Exodus 40:16-21,34-38; Ps 84 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, Mighty God; Matt 13:47-53
We look at the building of God's dwelling amongst the people of Israel.
A few things stand out. First, several times this phrase is repeated, "as the LORD had commanded."
This phrase which is at the beginning and end of the part of the dwelling being built reminds us that it is God alone who determines how he will be present in our world and where he will dwell.
Everything is gift or grace. It is up to us to respond to the invitation. We cannot force God's hand but we can be attentive and obedient to his call and command.
We hear about this dwelling several times in the passage. The "dwelling" in Hebrew is indicative of "where one settles down" or "builds a home" or "rest regularly." God is choosing on his own to find rest among humanity. This is encouraging. This is refreshing. This brings us hope.
Secondly, as we read the development of Moses putting together the dwelling it seems like one of those projects that require assembly. We have all bought things in which the packaging will say "assembly required." I get that sense when i read these words of Moses' action, "He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars, and set up its columns…hung the curtain veil..."
Assembly required suggest that though God alone chooses how he will be present in our world, this revelation also invokes and requires a relationship. God does not dwell in our midst on his own without involving us in the process. Revelation and relationship always seem to be connected.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
RADIANT
Ex 34:29-35; Ps 99 Holy is the Lord our God; Luke 10:38-42
Today is the feast of St Martha.
We see in the first reading that Moses' encounter with God, being in his presence alters his appearance, "the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. "
This is an important reality check for us as we try to diagnose whether to not our prayer life is real.
Does the conversation we have with God change us, alter us? Does it have an effect on our life and the way we are perceived?
This does not mean that our physical countenance should be changed like that of Moses, but it does suggest a real possibility of our life being changed, whether it be our temperament or our personality or the way we deal with life as it unfolds. Something in us changes when we have a real encounter with the living Lord.
Are we changed? Do people see something in us that we probably don't see in ourselves? Can they perceive that we talk to God?
Something to ponder!
Pope Francis in one of his daily homilies mentioned these words, "Amazement is a great grace, it is the grace that God gives us in the encounter with Jesus Christ. It is something that makes us lose our heads a bit out of joy."
What is the difference between Martha and Mary as we read and discover them in the gospel of Luke 10:38-42. Martha is terribly busy. She is caught up in her work, in the task at hand. She only thinks about what needs to be done next. Mary, her sister, is amazed at the presence of Jesus. She has completed lost her head, at least that is what Martha thinks, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?" She has lost her head.
If only Martha would be willing to lose her head in amazement then maybe she would enjoy the work rather than be overwhelmed by it.
How quickly her anxiety and worry could be transformed into Joy.
These words of Jesus are always an invitation to all of us, "There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
What about us? How often do we settle for less rather than the better part of life and love? How often do get so blinded by the task at hand that we forget about the presence of Christ in our midst, He who journeys with us?
I find myself even now thankful for this gospel and this feast day of St Martha. We are gearing up for a new school year and there is so much that needs to be done. We have to hire these people and order those things and get that done. We are two weeks out and it is just overwhelming. Then this passage hits me like a ton of bricks.
I ask myself if I am amazed by the presence of God who journeys with me. I breathe. I take a deep breath. I set aside the anxiety and worry and trust. The better part is here for the taking in the task at hand.
I am amazed at all that god will do over the next two weeks. I am amazed that he has asked me to be part of it. I am amazed I get to sit at his feet in few moments at Mass. Amazement is a grace.
This is the difference between Martha and Mary.
God looks for us, god waits for us, God finds us before we look for him. He finds us in our anxiety and in our worry and he comes to bring amazement back into out life. And this is what the gaze of Jesus does to Martha. It puts everything back into perspective.
Today is the feast of St Martha.
We see in the first reading that Moses' encounter with God, being in his presence alters his appearance, "the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord. "
This is an important reality check for us as we try to diagnose whether to not our prayer life is real.
Does the conversation we have with God change us, alter us? Does it have an effect on our life and the way we are perceived?
This does not mean that our physical countenance should be changed like that of Moses, but it does suggest a real possibility of our life being changed, whether it be our temperament or our personality or the way we deal with life as it unfolds. Something in us changes when we have a real encounter with the living Lord.
Are we changed? Do people see something in us that we probably don't see in ourselves? Can they perceive that we talk to God?
Something to ponder!
Pope Francis in one of his daily homilies mentioned these words, "Amazement is a great grace, it is the grace that God gives us in the encounter with Jesus Christ. It is something that makes us lose our heads a bit out of joy."
What is the difference between Martha and Mary as we read and discover them in the gospel of Luke 10:38-42. Martha is terribly busy. She is caught up in her work, in the task at hand. She only thinks about what needs to be done next. Mary, her sister, is amazed at the presence of Jesus. She has completed lost her head, at least that is what Martha thinks, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?" She has lost her head.
If only Martha would be willing to lose her head in amazement then maybe she would enjoy the work rather than be overwhelmed by it.
How quickly her anxiety and worry could be transformed into Joy.
These words of Jesus are always an invitation to all of us, "There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
What about us? How often do we settle for less rather than the better part of life and love? How often do get so blinded by the task at hand that we forget about the presence of Christ in our midst, He who journeys with us?
I find myself even now thankful for this gospel and this feast day of St Martha. We are gearing up for a new school year and there is so much that needs to be done. We have to hire these people and order those things and get that done. We are two weeks out and it is just overwhelming. Then this passage hits me like a ton of bricks.
I ask myself if I am amazed by the presence of God who journeys with me. I breathe. I take a deep breath. I set aside the anxiety and worry and trust. The better part is here for the taking in the task at hand.
I am amazed at all that god will do over the next two weeks. I am amazed that he has asked me to be part of it. I am amazed I get to sit at his feet in few moments at Mass. Amazement is a grace.
This is the difference between Martha and Mary.
God looks for us, god waits for us, God finds us before we look for him. He finds us in our anxiety and in our worry and he comes to bring amazement back into out life. And this is what the gaze of Jesus does to Martha. It puts everything back into perspective.
Monday, July 27, 2015
KEEP US GUESSING
2 kings 4:42-44; Ps 145 The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15
God has a way of keeping us guessing. We can never truly figure him out. God often stretches our minds in order to ensure that we we embrace reality as it unfolds in our midst we do so with Him as the interpretive key not our own devices.
Secondly, St Paul says these words, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God." Why? I think in large part because God can never be hemmed in or limited. The only limit we can say about God is that God is love. Here in lies the true interpretive key of reality. God only sees what is possible. No matter what comes it is always possibilities that lie ahead.
Imagine living in a manner in which we were see only possibilities rather than limits, fear, reluctance.
This is what the gospel brings to mind.
Jesus sees a crowd and poses a question, "where can we get enough to feed all of these people?"
Instantly there are several reactions.
Philip begins to calculate. "200 days wages would not be enough to give them a little. In his calculations he gets discouraged.
How often is this our reaction to life as it unfolds. We calculate or miscalculate to our demise and begin to grow weary with discouragement, frustration, and doubt.
Of course this is the way of the world. The world tells us to calculate, plan ahead, predict the outcome in order to better control reality. This is not the way of God and we are not of the world, we are of God.
The human mind can never fully calculate what God's providence has in store. There must always be room for something more, a surprise so to speak, or room for that which we say, "we had not planned for." With God there must always be an opening for something still to come.
Then Andrew, one of the other Apostles, almost gets it. For a brief moment he sets a side his calculations and begins to trust the one who brought him. You can hear in his tone as he recognizes the boy with 5 loaves and two fish. He sounds excited and hopeful and assured that all will be well.
Then something happens. His tone of hopefulness, "here is a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish" begins to turn sour into despair. "But what good are these for so many."
It is a tragic moment. Not sure why he gives up on hope. Perhaps it is the naysayers around him, perhaps it is the crowd, or perhaps she begins to trust his own inner security or insecurity rathe than the bigness of christ. Whatever it is he shrivels and shrinks. He grows small rather than large.
Then there is the boy, the muchacho. He does only one thing, he gives. He offers his meager lunch to JEsus. HE watches JEsus take the little that he offers and turns it into real possibilities.
I love to imagine the boy in mind as he watches all of this unfold. I imagine him grinning from ear to ear as he tells the story of how the little that he has becomes so much more in the hands of the living God.
PErhaps this is what St Paul means when he tells us it is fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. It is fearful because we have to let go of ourselves, our doubt, our fears, our reluctance, our own security and begin to see as God sees and Trust that God only sees possibilities.
So this week, the meditation for us is to see which of the three are wee. Are we like philip still calculating everything wanting to predict, plan, control?
Are we like Andrew and we let hopefulness get crushed by the crowd, the naysayers or our own inner insecurity?
Or are we like the boy who simple states, You want it, here it is, take it, it is yours and lets the largeness of God transform the little we have to offer?
God has a way of keeping us guessing. We can never truly figure him out. God often stretches our minds in order to ensure that we we embrace reality as it unfolds in our midst we do so with Him as the interpretive key not our own devices.
Secondly, St Paul says these words, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God." Why? I think in large part because God can never be hemmed in or limited. The only limit we can say about God is that God is love. Here in lies the true interpretive key of reality. God only sees what is possible. No matter what comes it is always possibilities that lie ahead.
Imagine living in a manner in which we were see only possibilities rather than limits, fear, reluctance.
This is what the gospel brings to mind.
Jesus sees a crowd and poses a question, "where can we get enough to feed all of these people?"
Instantly there are several reactions.
Philip begins to calculate. "200 days wages would not be enough to give them a little. In his calculations he gets discouraged.
How often is this our reaction to life as it unfolds. We calculate or miscalculate to our demise and begin to grow weary with discouragement, frustration, and doubt.
Of course this is the way of the world. The world tells us to calculate, plan ahead, predict the outcome in order to better control reality. This is not the way of God and we are not of the world, we are of God.
The human mind can never fully calculate what God's providence has in store. There must always be room for something more, a surprise so to speak, or room for that which we say, "we had not planned for." With God there must always be an opening for something still to come.
Then Andrew, one of the other Apostles, almost gets it. For a brief moment he sets a side his calculations and begins to trust the one who brought him. You can hear in his tone as he recognizes the boy with 5 loaves and two fish. He sounds excited and hopeful and assured that all will be well.
Then something happens. His tone of hopefulness, "here is a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish" begins to turn sour into despair. "But what good are these for so many."
It is a tragic moment. Not sure why he gives up on hope. Perhaps it is the naysayers around him, perhaps it is the crowd, or perhaps she begins to trust his own inner security or insecurity rathe than the bigness of christ. Whatever it is he shrivels and shrinks. He grows small rather than large.
Then there is the boy, the muchacho. He does only one thing, he gives. He offers his meager lunch to JEsus. HE watches JEsus take the little that he offers and turns it into real possibilities.
I love to imagine the boy in mind as he watches all of this unfold. I imagine him grinning from ear to ear as he tells the story of how the little that he has becomes so much more in the hands of the living God.
PErhaps this is what St Paul means when he tells us it is fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. It is fearful because we have to let go of ourselves, our doubt, our fears, our reluctance, our own security and begin to see as God sees and Trust that God only sees possibilities.
So this week, the meditation for us is to see which of the three are wee. Are we like philip still calculating everything wanting to predict, plan, control?
Are we like Andrew and we let hopefulness get crushed by the crowd, the naysayers or our own inner insecurity?
Or are we like the boy who simple states, You want it, here it is, take it, it is yours and lets the largeness of God transform the little we have to offer?
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
JUST ENOUGH
Ex 16:1-5,9-15; Ps 78 The Lord gave them bread from heaven; Matthew 13:1-9
Every time I read the story of Exodus I think to myself how so like us. God delivers the people of Israel from slavery, shows his power and might, and yet how ungrateful are that, are we as human persons. We are never satisfied with what God gives to us or how God reveals himself. We always want more. We are always looking to God as an ATM machine, we want to see how much we get out of him and from him. How much do we seek God for our sakes, rather than love God for His sake.
"Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron."
This is you and I on a regular basis. We grumble. We complain. We direct our disappointment and frustration to God through his chosen leaders.
But God shows himself patient. Pope Francis directed us to meditate on this patience of God during Lent, "When we think about the patience of God: that is a mystery! How patient he is with us! We do so many things, but he is patient." He follows up the invitation, "to think about what the patience of God has meant in our life." God is relentlessly and tirelessly patient on our behalf.
Then what is God's response to the Israelites hunger as they grumble for lack of food. He sends them manna from heaven. This "bread" he gives them for nourishment is meant to supply their needs one day at a time. It is just enough for just a day. They could not take more than what they would use of the day lest it rot in their midst.
What is God's patience in giving us our daily bread suggest to us? Perhaps, God invites us to live each day fully and whole heartily. Perhaps he is telling us to remove our selves from self reliance. Perhaps he is inviting us to no longer stock up for tomorrow but rather embrace the gift of each day, to live in the present with no worries or concerns for what tomorrow will bring.
Just enough for just a day!
Is what God provides today sufficient for us that we might respond in love to him and those around us?
Today we also celebrate the feast day of Mary Magdalene.
We drove through Magdala while in the Holy Land last summer. We didn't stop, but driving through it was enough to get me to be thankful for the life Mary Magdala lived and the treasure of faith she witnessed to in the gospel.
She wrestled with her own demons. She struggled with darkness. She had a past. She was "damaged" goods. Yet, she was the first witness of the resurrection. She stood at the cross when all others fled. She remained at the tomb eagerly seeking her savior. Her encounter with Christ transformed her desire and gave it a new direction.
She stood weeping outside the tomb longing to see Jesus. It was this sadness that ultimately prepared her for the joy of the encounter with the risen Lord. Sadness too can be a gift. It too can be that vehicle by which we are awakened to a deeper presence of God in our midst.
There is a danger involved in avoiding sadness. When we seek emotional happiness at all cost in an inordinate way, we lose ourselves. Sadness can open us to a richer and deeper experience with authentic life and a more profound experience with lasting joy. Embracing our sadness and sorrow can lead to greater clarity of vision and deepen our relationships, especially our relationship with God in Christ as we witness in Mary Magdala.
It was the sound of her name echoing off the lips of the resurrected Jesus that remains etched in our hearts and minds as we reread the gospel account, ""Mary!" Thus in and through her sadness and sorrow she comes to a profound experience of joy as she is awaken to the presence of Jesus in her midst, in her state of sadness and sorrow.
She was never asked to overcome her sadness and sorrow in order to experience God but rather through her experience she encounters the living and risen Lord.
Mary Magdala can be a patron for all of us in our society. We so try to avoid pain and suffering. We all want to be exhausted with joy. Yet, in her sorrow she experiences a penetrating encounter with Jesus. Mary Mandala is a reality check for all of us.
Every time I read the story of Exodus I think to myself how so like us. God delivers the people of Israel from slavery, shows his power and might, and yet how ungrateful are that, are we as human persons. We are never satisfied with what God gives to us or how God reveals himself. We always want more. We are always looking to God as an ATM machine, we want to see how much we get out of him and from him. How much do we seek God for our sakes, rather than love God for His sake.
"Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron."
This is you and I on a regular basis. We grumble. We complain. We direct our disappointment and frustration to God through his chosen leaders.
But God shows himself patient. Pope Francis directed us to meditate on this patience of God during Lent, "When we think about the patience of God: that is a mystery! How patient he is with us! We do so many things, but he is patient." He follows up the invitation, "to think about what the patience of God has meant in our life." God is relentlessly and tirelessly patient on our behalf.
Then what is God's response to the Israelites hunger as they grumble for lack of food. He sends them manna from heaven. This "bread" he gives them for nourishment is meant to supply their needs one day at a time. It is just enough for just a day. They could not take more than what they would use of the day lest it rot in their midst.
What is God's patience in giving us our daily bread suggest to us? Perhaps, God invites us to live each day fully and whole heartily. Perhaps he is telling us to remove our selves from self reliance. Perhaps he is inviting us to no longer stock up for tomorrow but rather embrace the gift of each day, to live in the present with no worries or concerns for what tomorrow will bring.
Just enough for just a day!
Is what God provides today sufficient for us that we might respond in love to him and those around us?
Today we also celebrate the feast day of Mary Magdalene.
We drove through Magdala while in the Holy Land last summer. We didn't stop, but driving through it was enough to get me to be thankful for the life Mary Magdala lived and the treasure of faith she witnessed to in the gospel.
She wrestled with her own demons. She struggled with darkness. She had a past. She was "damaged" goods. Yet, she was the first witness of the resurrection. She stood at the cross when all others fled. She remained at the tomb eagerly seeking her savior. Her encounter with Christ transformed her desire and gave it a new direction.
She stood weeping outside the tomb longing to see Jesus. It was this sadness that ultimately prepared her for the joy of the encounter with the risen Lord. Sadness too can be a gift. It too can be that vehicle by which we are awakened to a deeper presence of God in our midst.
There is a danger involved in avoiding sadness. When we seek emotional happiness at all cost in an inordinate way, we lose ourselves. Sadness can open us to a richer and deeper experience with authentic life and a more profound experience with lasting joy. Embracing our sadness and sorrow can lead to greater clarity of vision and deepen our relationships, especially our relationship with God in Christ as we witness in Mary Magdala.
It was the sound of her name echoing off the lips of the resurrected Jesus that remains etched in our hearts and minds as we reread the gospel account, ""Mary!" Thus in and through her sadness and sorrow she comes to a profound experience of joy as she is awaken to the presence of Jesus in her midst, in her state of sadness and sorrow.
She was never asked to overcome her sadness and sorrow in order to experience God but rather through her experience she encounters the living and risen Lord.
Mary Magdala can be a patron for all of us in our society. We so try to avoid pain and suffering. We all want to be exhausted with joy. Yet, in her sorrow she experiences a penetrating encounter with Jesus. Mary Mandala is a reality check for all of us.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND
Exodus 14:21-15:1; Matthew 12:46-50
We have some similarities in the readings for this Tuesday.
In our First reading, Moses stretches out his hand in faith and the wind sweeps over the sea and the Nation of Israel, God's holy family, is rescued from destruction. They find safe passage and thus begin their journey to the promised land.
In the gospel, Jesus the perfecter of our Faith, stretches out his hand and introduces us to a new and deeper understand of family. Family is no longer a fruit of blood kinship but rather is dependent on obedience and doing the will of the Father. A new intimate closeness is realized in those simple words, "And stretching our his hands toward his disciples, he said, "here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Obedience not blood not draws us close together as the family of God.
In two instances, hands are stretched out and transformation is effected, change is made real.
What happens when we stretch out our hands? What kind of new changes are introduced in to our world by the hands we have been given and the faith we profess?
Think about your hands today. Think about them being instruments. When you stretch them forth what are you hoping to achieve? Is it the will of the Father?
We have some similarities in the readings for this Tuesday.
In our First reading, Moses stretches out his hand in faith and the wind sweeps over the sea and the Nation of Israel, God's holy family, is rescued from destruction. They find safe passage and thus begin their journey to the promised land.
In the gospel, Jesus the perfecter of our Faith, stretches out his hand and introduces us to a new and deeper understand of family. Family is no longer a fruit of blood kinship but rather is dependent on obedience and doing the will of the Father. A new intimate closeness is realized in those simple words, "And stretching our his hands toward his disciples, he said, "here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Obedience not blood not draws us close together as the family of God.
In two instances, hands are stretched out and transformation is effected, change is made real.
What happens when we stretch out our hands? What kind of new changes are introduced in to our world by the hands we have been given and the faith we profess?
Think about your hands today. Think about them being instruments. When you stretch them forth what are you hoping to achieve? Is it the will of the Father?
RIGHT AND JUST
Jer 23:1-6; PS 23 The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing i shall want; Ephesians 2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34
A few thoughts on this past Sunday's readings
We hear or read in our first reading that God is going to raise up a righteous shoot to David, "as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land."
I was struck by those two words: Just and Right.
In the mass we say these words. They are pressed upon our lips as we prepare to offer the bread and wine and enter into the mystery of the consecration where our offering is transformed by God's grace and becomes for us the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Here is the dialogue prior to Consecration
The priest says: The lord be with you People say: and with your Spirit Priest says: lift up your hearts people say: we lift them up to the Lord Priest says: let us give thanks to the Lord our God People say: it is right and just.
It is right and just.
In deed it is an invitation to enter in to right relationship with God and thus give God his due, which is thanks. Unless we have justice toward God we can never be just toward our neighbor.
It is fitting that it this justice, giving God his due is made possible by he sacrifice of Jesus himself. At Mass we don't just give thanks to God on our own but we enter into the thanksgiving of Jesus to the Father and thus we are caught up in Jesus' relationship with the Father and made one with it. This is the only way we can experience true and right relationship with God, in and through Jesus himself.
Our initial and lasting response to God should always be gratitude.
When was the last time we truly were grateful to God. We say thanks in passing but when was the last time we were truly absorbed in gratitude for the blessings bestowed in our life.
Some time this week set aside time to take an inventory of that which is long over due for gratitude and thanks to God. Enter in to that thanksgiving. Then Tell Go that you love him. Actually say it, "I love you." see if it doesn't affect your relationship with others as the week unfolds.
Secondly we look the second reading and we encounter these words of St Paul, "For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it."
Now i know that is a lot to take in.
But just think of the dividing walk for a moment.
There was a physical wall in the temple that acted as a barrier between the Jews and the gentiles. It marked out the place of honor given to the Jews because they were the chosen people. Thus, they had access to the inner precincts of the Temple. Where as the Gentiles were not allowed. They had to be kept on the outside. This dividing wall was a physical representation of what was already a spiritual reality under the Mosaic covenant highlighted by the special rituals and the Kosher laws and regulations. Jews were meant to be different, not like the rest.
But st Paul is saying that that division as been dissolved by the power of the cross and the blood of Christ.
Now imagine. The cross both testifies to God's love and effects forgiveness. This forgiveness under the manifestation of God's love is what dissolves the dividing wall. IS that the case in our life. Divisions only can be overcome by love and forgiveness.
Now, I wish we could say that divisions have all be eradicated. But at last it has not.
I think of all the prejudice that we encounter on a regular basis. There is racial prejudice and socioeconomic prejudice that we readily see all over News. But some of the worst are prejudices I encounter between families, where old wounds have not been tended too. Hurt and pain and anger continue to dominate behavior and choices.
At some point as St Paul reminds u, we must let the power of the cross begin to heal those divisions. At some point we must stop being prejudiced against others and be prejudiced for Christ in all that we do.
This week: take inventory as to where the divisions connive to cause havoc in your life? Seek the power of the Cross and the blood of Christ for healing and freedom.
A few thoughts on this past Sunday's readings
We hear or read in our first reading that God is going to raise up a righteous shoot to David, "as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land."
I was struck by those two words: Just and Right.
In the mass we say these words. They are pressed upon our lips as we prepare to offer the bread and wine and enter into the mystery of the consecration where our offering is transformed by God's grace and becomes for us the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Here is the dialogue prior to Consecration
The priest says: The lord be with you People say: and with your Spirit Priest says: lift up your hearts people say: we lift them up to the Lord Priest says: let us give thanks to the Lord our God People say: it is right and just.
It is right and just.
In deed it is an invitation to enter in to right relationship with God and thus give God his due, which is thanks. Unless we have justice toward God we can never be just toward our neighbor.
It is fitting that it this justice, giving God his due is made possible by he sacrifice of Jesus himself. At Mass we don't just give thanks to God on our own but we enter into the thanksgiving of Jesus to the Father and thus we are caught up in Jesus' relationship with the Father and made one with it. This is the only way we can experience true and right relationship with God, in and through Jesus himself.
Our initial and lasting response to God should always be gratitude.
When was the last time we truly were grateful to God. We say thanks in passing but when was the last time we were truly absorbed in gratitude for the blessings bestowed in our life.
Some time this week set aside time to take an inventory of that which is long over due for gratitude and thanks to God. Enter in to that thanksgiving. Then Tell Go that you love him. Actually say it, "I love you." see if it doesn't affect your relationship with others as the week unfolds.
Secondly we look the second reading and we encounter these words of St Paul, "For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it."
Now i know that is a lot to take in.
But just think of the dividing walk for a moment.
There was a physical wall in the temple that acted as a barrier between the Jews and the gentiles. It marked out the place of honor given to the Jews because they were the chosen people. Thus, they had access to the inner precincts of the Temple. Where as the Gentiles were not allowed. They had to be kept on the outside. This dividing wall was a physical representation of what was already a spiritual reality under the Mosaic covenant highlighted by the special rituals and the Kosher laws and regulations. Jews were meant to be different, not like the rest.
But st Paul is saying that that division as been dissolved by the power of the cross and the blood of Christ.
Now imagine. The cross both testifies to God's love and effects forgiveness. This forgiveness under the manifestation of God's love is what dissolves the dividing wall. IS that the case in our life. Divisions only can be overcome by love and forgiveness.
Now, I wish we could say that divisions have all be eradicated. But at last it has not.
I think of all the prejudice that we encounter on a regular basis. There is racial prejudice and socioeconomic prejudice that we readily see all over News. But some of the worst are prejudices I encounter between families, where old wounds have not been tended too. Hurt and pain and anger continue to dominate behavior and choices.
At some point as St Paul reminds u, we must let the power of the cross begin to heal those divisions. At some point we must stop being prejudiced against others and be prejudiced for Christ in all that we do.
This week: take inventory as to where the divisions connive to cause havoc in your life? Seek the power of the Cross and the blood of Christ for healing and freedom.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
Amos 7:12-15; Ps 85 Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13
Today we get to meet Amos, who is a salty prophet of God who does back down from anyone. He is addressing the sins of the northern kingdom and basically telling them for the oppression of the common folk, God will bring havoc down upon them.
Northern kingdom had separated from the south and the descendants of David. They consist of ten tribes of Israel while the other two remained faithful to David and his descendants. They have refused to let the people go to Jerusalem to fulfill their religious obligations. They have set up their own shrines in the north and established there own rules and regulations and restrictions in regards to how the people can worship and practice their faith in God. Things have gotten out of hand.
God sends Amos to dole out justice.
These idolatrous shrines have to go and Amos is God's chosen mouth piece. Amaziah, a government official of the king of the north, is trying to tell Amos to mind his own business. He tells Amos to take a hike and to get lost.
It is amazing how government officials seem to always interfere in things above their pay scale, like the ways of God and God's command. The more Amaziah talks the less Amos listens. We need to channel our inner Amos more and more these days.
Unlike Amaziah, Amos was not working for pay, rather he was working for God.
What Amos tells Amaziah is basically that minding God's business means sometimes you have to stick your nose in other people's business because it all belongs to God anyway.
Then we get to the gospel where Jesus sends out the twelve two by two. He sends them out to the villages with authority over unclean spirits. They are asked to divest themselves of material wealth (take nothing on the journey-no food, no sack, no money in their belts) this way material wealth can't distract them from the task at hand and their spiritual vision would be sharper and more precise as they seek to fulfill their duty.
How often does material wealth or our focus on material goods interfere with a life of devotion to God?
The one thing Jesus doesn't tell the disciples is "to mind their own business." In fact, the very commission of the disciples and sending them forth necessarily means they will stick their nose in everybody's business. They will have to enter the homes and the lives of the villagers in order to bring them the good news. The disciples are going to reek havoc in the "right to privacy" of individuals.
When it comes to preaching the truth in love then privacy gets tossed out. Their is no privacy when truth is concerned. Liberty and freedom as we know is a perversion of truth. It isn't liberty that trumps truth but rather truth that purifies and perfects liberty, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciple, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)
This is where Amos finds his strength to stand his ground. This is the strength of the twelve as they go forth. It also must become the center of our life as well.
It is truth that brings freedom not the other way around. Liberty without truth is licentiousness. Licentiousness is certainly what has become the cancer in our society today.
So when people tell us to mind our own business we need to be like Amos and the twelve. A life of goodness remains undone when we simply mind our own business.
Remember the words of Jesus as child to Mary and Joseph when they find him in the temple, "should I not be about my Father's business."
We need to stick our nose in the business of others. This is the only way we can truly proclaim the gospel for the praise of the glory of God as St Paul reminds us in the second reading.
Like Amos and the twelve we have been chosen as St Paul reminds us. We have been chosen for a task. Truth trumps and perfects liberty. This is our message as a disciple of Christ.
Today we get to meet Amos, who is a salty prophet of God who does back down from anyone. He is addressing the sins of the northern kingdom and basically telling them for the oppression of the common folk, God will bring havoc down upon them.
Northern kingdom had separated from the south and the descendants of David. They consist of ten tribes of Israel while the other two remained faithful to David and his descendants. They have refused to let the people go to Jerusalem to fulfill their religious obligations. They have set up their own shrines in the north and established there own rules and regulations and restrictions in regards to how the people can worship and practice their faith in God. Things have gotten out of hand.
God sends Amos to dole out justice.
These idolatrous shrines have to go and Amos is God's chosen mouth piece. Amaziah, a government official of the king of the north, is trying to tell Amos to mind his own business. He tells Amos to take a hike and to get lost.
It is amazing how government officials seem to always interfere in things above their pay scale, like the ways of God and God's command. The more Amaziah talks the less Amos listens. We need to channel our inner Amos more and more these days.
Unlike Amaziah, Amos was not working for pay, rather he was working for God.
What Amos tells Amaziah is basically that minding God's business means sometimes you have to stick your nose in other people's business because it all belongs to God anyway.
Then we get to the gospel where Jesus sends out the twelve two by two. He sends them out to the villages with authority over unclean spirits. They are asked to divest themselves of material wealth (take nothing on the journey-no food, no sack, no money in their belts) this way material wealth can't distract them from the task at hand and their spiritual vision would be sharper and more precise as they seek to fulfill their duty.
How often does material wealth or our focus on material goods interfere with a life of devotion to God?
The one thing Jesus doesn't tell the disciples is "to mind their own business." In fact, the very commission of the disciples and sending them forth necessarily means they will stick their nose in everybody's business. They will have to enter the homes and the lives of the villagers in order to bring them the good news. The disciples are going to reek havoc in the "right to privacy" of individuals.
When it comes to preaching the truth in love then privacy gets tossed out. Their is no privacy when truth is concerned. Liberty and freedom as we know is a perversion of truth. It isn't liberty that trumps truth but rather truth that purifies and perfects liberty, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciple, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)
This is where Amos finds his strength to stand his ground. This is the strength of the twelve as they go forth. It also must become the center of our life as well.
It is truth that brings freedom not the other way around. Liberty without truth is licentiousness. Licentiousness is certainly what has become the cancer in our society today.
So when people tell us to mind our own business we need to be like Amos and the twelve. A life of goodness remains undone when we simply mind our own business.
Remember the words of Jesus as child to Mary and Joseph when they find him in the temple, "should I not be about my Father's business."
We need to stick our nose in the business of others. This is the only way we can truly proclaim the gospel for the praise of the glory of God as St Paul reminds us in the second reading.
Like Amos and the twelve we have been chosen as St Paul reminds us. We have been chosen for a task. Truth trumps and perfects liberty. This is our message as a disciple of Christ.
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