hurt you in some way.  Maybe it was a single action or word on their part, or maybe it was a consistent pattern of behavior that they exhibited towards you.  How do you think of them today?
• If you met this person by chance today, what would be your first impulse?
• If you knew that just one kind word from you would completely change their life around, and make them a better person, would you do it?
• Maybe it's more than just one kind word, how much might you be willing to do for that person to see them truly happy?
• How much does any of us truly deserve happiness?

• Wisdom and humility, the dynamic duo
• Many of us look back on our younger years and wonder a) how anyone was able to put up with us b) what were we thinking when we said/did those things, and c) am I really all that different now?
• What are some of the hardest lessons that you have had to learn in life?
• What made those so difficult?
• What had gone on in your life to prepare you to learn those things?
• Do you think that things you're going through now are preparing you for anything?
• What might that be?

• Being open to humility
• The hard part about putting others first is being authentic about it.  We've all met personalities who take on hardship because they have a "martyr complex" rather then a motivation of true generosity.
• Who are some of the people in your life that you routinely put ahead of your own desires?
• How did you get to that point?
• If you had an intimate knowledge of God's desires, if you had a crystal clear understanding of what God wants, how would that change your life?
• Are you willing to make any of those changes with just a fuzzy idea of what God wants?

• By their fruits you shall know them
• I'm sure that John the Baptist looked like just another nut case in a long string of such prophets to the established religious leaders of his day.  Jesus' condemnation of those leaders was that they chose to cling to what they knew, had handed down to them, rather than see the consolation that John brought, and take that to heart.
• What are some things that you are especially attached to?  Lately, we've had to give up our sanctuaries, the church music, in-person meetings of any sort, and the list goes on and on.  The question is, is any of that essential?
• In your life, how to you separate the critical, the essential from the accidental, the cosmetic aspects of your life?
• How then should you treat those non-essentials?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. Where is God inviting me to show greater mercy?
2. Where is God inviting me into greater humility?
3. Where do I need to give something up in my life, in order to draw closer to God?
4. Where is God calling me to be generous?

Training Camp

Giving generously isn't easy to do.

First there's the fear.

What I give away, I don't have for myself, my family.

Then there's motivation.

Looking at your giving as an investment.

That will yield interest in the sweet bye & bye.

Or giving as a way to wield influence.

I'll give of myself to you,

But I have a few suggestions on how you can do better.

Or using giving as a way to advance socially.

The truly generous among us occupy a stratospheric level of life,

And to be ushered into their ranks for your generosity is an amazingly affirmative experience.

But giving because it's the right thing to do.

Because it's the only thing to do.

Because it's the godly thing to do.

That's hard.

No one will hold a parade in your honor.

No one will invite you to the speaking circuit.

No plaques in the lobby to remember you.

Just consolation for the hopeless,

Just a voice for the abandoned,

Just an answer to prayer for someone who needs you.

Holy Spirit,

Grace me with trust, humility, and open hands.

That I might touch your children with your love, and not notice it.

Shalom!

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 27: 30-28:7
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
3. Romans 14: 7-9
4. Matthew 18: 21-35

• The power of giving it away
• Injustice suffered has a way of making the oppressed feel powerless.  Certainly restorative justice repairs the harm done by the perpetrator, but the oppressed has a power that no one can take away from them, no one else can exercise: to forgive.
• What calls for more strength, to forgive, or to hold a grudge?
• What calls for more courage, to forgive, or to hold a grudge?
• What gives you more power, to forgive, or to hold a grudge?
• Why?

• Kindness and mercy chillin' together
• Oftentimes, inspiration comes to us from unexpected places.  Someone who seems to have nothing in this life, is still able to be kind to someone less fortunate.  Or someone who has suffered a great wrong is still able to show mercy.
• Can you be kind without mercy?
• Can you be merciful, without being kind?
• Have you ever consciously shown someone mercy?
• What prompted you to do that?

• What are you living for?
• A preacher with an unfortunate turn of phrase once said "I get paid to be good, the rest of you have to be good for nothing" yet retirement often feels that way.  The retiree's efforts no longer get weighed in the balance, valued, and paid for, so does that work still have value?
• Who finally establishes the worth of what it is that we do?
• How do you find out that ultimate valuation?
• If you knew just what the value of your labor was, and what was most valuable about it, how would that change you?

• Gratitude changes everything
• Often we miss the chance to be godly because we don't pay close enough attention to God's example of godly behavior in our own lives.  We miss the generosity, the abundance, the awe inspiring courage and incredible sense of timing that God exhibits.
• What of God's blessings in your life are you most grateful for?
• When was the last time that you thought about those blessings?
• What do they tell you about God?
• What is the best way that you can show your gratitude for those blessings?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. Where can I find greater freedom in life by forgiving?
2. Where is God inviting me to celebrate His kindness in another's life?
3. In the final analysis, what is my life good for?
4. Where is God calling me to be generous?

Footprints in Hearts

Sometimes, the best results of our lives

Are largely unnoticed

Often not celebrated.

That doesn't make them less worthy

Or smaller in importance,

Just less visible.

The kindness of a moment can live forever,

In the heart of someone who really needed it.

The bridge to hope from an act of mercy,

Can last for an eternity.

Look for the collateral beauty

The chance to show kindness and mercy.

Look for it in the unexpected, the brief, the fleeting.

And so savor the moments of life as they pass through your fingers,

Like the sand at the beach.

Shalom!