Jesus' Honesty, Sensivity and Mercy

In today’s Gospel, Mark 10: 1-12, a crowd gathered around Jesus and, as usual, He uses this opportunity to instruct them.  In that crowd are Pharisees who are following Him, not to hear His instructions, but to test Him.   Jesus is direct with them when they question Him about divorce and reminds them that Moses allowed divorce because of the “hardness of your hearts.”  When I am harassing Jesus for an answer to my questions, is it that I am unaware of the hardness of my heart and that I am not honestly seeking the Lord but looking to be justified, trying to prove my superiority, my self-righteousness.? Are my motives questionable? 

Jesus reminds the Pharisees that, “from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”   How profoundly beautiful!  How significant the graces of the sacrament of Matrimony that empower a man and a woman to commit to one another “in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, to remain faithful in their love for one another, to  work through the difficulties they encounter in their marriage, relying upon the Spirit to counsel them, guide them, enlighten them and strengthen in living out their marriage vows.

What about those persons whose marriage ends in divorce?  What about those who commit adultery and are unfaithful to one another?  Jesus does not condemn these persons, as we learn in His response to the woman who is dragged in front of Him and whose accusers are ready to stone her.  Jesus confronts her accusers and says to them: Those of you without sin cast the first stone. All walk away and Jesus says to the woman: Has anyone condemned you? She says “no”.  His reply:  And I don’t condemn you either. Go and sin no more!  Jesus is challenging her  and her accusers to learn from the mistakes they have made. Likewise, He challenges us to learn from our mistakes and to move on to living  in accord with God’s law of love and forgiveness, honesty and humility, fidelity and truth.

Vita Consecrata--Consecrated Life

VITA CONSECRATA--CONSECRATED LIFE

Reflection II

 

Throughout the ages men and women have been called by God to dedicate their lives to the Lord alone, to follow the Lord unreservedly, leaving mom and dad, brothers and sisters, boy-friends and girlfriends, the corporate business world, the world of computers and i-pods and smart phones, a lucrative profession for the Lord.  Called by the Holy Spirit to choose the dream of Christ for the American dream, they set aside making a fortune in this world—or a least a smidgen of a fortune—and raising the ideal family of their dreams to embrace all of God’s children as their own, willing to make sacrifices that will lead others to the Lord, willing to lead others to the riches that only God can give.  This call to consecrated life originates from God, from God’s Holy Spirit, who prompts some men and some women to embrace this challenge, to not be outdone in generosity, as the One who calls is God Himself.  Like the apostles who left a lucrative fishing business, who left the post of collecting taxes and pooling in “big money” and lording it over others and abandoned, most likely, dreams others had for them, so, too, some women and some men are called, to this day, to leave everything for the one thing necessary: following the will of God for them personally, trusting the Lord and no other. “In this way, through the many charisms or spiritual and apostolic life bestowed on them by the Holy Spirit, they…[help] to make the mystery and the mission of the church shine forth, and in doing so … [contribute] to the renewal of society”  (Vita Consecrata, #1).

Placing My Trust Rightly

In today’s first reading, James 5: 1-6, St. James has strong words for those who become rich by cheating the poor and refusing to share their wealth to make the world a better place for all peoples The Scriptures do not condemn wealth. What is sinful is taking advantage of the poor, exploiting the poor, denying them just wages and thus jeopardizing their ability to shelter, feed, clothe and educate their families. What is also being condemned is trusting in one’s wealth, putting all one’s energies in accumulating and consuming material goods as gods in themselves upon which their salvation depends. “This,” the psalmist says, “is the way of those whose trust is folly, the end of those contented with their lot: Like sheep they are herded into the nether world; death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them,” in eternity, that is. But even here on earth, living selfishly is hell in itself.

Jesus says to us in Mark 8: 35: “Whoever would save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for the sake of the gospels’ will save it.” Am I willing to be “broken bread” and “poured-out wine” for others? Am I willing to give service to others, helping the poor and oppressed, addressing injustices, sharing my wealth with the less fortunate? Jesus says to us in today’s Gospel, “Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” And that reward, for rich and poor alike, is eternal life. “God will redeem me from the power of the nether world by receiving me” (Psalm 49), the psalmist says to each of us.

Tolerance and Wisdom versus Fear and Jealousy

In today’s Gospel, Mark 9: 38-40, the apostle John expressed his fear and jealousy that persons other than the apostles and disciples of the Lord are casting out demons. He does not yet possess the wisdom that would enable him to be relaxed, tolerant and accepting of others doing the same good works that he himself does. His view is narrow. The “law” he applies is rigid. Jesus, on the other hand, does not feel threatened or the least slighted that this man is casting out demons in His name. He does not question whether this man has the necessary credentials or the right educational background to be acting in His name. He recognizes his goodness and says to John: “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” Every morning, I release to the Lord any personal feelings that other people’s beliefs, values or intelligence threaten me. That has had a powerful effect upon me: with the grace of God, I have significantly resisted the temptation to put others down and am no longer afraid of other people’s intelligence as I once was. My tolerance of other people’s opinions, decisions and actions has grown, as I realize that, they, too, are doing the good that they believe God is asking of them. I am not their judge. That lesson, I believe, is what Jesus is trying to teach John and those following His Way, His Truth, and His Life. That is a lesson that we, like the apostles and earlier followers of Jesus, may need to learn repeatedly. “Wisdom,” Sirach tell us, “…puts us to the test….With her precepts she puts us to the proof, until our heart is fully with her” (Sirach 4: 11-19). Jesus’ heart was fully with Wisdom! You and I, God willing and through the grace of God, will arrive at that same spot before we die. We see this Wisdom in many of our elders!

Childlikeness

The first reading of today’s liturgy, James 4: 1-10, begins with the question: “Beloved: Where do the wars and where to the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?” In the Gospel, Mark 9: 30-37, Jesus admonishes the twelve apostles for arguing among themselves about who is the greatest among them. They enter into this argument right after Jesus told them that He would be “handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” Totally ignoring Jesus, they fight about who is in first place in Jesus’ eyes. Jesus tells them that, in God’s Kingdom, those who are first are those who are “last of all and the servant of all”. He then brings a little child into their midst—children in those days were in last place and actually were not ever counted. As with women in that culture, it was as though they did not exist. Jesus puts His arms around this child and says: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Being a disciple of Jesus is about being like little children, who simply go about being little children, enjoying life, playing with each other, learning what is put before them to learn, assuming whatever role is given to them, exploring and being excitedly open to the wonders of the universe, of life itself, of who God is, who adults are, who they are as little children and what possibilities to live life fully are open to them. Children do not come into the world filled with jealousy of others, vying for first place, or arguing who is greatest among them. Those are learned behaviors passed onto them from adults in their lives. Receive a child as a child, in all its innocence, purity, openness, lack of prejudice, honesty (children say it as it is), awe, wonder. Teach that child about God, about love and gratitude, about forgiveness and service, about generosity and compassion. You will not only have received a child, you will have opened yourself to Jesus and to Jesus’ Father and your Father, God the Almighty. What more could we want from life, truly?

Reflection I--Vita Consecrata: The Life of Religious Women and Men

VITA CONSECRATA--CONSECRATED LIFE Reflection I Consecrated life is a gift from God the Father through the Holy Spirit to the Church. Through their profession of the vows of poverty, consecrated chastity and obedience, women and men religious follow the chaste, obedient, and poor Christ. They are the face of Christ in the world of today. Through our lives of consecrated chastity, obedience and poverty—holding all things in common for the sake of the common good, for the sake of the mission of Christ to proclaim and build up the God’s Kingdom here on earth—we women and men religious direct all people to one thing necessary: living a life of faith, hope and love here on earth until that day when love alone reigns forever. Jesus tells us in Luke 17: 20-21 that the Kingdom of God is among us. We religious make the invisible visible by living, loving and being totally for the sake of that Kingdom here on earth! (Compare Vita Consecrata, #1).

The Lord is My Shepherd

Yesterday’s responsorial psalm was Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want….” The LORD is my shepherd. Who? The Lord God Almighty, the All-knowing, All-seeing, All-loving, All-caring One. God Himself guards me, protects me gives me life, sustains it, nourishes it, strengthens it, and preserves it for life eternally. The Lord IS my shepherd, not “was” or “will be” but IS my Shepherd this very second, this very hour, today and every day of my life, one day at a time! The Lord is MY Shepherd. God has chosen me as HIS special sheep, the lamb He carries on His shoulder. I am His. He is mine. He has his eye on me all of the time because I belong to Him and to no one else. The Lord is my SHEPHERD. He knows the terrain I will encounter today, whether it has dangerous potholes in it, whether it leads to unsafe crossings, whether it is smooth and inviting yet deceptively evil, unsafe and/or treacherous. He knows where the path leads and will turn me around to safer ground, if need be. As my Shepherd, God leads me to “green pastures” where my needs will be met: my need for full development spiritually, intellectually, physically, socially, emotionally. All I need to do is step forward, get off the couch, so to speak, and move toward the goal that promises me authentic freedom, peace and joy. Then it is that God empowers me to be nourished on all levels. As Shepherd, He gives me the provisions I need to become the best version of myself every second of every day in all kinds of “weather” and on all kinds of terrain. “The Lord is my Shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.”