"When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you." Lk 14:14
Luke's Gospel demands that we never forget who we are or where we came from. Addressed primarily to Gentiles seeking to know and believe in Jesus, Luke wanted his readers to know the fullness of the gospel, and though the message was not easy, it surely attracted those in the Gentile world who had little power, money or influence.
Luke's gospel, however, was not just for Gentiles. It's message helped all the powerless: the sick, women, the poor and cripples to believe that they were invited to the "banquet of God." No one, even the rich, would be excluded who committed him or herself to a Gospel life, but herein lies the problem. If we feel no need for anything or anyone because we can care physically for ourselves without the help of others, we tend to forget how dependent we are on one another and God for all our gifts.
Only when we regularly reflect on our mortality, and accept the limitations of life no matter how fortunate we might be, do we realize how blessed we are in God. More important, we realize that we must not exclude those less fortunate, but invite them to share intimately at our plentiful tables.
Today, remember who you are and ask for the gift of humility.
Who or what has taught you best about living a grateful life?
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Love God and Others Completely
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,
and with all your strength. Mk 12:29
The Shema, which affirms the oneness of God and the command to love God always and in all ways, is the foundation of Jewish morning and evening prayer, and many might say, the ground of its spirituality. That Jesus repeats the Shema when asked by the Pharisees about his opinion regarding the first and most important commandment of the law not only affirms its importance for Christians, it also reminds us that Jesus came and wanted to be seen as an observant Jew.
While it might be fashionable these days to emphasize spirituality over against religion, the simple practices of our religious tradition, rooted in the Shema, and Jesus' challenge to visit the sick, feed the hungry and clothe the naked, are important for an authentic Catholic life. Praying each day, celebrating the Eucharist on Sundays and serving others through simple acts of Christian charity and justice help us remember who we are, especially when we can do them together as a community of faith.
Finally, it is good for us to listen again to the Shemah and Jesus' use of it. We must love God with everything we are and do, with our whole hearts, souls, minds and strength. When we hold nothing back in our love for God and others, we witness to a God who has always done the same for us.
Today, love someone completely and pray for them.
Who or what has taught you most about what it means to love God and one another?
Finally, it is good for us to listen again to the Shemah and Jesus' use of it. We must love God with everything we are and do, with our whole hearts, souls, minds and strength. When we hold nothing back in our love for God and others, we witness to a God who has always done the same for us.
Today, love someone completely and pray for them.
Who or what has taught you most about what it means to love God and one another?
Friday, November 2, 2012
Take the Lower Place
"Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Lk 14:11
When Jesus told the guests of the Pharisees to take the lowest place at a banquet in order not to be embarrassed if a more important guest arrives, he is not only offering them a strategy, but a challenge with a deeper spiritual meaning.
Authentic humility, rooted in God's power, demands that Christians see themselves as part of something much greater than their accomplishments. As part of Christ's body we have a dignity beyond our imagination, but only when we accept the role designated for us and do not pretend to be someone we are not, or that we are in control of life.
This message, like so many others that Jesus offers us, is counter intuitive. While most people bow to humility as a value, few wear the clothes of humility, especially in the United States. Citizens of our nation are trained from an early age to excel, and to accept both the accolades and privileges associated with "winning."
While wealth and power are by products of a successful life in the United States, this is not the goal of those who profess to live a Gospel life. Gospel success is measured, not in what it produces, but in the seeds of hope that it plants. Never far from the realization that all life is a gift, and all worldly success is temporary, Christians believe that our "success" is an integrated and other centered life, and this is no easy task.
Only those who pause each day to remember God's love in Christ and live in gratitude for all they have received, will be able to humble themselves with the conviction that Christ will reward them for a life committed to service.
Today, don't say something you are thinking. Listen first to others.
Have you had an experience of humility that changed your life?
When Jesus told the guests of the Pharisees to take the lowest place at a banquet in order not to be embarrassed if a more important guest arrives, he is not only offering them a strategy, but a challenge with a deeper spiritual meaning.
Authentic humility, rooted in God's power, demands that Christians see themselves as part of something much greater than their accomplishments. As part of Christ's body we have a dignity beyond our imagination, but only when we accept the role designated for us and do not pretend to be someone we are not, or that we are in control of life.
This message, like so many others that Jesus offers us, is counter intuitive. While most people bow to humility as a value, few wear the clothes of humility, especially in the United States. Citizens of our nation are trained from an early age to excel, and to accept both the accolades and privileges associated with "winning."
While wealth and power are by products of a successful life in the United States, this is not the goal of those who profess to live a Gospel life. Gospel success is measured, not in what it produces, but in the seeds of hope that it plants. Never far from the realization that all life is a gift, and all worldly success is temporary, Christians believe that our "success" is an integrated and other centered life, and this is no easy task.
Only those who pause each day to remember God's love in Christ and live in gratitude for all they have received, will be able to humble themselves with the conviction that Christ will reward them for a life committed to service.
Today, don't say something you are thinking. Listen first to others.
Have you had an experience of humility that changed your life?
Thursday, November 1, 2012
All Souls
"The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want." Ps 23
Anyone who has been to a funeral in recent years has most probably heard Psalm 23 read or sung more than once. Comforting and reassuring, it promises courage during our darkest hours and God's house as a place of hope and consolation.
As we pause to remember our dead, we focus not so much on the loss we feel when someone dies, but on their union in Christ and the promise of our tradition. The Preface to the Eucharistic prayer in masses for the dead reminds us that for those who believe "life is changed not ended." This is the source of our hope.
None of these promises are intended to deny the emptiness we feel when a friend or family member dies, but to remind us that no matter how deep our sorrow, God draws nearer to us in our pain and will never abandon us. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Ps 38:18) Perhaps most important, we need to live our faith in a way that helps others know the reality of God as our benign shepherd by the kindness we show to the grieving.
Today, be compassionate to someone who has experienced the death of a family member.
What is your consolation in the face of death/
Anyone who has been to a funeral in recent years has most probably heard Psalm 23 read or sung more than once. Comforting and reassuring, it promises courage during our darkest hours and God's house as a place of hope and consolation.
As we pause to remember our dead, we focus not so much on the loss we feel when someone dies, but on their union in Christ and the promise of our tradition. The Preface to the Eucharistic prayer in masses for the dead reminds us that for those who believe "life is changed not ended." This is the source of our hope.
None of these promises are intended to deny the emptiness we feel when a friend or family member dies, but to remind us that no matter how deep our sorrow, God draws nearer to us in our pain and will never abandon us. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Ps 38:18) Perhaps most important, we need to live our faith in a way that helps others know the reality of God as our benign shepherd by the kindness we show to the grieving.
Today, be compassionate to someone who has experienced the death of a family member.
What is your consolation in the face of death/
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