The Wisdom of Listening

 "Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding." Prv 9:6

Several years ago I met an elderly, wise priest who had spent almost forty years as missionary in South America. Returning home he was troubled by the the waste he experienced in the United States, and was even more disturbed by the variety of so many simple items he saw in our supermarkets. Toothpaste especially drove him crazy. Why we needed twenty kinds of toothpaste was beyond him, but he was very slow to criticize.

Listening to this man at many priest gatherings only made me admire him more. He rarely made blanket statements about anything, and preferred to ask questions, even about toothpaste. One evening someone asked him how he was readjusting to life in the United States. Fine, he said, but I am not sure I will be able to sample all the different toothpastes before I die. Everyone began to laugh, some a little uneasily. It is a little crazy one priest admitted. It seems that way to me, the old missionary answered, but perhaps you see it differently. Listening to him, I knew I was in the presence of Wisdom.

Today, ask for the gift of not having to have to an opinion about an issue.

Who is he wisest person you know?

God wants to Save Us

 "I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord GOD." Ex 18:32

Many believers struggle with what to them appears to be a very vengeful God in the Hebrew bible. There any number of passages that would demonstrate this, including a verse from today's first reading in which God seems to be abandoning a wayward son to death, "Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely die; his death shall be his own fault." Only when we keep reading do we hear God's bottom line: I take no pleasure in the death of anyone!

God wants to save us. We can never hear this sentiment too often. At times when we are desperate, hurt, angry or confused, we forget God's goodness to us and the world. We hear only our sadness and rage, not God's care, and unless we pause to hear the entire message of the Bible we will get lost in the darkness. No doubt this happened to Jesus' first disciples, but when they let the Holy Spirit work in them everything changed. The same can be true for us.

Today, accept the darkness. Then look for the light.

How can we learn to listen to the fullness of God's promise?

Divorce

 “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." Mt 19:3

Divorce is always difficult and painful, but sometimes it is necessary. When there is physical or emotional abuse, the spouse being abused has little choice. The Gospel never demands that a person submit to abuse for the sake of any relationship, and while many married people struggle to stay in relationships that are empty, there are times when a spouse must leave a marriage.

That being said, the gospel is clear that divorce should be a last resort, and that all of us need to address our hard hearts. It is not only the married, but clergy and religious, too, who too often take life for granted, think too much about what is not working in their lives and become hyper critical of the people with whom they live. Jesus had it right. When our hearts get hard, we can justify anything we do and demonize others. Finding scapegoats rather than looking at ourselves is convenient but robs us of the opportunity for growth as persons and Christians committed by vow to a particular way of life.

Jesus wants the married to succeed, to be faithful, to forgive, forget and work through their difficulties. When marriage or religious life becomes something we can abandon or easily put aside when it hurts to take the next step, we deny God's power to heal and to shine a light on the dark path that we all must sometimes take. Learning from those who accept life as it unfolds because of their faith is a gift we should all treasure.

Today, recommit yourself to your baptismal vows, and pray for those struggling in marriage.

Whose commitment to marriage most enhanced your faith?

The Assumption of Mary

  "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." Rev 12: 1-2

In recent years it is clear to me that the worst thing we can do to Sts Francis and Clare is to rob them of their humanity. The same is true of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Anxious to tame a strong, courageous woman, we make her in our image rather than God's, and when we do this, we strip her of her greatness and power. Listening to the Magnificat can help us avoid this travesty.

When Mary cries: "The Lord has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty," she reminds us to be humble and remember that there is only one God. Our task is not to control the world but to serve those most in need, and Mary demonstrates this early in John's gospel when she demands that Jesus help a young newly married couple who are running out of wine. Not only does Jesus respond, he makes enough wine to quench the thirst of an entire village.

The feast of the Assumption is the culmination of Mary's journey. Faithful her entire life to the Lord to whom she gave birth, she is exalted for living her life with absolute integrity, for suffering, for enduring, for celebrating all that God is. Mary is a model for us, not because she lacks passion or humanity, but because she listened to God despite the cost to her reputation and standing in the community. Mary feared nothing because she knew she was living a life of faith and love for all. More important, if we listen, she continues to teach us these lessons today.

Today, ask God to help you live the Gospel despite the cost.

What about Mary most moves you to live the Gospel without fear?

St Maximilian Kolbe

 "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them." Mt 19:14

St Maximilian Kolbe, who offered his life for another prisoner at the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, was drawn to a military life as a boy, but soon after entering the seminary he realized that the fight God wanted him to enter was a spiritual one. Although he imagined his life as a "long war", he focused not on the failures of those to whom he was preaching, but on their strengths, and it was this strategy that fostered his work of evangelizing Western Europe and Japan.

Maximilian never forget that it is impossible to pay back God, and this knowledge drove him to pour out his life in gratitude for all God had given him. The gift of life and the gift of faith are pure gifts, not something we earn or deserve. God chooses to give us life and sustain us in it because of God's goodness, not our worth. More important, we cannot earn salvation. God wants us to be with him forever. It is as simple as that. Like a parent, God desires only good for his children and wants them to live in peace forever.

Today,  be as patient with yourself as God is with you.

How would you counsel others to live patiently?

Eating God's Word

 "So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat... I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them." Ez 3:3-4

The call of Ezekiel, the first prophet commissioned outside of Israel, is clear and direct. God gives Ezekiel a scroll and commands him to eat it. The Prophet obeys; the words are sweet and the message God gives him will challenge the Israelites in exile to reform their lives. They have only to listen and respond to the God who can never stop loving them.

We all need God to act directly from time to time, to be clear with us, to show us a path to take and a role to assume. Although these kinds of messages come rarely, we would be naive to believe that each time the saints sat or knelt to pray that God spoke to them directly. In fact, the saints are continually reminding us that their distractions and confusion fill their time with God more often than not.

It is not for us to say how God will speak with and to us. Our task is to be faithful to periods of quiet listening, to be content with God's regular silence, but to to continue to give God our time and attention no matter how distracted we become. Though we lose focus with God, God remains faithful to us and this is the power of God's relationship with Ezekiel. When the time is right, God will give us the words we must say.

Today, find a place and time for quiet listening and ask God for nothing.

Has God ever been as direct with you as God is with Ezekiel?

Paying a Just Tax

  "The collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, 'Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?'”

Money is always a problem. Not only do some people have too much, many more have too little, and the ability to issue a currency that is recognized internationally is critically important for nations wanting to do business with other nations.

At the time of Jesus, while Jews were free to produce their own currency for use within the temple grounds, they were forced to use Roman coins to pay their poll taxes. The rabbis, however, reminded Jews that even to touch a coin with the image of the Roman emperor who claimed to be divine was idolatry. Trying to trap Jesus, they trapped themselves. Jesus knew of their prohibition against the possession or use of Roman coins, but also knew they would have some to pay their taxes. Merely by carrying Roman coins for Jesus to look at they condemned themselves as idolaters.

Intriguingly, not having a coin puts everyone on notice that Jesus had no intention of offending the law, the prophets or the interpretations of the rabbis with regard to honoring anyone who claimed divinity. There is only one God, his actions proclaim, and he will not enter silly arguments about whether to pay taxes to Caesar. Rather, he will honor the one God by dying for him.

Today, resist winning an argument, and pray for your opponent.

What helps you resist arguing with others for the sake of your image?