Humility and Servant-hood

In today's first reading, James 4: 1-10, challenges us to answer the questions: "Where do the wars and where to the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within our members?"  If my passion is to be number one, to win at all costs, I will set myself out to take down anyone who attempts to block me from achieving that goal. This is not only true on a personal level, it is also true of nations or countries that insist on being number 1!  Military buildups operate, I believe, in this same way.

Do we not, in many cases,  teach our children that they, too, must win over others and sometimes at any cost!  Setting ourselves in conflict against others and needing to be the greatest, the smartest, the BEST in whatever we do and in whatever competition we enter is not what Jesus teaches in today's Gospel, Mark 9: 30-37.  When the disciples are arguing among themselves about who was the greatest, He said to them: "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."      Jesus  did not flaunt being the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of all. In fact He makes it clear that He did  not come to be served but to serve! He modeled service when He washed his disciples feet and says to the disciples: Do you see what I have done for you. Do likewise!

Lord, have mercy on us when our passions make war within ourselves and with our fellow human beings!  May we learn from you to be the servant of all and not seek to be first in anything!  May we also honestly answer St. James' questions of the sources of our conflicts with others!

Living Christian Lives

In today's Gospel, Luke 4: 38-44, Peter's mother-in-law is seriously ill with a severe fever.   Peter and others in the household intercede for her and Jesus heals her!  Immediately following the healing, she proceeds to wait upon Peter and his guests. 

Notice that the healing takes place very quietly within the home and as the result of the family interceding for the sick family member. Take notice of three things: 1) That family matters and each member plays a significant part in the well-being of the other members, 2) That intercessory prayer is important and effective, and 3) That simplicity and humility are essential characteristics of disciples of Jesus. Following the healing, Peter's mother-in-law simply gets up and humbly waits upon the family and their visitors, immediately assuming the ordinary duties of the one who provides hospitality.  She could have, on the other hand, expected to be waited upon and treated with "kid gloves," so to speak, given how sick she had been.  Or she could have expected a lot to be made over her because she was the recipient of a sudden cure by Jesus!  Either position would not have been the fruits of simplicity and humility but would have flowed from pride!

Following the meal, as the sun is setting, people of the village bring their sick to Jesus for healing.   "He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting 'You are the Son of God.' But Jesus rebuked  them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ."    Jesus them goes off to a quiet place, most likely to commune with the Father. He does not hang around expecting Peter and his family or the villagers to applaud Him for the healings he performed in His Father's name.

Both Jesus and Peter's mother-in-law are models of simplicity, humility and service.  As disciples of Jesus, we, too, are called to live simple and humble lives of service and, like Peter and his family, be intercessors for others in need!

Blessed by God with an Abundance

Today's first reading calls us to "fear [reverence] the Lord, [our] God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, [our] God, with all [our] heart and all [our] soul, to keep the commandments and statues of the Lord...for [our] own good."

Yesterday, August 11, I had the privilege of celebrating my 60th jubilee as a vowed member of the Sister of the Sorrowful Mother!  Sixty years of being blessed by God with an abundance!  Truly God gives a hundredfold to those who follow Jesus in their respective vocations: consecrated life,  priesthood, marriage or the single life.  God is never outdone in generosity to those who reverence Him and strive to "follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, our god, with all our heart and all our love, to keep the commandments and statues of the Lord."  The majority of us can thank our parents for this gift of reverence of our God!

The gifts I received are truly that: gifts freely given and which found their way into my life because of my parents. Mom and dad passed the faith on to me and my siblings and modeled living their faith in God, in one another, and in themselves.. What gifts they were in their faithfulness to one another, their love of their children and their willingness to sacrifice for us!  Nothing was too much for them! I am grateful to them for all of this and especially for teaching us children that "if there is a will, then, there is a way."   Self-pity was not in the bag, so to speak!  "Just do it" was a motto we were taught long before Niki ever existed!

I never realized as a child that Jesus''determination to do whatever the Father asked of Him was what guided my parents, though this was not put in words.   They followed Jesus' way "as exactly"  as a human being is capable.  They knew their dependence upon God, as evidenced by their faithfulness to weekly worship with a community of believers, their involvement in their parish, weekly confession and daily prayer at home, especially the daily praying of the rosary.  They carried "the cross," as life was not easy for them, by any stretch of the imagination. Nor has life been easy for any of my siblings. Following the example of our parents, all of us persevered  through the tough times of our lives.  We are who we are, strong Christians, as a result of the way we coped with the "Calvaries" of  our lives over time.

God be praised and thanked and glorified!

Being a Disciple of Jesus

The entrance antiphon of today's liturgy, describes the call of James the Apostle, whose feast we celebrate today:  As he walked by the Sea  Galilee, Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother mending their nets and called them" (cf. Mt. 4: 18, 21). And they followed the Lord and never left Him.

James and John were ordinary fishermen.  Nothing out of the ordinary, like all of us.  We are common folk whose hearts God knows!  He sees what we are made us--He is our Creator--and He knows of what we are capable, in spite of our shortcomings, our weaknesses, our fears, our misguided ambitions.  In the case of James and John, they commanded Jesus through their mother, that, in heaven,  one sit at his right and the other at his left in the Kingdom. Jesus replies:  "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink"  (Matthew 20-28)?

Following Jesus, in any vocation, is not about being treated to special positions above others. Service, after the example of Jesus, means a self-emptying, a giving of ourselves for the sake of the other. In Jesus' case, self-emptying entailed being a victim of other people's jealousy, a jealousy that led persons to succumb to the evil of putting Jesus to death, getting Him, so to speak, out of their way of the power they coveted!

Power struggles are part of life. In fact, prior to their total conversion into what it means to be a disciple of the Lord, James and John and the other apostles strove for power over one another. Jesus says to them in today's Gospel:  "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many"  (Matthew 20: 20-28).

Whom are you serving? For whom are you willing to give your life?

Serving Christ Sincerely

In today’s first reading, Ephesians 6: 1-9, St. Paul exhorts us to stop provoking our children to anger. Rather “bring them up with the training and the instruction of the Lord.”  Paul challenges us  to give service   to others “in sincerity of heart, as to Christ.”  We are asked to do “the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not [humans], knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he [or she] does…”  “Masters,” Paul emphatically states, “…stop bullying, knowing that both [those who serve you in your businesses—ecclesial or civil, corporate or governmental, familial or social-- or as heads of families] they and you have a Master in heaven and that with …[God] there is no partiality.”

How frightening it is to see how low we have fallen. We have listened to bullying for the past year as persons campaigned to become the next president of the U.S.A. We read reports of members of Congress having bullied the president for the past eight years and then complain that he has done nothing good.  Every evening, the nightly news also contains reports of bullying. We see bullying from sexual predators, home invaders,  corrupt politicians, corrupt CEOs of pharmaceutical companies and in the banking industry, on Wall Street and so many other corporations. We hear of drug lords, persons engaged in criminal activity or planning to harm others, to riot and revolutionize the country and on and on! The people doing good in the world—and there are millions--go unnoticed,  for the most part!

 The question is: am I contributing to this world’s darkness or am I among those striving to bring the light of Christ into  the darkness around me? What am I doing to make the world a place where “training and instruction of the Lord” prevails, where persons are taught to give service to others “in sincerity of heart, as to Christ”? Am I “willingly serving the Lord and not [humans]”?

Lord, have mercy on us and help look at ways to make the world a better place, to collaborate with others for the sake of the common good and to resolve problems that need to be addressed. May we sincerely do Your will from hearts turned to You and relying upon You!

Humility versus Showiness

In today’s Gospel, Matthew 23: 1-12, Jesus  tells his disciples to observe all the things the scribes and Pharisees tell you to observe “but do not follow their example.  For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplace and the salutation ‘Rabbi’”.

It is easy for anyone but especially, I think,  for priests and Sisters to fall into that trap. We need to be aware when we are following the behavior of the Pharisees and scribes, when we let authority go to our heads, so to speak. Do we do what we do in order to be recognized? Do we burden other people, expecting them to serve us while we do nothing to lighten the burdens other people bear, burdens the Sisters I live with bear, burdens my wife/husband or my children bear? And, children are you willing to be a servant in your family?  Other questions to ask ourselves:  Do we dress to attract the accolades of others. Are we enamored with “places of honor” that come with the titles we bear?

In this Gospel passage, Jesus defines greatness in terms of service: “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”  The greatest at a banquet, in Jesus’ description, are not those occupying places of honor but those serving tables and doing dishes in the kitchen!

 Am I seeking to occupy places of distinction or am I content doing the dishes, washing the laundry, cleaning the house, or mowing the lawn? Would Jesus say of me: Observe what she teaches "but do not follow her example"?

Jesus' Association with, and Transformation of, Sinners

In  today’s Gospel, Matthew 9: 9-13, Jesus calls Matthew to become an apostle. Matthew is despised by his people. He is a tax collector, working for the Roman government, the occupiers of Israel. He not only is on the side of Israel’s oppressor, he is also overcharging the people the taxes owed to the government and lining his own pockets with extra cash.  In the words of the first reading, Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12, he is cheating.

How can Jesus, the Pharisees wonder, choose such a man and even sit down with him at table, feasting.   Why, they ask, is He associating with sinners?  Jesus knows what the Pharisees are thinking and responds:  “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

We, too, have Pharisaical thoughts and are baffled by the choices Jesus makes.  “She, a nun, we ask. He,  a priest!  How come so and so was chosen for that position.  Why do you want to marry him/her?  Of all people!  And on and on goes our list of objections to choices being made that we do not understand or accept.

Let u, also, imagine ourselves being a Matthew. God sees us at work in ways that are in opposition to who we really are and what He really wants of us. In fact, God sees us cheating here and there. He also reads our hearts. He knows of what we are capable. He wants us working for the Kingdom, His Kingdom here on earth and to be a part of His Kingdom in eternity. And, to the amazement of those who know us, chooses us to walk closely with Him, to sit at table with Him (the Eucharistic banquet here on earth and later in heaven), to be ones who recognize Him, follow Him, and proclaim His death and resurrection. He calls us, not because we are righteous,  but because we are sinners in need of a Physician like no other. 

Wow! Thank you, Jesus, for recognizing my need of You. Thank you, Jesus, for calling me to walk closely with you, to sit down at the Eucharistic table with You, to get to know You intimately and to serve You faithfully in building up the Kingdom with You and through You and for You. Give me the grace each day, Lord, to sit at Your feet, reflecting on the Scriptures, the Living Word of God, and being transformed by this Word that never returns to You without doing the work for which You sent it.

Challenged to Love Intensely, Thoughtfully, Soberly

In today’s first reading, 1 Peter 4: 7-13, St. Peter reminds us that “the end of all things is at hand.  Therefore be serious and sober-minded.”   In other words, pay attention to that which is important and vital to your well- being spiritually and to the well-being of others—do not occupy yourself with that which is trivial or of minor significance.  Live thoughtfully! Live a life full of meaning.  Peter then looks at what that kind of life would entail. He says:  “…[L]et your love for one another be intense…Be hospitable to one another without complaining.  …[S]erve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”  Do all of this “with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Imagine what the world would be like if we followed Peter’s instruction. But, so that we do not escape our personal responsibility, let us ask ourselves some personal questions: What am I doing—not what is someone else doing or what is the world doing—but what am I doing? To what am I paying attention  each day? How intense is my love for God, others and myself? How hospitable [friendly, welcoming, generous, open, cordial]  am I to those whom God puts on the path of my life each day?  Am I serving others as a “good steward [a good guide,  director, attendant, teacher, parent, mentor] of God’s varied grace”?

Discipleship: Being of Service, Not being Served

In today’s Gospel,  Mark 10: 32-45, Jesus is on His way up to Jerusalem.  Jesus knows what awaits Him there, as voiced by Him when he says to the disciples:  “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed  over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”

Walking with Jesus, James and John approach Him wanting favors in His Kingdom.  And the other ten apostles are indignant with them. Jesus rebukes all of them and reminds them that they are off track:   “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” I came, He says, “not to be served but to serve and to give [my] life as a ransom for many.”

Are you a “James,” a “John” or one of the other ten angry at James and John, wanting to be first yourselves and wanting to secure a place of honor? Or, are you another Christ, serving others quietly, being obedient to God even to death on a cross—not necessarily physical death but death to the ego, to pride, to selfishness?

At times in our lives, even at times each day, I believe, we are any one of those persons: James, John, one of the indignant ten or Jesus Himself, serving others quietly, sacrificing our pride, disciplining our selfish tendencies to be of service to others.  That is human nature, taken up by Jesus who shows us the way to the Father, who lives an other worldly life in accord with the Father's will.  What choices are you willing to make today?

Becoming of One Heart and Mind and Will

“Brothers and sisters,” St. Paul says to ‘his flock’: If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but…for those of others.”

Imagine a husband and a wife adhering to this challenge, “being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing,” the good of each other, the well being of their children, raising the children in the faith, modeling the Gospel messages of Jesus for their children. Imagine, too, a husband and a wife doing “nothing out of selfishness,…humbly [regarding the other] as more important than…[oneself] (I would say “as important as oneself),  each looking out not for his [or her] own interest, but…for those of…[the other and the children].  And, again, I would say, “looking out for the other’s interest, as well as one’s own, and putting forth efforts to meet one’s own needs as well as that of the other. I say that because it is easy to play the “martyr’s role,”  always putting the other’s needs before one’s own, neglecting oneself, and eventually resenting the other. It is a delicate balance and important, I believe, to realize that one’s own authentic needs are as important as the needs of the other person.

Something, definitely to think about as husband/wife, mother/father.

As a member of a religious community, the same applies. How unselfish am I? To what extent do I look to the interest of others, take time to listen, dialogue, be open to the opinion of others and express my own, to seek common ground so as to come to a point of “ being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing,” in this case following the Spirit’s lead in regard to ministry and the building up of community life?

Glorifying God on Earth

“Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you….I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began,” we read in today’s Gospel.  In Acts 20: 17-27, Paul also confidently states his faithfulness to carrying out God’s will. He says:  “I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots” of those who opposed my teaching them about Jesus. I…earnestly bore witness…to [my]faith” in Christ Jesus.  There, in a nutshell, is our calling as baptized Christians.  Hopefully at the end of our lives, we, too, will be able to say to our Creator: “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.”  Our  work is no different than the Lord’s was, namely, to “reveal…[God’s]  name to those whom…[God gives to us] and to give to others what God has given to us: forgiveness, love, confidence, strength, hope, faith in Christ Jesus.  Also, our work is the same as that which the Lord gave Paul to do, namely, to serve “the Lord with all humility and to bear witness to our faith in Christ Jesus amid the tears and trials” that are part of life here on earth.  May you and I rise to the occasion to be true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ so that others may know, as they did about Jesus, that we come from God and will be returning to God at the end of our lives.

Thriving, Striving, Serving

In today’s first reading, Jeremiah 17: 5-10, the prophet states: Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. They are like trees planted beside the waters that stretch out their roots to the stream: they fear not the heat when it comes, their leaves stay green; in the year of drought they show no distress, but still bear fruit” (translated into the plural to include both men and women, as Jesus did). 

Before Jesus suffered His death and triumphed over evil in His resurrection, He left us His body and blood in the Eucharist, food to nourish us, to keep us alive in famine, to feed us during times of drought so that, at those times, we can continue to bear fruit.  Those who hope in the Lord, who put their trust in God, will never be disappointed.  We have been given rich soil in which to root our lives: the sacraments, the Scriptures, communal worship, loving and helping our neighbors, and forgiving both ourselves and others when wronged.  During difficult times, we will be able to bear the heat of the day, rejuvenated at the springs of everlasting water.  God has given us the law of love, a law that, not only delights those who practice it but also transforms their whole being into the person of Christ. We become Christlike, bringing good news to the poor, unlike Dives in today’s Gospel, Luke 16: 19-31, who feasted without sharing his food with Lazarus, a poor man lying at the gate of his home, a poor man “covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.”

Truly, “blessed are they who hope in the Lord” (Ps.1) and serve those in need, especially within one’s own family but also beyond.

God's Ways

In today’s Gospel,  Mark 10: 28-31, Peter wants to know what’s in it for him.  He says to Jesus “We have given up everything and followed you.”  Jesus reminds him that he will get his reward and with it “persecutions.”  None of us wants to be reminded that our journey with the Lord includes going to Calvary with Him, that we will encounter difficulties, that some days will be more challenging than others. We will, at times, be traveling rough roads. At other times roads that are smooth sailing and, even then, may encounter a “storm”.  Jesus also reminds Peter that the first will be last and the last first. Following Jesus is not about accumulating accolades, getting “A’s,”  being applauded for our work.  Am I willing to give up working for the “super-bowl ring,” or the million dollar jackpot? Am I willing to answer Jesus’ call to sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom, to reach out to “lepers,” the poor, the outcast, to bring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, to right the wrong of unjust practices without being recognized for my work?  Am I willing to seek out those who are lost, to free others whom I have cast into the darkness of discrimination, prejudice and unforgiveness? Am I willing to free myself from my fallen nature  and let Jesus take me into Himself to be one with God and others, where there are no favorites, where competition does not exist and all are one?

Jesus: God's servant

In today's Gospel, Mt 12: 14-21,   Jesus withdraws from the area where He had been doing ministry because the Pharisees were plotting "to put him to death."  He continues elsewhere quietly going about the work His Father had given Him to do.  "I have come, not to condemn the world, but to save it,"  Jesus tells us in Jn 12:47.  As quoted by Matthew in today's Gospel, Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah, saying that He "will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench,  until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope."

Jesus comes as our servant, showing God's love, compassion and mercy as we see in His response to the woman caught in adultery, in the parable of the prodigal son, from His first words on the Cross ("Father, forgive them"), and his response to the good thief ("This day you will be with me in Paradise") as well as through His total ministry here on earth.

You are I are called to follow Jesus, to do as Jesus did, to serve others, to show others God's compassion, mercy, love and forgiveness; in short, to carry on His mission of reconciliation.  Do I protect the "bruised reed," the "smoldering wick," show mercy to the sinner (including myself), welcome back a prodigal son/daughter (including being welcoming to myself when I make a mistake), bring "justice to victory," and hope to the situation in which I live?

The spiritual journey

In today’s Gospel, Mk 10: 32-45, James and John ask Jesus to grant them the privilege of sitting “one at your right and the other at your left” when they enter His glory.  Jesus gently confronts them, saying: “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Being a disciple of Christ is about serving others, not about privilege and honors and being served, as Pope Francis would remind us, no doubt.  As servants, we will, like Jesus, be ridiculed, misunderstood, even spat upon at times, sometimes scourged with harsh words. It is our role to “wash the feet of others,” not have “our feet washed.”  Honor will be heaped upon us in eternity, not here.  How difficult it is to learn this lesson.  Like James and John, we will, from time to time, need to be reminded by Jesus that we will drink of the same chalice He did, though probably not crucified literally as He was.  Each time we die, that, is dying to the self-centeredness displayed by James and John, we, too, will rise again.  Each time we endure the crosses of life, as Jesus did, we will experience angels ministering to us as they assisted Jesus in Gethsemane.  Each time we take up our crosses in faith and hope and love, we will be encouraged by His mother and helped by “Simons”, as Jesus was.  We will rise to a stronger, richer life as the power of Jesus’ resurrection flows through us each time we have the courage to “drink the chalice that Jesus drank.”

Following in the footsteps of Jesus is totally opposite following the footsteps of the rich and famous!

And far more enriching. This way of life endures into eternal! life

Directed by "angels"

In today's first reading an angel of the Lord instructs Philip to "get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route" (Acts 8: 26-40).  He meets up with "an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship" and on his way back was reading the Scriptures but not understanding a thing he was reading. God's plan was that Philip explain the Scriptures to him. He catches up with his chariot, asks what he is reading and proceeds to proclaim Jesus to him, as all of Scripture is really about God's plan of salvation and the role of Jesus as Messiah, King, and Savior of the entire world.

What would you and I do when, out of the blue, God instructs us to "get up and head south" to "the desert route." When anything "goes south," or when anyone is in a desert, parched, dried up, unable to generate life and be productive, human nature has a tendency to bulk and not want to be a part of that experience.  "It's not my fault that she/he is struggling." "He/she made his/her own bed; let them sleep in it. It's not my problem and I do not want to get involved."  It is easy to dismiss what is problematic in another person's life and stay in our comfort zones. "I don't want to be bothered; I have no time for that foolishness" may be the tune of our rhetoric when hard times strike another person, especially the life of a "eunuch," a man who is regarded as lacking power or effectiveness.

Philip takes no such position. He gets up, catches up with the eunuch's charioteer and takes time to listen. The life of the eunuch is transformed!  Through Philip's generosity, he's found the Lord and continues his way rejoicing in that new found joy.

To whom  is the Lord calling me to listen? In whose life am I being called to make a difference? Will I listen? Will I leave my comfort zone when the Spirit calls?

The Challenges of Today's Scripture Readings

Today’s Scripture readings, Is. 1: 10, 16-20 and Mt 23: 1-12, were, for me difficult readings, especially trying to apply them to my life. Most of us are not  a Sodom and Gomorrah.  Each of us is created in God’s image, strive to do God’s will, is redeemed by God’s Son and sanctified by God’s Spirit.  From our mother’s womb, we have been taught to do good and have striven for goodness all our lives, though, of course, we have sinned and are prone to sin.   Most of us struggle with the “phylacteries” and “tassles” (cf. Mt. 23: 1-12) the world insists we must “wear” in order to be trustworthy, attractive, “with it” and competitive.    Struggling to take today’s Scripture readings into my heart and be transformed by them, I surrendered my heart, my mind, and my spirit to the Lord just as I am.  God alone knows the depth of my sinfulness, my need for redemption, and my heart’s desire to be transformed by grace. He also knows the hardness of my heart, the deafness of my hearing, and the blindness of my seeing. 

As  disciples of Christ, our task is to keep our focus on Jesus, to rest our heads on His chest, to seek God above all, to be servants of all, to “make justice our aim: redress the wronged,” especially those we have hurt, “hear the orphan’s plea , defend the widow,”  as we are instructed to do by the prophet Isaiah. Yes, we are  to be about the work of building right relationships with the Lord, with one another and with ourselves. If we follow Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we will “put away…[our] misdeeds,” and learn to do good,” (Is. 1: 10, 16-20). Also, we will not get stuck in the rut of collecting latest “phylacteries” or of attaching the latest “tassels,” (today’s Gospel)  to parade our “greatness,” according to worldly standards.  No, we will come to embrace the standard of the cross of Christ, the obedience of Christ to the Father.