Impulsive or Reflective Living: The Consequences

Today’s first reading, Judges 11: 29-39a, was very disturbing to me when I first read it. Jephthah vows to the Lord that, if He delivers the Ammonites into his power, he will sacrifice to the Lord whoever comes out of the door of his house to meet him on his return. His only child, a daughter, so excited over her father’s military victory, comes out playing the tambourines and dancing. In anger, I ask: How can anyone make such an impulsive, rash decision in the name of God! As I prayed over the Scriptures, the thought came to me that rash, impulsive decisions are carried out every day in the name of God, of religion, even when falsely perceived as right and just, as obligatory. Such actions are common even to this day. Human lives are sacrificed daily and persons are harmed by any one of us acting impulsively, rashly, as we glory in ourselves and our accomplishments, as did Jephthah. These actions may be as “small” as entertaining gossip, raising ourselves above others by “having fun,” “fitting in,” at the expense of another. Though not as tragic as was Jephthah’s vow, such behaviors still affect us and others in negative ways. And so all of us come before the Lord in humble repentance, asking for mercy and forgiveness and the courage to live reflectively instead of impulsively.

God's Generosity concerning the Kingdom of Heaven

In today’s Gospel, Mt 20: 1-16, Jesus states that “the Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.” Those hired later in the day, even those hired at 5 p.m., received the same wage as those hired at dawn. What a message of hope for all of us! Those who accept Jesus’ invitation to work in His vineyard, whether accepting that invitation as children, adolescents, young adults, middle age adults, those of advanced years or on their death beds will be treated equally. Recall the thief on the cross who acknowledged Jesus and said to Him: “Remember me in your Kingdom” and Jesus’ response was “This very day you will be with me in Paradise.” We may want to protest: “No fair. I lived a good life for 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 years and a thief just before he breathes his last get the same treatment I do!” God’s mercy, God’s generosity, God’s love is infinite. It has no bounds! It is inclusive. No one is turned away who repents! Salvation is free to those who believe in the Lord and rely on God’s mercy! May I be that generous!

Being God's Champion

In today’s first reading, Judges 6: 11-24a, an angel of the Lord appears to Gideon and says to him: “The Lord is with you, O champion.” Gideon’s response, in today’s parlance, sounds something like this: “O yeah! Then why are we facing such horrible possibilities as being slaughtered by our warring neighbors?” Gideon was in the process of beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites, certainly not a pleasant job given that they were soon to be delivered into the enemy’s hands. Gideon complains: “If the Lord is with us, why is all this happening to us? Where are the wondrous deeds that our ancestors tell us God performed for us in Egypt?” The angel of the Lord says to Gideon: “Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian!” Gideon objects: “Me? My family is a nobody in Manasseh; and, in my family, I’m totally insignificant. You’re really talking to the wrong person, Lord!” Sound familiar? You and I could dance the same dance in which Gideon engages. We could come up with similar complaints—our world, too, is in a mess, about to be overpowered by enemies within and outside of the U.S. As the fires and the floods rage in fury; when terminal or chronic illness strikes our families, we, too, might wonder where God is. Like Gideon, we could manufacture the same arguments when God calls us forth to take responsibility to make something happen to change the course of our lives when we are at our end’s wit. The choice is ours: we can engage in arguments and do nothing or, in faith, to take up the challenge to make a difference, to radiate possibilities in a seemingly impossible situation. I pray for the courage to do the latter! What about you?

Wanting to be right with God!

In today’s Gospel, Mt 19: 16-22, the rich young man, who faithfully obeyed all of the commandments, approaches Jesus, wanting to know what more he has to do to gain eternal life. He, obviously, knows that something is missing but doesn’t know what. It seems that this young man is busy accumulating brownie points, if you will, keeping track of his accomplishments, checking off a list, so he can assure himself that he is doing everything right. Jesus knows that this man is attached to his riches, to his accomplishments, to his pride. “Go sell all that you have and give it to the poor,” Jesus tells this man. His riches are not only of material origin but also rooted in his pride of what he has accumulated, what he actually does own and his efforts in becoming a rightful owner: doing everything right. He lives that way also in relationship to God. He wants to know what more he has to do. Eternal life is not about what you and I have to do. It is about relationships: a personal relationship with Jesus and right relationships with one’s neighbor, especially the poor and needy. The rich young man in today’s Gospel was not willing to let go of any of his riches for the sake of the poor. He was too attached to his wealth. That is who he was. No way was he going to let go of his materials things, of his accumulated riches, to focus on relationships. Of what is God asking you and me to let go for the sake of meeting another’s need today: That person’s need to be heard, to be understood, to be affirmed, to be comforted? That person’s need for a meal, for school supplies, for whatever?

God's Faithfulness and Oneness with Us

Today’s readings are about fidelity: God’s fidelity to the Chosen People and God’s fidelity mirrored in marriage. In Joshua 24: 1-13, we are reminded of the way in which God was one with the Chosen people throughout their history: leading them away from countries in which they were worshipping pagan gods, acting independently of God, alienating themselves from God. He reminded them that He created darkness between them and Egyptian warriors who were pursuing them, that He delivered their enemies into their power that He “sent hornets ahead of you that drove…the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.” Yahweh also reminded them that they were given “a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” In the Gospel, Mt. 19: 3-12, Jesus speaks of the fidelity of married men/women: “…a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh…[T]hey are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.” How do these readings apply to you and me? God is also one with us, leading us away from idols which we choose as god substitutes: materialism, consumerism, sexism, capitalism, liberalism, to name a few, and any of the addictions that take away our freedom. God also delivers “enemies” into our hands, putting darkness between us and that which lures us into sin: our pride, our selfishness, our efforts to control others and to act superior to them, our apathy, our fears, our prejudices and judgments of others, and so on. Furthermore, God gives us “lands” that we did not till, “cities” we did not build and “vineyards” and “olive groves” we did not plant: our faith, our families, our teachers, our counselors, our healthcare professionals, public servants, much of the food that we eat, the entertainment we enjoy, the beauty of the universe, and on and on. All because God loves us!

Mary's Assumption into Heaven

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, body and soul. Mary is the holy one, the Ark of the Covenant in which God dwelt, through whom the Son of God became man, whereby salvation and power, the Kingdom of our God, the authority of his Anointed has come into the world. Mary, our Mother, the one who believed “that what was spoken to you by the Lord, would be fulfilled” (LK 1 39-56) enters the place of her King, takes her place in eternity as queen of heaven and earth. This is the one of whom Jesus spoke when he said: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Lk 11: 27-28. Mary is Jesus’ first disciple, a woman of staunch faith, a woman who treasured extraordinary secrets of divine origin within her, beginning with the Annunciation on into the Visitation, the prophesy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, the quiet years at Nazareth, the loss of Jesus in the Temple, Jesus’ public ministry, His passion, death and resurrection; His ascension, Pentecost, and the spreading of the Good News both among her own people and the Gentiles. Mary says to us: “Blessed are you who believe the Word and keep it, the Kingdom of heaven is yours.” She testifies to the authenticity of her Son’s promise of an inheritance out of this world that shall not be taken from us, no more than it was denied her. At God’s right hand, she intercedes for us that we, too, like her, will hold fast to Jesus, our Savior and Lord, the Anointed of God, who is at our side day and night ministering to us, restoring us to grace when we fall, guiding us through the perils of this life and rejoicing with us in the rising to new life in big and small ways along our journey to “the Promised Land.” With Mary, let us magnify the Lord for all that He has done through Mary and does through us.

The Power of Binding or Loosening

In today’s Gospel, Mt. 18: 15-20, Jesus says to us: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” We may think that Jesus is talking about the power given to a priest to forgive sins. However, binding or freeing is a power given to each one of us. People can be bound for a significant amount of time because I am holding a grudge against them or thinking negative thoughts about them. I can also hold myself bound by putting myself down, telling myself that “I am stupid,” that “I am a failure,” that “I do nothing right,” that I am forever nagging or critical, forever making mistakes, and so on. I can also loosen the bonds I place upon myself and others. When I replace my negative thinking with positive thoughts, when I think kind thoughts of others and of myself, I radiate positive energy. I am then empowering them and myself to soar toward the greatness of which we are capable. I am then setting them and myself free to accomplish the things we are capable of doing to make this world a better place. Who am I going to set free today? Am I willing to “loosen” the bonds by which I hold myself hostage? Will I live “in the current/wind/fire of radiating possibilities” today and connect with others in this way, instead of focusing on what’s wrong and assuming the role of critic? When negative thoughts enter my consciousness today, will I entertain them or simply thank them for showing up and then move on to following my dreams of making a difference, contributing and making happen what I want to make happen today?