"Take nothing for the journey." Mt 6:7
How to proclaim the gospel in a way others can hear it and be transformed is always a question for Christians. It is clear that the mere announcing of the gospel is hardly enough to convince others of its truth or power. While hearing the word of God can introduce others to the wonder of the good news, by itself it does little to convince others to live it. Only witness of and to the word has a lasting effect in others lives.
When Jesus instructs his disciples to take nothing for the journey, he is not exalting simplicity of life and lifestyle in itself. Rather, he is reminding them that the only way they will stand out in life is to live the gospel for its own sake. Carrying nothing assures those to whom they are sent that they have no ulterior motive. They are not announcing Good News to gain privilege or voice or power. They are living the Good News so that others might know its freeing and empowering effects.
St Bonaventure had regularly to remind the early Franciscans of this truth. Voluntary poverty, in the radical form it took in the 13th century, was an attempt to say that wealth and power were not goods in themselves. Unfortunately, the friars sometimes exalted poverty for itself. The more dire and abject the friars appeared, the more they would be admired. Only when the choice of poverty challenges others to listen to God's word and to build a more just world does it make sense as a gospel practice.
Today, ask God to show you how to live more simply for the sake of the Good News.
Does voluntary poverty and simplicity of life make any sense to you?
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Blessed Kateri Tekawitha
"'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!'" Is 6:8
The few writings we have from Kateri Tekawitha are remarkable. How a woman with so little formal catechesis developed such a sophisticated understanding of what it meant to live an heroic life in Christ is astounding.
Struck down by smallpox as a young girl that left her skin pockmarked, she was also partially blind, not a great candidate for marriage in the Native American world into which she was born. Kateri seemed not to care about this, even as a girl, after she discovered Christ and began to learn about his life and promises. Having lost her parents in the same smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured, she ran away from her uncle's home and attached herself to a village near Montreal where a group of Jesuits had established a church and small community of believers. There she grew in faith in more traditional ways. She committed herself to prayer, fasting and service of others.
Kateri's life reminds us that having everything we desire or think we need is not as important as knowing Christ intimately. Whether like Kateri we bear with physical limitations or carry the emotional scars of a difficult childhood matters little if we accept who we are in Christ and see ourselves in God's eyes. When Kateri discovered this great path to faith, she never wavered and remains a model for us in challenging times and circumstances. Life is not first of all about health, wealth and security in this world. It is about commitment, acceptance and joy in the knowledge of God's love and care for us.
Today, ask to accept yourself as you are and see where God takes you.
What do you think it takes to live an heroic life in Christ in our day?
The few writings we have from Kateri Tekawitha are remarkable. How a woman with so little formal catechesis developed such a sophisticated understanding of what it meant to live an heroic life in Christ is astounding.
Struck down by smallpox as a young girl that left her skin pockmarked, she was also partially blind, not a great candidate for marriage in the Native American world into which she was born. Kateri seemed not to care about this, even as a girl, after she discovered Christ and began to learn about his life and promises. Having lost her parents in the same smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured, she ran away from her uncle's home and attached herself to a village near Montreal where a group of Jesuits had established a church and small community of believers. There she grew in faith in more traditional ways. She committed herself to prayer, fasting and service of others.
Kateri's life reminds us that having everything we desire or think we need is not as important as knowing Christ intimately. Whether like Kateri we bear with physical limitations or carry the emotional scars of a difficult childhood matters little if we accept who we are in Christ and see ourselves in God's eyes. When Kateri discovered this great path to faith, she never wavered and remains a model for us in challenging times and circumstances. Life is not first of all about health, wealth and security in this world. It is about commitment, acceptance and joy in the knowledge of God's love and care for us.
Today, ask to accept yourself as you are and see where God takes you.
What do you think it takes to live an heroic life in Christ in our day?
Friday, July 13, 2012
Shrewd
"Be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." Mt 10:16
Sometimes Jesus' advice to his disciples startles us. Most of us understand the call of the gospel to simplicity and transparency. Although it might be uncomfortable, we realize there is a challenge in the good news not to worry about how we appear before others, not to try to impress others with our insight or wisdom. If we embody God's wisdom, God will do what God needs to do in and through us.
Shrewdness, on the other hand, is not something we usually associate with gospel living. Shrewd people make deals, compromise their ideals and work a crowd to get their way. It does not sound like a stance the followers of Jesus should take.
While it is clear that Jesus does not want his disciples to take advantage of others, he does want them to protect themselves from manipulation. Shrewdness means not allowing oneself to be trapped by false praise or individual honor. The shrewd person listens with the heart and discerns well what it is God wants, not to enhance his or her personal reputation or prestige, but to enliven and build up the entire community of faith.
Today, listen deeply to who it is God would have you be, and act upon it discreetly.
Have you known shrewd people of faith?
Sometimes Jesus' advice to his disciples startles us. Most of us understand the call of the gospel to simplicity and transparency. Although it might be uncomfortable, we realize there is a challenge in the good news not to worry about how we appear before others, not to try to impress others with our insight or wisdom. If we embody God's wisdom, God will do what God needs to do in and through us.
Shrewdness, on the other hand, is not something we usually associate with gospel living. Shrewd people make deals, compromise their ideals and work a crowd to get their way. It does not sound like a stance the followers of Jesus should take.
While it is clear that Jesus does not want his disciples to take advantage of others, he does want them to protect themselves from manipulation. Shrewdness means not allowing oneself to be trapped by false praise or individual honor. The shrewd person listens with the heart and discerns well what it is God wants, not to enhance his or her personal reputation or prestige, but to enliven and build up the entire community of faith.
Today, listen deeply to who it is God would have you be, and act upon it discreetly.
Have you known shrewd people of faith?
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Give Unconditionally
"Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." Mt 10:8
Gratitude is fundamental to the Christian vocation. It is easier to understand this if you have had to live with little, and surely this was the case for the first disciples. Fishermen for the most part, they were like subsistence farmers, living from hand to mouth, grateful for the days catch. Success on the waters would make it possible for them to feed their families and perhaps have a little left over with which to barter for oil, grain, salt and other essentials.
Perhaps because of their everyday gratitude for God's simple gifts, the apostles were ready to hear Jesus' call to radically change their lives. It was not that they would receive very much in the way of material goods. Rather, they gained a relationship with a rabbi who asked them to follow him and not be afraid, and while the earliest followers of Jesus often got confused about the cost of discipleship, they also heard him promise them a hundred fold in this world, and eternal life. How could they not be grateful?
The fulness of Jesus' promise to his apostles remains as rich today as when it was first offered. Although it involves great sacrifice and trust, if we remember that everything we have is a gift, even though we will often stray from this truth, it is impossible not to want others to receive the same gift. Giving freely of the faith that has come to us unconditionally and unreservedly is natural and necessary for its message to go forward.
Today, be grateful for what is and let it transform you.
How has the gospel most impacted your lives?
Gratitude is fundamental to the Christian vocation. It is easier to understand this if you have had to live with little, and surely this was the case for the first disciples. Fishermen for the most part, they were like subsistence farmers, living from hand to mouth, grateful for the days catch. Success on the waters would make it possible for them to feed their families and perhaps have a little left over with which to barter for oil, grain, salt and other essentials.
Perhaps because of their everyday gratitude for God's simple gifts, the apostles were ready to hear Jesus' call to radically change their lives. It was not that they would receive very much in the way of material goods. Rather, they gained a relationship with a rabbi who asked them to follow him and not be afraid, and while the earliest followers of Jesus often got confused about the cost of discipleship, they also heard him promise them a hundred fold in this world, and eternal life. How could they not be grateful?
The fulness of Jesus' promise to his apostles remains as rich today as when it was first offered. Although it involves great sacrifice and trust, if we remember that everything we have is a gift, even though we will often stray from this truth, it is impossible not to want others to receive the same gift. Giving freely of the faith that has come to us unconditionally and unreservedly is natural and necessary for its message to go forward.
Today, be grateful for what is and let it transform you.
How has the gospel most impacted your lives?
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