The Lord is Always Faithful

The Lord is Always Faithful

October 31, 2012

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

By Colleen O'Sullivan

The Lord is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works.  (Psalm 145:13b)

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”  (Luke 13:24)

Piety

Lord, though we live in troubled times, let me always be grounded in you.  May I always put you at the center of my life. 

Study

As I am writing this, I am sitting in my living room waiting for the ill effects of Hurricane Sandy to make themselves felt.  I hardly need a hurricane, though, to feel tossed about by strong winds, winds of controversy.  Whether I pick up my phone or turn on the television, there is always someone waiting to tell me what a disaster it will be if I vote for the other party’s candidate.  No matter who’s talking, the message is always that if the other party wins, the world as we know it will come to a screeching halt.  Facebook is full of “friends’” political endorsements.  The rhetoric is at such a heated pitch, I fear it could tear some relationships apart.  No matter what our political leanings, there ought to be something that unites us as Americans.

There is no less turmoil when I look at the Church.  On Sunday mornings there are many more empty seats in my parish than there have ever been in the 16 or 17 years I have been a member there.  No matter where I turn, there are arguments over the language in the Mass, what language the Mass should be celebrated in, the music we sing or chant, what social action ministries we are a part of, what nuns should be doing, etc. People I know personally have left the Church or are planning to find spiritual homes elsewhere, and that bothers me.  Others insist that the Church never makes mistakes, is never wrong.  To me, as soon as we human beings are part of the equation, there is always the possibility that we can err.  It bothers me that we are so often more interested in being right than in seeking the Spirit or finding our common ground in our faith in Christ. 

Even on the home front, the winds of dissension are blowing and tossing me around.  One sibling thinks my father is saying and doing “stupid” things, not able to see that his so-called “stupidity” reflects the early stages of dementia.  The other sibling thinks it would be great if the hurricane damaged my dad’s house and gave us an “excuse” to put him in an assisted-living facility, where we wouldn’t have to worry about him.  I think it’s very sad that we can’t be united in putting my father’s best interests first and in treating him with respect and dignity.

So, it is with great relief that I read the psalmist’s words today, “The Lord is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works.”  No matter how much we humans may mess things up or how forcefully the winds of controversy may blow, there is a profound sense of peace in knowing that God is always God, always faithful, always holy.  My faith in God is what centers me. It is what keeps me from being swept away on ill winds, no matter how strong. 

Even Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reading, though blunt, are a relief.  There’s no empty political rhetoric, no sugar-coating reality to gain my vote, no wild promises that can’t possibly be fulfilled. There’s just the simple truth.  If you want to be my disciples, if you want to share in eternal life with me, there is a way.  But it entails a narrow gate.  The ticket to entry is faithful discipleship.  A faithful disciple loves God above all else and loves his or her neighbors as well.  A faithful disciple cares especially for the poor, the hungry, the neglected, the abused, the mentally and physically disabled, the elderly – whomever we find at the margins of society.   Jesus’ words focus my life on what’s really important.

Action

When there is turmoil all around, what centers you?  What words of Scripture do you hold onto? 

Be Subordinate In Christ

Be Subordinate In Christ

October 30, 2012

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

Brothers and sisters:  Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. … For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. (Ephesians 5: 12, 29-31)

Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like?  To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches."  (Luke 13:18-19)

Piety

Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways!  For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.   (Psalm 128:1-2)

Study

In my front yard are two enormous blue spruce trees.  They are gorgeous in color and breadth.  They drew me to this yard, this house when as a young married couple we hunted for a safe and welcoming home to raise our daughters.

Jesus’ metaphor of the mustard seed grown into the large bush is a favorite of mine.  I not only love my two beautiful trees but they are literal bird-apartment houses.  They give shelter to blue jays, wrens, sparrows, doves, cardinals, titmice and the occasional mocking bird who for short stretches lives close to her/his fellows.  We also have cats resting beneath (!) and squirrels visiting.  The trees have sheltered migrating robins, Baltimore orioles and even a grosbeak or two.  So these trees, enormous and vibrating with life, pulsing with song and bird calls are emblematic of the promise of the Kingdom Jesus is describing.

As I picture these two trees, Paul’s words to the Ephesians take on fresh meaning.  The thought of subservience and clinging have never been terribly positive for me.  But subservience meaning putting the needs of another before mine and if clinging means offering and receiving care and love then these words resonate in my life.  And in the shadows of Jesus’ mustard bush with its promise of Life Paul’s image of two made one – flesh and body united, Jesus’ saving presence in my life makes sacred the earthly bonds we share as loved ones.

Action

Looking at myself using Jesus’ descriptions rather than my own can open me to a closer walk with him and an opportunity to be a better wife, mother, person.  In what way could you examine some held opinions and make them into an internal tree, animated by life in the Lord?

You Are Set Free

You Are Set Free

October 29, 2012

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma…For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light.  Ephesians 5:1-2,8

And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.  When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."  He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.  Luke 13:11-13

Piety

Alas, alas for you
Lawyers and Pharisees
Hypocrites that you are
Sure that the kingdom of Heaven awaits you
You will not venture half so far
Other men who might enter the gates you
Keep from passing through!
Drag them down with you!
You snakes, you viper's brood
You cannot escape being Devil's food!

I send you prophets, I send you preachers
Sages and rages and ages of teachers
Nothing can bar your mood

(Excepts from the lyrics to "Alas for You," from Godspell by Stephen Schwartz, 1971)

Study

Today we have another story with conflicts on multiple levels.  First, we encounter with Jesus the woman battling a physical ailment for eighteen years.  Jesus is confronted with the perplexing case about whether or not to cure her on the Sabbath.  Although it might perplex the Pharisee, it does not phase Jesus in the least.  As much as Bartimeus wanted to see, she wants to overcome her affliction.  Jesus wants to overcome the objection of the temple leaders.  He tells them, "Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering?"  

Once cured, like Bartimeus, she gives praise to God. Once cured, the Pharisees give grief to the Son of God. This is the second battle Jesus engages.  Jesus will have none of this attitude.  Just as he conquers the crippling affliction of the woman, he conquers the crippling attitude of the Pharisee.

This story is juxtaposed right after the parable of the barren fig tree.  After giving the example of the patient gardener cultivating a tree until it bears fruit, Jesus exhibits no such patience with the Pharisee.  He has no patience for hypocrites and those who would get in the way of serving the faithful at any time of day or night. 

Action

What cripples us?  Is it something physical, emotional, or spiritual?  Before we can conquer it, we must encounter it…see it for what it is -- an obstacle to true friendship with God. 

God wants to be patient with us.  The Lord awaits our conversion so we can bear fruit just as Bartimeus and the crippled woman show faith despite their affliction.  The blind man "sees" Jesus better than those in the crowd with sight.  The crippled woman approaches Jesus more upright than all the temple leaders.  We, too, are challenged to rise above what gets in the way of our right relationship with Jesus.

I Want to See

October 28, 2012

Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2012 B

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng.  They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble.  For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.  Jeremiah 31:8-9

Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"  The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."  Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."  Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.  Mark 10:51-52

Piety

The vision people have of our piety is seen in how much of the Christ of our actions people see.  The truth of many people’s connection of their lives to Christ is hard to see.  Our Gospel of today is about Bartimaeus, the blind person.  He cried out for the help of the Lord loud enough that Christ was able to hear above the hubbub of the noise of the crowd that accompanied him.  He asked for the pity of the Lord.  The crowd tried to shush him and he cried out all the more.  Because of the something the Lord heard in his cry he told his disciples to bring the man to him.  Jesus asked the man what he wanted.  His cry became his desire to see.  Our cry should be that we see the plan of God for us that will make the world a better place.  How we support change in our world and do our part to give others the chance to live in their dignity in Christ is the challenge.

Study

The blind man, when he regained his sight, followed Christ.  We cannot be blind to the hungry, thirsty, sick and prisoners of our world.  The challenge is vision of those who are suffering.  We need to see who are being afflicted by the blindness of our world.  Education reveals what needs doing.   Willingness to put ourselves out in doing what we can against the incredible blindness of those who would keep people poor is seen by sharing not just the leftovers of our lives.   We have to share from our essentials of life if we are to make a difference for the world.  We need to study how we can live more simply even if we are going to be the only ones trying to live up to the plan of God.

Action

We need to join ourselves to the priesthood of Christ.  We know that there is no greater love than to give our lives for the sake of each other.  The little we can do is made all the more when we bring the problems of our world through our prayer to God to allow us to make a difference.  What we are offering out lives for is that Christ be seen.  There is no way we will keep our courage high if we do not become extensions of Christ by our prayer.  Our cry to the Lord must be that we might be able to see what is being asked of us and have the courage to try to do our part.  God will reveal to us the directions our actions must take if we are going to be able to make a difference in our world today.  The cross of Christ gives meaning to every sacrifice of our lives we make as we become the hands and the feet of Christ by reaching out in his name for the poor.   We need to see Christ working in all the ways we offer our lives to make a better world.  Prayer will allow our hearts to see what love is all about.  The ways we get the courage to go on the journey of Christ to announce the good news of salvation to our world is to bring our feeble efforts to God to bless in the presences of Jesus in our lives.  By being his hands and feet to reach the hurting and the needy we will bring sight to those who will find Christ in what we are doing in his name.