Family ties … Sunday, July 28

The Gospel of the Lord …  Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”  He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything. I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

~

Prayer. Sometimes you hear it described as talking to God. I prefer to think of it as talking WITH God, implying a two-way conversation and keeping the lines of communication open both ways. I need to talk, God knows that, but I need just as badly to listen, and I know that. Willingness to hear and a desire to be heard.

Some years back I knew a guy who was going through a difficult emotional period. It wasn’t life shattering but it was extremely trying at the time. He came home from work one day, distraught and at his wit’s end. As far as he could tell he had done all he could do (“You pray for taters with a hoe in your hand.”) and there was nothing to do now but pray about the situation. And so he went directly to the bedroom and, falling to his knees at the side of the bed, looked up, and without thinking about what he was saying (things had gotten to be to emotional at this point to think much) began to pray. He said, “Daddy … ”

Everything Christ taught His followers in the above passage, everything He teaches US in the above, starts out with “Our Father … ” If we don’t start in the right place how far do we go and where do we go? So we need to start out correctly. And understanding that God IS our Father is the correct starting place.

For years now I’ve believed, and I’ve shared it here before, that adoption is more real than natural relations. Being related to someone by birth is one thing. We have no choice in that. Adoption however requires a conscious choice and direct action. Now I’m confident that we’re born into the family and circumstances that God deems best. Free will being what it is we’ll do with that as WE please and not necessarily as HE pleases, but still, He no doubt puts us where He wants us. If this is true concerning natural birth and human blood ties how much more true is it when He adopts us into His family and the blood ties are the ties formed through and by the Precious Blood of Christ?

Family ties. They’re important. Some are, and should be, more important than others. I should be more concerned about my Heavenly relationship with God my Father than any natural family bonds. And I don’t mean that natural family is unimportant, because we all know they are. God gave us our family. But I do mean that I need to set priorities when it comes to family. And I consider that I am more closely related to another because of the Blood of Jesus than I am any purely earthly blood.

When I pray, when you pray (and now I’m talking to YOU, a fellow Christian and therefore a Blood relative), I need to remember my right relationship with God. Whatever reason I pray I need to remember who and what is primary, meaning just Who and what He is in reference to me and vice versa. And then I need to talk and listen accordingly.

“Daddy … “

Ever learn how to juggle? … Sunday, July 21

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary.

The Gospel of the Lord … Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

…

Sometimes, getting caught up in the “necessaries” in life, we get flustered and lose track of what’s most important, don’t we? Sometimes all those “necessaries” get to be so important for us that we even think we know what the other guys vocation should be. But then there’s the other side of the coin. Sometimes we know what it is that’s primary and stick with it regardless what others think. Sometimes we’re Martha, sometimes we’re Mary. All of the time we’re human. God knows what that’s like. He works through people, He’s familiar with our foibles. He must like working through people despite our being short-sighted. After all, He became one. (Person, that is.)

I amaze myself at times. I say “I” because I try not to watch other people to close, I figure that’s God’s job and my not knowing the heart of another I’m not to good at it anyway. Besides, me watching me is entertainment enough. I can go from being Martha to Mary and back again in a heart beat. Maybe you can sympathize. One moment I’m fixated on Christ, the next moment my focus is on “doing” to the point that I lose track of why I’m doing what I’m doing. And when that dawns on me? I’m back with Christ, watching Him and knowing that all my doings are because of Him, for love of Him.

Balance. I talk about it a lot because it’s so important to me personally. Maybe you know what that’s like. Martha and Mary are a good example of balance, even though Martha got a little aggravated. There is a time for work and a time for contemplation. I think the real trick is to carry contemplation with us as we work, knowing that we work for love of Jesus, and also to engage in contemplation as a Divine sort of work for the same reason. I don’t need to be Mary and I don’t need to be Martha. I need to be both. And that’s a balancing act. Well, it is for me anyway. It’s a little like learning how to juggle. At first? Lots of stuff is probably going to get dropped during practice. Which thought, about juggling, reminds me …

(Note: You’ve heard of Christmas in July? It’s just one more way for stores to make a sale. In this instance humor me as I take advantage of Christmas in July to make a point. 😉 )

A long while back I heard a story about a monk who was a bit of a klutz. He wasn’t good at chanting, he often dropped things in the kitchen (being all thumbs), he didn’t read well, and his memory? Wait a minute. Where was I? Oh, yes. His memory wasn’t the best. All in all he was the last in line as far as the monks of that monastery went. But he kept plugging away.

The Christmas season came around and as a spiritual exercise the abbot told each monk to do something, whatever they were good at, as best they could during the season, as a gift for the Christ Child. A Christmas gift for the Ultimate Christmas Gift. The monks who sang tried to improve their singing and sang with all their heart. The monks who were cleaning cleaned everything til it shined. When a monk ran an errand he did so with speed and resolve, more so than usual. Everyone did what ever they did the best they possibly could. But Brother Klutz? He forgot to put salt in the soup. On an errand, as he ran, he tripped and tore his habit. And he sang, as always, off-key. But in his heart there was a sincere desire to offer up a gift to Baby Jesus, just one perfect gift. It was all he wanted, it was all he focused on.

One night, about the time of Christmas Eve, the abbot was leaving his personal chapel late in the evening. He had gone there for a time of private prayer. As he was leaving, and on his way to his cell, he heard a noise coming from the oratory. It was the slightest of sounds, but at that late an hour it piqued his curiosity and so he went to the entrance, quietly looking around the corner of the door.

At the far end of the room there was a very beautiful statue of Our Lady holding the Baby Jesus. And there, in front of the statue, was our Brother Klutz. He was juggling three balls, and doing a very fine job at it too. Everyone has a talent to offer up to God as a gift and of all things this was the one thing that he could do well. Of course something like this wasn’t the sort of thing that came up in the course of monastic life so no one ever knew he could. And as the abbot watched he saw the statue come to life, and the Lady smiled while the Baby clapped His hands in delight.

…

Mary and Martha. A juggling act. Trying to balance our lives, giving God the gift of our best in all realms. Service to and contemplation of the Divine. No one is really a klutz and we’re all, at different times, a Martha and a Mary. What matters more than putting salt in the soup or praying quietly in a corner is the pure intent of the heart of the juggler.

Carry the Message … Sunday, July 7

G.K. Chesterton.

Luke 10:1-9

      At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.  He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.  Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.  Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment.  Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

      It sounds as though we’re supposed to be rather mild and nondescript. Not calling attention to ourselves but rather calling attention to the One Who is coming. Jesus. Jesus was about to visit several places and He sent out His followers to prepare the way, to get the people ready to receive Him. The truth is, He’s going to visit again.

      It always amazes me how little changes over time. We are still nondescript even though we have cathedrals and well-known saints like Mother Teresa and enough literature to cover the planet. Why? Why, with all that and more are we “nondescript”? Well, for one reason, we’ve been around so long at this point that the world has gotten used to our being here and takes no notice. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Jesus did, remember, send folks out to call attention to His coming and not our own presence. Of course it can be said that our being here should remind people of Him and that takes a certain amount of calling attention to self. And that’s true. But self is still secondary at best, isn’t it?

      “Like lambs among wolves.” Now THAT doesn’t sound very promising, does it? But it is because once again we call attention to Him, the Lamb taken to slaughter. Every martyrdom, every unkind word aimed at us, every pin prick delivered by the world, every lie told about us, every underhanded attempt to misuse us is a reminder to the world of what was done to Him. It’s not our problem if the world doesn’t put two and two together. We’ve provided, by His Grace, the math lesson and so done our part. What others do with the lesson delivered is up to them.

      We offer peace to a world sadly in need of it, both on an international, national, and personal level. We don’t offer the world our peace, we offer it a peace beyond understanding. We offer His peace. Some accept and we praise God for that. Others turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and we pray all the more for them.

      All of this and more to get across one point. “The kingdom of God is at hand for you.” And it’s closer now than ever, the need is greater now than ever, and our job, His commission to us, is more pressing, both for us and the world, than ever.

      “What the gods are supposed to be, what the priests are commissioned to say, is not a sensational secret like what those running messengers of the Gospel had to say. Nobody else except those messengers has any Gospel; nobody else has any good news; for the simple reason that nobody else has any news.
Those runners gather impetus as they run. Ages afterwards they still speak as if something had just happened. They have not lost the speed and momentum of messengers; they have hardly lost, as it were, the wild eyes of witnesses. In the Catholic Church, which is the cohort of the message, there are still those headlong acts of holiness that speak of something rapid and recent; a self-sacrifice that startles the world like a suicide. But it is not a suicide; it is not pessimistic; it is still as optimistic as St. Francis of the flowers and birds. It is newer in spirit than the newest schools of thought; and it is almost certainly on the eve of new triumphs. For these men serve a mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed. We might sometimes fancy that the Church grows younger as the world grows old.” ― G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man.

Who do you think Jesus is? Or do you KNOW? … Sunday, June 23

Arius tried to figure out who Jesus was on his own and got it wrong. Some things never change.

Luke 9:18-24 “Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. … He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” The question was controversial 2,000 years ago and seems, for some anyway, to still be open-ended. Is it unanswerable? You know, for what ever else He is or isn’t there’s one thing certain. He’s still an attention getter after all this time. “And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of scandal, to them who stumble at the word, neither do believe, whereunto also they are set.” 1 Peter 2:8.

I’ve heard some very interesting, and down right odd, opinions over the years. Like … A misunderstood rabbi, the Archangel Michael manifested in the flesh, a “God” who is a glorified man, a Prophet, a false prophet, just a man with God in him (thank you, Arius, for beginning an error that seems to have no end), only one manifestation of God among many, the Antichrist (go figure that one out), and just some guy. I know of one denominational group that was formed about a hundred years or so ago and the very first question that went ’round the table was “Who is Jesus?” And because they couldn’t make up their minds they split. Even John the Baptist sent a question about the identity of Jesus at one point. “Are you the Promised One or do we look for another?”

So there are lots of opinions and thoughts and discussions and arguments. But for all of this there is only one Truth. St. Thomas answered it when he said “My Lord and my God.” Jesus didn’t correct him, He blessed him. Peter answers Jesus in the above reading when he says “The Christ of God.” Jesus didn’t correct him either. So who and what is Jesus? Lord and God and Christ. And its His Body, the Church, and only His Body the Church, that has the authority, guided by the Holy Spirit, to clarify just what those words mean. For all the complications set forth by the worldly-minded the answer is no harder to understand, from the human perspective, than the catechism. Sadly, folks don’t want to hear this. What they want to hear is debate and new thoughts and contentious rantings. Which tells us what WE are, doesn’t it? We’re fallen. Being fallen, what makes anybody think they can figure out Jesus without help?

      “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself … “

We must accept Him on His terms, not ours. His ways are perfect, ours aren’t. We have to accept that His way is hard and that it will be hard for us as well. If He suffered so will we. If He carried a cross we must do the same. We have to give up our life, handing it over to Him regardless, in order to save it. We MUST be Christians. And THAT’S what WE are. Or it’s what we’re supposed to be. If we are that, if we are truly Christian, we’ll know Who He is just like Peter and Thomas. And all the ramblings of the earthy people with worldly minds who think they have a truth won’t be able to shake us in our conviction, in our personal knowledge. I say personal knowledge because when we REALLY know Him we’ll really KNOW Who He is. No debate.

Does the Son light hurt your eyes? … Sunday, January 27

Does the sun light hurt your eyes? (Photo credit: Balaji.B)

Today’s Gospel reading is found in Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21. Luke shares with us what God has given him pertaining to the Gospel of Christ, and here is a part of it. We’re told about how Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read a portion of scripture, prophecy pertaining to Himself, and its fulfillment that very day. We might think of this as Jesus presenting Himself to His people, the Jews, as their long-awaited Messiah. Luke records His “coming out”. This was a sort of beginning for Jesus, a public proclamation, one of the first, of His official standing. Just prior to this He had been tempted by Satan in the desert. Just after this proclamation by Him the people rejected Him. It would seem that His ministry was off to a flying stop.

Have you ever tried to do a thing, an honestly good thing, and been foiled at every turn? If you’re sincerely trying to live a Godly life the answer almost has to be “Yes”. Try doing a good deed and it starts out hard, like His temptation in the wilderness, and then gets harder when the folks who ought to be joyful over the effort and the act trample it underfoot with their doubt and negativity. And there you are, standing outside the synagogue because they threw you out, wondering what went wrong. Don’t they understand? Can’t they see what it is you’re trying to do? And the answer is no, they can’t.

Like it or not we live in a world darkened by sin. The darkness blinds people to the light. Have you ever walked outside after having been in a really dark room? Didn’t your eyes hurt? Did you shield your eyes, protecting yourself from the light that hurt? And this is exactly what people have been doing for nearly two thousand years now. Bring them out of the darkness, or try to, into His marvelous light and see what happens. So, whats to do?

Whats to do? Well, what did He do? You don’t put out the light just because it hurts someones eyes. The truth can be painful and I don’t know of any real way around that. Not a way that works without denial anyway. So we do what He did. Keep letting our little light shine and pray that someone somewhere stands in the light long enough for their eyes to adjust. Because some will. And this is called conversion. This is what we work for, without to great a concern for the downside because the eternity of those who WILL come to the light is more important than any downside. Whats a little discomfort on our part compared with another persons eternity? How comfortable was the crucifixion? We probably won’t be called to anything nearly as uncomfortable. We should be able to withstand a few snide remarks, a few dirty looks, a little personal discomfort. Jesus put up with bad treatment, we’re supposed to follow Him.

Being cast out of a synagogue isn’t so bad if it keeps another from being cast into hell.

Sunday, November 4

Today’s Gospel reading, Mark 12:28b-34, reflects the one thing that is more important than anything else. That’s because without this one thing everything else rings hollow and falls short. A scribe asked Jesus which of the commandments was the greatest. Now, there were lots to choose from. The Jewish people, based on the information Moses left them, had 613 of them. And they were all, for the truly righteous Jew, important. This could however, in a worst case scenario, denigrate into legalism and nothing more. For these laws to have meaning they needed something, or Someone, to give them meaning. There had to be a basis, a base on which to build. And Jesus provided that base.

Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

There is One God. He is our Creator, He has first claim on us and He deserves our all. Having created all out of love for love of others we should be, well, like Father like son. Or daughter.

To love my neighbor as myself presupposes that I love myself. Not a selfish, self-serving sort of love. But a healthy, giving sort of love. I give myself credit (not too much), I give myself space (just enough), I give myself care (of the proper kind), and I am concerned for my well-being. The list doesn’t end there and there is no best way to word it but you get the idea. All of these things, all the good that I do and wish for myself? I ought to do and wish for you. And all of this should be because I love God first. He, after all, created you because He loves you. And me, too.

These two greatest commandments are also the most demanding. The others, not eating pork for example, pale in comparison. Which brings us to another expression of these same two. In a nut shell …

“Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

Not to worry …

“It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.” Isaiah 40:29.

We are not alone in this. Matthew 28:20.