Category Archives: trust

Thoughts on the Sunday readings: Politicians, Jesus and Zen Foxes

12 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by in faith, homily, trust

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Jesus - way, truth, lifeSo … we are into the presidential primary election season. Already the news is happily swamped with politicians posturing themselves. We, for our part, keep watching and asking ourselves, “Who is the one that seems to have that presidential timber and swagger?” In light of the political climate we find ourselves in as well as this Sunday’s gospel reading, a question to be entertained is, “If Jesus were running for my party’s nomination, would I vote for him?”

Truth be told, I do not think Jesus would receive many votes in either political party but I also do not think Jesus would really care! Throughout the gospel our Lord does the one thing that a politician would never do because the politician knows it to be political suicide: Jesus never confuses the illusion of control with true leadership and true personhood. Therefore, he never needs to pretend control. Our Lord is free of this temptation.

In today’s gospel (Mk. 8:27-35) we are told that Jesus is walking with his disciples and he asks them, “Who do people say that I am?” This question, itself, sets Jesus apart from the career politician. The politician says, “Let me tell you who I am. These are my skills… This is what I have achieved…” Jesus doesn’t do that, rather he asks, “Who do people say I am … who do you say I am?” Jesus knows full well who he is and what his purpose is but he does not impose himself. Rather, he waits. He allows the Father to work in the hearts of his followers and he allows his disciples to come to him. He allows them to come to the realization of who he is. Jesus does not force his disciples’ recognition. He needs neither to control nor manipulate the situation.

Then and only then, he begins to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected, be killed and then rise. Imagine this as a political platform! We cannot and this is why Peter’s reaction is so perfect because it is our honest, human, knee-jerk reaction! “No, Lord, this cannot be! You do not need to suffer! You do not need to be rejected! You can control the situation! You are the Christ!”

But leadership and control are not necessarily synonymous. Our Lord wants to show us a different way of both authentic leadership and personhood. “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do … whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

Our Lord is showing us a way of living which can forego the illusion of control. Isn’t it interesting to note how so many times after our Lord performs a miracle he is quick to say to the person healed, “Your faith has made you well.”? He does not need to grasp that credit. In the fourth chapter of John’s gospel, our Lord says, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.” (Jn. 4:34) Not my program, not my agenda, not my control but rather my Father’s will. Every moment of our Lord’s life was focused upon and directed in trust toward the Father’s will.

This letting go of the illusion of control is not a passive resignation akin to despair. It is far from that. Rather, it is the most active of stances in our world. It is learning to seek and make the choice for God’s will in all things and all situations. There is nothing passive about that. This is the one choice which can truly transform lives and the world itself!

One of my favorite social media sites is entitled ”Bored Panda Animals”. It is a site that hosts often stunning photography. Just this last week the site highlighted a photographer who captures images of foxes in the wild. These pictures are beautiful and they depict these animals completely relaxed, eyes closed, enjoying the breeze, Zen-like in their posture. The site also interviewed the photographer who shared how she is able to capture the photos of these wild animals so relaxed. “There’s a contradiction going on when it comes to capturing Zen foxes: the harder you try, the more you’ll move away from your goal. If you are too eager, an animal will sense that eagerness and will remain alert. I learned to do as foxes do, just being there and see what might happen.”

Let go of the illusion of control. It is not real. Learn to trust in the will of the Father.

Allow God to be God and trust.

“…whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

Thoughts on the Sunday readings: Jesus and Nicodemus’ certainty (4th Sunday of Lent – B)

14 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by in cross, faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus, trust

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nicodemus-and-jesusJean Vanier, the founder of the L’Arche communities, offers a wonderful reflection on this third chapter of John’s gospel – the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus – in his book, Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John.  Vanier begins with this thought, “The Gospel of John introduces a question that is pertinent for us all.  We all need security, and yet to be fully alive we also need to take risks.  Too much security stifles us, while too much insecurity brings fear and anguish.  How can we plan for the future and yet be open to the unforeseen?”

This is a tension in life is it not?  On one side the need for certitude and control and on the other side an insecurity that only brings fear and anguish.  Are these the only two ways that are available to us?

John says that Nicodemus was “a ruler of the Jews”.  He is a man of authority in his time, probably a religious leader, and while he comes to Jesus “by night” (probably because the religious leadership was beginning to murmur about Jesus) he still questions Jesus as one who is certain in his own authority.  Nicodemus is a secure man.  He knows his world, apparently he has done well and achieved in it and he is well respected and is aware of this.  Yet, something about Jesus calls Nicodemus out into the “night” – out of his own security and certainty.

Jesus wants to show Nicodemus that there is another way other than a security that isolates and stifles and an insecurity that it is ultimately unbearable to the human psyche.  It is the way of trust.  Vanier writes, “Jesus proposes another way: the way of ‘not knowing,’ of being born from ‘above.’  That means becoming like a child again, a child of God, a new person, listening to the Spirit of God and letting ourselves be guided by the Spirit.”  All that a child can offer is trust; trust in the love and the care of the parent.  This is the “other way” that our Lord invites Nicodemus to walk and that our Lord invites us to walk.  This is what it means to be “born anew”!  We do not have to become isolated in our security nor do we have to get lost in the anguish of insecurity.  We can walk the way of trust, confident in the love of God and guided by the Spirit!  This is the way that can see us through the dark of night.  God is at work!  God has a plan!  God is intimately involved in the movement of our world and even of our very lives!  We are not alone!

How do we get to this trust?  How can we be “born anew”?  It is interesting to note that in today’s gospel (Jn. 3:14-21) it is only after Jesus speaks of the “Son of Man (being) lifted up” that he then goes on to speak of how God so loves the world and how the Son has come not to condemn but to save.  The Gospel message reveals that salvation has been won through Christ, that we are saved through the blood of the Lamb and that light has overcome darkness but it also reveals how God chooses to act and work.  God acts humbly.  God acts in love.  We would do well to note this!

To be “born anew”, to learn the way of trust, means we must stand before the mystery of the Cross and we must learn to live the mystery of the Cross in our own lives – to act humbly, to act in love, to be guided by the Spirit.

There is another way, another way other than a security that isolates and an insecurity that brings anguish. It is the way of trust and by it alone can one be born anew!

The Gifts of Advent

15 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Advent, humility, mercy, trust

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Caravaggio – The Holy Family with the infant St. John the Baptist

It is easy to rush through Advent.  With department store Christmas decorations appearing earlier and earlier each year it is quite easy to jump straight into Christmas mode after the Thanksgiving Day meal it seems.  Why a time of waiting and anticipation?  What is that all about?  After all the big day is Christmas with its exchanging of gifts and (at least for the religiously minded) the beautiful liturgies and reflection on the birth of Christ.  Who needs Advent?

Well, we do and Advent has its own gifts to share if we just take the time to appreciate and receive them.  I can think of three gifts that Advent has to give (similar in number to the gifts of the Magi) and they are gifts brought to us by the key figures of the nativity story – St. Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Joseph.  
In the first chapter of Luke’s gospel we are told that the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary.  
…he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you.”  But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you: therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  Then the angel departed from her.  
Much has been written of Mary’s “yes” to the angel and to God’s will for her.  Saints have reflected upon how all heaven and creation waited in hushed silence for Mary’s response.  Mary certainly knew the hopes and dreams of her people.  She certainly knew and trusted how God acted throughout the history of Israel. That God could and would act in such a way would not necessarily be a surprise to her but where it would end and the sacrifice it would entail, Mary certainly had no way of knowing and the angel did not share much information in that regard.  Mary did not know that her “yes” that day would lead to her standing at the foot of the cross – the epicenter of God and humanity’s sacrifice for death and sin.  Mary did not know how it would all play out or even what it all meant but she said “yes”.  
Mary brings us the gift of trust and she demonstrates to us that this gift is born out of a sure knowledge and belief of faith and how God has acted throughout history.   In opposition to the primacy of fate lauded in the pagan world; Mary reveals providence.  God is at work and continues to be at work in history and in our lives.  The gift of Mary’s trust also reveals that God wants nothing but what is best for us.  The God of Israel is a loving God and all things in God’s plan lead to fullness of life.  Mary brings us the gift of trust. 
Luke portrays John the Baptist as a relative of Mary and Jesus’.  During the Sundays and weekdays of Advent we read the gospel accounts of John’s ministry.  The gospels tell us that people from all over Judea and Jerusalem were coming to hear John preach and be baptized in his baptism of repentance.  This popularity and esteem of the people is even confirmed by the Pharisees and Sadducees coming out to receive baptism, not because of true conversion but because it looked good before the people.  John sees through this and denounces it.  Not much escaped John the Baptist.  It is in this context of expectation that Luke writes,
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  
The power of the multitude is a great power.  This is lesson 101 in the handbook of politicians, demagogues and tyrants throughout history.  John knew the expectation of the people.  He knew, probably more than any other person, how they were yearning for change.  Probably, he alone at that time in Israel could have tapped into that power.  He could have claimed it for his own and therefore claimed massive power but he did not.  To the crowd and to their desire to proclaim him “messiah,” John simply and humbly said, “I am not he.”  John had the authenticity to know who he was and who he was not.  John the Baptist brings us the gift of humility.  
It is a gift sorely needed in our world today.  The message of our world today, in so many words, is, “Build yourself up.  Claim all that you can.  Focus on yourself, forget everyone else.”  Our world exalts and glamorizes overweening pride.  John, just as much today as in the story of the gospel, stands in contradistinction to this message.  His poverty, simplicity of life, and reliance on the word of God gave birth to a humility and authenticity of personhood that the world cannot give.  In Advent, John the Baptist brings us the gift of humility.  
We have no direct words of St. Joseph.  He is the silent saint but he speaks through his actions.  Matthew, in the first chapter of his gospel, shares this about Joseph, 
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.  When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…”
Notice that even before the first angelic visitation in a dream (there were to be a total of four) Joseph had already decided that he would not expose Mary to public shame and would dismiss her quietly.  This decision on Joseph’s part should not be passed over carelessly.  It reflects his character.  According to the laws and customs of the time, Joseph had every right to have Mary stoned and killed.  Joseph could have acted out of vengeance and hurt pride but he chose not to.  Joseph, at that moment, held the life of Mary and the incarnate Word in her womb in his hands.  Just as Mary’s “yes” allowed the incarnation, Joseph’s “no” to violence and vengeance and “yes” to mercy allowed the incarnation to continue.  Joseph brings us the gift of mercy. 
Matthew writes that Joseph was a righteous man.  Our Lord throughout his ministry and proclamation of the Kingdom of God will again and again proclaim that righteousness is not based on blind observance of the law but on mercy and love.  It was simple human mercy and care that allowed the incarnation to continue.  St. Joseph’s proclamation to us is the gift of mercy.  
The three gifts of Advent: trust, humility and mercy.  As Christians, we receive these gifts by living them out in our lives and extending them to one another.  
Ss. Mary, John the Baptist and Joseph please pray for us.       

The Feast of All Saints: Don’t Worry, Heaven’s Got a Plan for You

01 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by in Feast of all Saints, trust

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Swedish House Mafia is a former DJ group.  (They have since broken up.)  One of their songs is, “Don’t You Worry Child”.  I would like to share some lines from the first part of the song.
           
There was a time I used to look into my father’s eyes.
      In a happy home; I was a king, I had a golden throne.
     Those days are gone, now just memories on the wall.
 I hear the songs from the place where I was born.
      Upon a hill, across a blue lake, that’s where I had my first heartbreak.
       I still remember how it all changed. 
My father said, “Don’t you worry child.  See, heaven’s got a plan for you.  Don’t you worry now.” 

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints – the feast of the men and women of heroic virtue and faith throughout the centuries who witnessed to Christ – both those publicly known and proclaimed by the Church and those who are known to God alone.  The saints, through their encounter with Christ, allowed their lives to be transformed and, I would say, they came to realize a deeper meaning to the words of the song quoted above.  The saints came to know the truth of where we have come from and what we are meant for.   

“There was a time I used to look into my father’s eyes.”  There was a time we lived in relationship with God, we looked into God’s eyes – in a home, we were “kings on a throne” – beloved.  But, something happened – pride grew, we turned away, there was sin.  “Those days are gone, now just memories on the wall”.  There is heartbreak.  It has all changed.  Yet, even in the heartbreak we know in the deepest part of who we are that it is not right, we are meant for something more.  “I hear the songs from the place where I was born.”  On our own we are lost and left yearning for what we once knew.  But God comes to us.  “My father said, “Don’t you worry child.  See, heaven’s got a plan for you.  Don’t you worry now.” 
The saints through their encounter with Christ came to know the truth of where we are from, the pain of our isolation, the Father who has not forgotten and what we are ultimately meant for.  Blessed, indeed, are they!  In this awareness all becomes a blessing – blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who seek for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers and blessed are even those who are persecuted.  Blessed indeed are they, for in this saving awareness all becomes a moment of encounter with Christ and a moment to know who indeed we are and what we are meant for.  
It has been said that when we get to the end of our lives the one regret we might be left with is not to have been a saint.  Each one of us is meant to be a saint … you are meant to be a saint.
Encounter Christ. 
Be attentive to those moments when you catch those songs from the place where you were born. 
Don’t worry.  Trust that heaven has a plan for you.      
(P.S. Here is a link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9BtTrZdft8)