Nativity of Mary

  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" Mt 1:23

Birthday's are festive times, and although Mary probably didn't celebrate hers like 21st century Americans, we ought to celebrate it with real joy. Mary is the one who’s "yes" to the angel and God made possible the entrance of Jesus into history and her birthday might be a time for us to light a few candles to remember her life and her sorrows. 

There are few saints who teach us more about accepting and celebrating life as it unfolds than Mary. Apparently content with her life, especially after she was promised in marriage to Joseph, her life turned upside down when she was still a young girl. A visit from an angel invited her to know God in a more intimate way than anyone before her, but this knowledge came at a great price. She would be talked about and ridiculed, forced to flee her country and family, and when she was free to return to Palestine after Herod's death, she would be faced with the awful burden of watching her son suffer and die as a common criminal.

No wonder we want to celebrate her birthday. Mary's nativity invites us to trust that even that which appears and feels like an overwhelming sorrow, will be transformed by God into hope for all peoples and all nations. Happy birthday, Mary. Thank you for showing us the path to hope in darkness.

Today, ask God for the grace to embrace whatever comes your way.

How do you celebrate your own birthday?

Sabbath Rest

 "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil." Lk 6:9

Jews have always valued the Sabbath, both as a way to remember God's gracious love of them and to observe God's laws. It is important to remember that very few societies in the ancient world had time away from work. People, especially the poor, worked everyday and rarely had time for themselves. When God rested on the seventh day, God reminded all of us to stop, celebrate and rest. The Jewish people took this example very seriously, and their strict observance of the Sabbath is testimony to this.

At the same time, Jesus, without dismissing the importance of Sabbath, challenges the rigidity of Jewish observance by asking the telling question: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath? The obvious answer is yes. Not only must we do good, we must also seek to live the underlying values of the Sabbath. Rest is good and important, but seeing the struggles of the sick and suffering and responding to them is just as necessary.

Today, rest completely and see how your refreshed spirit will urge you to do more good.

How do you obtain a balance in your life between work and rest?

Jesus, the fullness of the Law

 "Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law." Rom 13:10

We need to be careful reading this text. Sometimes we are tempted to disregard Judaism, asserting that if Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, we no longer have to study or obey it.  St Paul is not rejecting the Old Law and his Jewish heritage. After all, Jesus insists that “not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” (Mt 5:18) Rather, St Paul is announcing that Jesus is the hesed of God, the fullness of God’s conditional love for all; God’s loving kindness and mercy. 

Too often we want our faith's teaching to be black and white but it is rarely so. The challenge to incorporate all that the law of Moses teaches is demanding. Jesus is the fullness of the law and we must be the same in the world.

Today, pick one of the commandments and ask yourself how well you are living it.

Have you met a person from another faith tradition who has taught you about Jesus?

All is Gift

  "What do you possess that you have not received?" 1Cor 4:7

The poet Mary Oliver once wrote: “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” (Thirst, 2006) St Paul admonishes us about this same truth when he reminds the Corinthians that everything we have, we have received from God.

It is easy enough to accept Paul's teaching when life is moving along smoothly, but more difficult when we face hardship or numbing life questions. Too often, when faced with painful feelings, we run. Though natural, we need to find ways to counter this tendency.

Another poet,  Francis Thompson, puts it eloquently in The Hound of Heaven :

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; 

I fled Him, down the arches of the years; 

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways 

Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears 

I hid from Him.

How do we stop running? Can we learn to sit still, even in the midst of turmoil, to let God's plan for us unfold in God's time? Learning some form of meditation is always good, and can be especially helpful when everything in us wants to rush past or through or around life's struggles. Next time you are tempted to deny or suppress a difficult feeling, pray to remember that all is from God and all is gift.

Today, be grateful for whatever the day brings.

Has someone given you a box of darkness that became a gift/