Doing God's Will

  “If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes... it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” Dt 30: 10,14

Moses' command to his people is clear. Examine your hearts and minds. God and God's law already reside there. We have only to attend to what has been planted in our hearts to know God more deeply and love God more completely.

Theologians often speak of conscience as the "still, small voice," within our hearts, but Moses' challenge is more extensive than this. While conscience can help us discern and decipher what God wants for us, Moses pushes us to act  and live with passion when we discover the God who dwells within us. Faith is not simply about making just and other centered choices that resonate with the voice within us. Faith is a commitment to rest in and rely on God everyday. Even more, faith demands that we let God seek and do with us what promotes God's ways and will for all.

Because we most often see only what is directly in front of us, we can easily err when trying to live a faith filled life.  When a friend is ill,  or people in the next town have been flooded out, or our children are struggling to stay in a difficult marriage, we pause and pray naturally, but God wants more of us. Only when we take time to fly at 30,000 ft can we begin to emerge from our own world, needs and family concerns, and think and pray more systemically with and for God. How, we ask, can we live in and help create a more just world? How can we adjust our life and life styles to be in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world?

Today, step back in prayer and listen to the cries and groans of people and the earth far from your home.

How can you become more aware of and responsive to the God who is already living within you and among us?

Racism and Faith

  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body...You are worth more than many sparrows." Lk 12 4,7

It is easy enough for Jesus to tell us not to be afraid of those trying to kill us and that we are precious in God's sight, but when our life is actually threatened, it is another matter. Fear is natural and necessary. It can help us flee life threatening situations and warn us to be careful, but it is also dangerous, especially when our faith demands that we not run away.

Today might offer us a powerful opportunity to think and pray about racism in the United States. What must it be like for African American to find him/herself at dusk lost in a neighborhood that is clearly white and upper middle class? In these days of turmoil and pandemic, would they even risk stopping their car to ask for directions? That African Americans even have to ask this question ought to tell us more than we want to know about racism in our country.

Today, put yourself in the place of a minorityperson  in this country and pray for insight and action.

Who helped you understand the issues of race and class from a faith perspective?

St Benedict,, Abbott

 “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." Mt 10:16

St Benedict, who is widely credited with founding the monastic movement in the Christian West, is a fascinating character. Like John the Baptist and so many others who found greed and all kinds of vice in their societies, Benedict felt like a sheep in the midst of wolves. Knowing he could not live the Gospel in a society that was so lost, he fled to a cave near Mt Subiaco to pray and to grow closer to God, but after three years, when a group of monks asked him to lead them, he left his cave only to be undermined by the monks themselves who objected to his strict rule of life and leadership style.

Soon after returning to the caves, other monks, who were more open to disciplining their lives, came to Benedict for guidance and before long there were so many that Benedict organized them into groups of twelve and wrote his now famous Rule of Life. Emphasizing work and prayer, Benedict's simple directives continue to guide men and women monks and nuns around the world, and can help everyone who is willing to allow the Spirit to direct their lives.

Today, examine your conscience in order to evaluate your lifestyle.

Have you ever been challenged to be as shrewd as a serpent but as simple as a dove?

Joseph's Redemption

  "I am Joseph," he said to his brothers. "Is my father still in good health?" Gen 45:3

Sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph, the youngest and most beloved son of Jacob (Israel) was a dreamer and seer. Blessed with the ability to hear God's will as it was revealed to him in his dreams, Joseph was hated by his brothers who plotted first to kill him, but later chose to sell him to a passing caravan who brought him to Egypt. Returning home, Joseph's brothers gave their father Joseph's cloak which was soaked in blood convincing the old man that his son was killed by a wild animal.

Years later when a terrible famine struck their land, the brothers of Joseph, hearing that the Egyptians, urged on by Joseph's dream, had stored great quantities of food in the event of famine, traveled to Egypt to beg for help. Not knowing it was their brother Joseph who distributed the rations, they were confounded when Joseph told them he would help them but one of them had to stay in prison in Egypt until they brought back their youngest brother. Knowing his request was impossible to fulfill, Joseph wept.

How sad we all are when we fail to live the Gospel with integrity, honesty and fearlessness, but sadness has a purpose. When we realize how much of our anguish is self inflicted, we realize that we need to reform and change in order to know the freedom Jesus promises his sons and daughters. Letting go of self absorbed thoughts and actions helps us take the first steps on the road to a life without guile.

Today, weep for your sins but don't despair.

What makes you most sad in your failure to live the Gospel fully?

Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed

  "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move." Mt 17:20

As children this text was confusing and exciting. Was it possible to have so much faith that one could perform miracles, and if so what did you have to do to learn this skill? Of course, the passage is not about power and extraordinary signs and wonders, but gratitude.

When we are grateful for the faith we have and remember that it is an unearned gift, everything changes. We may not be able to perform miracles, but we realize more and more deeply that our life is a miracle, and that God is not a hovering presence waiting for us to make a mistake, but a loving father who wants us to be ourselves and to celebrate his love in our lives. Jesus is trying to help his listeners understand and appreciate that they are much stronger than they realize if only they live their faith on a daily basis.

Today, let go of a mountain you have been trying to conquer.

What have been the ordinary miracles in your life?

The Call of the Apostls

  “He called them to himself”  Mt 10

The call of the Apostles is a simple, but important, moment in the gospel narrative.  Jesus, after praying all night, calls 12 of his disciples and names them apostles, a term that means “sent.”  From the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, therefore, there is a sense that the mission of Jesus is bigger than we might have first imagined.  Twelve apostles, all of whom except John were married, will be sent into the world to proclaim the glory of God in Jesus and build the Kingdom. While they might begin with the 12 tribes of Israel, Luke will soon make it clear that their mission is to the entire world, not just to the Jewish community.  Even after acknowledging the magnitude of this mission, there remains in me a nagging question.  What happened to their wives?  

I realize that my question is a modern one, and clearly not the first concern of the gospel writer, but it is important for us I think because marriage is so central of our self understanding as Catholic Christians. Last week I had the great privilege and pleasure to meet with a young couple preparing for marriage as well as witness the renewal of vows of a couple married fifty years.  Both couples touched me.     

The young couple’s love is so fresh, so active that I could not help but be delighted with their care for one another and their desire to prepare for marriage with integrity and joy.  As we talked about their marriage it was clear to me that they wanted their wedding both to witness to their particular love and prepare them for a life together. Their wedding ceremony was not simply a hoop through which they had to jump, but a symbol of what they hoped to become. As we chatted, it became clear to me that the like the apostles, this couple has a mission.

The older couple’s joy was different, and best understood through the lives of their children and grandchildren.  As the party moved through the early evening, the wealth of memories and commitment this marriage has produced were very impressive. It was clear to me from the peace that crept over the gathering of family and friends, that this couple had implanted powerful and lasting values in their children and grandchildren. Be yourself, the air seemed to say, but don’t forget that you are family, that you have a faith and that you have a mission: Proclaim the power of God through your love for one another. With St Paul this couple clearly taught their extended family: "So faith, hope, love remain, these three, but the greatest of these is love." 1 Cor. 13: 13

Do you know couples like this?

Pray for those entering Marriage?

Sheep without a Shepherd

 "At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." Mt 9:36

Jesus seems always able to summon mercy and understanding when meeting the poor and broken. Somehow he sees those most in need with compassionate eyes and heart, and responds to them without judgement. While Jesus can be hard on those who should know better, he seems never to dismiss the struggling. In fact, the scripture tells us that he sees them as sheep without a shepherd.

As C.S. Lewis reminds us in An Examined Life, "God was the hunter and I was the deer. He stalked me, . . . took unerring aim and fired,"(1). Captured by God's love, we find ourselves spending more time being grateful than worrying about our past faults, and discover, to our delight and God's, that we have very little time for wrong doing and sin. Filled with gratitude for all that God is and does, our joyful and free spirits shout Good News.

Today, ask forgiveness of God and move forward.

Which of your faults and sins do you find most difficult to avoid?

Humility

 "Lay you hand on her and she will live." Mt 9:17

Most humble people have been humbled. Born into wealth or privilege, circumstances conspire against them and they lose everything. The proud complain or curse God; the humble realize that everything they had was a gift and not something they earned or deserved. The proud do almost anything to reclaim what they believe is theirs by divine right. The humble echo the Japanese proverb: When my house burned down, I could finally see the sunrise.

Remarkably, the synagogue official in the today's Gospel is not asking Jesus to help him but to heal his daughter, and Jesus, obviously moved by the request of someone thought to be his opponent, is willing to respond to the official's request. But Jairus becomes an icon of humility for the ages when he acknowledges Jesus' power to heal without the approbation of the authorities. We have only to do the same to be considered disciples of Jesus..

Today, be grateful for all of life no matter how humbling.

What keeps you from humbly acknowledging your weaknesses?