Gospel Hope

 "For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance." Rom 8:25

Rightly, St. Paul insists that hope requires endurance. We must wait each day, sometimes each hour, to be filled with what God hopes for us. Anything else or less is a hope of our own making which Paul reminds us is not the hope of which the Gospel speaks.

This is a hard lesson. Most of us want what we want when we want it, and sometimes in a cosumerist world this seems possible. We can go to a local food market and buy a favorite bread, cereal or meal and convince ourselves that with a little more prayer we can do the same in the world of the Spirit. When we do this for others it even seems laudable. Praying for the health of sick child is good, but expecting that our prayers will be answered in the way we design is a mirage.

Gospel hope demands that we place ourselves before God and ask only for what is best for all and to proclaim God's reign. When we do this we are filled with hope because we know that God wants only what is good for us and for all, and will provide us with the strength we need to do what brings glory to God. Painfully, this prayer does not assure us we will receive what we pray for, but only that God will be with us in all that we do and become. Endurance in this kind of prayer assures us that our faith is growing and of God.

Today, pray for God's hope for the world.

What is your biggest struggle in faith??

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?

The Greatest Commandment

 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Mt 22:36

One of the tasks of the great Rabbis was to reduce the entire law and prophets to as few words as possible without losing the power and love of the entire Torah. Jesus’ response to the question: which commandment in the law is the greatest is unique in two ways. First, no other rabbi suggests that love of God and love of neighbor are equally important because love of God is not enough by itself, but neither is love of neighbor sufficient by itself. Prior to Jesus, the rabbis talked about certain prescriptions of the law as heavy or light. Love of neighbor, while important, was considered light, while love of God was considered heavy. Jesus tells his listeners that both love of God and love of neighbor are heavy, that is, vitally important aspects of the Good news as he interprets it.

Jesus also challenges the traditional rabbinic understanding of neighbor. The rabbis taught that while all Israelites deserved love as neighbors, those outside the covenant only merited compassion. Jesus rejects this understanding and  insists that the Torah demands that Jews love everyone as their neighbor. The good news is for all. There are no outsiders in God's love and this remains the challenge for believers today. How we live this command will determine how others understand the Gospel.

Today, ask God for the gift of knowing deep in your heart that God is always with you.

Do you believe and act in a way that convinces others that love of God and love of neighbor are equally important?

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. 

No matter what rank or office we hold in the church, life in Christ always comes back to Baptism. When the church lays hands on our heads, anoints us as priest, prophet and king, plunges us into the waters to die so as to live in Christ, and challenges us to be a light in the world, we receive the same gifts and difficult tasks the apostles received directly from Jesus, and like them our only responsibility is to share our new power and hope with those to whom we are sent.

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?