14thSunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary are:

1. Ezekiel 2: 2-5
2. Psalms 123: 1-2, 2, 3-4
3. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10
4. Mark 6: 1-6

• Appreciation is over rated
• Who does not want to be successful?  And a sure measure of success is how well we are received, affirmed, appreciated.  But all that God desires of us is that we are willing to serve.
• If you suddenly stopped receiving tokens of appreciation for your service, be they thanks, your picture in the parish directory, even a stipend, would you begin to doubt your calling to that ministry?
• If human appreciation for our work is an uncertain barometer of how God sees our work, how do we tell if we are in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing?
• Is it necessarily a bad thing to feel lonely in your ministry?

• For the greater glory of God
• Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation makes the case that the truly humble person is able to accept complements graciously because they know without a doubt that the complement goes straight to God who made us all.
• What are you proud of in your life?  Maybe its professional accomplishments, the respect of your peers, the respect of your family (often much harder to earn than respect from your peers), things that you have learned ...
• How often do you thank God for those?
• Why do you think that is?

• Dealing with the baggage
• We all carry baggage in our lives.  Maybe is the sting of divorce, or resentment over suddenly losing a cherished job, maybe a friend who betrayed you when you needed them the most, maybe just general disappointment that life didn't turn out the way that it was supposed to.
• If someone asked you for a catalog of the baggage in your life, would you be able to list those things pretty quickly?
• Is that from steady practice listing your baggage?
• If you don't feel as though you are carrying baggage, why is that?  How did you resolve/heal from those experiences?
• Where was God in those experiences, and your healing from them?

• The power to grow
• None of us like change, particularly in those around us.  When they grow, deepen, mature, it either inspires us to do the same, or intimidates us.
• Who are some of those from your life who have really matured over the years that you have known them?
• How did they manage that?
• What might you learn from them?
• Do you think that it's too late for you to grow/change?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Why am I afraid of losing other's approval?
2. Where is God calling me to more gratitude?
3. How can I find more healing in my life?
4. Where is God calling me to grow beyond my comfort zone?

Coming Home

The journey home was a long one.

At first the young inventor wanted to show them all,

That he was more than they had seen in him as a youth,

That he had realized the potential that no one saw.

Then he realized that wasn't what he was after.  

What he really wanted was for them to appreciate his accomplishments,

To realize that he had potential long years ago when they knew him,

And it just took some hard work and courageous mentors to awaken it.

Then he realized he didn't really care what they thought, then or now.

What he really wanted to to show his old crush what a great opportunity she passed up.

And let her know that her rejection of him had inspired rather than beat him,

And maybe give her a genuine "thank you" for being honest.

Then he realized that he didn't really have anything to prove to anyone.

Instead, he wanted to reconnect with the frightened young boy that he was so long ago,

Embrace that young man, let him know that he was treasured and complete,

And let him know that he had always been loved, never left behind, 

Just forgotten for awhile.

Shalom!

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary are:

1. Wisdom 1: 13-15, 2:23-24
2. Psalms 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
3. 2 Corinthians 8, 7, 9, 13-15
4. Mark 5: 21-43

• Creation emerging
• Creation can be destructive.  Hurricanes, drought, unseasonable cold, earthquakes and many more events can cause huge devastation and death.  All of these events and more are labeled "acts of God" in insurance circles to signify that no human agent is the direct cause, so there is no one to litigate when trying to get compensation for damages done.
• Think of some inexplicable tragedy in your life.  Maybe it was the loss of a loved one, unexpected loss of a job, ...  What did you conclude about God from that?
• Was your trust in God shaken by going through that trial, or was it maybe just reshaped?
• How has your trust toward God changed through that event, and others in your life?
• Has that been a good thing?
• Do you think that change might have happened otherwise?

• Mourning into dancing
• Rescue is a potent word.  It conjures up images of desperate people about to be engulfed by flood or fire suddenly plucked from disaster by daring heroes risking their own lives to save others.
• What are some things that God has rescued you from?  Maybe not a fire or flood, but maybe He's rescued you from being self-centered, or judgmental, or an addiction ...
• How did that rescue take place?
• What was your part in that rescue?
• What might God be anxious to rescue you from today?

• School of generosity
• I think that many of us fear the "bottomless pit" syndrome.  You probably know it by another name.  You see someone in need, maybe it's a homeless person parked near the freeway offramp, or someone that you see at church every Sunday, always all alone, and you perhaps feel like reaching out to them, but you ask yourself, "what are they going to ask of me?  Where will it end?  How will I know that I've done all that I can/should?"
  
• If someone came to you and told you "I want to learn how to be generous towards others" what would you say to them?
• Maybe you would get them involved in an existing program at your parish.
• Maybe you would tell them to start using their envelopes on Sunday.
• Maybe you would tell them to start praying for guidance.
• Is there any way to practice generosity so as to get better at it?
• What does better generosity look like?

• Do you see me?
• Deep need can isolate us from one another.  The one in need can find themselves totally defined by their needs, unable to give to anyone else.  Those others fear deep need because they think that they have to somehow fix things, at least help in some material way.
• Think of someone that you reached out to in need.  Maybe they had lost a loved one, or they were new in town and didn't know anyone, or their car broke down and they had no idea of how to get needed repairs.
• What were your fears at the time?
• Did any of those fears come true?
• Did it matter?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Why am I afraid?
2. Where is God transforming a tragedy in my life?
3. How can I be more generous, and more effective in my generosity?
4. Where is God calling me to reach out to another today?

Shalom!

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary are:

1. Job 31: 1, 8-11
2. Psalms 107: 23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
3. 2 Corinthians 5: 14-17
4. Mark 4: 35-41

• Creation emerging
• One theme of Ignatian spirituality is that creation is not over yet.  God continues expressing, revealing, celebrating His creative self in us and all of creation in an ongoing basis, and that God invites us into that process.
• Looking back over your life to date, can you name any places/times/events when you can say that God was creating in and through you?
• How did that feel at the time?
• How does it feel now?
• How do you think that you can help God help you to be more creative?

• Houston, we have a problem
• Losing control is never easy, no matter what your personality type might be.  But sometimes that's the key to moving forward, becoming a better version of yourself.
• What were some of the worst fears that you've had over the years?
• Did you feel that God was going to be by your side through those times?
• Was He?
• What difference did that make?

• Paradigm shift
• Falling in love can be more than mildly disorienting.  Suddenly the very air you breath is alive with perfume, light permeates the fabric of your existence, you suddenly see the good in that cranky neighbor that you have disliked for years, and you have a whole new reason to get out of bed in the morning.
• Maybe "coming to Jesus" is not quite so dramatic.  Maybe the shift from merely surviving to glorying in the eternal Now of serving God takes a little more time.  But the implications are no less dramatic.
• What is the single biggest change that God has made in your life?
• How does that work itself out in your life today?

• At least show that you care
• There is no way to tell for sure, but I have this theory that Jesus was just faking being asleep in the stern of the boat.  He was waiting to see how long it would take before His disciples would panic.
• Do you ever wonder if God cares?
• Do you think that He has a funny way of showing His love for us?
• Do you ever bring that up in prayer?
• What does He have to say for Himself?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God calling me to create today?
2. Where can I be less controlling and still be fully alive to the possibilities?
3. Where is God calling me beyond the confines of my comfort zone?
4. Where do I doubt God's care for me?

Best Possible Outcome

Do you not yet have faith?

Faith for what is what I ask.

Those disciples on the lake with Jesus were no strangers to water.

If they were afraid, I'm pretty sure that I would be too.

Were they supposed to have faith that Jesus would somehow come to in time to save them,

And they would all make it to shore in one piece?

Or maybe He expected them to still the waters on their own,

And leave Him to a well-deserved, but doubtless soggy nap.

Or maybe they were to have faith that another boat, hopefully larger,

Would come to their aid and rescue them from the storm.

Or maybe their faith was supposed to be that God would care for them somehow

And totally leave the details up to Him.

Or even, sorry to tell you this fellas, but today is it for you.

Your tour of duty as a disciple is over.  Good job.

Whatever Jesus meant by His question, my answer is going to be

"I'm working on it.  Give me some time."

Shalom!

11th Sunday in Ordinary TIme

Our readings for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary are:

1. Ezekiel 17: 22-24
2. Psalms 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
3. 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10
4. Mark 4: 26-34

• New beginnings
• This prophecy in Ezekiel came to the people of Israel in exile in Babylonia.  In this prophecy, God promises that He will always be faithful to His people, that He is the one constant in their history.
• What are some of the constants in your life, things that never really change, that you can count on?
• What do those constants tell you about our God?
• What do they tell you about yourself?

• What are you thankful for?
• Genuine thankfulness is actually harder than it looks.  The self-serving Pharisee who thanks God that he is not like other people, or even that tax collector over there, is an easy trap to fall into.
• What are you thankful for today?
• Is that any different from what you were thankful for yesterday?
• What would you like to be thankful for tomorrow?

• Spiritual beings having a physical experience
• We speak of the dead as "gone home to Jesus" which is a good reminder that we are not home just now, we are on a pilgrimage whose beginning and end are shrouded in mystery, and wonder.
• Picture yourself on your deathbed.  Family and loved ones are gathered around to see you off.  Oddly, everyone there, yourself included, are at peace.  In that gathering is a precocious child who asks you to recall your favorite memory.
• What would that favorite memory be?
• What would it take for your favorite memory from your life to happen to you today?
• What's stopping you?

• Stay in your lane
• We have all heard that phrase.  Usually it serves as a warning to pay attention to our particular job, and leave the rest to others.
• If God is ultimately responsible for the success of our ministries, just what contribution do you make?
• How successful are you at leaving God's responsibilities up to God?
• Are you any better at that now than you were 10 years ago?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What is God calling on me to count on Him for today?
2. Where is God in my life that I might not be noticing?
3. Where is God calling me to be bold?
4. Where am I trying to take over for God? 

Shalom!

Corpus Christi Sunday

Our readings for Corpus Christi Sunday are:

1. Exodus 24: 3-8
2. Psalms 116: 12-13, 15-16, 17-18
3. Hebrews 9: 11-15
4. Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26

• Belonging everywhere and nowhere
• The Israelites gave up a settled life in Egypt to become nomads in the Sinai desert, with no settlements, no cities, no walls, no vineyards.  And yet they belonged, not so much to a place, but to a people, and to their God.
• What/who/where do you belong?
• When did you first realize that?
• Is this where you have always wanted to belong?
• How can you be more welcoming to others from that place of belonging?

• Promise fulfilled
• Jesus promises to be with us in many ways, but the most intimate of those Presences, perhaps the font of all of His Presences, is the Eucharist.
• How has your celebration of the Eucharist changed you over the years?
• What are some things that make it difficult for you to be truly present in, to, and through the Eucharist?  Maybe you have young children who are a distraction, or a demanding job that you have a hard time leaving behind for an hour each week, or a situation at home that you cannot figure out how to resolve.
• Is it possible that Jesus could transform any/all of those into a cause for celebration, a door into deeper relationship?

• Cleansed
• There are many comparisons made to help us understand sin.  One is to term it a stain, suggesting a stubborn presence that gets into clothing and just will not let go.  Or, more dramatically, Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1 where Lady Macbeth obsesses over her complicity in the murder of the king as she washes her hands saying "out, out damn spot".
• What are some of the effects of sin in your life?
• Is all sin that effects you strictly your own, or is there a corporate dimension to sin?
• What might your responsibility be with respect to that corporate sin?
• What are you doing to journey with Jesus to heal the effects of sin?

• It takes a village
• If you think about it, there is quite the cast of unseen characters at the last supper.  The householder who owned the upper room, those who baked the bread and made the wine for the meal, those who farmed and harvested the grapes and the grain, the generations of the sons of Abraham who passed the Passover down through the centuries, not to mention whoever took the photo that Leonardo De Vinci used for his epic painting :-)
• How does your celebration of the Eucharist connect you to the rest of the community?
• How can that connection be celebrated better, deeper, more intentionally?
• When we are sent form the Eucharist, another set of connections are made between the Presence that is within us, and the Presence that is in the community around us.  How can we be more present to the meeting of those two Presences?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Am I where I really belong?
2. Where is the Eucharist inviting me to journey?
3. Is my prayer life a healing presence to anyone?
4. Where am I supporting greater unity among God's people?

Blessing

The old church at the edge of town,

Stood there, as always, leaning against the blue mantle of the sky behind it.

As though they each relied on the other for support after all of these years.

The old graveyard behind, with its assembled congregants

Out numbering the living who raise their voices of a given Sunday,

But still present, none the less.

I paused as I walked past to bless myself as I had a thousand times before.

Saluting the Presence within, gift from Eucharists celebrated in the past.

And I saluted all of the celebrations, hugs, tender touches here throughout the years.

I thanked those who have gone before me, before us.

Who bore witness to and tabernacled that sacred Presence

Who has been our faithful companion all of these years.

I thanked those generations before our generations from shores unknown

Who sent their sons and daughters to this continent through the years

In hope for freedom to celebrate the Presence that they loved.

I thanked Jesus for His courage in trusting His heart to fickle humanity.

Who gave and gave without telling, so that we might tell of his generosity

To anyone willing to receive His Presence.

And in that broad sweep of faces, continents, and centuries,

I wept for all those who never knew how much they were loved,

Who never knew that though they wandered like Moses in the desert,

They all belonged, every one.

 

Shalom!

Trinity Sunday

Our readings for Trinity Sunday are:

1. Deuteronomy 4: 32-34, 39-40
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
3. Romans 8: 14-17
4. Matthew 28: 16-20

• Everything is changing
• When the children of Israel first set foot in the Holy Land, it must have been scary.  Everything that an entire generation of their people had so painfully learned was about to become obsolete as they moved from a nomadic existence to farming and ranching.  Moses needed to remind them that in spite of all of the changes, some things were staying the same.
• What about God will never change?
• What about God is ever new?
• How is that shaping you?

• Made to serve
• I've observed before that Ignatius' principle and first foundation sets all of creation in the context of serving God in this world, and calls us as His children to use His gifts accordingly.
• What gifts do you have that you would like to use better, more effectively?
• What do you think of when you say that you want to be more effective in life?
• What does it mean to be a success in this world?
• How do the things of this world contribute to that success?

• Chosen
• Our experience of God is often filtered through our experience of others in our lives.  Those coming from abusive homes or parents who were largely absent have a hard (understandably so) time relating to God as their Father.  And yet, God continues to come to us in and through experience.
• Imagine yourself coming home from a long day.  The frustrations and calamities of the day weigh heavily on you, but you know your spouse doubtless has stresses and frustrations of their own.
• Imagine that you walk in the front door, and God Himself is waiting, with a suitable beverage in hand, to greet you and make you comfortable.  You begin to tell Him about your day, and you catch yourself up short, and tell Him that you're sure that He has other things to do.
• He leans over, pats your hand, and tells you that He has nothing more urgent at the moment than to hear from you, maybe provide you a different perspective, give you peace.
• Finally, you finish up, and God quietly asks "can I take a few moments of your time, and talk to you about the day I've had, particularly as it pertains to your neighborhood?
• How does that make you feel about your relationship with God?
• How long would you be willing to spend like that a day?
• What's stopping you?

• The divine dance
• Richard Rohr publishes daily meditations that I have found helpful.  The one for Pentecost Sunday can be found here.  There Fr. Rohr draws a distinction between uniformity and unity.  I suspect that the members of the Trinity enjoy a unity between them, and amazingly enough, they extend an invitation to each of us to the same unity.
• What do you think unity buys us as followers of Jesus?
• How much, and what kind, of diversity does that unity allow for?
• How can we achieve better unity without losing important and precious things along the way?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can I improve my attitude toward God's blessings in my life?
2. How can I be more generous with myself to others?
3. Is my prayer life working?
4. Where am I supporting greater unity among God's people?

Shalom!

Pentecost Sunday

Our readings for Pentecost Sunday are:

1. Act 2: 1-11
2. Psalms 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
3. 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13
4. John 20: 19-23

• Speaking my language
• When I was young, we heard a great deal about the Wycliff Bible translators.  Their mission was to put the Word of God into everyone's hands, written in their native language.  Which was quite an ambition, particularly for languages that had never been written before.
• What are some things that make others different from you, that make it hard to minister to them?
• Age
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Depth of need
• Emotional state
• ...
• When someone tells you that no one understands them, what is your first reaction?
• How could you be more understanding?
• Is that worth it?

• The earth is full of God's creatures
• The earth's biodiversity is mind-boggling to think about.  The environments, some very harsh by our standards, where plants and animals can survive, even thrive, the variety of living creatures on the earth, the amazing ways that they cope with the challenges of their environment, are all breath-taking.
• Why so much diversity?
• Do you wonder if God is just showing off?
• Do we really need every one of those species?
• What does it really mean for us to be stewards of this land that we inhabit?

• Are you gifted?
• All of us want to feel "gifted", extraordinary in some way.  Secretly, we all wish that we had some sort of a superpower that made us stand out, helped to define us.  Herbert Alphonso, S.J. has a wonderful little book: Discovering Your Personal Vocation that tells us that all of us are gifted, all of us unique, that each of us has a name given us by God alone, and that this name is as much a part of us as the color of our eyes.
• What is your name?  It might be "healing presence", or "the goodness of God", "God with His people", "voice of the afflicted", "supporter of the forgotten", or ...
• How are you living out that sacred name in your life?
• Are there changes that you need to make so that you can be more true to your name?

• The glorious wounds
• Ronald Rolheiser has a wonderful meditation on St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross here.  Jesus shows His disciples His wounds, not as some sort of masochistic ID card that He has to flash, but an astonishing revelation about resurrection.
• When you think of the word healing, what comes to mind?
• What are some things that have happened to you that you crave healing for?
• What would you be like if you were healed of that?
• If Jesus were before you, in the flesh, right now, and He told you that you could be healed of that, what would He ask of you?
• What's stopping you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Where is God calling me to meet someone different from me?
2. How am I thanking God for His gifts to me and my community today?
3. Where is God inviting me into my true name?
4. Where is God resurrecting me?

Shalom!