3rd Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (using the Cycle A readings) 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

• The meaning of adversity
• The children of Israel get a bad rap.  In the Old Testament reading, they make a valid point.  They are herdsmen.  If their livestock dies, they die.  So they had every right to voice concerns over water in the desert.
• Think of the last time that you went through a hard time.  Maybe it was a death in the family, loss of a job, the year 2019, you name it.  When you hit that hard time, did you ask yourself why that happened to you?
• Did you come to a conclusion?
• Do you have to come to a conclusion?  In other words, do tragedies, suffering, calamities have to make sense?
• Did that hard time impact your relationship with Jesus?
• If so, how, and why?
• Should that hard time have had that impact on you?

• Testing God
• Have you ever been angry at God?
• How did you process that anger?  Did you talk yourself out of it, were you to horrified at the though of being angry at the creator of the universe to even think about it, did you pray honestly and heatedly ...?
• How did God answer you?
• What do you think God wants of us when we are angry, sad, bruised and beaten by life?

• The power of hope
• The theological virtue of hope helps us to "keep our eye on the prize".
• At the end of your life, what do you hope to accomplish?  Give that some serious thought, and try to boil it down into one sentence.
• How is your relationship to God helping with that goal?
• What have you done today towards that end?

• The benefits of water
• The woman at the well had monumental courage.  Doubtless ostracized by her community because of her rocky marital status, upon meeting Jesus, she becomes an apostle.  I sometimes wonder whether anyone dismissed her because they had all dismissed her.
• Why is it so hard to reach out to someone in real need?  Maybe they have lost a loved one, lost their job, fallen into an addiction, ... we just never feel comfortable around such folks.
• Why does Jesus never seem awkward around those in need?
• What can you do to become more like Jesus?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can my challenges, hurts, afflictions make me a better child of God?
2. Am I totally honest with God?
3. What difference does my hope make in my daily life?
4. Who are the invisible ones the ones that I scarcely see, in my life?

Worn Stones

Whether or not this was truly the site of Jacob's well had stopped mattering to me.

I could feel the great cloud of witnesses who have been here before me,

Hallowing this spot with their hopes and fears, prayers and longings.

As they sought to find their tentative way forward.

I ran my hand reverently over the worn stones bordering the well, 

Still warm from the afternoon sun, warn smooth through the centuries.

I sat down where so many others have rested, and prayed.

Prayed that I too might see the world through new eyes.

Like the deep well before me, fear of the unknown, 

Uncertainty over tomorrow yawned.

Dark, impenetrable, yet alive with possibilities, 

If only I had the courage to plumb their depths.

I touched the hearts of those before me who have found hope here.

Asked them what drew them to this lonely place.

And where their newfound hope sent them.

And most of all, what brought them hope, when all seemed cold, still, dim, lost.

I asked myself what right I had to look for peace, joy, fulfillment,

At this point in life.

When I had already received so much, from so many, over so much time.

After all, there must be a limit to the supply of grace for any one man.

And finally, after sundown, it came to me.

That the graces that I needed now were different from what I needed earlier in life.

Now I needed strength to continue, courage to persevere, and a prophetic voice to speak.

Now I needed to finish well, no matter how long it took.

Bones creaking and sinews complaining as I stood in the cold of early evening,

I once again turned toward the town and started waling.

Ready to minister peace and solace to those lost and alone.

Ready to give hope on those who have given up.

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday of Lent are:

1. Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
2. Psalms 116: 10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
3. Romans 8: 31b-34
4. Mark 9: 2-10

• Take nothing for granted
• Survivors are never the same.  Anyone who has survived a close call with death never looks at life the same, never looks at everyone else the same.  I'm sure that Abraham doubtless never looked at Isaac the same.
• Who are some people in your life that you tend to take for granted?
• Do they have any idea of how much you appreciate them?
• How do you think that you can be more appreciative towards them?

• Finding God in afflictions
• Think of a time when you felt far from God.
• What questions did you ask of God through that time?
• What answers did you receive?
• What/who helped you through that time?
• What did you learn through that?

• Give me Jesus
• Jesus does not pay the bills, confer degrees on you, shower you with gifts, or anything else that's terribly practical.  Yet so many of us firmly believe that we could not get along without him.
• How has Jesus transformed your life lately?
• How did that happen?
• What can you do today to make sure that you are more open to His gift to you in the future?

• The blessing of memory
• I have to believe that Peter, James, & John spoke of the Transfiguration among themselves.  They doubtless wanted to make sure that they were not going crazy.  They probably wanted to know what it all meant.  They probably struggled to understand how Jesus Himself fit into that picture.
• Is there anyone in your life that you can share deep faith experiences with?
• What happens to you when you do share?
• How does that sharing change your perceptions of your experiences?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God trying to open my eyes to those around me?
2. What can I learn from suffering in the past, and present?
3. Where is Jesus looking to be my sustenance, my all?
4. Where/with whom am I sharing my faith?

Shalom!

1st Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 1st Sunday of Lent are:

1. Genesis 9: 8-15
2. Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. 1 Peter 3: 18-22
4. Mark 1: 12-15

• Redemption can be more painful
• As a child I was often frustrated when I tried to build things and they did not turn out the way that I envisioned them to.  I never blamed my tools, materials, ...; I knew the fault was somehow with me.  The question was always between three alternatives: start over and hope that I had learned something from the past experience(s), try to salvage what I had done, give up on the project altogether (I always had plenty of others in mind).
• Does God cry?
• What do you think makes God mourn?
• Do you think that there is anything that you can do or say to comfort God in that mourning?
• Is it worth it to you?

• A covenant people
• A people can be defined by history, location, culture, common beliefs, and so many more things that hold them together.  We are first and foremost, a covenant people.
• How has God shown you His ways in your life?
• Why do you think that He has chosen to do it that way?
• Do you wish He were more direct with you?  Perhaps a well-timed e-mail?

• Celebrating your baptism
• Fr. Alidore mentioned in a homily lately that we faithfully celebrate birthdays, but hardly any of us celebrate the day of our baptism.
• Who would you invite to such a celebration?
• What might you sing for the occasion?
• Every liturgical celebration is both a source and a summit.  Source of strength for what is yet to come, a summit representing where our journey has led us.  How would you celebrate where you are when you celebrate your baptism day?
• How would such a celebration prepare you for what was to come?

• Waste no words
• The economy of language in Mark can take your breath away at times.  I imagine Jesus spending His time in the desert sharpening His focus, fine-tuning His mission, shedding everything that was not going to serve the mission His Father was putting before Him.
• Is there anything in your life that you wish you could shed, that would make it easier for you to follow closer to God?
• What have you prayed in that regard?
• What about that shedding are you afraid of?
• What of your fears have you prayed about?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where can I be a companion to Jesus?
2. What of my life do I need to give to God?
3. How is my baptism calling me today?
4. Is there clutter in my life?

The Old Priest

Weary of my sins, weary of their persistence,

Most of all, weary of my weakness,

I stood in line for the old priest, 

Hoping that he would offer absolution and wisdom.

I entered the sacramental space, leaving my expectations at the door.

Sat down with a sigh, turning to my confessor and companion.

He looked at me with eyes practiced in mercy and asked:

"What troubles you my son?"

Suddenly I could feel the presence of so many desperate sinners

Who had sojourned to this very room, this sacrament,

This shrine of grace along their pilgrimage, here, and everywhere.

And I knew that we were all one on the journey, the healing, the release.

I listed the sins that I had so carefully cataloged ahead of time.

The old priest smiled and waited.

The two of us embraced the silence, and out of that quiet I heard myself ask:

"Why do I never seem to learn?  Why does victory over my sin elude me?"

Silence laid its warm acceptance on my shoulder again.

Finally the old priest said: "we've shared much here together through the years.

I think you have some clues to your own questions.

You tell me."

"These sins, they remind me that I'm no better than those around me.

More, they teach me empathy for other weary souls.

They remind me what Jesus gave me victory over.

They remind me that my strength alone is never sufficient, but always required."

He replied: "for your penance, go and find someone else who struggles with some of the same.

Give them hope, compassion, love.

Let them know that they are not alone,

That all of us, those on both sides of eternity, pray for them."

I said: "but I cannot give absolution, no sacramental grace.

I have no stunning achievements of my own with which to inspire,

No gleaming example to set before them.

Just brokenness, and growing humility."

He smiled again, with a far off look in his eye and said:
"sometimes, shared brokenness and humility are more than enough.

In the sharing are we healed and heal.

And that is what our faith is all about."

Shalom!

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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

1. Leviticus 13: 1-2,44-46
2. Psalms 32: 1-2, 5, 11
3. 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1
4. Mark 1: 40-45

• Seeing past the misery
• The role of the priest in ancient Jewish culture had many dimensions, but the most demanding of them must have been to examine a person for leprosy.  The priest knew well the implications of their diagnosis.
• In a culture that condemns condemnation, it seems that judgment of any sort is anathema.  Are we called to judge others, their actions, the consequences of their actions, ever?
• If so, what virtues ought we to cultivate before we judge?
• Why not let someone else do the judging?

• The power of redemption
• Sometimes, the worst part of suffering the consequences of our actions is the deep seated realization, maybe for the first time, that there are consequences to our actions.
• You commit a sin, hurt others in the process, realize the seriousness of what you have done, pray for forgiveness, then what do you do?
• Is it as though nothing ever happened?
• How would true healing of the community be achieved?
• What would such healing look like?

• Decision making made "easy"
• St. Ignatius articulated the root principle that governed all else here.  The more you think about those simple words, the more demanding they become.
• What have you done lately that was for the glory of God?
• What motivated you to do that at the time?
• How did that decision change you?

• Empathy
• Empathy is often painful.  Particularly if the other person is somehow different, culturally, their station in life, their beliefs, their practices, all make empathy more difficult to practice, more difficult to explain to your closest friends and family.
• Think of a time that you were going through a hardship.  Perhaps it was loss of your job, a surprise health diagnosis, collapse of an investment.  How did that affect the way that you related to others?
• Was that change in your relationships their fault, yours, anyone's?
• How did you bridge that divide between you & others?
• What might have made that easier?
• What virtue do you wish you had more of at that time?
• What virtue do you wish those around you had more of at that time?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who in my life needs me to listen to them attentively?
2. Where should I be restoring, mending, healing wounds caused by my sin?
3. What things am I attached to that hinder my relationship to God?
4. Who is God asking me to heal with my presence in their life?

Healing Touch

A long time ago, when people visited others in the hospital,

I saw a friend well into recovery from surgery.

He was a man, stout of heart, courageous of soul,

And most gentle of spirit.

"Juan, so good to see you!" he cried.

The orderly beamed as he went about tending my friend.

"How are you?  Thank you for your help.

Let me introduce you to my friend here."

And suddenly, I was ushered into Juan's circle of friends

On the recommendation of my friend.

Juan finished his work, tarried awhile to talk heart to heart, and moved on.

My old friend told me of Juan, his new friend.

Juan's dreams and goals, his hard work and uncertainty

How Juan managed to express his love in the most menial tasks

By being faithful, caring, and loving.

And I was transformed.

I have to confess, to me Juan was just another part of the hospital machinery,

Doing what he was trained to do, getting the necessary needs met.

My friend helped me see a person, beloved of God, missioned to this little corner of earth.

Just as confused and awestruck by life as I was.

And I realized that I had just received a wonderful gift:

Called forth from my own preoccupations

Into a wider, more generous space 

Where I could learn to serve so much better.

Shalom!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 45th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Job 7: 1-4, 6-7
2. Psalms 147: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
3. 1 Corinthians 9: 16-19
4. Mark 1: 29-39

• Inspiration is hard to come by some days
• It's hard to imagine a corporate motivational poster drawn from the words of Job, but maybe they would be a little more authentic than the typical fare.
• What do you expect from God in this life?  Maybe a long, healthy life, a good name among your peers, children that respect you, security, ...?
• What makes you say that?  Do you have a Scriptural or teaching basis for that belief, or do you just think that it's fair that God reward those who serve Him faithfully?
• For His part, what do you think God expects of us?

• Transforming grace
• This week's psalm was written in the wake of the return from the Babylonian exile.  The people of God had been returned to their homeland, but all was in ruins, nothing like it was before the invasion.  The psalmist sought to transform, resurrect the attitude of the People to see the greatness of God in their lives, not in spite of events, but because of them.
• Have there been times in your life when you felt overwhelmed by events, with no way to control how things turned out in your life?
• What was your at that time?  Relief from the calamities in your life, wisdom to get you through that chapter, gratitude to God for His continued presence, anger with Him for being unfair and unkind?
• How did God answer you?
• How did that prayer time change you?

• Smelling like sheep
• A true shepherd dwells among their sheep, takes on their smell, knows each one well.  As ministers of various kinds, it's easy to see ourselves as rescuers of those that we serve.  But properly understood, it is we ourselves who are rescued in the encounter.
• When was the last time that you were in need, and you had a hard time getting that need met?
• How did you get through that episode?
• Where was God in that?
• How did God meet you then?
• How can you be God's presence to someone else in their need?

• Balance
• The life and ministry of Jesus has a rich dynamic, a constant play back and forth from healing to preaching to prayer.  All three sprang from His heart of compassion for us, all three sprang from His relationship with His father.
• How does your prayer life help you make sense of the rest of your life?
• How does the rest of your life impact your prayer?
• Are you working while you pray?
• Are your praying while you work?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What can I be thankful for today?
2. Am I being completely honest with God in my prayer?
3. When was the last time that I thanked God for the people that He has me minister to?
4. What prayer work is God calling me to today?

Hello Out There In TV Land!

My students are people too.

I tell myself that several times a day, for two reasons.

One, I never see any of them except on rare occasions,

Two, teaching oversized online classes makes it easy to forget that they are individuals.

I miss seeing them face to face,

The subtle reminder that they have lives outside of class

Lives inhabited by part time jobs, a sick grandmother, younger siblings

All of which form the fabric of their lives, that they bring with them as they learn.

And I, I am such a great distance from them.

I am playing out the final years of my career,

Their professional lives are awash in potential.

My students could be my grandchildren, and they are just starting adulthood.

I need to be reminded that all of us are walking the edges of our comfort zones

Trying to gain another perspective, a different vantage point, a bigger horizon

And that makes us partners, co-conspirators in insurrection

To find better alternatives to the status quo wherever we find it.

The challenge is how to have empathy with those who ask for help

As well as those who do not

With those who have found ways to succeed in this task

And those who have not.

We are all in this together, like it or not

In a world that insists that we are competing 

For a piece of some cosmic, fixed size pie

Instead of finding ways to minister to each other.

Lord, give me the courage to meet those whom I serve

Risk learning their stories

Risk shedding tears with them

That I might serve them the way that they deserve.

Shalom!

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 4rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Deuteronomy 18: 15-20
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 7-9
3. 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35
4. Mark 1: 21-28

• The call of the prophet
• John the Baptist lived and ministered from the desert.  Moses pitched the tent of meeting outside the camp.  Jesus began His ministry fasting in the desert.  God often encounters His people at the margins, the edges away from the palaces, the comforts of the comfort zone.
• Think of someone that you regard as prophetic, someone who called others to renewal, who painted vivid pictures of a new way forward, who challenged those around them, who was bold, brave and true.
• How do you think that they got that way?
• Do you think that they felt a call to be prophetic, or was it more gradual, one step at a time?
• What do you think might have been that first step?
• Where/what/when do you think might be the cradle of prophets?  Where do such men and women come from?
• What are we, as a community, doing to nurture the prophets among us?

• What's an ark?
• Bill Cosby's depiction of God's call to Noah always rang true to me.  It's certainly how things might have gone down if I had been in Noah's sandals.  God had a specific call for Noah and Noah had to respond.
• When does God call you?  Just for the important stuff, like choosing whether to enter ordained ministry or not, whether to take that job in Cincinnati, whom to vote for for President, or does He come to us in smaller things?
• How do you listen to God on a daily basis?
• What's He been telling you lately?
• Do you ever talk that over with anyone?

• Be anxious over nothing
• Anxiety and depression seem to be conjoined twins, reinforcing each other until we are unable to move forward, unable to function at even the most basic level.
• What makes you anxious?
• Why are you anxious about that?  Is it because you do not know how something will play out, or is it because you are not confident in the final outcome, the "bottom line"?
• When we console someone and say "everything is going to turn out alright", what does that mean?  Who determines what "alright" means?  And is "alright" going to happen this week, this month, this life?
• How does trust in God relate to anxiety?
• How does trust in God relate to your anxieties?

• Heart knowledge
• The presence of God burns most brightly in the heart of a true mystic, one who has walked with God, often in silence.  Jesus' faith was framed by His Jewish tradition, but it was the time that He spent in prayer and action that ignited that tradition.
• How well do you know the heart of God?
• What around you do you think brings tears to God's eyes?
• What do you think makes God laugh?
• How would you propose to get to know God better?
• What would such familiarity with God cost you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What makes me think that God is not calling me to be prophetic?
2. How can I become more in tune with God's voice in my life?
3. Why am I anxious?
4. What is God's heart speaking to mine today?

Shalom!

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Jonah 3: 1-5, 10
2. Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31
4. Mark 1: 14-20

• Fool for God
• Prophets often have very uncomfortable messages to bring to their audiences.  The essence of prophecy is to inform the listeners of the direction, the meaning of their lives as they are living them, to provide them the broader perspective.  I think truly great prophets and poets have a great deal in common.
• Do you think that we as Church can ever have too many prophets?
• How do you tell that a prophet is authentic?
• What should we do with prophets who are not authentic?
• Is a prophet necessarily a single person?  Could it be a corporation, a community, a culture?
• Who are the prophets in your life?

• The ways of God
• It might be easier if God revealed Himself as a set of rules.  But He is so much more than that.
• Are the ways of God a set of principles?
• What are some of those principles then?
• Are the ways of God a paradigm, a perspective?
• How would you describe that world view then?
• How do you tell when you are not following the ways of God in your life?

• Everything is holy
• One thread of Ignatian theology is that God has and continues to reveal God's self through and in creation, and thus all of creation is holy.  However, how we make use of that creation certainly can be most unholy.  One unholy use is to cling to things when God calls us to let them go in favor of something even better.
• Is there anything, position, relationship, success, ability, that you cannot imagine following God without?
• Where did that/those things come from?
• Do you think that they are intrinsically eternal?
• Why do you think that God gave them to you?

• The holiness train is leaving the station
• The Gospel narratives of Jesus calling his disciples seem stark, almost surrealistic in their simplicity.  It makes you wonder what the back story was in each of these scenes.
• Last week we read that Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus.  What do you think provoked that response?
• How long do you think that either of them took to think about their respective decisions?
• What is your parish doing to bring in new disciples?
• What is your parish doing to reach out to those who have left?
• What can we do to make our assembly more attractive?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What makes me think that God is not calling me to be prophetic?
2. What am I doing to get to know God better?  Is it working?
3. Where is God calling me to let go, that I might step into something bigger?
4. What is it about me that would draw anyone to me or my faith community?

Shalom!