Rejoice: The Lord is Near

We open today's liturgy with the antiphon: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near"(Phil 4: 4,5).

Each of us today awakened because the Lord called us to continue our existence here on earth. As we journey through this day, God will give us new opportunities to grow in grace and wisdom (growing in age is automatic); growing in grace and wisdom depends on our openness to God.  God, who entered the earth, coming down from heaven and being born as a helpless Infant, tender, loving, in need of care--the God who created the Universe and all that is in it, human, plant and animal--continues the act of Incarnation every day.  The Incarnate God exists within us, sustaining us in existence. The Incarnate God exists in all that has life. God's creative energies continue their creative gift of life in myriad of ways, including our own life as unique persons. God works with us and through us to become the persons God designed us to be. God patiently awaits our acceptance of our need to be saved; yes, our realization that we need redemption--God's mercy and love making us whole, making us increasingly more  pure and more authentic, more altruistic, more generous with time and talent in helping others; making us lavishly more loving, making us deeply more honest, even in the smallest of ways that we do not live up to our potential as human beings!

[R]ejoice  heartily in the Lord, in [your] God is the joy of [your] soul" (Isaiah 61: 1-2a, 10-11).

Jesus: Our Savior, the Anointed One, the Face of God

In today’s first reading, Isaiah 42: 1-7, we are reminded that The Lord has called Jesus, His “servant,” His “chosen one with whom” He is “pleased,” and upon whom He has put His “Spirit,” Jesus will “bring forth justice to the nations.” He will not be “crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.”   Jesus shows us the face of our God—a God of compassion, a God of patience, a God of mercy, a God of justice. 

In today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 27, the psalmist proclaims:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?

 The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?

When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh,

 my foes and my enemies themselves stumble and fall.

 Though an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear;

 though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust.

 I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.

 Wait for the Lord with courage;

 be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

A couple of questions with which we might grapple:

1.       What is my belief? Do I in fact believe that “I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living? If that is not be belief, in what do I believe?

2.       For what am I waiting? Am I waiting for the Lord with courage?” Or have I placed my hope on God-substitutes—wealth, materials things, acquisition of personal ambitions, personal power, worldly accolades?  For whom, for what do I seek?

3.       In whom, in what do I seek refuge?

4.       What are my fears?

Waiting upon the Lord

In today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 27: 1, 4, 13-14, the psalmist reminds us that we “shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.”  He then encourages us to “[w]ait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.”    Waiting can be very challenging for those of us who have a difficult time when things do not happen in our timing, when answers are not forthcoming at the moment that we want them to be or in the manner that we think the answers should be revealed to us.  “Come on, Lord,” we may say. “Where are you? I can’t wait any longer!” So, what do some of us do? Take charge! Do our own thing or jump in and try to fix what seems very wrong, not that “fixing the wrong” is not the right thing to do but sometimes we jump ahead of God.  When we do that, either in  “fixing a wrong” or making a choice prematurely, we are likely to cause more problems.  Readiness is important. Timing is important. God’s time, many times, is not our timing.

Think of parents  with young children. One of the children lies down on the floor and proceeds to have a temper tantrum in the middle of a store.  If the child is not hurting anyone, wise parents wait until the child is finished screaming, kicking; those parents let the child vent. When the child is finished, a parent picks up the child, comforts him or her and moves on.  Another parent may interfere, demand that the toddler’s temper tantrum cease, yell at the child to stop the screaming and kicking, even hit the child or call the child names, labeling him/her a bad child. Consequently, the temper tantrum escalates and the calming down takes longer, not to mention the long term effects of the name-calling: a memory that can stay with the child long into adulthood.  God is like the wise parent. When we “lose it,” He simply looks on and watches us with patience, waiting for us to calm down before intervening. He knows that we are not capable of hearing Him while we are ranting and raving.  He also knows that getting one’s anger out without hurting another person or ourselves is an important step in being open to counsel and to experiencing “the bounty of the Lord”.

That Lord’s   “bounty” opens up to the person who, when calm,  humbly and courageously reflects upon the “temper tantrum” experience, seeks God’s counsel or counsel from another, and is willing to learn whatever lesson is hidden within the event. Furthermore, the person who bares his/her soul to the Lord, sharing the incident and feelings about the incident that led to the meltdown, prepares the soil of his/her heart to receive the “rain” of grace. By humbly and courageously waiting upon the Lord, the soft, gentle “rain” of grace soaks  the heart’s soil and, yes, God’s bounty burst through the formerly hardened soul.

God's Infinite Patience, Forbearance, and Kindness

In today’s first reading, Romans 2: 1-11, St. Paul confronts us as follows: “You, O man [woman],  are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment. For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.”  As I reflected upon that message in my morning’s meditation, I made a list of other people’s behaviors upon which  I have passed judgment.  Next to each behavior I could write: “I’ve done that sometimes, too.”  It was a sobering experience, as the list grew and so did my awareness of how those same behaviors/attitudes, from time to time--and sometimes frequently--are a part of my history. 

Paul then goes on to ask us whether or not we are aware of God’s infinite kindness, God’s patience with us, and His forbearance by which He invites us to repentance.  Are we aware of God’s unconditional love, a love manifested in Jesus taking our judgment upon Himself, becoming sin for us, on the cross.  St. Paul tells us  in Colossians 1:22:  “You were once estranged and of hostile intent through your evil behavior; now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body, to bring you before himself holy, faultless and irreproachable—as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourself drift away from the hope promised by the gospel….”  Repent and believe in the Gospel, we are told on Ash Wednesday when the priest signs us with ashes. May we repent of standing in judgment over others and realize that we, too, have sinned in whatever way we are complaining about our neighbor.

Discipline from a loving God

In today’s first reading, Heb. 12: 4-7, 11-15, St. Paul reminds us that God treats us as sons/daughters and therefore, like any wise parent, disciplines us by what we suffer.  He also reminds us that none of us “struggle with sin…to the point of shedding blood.”  The Gospel, Mark 6: 1-6, tells us how disappointed Jesus is in the people of his own home town. Because of their attitude towards Him and their lack of faith, Jesus cannot and does not work  miracles there. I asked the Lord what I needed to learn from these lessons and the following counsel was given me: 

 
Dorothy Ann, remember that I love you. It’s because of my love for you that you are painfully made aware of your sinfulness and how  stubbornness and pride sometimes trip you up from growth in humility, kindness and love.  It is why miracles are not worked through you in some instances: miracles to which a humble person is privy, miracles that occur when a person does not need to be right, miracles that occur when a person apologizes to another even when the raucous seems to be the other person’s fault, miracles that occur when a person remains calm and patient toward, or walks away from, a ranting “manic,” miracles that occur when a person speaks the truth reverently   
and respectfully to another, miracles that occur when a person takes time to listen without              condemning, without being critical, without needing to set the other right, without needing
to come out on top, etc.

 

Living these Gospel values, Dorothy Ann, is countercultural. It is what led to My death and will lead to yours, not physically but the death of the ego that, at times, wants to dominate, control and hold on to being right when the other is wrong.  Many times you have to walk away and swallow your pride, as I did in today’s Gospel, Mark 6: 1-6).

Taking up one’s cross and following Jesus to death and resurrection is costly!