Trafficked Children

"I say to myself, I will not mention him (God), I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it." Jer 20:9

Prophets like Jeremiah remind all of us of our obligation to be prophets, to speak the truth of the Gospel despite our failures and faults. The Good News need to be proclaimed, not just in work but in our lives.

How grateful I am to know so many women and men who continue to work for and agitate for refugees, climate change and the voiceless around the world. A friar in Tanzania who I admire, every year asks our mission office for funds to continue to work with trafficked children and their families. Desperate for some relief from the staggering poverty they experience, some parents sell their daughters into sexual slavery and when those who use and abuse their children no longer find these boys ad girls desirable, they send them home broken and lost. 

Today pray for children who are trafficked.

What injustice continues to anger you as God's prophet?

Get your Hands Dirty

 "We urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you." 1 Thess 4: 10-11

Paul's insistence that the Thessalonians work with their own hands would have been a great challenge to the Greeks. In societies that countenanced slavery, only slaves worked with their hands. The work of the mind for Greeks and the study of Torah for Jews were viewed as much more important than anything one could do with one's hands, but Paul cannot forget the story of Jesus kneeling to wash the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. Washing feet was the work of slaves! If Jesus took the role of a slave, no matter how much Peter resisted the gesture, then Christians had to reimagine what it meant to be faithful to Jesus and his Good News.

John Paul II wrote extensively about work in his encyclical Laborem Exercens, but the Pope's letter was merely a bringing together of one of he great themes of his pontificate. In homily after homily, he wrote powerfully about work. "Work is good for us. Through work we not only transform nature, adapting it to our needs, but we also achieve fulfillment as human beings and indeed in a sense become more human."(Monterey, California, September 1987) 

Popes and other world leaders write so extensively about the dignity of work and workers because in too many places, even in the United States, working with one's hands is seen as something for poor people to do and workers are too often underpaid and under appreciated. Jesus embraced the role of the slave and all the work slaves did. So must we.

Today, get your hands dirty.

Whose work most influenced your understanding of the dignity of work and the power of the Gospel?

Be Prepared to Welcome Christ

 "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." Mt 25:8

The unprepared virgins whose oil has run out are labelled foolish, a word that can be confusing in the New Testament. Paul wants to be seen as a fool for Christ and encourages his companions to be the same. Anxious to be dismissed for the sake of the Gospel, Paul stands out among his contemporaries as a man willing to be ridiculed for the right reason.

The virgins in the Gospel, however, are not seeking attention but only hoping to avoid embarrassment and shame. They knew that bridegrooms, feted and praised in the week before their weddings, would linger long into the night at parties in their honor. Their foolishness was not a sign of their fidelity to a cause or person, but a sign of laziness or sloth. They could have prepared themselves for a long night, but did not, and now risk the harsh judgement of their peers.

Each day we are faced with the challenge of discerning how best to announce the Good News. Some days our silence and willingness to listen to others' complaints or problems is a Gospel stance. At other times, we need to search for a way to express our upset, confusion and anger at the lack of justice too many face when they have little money or power in the society. Speaking up on behalf of the poor can be a prophetic action on our part, especially when others are disparaging the poor as lazy or indolent. Authentic Christians know that to be a fool for the sake of the Gospel is a gift.

Today, be foolish in your love for God.

What most frightens you about being considered a fool for Christ?

Stay Awake

  "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come." Mt 24:42

Today’s gospel has a very consoling verse for people like me and many older people.  Matthew reminds us to stay awake, to be alert and to respond to others with kindness. Since I am an early to bed person, the thought of staying up very late is not something I would look forward to.  Clearly the issue in this parable is not falling asleep; we all do that when we are tired.  Rather, the Lord wants us to be prepared so that no one can "kill" us in spirit.

Rabbi David Kimchi, a late 12^th century Jewish scholar, recorded this lovely story about the great sage, Rabbi Eliezer. "Turn to God one day before your death." Rabbi Eliezer said. But his disciples responded, "How can a man know the day of his death?" Eliezer answered them, "Therefore you should turn to God today, perhaps you may die tomorrow; thus every day will be employed in returning."  Kimchi on Isaiah 65:13.

Today, pray and be grateful each day for the gift of faith.  Christ will do the rest.

Who do you most admire for always being alert without being crazed?

Self Examination

  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves." Mt 23:15

It must have been shocking and upsetting for the Pharisees and scribes to hear Jesus assert that only that which comes from within defiles a person. In fact, it is difficult for most of us to hear the great challenge of Jesus to put aside our desire to control ourselves and others with a rigid interpretation of the law. Jesus insists that salvation is not about discipline alone, but about asking God to cleanse our hearts of jealousy, resentment and suspicion of others. St Jerome says it well, "I bid you not to tear your garments but rather to rend your hearts which are laden with sin. Like wine skins, unless they have been cut open, they will burst of their own accord."(St Jerome on Joel)

Most believers know the truth of the gospel from the "inside." They realize that what appears to be a faith filled life is empty unless it reflects an interior commitment to live without guile. When each of us admits that a life of ritual rigidity and lawful integrity is hardly good news, we will begin to announce the gospel as Jesus did.

Today, don't be afraid of an honest self examination.

How do you resist an unhealthy dependence on the law as a substitute for gospel living?

The Passion of St John the Baptist

  "He went off and beheaded John in the prison." Mk 6:27

Readers of John's gospel cannot help but wonder whether John the Baptist understood fully the import of his words about decreasing so the Christ could increase. Did he know he would die for the sake of the gospel? Surely he had enough time in prison to know that his prospects for a full life with Christ were small, and the evangelists remind us that it was John the Baptist's death that pushed Jesus to begin his public ministry.

When we are young and distant from the reality of our own death, it can be easy to make promises the depth of which we cannot really appreciate, but when we grow older, we know. If we are going to live the gospel with integrity there will be a price. The Good News might be good but it is not easy.
So many of us, sounding other centered, tell everyone that we are willing to endure whatever a gospel life brings, but we do not want to be a burden to others. How shallow these words can be upon reflection.  Allowing others to care for us as we would for them is essential to a fully human and gospel life. Not taking that care for granted is also important. Life must be accepted no matter what it brings.

Today, ask for the grace of accepting whatever God asks.

How do you explain the violence that emerges in the Gospel?

St Augustine

 "You have searched me and you know me, Lord." (Ps 139)

Augustine of Hippo wrestled with God for years. Resistant to anything or anyone who couldn't help him understand life as he experienced it, his life turned around when he met St Ambrose in Milan. A seminal thinker and writer, Ambrose got Augustine's attention through kindness and helped open his mind and heart to the Gospel by his brilliant preaching, but it was the voice of a child telling him to "take and read" that moved Augustine to reflect upon the thirteenth chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans. Hearing Paul tell his readers that the night was over and it was time to live decently moved Augustine towards baptism and an entirely new life and lifestyle.

Writing about love, Augustine asks: "What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like."(Augustine) For Augustine, love is a verb not a noun. It is something that we must act upon and share. More important, it is not always something we feel but something we decide to live and involves all the senses. We must love what we see and hear and walk towards those most in need.

Today, live your faith by keeping your eyes and ears open to all.

What keeps you from acting upon the Gospel everyday?