"When I came to you, brothers and sisters,..I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom...I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,..so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God." 1 Cor 2:1-5
Reading the letters and exhortations of St Paul leaves little doubt that Paul was a confident man who even seems arrogant at times. Whether the Apostle to the Gentiles came upon his confidence naturally or because of his conversion from persecutor of Christians to their leader is not the point. Because Paul knew that he was often filled with fear and conceit, either of which cover a multitude of sins, he is careful not to let his personal faults or strengths confuse his listeners. Paul wants his disciples to know that it is only the wisdom and power of God that moves people towards the good. Anything else can be a distraction.
The gospels assure us of this truth about the disciples of Jesus then and now, and remind us that we will know when God's power is at work by the fruits which the good works of Christians produce. Authentic faith produces compassion, understanding, insight, love and humility, and this last virtue is in many ways the first. Only when we submit ourselves to the simple truth that all our knowledge of God and faith is limited can we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord with the power of God. It was St Paul's humility that pushed him not to let his human wisdom no matter how profound get in the way of God's life within him or among his disciples. And it is humility that will help contemporary Christians remember that no matter how vast or insightful human knowledge is in the digital age, it pales when standing in the light of God's sovereignty and love.
Today, pray to see yourself as God's sees you: Beloved and limited.
How often have you learned a deeper truth when you let go of your opinion?
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Wisdom
"Solomon answered,...Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?” I Kgs 3:9
Solomon's desire to live the Torah as a wise servant of God's people always gets our attention. In conversation with God, Solomon could have asked for anything: power, wealth, property, good health and all the gifts usually associated with living the Torah faithfully. That he asked for wisdom makes us stop and think about our own priorities.
Talking with a friend recently, he insisted wisdom is o.k. but he agreed with Sophie Tucker's famous maxim, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better." Humorous, but scary. Many, if not most people who identify as Christians, subscribe to sayings like this even when Oxfam reports that the 85 richest people in the world have more wealth than the 3.5 billion poorest. More important for Americans, Oxfam also tells us that in the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.(The Guardian)
Imagine what these statistics would look like if Christians chose the wisdom of Solomon rather than wealth and power over others. Wise believers would seek a path to justice for all, a way to use the earth's resources to address the AIDS pandemic, a world that attacked poverty instead of people. Why not dream? Solomon did and changed how we view the world and our place in it.
Today, pray for the wisdom to be the Christian God needs you to be.
What gift would you ask of God?
Solomon's desire to live the Torah as a wise servant of God's people always gets our attention. In conversation with God, Solomon could have asked for anything: power, wealth, property, good health and all the gifts usually associated with living the Torah faithfully. That he asked for wisdom makes us stop and think about our own priorities.
Talking with a friend recently, he insisted wisdom is o.k. but he agreed with Sophie Tucker's famous maxim, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better." Humorous, but scary. Many, if not most people who identify as Christians, subscribe to sayings like this even when Oxfam reports that the 85 richest people in the world have more wealth than the 3.5 billion poorest. More important for Americans, Oxfam also tells us that in the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.(The Guardian)
Imagine what these statistics would look like if Christians chose the wisdom of Solomon rather than wealth and power over others. Wise believers would seek a path to justice for all, a way to use the earth's resources to address the AIDS pandemic, a world that attacked poverty instead of people. Why not dream? Solomon did and changed how we view the world and our place in it.
Today, pray for the wisdom to be the Christian God needs you to be.
What gift would you ask of God?
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Troubling questions from troubling People
"Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him." Mk 6:20
Good people often trouble us, like John the Baptist confused Herod. A few weeks ago in Kansas City, Ardie Bland, a judge who only two years ago sentenced people protesting nuclear weapons to jail, had a change of heart after hearing another group of protesters defend their actions. When the prosecuting attorney asked 80 year old Fr. Carl Kabat whether he taught people to obey the rules, the priest answered, "God's rules." Pushing further the prosecutor asked Fr Kabat whether he should obey rules, Kabat answered, "If they are wrong, we should disobey them." Citing Rosa Parks as an example of someone who disobeyed the rules that made her, a black person, move to the back of the bus, the priest obviously moved Judge Bland, a black man.
Knowing that the law would not allow him to ignore the fact that protesters trespassed on government property, the judge sentenced the defendants to answer five troubling questions. The fourth, You defendants say you are Christians and one is a Buddhist. Fr. [Carl] Kabat says that you should disobey ungodly laws. How do you respond to someone who believes there is no God? Who is to say what God believes, for example, when Christians used God to justify slavery and the Crusades?
Fr William Bichsel, SJ, answered this way. We give people reason to believe there is no God. We need to follow Jesus: lay down your arms, forgive one another, love one another. In the Lord’s Prayer, we say give us this day our daily bread. We mean nobody should be without bread. We say forgive us our trespasses. We mean nobody should be without forgiveness. Do we give people reason to believe there is no God by our failure to live the Gospel?
Today, pray to be true to your Gospel convictions.
How would you answer Judge Bland's question?
Good people often trouble us, like John the Baptist confused Herod. A few weeks ago in Kansas City, Ardie Bland, a judge who only two years ago sentenced people protesting nuclear weapons to jail, had a change of heart after hearing another group of protesters defend their actions. When the prosecuting attorney asked 80 year old Fr. Carl Kabat whether he taught people to obey the rules, the priest answered, "God's rules." Pushing further the prosecutor asked Fr Kabat whether he should obey rules, Kabat answered, "If they are wrong, we should disobey them." Citing Rosa Parks as an example of someone who disobeyed the rules that made her, a black person, move to the back of the bus, the priest obviously moved Judge Bland, a black man.
Knowing that the law would not allow him to ignore the fact that protesters trespassed on government property, the judge sentenced the defendants to answer five troubling questions. The fourth, You defendants say you are Christians and one is a Buddhist. Fr. [Carl] Kabat says that you should disobey ungodly laws. How do you respond to someone who believes there is no God? Who is to say what God believes, for example, when Christians used God to justify slavery and the Crusades?
Fr William Bichsel, SJ, answered this way. We give people reason to believe there is no God. We need to follow Jesus: lay down your arms, forgive one another, love one another. In the Lord’s Prayer, we say give us this day our daily bread. We mean nobody should be without bread. We say forgive us our trespasses. We mean nobody should be without forgiveness. Do we give people reason to believe there is no God by our failure to live the Gospel?
Today, pray to be true to your Gospel convictions.
How would you answer Judge Bland's question?
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
St Paul Miki and Companions
"He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts." Mk 6:8
The gospels often direct us to think and pray about how to make transitions. The call of the apostles and their commissioning are powerful examples of this. Expected to respond immediately to his call, Jesus' disciples are promised His strength when they remember to go in His name.
Traveling at any time without adequate provisions is risky and it was even more so in the ancient world. Thieves hid near roads, especially on mountain passes, where they could attack the unwary traveler. That Jesus told the disciples to take nothing for the journey made his followers even more vulnerable than we first imagine, and their willingness to trust Jesus in this regard becomes the measure of their faith.
The challenge of Jesus to respond without fear continues for today's disciples, and the rituals of the church emphasize this. Though teenagers in the United States, discerning the call to confirmation, might be too young to hear the call completely, the sacramental ritual makes it clear that the time of dependence on parents and adult family members must come to an end. Anointed, those invited to Confirmation are strengthened for the journey and reminded that their baptism called them to be "priest, prophet and king."
In Jesus day people were anointed for medical purposes, and as a reminder to new disciples that the Lord would accompany them with strength and power, making it possible for them to do all that Jesus did because their authority was Christ's not theirs. In this regard, nothing has changed. We can risk everything when we rely completely on the Lord.
Today, pray to remember that God lives in us and among us as our strength.
How has your faith helped you to make transitions and accept challenges?
The gospels often direct us to think and pray about how to make transitions. The call of the apostles and their commissioning are powerful examples of this. Expected to respond immediately to his call, Jesus' disciples are promised His strength when they remember to go in His name.
Traveling at any time without adequate provisions is risky and it was even more so in the ancient world. Thieves hid near roads, especially on mountain passes, where they could attack the unwary traveler. That Jesus told the disciples to take nothing for the journey made his followers even more vulnerable than we first imagine, and their willingness to trust Jesus in this regard becomes the measure of their faith.
The challenge of Jesus to respond without fear continues for today's disciples, and the rituals of the church emphasize this. Though teenagers in the United States, discerning the call to confirmation, might be too young to hear the call completely, the sacramental ritual makes it clear that the time of dependence on parents and adult family members must come to an end. Anointed, those invited to Confirmation are strengthened for the journey and reminded that their baptism called them to be "priest, prophet and king."
In Jesus day people were anointed for medical purposes, and as a reminder to new disciples that the Lord would accompany them with strength and power, making it possible for them to do all that Jesus did because their authority was Christ's not theirs. In this regard, nothing has changed. We can risk everything when we rely completely on the Lord.
Today, pray to remember that God lives in us and among us as our strength.
How has your faith helped you to make transitions and accept challenges?
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