The Promised Land of Grace

In today’s first reading, Dt. 31: 1-8, Moses tells the people that he will not be crossing the Jordan with them but that the Lord Himself “will cross before you” and that He “marches with you.” Moses also reminds them that the Lord will destroy “these nations before you, that you may supplant them.” How does this passage apply to you and me? Today, as we move into the “Promised Land” of our lives, God also marches with us. In fact, He crosses “the Jordan,” before us, removing the obstacles that we will meet today. He will destroy “the nations” that threaten to block us from knowing God today: our fears, our distrusting spirits, our weakened faith, our pride and self-centered or narcissistic desires. As we journey to the “Promised Land” of grace, we will be accompanied by the Spirit of God who also dwells within us. God’s Spirit girds us with the faith, the obedience, the humility, the meekness and the patience of the Son; empowers us to trust the Father, and strengthens us with the Spirit’s courage. In other words, just as the Son destroyed Satan’s power on the Cross, so, too, the Son destroys “the nations” that threaten our entrance into the Promised Land of the Holy Spirit’s domain today. Satan will not succeed over the long haul!

Dying and rising with Christ

In today’s Gospel, Mt 17: 22-27, Jesus tells his disciples that “the Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” The disciples were overwhelmed with grief, St. Matthew tells us. They did not yet get it. Jesus is not of this earth. He is God in human form and will be returning to the Father when He completes the Father’s will here on earth—our salvation through the blood of the cross. The cornerstone of our salvation will be rejected by the builders and put to death and will rise again. Death will have no power over Him and not over us either. I could not help but think how often I see only the negative, that which I judge disastrous, that which I believe is not supposed to be. Throughout the day, God gives me opportunities to die to selfishness and rise to new life through Him. Fearing that I will lose something of value, I may hang onto being right, arguing my point, clinging to that to which I may believe I am entitled—the opportunity of a resurrection may be lost in the process.

Trusting against formidable odds

In today's first reading, Numbers 13: 1-2, 25-14:1, 26-29a, 34-35,  we read about the Israelites' preparing to enter the Land promised to them by the Lord, the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.  The Lord instructs Moses to "send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan….” The men reconnoiter the land for forty days and, indeed, discover that it is flowing with milk and honey. It is also populated by giants and people who are considered "fierce."   The towns are also well fortified and very strong. 

The reconnoiters return to report to Moses and Aaron. Some of the men spread disparaging words, discouraging the people from even thinking a victory is possible. As far as they are concerned, the answer to "Should we advance forward" is a no brainer.  Caleb, on the other hand, tells Moses and the people: "We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so." The persons spreading "bad" news outshout Caleb:  "The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge, veritable giants..."  They would rather die in the desert than enter the land of Canaan.  And that is what happens.  This generation of people does not enter the Promised Land; their descendents do. "Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day. Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me. I, the Lord, have sworn to do this to all this wicked assembly that conspired against me: here in the desert they shall die to the last man."

Who am I in this story? 

·         When I or others are faced with a challenge, am I like the princes who reconnoiter the land and return with a disparaging report, spreading despair, convinced that what God is asking of me/of us is impossible?

·         When I or others have surveyed the challenge and truly see what the Lord wants of me/of us, am I like Caleb, confident that the task is possible? Do I spread hope among the people?

·         When I or others have gathered all the facts of what it will take to accomplish what God is asking, am I a part of the assembly wailing against it and wonder why anyone would expect this of me/us?

The Phoenician woman in today’s Gospel, Mt 15: 21-28, gives us an example of complete trust in Jesus! In all humility and with deep faith, she persists in seeking Jesus’ help. He tells her that He “was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” “Help me,” she says.  “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs,” is His response. The woman does not flinch but comes back with: Jesus, “even the dogs eat of the scraps that fall from the table of their master.” Jesus sees her faith. In the midst of what could have been perceived as formidable odds and thus the petitioner walking away, the Phoenician woman hangs in there and her daughter is healed, she tastes “The Promises” of the Lord.

What about you and me when we encounter difficulties in our lives?

The Transfiguration

Today’s Gospel, Luke 9: 28b-36, gives us the story of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. Jesus is revealed to Peter, James and John in his glory while He was at prayer: “…his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white…Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory,…spoke [to Jesus] of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem [his passion, crucifixion and death on the cross].” On Tabor, these three apostles, though at one point overcome with sleep, were fully awake and frightened when “they entered…[a] cloud.” From the cloud they heard a voice saying “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” The Transfiguration occurs every time we celebrate the Liturgy and the bread and the wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. Transfiguration also occurs whenever we receive any of the sacraments. Miracles of conversion take place in our personal lives and the lives of others on a regular basis—the birth of a child, a couple falling in love, a reconciliation of differences, the asking of forgiveness and the healing of hurts that follows, a person reaching out to be neighbor to a stranger, a child filled with awe over the beauty of God’s Created Universe, to name a few. Like Peter, James and John, our ears are also opened in the “clouds” of our lives--in our confusion and emptiness, our disappointments and in our disillusionment--times when we may be more receptive to our need for God and more open to hearing God say to us: “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” My prayer today is that I will let God transform my life into the life of Christ and that I may I hear God speaking in the clouds of my life. I also pray that, at Jesus's invitation, I will go up to the mountain top to pray, to allow God to converse with me about what is happening in my life or about what is about to happen, so,I too, will be ready when God calls me to exodus from this earthly life and enter eternity. ,

Communicating with the Lord in all Honesty

In today's first reading, Numbers 11: 4b-15, the people are complaining bitterly against Moses about being stuck in a desert without their cherish foods, especially meat.  "...[W]e see nothing before us but this manna."  God responds angrily, the author of Numbers tells us, at the people's grumbling and forgetting how He freed them from 400 years of slavery. Moses, likewise, is angry. "Why do you treat your servant so badly?...Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people....If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so I need no longer face this distress."

"Moses, don't you know that you are talking to God,"  we might want to say to Moses.   God does not kill Moses and neither does Moses take his own life.  What we learn  here is to deal with crises in our lives by being totally honest with the Lord.  No pretensions!  It is okay to say: "I'm angry, Lord. I feel treated poorly. What gives!"  With close friends, a person does not need to mince words! Neither do we need to withhold our real thoughts and real feelings from God. When I was grieving the death of my mother, the absence of my father, hate letters from my stepmother, and a host of other smaller losses, I was outraged at God.  My anger was palatable.  I was also convinced that God was displeased with me--why else was life so awful, at least it seemed that way to me at the time.  The Lord made it clear to me during one of my prayer times that He had no problem with my anger but that I did.  

Moses and God were intimate friends.  They talked "real" to each other all of the time.  What about you? Are you transparent with God?  Are you honest with God, sharing all of your thoughts, feelings aspirations, hopes, dreams, fears; sharing the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the positive and the negative?  If not, why not?  And do you wait upon the Lord for His response?  Do you take time to listen to the Lord to communicate with you, to assure you of His Presence, of His cconcern?

Openness to Jesus as He Reveals Himself in the Now of My Life

In today’s Gospel, Mt. 13, 54-58, Jesus is visiting his hometown.  How sad it was for Him that they had no faith in Him. “Who is this man?” they asked. “We know him as the son of Joseph and Mary, ordinary people. His father was a carpenter. We know his brothers and sisters! Where does he get his wisdom? And those might deeds?”    We can experience disillusionment from the good or the bad another does.  We can dismiss a person by our knowledge of his/her past.  “Good from that person? Wisdom coming out his//her mouth?”  “She/he’s presenting at the parish tonight?  No way!  I’m not attending that!” 

Jesus, sadly, leaves that place, not working “mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.”  How many events and/or encounters by which God gives me the opportunity to experience His Wisdom and His mighty deeds in my life do I miss because of my lack of faith, my preconceived ideas, my prejudices, my “know-it-all” attitudes, my clinging to past experiences?

God's Presence Among Us Always

In today’s first reading, Exodus 40: 16-21, 34-38, we are given information of how the Israelites knew God’s will for them.  A “cloud covered the meeting tent and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling….Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward.” A cloud was seen during the day and “fire was seen in the cloud at night…by the whole house of Israel in all stages of their journey.”  This was the presence of God in their midst. God also gave them the Ten Commandments and wrote the Law in their memories:  “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts” (Jer. 31:33).

Reflect for a moment on the fact that the whole house of Israel in all stages of their journey was privy to this reality of God’s direction. That means that children, adolescents, young adults, middle-age adults, adults in their declining years—everyone—sees God at work in their midst and within them, knows God’s Directives and recognizes when  to move forward (even when they refuse to do so).  The  Israelites did not go forward unless the cloud lifted.  Imagine you and I heeding the clouds in our lives as a message from God not to make major decisions at that time, not to go forward when our minds are foggy, when we feel confused, when we really don’t know what to do or what to think.  That is the time to recall Isaiah’s advice:  “By waiting and by calm, you shall be saved; in quiet and in trust your strength lies” (Is. 30: 15).  Also, then, imagine us following the directives of the Lord when “the cloud is lifted,” knowing that it is time to move forward , to implement a decision about which we are clear.

Like the Israelites, God dwells in our midst, in fact, God dwells in the very core of our beings. We are Temples of the Holy Spirit.  God’s law is also written on our hearts and inscribed in our minds.  The Holy Spirit lives within us “to infuse our knowledge with divine grace and guide us with divine creativity and wisdom” so that we, too, are able to stay on the right track on our journey to the Promised Land of Eternal Life with God (See The Word Among Us,  July/August 2013, p. 51).