"The Temple Filled with the Glory of the Lord" (Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab)

 In today's first reading, Ezekiel 43: 1-7ab, the prophet shares a vision  he has of "the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east."   Every  morning, the sun rises from the east. Is God not hidden in the sun, as He is hidden in the consecrated host, I wonder!  Ezekiel goes on to share more of the vision, saying:   "I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the Lord."  In our baptism, we died and rose with Christ and were transformed into the Temple  of  God.  The Spirit of God dwells within our very beings and, yes,  we are "filled with the glory of the Lord."  Our eyes are veiled so we do not see that glory but it is no less real, as real as the sun shining but not seen because it is hidden by clouds!
In the last lines of today's first reading, Ezekiel hears a voice saying to him:  This "is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever." Yes! God dwells here on earth with us forever, as He promises His disciples right before He is ascended into heaven: Behold,  "I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Matthew 28: 20).
Where is God? Right here, standing before you and beside you. Right here, closer to you and me than our breath! Right here, living within your very being! "Where am I when you suffer," God asks? "I am suffering with you! That is where I am! Where am I in this coronavirus pandemic?  I am in it with you, struggling, as you do, to eradicate this plague from the earth! I am suffering, crying, weeping, struggling with you do! We are one!"
Why don't you, God, take it away?  You are God!  "I am not a magic wand that you can wave over the pandemic and it is gone.  No, I am God Incarnate, God-with-you, God-in-you! I am your Strength and your Light, your Wisdom that guides you in how you cope with this plague and what you do to limit its spread!Trust Me! Rely upon Me! Know your dependence, your vulnerability, your need of me and live wisely, humbly and lovingly!" 

God Is an Imminent God, an Approachable God, a Caring God

In today's gospel, Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus asked the the disciples to precede him to the other side of the sea, while he stayed behind to dismiss the crowd of over 5000 people that had just been fed with a miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fish.  Several miles out on the sea a treacherous storm hits the boat with waves powerful enough to sink it.  Struggling to stay upright, the disciples notice someone walking on the waters and coming toward the boat. They are terrified.  Could it get worse than it is, they must have wondered. Then, Jesus says to them: "Fear not, it is I". Peter immediately says to Jesus: "If it is you, Lord, bid me come to you on the waters".  And Jesus says: "Come." Peter bravely gets out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus. The winds are strong and Peter, overcome with fear, takes his eyes off Jesus. Focusing on his fear, Peter begins to sink and cries out: "Lord, save me". Jesus stretches forth his hand and pulls Peter up, saving him from drowning.

You and I are like Peter at times. It is so easy to focus on our fears, to take our eyes off of Jesus. We can then get tangled up in our problems and, as our frenzy increases, we sink further and further into the "churning waters."  Waters are certainly churning in our world today and the storms are predicted to intensify: the storms of the coronavirus, the political storms, the protests against wearing masks, the stormy debates about returning to person-to-person learning, opening more and more businesses, the  avoiding large crowds and on and on! Storms may be raging in our families, our communities, our churches around any one of these issues or others causing fear among us.

I believe that whatever is happening in our world is a means of learning. What lessons do I need to learn from the chaos around me and within me? What steps do I need to take to regain a sense of balance in my life, to deepen my faith, to strengthen my trust in an imminent God, a caring God, an approachable God, a God who draws near to me on the stormy seas of my life this day?

"Fear not," Jesus says to me. "It is I; come to me!"

A God of Infinite Love, Mercy and Compassion toward All

In today's Gospel, Matthew 15: 21-28, a Canaanite woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon approached Jesus, calling out to Him: "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

Initially, it looked as though Jesus ignored her, as He does not respond to her request at first., so it seems.  Jesus' disciples are annoyed by this foreigner and say to Jesus: "Send her away,  for she keeps calling out after us."  In Jesus' times foreigners were referred to as "dogs." Jesus uses this expression and says to her: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel....It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  The woman is not taken aback. She says to Jesus: "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."  Jesus, amazed at this foreigner's expression of faith, says to her: "'O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.' And her daughter was healed from that hour."

What a lesson for Jesus' disciples! No one is excluded from God's infinite love, compassion, and mercy. Those considered "dogs" by the Jews would be treated as compassionately as the Jews themselves! Gentiles as well as the Jews have equal access to Jesus' healing power!

Redemption is for all men and women in our day as well. Those toward whom you and I might not want to show mercy are shown mercy by God. Those excluded by society, put down by the powers that be in our world, those scorned and treated like "dogs" are treated lovingly, compassionately, and mercifully by God. His love, compassion and mercy are abundant toward all of His creation: men and woman alike, the rich and the poor alike, blacks and whites and all colors alike, criminals and noncriminals alike, young and old alike, the universe itself and all that dwells therein. 

Jesus Is In Our Boats

In today's Gospel, Matthew 14: 22-36, the disciples were asked to "get into a boat and precede [Jesus] to the other side of the sea, while [Jesus] dismissed the crowds."  A violent storm plummeted the boat  in the early morning hours and the disciples feared drowning. Jesus, aware of what was happening, approached the boat, walking toward it on the waters! Seeing Jesus, but not recognizing him, they cry out in fear: 
"It is a ghost...At once Jesus spoke to them, 'Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.' Peter said to  him in reply, 'Lord, if it is you command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' Peter go t out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him."

Peter is you, is me!  At times it feels as if our "boat" is being tossed about by violent storms, winds too strong for our weak faith and shallow trust!  Jesus notices and approaches us upon the stormy sea of our lives but we do not recognize Him.  Jesus is not deterred but continues to approach us. He says to us: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  "Really," we say in our hearts.  "Could Jesus really be in the events of our lives: in the disasters of the covid-19 virus? in the terror of death? in the loss of our jobs? in the hurricanes and fires ravaging our country?"  Or, we ask: "Where is Jesus? Is He a ghost?" Or, we may complain: "I don't see God in any of this chaos. He's abandoned us. He lets evil thrive in our midst. Every day there is more violence, more lies, more corruption, more injustice. Every day more and more of our poor are left to suffer, are denied benefits needed to take care of their families, their loved ones, their children!"

Drowning by the huge waves of turmoil around us, we become frightened, as did Peter, and begin to sink. Like Peter, may we cry out: "Lord, save me. Save us, Lord."  As with Peter, Jesus immediately stretches out his hand and catches us. As with the disciples in the sinking boat who cry out "It is a ghost," Jesus at once says: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.  I am in this boat with you!"

Doing Much with Little!

In today's Gospel, John 6: 1-15, a large crowd, about 5000 men, not counting women and children,  is approaching Jesus and Jesus asked Philip: "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"  John tells us that Jesus asked Philip that question to test him, as he knew what he would do! Philip says to Jesus: "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to  have a little."  Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter points out to Jesus that there is a boy there with five loaves of bread and two fish, "but what good are these for so many?"  We know the rest of the story. Jesus asked that the people recline on the grass there. He then takes the bread and the fish and feeds the crowd with twelve wicker baskets of food left over!

Just as Jesus involved his apostles and the boy in the miracle, so, too, does he involve us when, without us, he easily could do whatever he intends to do all along.  God wants us, including children, to be his partners! And furthermore, the little we have is no deterrent to responding to need, no matter how great that need or how large the crowd is.

Who am I in this Scripture passage? Jesus who sees the crowd approaching and seeks ways to meet their need for "food"?  A member of the crowd who needs to rely upon others to get what one's needs met? Philip who is being tested by Jesus and challenged to find a solution? Andrew who notices the boy who has some food--am I that attentive? The boy with the food and who gives the little he has to Jesus, not really knowing what Jesus will do with it? A member of the crowd whose hunger is met by Jesus? Am I, the "bread" and "fish"being broken and shared with others? Or am I all of the above at different times of my life and, even, at different times of one day?

Notice that Jesus is key to this story. Is Jesus key to your life/to mine?  Also notice that the apostles and the boy are also key to this story!  Do I, do you, realize that we cannot make a difference on our own, that is, that we need each other! Notice, as well, that the little you or I have can make a huge difference.  We have seen this during the crisis we are facing with the coronavirus. Someone decides to find a way to get food that farmers are forced to let rot in their fields and, before long, several semi-trucks are involved in getting the food to persons facing a shortage and not able to put food on their table for their hungry children!

Lord, may our trust in you, in others and in ourselves increase.  May we have the courage to share the little we have, to do whatever we can, and not let doubt in ourselves or others or You stop us from recognizing a need and responding to it in some way, no matter how little we have to share!