June 4th
Bethpage
Gospel Reading Matthew ch 21:1-111
We begin our journey in the Holy Land here at the place in
which Jesus sent his disciples to fetch a donkey tied. They were asked to untether the donkey and
bring it so that Jesus could make use of it.
Seldom if ever does Jesus require the need of anything in
the gospel. But in this spot, at this
time of his journey he needed one thing, something to ride on as he made his
entrance into Jerusalem on this beginning of what we now called “Holy Week.”
Jesus walked everywhere never needing anything for
transportation, always relying on his own two feet to get the job done. When he was in in the womb, he needed the
donkey to get to Bethlehem, and again to flee to Egypt to escape the
hostile intentions of King Herod he
required the use of a donkey. No where
else in sacred scripture would he saddle up and ride until he approached the
time at which he would lay down his life.
Here he does so to fulfill scripture. To show to all that in deed the prophet
Zechariah was correct when he prophesied that the king would come riding the
colt of a donkey.
Yet, even at this late hour things were not what they
seemed. Those who gathered to welcome
Jesus into the Sacred City of Jerusalem had it all wrong. They would soon discover that Jesus was not
who they thought he was. Their thinking
was too shallow. Their thinking was
getting in the way of God’s revelation, God’s plan for salvation.
How often is this the case for us? How often does out thinking get in the way. How often must we surrender out patterns of
thoughts realizing that we too have it all wrong in our own minds. God is not a slave to our thinking and our
imaginings.
Like those who gather on palm Sunday as we journey with
Christ we too must let go of our thoughts , surrender them so that the true
Identity of Christ can shine forth. At
the end of that week, we call Holy, we too realize that Jesus wasn’t who we
thought he was, but rather he is everything we had hoped for.
As we begin our pilgrimage we must surrender our thinking so
that the hope revealed by God in Christ can take over and lead us forward,
onward into something more.
Only then can our thinking be transformed, can we experience
the renewal of our minds illumined by the hope that shines forth through the
heart of Christ crucified.
Then we give Jesus permission to ride through history in and
through us, like the donkey 2000 years ago, Jesus beckons at us that we might
allow him to catch a ride on the faith we profess and bringing light to those
scattered in darkness.
June 5th
Bethlehem
Gospel reading: Luke 2:1-14
The Buddha says that happiness is never decreased by sharing
it, but rather it is magnified exponentially.
This is true. Think about
happiness. The more we share it the more
it abounds in abundance.
Happiness is created to be shared with has many as possible. We know this is realized in the story of Christ's birth. First we see it pressed upon the
lips of the Blessed Mother as she says yes to the angel at the Annunciation. Her yes to
God brings forth an abundance of rejoicing as she addresses her cousin
Elizabeth, “My soul magnifies the Lord, my Spirit rejoices in God my savior.” It is echoed in the womb of Elizabeth as John leaps with joy. Happiness is contagious.
This is the spirit of Christmas. This is the Spirit of Bethlehem, where every
day is Christmas and the spirit of Christmas never dies, for to us is born a
savior.
Not far from the hallowed walls of this church built over
the manger of Jesus the Christ are the fields in which the shepherds kept
watch. In that night of nights, the
heavens opened and the first Christmas hymn pressed upon the lips of the
angelic choir continues to echo even today, “glory to God in the highest and
peace to people of good will.”
Happiness finds it source in glory given to God; Glory given
to God reigns down peace upon men. This
is the equation revealed to us on that silent night in which the Child is born,
wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
God makes himself small so that we might receive him. As we enter in the Basilica of Bethlehem to
go and see the place the child was laid we too must bow low. We bow low, making our self small, in imitation of our God, so
that God can receive us.
It is in this smallness that the greatness of happiness
resounds for the whole world and glory reigns supreme. God has shared his happiness with us. This is why we give gifts at Christmas. We give because we have received an din
giving we help magnify the happiness God offers to us as his love becomes
visible in this child in the manger.
God becomes defenseless love and he invites us to let down
our defenses, in receiving him and in such manner that through us the world may
come to know true rejoicing, true and lasting merriment in this place we
realize the significance of Merry Christmas.
June 6th
Jericho
Gospel reading Luke 19:1-10
We gather in this historical place where many believe the
first of our ancestors to the human race may have gathered some 10,000 years
ago.
It was here that Joshua led the battle that brought the
walls of this ancient city crashing down in obedience to the call of God who
asked him to march for six days around the city with the ark of the covenant.
It is here in this
ancient city Jesus comes first to a blind man, Bartimaeus and then to man short
in stature, Zacchaeus. Both men had deep
desire for something more. Both men
refused to settle for less. Both men had
to face the obstacle of the crowd that pressed around them and wanted to keep
them out and away from Jesus’s outstretched hand.
The crowd tried to silence Bartimaues but he refused to be
silenced but rather cried out the more louder to grab the attention of
Jesus. The crown wished to keep
Zacchaeus down, yet he climbed a tree and went out on limb that he might move closer to Jesus and
get a better look, that he might be seen by Him whom he desired.
Isn’t that us on this pilgrimage. Have we not gone out on a limb? Have we not put ourselves at a disadvantage
in this strange place, strange language, strange customs, this strange food
and mostly this strange time change?
Have we not gone out on a limb that we might get a closer look at Jesus
and so that he might with his merciful gaze get a more penetrating look at us?
We too like Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus refuse to settle for
less; we refuse to let the crown hush us and keep us down. We desire more.
In fact the whole Christian life is about desire. Desire is to the Christian as breathing is to
being alive. We do not remove desire but
we redirect it and ask God to guide it.
St Augustine put it best when we spoke about God entering
into our lives and purifying our desire, “you called, you spoke, you broke
through my deafness; you flashed, you shone you dispelled my blindness; you
touched my and I burn for your peace. I
have tasted you and hunger for more…”
We make this journey not to quench our thirst or hunger but
to deepen it. We want to hunger for
more! We want to thirst for him who
thirst for us! We want him who desires
us to inflame our desire more and more for Him.
As we stand in this place of Jericho we reflect on the story
of the Good Samaritan. We remember that
the story comes as an answer to the question, “who is my neighbor.” Jesus doesn’t show us who our neighbor is but
rather teaches us how to be a neighbor to all, to let our desire be touched by
his grace so that we no longer measure
sparingly the love we offer to those we encounter and thus fueled by desire we
too can imitate Christ in loving God above all and loving our neighbor, each
one we encounter, as Christ loves us.
Jericho continues to offer to us much as we continue in the
footsteps of Christ learning the path way of love.
June 7th
The way of the cross and the Holy Sepulcher
Gospel reading: Luke 24:1-8
We made our way along the way of the cross. As we did so, we were pressed in on every
side by the markets, the smells, the laughing, the talking, the calling out for
attention that we might be persuade to shift our focus from the cross to the
merchandise. We were pushed and shoved. We were given looks of disbelief. For many it was business as usual. They were seeking to take advantage of the
crowds who had come to see these holy places, trying to make a quick buck or
two.
But this is no surprise.
It was the same in the time of Jesus, when at the 9th hour he
took up his cross and made his way to Calvary.
Many gathered for the spectacle that day, as they had done before on
previous occasions of these crucifixions.
The merchants rushed in seeking to take advantage of the crowd that had
suddenly befallen the neighborhood. Business as usual with no mind or attention
to the reality unfolding before them.
We must remember only a few stopped to take notice of things
that were unfolding as Jesus carried the cross and made his way to
Calvary. Only a few were attentive to
the significance of these events, just a small handful refused to be
distracted.
We represent that small few who refused to let this be
business as usual. All around us Jesus
was present. All around us the grace of
God revealed himself, in the smells, in the merchants all the way to
Calvary. It is the same in our daily
life. We will be invited to get lost in
the business of the day and let each day become a transaction like the one
before. Yet something about the heart of
the believer knows there is something more.
We look upon the world not with ordinary eyes. We know that behind the facade of the daily
grind lies the presence of Christ who beckons at us each day anew.
We heed the words of the angels, “why do you seek the living
amongst the dead.” How often have we
sought the living amongst the dead? How
often have we settled for less in seeking the dead realities hoping they would
give us life, dead merchandise, dead souvenirs, dead material possessions, dead
pleasure? How often have we drunk from
the poison of the world and found ourselves empty and still longing for
life? We have pressed Jesus upon our
lips as a profession of faith and yet our heart has been full of the world.
But we stand here in this sacred place, Where Jesus was
buried, where he rose, where he offers us life and choose to live
differently. Easter changes everything.
We must decide to let it change us. It has to be more than a
catch phrase but become for us the ground of reality. We no longer seek the living amongst the dead
but we seek the source of life itself who stands triumph over death and all
that belongs to it.
In this place our sin quiver for we stand it the place
of mercy. Here the cross stood firm in
the rock of Calvary and Mercy is offered to us below. Forgiveness stretches out to embrace us and
becomes the air we breathe and life begins to be renewed. Forgiveness makes love and life
possible. Here in this holy place life
and love are offered once again freeing us from the shackles of death that have
gripped us for way too long. Justice and Mercy meet here in this cross roads of Calvary and the cold stone that dared to contain his dead body and the ray of light and hope that continues to shine from the empty tomb.
No, nothing is business as usual once we have walked the way
of the cross and followed in the footsteps that lead us to Calvary. Our eyes have been opened. We see things anew. Life leaps forth from every glance and we are
invited to see again the face of our Savior, victorious at our side as we seek
to stand at his.
June 8th
Bethany
Feast of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-11; John 20:19-23
John 11:1-44
We celebrated the feast of
Pentecost at Bethany. Bethany is famous because it was in this spot
that Lazarus after being dead for four days was raised from the dead. Jesus
called him out of darkness into new life.
We all are familiar with the
raising of Lazarus, in fact just above us is the tomb that boast to this day
that incredible reality of the dead coming to life at the command of a simple
word uttered by Christ.
But there are other things to
become aware of as we enter in this place call Bethany.
Think about the other places in
this Holy Land, how quickly we know why they are famous. Bethlehem is where Jesus was born. Cana is where the wedding feast occurred and
water was changed into wine, and who doesn’t remember that or desire that it
happen again. Nazareth is where Jesus
was raised under the tutelage of the Carpenter.
The Sea of Galilee is famous for the calming of the storms and the
walking on the water as well as the calling of the disciples. Then of course we
all know about the Mt of Beatitude where the sermon preached continues to echo
to this day of happiness. Gethsemane is well accorded its proper place where
the blood of Jesus in droplets of sweat was shed. Then of course Calvary stands alone as the
singular place of homage for there on the hill our savior hung.
But what of this place of Bethany,
outside of the raising of Lazarus, what treasure does it hold for us who have
journey thus far.
It is here in Bethany the shortest
verse of the bible comes to life: Jesus Wept.
Is there any thing more sublime than those two short words that brings
to focus with no greater clarity then Jesus was fully human. Is humanity is congealed with the drop of the
tear to the ground. Jesus wept. Jesus lets people in. He lets them become a part of his inner
circle and he is affected by their trials, their struggles, their experiences
in life.
This of course points to the one
thing most relevant for us as we journey in this pilgrimage. Jesus had friends. As we read in the gospel, the news spread
that the one Jesus loved was sick. Yes,
not the one who loves Jesus but rather the one that Jesus loves. Jesus had friends.
Do we count our selves in that
circle of companionship? Do we consider
ourselves as part of that group who are classified as the ones Jesus
loves? Should we not? Why do we delay in attributing to us also
that same tone of affection? Does not
Jesus wants us also to belong to him as friends?
Is this not what he does on the
night before he dies! He looks at his
disciples, as he looks at us, and states so clearly I no longer call you
servants but friends. Jesus offers us
friendship.
In our day and age friendship has
lost some of its importance. Facebook as
destroyed our understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a
friend.
A friend is one who is no longer
concerned with his own gain but rather with gift. He no longer concerns himself with what he is
gaining for himself but giving to the other.
This is what we experience fully realized in Bethany as Jesus weeps.
As we celebrate Pentecost we are
reminded that to be alive in the spirit
means to be nothing less than a friend of Jesus. To often we get caught up in the other gifts
of the Spirit such as speaking in tongues, healing, prophecy and the like. But what good are these if friendship with
Christ does not take precedence.
To be alive in the spirit is to
have friendship fully animated in our lives.
A bishop friend mind once said
that we have three simple tasks at hand in life: 1)be a friend of Jesus, 2)
make a friend, 3) introduce a friend to Jesus.
A simple recipe for life in which we are
guaranteed friendship that last forever.
We must remember of all
relationships experienced on this side of heaven, it is friendship alone that
ranks the highest and last into eternity.
Of marriage Jesus says we are not
married in heaven, but of friendship, that alone shall carry us to the other
side.
Be a friend of Jesus, make a
friend, introduce a friend to Jesus. To
know him and to make him known and thus we are on our way to living where the
Spirit leads.
As the psalmist invites us to
examine the theme of our life, we too pause to ponder. What is the main message of our life? What is the main theme of the life we have
lived? What do our decisions and choices reflect outward to the world? Is it
the friendship we have in Christ? Do we
let the spirit lead us on?
June 9th
Church of Primacy of Peter
Gospel reading: John 21:1-19
We find ourselves overlooking the sea of Galilee. The water crashes upon the shore. Its rhythmic beat transports us to another
time and another place.
We go back to where Peter and the disciples go back to where
the original encounter with Jesus occurred.
Three years prior, Peter and Andrew and James and John encounter Jesus
on the shore inviting them to come and follow him. Intrigued they left off the family business,
set aside their livelihood and began to follow where Jesus would lead.
Now three years later a lot has transpired. A lot has occurred. Jesus had been betrayed, arrested, denied,
crucified, raised.
Here we find Peter go back to what he had always known. HE was reverting back to his old ways. But do we not do the same. How often in our life we have an
encounter, rich experience, and yet after
some time our resolution wanes and we too find ourselves drifting back to old
familiar ways, habits of old.
We hear that sentiment in Peter’s remark, “I’m going
fishing…”
What was Peter struggling with: buried past, memories in
need of healing, self forgiveness perhaps needing to be embraced. Rather than deal with the issues at hand,
Peter wanted to stay busy and active.
Rather than slowing down and truly face the demons of his past, he continues to hurry along into the future.
How familiar! When we
don’t want to deal with past hurt, failures, and the like do we not also stay
busy, masking our fear and hurt and pain with activity.
Anything and everything will do just as long as we don’t
face the elephant in the room. So out
to sea, busy, busy, busy!
Then a new awareness begins to take shape. On the horizon the presence of Jesus beckons
and we have a choice. We can refuse or we
can embrace. We can continue to hide or
we expose ourselves to his penetrating gaze.
Peter finally jumps headlong into the ocean. No longer able to hide the shame, he opens
himself up wide to the healing gaze of Christ.
To bring to light the denial, Jesus asks three times, Peter
do you love me. Peter had to face the
harsh truth and only in staring it down was he able to move forward and become
the man Jesus knew him capable of being.
Three times: Do you love me?
Three times Peter’s response: Lord, you now everything, you know that I
love you.
In greek Jesus ask Peter do you Agape me. Are you willing and ready to sacrifice
yourself for me, to give yourself totally and freely. Each time Peter response with Lord, I philos
you or I like you. Then finally the
third time Jesus ask peter, do you like me (philos). Jesus comes to meet us where we are.
Jesus will come down to us in order to bring us where we
need to be. Jesus is not ashamed to lower
himself so that we might be encouraged.
Only in this humble gesture of our Lord is Peter able to forgive
himself and embrace the forgiveness offered.
Peter is damaged goods and yet He becomes the leader of the
early church. Some things never
change. Jesus continues to use those who
are damaged and bring forth his light and grace for the world.
Lastly Peter is asked by Jesus to embrace the unknown, “when you grow old,
you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will lead you where you do
not want to go…”
Again, who of us cannot relate to this sentiment, this
reality. Who of us have not been asked
to say yes to the mystery of tomorrow, the darkness that lies hidden behind the
veil. Our entire life we are asked to
say yes to the unknowable and in this we discover the strength of faith.
Faith is about hoping in that which
we cannot see. Peter realizes this most
properly at the end of his life as he is crucified upside down. He trust. He lets go. He has found freedom in
being forgiven.
The old hurt and pain had been unearth. Memories of denial had been healed. Strength of faith sustained for the
journey.
He followed Jesus.
The beginning and end of our life find its source and summit in this
simple reality, “follow me.”
Forgiveness, healing, strength all are located in the call of Christ and
the heart that never tires of following where he leads.
June 10th
Church at the wedding Feast of Cana
Gospel Reading: 2:1-11
A story is told of a couple
celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. In this setting, one of the young grandsons
asked his grandfather how he did it, that is how did he continue to keep the
marriage brimming.
The grandfather told the boy that it all began during his
honeymoon. It was there that he known he
would be faithful and true. Him and his
blushing bride took their honeymoon in the grand canyon area. On day two they decided to take a mule ride
down to the base of the canyon. As they
began their slow trek down, the bride’s mule stumbled and knocked her to the
ground. She got up, dusted her self off
and then pulled out a club from her purse, unfolded it, then hit the donkey
square in the head and exclaimed, “that’s one.”
She got back on the donkey and continued their journey down
into the canyon. Then as they drew near
to the body, the mule again stumbled and knocked the bride to the ground. She calmly dusted herself off, pulled out the
club and hit the donkey in the nose. The
donkey was stunned and fell to his knees.
Then she exclaimed, “that’s two.”
She climbed on the donkey and down to the canyon they went
until the donkey stumbled a third time.
Again the bride was thrown to the ground. She got up, dusted herself off, then pulled
out a 38 and shot the mule dead. The
husband appalled at what his Wife had done, asked her what she was doing and
didn’t she think it was extreme to shoot the mule. The wife looked at her husband and sais,
“that’s one.” From then on, the husband
made up his mind to be faithful and true.
Steve Martin, one of my favorite comedians writes in his
biography about his early days doing stand up comedy that is was quite a
challenge. He said being great was
easy. Every entertainer has a night
where everything was clicking , like getting a great poker hand, it
happens. The real trick of good stand up
wasn’t being great but rather being consistently good, day in day out.
This is true in life as well.
Think about life for a moment. Most of life consist of routine or
repetition. Where would be with out
routine and repetition. Imagine having
to wake up each morning and have to create a new how you would go about your
day? It would be terrible. Routine and
repetition is what keeps us sane.
It is in the routine of life we learn the path of love. It is in the routine of life that we learn to
give ourselves freely without reservation and to love and honor all the days of
my life. In is in the ordinariness of
life we are invited to reach new heights.
Perhaps this is why Jesus uses a wedding to perform his
first miracle. Perhaps this is why Jesus
uses water and turn it into wine. Can
you think of anything more ordinary than a wedding feast and water and wine?
Think about weddings.
They are geared for the ordinary routine of life. People get married so that they can have
access to the routine of living. Jesus
performs a miracle so that the routine of living can open up to the source of
life itself.
And we miss it entirely too much, the invitation to
experience the source of life in the routine and repetition of life. Cana reminds us of this reality. God comes right smack dap in the middle of ordinary life and fills it with his
grace, as water turns into wine, so to our blandness in life becomes enriched
for it is touched by glory in the hand
of Christ.
So we celebrate the renewal of vows. We celebrate the routine of living give way
to the source of life. We celebrate the
avenue by which love and honor become more than words but alive reality,
routinely each day anew.
June 11th
Mt Carmel
1 kings 18:1-45
“Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, crouched down to the
earth, put his head between his knees…”
We see Elijah the prophet of God, prostrate himself to the
ground. He sticks his head between his
knees as he prays.
Now many of us are able to do that. Yet, Elijah reminds us in a not so literal
way that to follow God demands a certain yes of flexibility. Have we not discovered this in the journey
over these past ten days? Have we not
been invited by the Lord in many ways to be flexible with one another, to be
flexible with ourselves, to be flexible with the people of this land?
Flexibility and patience are hallmarks of the journey of
those who seek to follow God. Here on
this mountain of Carmel we are once again invited to reflect and examine our
lives.
For this day’s reflection, this last day of the journey, I
invite you just meditate on the what we
have experienced thus far. We will back
track a bit and go back and see anew what we have experienced and where we have
traveled.
We gathered in various airports across Texas in anticipation
of the flight over the pond. We braced
ourselves for the next 10 to 12 hours.
We were excited, afraid, unsure and many other things.
Then we were off.
Soon we landed in Tel Aviv, bags in hand ready to move forward. On the bus we gathered and onward to Jerusalem
the group was directed. The brown hills
rose to meet us as we, tired and worn out, longed for a bit of respite.
But yet as tired as we were there was something exhilarating
about being in the Land Jesus was born, grew up and did his ministry. Even as the hills rose up to welcome us, there
was a faint echo that reverberated from the same hills, an echo of gladness and
rejoicing for having been chosen to witness the Savior of the world.
Then we finally arrived at the airport, only to discover it
was the feast of Pentecost for the Jews and no work was to be done by
them. In fact, we recall the elevators
that refused to rise or fall because it to was observing the feast in Jewish
fashion.
Dinner was served,
Drinks were had. Conversations
ensured. Then off to bed to begin fresh
where the journey would take us.
We began our first day in Bethpage. Here we recalled the words of Jesus to his
disciples, “go to the village and untie the tethered donkey and bring it to me and tell the owner
the master has use of it.”
We began in the spot that marked Jesus’ historic entrance
into Jerusalem, the moment that would be for us as Christians the beginning of
the holiest of weeks, where it would culminate in the passion, death, and
resurrection of Jesus.
Cries f Hosanna filled the air as Jesus made his way not
just to Jerusalem, or calvary but his way into the hearts of every human person
past, present, and future.
We followed after him so that we might make our way back to
our hearts and into his open heart waiting for us.
From there we went to the Mt of Ascension, where we gathered
on the spot where Jesus leapt into eternity.
Full circle we have arrived. We
recall the words of the great commission, “Go there fore make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, teaching
them all I have commanded you and behold I am with you always until the end of
the age.”
His presence remains with us. We may be lonely but we will never be
alone. From there we went to Dominus
Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem in anticipation of the destruction that
would follow. We stood beneath the
shadow of the church shaped like a tear drop commemorating this event in
history. Over looking the Kidron Valley
at the remains of the temple that had been destroyed as Jesus predicted.
We thought about our own tears, destruction we have
experienced in our own lives as we continued to journey downward to the Garden
of Gethsemane and rock of Agony. We
arrived in the ancient olive grove we
heard the clarion call of Jesus to the disciples, “stay awake and keep
watch.” From a stones throw away, he
went into agony seeking to surrender to the Father’s will, “let this cup pass,
let it be your will not mine.”
We stood in the place where Jesus was betrayed with a kiss
by Judas: A night of surrender, a night of betrayal, a night of Arrest. Then we went in and touched the rock of Agony
where Jesus sweat became like drops of blood.
When have we agonized? When have we struggled to surrender? When have we given ourselves over to the mystery of tomorrow trusting in
the divine providence? When were we
courageous enough to let go and let God lead and we see in Jesus himself.
From Gethsemane we back tracked a little and found ourselves
in the upper room, where Jesus gathered with his disciples to share a meal, to institute the Eucharist,
to give us a legacy of service and charity as he stooped low to wash the feet
of the very men that would abandon him in the hour he needed them most.
“What I have done, you must also do.” “I no longer call you servants but
friends.”
From the upper room, we went to St. Peter of Gallicantu, or
the place where the cock crowed three times as Peter denies Jesus.
There we went down in to the dungeon where Jesus was kept for the night
awaiting trial.
We crawled in to that damp and dark place reciting psalm 88
“my only friend is darkness.”
We asked ourselves when have we denied Christ in our
life? How often has the rooster crowed
for us? Yet, the mercy of the savior to
endure this forsakenness rises above our own shortcomings. Jesus didn’t need us to be perfect in order
for him to show his love for us but rather while we were sinners he died for
us. He flexed his muscles of charity
even when we had no muscles to flex.
We eyed the steps that led through the kidron valley, the
very steps that Jesus would have walked as he made his way to the Garden of
Gethsemane from the upper room, the very steps he would later be dragged back
up to be tried after his rest.
The steps called to us.
Are we willing to let those steps lead us closer to Jesus’ heart?
Thus we ended day one and prepared ourselves for our journey
to Bethlehem.
We arrived in Bethlehem where Christmas waited for us once
again: Christmas in June, for it is Christmas everyday in Bethlehem.
We touched the star the marked the spot where Jesus was born
and laid in the manger. It was a star
that brought notice of the savior’s birth; it is a star that continually brings
notice to all who come.
We visited the tomb of the Holy Innocents where we were
reminded that when the prince of peace entered the world it was violence
that greeted him, violence that sought to eliminate him. Anyone who seeks peace will need to stare
down violence at every turn.
From the Basilica as we waited in line, pressed and crushed
by the crowd trying to get to the place of Jesus’ birth we went out to the open
fields where the shepherds kept watch that night in which the savior was
born. It was there over looking the
fields we the heavens burst once again with the first Christmas Hymn, “Glory to
God in the highest and peace to the people of good will…”
Again we paused to the deeper realization that peace comes
only when God is given glory and God is given glory by good will. It was God’s good will that brought Jesus to
us and in return our will must be purified by that goodness.
Happiness never decreases when it is shared. God has always had a plan to share his
goodness with us, which doesn’t lessen his goodness but magnifies it as we hear
pressed upon the lips of the blessed Mother, “my soul magnifies the lord, my
spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
How do we share the happiness with others that God first
shared with us?
From Bethlehem we journey to the birth place of John the
Baptist and the church of the visitation.
What was striking how unlike was this place than
Bethlehem. There were no crowds, no
pushing and shoving here. We had the
place to ourselves. How fitting. For it was John Baptist himself who said “I
must decrease, he must increase.” Here
is a recipe for us in life. How do we
decrease so that Jesus may increase? How
do we push aside our selfishness so that the reign of Christ can be magnified?
We then journeyed to the hill country following after the
Blessed Mother who went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who became pregnant in
old age. Elizabeth was hiding out for
the sake of privacy.
It is here in the hallowed place we recalled the words of
Elizabeth addressed to Mary, “Blessed are you amongst women, blessed is the
fruit of thy womb…How is it the mother of my Lord should come to me. The moment I heard your greeting the babe
leapt in my womb.”
With a simple greeting, because she carried Jesus in her,
Mary affected her surroundings and brought joy and rejoicing. We too carry Jesus with us. Yet, how often it isn’t joy we bring to our
surroundings. How can we imitate Mary, so
that with every greeting, the joy of Christ rushes forth to meet those we
encounter?
Then after a bit of respite and ice cream, trying to take it
all in, we gathered ourselves on the bus to make our way back to Jerusalem, to
the hotel to refresh ourselves and prepare fort the day ahead.
Day three we found ourselves in Masada: The fortress of the
rebels, formerly King Herod’s hideaway.
It was on the mountain we revisited the Jewish rebels refusal to become
captives to the Romans. We walked around
and pictured in our mind the comfort and luxury of two thousand years ago.
We peered out and caught the valley of the dead sea. Then we went for a float in the Salty
Sea. Many got busy with rubbing mud on
themselves, others just dipped a toe in and that was enough. Some were hoping to look a little longer, so
they made mud pies and whether they looked younger at least they felt younger
as they rediscovered their childhood that often gets buried beneath the debris
of our lived experience.
From the Dead sea we were off to Jericho, a city that was
ten thousand years old. The oldest human
settlement greeted us. But we recalled
the meeting of Jesus with Zaccheaus the short man who climbed a tree, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who wanted to
see, and of course the Good Samaratan who teaches us how to be neighbor.
We crowded around the sycamore tree for a picture. We wondered would we climb a tree to get a
closer look at Jesus? Would we let Jesus
get a closer look at us?
Then we visited the base of the mountain of Temptation,
where we were tempted to ride a camel and assaulted with salesmen
continually. We were certain Jesus’
temptations were a little different. Yet
we looked upon the mountain where Jesus was asked to bow down so that he could
rule as the devil desired not as God desired.
We too are offered a deal daily in our life. We struggle to surrender to God to overcome
temptation. We fight the good
fight. We run the race of faith.
Day four we began in Bethesda, near the pools of healing.
How fitting for us to gather at this place known for healing
as we prepare for the way of the cross which is the ultimate journey of healing
for all of humanity. In and through the
cross God’s healing remedy is made known.
We began the via dolorosa among the merchants and vendors
and crowds pressing in around us.
Motorcycles honked and sped past us.
Everyone wanted us to stop and buy from them. We were pushed and shoved as we made our way
to Calvary.
It was business as usual for them. But it was not business as usual for us. Like in the time of Christ, crowds pressed
forward trying to make a buck from the spectacle of the crucifixion, yet only a
few stopped to take notice, only a few were aware of the events unfolding
before them. We step in line with those
few as we journeyed upwards: single hearted, single minded, unperturbed by the
pushing and pressing and shoving.
We entered the place of the tomb of Christ and a certain
stillness fell upon us as we celebrated mass.
For a moment the noise of the
crowd gave way to silence. Then we
reached upward to the place where the cross was fixed in the earth on which
hung the savior of the world. We reached
in and touched the cold stone on which the blood of Christ was shed.
What wondrous love is this!
From the Holy Sepulcher, we were invited to go to the
western wall to pray for peace. How
fitting that thoughts of peace filled our hearts and minds as we left the place on
which peace was established, where the king of peace rose from the dead.
After a very emotional and electric day we made our way to
the Museum depicting the model of the city of Jerusalem. From there we could see in greater detail the
places and distance travels as Jesus made his way from the upper room to the
arrest and trial to the Calvary. It all
began to come into focus once again.
We went back to our hotels to prepare for our journey to the
Sea of Galilee.
We began this Sunday stopping at Bethany where Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead. We gathered just
outside the tomb of Lazarus in a little chapel built by the crusaders and here
we celebrated the feast of Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit the gift
which makes us friends of God.
Bethany we encounter the place Jesus’ friends called their
home: Mary, Martha, Lazarus. The Spirit
of God desires to make us friends as well to deepen our intimacy with Christ
daily.
From Bethany we journeyed to the Jordan river. There on the banks we looked out over the
river and began to imagine Jesus standing on the banks himself in preparation
for the beginning of his public ministry he stands in line of the mass of sinners
seeking renewal. Jesus starts his ministry
by being in solidarity with all of humanity.
We renewed our baptismal promises on the banks of the
Jordan: do you reject Satan, all of his works, all of his empty promises, do
you believe in God, Father Almighty, Jesus his son, Holy Spirit giver of live?
We all proclaimed with one voice: I do.
The water was sprinkled and we marveled at such
simplicity. God makes good on his
promise as we give him ours.
It was here at this spot the Israelites entered into the
Promise Land after 40 years and the Manna ceased. It was here that the true bread of life had
come to make himself known.
We continued our journey to the Sea of Galilee admiring the
country side. We took in the
surroundings as we drove for several hours on the bus. Then we spied our hotel overlooking the sea
of Galilee and we marveled at the beauty and simplicity and the serenity of the
place.
Day 6 we headed out across the see of Galilee. We loaded up on the boat and headed to the
other side, just as we read about in the gospel. There we were on the waters on which Jesus
calmed the storms, Jesus walked on Water, Peter began to sink.
We sang and danced upon the deck as our destination drew
nearer and nearer. Remember the
peacefulness of the lake.
Upon docking we hurried into the shop to catch a glimpse of
the Jesus boat and then we were off to the races.
Our first stop was the Church of the Primacy of Peter where
we celebrated mass over looking the sea of Galilee. The peaceful calm of the sea mesmerized as we
recalled the scene of Jesus offering the disciples breakfast by the sea. Jesus asked Peter Do you love me more than
these and we continue to wrestle with the same question. How often do other things interfere with the
love we have for Christ?
Peter who denied Jesus; Peter who is damaged goods; Peter
who is rash; this Peter is asked to be the leader for the church. Follow me, Jesus tells Peter once again and
he tells us as well. Our journey back to
God always entails a following where Christ leads.
We ascended the mount of Beatitudes and recalled the Sermon
of the mound in Matthew chapter 5-7.
Blessed are the poor…Indeed happiness follows us.
The mount stood overlooking the sea. Happiness beckoned at us to leave it all
behind and trust in the words of Jesus.
From the mount we stood on the ground of the multiplication
of the loaves and fish. Jesus took what
was scare and made it abundant. Where
man saw impossibility Jesus made possible.
Give them some food yourselves Jesus told the disciples as
he continues to tell us. We shouldn’t
worry about running out or running low or not having enough. Jesus supplies.
From there we went to the restaurant where the catch of the
day stared back at us.
Capharnaum awaited us.
We entered Jesus home base of operations. We saw the first century remains of his
home where he cured Peter’s mother in
law. We went into the synagogue where Jesus cast out the demon and
where the centurion asked him to cure his slave and showed great humility,
“Lord I am not worthy to have you enter
under my roof, but only say the world and my servant shall be healed.”
Jesus lived in a lake house.
Jesus ministered to the daily needs of those who came to him from his
home. How does our home become a place
of healing and ministry? How do we let our
home become a dwelling for Jesus?
On to Tabor. We took
the little vans upward. We went in stood
upon the ground where the voice was heard, “this is my beloved son, listen to
him.”
Has being on Tabor helped us to listen better? The church was striking in its icon of the
transfiguration.
We peered across the Megiddo valley. Hard to imagine this land of farming and
crops is expected to be the place of the final battle at the end of time.
We slowly made our way down the hill to head back to the
hotel, to pack and get ready for the marathon to Cana and Nazareth to Haifa.
Day 7 we rose with our bags packed and headed to the
Mediterranean Sea. Along the way we
stopped at Cana and renewed our wedding vows.
In the routine of living we discover the source of life. Jesus performs his first miracle at a
wedding, This ordinary common experience
something extraordinary occurs.
How often do we long for the water to turn into wine time
and time again. In the ordinary moments we are invited to reach new heights.
The couples with us renewed their vows, they said I do all
over again. Then we went to celebrate
with a toast as we shopped for wine.
Quickly we transitioned to Nazareth. We went to the place of the
Annunciation. There we spied the many
images of our lady donated by all the countries. We prayed the Angelus together: The angel of
the Lord declared unto Mary and she conceived by the Holy Spirit; Behold the
handmaid of the lord, be it done to me according to thy word; the word became flesh
and dwelt among us.
Hard to imagine in this quiet hamlet God becomes flesh in
the womb of Mary.
We went to the home of Joseph where Jesus was raised. We reflect on his hidden life, those 30 years
we no so little yet we know he grew in wisdom and grace.
How much of life is this way. How often do we subtly obtain wisdom in our
life? How often is hidden grace availed
to us out of sight of others? We too
must tend to our hidden life for the Father sees what is hidden and repays.
Then we made it to the Mediterranean Sea, Haifa and Mt
Carmel. We pause to reflect, to examine,
to ponder all these things as Mary did throughout her life.
We end our days in the holy Land in the cave of Elijah, in
this mountain top dedicated to our lady of Mt Carmel. Why not.
Every end is an invitation to begin a new and we hear those words a
fresh: be it done to me according to thy word and we learn anew to follow where
the Savior leads.
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