8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 27: 4-7
2. Psalms 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 54-58
4. Luke 6: 39-45

• The potter's kiln
• Richard Rohr says that we never get in touch with our real self until we have been through great loss and/or suffering.  Part of me hopes that he's wrong.  Part of me hopes that my real self isn't really all that important.
• When have you felt tested by some sort of loss or suffering?
• Did you get better, or bitter?
• Why do you think that that experience affected you that way?
• Would you react any differently to that today?
  

• Bearing fruit in old age
• I have lots of things that I never had as a younger man: a bald spot, wrinkles where I didn't even think that you could wrinkle, more and more joints that click, and the list goes on.  I hope that I can look forward to different sorts of fruits as I venture deeper into my golden years.
• What are some of the fruits that God has brought about in your life?
• How did those come about for you?
• Were you looking for them?
• How are those fruits blessing those around you?
  

• Labor in the Lord
• What are some of the things that you have labored over in your life?
• Looking back on that labor now, was it really worth it?
• Is it worth it because of what you accomplished, or who/what you became along the way?
• How do you know if you are, or have been, laboring in vain?
• Is it enough for our labor to just put food on the table?
  

• Soul friends
• Friends are essential.  They bring out the best in us, sometimes in spite of us.  But finding really good friends can be hard.  Nurturing friendships has to be intentional.  A soul friend is someone who you can share deeply with, and whom you trust implicitly.
• Who is someone in your life that you would term a soul friend?
• What is it about them that helps you on your walk with God?
• Have you ever thanked them for that?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to embrace loss or suffering in my life?
• Where might God be calling me to bear new/different fruit?
• Is my labor at all fruitful?
• Are all of my relationships really good for me?

Your Inheritance

The old man had died poor. 
He had never held on to much.
Instead, he gave it all away.
Saying "you can't take it with you.
So why bother so much now?"

To the first son, he gave a fishing pole.
"Learn to relax a little each day"
Said the attached card.
"And you'll never go to bed with regrets."

 Disappointed, the son left in disgust. 
For his wealth was vast,
And his worries even larger.

The second received a journal.
"Write what you are grateful for."

But the young man would have none of it.
Because he never had enough.

The third son received a smooth, round, pebble.

Seeing it, he clutched it to his chest and sobbed.

"Dad and I would search the stream banks
For the smoothest stones, the ones tumbled by the currents
Until all of their rough edges had worn off.
Until they had become beautiful in the hands of God
Worn and embraced in a thousand trying times and seasons.

And now here he is,
Showing all of us the beauty of trials, the love found only in turbulence."

Shalom!

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. 1 Samuel 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 45-49
4. Luke 6: 27-38

• Trust is a path where there is none
• Trust in God is something that we all want.  We know that, with that trust comes hope, and with hope comes peace, and peace leads to a joy that is unstoppable, no matter how dire circumstances might get.
• Have you ever found it hard to trust God?
• What did you trust Him for?  Was God supposed to make something bad go away, restore something to you that you had lost, bring healing of some sort, prosper the work of your hands in some way, bring you closer to himself?
• Did God come through for you?
• What did that tell you about God?
• What did that tell you about you?
  

• A father's compassion
• A father's compassion can be a powerful thing in our lives.  Looking into those eyes that know you so well, that cherish you for all that you are this very moment, that longs to hear from you where your road has taken you, with all its joys and disappointments.
• What makes you think that God has compassion for you?
• How does that compassion make you feel about God?
• How does that compassion make you feel about yourself?
• Do you ever wonder if God would like compassion from you?
  

• The image of God
• What do you think it means that we were formed in the image and likeness of God?
• How do you know if you are fulfilling that destiny, being the image and likeness of God?
• Can you think of a time/event when you were able to fulfill that destiny?
• Was that hard for you?
• What did that experience teach you?
  

• The lure of judgement
• Judging others is easy.  And sadly, it only gets easier with age.  After all, if someone else is noticeably different from you, they must either be ignorant or mistaken.  Otherwise, they'd be just like you in their perspectives, actions, attitudes.  Judging others cuts us off from them, makes it impossible for them to really hurt us.  Especially when that other is God Himself.
• Has God ever done something unexplainable in your life?
• How did you come to terms with that experience?
• Did that change how you looked at God?
• Did that change how you regarded yourself?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me step even where there is no way forward?
• Where might God be trying to reveal His father's heart to me?
  
• What of God might others see in me?
  
• Where might I be judging others?
  

Shalom!

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Jeremiah 17: 5-8
2. Psalms 1: 1-2, 3, 4, 6
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 12, 16-20
4. Luke 6: 17, 20-26

• Staying connected
• The need for water is universal among living things.  We all need that simple substance in abundance, and it has to come from the outside.  We are unable to manufacture it ourselves.  And in a very similar way, we rely on God to fulfill us, whether we realize that or not.
• Who are some folks who have nourished you during your life?
• How did their lives enrich yours?
• Do you feel that you have been able to pass any of that enrichment along to others?
  

• Where is your hope?
• What do you hope for in the future for yourself, your family, your various communities?
• How do you think any of that is going to happen?
• Where did you get that hope?
• Do you feel that God has the same hope?
• Why do you think that you have that hope?
  

• Transformed by resurrection
• I wonder whether the resurrection is an ongoing journey in a similar fashion to the incarnation.  Yes Jesus came at a specific point in time, and ascended to the Father at a specific point in time.  But that incarnation is far from over.  It happens every time someone applies a healing touch to the traumatized, or shares God's presence with the afflicted.  Maybe our resurrection is happening even as we speak, we are being transformed into that eternal us that Christ has made possible.  I could be wrong there ...
• What are some transformations that you have undergone in your life?
• Would that have been possible if you were not looking forward to the resurrection?
• What would you like to achieve/be by the time that you are loved into eternity?
  

• Blessed are those who mourn
• What makes you mourn in your life?
• How do you think that God feels about that sorrow in your heart?
• If He cares so much for us/about us, how could he have let that happen?
• How would you like to find comfort for that sorrow in your life?
• How can you start making that happen?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to deepen my connection to someone else?
• Where is my hope found?
  
• Where is my own resurrection coming to light right now?
  
• Where might God be calling me deepen my trust in Him?
  

  Give me Eyes to See

Lord, grant that I may see more clearly.

See that which is really important.

And that which is just flash and bang.

 

Help me to count on you alone.

In my every moment of need.

And not be distracted by all else.

 

Give me gratitude for what you give me.

Release me from my envy of others.

That I might be free to see your abundance.

 

Help me trust in you and you alone.

For my safe passage day by day.

That I might be bold and courageous in Your service.

 

Give me ears to hear the cry of the poor.

Even above the clamor of the superficial.

That I might lend a hand and heart where they are needed most.

 

Give me eyes to see that you are all that matters.

That nothing else will stay.

That nothing else is worthy of my adoration.

 

Shalom!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8
   
2. Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
   
4. Luke 5: 1-11
   

• Finding your calling
  
• True humility helps us to know when to ask God for help, versus a) thinking that we can go it alone (presumption) or b) waiting endlessly for resources/gifts/graces that we either don't need or already have (despair).
• In times past when you started something new, how did you know that it was time to step into that new role/ministry/position?
• Did you see that transition as a call from God?
• Do you think that opening would have been there forever?
• How did you tell when it was time to take action?
  

• Forsake not the work of your hands
  
• God is always at work in our lives.  He's very invested in each of us.  He never gives up hope on us, He's always ready to receive us back and to move forward.
• Have you ever felt despair because of something that you said or did that you just thought that there was no way to recover from that mistake?
• What sort of "recovery" were you looking for?  Did you want the whole thing to go away?  Were you hoping for some sort of healing to take place between you and God, you & others, you & yourself?
• Were you maybe hoping that everyone else involved in that fiasco would just forget it ever happened?
• Do you think that God was able to make any use of that experience in you?
  

• Christ within me
  
• There's this scene in The Shack where Mack (the protagonist) decides to walk on water back across the lake.  He & Jesus had just walked across the water to get to that side of the lake.  It was time to get back to the other side, so he figured he'd get started.  Only trouble was, he floated like a rock.
• How do you know when you are working with Jesus, rather than against Him?
• How do you make sure that you don't get caught in that awkward position of trying to do something on your own?
• Are you getting any better at that?
  

• Missing the point
  
• Poor Peter always seems to get the wrong message.  I remember an episode of The Chosen where Jesus gives Peter and his friends a miraculous catch of fish, and Peter immediately sees the vast potential in Jesus - to make them all rich with one huge catch of fish after another.  Reminds me of his response to seeing the glorified Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
• How do you come to understand what God is trying to teach you in your life experiences?
• Do you ever get more than one life lesson from an experience, perhaps over some period of time?
• How do you come to those deeper insights into your life?
• Do you ever think that you've got it all figured out?
• Would you really want that if you could have it?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to leave behind something that is not doing me any good?
• Do I trust God to bring joy from everything in my life?
  
• Who might I be missing the boat of God's call in my life?
  
• Where might God be calling me deepen my understanding of His work in my life?
  

  Finding Fulfillment

I like Peter.

He has the unabashed quality that I long for.
That capacity to say what's on his mind -
Without any editing, endless rewrites and revisions.
Just get it out there, totally unvarnished.

I suppose that his father was pretty proud of him.
Peter worked hard at his craft.
The villagers probably knew him well.
He doubtless fed many with the fish he caught.

If you had asked him, he would proudly tell you -
That he was closest to God out on the lake.
Suspended on the water from a thread of moonlight.
Sending ripples across the surface with his nets.

One with nature, one with his boat, his crew.
At peace, knowing that God was good,
The lake was full of fish,
And all was well with the world.

And suddenly, Jesus turns everything upside-down.
That last catch of fish changed everything.
Peter realized that those fish crowded his nets to bursting
At Jesus' command that day.

And he realized that all the earth, skies and seas
Served God's will and purpose.
Just as God was calling Peter.
And he must have looked mournfully at that lake one last time.

Knowing that he would never see it the old way again.
Knowing that all of his time out on that water
Had been preparing him for this moment, this place.
To leave everything, and take it all at the same time.

But transformed, transubstantiated
Into a new man.
A man intentionally seeking his destiny.
A man on a mission bigger than all creation.

A man on a mission that would redeem all creation.

Shalom!

Presentation of the Lord Sunday

Our readings for the Presentation of the Lord Sunday are:

1. Malachi 3: 1-4
   
2. Psalms 24: 7, 8, 9, 10
3. Hebrews 2: 14-18
   
4. Luke 2: 22-40
   

• Getting to simple
  
• Refining, cleaning, purification, pruning are all aimed at stripping away that which is not essential so that what is important can thrive.  An old Jesuit brother once told me that "as my prayer life gets deeper, it gets simpler."
• What are some things that you have "shed" along the way during your walk with God?
• Was any of that particularly painful?
• How did you come to know that you needed to leave that behind?
• Do you still miss any of that?
• Why?
  

• Letting Jesus in
  
• I think that we follow Jesus best one decision, one step at a time.  Sometimes, that takes a good deal of concentration, intention, and humility.
• When there is no clear path forward in your life, or the opposite, there lies before your a whole constellation of possible paths, where do you go?
• In such times, do you look for advice, someone to tell you what to do, how to proceed, or do you look for someone/somewhere to hear the Holy Spirit more clearly?
• What are some of the distractions to hearing that still small voice in your life?
• Are those distractions getting any easier to ignore?
  

• Feeling like Jesus
  
• The Gospel accounts don't give us much insight into Jesus' interior life.  What, I wonder, was the range of emotions that He underwent when He walked with His disciples?  Is Jesus an introvert, did He have a rich belly laugh that would erupt from time to time (probably most often around Peter)?  I can be pretty sure that one emotion that he felt most often was empathy.
• Who are some of the folks that you find difficult to empathize with?
• Do you feel at all that you need to work on that?
• How do you think it's possible to increase in empathy for another person?
• Do you think Jesus ever had to do that?
  

• Consolation prize
  
• Consolation in Jesuit theology means something very specific.  First of all, it is a state more than an emotion.  Consolation might also be termed being in a state of grace, being in right relationship with God and your community.  That's what Simeon was waiting for for all of Israel.
• Simeon was upheld in his life by hope.  Not like the hope that you have for your favorite team going into the Superbowl, but hope that God is at work, here, now, bringing about His Kingdom.  Would you say that you have hope?
• Why would you think that hope is important?
• What is hope ultimately founded upon?
• How do you think that we as a community increase in hope?
• Is hope ultimately realistic, or are confirmed cynics the only honest people around?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to leave behind something that is not doing me any good?
• When was the last time that I really tried to discern a decision in my life?
  
• Who might God be calling me to empathize with more deeply?
  
• Where might God be calling me to hope in Him?
  

Let Your Servant Go In Peace

Hope can hurt.
Believing that God is intimately, warmly, lovingly involved in His ongoing creation can be hard.
Especially when you look around you at all that is going on.
And you wonder how in the world did we ever get here?
Where did we as a people take a horribly wrong turn?

It can be hard to find signs of God's Presence in our midst.
Hard to come up with proofs of His might.
Or even evidence that He cares.
But true hope does not disappoint -
Ever.

Hope is grounded in Love -
The eternal, unbridled, unmerited, amazing Love that calls us forth into being -
One moment to the next.
Love that knows us, and yet knows no bounds.
Love that calls to us to join in and celebrate the Trinity from the inside.

Hope relies on faith to see God at work.
Hope gives Love the courage to join in that ongoing creation.
Love relies on faith to see Christ in the beloved.
Love gives Hope the strength of purpose.
Faith relies on Love to see the face of God.
Faith fires Hope with direction and action.

We can no more give up Hope than we can give up Faith, or Love.
The cynic is never disappointed.
The dead never feel pain.
Those who have never loved have never been disappointed.
Lord grant that I may find the courage to live in hope, no matter the risk.

Shalom!

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

1. Nehemiah 89: 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
   
2. Psalms 19: 8, 9, 10, 15
3. 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30
   
4. Luke 1: 1-4, 4: 14-21
   

• Covenant people
  
• When the children of Israel returned to their land after the Babylonian captivity, I'm sure that many of them felt a great relief to be "home".  But home for them was more than a location, it was a covenant.
• What makes you feel "at home"?
• How long does that "at home" feeling take when you lose a job, have to move to a new place, pick up with a new circle of friends, get a paradigm that has served you for decades suddenly shifted out from under you?
• When was the last time that you had to leave "home" and move on?
• How did that change you?
  

• The Law of the Lord
  
• Just what all is included in the Law of the Lord?
• Is that Law completely fixed, never changing?
• Is that Law the last word on what makes for sin in our lives?
• Can any one of us ever know the whole Law?
• Should we ever know the whole Law?
  

• You are needed
  
• The culture that we find ourselves in tells us that our worth is strongly attached to what we are able to do, the tasks that we can perform.  When you meet a person for the first time, its one of the first questions that comes up: "what do you do?", rather than "who are you?"
• Do you think that God values any of us more than others?
• If so, what is the criteria that He uses for such valuation?
• If so, what does He use that assigned value for?
• Why do you think that He might make someone who is of lesser value?
  

• The power of the Spirit
  
• God calls us His children to continue the ongoing incarnation of Jesus to earth.  We can only achieve that through the Holy Spirit.  Easier said than done.
• When is a time when you really felt the Holy Spirit working with/in/through you?
• What was your contribution to that work of the Holy Spirit?
• What had you done to prepare for that?
• Was the work successful?
• How do you know?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where is home for me?
• Where does my sense of sin come from?
  
• Who am I becoming in God?
  
• Where might God be calling me to "let go and let God"?
  

A Land Ravaged

I remember when we were led away from here so many years ago.

This land had been our home for generations by then.

Every valley and hill like an old friend that you know you can trust.

I remember hearing the song of birds, the babbling of the streams,

The ewes and rams greeting one another in the morning stillness,

The whisper of the breezes through the olive trees.

All of creation was so ordered, and abundant.

But we lost our way without ever leaving home.

We forgot who we really were, and why we were here.

And now, the vineyards are ruins.  The irrigation ditches clogged.

Once beautiful farms are all but erased by time and neglect.

Fields once bursting with abundance produce nothing but thistles.

Yes, there is a great deal of work to be done here.

Work that is for younger hands and backs than mine.

But before that can truly begin, there is other work needed.

We need to find our soul.

Remind one another of who we are, and always have been.

Remind one another of the faithfulness of our Father.

That work of the prophets in our midst -

That is something that I can lay claim to.

Not just because I am old, and have memories.

But because I never forgot what it means to be God's child.

Shalom!

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 62: 1-5
   
2. Psalms 96: 1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10
3. 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
   
4. John 2: 1-11
   

• Your land espoused
  
• While in Boy Scouts, my father & I went on a lot of hikes in the local mountains.  Our scout master, a devout Lutheran and student of ecology, would take time to point out to us the interconnected nature of nature, and marvel at God's creativity and our place in that ecology.
• What would you say is our responsibility as God's stewards of the planet?
• Does that necessarily mean that we leave behind manufacturing, farming, dense population centers in order to be more sustainable?
• Where can we as individuals make a difference in our world?
• Is that enough?
  

• Governing with equity
  
• We believe that God is ultimately in charge, that all rightful authority derives from Him and His will for His children.  But sometimes, connecting the dots between that concept and day to day living can be a little tough.
• Is God's kingdom strictly something that is revealed at the end of time, or is that revelation a process, one that it going on right now?
• God's kingdom is not like an earthly kingdom in many ways.  What are some of those differences?
• What are our responsibilities regarding bringing about God's kingdom in the meanwhile?
• Where can we start?
  

• You are gifted
  
• All and each of us are gifted in God.  Sadly, it's all too easy to think of that giftedness as though it is something that we need to publish on some sort of resume, some way that we have to sell ourselves in the Kingdom.  The good news is that God is totally sold on us from before we were ever born.
• What are some things that make you feel good about yourself?
• Do you think that God is proud of you, of the way that you have turned out (fact is, that process never ceases)?
• Can you imagine God pointing to you and saying "this is my beloved son/daughter in whom I am well pleased".
• Why do you think that is the case?
  

• Perfect trust
  
• I am always struck by the ways that God involves us in His movements.  The servers were probably grumbling to themselves at having to draw all of that water, one bucketful at a time, to uselessly fill the stone jars.  But if they had not done so, this lavish miracle would not have happened.
• What are some miracles that you have participated in?
• Why do you think that God asked you to get involved in the first place?
• How did that experience change you?
• Do you think that you are more or less likely to be trusting the next time God leads you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to be a better steward of His blessings?
• In this era of contentious politics, where might God be calling me to bring peace?
  
• Is God calling me to make different/more use of the gifts that He has given me?
  
• When I pray, do I look for ways that God might be calling me to be part of His answer to my prayer?
  

Do We Need to Fill All Six of Them?

Drawing water was no picnic in first century Palestine.

Most often, the wells were deep,

Each bucket of water slowly emerging from the cool depths of the earth,

Heavy and dripping at the end of a rope wound on a balky crank.

 

You have to wonder why Jesus chose to to gladden the feast at Cana this way.

He could have had them fill just one jar, and make it so that jar never ran empty.

That would have been just like the jug of oil that fed Elijah the prophet for three years.

But instead, Jesus asked for six jars to be filled, one after the other.

 

I'm glad that I wasn't there to present that water turned to wine to the steward.

Because I'd be wondering what it was going to taste like.

I'd wonder if I was going to look the fool for presenting common well water.

And then trying to explain why I had bothered the steward in the first place.

 

Maybe that's the whole point.

In order to receive a miracle, we have to be the miracle.

We are more than onlookers in this life,

More than merely passing through.

Instead, we are called, like Jesus,

To become immersed in the miracle,

Put some skin in the game,

And trust Him just enough to let His Kingdom come to earth.

Lord teach me to learn to trust You enough,

To do what you ask of me, no matter how small.

Knowing that is all that it takes

To usher in the miracle of your Presnce in our lives.

Shalom!