A God of small encounters and lessons from a dog

16 Saturday Jul 2016

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Tissot_Abraham_and_the_Three_AngelsOne truth to today’s readings is that we have a God who does not disdain small encounters.  Three strangers appear outside the tent of Abraham. (Gen. 18:1-10a)  Abraham rushes from his tent, “Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant.  Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree.”  God could have gone on, but he doesn’t.  God welcomes Abraham’s invitation and the Creator of all rests with Abraham under the cool of the tree.  God receives Abraham’s hospitality.  It is not a “big thing”.  To any casual passerby the scene would seem very ordinary and even unremarkable. 

But God is present in this small encounter and Abraham has welcomed God in his three quests and where God is present there is life.  One of the guests says that next year Abraham and Sarah, without children for so long, will have a son.  This small encounter will produce a small seed from which the nation of Israel will flourish and through that people the Savior will come who will gather all nations and peoples into God’s Kingdom.  Our God does not disdain small encounters and from such encounters comes life and history itself is transformed.

God does not disdain small encounters but we do and the value of small encounters is one of the lessons our Lord comes to teach us.  In the gospel (Lk. 10:38-42), our Lord enters into the small home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  He neither disdains that home nor their hospitality and friendship rather, he welcomes all of it.  Mary elects to sit with the Lord and just be with him.  Martha is running about busy and even though in the same house, she is not really with the Lord.  How often we are like Martha!  Christ is here but we are not.  We run around, we remain distracted and anxious, we act busy.  Truth be told, we often avoid. 

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”  Our Lord knows the value and blessing of small encounters and how life can be found in these moments and he wants us to know this also.  Christian discipleship is made up of small encounters, choosing the better part and meeting Christ in the moment in which we find ourselves.  

Some of you may know that last Saturday I had to put to sleep one of my dogs – Bailey who was fourteen years old and had developed a tumor in his esophagus.  Last Saturday was not a good day for me.  I believe that one of the ways we can honor the departed, and I think this includes pets, is to learn from them.  There are three lessons I learned from Bailey.  I think one of the reasons people love dogs so much is that they do what we often wish we could do and not have others look at us like we are crazy.  I think we all have a part that would like to stick our heads out of the window of a moving car and just feel the rush of air!  I think there is a part of all of us that would often like to drop in the grass and roll around just for the fun of it!  Dogs teach us the value of these simple moments.  This is the first lesson.  They also teach us the value of encounter and this is the second lesson.  Dogs often just want to be best friends with everyone they meet, Bailey was this way.  I sometimes felt sorry for him because I think I often held him back.  It is pretty sad when your dog is more extroverted than you are!  Bailey was very patient with me in this but for him none of the things we think are important were important.  Dogs welcome everyone as they are and they just do not get worked up about things in the end that just really don’t matter that much.  Finally, dogs can teach us the lesson of now.  I saw a cartoon recently where a man is sitting on a bench facing a beautiful sunset with a dog sitting on the ground beside him.  There are thought bubbles all around the man’s head.  One is a flying plane.  Another is a fancy car.  The third is a large home and the fourth is a corner office.  All of these thoughts swirling around the man … all of them distracting him.  The dog has one thought bubble – it is he and the man sitting and watching the sunset. 

“…you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.”  

Our God neither disdains small moments nor small encounters.  There is great wisdom and life to be found when we also learn not to disdain small moments and small encounters. 

“Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”                 

“Who do you say I am?”: Orlando and silos of thought

18 Saturday Jun 2016

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Jesus - way, truth, life“Who do the crowds say that I am?” “Who do you say that I am?”  These questions of our Lord have continued down through history ever since he first asked them to that small group of followers.  Every age has to pick up the question and find the answer.  Every disciple has to answer the question and, I think, even in the life of disciple the answer shifts as we come to know more and more who Jesus is.  (I know that it has for me.)

Like all of us, I am sure, my thoughts and prayers this last week have been on the tragedy that occurred in Orlando and the victims.  The violent attack that killed forty-nine people, this time of the LGBT community, and wounded many more was simply evil.  It was a perfect storm of terror, hate and mental illness and it touches on so many hot-button issues in our society today – sexual orientation and identification, terrorism and Muslim extremism, access to weapons, even immigration and the growing Latino community.

As many know, I make use of social media and Facebook. I think social media is a good thing that has many positives but there are also downsides and one of those is the temptation to fall into one’s own particular “silo of thought”.  Social commentaries, in a variety of forms, have been noting this.  One of the unexpected consequences of the massive amount of information available to the average person in our modern day is the temptation to fall back into one’s own silo of thought and remain there with like-minded individuals and become even more extreme in one’s own thought and viewpoint.  Radicalization can occur over the internet and it does not just affect terrorists.

Not twenty-four hours after this tragedy; social media, at least on my feed, shifted from shock, grief, prayers and support to people (on all sides) staking out their positions on the hot-button issues of the day.

It turned that quickly.

I have my own opinion on these issues – some of you may agree with them, some of you may not and I may agree with your opinions or I may not. Let’s all get over it.  Social media may allow people to exist in silos of thought but real life does not and reality (not virtual reality) is where true life is found, lived and where real people meet one another.

The question our Lord asks, “Who do you say I am?” is the question for all of us no matter what side of any hot-button issue we find ourselves on. I have made much of the film “Risen” recently because I think it is an important film for our time and where we find ourselves.  I want to draw one image from the film for use here.

As the Roman tribune Clavius (who is fundamentally a good and honorable man) encounters the risen Lord and follows the disciples there is a scene where he strips off his tribune uniform. It is the desert and it is hot but the action is symbolic and it culminates at the end of the movie when Clavius, asked if he believes all about Christ, takes off his tribune ring and gives it to an inn-keeper and says, “Yes, I do believe.”  As Clavius encountered the risen Lord and as he had to find an answer for that question, “Who do you say I am?” he both had to let go and he was empowered to let go of the false identities he had clothed himself in over a life time.

The same is true for us. Whether we are Republican or Democrat, straight or gay, black, white, brown, yellow or red, male or female, pro-gun legislation or anti-gun legislation, rich or poor – we all have false identities.  No one is exempt!  To truly answer our Lord’s question we each must be willing to let go of that which we carry around within us which is not true.  Christ came to bring about God’s Kingdom, not our own particular silo of thought.

The gospel today, our Lord himself, invites us to turn away from our own silos of thought because true life is not found in virtual reality and to rather turn toward the fullness of the Kingdom of God.

“Who do you say that I am?”

A day without death: the movie “Risen” and our world’s violence

13 Monday Jun 2016

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risen1There are two scenes in the movie “Risen” that build upon one another. Both scenes involve the Roman tribune Clavius who has been assigned to investigate the empty tomb of Christ.

The first scene takes place right after the crucifixion at which Clavius was present. On the evening of that day, the tribune encounters Pontius Pilate in the baths.  Pilate, I believe, can be viewed as an embodiment of worldly and pragmatic cunning throughout this film.  After confirming that the Nazarene had been executed and buried, Pilate waxes, “One does what one must.”  “I don’t wish the mantle you wear,” responds Clavius.  “Spare me,” says Pilate, “it is your path too.  Your ambition is noticed.  Where do you hope it will lead?”  “Rome,” replies the tribune looking off into his own thoughts.  Pilate’s eyes arch, “And?”  “Position, power …” reflects Clavius.  Pilate presses, “Which brings?”  “…wealth, a good family, someday a place in the country.”  “What will you find?” asks Pilate.  “An end of travail … a day without death …  peace.” asserts the tribune.  “All that for peace,” muses Pilate, “Is there no other way?”

The second scene occurs at the Lake of Galilee. It is night.  The disciples are all asleep.  Clavius notices the risen Lord apart and watching the night sky.  Clavius approaches and sits down beside Jesus.  “I don’t even know what to ask,” he finally admits.  The Lord, now intent on his visitor, says, “Speak your heart.”  “How can I reconcile all this with the world I know?”  “With your own eyes you have seen,” responds the Lord, “yet still you doubt?  Imagine the doubt of those who have never seen.  That’s what they face.  What frightens you?”  “Being wrong,” answers Clavius, “wagering eternity.”  “Well then, know him,” invites the Lord.  Clavius is troubled and goes on to confess, “When you died.  I was present.  I helped.”  “I know,” forgives the Lord placing his hand on the tribune’s shoulder.  “What is it you seek Clavius?” inquires the risen Lord as he then goes on to say, “Certainty … peace … a day without death?”  Clavius gasps, his eyes widen and he is met by the full gaze of Christ and our Lord smiles. The tribune weeps; his heart and his pain have been recognized … and answered.

Clavius was a man fully versed in war and its politics. He was a man of action and hard fought experience.  Yet, he was war and violence weary and this becomes more and more apparent as the film progresses.  The question asked by Pilate, “All that for peace?  Is there no other way?” settles in the heart of the tribune just as the mystery about the Nazarene and his empty tomb begins to grow.  Clavius meets the risen Lord whom he, with his own eyes, had seen executed.  All is thrown upside down as Clavius is met head on with the answer to his question, “How can I reconcile all this with the world I know?”  He cannot.  The risen Lord is the truth and therefore the world as he had known it is not.  The resurrection of the Nazarene changes everything.

In Clavius, we see our world and our society. We are war and violence weary.  We yearn for a day without death.  How many more wars and battles?  How many more acts of random and senseless violence?  How much more political and social media posturing that goes nowhere and does nothing?  How much more division and an unwillingness to listen?  How much more fear?  How much more death?  I think it safe to say that along with the beleaguered tribune we also are done.  Enough!  We just want a day without death.

Our Lord is looking at us. He asks us the same question, “What is it you seek?”  We need to be honest.  It is the answer we have known all along.  The world as we know it, the world we have constructed, the world with its answers that we so often choose to go by even as Christians is not working.  The wars, violence and posturing – and even those given in rebuttal – are not leading to answers.  They are not leading to peace.

The risen Lord is looking at us. “What is it you seek?”  Lord, have mercy and forgive our unbelief!  Help us to be honest and help us to find and live the only true answer – which is you.  Give us the strength of conviction and courage to let go of all we think is true (the world as we know it) but, in fact, is not.  As Clavius followed the joy-filled disciples to Galilee, he stripped off his garments of the tribune.  He let go of that false identity.  Help us to also let go of those “truths as we know them” that are in fact not truth and that only deaden and divide.  You alone are truth; please clean us of all that is not true.

Our Lord is looking at us. We are so violence and war weary.

“What is it you seek?” We want a day without death.

God, grant us the courage to live the answer.

Of Gorillas, Wolves, Us and Creation

02 Thursday Jun 2016

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wolf2For close to a year now I have been volunteering at the wolf habitat in Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport, TN. The wolf habitat has been around for a few decades and currently is home to ten wolves.  When my schedule allows, I go to assist with the feeding of the wolves which occurs twice a week.  We do not go inside the enclosure but rather toss the food in.  It is only the naturalists who can go in with the wolves and even then only under the strictest guidelines.

Why do I do this? Partly, I think, because I have always been intrigued by wolves.  Wolves are fascinating animals and this awareness is only deepened the more one learns about them.  Their communal/pack instinct and identity is amazing and offers much for us to learn and even learn from.  Yet, wolves are often misunderstood and maligned throughout their history with the human race.  This needs to be corrected.  Also, helping out at the habitat is a small way to carry about the task of being a good steward of the creation that God has entrusted us with.  Our faith tradition tells us that we have been entrusted with the responsibility of stewardship to this planet and all of its inhabitants.  Each Christian should find some way in his or her life to live this responsibility.

The wolf enclosure is quite large and quite protected for safety – both for the animals and the human onlookers. There is a high fence with electric wiring top and bottom and even a larger timber frame meant to protect the fence from falling trees.  The regulating agency is always inspecting and there seems to be continual discussions about improving safety.

cincinnati-zoo2Like the whole nation I gasped when I saw the video of the little boy in the enclosure with the gorilla. Sadly, I have also watched as the ensuing social media debate has seemed to devolve to either “team human” or “team animal” as if those are the only two options and that they have to be opposing by nature. Can we just be okay with acknowledging the tragedy all around and leave it at that?  It is tragic that the child fell into the enclosure and could have been seriously harmed.  It is tragic that the zookeepers (the very people who knew, cared for and protected the gorilla) had to make a gut-wrenching and quick decision that I know I would not want to have to make.  It is tragic that the gorilla was shot and killed.  It is easy for everyone else not there – now after a continuous loop of the video has been played and scrutinized by the media for days – to be an arm-chair quarterback.  The reality of the situation was not easy; it was tragic.  Sadly, life is sometimes tragic.

Tragedy, for the Christian, has roots but it also points out hope. The story of our faith tells us that God created the universe, the world and all of its wonders and that God looked upon it all and said that it was good.  Our faith also tells us that in the beginning humanity walked in the garden of creation together with God and in harmony with all living creatures whom humanity even helped to name.  In pride, humanity sinned and our relationship with God and with all of creation was fractured and broken.  Yet, just as there is a part of us which yearns for restored relationship with God and knows that we are meant for that there is a part that knows we are meant for restored relationship with all of creation.  This is not the naïve, secular pantheism touted in movies but rather that which lies at the heart of the gasp of wonder we experience when we catch sight of a deer bounding through the forest or a whale breaching the surface of the water or a hawk cutting the air or the simple beauty of a butterfly or a bird.  We are connected yet, tragically, the connection breaks.  We go to animals whether in enclosures or out in the wild partly because we know in our hearts we are meant for that connection, that it was there once, even if it broken now.

But it will not be broken forever. This is the hope.  The twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation tells us that there will be a “new heaven and a new earth.”  The hope of the Christian is not in some spirit-only realm where the shackles of the body and creation are finally left behind – a thought akin more to some schools of Greek philosophical thought and Gnosticism than the Kingdom proclaimed by Christ.  Jesus Christ rose bodily!  The Virgin Mary was assumed bodily into heaven!  In the creed we profess our belief in a bodily resurrection!  God looked upon all that he made and said it was good.  God does not disdain his creation and for us to disdain creation means to disdain the Creator.  God is pure spirit but we are not.  To think we become pure spirit after death and in the resurrection would mean to question the wisdom of the Creator.  We will not become what we are not in the fullness of God’s Kingdom.  We will not become angels.  We will become as Christ and his mother (the first fruits of the future resurrection) risen in the glorified body.

I think that part of the “new heaven and new earth” foreseen in the Book of Revelation is our restored relationship both with the Creator and with all of his creation. What exactly this means and how it will look I do not know but I do believe that God is both creator and redeemer and that the two are not opposed.  The Creator does not disdain his creation.  This deep and abiding hope is within us and it pulls us forward.

I have been told that I have now been around enough that the wolves on Bays Mountain recognize me both visually and by my scent. A few times now my eyes have locked with a wolf’s eyes.  It is a neat moment.  There is wonder there and in that wonder is both a remembrance and a hope.  God’s Kingdom will be established, the tragedy of sin and suffering will be overcome and right relationship will be restored.

“Give them some food yourselves”: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

28 Saturday May 2016

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feeding the multitudeAfter twenty-one years of priesthood, I had a stunning theological realization as I reflected on this Sunday’s gospel (Lk. 9:11b-17) of our Lord’s feeding of the multitude with some fish and some bread. This was the Church’s first potluck meal!  We bring a little bit of this, we bring a little bit of that and somehow we feed the multitude!  If a person wants a scriptural warrant for the potluck, here it is!

All that being said; the gospel given to us today does lead us into some profound truths about this solemnity of the most holy Body and Blood of Christ. The context of need and our Lord’s response sheds light on the living mystery of the Eucharist.  Immediately prior to this passage we are told that the crowds came to know where Jesus was and that he “… made them welcome …” (Lk. 11a).  Our Lord recognized the peoples’ desire for the Kingdom of God as well as their spiritual hunger and need.  His eyes and his heart were open in the broadness of welcome, care and love.  The disciples, well, not so much.  They want the Lord to dismiss the crowd.  On the surface it seems an appropriate and even caring response, “Lord, dismiss them so that they can find lodging and provisions.”  But surface concern can often mask over an underlying attitude of disregard.  “It’s not my problem.  They can fend for themselves.”  But Jesus’ response of “Give them some food yourselves,” challenges all such disregard.  Not only is the need and hunger of the crowd to be the disciple’s concern, the feeding and meeting of that need is to become the joy of the disciple.

I think we would be safe in saying that because Jesus is God incarnate, he could have fed the crowd on his own in some form or another but he does not do that, rather he specifically tells his disciples to give the people some food themselves! He chooses to involve them in both the situation and the solution.  Our Lord wants to open the hearts of his disciples to the very same broadness of welcome, care and love that he carries in his own heart.  So, in essence, he tells his disciples, “Look up.  Look away from yourselves.  See the crowd, see their hunger, see their need.  Now, give them some food yourselves.”

How does this relate to today’s solemnity? When we authentically receive the Body and Blood of Christ given as bread and wine then our very lives must, in essence, be transformed into bread given and wine poured out for other people! “Give them some food yourselves.”   This is the call of the Christian and it is critical for all ages.  The Eucharist opens our eyes and our hearts to the broadness of Christ’s own welcome, care and love.

For our times, as it was for all previous times, this is truly needed. In his most recent apostolic exhortation on love and the family, Pope Francis makes this observation, “The individualism so prevalent today can lead to creating small nests of security, where others are perceived as bothersome or a threat.  Such isolation, however, cannot offer greater peace or happiness; rather, it straitens the heart of a family and makes its life all the more narrow.”  (AL #187)

Christ does not want his disciples to have narrow lives and narrow hearts. He did not want it for his first disciples that day of the feeding of the multitude.  Even as the disciples, themselves, seemed very content to send away the crowds who were pressing in on their narrow reality.  He does not want it for his disciples today.  Christ does not want us to live in our own bubbles because he knows that true life and true joy is not found that way.  Our Lord wants nothing less than the abundance of joy for us and for every other person.  “Look up,” says our Lord, “give them some food yourselves, don’t fall into a narrow and sad life!”

The Eucharist is the very body and blood of our Lord and by its very nature and grace it transforms all who receive it authentically and honestly in faith, hope and love. “Give them some food yourselves,” says our Lord.  I feel truly sorry for those who turn away from the Eucharist as if it is mere superstition or just not that important.  By so doing, they are inviting a sad poverty into their lives.

The Eucharist is the very body and blood of our Lord given that we might have life and it transforms those who receive it. The Eucharist opens our own eyes and hearts to the very broadness of Christ’s own welcome, care and love.

Trinity Sunday: the way of love

21 Saturday May 2016

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Trinity-Rublev.jpg2Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday and as Church we reflect for a moment on the greatest of mysteries – God is a communion of persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Here it is most helpful to remember the Christian understanding of mystery: mystery is not a puzzle to be figured out and then set aside but rather a reality to be lived and as we live the reality we, ourselves, are brought to deeper understanding.  On our own accord we cannot reason our way to the Trinity.  The Trinity is the ultimate truth both revealed and given and it is in living in this truth that we come to be grasped by it.  Our faith affirms that the best way to live within the truth of the Trinity (to be grasped and moved by the mystery) is the way of love.

In the first Letter of John we read that “God is love”. St. Augustine takes this biblical truth, enters within it and then concludes, “if God is love then God must be Trinity.”  The very dynamism and nature of love, he writes, “…presupposes one who loves, the one who is loved, and their love itself.”  Love links us into the reality of God and therefore the truest way to know God in the reality of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is to live authentic love.  As Christians it is not enough to just receive love and run the risk of getting trapped in a false sense of love which is only about self and ego, we must give love and give self if we are indeed to grow into the fullness of who we are meant to be and the fullness of understanding.

A lesson can be learned here from the two seas that are formed by the Jordan River; the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee receives the Jordan’s waters but then it lets it flow out again and the sea is full of life.  The Dead Sea receives the Jordan’s waters and keeps it, no streams flow out of it – it is in fact “dead” – no life in its waters or on its shores – a salty waste.  These two seas are a symbol to us.  Love has been given to us in our baptisms in the abundance of God’s generosity – God’s very triune life – but in order for it to fully bring life; this love must flow through us.  For Christians it is not enough to just receive love, we must give love.  It is in our triune DNA.  Further, this very giving of love is a pathway into knowledge of God.

God does the same for us. We ask God to give us a little love and God then asks us to first give Him and our neighbor all the little love we have.  Even if it just begins as the smallest of streams what little love we know must begin to flow out from us if our own hearts are to give life and know God.

The Christian knows, because of the Trinity, that true life and true joy is found not just in consuming and receiving but in the giving of self for other people. Authentic love that is freely given diminishes no one, rather it fulfills and brings life and understanding.  To give true love is a pathway into knowledge of God and the very mystery of the Trinity.

St. Augustine is correct. Because God is love it follows that God is Trinity.

Pentecost – we have a part to play

15 Sunday May 2016

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PentecostIn looking at my Facebook feed this weekend I have been reminded that we are in the midst of graduation season. Picture after picture of smiling graduates, at all levels, all across the country…  We certainly celebrate with graduates and congratulate them on what they have achieved.  But it is worthwhile to also note that behind every graduate stands dedicated teachers – men and women who often selflessly work for the good of their students.

I have recognized that one of the greatest gifts I have known in my life is that I have had exceptional teachers.  I have been blessed with men and women who have challenged and inspired me from elementary school all the way through my study of theology.  I owe to them so much – more than I can ever repay.  They guided my learning and also taught me how to keep learning.

But here is the catch – a teacher (even the very best teacher) can only instruct if the student is willing to listen. The student has a role to play.  The student must understand that he or she has a lack, that he or she does not have full knowledge, that he or she has something to learn and maybe even does not know what he or she does not know.  A student has to be open and willing to receive.  A student needs to be humble.

If today’s gospel (Jn. 14:15-16, 23b-25) sounds familiar it is because part of it was proclaimed last Sunday. Last Sunday I choose to focus on the Father and Son coming to dwell with the believer in friendship.  This Sunday, being Pentecost, it is appropriate I believe to focus on these words offered by our Lord, “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”  

One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to teach but a teacher (even the very best) can only instruct if the student is willing to listen, if the student recognizes that he or she has a lack and if the student is humble and willing to receive. On Pentecost we proclaim and celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples but the coming of the Spirit did not end there.  If this celebration is to be authentic then we, on our part, must be willing to ask the question, “Am I willing to listen and then receive the gift of the Spirit and the Spirit’s instruction for me?”  I have to be humble enough to acknowledge my need and my lack and then I have to be faith-filled enough to accept what the Holy Spirit has to give.

That day of Pentecost the gathering of disciples was so little, so small in such a big world. The Holy Spirit comes upon them like a strong driving wind and they begin to proclaim the good news!  Acts lists a multitude of nations and peoples present and then we are told that each nation and grouping heard the disciples proclaiming in their own tongue.  To this small, little gathering of disciples God gives nothing less than the whole world!  We have a part to play on Pentecost.  We have to be faith-filled enough to accept what the Holy Spirit has to give us!

Lord, may we not be so stingy and little of heart as to begrudge your call. Playing small is not part of Pentecost.  It is a false humility.

Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church and on this birthday we find two things – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the small gathering of disciples in prayer, listening and fully aware of their need. How do we learn how to listen?  In any age the skill of listening is needed but I believe now, even more, this skill is needed in our lives and in our world.  How do we learn how to listen?

Here is one simple thought. Scripture testifies that there is only one person who was present at the birth of Christ, who was present at the crucifixion and who was present at Pentecost.  One person – Mary, the mother of our Lord.  To learn how to listen and then have the faith to say “yes” go to Mary.  Seek her out in Scripture, seek her out in prayer.  Ask her to pray for you and to pray with you.  She will teach if we are willing to listen.

A teacher can only instruct if the student is willing to listen. We have a part to play on Pentecost.  We need to listen and we need to have the faith to say “yes” to the Holy Spirit.

“We will come to him and make our dwelling with him…”

30 Saturday Apr 2016

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Trinity_icon

A rendering of Rublev’s icon of the Trinity – a reflection on communion and friendship

When and where does friendship begin?  It is a question worthy of reflection.  When we look at the friendships within our lives, where and when did they start?  Did our friendships begin all at once in an instant or did they gradually develop and grow over time, even to the point where we might not exactly remember when a friendship began?  I think that the latter of these two is the more common nature of true friendship.  Friendship grows over time and it grows through daily means.

As Christians we believe in the friendship of God. This is an aspect of the uniqueness of Christianity.  But it is a friendship not because we have loved God first but because God has chosen to love us.  The readings for this sixth Sunday of Easter can be read in the terms of friendship (Acts 15:1-2, 22-29, Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23 and Jn. 14:23-29).

In today’s gospel we find our Lord saying, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him…”  In his book, The Priority of Christ, Bishop Robert Barron takes some necessary time and effort to explore what the doctrine of Christ as fully human and fully God has to say about the very nature of God.  Bishop Barron begins by exploring the very common fallacy of viewing God as just the “biggest” of beings.  He points out that if this were the case then God would still just be a being among other beings (albeit the biggest) and therefore if God is just another being then God’s will necessarily inhibits and limits my will, my freedom and my very being.  Nothing is further from the truth and this is demonstrated in the reality of Christ being both fully God and fully human, because in Christ we find humanity fully realized and not inhibited in any way in the presence of full divinity.  God is not the biggest being among other beings who will necessarily limit my freedom by his presence; God is “otherly other” – to quote one early Church Father.  God operates in a way that we cannot fully grasp because we are limited beings.  God does not need to compete with us.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him…”  Christ is offering the terms of a friendship that is truly non-competitive in nature.  This is the amazing promise of Christ.  To the one who strives to keep the word of Christ; God will come and make his dwelling with him or her.  “Dwelling” is a neat word here.  It is not heavy.  It does not oppress.  It is a place of life and home.  The presence of God does not limit nor oppress because God is otherly other.  God can be fully present to us in our lives in a non-competitive manner and in a way that truly fulfills us.  Keeping God’s word leads to this true life.

Our Lord continues this invitation to a non-competitive friendship with the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit.  “I have told you this while I am with you.  The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.”  Christ can promise and give a peace that moves beyond all the limits of this world precisely because Christ in the fullness of his divinity and humanity is otherly other.  Christ can enter into your life and my life in a way that brings fulfillment.  God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit does not come to limit life but to give the abundance of life and peace.

In today’s second reading from the Book of Revelation we are given the image of the new and heavenly Jerusalem.  It has been noted that in the development of Sacred Scripture there can be seen a progression in regards to the awareness of the presence of God.  First, God is present for his people in the meeting tent.  Second, God is present in the temple then God is present in Jerusalem.  In the New Testament, God is fully revealed within the person of Jesus who is both the new temple and the new covenant and Christ seeks to be welcomed within the human heart, “…and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him…”.

John writes of his vision, “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.  The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.”  There is no need of temple or church in the heavenly Jerusalem because the presence of God is fully realized and welcomed within each human heart.  This welcoming in friendship begins today and it is found in the daily invitation to encounter our Lord as he makes himself present to us.

In the first reading from Acts we find the early Church deliberating about its mission to the Gentiles – how this is to occur and even “if” it should occur.  This is no small thing.  In fact, it is at the heart of the mission of the Church and it, in many ways, is a question about friendship.  Can the friendship with God that we now know through Christ be extended and should it be extended to the whole world?  The Church, guided by the Spirit, comes to the decision that yes, friendship should be extended and friendship is always possible.  This mission continues today and it is primarily an invitation to friendship.  The love that we have heard and seen and touched is a love that, by its very nature, must be extended to others.  As Church, we proclaim that friendship is always possible and we make this proclamation despite the messages that seek to isolate and divide people from one another.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him…”

Little things matter: a thought on “Amoris Laetitia”

22 Friday Apr 2016

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big hand and little handOne take away that I have gained from Amoris Laetitia is to pay attention to the little things because they do matter.  Like many people, I am seeking to follow the Holy Father’s recommendation and read the exhortation a little at a time in order to reflect as I go.  I am doing my best to obey the pope in this regard and I have found that the document does lend itself to this style of reflective reading.

The exhortation is rich in scriptural and theological thought on love and marriage and there is much worthy of reflecting upon but one thing that I believe this pope is keenly aware of is that all that richness regarding love and marriage which our tradition affords has to be lived out in the daily and in the ordinary and that our daily choices do make a difference. Love and marriage do not exist locked away somewhere in a hermetically sealed vacuum but are made and grow (or sadly torn down) by the daily choices we make.  This is not to deny any of the teachings that the Church has but rather to both see and put them in context and to acknowledge that context does matter.

If God does not disdain the daily and ordinary (i.e. creation and the incarnation) then why should we? Pope Francis is aware of this and through his exhortation he is inviting the Church to this awareness.

One part of the exhortation that brings this awareness out for me can be found in chapters 127 and 128. It is shared below.  Notice how the Holy Father offers some astute theological and philosophical reasoning right alongside some very practical and daily observations and advice.  The two are not separate for Pope Francis.

…Loving another person involves the joy of contemplating and appreciating their innate beauty and sacredness, which is greater than my needs. This enables me to seek their good even when they cannot belong to me, or when they are no longer physically appealing but intrusive and annoying.  For “the love by which one person is pleasing to another depends on his or her giving something freely”.

The aesthetic experience of love is expressed in that “gaze” which contemplates other persons as ends in themselves, even if they are infirm, elderly or physically unattractive. A look of appreciation has enormous importance, and to begrudge it is usually hurtful.  How many things do spouses and children sometimes do in order to be noticed!  Much hurt and many problems result when we stop looking at one another.  This lies behind the complaints and grievances we often hear in families: “My husband does not look at me; he acts as if I were invisible”.  “Please look at me when I am talking to you!”  “My wife no longer looks at me, she only has eyes for our children.”  “In my own home nobody cares about me: they do not even see me; it is if I did not exist!”  Love opens our eyes and enables us to see, beyond all else, the great worth of a human being.  (AL, #127-128)

The innate dignity of the human person is affirmed along with the solid teaching that no human person should be treated as a means to an end. We can develop the ability to recognize this worth through the profound spiritual truth of making the free choice to love.  These are profound truths of our faith grounded both philosophically and theologically and the Holy Father immediately ties them in to our everyday lives when he then goes on to write: Much hurt and many problems result when we stop looking at one another. 

It is not enough to just contemplate the idea of love, we must be willing to live the choice to love and that choice is made in the very ordinary and daily context of our lives. In this regards it is the choice to simply gaze on the other person and simply make eye contact.  And it does make a difference.

Not that long ago I ran into a parishioner from a previous assignment and she shared with me that one of the things she appreciated about my ministry at her parish was that I actually made eye contact with her and other people when I distributed communion. This assignment was years ago and she still remembered the simple exchange of eye contact and not just hurriedly handing out the Eucharist as if in an assembly line!  The little things we do matter for people, more so than we may often realize.

Going further, I think that Pope Francis has recently given the whole world a lesson in this in his willingness to have the Vatican (assisted by the Community of Sant’Egidio) take in and provide shelter for twelve Syrian refugees. The Church and Popes have consistently taught both the dignity of the person and the dignity of refugees.  Pope Francis has continued this teaching and he has demonstrated his willingness to go beyond just a theoretical teaching and make the choice to love specifically in the context of our day by welcoming these refugees!  Before the whole world, the Pope is practicing what he is preaching.  By welcoming these refugees, the Holy Father is demonstrating that he has “made eye contact” as it were; he has gazed upon these men, women and children in their need and has recognized their innate dignity and worth and has made the choice to help them.

Choices made in the daily context of our situations do make a difference including the choice to gaze on the other person with love and respect.

In the gospel for this coming Sunday (Jn. 13:31-33a, 34-35) our Lord gives us the new commandment to love one another. It is important to note that this commandment is not given as a theoretical abstract but is given within a specific context: after our Lord humbles himself and washes the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.  Throughout that sacred meal our Lord gazed upon his disciples with love (John tells us that he loved them to the end) and they humbly looked on as he (the teacher and master) washed their feet.  Love here is not an idea contemplated but a choice lived for the other.

Choices made in love do matter. They do make a difference.  Even the most daily and seemingly mundane of choices to love and show love matter and they connect us, as disciples, to our Lord himself.  Pope Francis knows this.  Hopefully we can learn from him.

Belonging to Christ

16 Saturday Apr 2016

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Christ the Good ShepherdThe context of today’s gospel (Jn. 10:27-30) is the feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem. Jesus is in the Temple when he is approached by some Jews who begin to question him, asking if he is the Christ.  The feast of the Dedication marked an historical moment in the history of Israel when the Jewish people were able to overcome their Greek oppressors and re-dedicate the Temple by destroying and removing a pagan altar that had been placed there.  The context is important because it demonstrates the importance of the Temple in the culture and psyche of the Jewish people.  The Temple was the meeting place between God and his people.  The Temple was the visible sign for the Jewish people of their belonging to God.  This sense of “belonging” is of importance.

In his reply to their questions our Lord says, “My sheep…” Another translation gets more specific and has our Lord say, “The sheep that belong to me…” Elsewhere in the gospels our Lord says that he is the good shepherd and he then shares the attributes of the good shepherd but here the focus seems to be more on the sheep and true belonging. True belonging is not ultimately to be found in any sort of physical structure but in relationship with Christ, who is God incarnate in our midst.  This is the new covenant that our Lord inaugurates and it is the covenant in which we belong and have fullness of life.

What does it mean “to belong”?

“My sheep hear my voice…”  To “hear” the voice of Christ is to let it enter into one’s life and one’s heart.  It also means being willing to listen.  In the equation of Christian life there is a part that is our due.  We have to take the time and make it a priority to listen to God through prayer, through reading the Scriptures, through receiving the sacraments, through being active in community.  We have to be willing to turn off all the distractions that this life affords in abundance and listen for the voice of the shepherd.  We also need to not let the voices of fear drown out the voice of the shepherd.  We need to guard our hearts for the one voice that brings true life.

“I know them, and they follow me.”  In the third chapter of John’s gospel, our Lord tells us that everyone who does wrong hates the light that has come into the world and avoids it.  This is the human condition weakened by original sin.  We all have this fear in us.  We all want to hide away parts of ourselves – our sins, our weaknesses, our little egos.  The Christian life is a journey of letting go of this fear.  We need to allow Christ in.  We need to allow him to know us and we need to trust in his love and his mercy.  It is like going to a doctor.  A doctor cannot prescribe the proper cure if we keep our mouths shut and do not say what ails us.  Christ is the divine physician but he wants to hear from us what ails us.  Knowledge and love are connected.  The more that we are known by Christ, the more we know we are loved by Christ and then we follow – not out of fear or obligation – but out of love.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”  This answers the deepest yearning of the human heart – to belong eternally.  This is the hope that we have as Christians – already planted deep within our hearts.  C.S. Lewis describes it as the memory of the distant land we have yet to visit.  It is a hope that continually pulls us forward – beyond our limits, our fears and our sins.

The truest friendship we have is friendship with Christ. His words spoken to us are words spoken in friendship and they are words that invite us into the greatest mystery – in Christ we come to know the Father and we come to know that we belong to him.

“No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.”