"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" Mt 2:2
Stability is something we all seek. We want a permanent job, a house or apartment of our own that we can afford. We want our children to do well in school and enter strong solid marriages. It goes on and on. Stability is like a prize that we cannot live without, but today's readings ask us to make a very deep examination of conscience.
What kind of stability are really seeking? Jesus does not offer us the kind of stability that God seemed to promise the Jews of old. Though they would enter the Promised land and build a temple that signaled to all the world that they were God's people, Jesus tells us that stability of place is not the gift he is bringing, not the Good News. He promises us internal stability, the assurance that God is with us in the flesh, and will send his Spirit to dwell within us and among us forever which makes us God's holy temple and his tabernacle. We are a pilgrim people who build places of worship and call them churches, but the real church is us. United in faith with the assurance that God will be our anchor, we are set free from the compulsive need to live in one place, have the same job forever, and measure our success by what we have rather than who we are.
Our challenge on the feast of the Epiphany is straightforward: How open spirited are we? How ready are we to welcome the message of salvation and hope no matter where it comes from? Because Herod and "all Jerusalem with him" Mt 2:5 was so threatened by the loss of their fragile power, they could not hear the good news of God becoming human in Jesus, making it necessary for astrologers from the East to seek, to find and offer homage to the new born king of the Jews. The story of the Magi is still told today because it reminds us to let go of our limited understanding of the gospel and listen with open spirits to the epiphanies happening all around us every day.
Today, ask God to give you a stable relationship in faith to continue your journey.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Cana Compassion
"They have no wine." Jn 2:3
Today's gospel recounting the wedding feast at Cana lends itself easily to our own lives. When Mary tells Jesus, "They have no wine," she could just as easily have said, "They have no coats, no food, no clean water, no hope." In the Jewish world that Jesus knew, the family of those being married had only one responsibility, to provide everyone with enough food and wine for a feast that might last several days. Not to offer their guests a simple table wine would have shamed the family and the newly married couple, and since the poor had only one real opportunity to celebrate in this manner, the shame would have followed them everywhere.
Mary knows this and points it out to Jesus who wonders why the failure of another family to prepare properly for a wedding is any of his business. He might have been feeling compassion for them but hesitates to interfere in a direct way and bring attention to himself. If he sent his disciples to buy wine, it might have embarrassed the couple more deeply. Clearly, another way of easing the tension in the situation was needed. When Jesus tells the stewards to fetch six stone water jars, no one could have known what he intended to do, and when the head waiter tasted the "new wine" he had no idea where it came from, but was amazed that this very fine wine had not been served earlier. The party continued; no one was embarrassed or shamed, and the identity of Jesus begins to be revealed.
The gospel today asks us to respond to those most in need in the same way. Cultivate compassion so that when you do good, your left hand won't know what your right hand is doing. (Mt 6:3) Mary knew Jesus would find a way to help the young couple in Cana without shaming them. We can do the same for those who have no food, inadequate clothing, or no hope.
Today, do something for another anonymously.
Today's gospel recounting the wedding feast at Cana lends itself easily to our own lives. When Mary tells Jesus, "They have no wine," she could just as easily have said, "They have no coats, no food, no clean water, no hope." In the Jewish world that Jesus knew, the family of those being married had only one responsibility, to provide everyone with enough food and wine for a feast that might last several days. Not to offer their guests a simple table wine would have shamed the family and the newly married couple, and since the poor had only one real opportunity to celebrate in this manner, the shame would have followed them everywhere.
Mary knows this and points it out to Jesus who wonders why the failure of another family to prepare properly for a wedding is any of his business. He might have been feeling compassion for them but hesitates to interfere in a direct way and bring attention to himself. If he sent his disciples to buy wine, it might have embarrassed the couple more deeply. Clearly, another way of easing the tension in the situation was needed. When Jesus tells the stewards to fetch six stone water jars, no one could have known what he intended to do, and when the head waiter tasted the "new wine" he had no idea where it came from, but was amazed that this very fine wine had not been served earlier. The party continued; no one was embarrassed or shamed, and the identity of Jesus begins to be revealed.
The gospel today asks us to respond to those most in need in the same way. Cultivate compassion so that when you do good, your left hand won't know what your right hand is doing. (Mt 6:3) Mary knew Jesus would find a way to help the young couple in Cana without shaming them. We can do the same for those who have no food, inadequate clothing, or no hope.
Today, do something for another anonymously.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Christmas Season
"One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals." Mk 1:7
Knowing who you are and to whom you belong is a foundational first step on the road to spiritual health. Every adult believer has struggled mightily at times with their identity as Christians and Catholics. Sometimes it is a particular belief or practice that makes us uncomfortable or leaves us full of doubt, and this is especially true when we are struggling with other issues in our life. When a marriage collapses or a parent nears death, we can wrestle with the teaching of the church or its beliefs and practices. Why can't I remarry, some ask? Doesn't God want me to be happy? Or why is my mother suffering so? Doesn't God care?
It is at times like this that John the Baptist becomes a good patron saint. John knows who he is and does not try to be someone else. There is no indication in the text that he knows exactly who Jesus will become or what the church will eventually look like after his death. Rather, he knows that his job is to prepare the way for the Messiah, and he is determined to do it with integrity and total commitment. That this role would put him at odds with the leaders of the Jewish community seems not to matter to him. God has called him to announce the good news of Jesus' coming and because he trusts totally in God, he is able to complete his task.
John the Baptist can help us move forward, too. When we are able to remember that God is in love with us, and is our companion through every dark forest or imposing mountain climb, we are able to put aside the particular stumbling blocks along the way. Even Jesus, as he neared his death, asks his father to lift his burden and his disciples to pray with him. That his father allowed him to die a terrible death and his apostles fell asleep was immensely painful, but did not distract him from his mission. We may not always know exactly where we are going or what we are to do when we get there, but when we remember that God is like a mother who holds us in the palm of her hand and will never abandon us, we are comforted.
If we remember that, like John the Baptist, we are disciples with a mission, God will give us the faith to live with the questions and burdens which have no easy answer. That God is with us in the middle of the doubt, fear and anger is the promise upon which we rely. God is here. God lives within us and among us. God is enough.
Today, ask God to help you live with the questions you face.
Knowing who you are and to whom you belong is a foundational first step on the road to spiritual health. Every adult believer has struggled mightily at times with their identity as Christians and Catholics. Sometimes it is a particular belief or practice that makes us uncomfortable or leaves us full of doubt, and this is especially true when we are struggling with other issues in our life. When a marriage collapses or a parent nears death, we can wrestle with the teaching of the church or its beliefs and practices. Why can't I remarry, some ask? Doesn't God want me to be happy? Or why is my mother suffering so? Doesn't God care?
It is at times like this that John the Baptist becomes a good patron saint. John knows who he is and does not try to be someone else. There is no indication in the text that he knows exactly who Jesus will become or what the church will eventually look like after his death. Rather, he knows that his job is to prepare the way for the Messiah, and he is determined to do it with integrity and total commitment. That this role would put him at odds with the leaders of the Jewish community seems not to matter to him. God has called him to announce the good news of Jesus' coming and because he trusts totally in God, he is able to complete his task.
John the Baptist can help us move forward, too. When we are able to remember that God is in love with us, and is our companion through every dark forest or imposing mountain climb, we are able to put aside the particular stumbling blocks along the way. Even Jesus, as he neared his death, asks his father to lift his burden and his disciples to pray with him. That his father allowed him to die a terrible death and his apostles fell asleep was immensely painful, but did not distract him from his mission. We may not always know exactly where we are going or what we are to do when we get there, but when we remember that God is like a mother who holds us in the palm of her hand and will never abandon us, we are comforted.
If we remember that, like John the Baptist, we are disciples with a mission, God will give us the faith to live with the questions and burdens which have no easy answer. That God is with us in the middle of the doubt, fear and anger is the promise upon which we rely. God is here. God lives within us and among us. God is enough.
Today, ask God to help you live with the questions you face.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
St John Neumann
Fig trees were important symbols of peace and fertility in the ancient world. Our Jewish ancestors knew that the freedom to sit under a fig tree meant their nation was safe and productive. In today's gospel, because Nathaniel is sitting under a fig tree, Jesus recognizes him as a man of peace and productivity.
All of us should have fig trees in our lives, places where we can go to sit, be quiet, pray and seek peace. Unless we ask regularly, even everyday, what it is the Lord would have us do and be in order to be fruitful disciples, we risk seeking our own fulfillment rather than God's reign.
When St John Neumann came to the United States from what we now call the Czech Republic, he had enormous energy and imagination, but soon realized that there were no "fig trees" where the children of immigrants could go to learn peace and be fruitful disciples. Hence, though he was not a good preacher, thought of himself as uncultured, and was willing to resign as bishop, he is credited with establishing the parish school system in the United States which for more than a century has been recognized as the shining star of the American church.
Many reading this blog attended catholic schools where they learned not only the fundamentals of our faith, but heard the call to be fruitful and multiply. We learned that authentic Catholicism was not passive, but a religion that sought actively to see others with Christ's eyes, and to work together for the good of all. Though today the Catholic school system is struggling to stay alive, we need not despair, but ask God for the imagination to discover new "fig trees" for the education and formation of our young, and the good of our nation and world.
Today, ask God to show you your "fig tree," or go there and pray to be a person of peace who bears fruit for the good of all
All of us should have fig trees in our lives, places where we can go to sit, be quiet, pray and seek peace. Unless we ask regularly, even everyday, what it is the Lord would have us do and be in order to be fruitful disciples, we risk seeking our own fulfillment rather than God's reign.
When St John Neumann came to the United States from what we now call the Czech Republic, he had enormous energy and imagination, but soon realized that there were no "fig trees" where the children of immigrants could go to learn peace and be fruitful disciples. Hence, though he was not a good preacher, thought of himself as uncultured, and was willing to resign as bishop, he is credited with establishing the parish school system in the United States which for more than a century has been recognized as the shining star of the American church.
Many reading this blog attended catholic schools where they learned not only the fundamentals of our faith, but heard the call to be fruitful and multiply. We learned that authentic Catholicism was not passive, but a religion that sought actively to see others with Christ's eyes, and to work together for the good of all. Though today the Catholic school system is struggling to stay alive, we need not despair, but ask God for the imagination to discover new "fig trees" for the education and formation of our young, and the good of our nation and world.
Today, ask God to show you your "fig tree," or go there and pray to be a person of peace who bears fruit for the good of all
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