1 Kings 8:22-30; Ps 84 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God; Mk 7:1-13
"For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible."
These are the opening lines of the documentary movie about the apparitions of Our lady of Lourdes, The Song of Bernadette.
Bernadette was an illiterate, poor, very young. At the age of 14 she wasn't permitted to receive communion because of her inability to understand the Catechesis which was given in French. Her family lived in an abandoned jail. Her Father had spent time in jail for stealing bread to feed the family.
After the apparitions began, things got worse. The town folk mocked and made fun of Bernadette. She was hounded by the police and local authorities. She was interrogated and even threatened with prison because of the visions.
Yet she remained steadfast. She would go to the grotto carrying a lit candle and pray the rosary.
From Feb 11, 1858 until july 1858, Bernadette received these visions.
What was the message of our lady? She asked that a shrine be built on the spot where the water would flow. She asked that we pray for sinners. She took the title, "Immaculate conception."
She told Bernadette that she would find happiness in heaven.
Over 60 miraculous cures have been officially recognized through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. Many more have gone unofficial. The pilgrimages to the place continues. The process seeking the intercession of Our Lady daily. Many who visit Lourdes return home rejuvenated with a renewed faith and a readiness to serve God in their neighbor.
How often in the gospel is the sick privileged place for the encounter of the divine? How often is it to those that Jesus reveals his divine power?
Sickness isn't a punishment as much as it is an invitation to humble thyself and seek refuge in him who alone can console.
We pray that Our Mother continue to lead us on the path that culminates in the heart of Christ her son.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
GOD WHO TRAVELS WITH US
1 Kings 8:1-7,9-13; PS 132 Lord, go up to the place of your rest; Mk 6:53-56
In today's first reading from the book of Kings we experience the transfer of the Ark of the covenant from the tent of dwelling to the Temple commissioned by King David though built by King Solomon.
It is quite a celebration and solemn possession.
It mirrors when Kind David brought the ark into Jerusalem for the first time.
"KIng Solomon and the entire community of Israel present for the occasion sacrificed before the ark steep and oxen too many to number. The priest brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the Cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple…"
A grand possession and celebration in deed.
God remained with his chosen people; he has always desired to journey with them whether it be in tribal association or settled urban as a nation or even a kingdom. God remained present. God traveled with them.
God is never distant, disinterested, or disengaged. He is always with and for his people.
The Ark represents the indwelling of God in the mist of his people. It is very much a sacramental presence: it can be seen, touched, experienced in the flesh.
This of course is a preja vu for Jesus, the incarnation of God, who dwells among us as St. John's gospel points out so clearly.
We get that in today's gospel. Jesus, the son of God, is with his people. He allow himself to be touched, "they begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed."
God travels with us. God wants to be experienced in a sensible way. God makes himself available to us every day throughout the journey.
Friday, February 7, 2014
EULOGY
Sirach 47:2-11PS 18 BLessed be God my salvation; Mark 6:14-29
Today is the birthday of Charles Dickens, who in A Christmas Carol stated "There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
Laughter and good humor and I would add mercy. Three elements that help lift us to the divine.
Today is the first reading we encounter a Eulogy of sorts for King David. Written some 700 years after his death the author remembers what made David so grand in the eyes and hearts of his nation, the kingdom of Israel.
Three things are mentioned.
He called upon the Most High God who gave him strength to defeat his enemies and to raise up the might of his people.
Secondly, he had great concern for worship, "he set singers before the altar and by their voices he made sweet melodies, adding beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year so that when the Holy Name was praised before day break the sanctuary would resound.
Thirdly, he sought God's mercy at every turn and lived life enveloped in God' s mercy. He was forgiven and from this experience of mercy cam this strength.
We could do well to imitate the life of David: seeking the strength of God daily that we might add strength and might to his people, adding beauty to worship by our participation and presence, and seeking God's mercy and letting it be the foundation of our life.
Today is the birthday of Charles Dickens, who in A Christmas Carol stated "There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
Laughter and good humor and I would add mercy. Three elements that help lift us to the divine.
Today is the first reading we encounter a Eulogy of sorts for King David. Written some 700 years after his death the author remembers what made David so grand in the eyes and hearts of his nation, the kingdom of Israel.
Three things are mentioned.
He called upon the Most High God who gave him strength to defeat his enemies and to raise up the might of his people.
Secondly, he had great concern for worship, "he set singers before the altar and by their voices he made sweet melodies, adding beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year so that when the Holy Name was praised before day break the sanctuary would resound.
Thirdly, he sought God's mercy at every turn and lived life enveloped in God' s mercy. He was forgiven and from this experience of mercy cam this strength.
We could do well to imitate the life of David: seeking the strength of God daily that we might add strength and might to his people, adding beauty to worship by our participation and presence, and seeking God's mercy and letting it be the foundation of our life.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
MANLY
1 kings 2:1-12; Ps 1Chronicles 29 Lord, you are exalted over all;Mark 6:7-13
"Take courage and be a man." These are David's final words to Solomon as David hands over the crown to his Son.
Take courage and be a man. What does it mean to be manly.
David continue is exhortation with these words, "Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing is statues, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill his promise he made on by behalf, 'if your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel."
What does it mean to be a man, it means to go to church and be dedicated in living out the values of God. Being manly is being Godly.
One who is truly masculine is one who is:strong, principled, generous, devoted to serve and protect those under his care, decisive, God fearing, and humble, just to say a few things.
In the psalm today with get David's last prayer before he dies. The paslm begins with David's words, "Lord, you are exalted over all."
If you turn your bible to 1 Chronicles 29 you will be able to read the entire prayer but also you will get David's last words to all before he departs by 'way of all flesh.'
These are his last words, "Bless the LORD your God."
If we live out these words the we truly discover what it means to be a true woman or man of God. To bless the Lord with the life we live is the hallmark of godliness, our worth as men and women is found in the blessing we bring to the LORD.
As we look to the gospel we see Jesus send out the disciple with authority over unclean spirits and nothing but a walking stick and sandals, no things to weigh them down-no food, no sack, no money.
Urgency was the name of the game. Urgency and clarity. They were to focus on the task at hand, keeping their eyes on the ball, so to speak. Possessions are distractions and JEsus wanted his disciples to be clear minded and clear hearted, zeroed in on the task before them: driving out demons, bringing healing.
Signs of the kingdom then remains signs of the kingdom today. The only thing lacking is our urgency.
Put on your sandals and grab your stick and go forth and let the kingdom reign.
"Take courage and be a man." These are David's final words to Solomon as David hands over the crown to his Son.
Take courage and be a man. What does it mean to be manly.
David continue is exhortation with these words, "Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing is statues, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill his promise he made on by behalf, 'if your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel."
What does it mean to be a man, it means to go to church and be dedicated in living out the values of God. Being manly is being Godly.
One who is truly masculine is one who is:strong, principled, generous, devoted to serve and protect those under his care, decisive, God fearing, and humble, just to say a few things.
In the psalm today with get David's last prayer before he dies. The paslm begins with David's words, "Lord, you are exalted over all."
If you turn your bible to 1 Chronicles 29 you will be able to read the entire prayer but also you will get David's last words to all before he departs by 'way of all flesh.'
These are his last words, "Bless the LORD your God."
If we live out these words the we truly discover what it means to be a true woman or man of God. To bless the Lord with the life we live is the hallmark of godliness, our worth as men and women is found in the blessing we bring to the LORD.
As we look to the gospel we see Jesus send out the disciple with authority over unclean spirits and nothing but a walking stick and sandals, no things to weigh them down-no food, no sack, no money.
Urgency was the name of the game. Urgency and clarity. They were to focus on the task at hand, keeping their eyes on the ball, so to speak. Possessions are distractions and JEsus wanted his disciples to be clear minded and clear hearted, zeroed in on the task before them: driving out demons, bringing healing.
Signs of the kingdom then remains signs of the kingdom today. The only thing lacking is our urgency.
Put on your sandals and grab your stick and go forth and let the kingdom reign.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
DO NOT FORGET
2 Samuel 24:2-17; Ps 32 Lord, forgive the wrong I have done; Mark 6:1-6
"The believer is essentially one who remembers…"
What's the big deal? Why get all bothered for David wanting to do a census in order to get a head count? Does the punishment fit the crime?
These are few of the questions that come to mind as we continue to follow in the footsteps of David.
Once again, David's audacity seems to get him in trouble. He demands a head count, "tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number."
At first glance perhaps we think, so what, a census. Every nation does a census. We do one every ten years.
It seems the issue may not be the census as much as it is David's intention behind the census. It is often said one of the great temptations is to do the right thing for the wrong reason.
Motivation and intention are important. We are reminded by this story that our own inner motivations and intentions are always beneath the scrutiny and judgment of God.
Think about how many times we may have done a good with the wrong intention or motivation. There is something lacking in that endeavor.
What about the punishment? Was it fair? I think fair maybe the wrong question to ask. In reality, we are invited to realize that individual decisions are never carried out in a vacuum. Individual decisions always have an impact on society at large.
The pestilence that effects the 70,000 people remind us that we are our brother's keeper. We have a responsibility not just to look out for ourselves but we must consider all in the decisions we make.
No man is an island. This is true for the time of David but also for our time as well. As we continue to read form 2 samuel we discover one of the last official acts David does as King before he dies.
In 2 samuel 24:25 we read the following account, "David built an altar to the Lord there, and sacrificed burnt offerings and communion offerings. The LORD granted relief to the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel."
How does David save face? By bowing his face to the ground and returning his heart to God. The census was David's way of being puffed up, boasting about all that he has done. The altar was his way of remembering it was grace that has carried him every step of the way.
This is what we remember.
as Pope Francis reminds us, "The believer is one who remembers."
Don't forget!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
BIG HAIR BANDS
2 Samuel 18:9-19:3; Ps 86 Listen , Lord, and answer me; Mark 5:21-43
We continue to follow the saga of king David and his reign over Israel. Today we pick up with his son, Absalom who has rebelled against him.
We find Absalom hanging from a tree by his hair (2 Samuel 18:9-10) "Absalom unexpectedly came up against David's servants. He was mounted on a mule, and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth, his hair caught fast in the tree."
This reminds me of the many westerns I grew up watching. Usually each movie contained a pursuit of sorts on horseback. And eventually in the pursuit someone would get knocked off his horse by a low lying limb of a tree because they were not attentive and did not duck low enough.
Such is the case with Absalom, except he gets hung by low lying beaches by his hair. Absalom in his hurry to get away doesn't duck low enough. This is ironic because ducking is a sign of humility.
Now to understand the scene a little better, it is important to get to know the man, Absalom. If we journey a few chapters back to 2 Samuel 14:25 and following we get the picture of Absalom more clearly, "In all of Israel there was no man praised for his beauty than Absalom, flawless from the sole of his foot tot eh crown of his head. When he shaved his head-as he used to do at the end of every year, because his hair became to heavy for him-the hair weighed two hundred shekels according to the royal standard…(2.5 kilograms)
You get the image. Absalom was Fabio of his day and age.
He liked himself. He was the quintessential pretty boy. He took great care in his appearance and especially in his hair. Yet, it was this vanity, this pride that gets him stuck in tree. Hair today gone tomorrow:).
This is what the writer of Samuel is telling us. Pride and vanity cause separation and ultimately destruction. Absalom's pride not only separated him from his father and the nation of Israel it eventually led to him being separated from life itself.
Now having said these things we look to gospel for today. We see Jesus caught up in another action packed day of healing.
Yesterday we saw Jesus cure the man possessed and restore him to his family. Today he brings restoration to the women who had 12 years of hemorrhaging. She, because of her illness, was isolated from society. By her contact with Jesus she is brought back into the community.
Jairus, the father, approaches Jesus because his daughter is sick and on the verge of death, again being separated from life. Through his contact with Jesus, the daughter is reunited with her family.
Jesus in his ministry seeks to bring forth a better sense of belonging, of community. He brings forth unity, restoration of communion amongst people.
After all, it is by his blood we are reconciled back to the Father. Jesus's ministry is always focused on making individuals a apart of a communion. Jesus is about community building exercises. Everything he does is about communion: preaching, healing, being crucified.
What is Jesus? Jesus is the humility of God in the flesh. God humbles himself and becomes man. In this humility man is restored to communion, to community. Absalom's pride brings isolation and disunity; God humility if Jesus brings restoration and unity.
Where pride brings forth separation, humility makes communion.
This is the lesson for today and it is good for us to be attentive.
Do we build walls of separation because of pride or communion in humility. Are we like Absalom caught op in pride and vanity or Jesus, who's humility brings healing and restoration?
Only life lived can answer the question posed!
We continue to follow the saga of king David and his reign over Israel. Today we pick up with his son, Absalom who has rebelled against him.
We find Absalom hanging from a tree by his hair (2 Samuel 18:9-10) "Absalom unexpectedly came up against David's servants. He was mounted on a mule, and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth, his hair caught fast in the tree."
This reminds me of the many westerns I grew up watching. Usually each movie contained a pursuit of sorts on horseback. And eventually in the pursuit someone would get knocked off his horse by a low lying limb of a tree because they were not attentive and did not duck low enough.
Such is the case with Absalom, except he gets hung by low lying beaches by his hair. Absalom in his hurry to get away doesn't duck low enough. This is ironic because ducking is a sign of humility.
Now to understand the scene a little better, it is important to get to know the man, Absalom. If we journey a few chapters back to 2 Samuel 14:25 and following we get the picture of Absalom more clearly, "In all of Israel there was no man praised for his beauty than Absalom, flawless from the sole of his foot tot eh crown of his head. When he shaved his head-as he used to do at the end of every year, because his hair became to heavy for him-the hair weighed two hundred shekels according to the royal standard…(2.5 kilograms)
You get the image. Absalom was Fabio of his day and age.
He liked himself. He was the quintessential pretty boy. He took great care in his appearance and especially in his hair. Yet, it was this vanity, this pride that gets him stuck in tree. Hair today gone tomorrow:).
This is what the writer of Samuel is telling us. Pride and vanity cause separation and ultimately destruction. Absalom's pride not only separated him from his father and the nation of Israel it eventually led to him being separated from life itself.
Now having said these things we look to gospel for today. We see Jesus caught up in another action packed day of healing.
Yesterday we saw Jesus cure the man possessed and restore him to his family. Today he brings restoration to the women who had 12 years of hemorrhaging. She, because of her illness, was isolated from society. By her contact with Jesus she is brought back into the community.
Jairus, the father, approaches Jesus because his daughter is sick and on the verge of death, again being separated from life. Through his contact with Jesus, the daughter is reunited with her family.
Jesus in his ministry seeks to bring forth a better sense of belonging, of community. He brings forth unity, restoration of communion amongst people.
After all, it is by his blood we are reconciled back to the Father. Jesus's ministry is always focused on making individuals a apart of a communion. Jesus is about community building exercises. Everything he does is about communion: preaching, healing, being crucified.
What is Jesus? Jesus is the humility of God in the flesh. God humbles himself and becomes man. In this humility man is restored to communion, to community. Absalom's pride brings isolation and disunity; God humility if Jesus brings restoration and unity.
Where pride brings forth separation, humility makes communion.
This is the lesson for today and it is good for us to be attentive.
Do we build walls of separation because of pride or communion in humility. Are we like Absalom caught op in pride and vanity or Jesus, who's humility brings healing and restoration?
Only life lived can answer the question posed!
Monday, February 3, 2014
PREJA VU
2 samuel 15:13-16:13; Ps 3 Lord, rise up and save me; Mark 5:1-20
"An informant came to David with the report, "The children of Israel have transferred their loyalty to Absalom."
Transferred their loyalty.
This little phrase can be summarization of the entire history of Israel. Through out their journey as a people of God they continually transferred their loyalty to so called 'gods' or kings of other nations or even to themselves rather than to the God that formed them into a nation, led them through the desert, and brought them to the promised land.
Their loyalty was not always firm or fixed but loose and easily transferable. They sought their own benefit, putting their personal dreams and endeavors above that of what God desired for them.
This reality is pretty common today as well. People are continually seeking themselves in love. They put themselves first and not the other.
I see this is relationships. Couples who come to me and want to get married will often say that they "love the way the other makes them feel." They only focus on whats in it for them. They seek themselves in love.
I see this with people who are so called "seekers." These are men and women who do not have a faith to call their own or a "religion" to belong to but rather they seek what makes them have that "feeling" rather than truth itself.
I see this when people leave the church and go else where. They say they are seeking God but what they are really seeking is themselves in love.
I see this in people who claim to be 'spiritual' not religious. What they are saying is that they want God in their life on their terms not his. They want God in their life bit they do not want to give God a say in the matter. They seek themselves in love.
We transfer our loyalty often becomes we have become attached to ourselves.
Is this not what Jesus warns us about in the gospel when he tells us "if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me, for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."
We cannot seek ourself in love but we seek to love God and then truly discover love of self as it is meant to be.
so back to the reading about David.
David is in a tight spot. He finds himself in the mount of Olives weeping. This is a classic preja vu.
Preja vu? This is when in the bible we see something that points to something that will happen later in Israel or the life of Christ. David the king is weeping in the mount of olives trying to trust himself to the will of God because he has been betrayed by his own blood.
Jesus will do this later in the gospel, several times. Once he will be weeping over Israel and at a later time he will sweating drops of blood seeking strength to do the will of God as he also will be betrayed by one who was part of his intimate circle.
Preja vu.
What I love about this incident in the life of David is his humility. David is at a all time low in his life. His own son has turned against him, betrayed by his blood and his own nation. He is probably thinking about his past transgression and overcome with guilt. When he thought he could get no further down, out comes a relative of Saul's hurling rocks and insults at him.
David could have easily dispatched the fool but he doesn't. Rather he recognizes in it the hand of God, "Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare say why are you doing this?…Let him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him to. Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction and make it up to me with benefits for the curse he is uttering this day."
David rather than taking matters it his own hands. Rather than returning insults with insults or curses with curses, he blessed this man and leaves it entirely in the LORD's hands.
Again, preja vu!
Another king of Israel, will walk that same walk and people will throw curse and insults at him. His response is not unlike the response of David, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
Here is the question for us:
How can we in our life foreshadow the actions of Jesus as David does in his? How can we mimic the response David gives to this low point in his life in such a manner that Jesus' very actions begin to take shape in and through our own?
For us it is not about preja vu but deja vu. How can we in our life show forth the action of Christ, that which we have already seen and experienced. People should look upon us and say, "I've seen that before, haven't I."
This is what the life of saint does daily.
"An informant came to David with the report, "The children of Israel have transferred their loyalty to Absalom."
Transferred their loyalty.
This little phrase can be summarization of the entire history of Israel. Through out their journey as a people of God they continually transferred their loyalty to so called 'gods' or kings of other nations or even to themselves rather than to the God that formed them into a nation, led them through the desert, and brought them to the promised land.
Their loyalty was not always firm or fixed but loose and easily transferable. They sought their own benefit, putting their personal dreams and endeavors above that of what God desired for them.
This reality is pretty common today as well. People are continually seeking themselves in love. They put themselves first and not the other.
I see this is relationships. Couples who come to me and want to get married will often say that they "love the way the other makes them feel." They only focus on whats in it for them. They seek themselves in love.
I see this with people who are so called "seekers." These are men and women who do not have a faith to call their own or a "religion" to belong to but rather they seek what makes them have that "feeling" rather than truth itself.
I see this when people leave the church and go else where. They say they are seeking God but what they are really seeking is themselves in love.
I see this in people who claim to be 'spiritual' not religious. What they are saying is that they want God in their life on their terms not his. They want God in their life bit they do not want to give God a say in the matter. They seek themselves in love.
We transfer our loyalty often becomes we have become attached to ourselves.
Is this not what Jesus warns us about in the gospel when he tells us "if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me, for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."
We cannot seek ourself in love but we seek to love God and then truly discover love of self as it is meant to be.
so back to the reading about David.
David is in a tight spot. He finds himself in the mount of Olives weeping. This is a classic preja vu.
Preja vu? This is when in the bible we see something that points to something that will happen later in Israel or the life of Christ. David the king is weeping in the mount of olives trying to trust himself to the will of God because he has been betrayed by his own blood.
Jesus will do this later in the gospel, several times. Once he will be weeping over Israel and at a later time he will sweating drops of blood seeking strength to do the will of God as he also will be betrayed by one who was part of his intimate circle.
Preja vu.
What I love about this incident in the life of David is his humility. David is at a all time low in his life. His own son has turned against him, betrayed by his blood and his own nation. He is probably thinking about his past transgression and overcome with guilt. When he thought he could get no further down, out comes a relative of Saul's hurling rocks and insults at him.
David could have easily dispatched the fool but he doesn't. Rather he recognizes in it the hand of God, "Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare say why are you doing this?…Let him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him to. Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction and make it up to me with benefits for the curse he is uttering this day."
David rather than taking matters it his own hands. Rather than returning insults with insults or curses with curses, he blessed this man and leaves it entirely in the LORD's hands.
Again, preja vu!
Another king of Israel, will walk that same walk and people will throw curse and insults at him. His response is not unlike the response of David, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."
Here is the question for us:
How can we in our life foreshadow the actions of Jesus as David does in his? How can we mimic the response David gives to this low point in his life in such a manner that Jesus' very actions begin to take shape in and through our own?
For us it is not about preja vu but deja vu. How can we in our life show forth the action of Christ, that which we have already seen and experienced. People should look upon us and say, "I've seen that before, haven't I."
This is what the life of saint does daily.
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