"I do not know where you are from." Lk 13:27
How is it possible for Jesus to suggest that he does not know where some of his neighbors are from? Clearly upset with the leaders of the Jewish community, Jesus warns that those who have met him and seen his works on behalf of the poor without following him will have the door to the Kingdom of God closed in their face. Though this sounds very harsh, it is not unlike God's warning to the Egyptians of a terrible plague if they do not free the Israelites from slavery.
The theme of St. Luke's gospel is consistent and clear. Only those who recognize and accept Jesus as Messiah, including the gentiles "from the east and the west and from the north and the south..., will recline at the table in the Kingdom of God." By expanding our understanding of God's plan to include all who follow Jesus no matter where they are from, Luke helps us recognize that any attempt to limit God's love will be condemned.
In the the end, what seems like a severe punishment for some is in fact a radical expansion of God's love, and only those who want to limit God will experience the pain of exclusion. Unless we are able to let God tell us who God is and open our hearts to God's redeeming love for all, we will fail to know the God who is revealed in the person of Jesus.
Today, ask to have your heart opened to the unexpected.
What limitations do you place of God's love?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Bent Over
"A woman was there who for eighteen years...was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect."
A few years ago on a trip to Africa, we traveled to the highlands of Kenya to visit friars who had begun a new ministry. On the way, we passed a hillside on which women were picking tea. Bent over, they picked tea for hours and I wondered about their life and lifestyle. When I voiced my concern to the Kenya friar who was driving, he paused for a long while. Thinking he didn't hear me, I asked again about the women. Finally, he said they were like the bent over woman in the gospel. After years of picking tea their backs were so twisted, they could never again stand straight.
Shocked, I could not answer. In order to live, to eat, to feed their children, the women tea pickers risked damaging their backs forever and had a very difficult time looking up and seeing the world as others do. Almost immediately, I began to look around, almost frantically. I was able to sit straight and see, but I realized that I was often so busy about thinking, reflecting and even praying, that I rarely noticed what was directly in front of me.
The women tea pickers taught me a great lesson. If you want to see and know the glory of God in all creation, be sure to use your eyes to enjoy the world each day. While you might also see people and situations that make you uncomfortable, that is the price of being human, and is always a reminder to do something for those in pain.
Today, stand as straight as you can and praise God.
What have you seen lately that startled you into deeper reflection?
A few years ago on a trip to Africa, we traveled to the highlands of Kenya to visit friars who had begun a new ministry. On the way, we passed a hillside on which women were picking tea. Bent over, they picked tea for hours and I wondered about their life and lifestyle. When I voiced my concern to the Kenya friar who was driving, he paused for a long while. Thinking he didn't hear me, I asked again about the women. Finally, he said they were like the bent over woman in the gospel. After years of picking tea their backs were so twisted, they could never again stand straight.
Shocked, I could not answer. In order to live, to eat, to feed their children, the women tea pickers risked damaging their backs forever and had a very difficult time looking up and seeing the world as others do. Almost immediately, I began to look around, almost frantically. I was able to sit straight and see, but I realized that I was often so busy about thinking, reflecting and even praying, that I rarely noticed what was directly in front of me.
The women tea pickers taught me a great lesson. If you want to see and know the glory of God in all creation, be sure to use your eyes to enjoy the world each day. While you might also see people and situations that make you uncomfortable, that is the price of being human, and is always a reminder to do something for those in pain.
Today, stand as straight as you can and praise God.
What have you seen lately that startled you into deeper reflection?
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Authentic Forgiveness
"Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ." Eph 4:32
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was killed for opposing the Nazis, in his now classic work, The Cost of Discipleship, wrote, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. Absolution without confession.” While Bonhoeffer wanted to forgive the Nazis, he was not capable of it by himself. The Nazis had to repent, to be kind, to be compassionate and forgiving, and until that happened neither Bonhoeffer not God could do anything for them.
The same is true of us and it is a difficult part of gospel living that we need to face and engage. While God's love is unconditional and total, we must turn towards God to receive it. If we keep walking away from God and never turn to meet God's gaze, we are lost. St. Paul knew this and was warning the Ephesians to offer and accept forgiveness only when there was real conversion involved.
Spouses who are regularly abused in a marriage, either physically, mentally, or emotionally must be strong enough to turn away from the abuse and the marriage until their partner seeks authentic forgiveness and gives evidence not only of a desire to change, but is willing to seek the help they need to act on what they know they must do. We should not be naive in this regard. St Paul is not a wimp. Neither should we be weak willed in this regard. Only when we are strong in facing our life as it is can authentic conversion occur.
Today, ask God for the grace of real discernment about your own sinful habits.
Have you ever admired someone who faced abuse and addressed it?
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor who was killed for opposing the Nazis, in his now classic work, The Cost of Discipleship, wrote, “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. Absolution without confession.” While Bonhoeffer wanted to forgive the Nazis, he was not capable of it by himself. The Nazis had to repent, to be kind, to be compassionate and forgiving, and until that happened neither Bonhoeffer not God could do anything for them.
The same is true of us and it is a difficult part of gospel living that we need to face and engage. While God's love is unconditional and total, we must turn towards God to receive it. If we keep walking away from God and never turn to meet God's gaze, we are lost. St. Paul knew this and was warning the Ephesians to offer and accept forgiveness only when there was real conversion involved.
Spouses who are regularly abused in a marriage, either physically, mentally, or emotionally must be strong enough to turn away from the abuse and the marriage until their partner seeks authentic forgiveness and gives evidence not only of a desire to change, but is willing to seek the help they need to act on what they know they must do. We should not be naive in this regard. St Paul is not a wimp. Neither should we be weak willed in this regard. Only when we are strong in facing our life as it is can authentic conversion occur.
Today, ask God for the grace of real discernment about your own sinful habits.
Have you ever admired someone who faced abuse and addressed it?
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Opening Our Eyes
"What do you want me to do for you?" Mk 10:51
The question that Jesus asks the blind man amazes us. It seems so obvious that the blind man wants to see. Nevertheless, Jesus asks him what he wants, insisting that the blind man speak directly about his needs, and it is only his answer that allows Jesus to heal him.
Being unable to see is a terrible burden, but not death dealing. In the ancient world, it was viewed as a punishment for sin, but Jesus disabuses his listeners of this interpretation. Rather, he asks a deeper question. Do we really want to see what is in front of us and act accordingly, or do we want to see in order to chart our own path?
The gospel demands that we use our eyes to see and address the evil in the world. When we see poor people being abused because they are poor, or racial minorities being dismissed because they are different than the majority population, we must act. It is not enough to see the wrong; we must find a way to address it.
Today, open your eyes and see whatever is in front of you?
Who has helped see and act?
The question that Jesus asks the blind man amazes us. It seems so obvious that the blind man wants to see. Nevertheless, Jesus asks him what he wants, insisting that the blind man speak directly about his needs, and it is only his answer that allows Jesus to heal him.
Being unable to see is a terrible burden, but not death dealing. In the ancient world, it was viewed as a punishment for sin, but Jesus disabuses his listeners of this interpretation. Rather, he asks a deeper question. Do we really want to see what is in front of us and act accordingly, or do we want to see in order to chart our own path?
The gospel demands that we use our eyes to see and address the evil in the world. When we see poor people being abused because they are poor, or racial minorities being dismissed because they are different than the majority population, we must act. It is not enough to see the wrong; we must find a way to address it.
Today, open your eyes and see whatever is in front of you?
Who has helped see and act?
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