Zaccheus Come Quickly

 "Zaccheus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." Lk 19:5

Why should Zaccheus come down quickly to join Jesus? Were others vying for the Lord's attention? Were Jesus' disciples urging him to meet with new followers in order to further instruct and form them? Whatever the reason, Zaccheus listens and responds to the Lord and becomes a model for us.

Often enough we are not exactly sure what we are do to help build God's reign, but at others times we know exactly what it is the Lord is saying and we resist. Like those invited to a wedding feast, we make up excuses for not living the Gospel. We don't like how God seems to be acting in our life. We wonder if we are making everything up about life in the Spirit, or we fight God's call because it demands that we let go unconditionally, and we are the kind of persons who want clear explanations before we act.

The Lord call us and wants to stay in our house today. What is so difficult about this? Perhaps because we have other things planned or wanted some time alone, we resist, forgetting that God is never a bother if only we let God be God and live in God's presence with peace. The things we have planned can be moved to another time. The few moments of quiet will keep. God wants to eat with us. We need to learn to drop everything and respond.

Today, ask not what you are supposed to do today, but what God wants you to do.

What are your biggest resistances to God?

Take the Lowest Place

 Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’" Lk 14:10

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.

Today, don't say something you are thinking. Listen first to others.

Have you had an experience of humility that changed your life?

Sts Simon and Jude

 "You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God." Eph 2:19

It is always difficult to write about the apostles. In Luke's gospel, Jesus gathers his disciples and, seemingly in a random manner, chooses 12 of them as apostles. Though we know nothing of Jesus' criteria when selecting his closest associates, we can assume, since all of them died tragically and violently, that he saw something in these men that suggested they would be faithful and straightforward, which is always the bottom line in the Christian life. 

Very few of us will have our names inscribed on churches or memorials around the world, but all of us do have a role in the church every bit as significant as the one to which the apostles were called. We must live simply and honestly in Christ as a sign of the Spirit's presence in the world and serve, like Jesus, those most in need. When we accept this challenge, our lives and the lives of those to whom we minister change because of the power of Christ working in and through us.

Today, be an apostle. Announce the Good News with simple gestures.

What keeps you from accepting your important role as proclaimers of the Good News?

Everyday Saints

"Brothers and sisters: Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil." Ephesians 6:10

What can it mean to put on the armor of God? Privileged, I have known many people who walked around with the armor of God. Some of them were sacristans in a parish church; others were missionaries who condemned the killing of refugees being fired upon while trying to cross a river from Salvador to Honduras, but most of them were everyday people who lived in God's presence doing justice and promoting peace. All of them are people we meet everyday in our daily lives. Some are stay at home moms, others are moms working 60 hours a week without health care. Others are trash collectors and counter workers in fast food restaurants. When we put on the armor of God we can see those who live their faith with integrity and passion.

Do you see these people everyday? Do you take time to pay attention to the people who everyday live their faith humbly and powerfully? 

Today, stop for a moment and let your eyes and ears see and hear the people who drive trucks, work in post offices and make our buses and subways function. All of them can teach us about the graciousness of God and the power of faith.

Who are the people who strengthened your faith, especially during difficult times?

Accepting our Weakness

 "Strive to enter through the narrow gate." Lk 13:23

St Paul often brags about his weakness, and for those especially who have been humbled in any way, his boast is a consolation. Weakness can be a strength if it leads us to the acceptance of our faults and weaknesses and encourages us to work with others whose strengths make up for our failings.

There is a temptation for some who recognize a serious weakness to seek out others who struggle in the same way they do, and this is almost always a mistake. While we console one another, we also subtly suggest that there is nothing we can do or anyway we can change, and this results in a kind of stagnation. The recognition and acceptance of weakness only becomes a strength when we enter more deeply into the life of the faith community, seek out others who have faced and even overcome serious faults and depend for strength on our oneness in Christ.

Today, embrace your weakness. Cling to the body of Christ.

Which of your weaknesses most disturbs you?

Being Yeast for Others

  “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” Mt 13:33

Think about the people who irritate you, who force you to think about uncomfortable situations, who refuse to let you be comfortable and demand that you step back and look at the world as it is. Jesus did this often to the people of his time and offers us a powerful image to help us understand what he continues to do in the 21st century.

Yeast, a symbol of the Kingdom of God, is an irritant, and not just because when activated in flour it makes bread rise, but because it reminds us that a fully engaged Gospel life makes a difference in society. Believers, like yeast, are not simply passive receivers of Good News, but doers of the word whose gratitude expresses itself in works of justice and charity.

Active Christians are like yeast. Their good works can motivate, and at times agitate others. While this might be uncomfortable for some, the hard sayings of Jesus, like loving our enemies, are an integral part of the Gospel. In the long run, a soft Christianity does no one much good. Today is a good time to rejoice and recommit ourselves to a full Gospel life.

Today, take time to rejoice for the gift of faith.

Who has been yeast in your life? 

The Bent Over Woman

 “And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.” Lk 13:11

The woman in today’s passage from the gospel of Luke reminds me of my mother who suffered for years from osteoporosis. Despite being bent over, the bent over woman in today's Gospel is in the synagogue listening, learning, and hoping. No doubt some judged her and thought she was possessed by an evil spirit, but she was not deterred. Like so many others who had heard about Jesus she wanted to be near him, and perhaps even be healed. Imagine her joy when the Lord said to her, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” Lk 13:12 I can imagine her walking out of the synagogue after 18 years standing very tall, looking all in the eye and asking everyone she saw what they thought of her now.

The lesson for us is clear. Stand erect. Look around you at the glory of God. Reach out for those who are broken. Feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Do whatever it takes to save lives for the sake of the Gospel.

Today, ask to see clearly whatever or whomever is in front of you. And pray not to look away from the needy, but to help those bent over by poverty, sin or despair.

How do you think Christians ought to respond to people with disabilities?