Monday, December 30, 2013

Experiencing God - Greatest Commandment 144

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?  What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” The scribe answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
Gospel of Luke

As mentioned in a previous post, Paul's letter to Timothy was written for the purpose of providing direction to the local Christian Communities of which Timothy was a part.  The principal message that Paul was trying to convey was that the Good News can only be found in Christ.  And Paul is willing to bear any amount of hardship in order that the Good News is shared.
 
Saint Paul writes in his first letter to Timothy:  "This saying is sure:  That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners".  In his second letter, he again re-emphasizes this point: "This saying is sure:  If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him.  If we endure, we will reign with Him."  In both of these passages, he takes his authority from another source, maybe a hymn, or a well known profession of faith that his readers would recognize. 
 
When Paul speaks of dying with Christ, he is referring to two things:
1.  A willingness to endure all things, including physical hardship, for the sake of the good news.
2.  The mystical death and rising to new life that happens at the time of baptism.

To deny Christ would mean infidelity towards Him, but according to Saint Paul, if we fail to act in faith, Christ would remain faithful to us.  This faithfulness of Christ is a continual fulfillment of His mission to show us every love and mercy.  In other words, Jesus is unchangeable.  As with God, love and mercy are part of His very nature, and it would be impossible to deny His very nature. 
 
This leads to the Gospel of Matthew where a Scribe asks Jesus a question.

"Which is the greatest commandment in the law?  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."

I've recently read some alarming statistics.  I'm not sure if they are completely accurate but they do make the point.  During the twentieth century, throughout the world communities, over one hundred million people were killed by acts of war and violence.  Currently, nations have enough built-up weapons of destruction to kill earth's population ten times over. 

In the Catholic Catechism, we can find a detailed analysis of what constitutes a "just war".   Many contemporary writers are now saying that because of our nations' destructive capabilities, there can be no such thing as a "just war".  Any war with the capabilities of totalling destroying humanity cannot be just. 

Where does the commandment of love, God's greatest commandment, God's very nature, fit in with all of this?  My only answer is that peace must begin with ourselves.  Our minds and hearts must be elevated to an awareness that when it comes to living out the great commandment, we no longer have a choice.

Jesus said to the scribe who answered this question about the greatest commandment: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."  Is this Kingdom of God to which Jesus is referring some mystical place in the sky, or is it a manifestation of God's very nature (love) in the hearts of men and women awakened to a new awareness of our true destiny? 

Saint Paul would bear any amount of hardship in order to see that the good news was available to all who would listen.  He lived by his own words.  "If we have died with Him, if we have endured with Him, then we will live with Him, we will reign with Him."  Are we willing to bare any hardship to discover the peace and love that exists in our hearts so that the promised Kingdom be made visible? 

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Experiencing God - Fanning the Flame 143

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."
Second Timothy

Paul's letters to Timothy are considered pastoral letters addressed to the local church. Timothy was Paul's disciple in the region of Ephesus.  The purpose of the letters is to instruct Timothy on the direction to take in the local Christian communities.  These letters include exhortations to the faithful to lead lives worthy of the faith that has been entrusted to them.  Early in Chapter 1 of second Timothy we read:  "For this reason, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of hands.  For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline." 

The Jerusalem Bible refers to this "rekindling" as a "fanning into flame" the gifts that God gave us. 

So how do we "rekindle" or "fan into flame" this gift of God's love?  First of all, this rekindling is something that we must do at all times.  It's so easy to slip into an apathy or numbness in regards to faith when we see this practice as unimportant.  St. Paul's exhortation to the community of Ephesus and to Timothy is also an exhortation to us today.  

The disciplines of renewing one's faith are somewhat personal to the individual.  My ways are probably different from your ways, but there is certainly some commonalities.

The most common discipline for everyone is to spend some time each day in prayer.  Without a daily discipline of prayer, life's' events (the things we think we have to do) will take over.  And it's not that these things are unimportant.  They are.  We are all called into active service.  But active service alone, without prayer, cannot sustain us, or rekindle our spirits to retain a vibrant faith and trust in the Lord. 

Many times in my life, I have allowed my agenda to take over and control my day.  It every case, it leads to a feeling of being on a fast train, and not having any way to get off.  Prayer, first thing in the morning, is for me the only way I know of getting off that train and allowing the events of my life to unfold from there.  This practice brings me to the present moment.  It is here that I experience God's presence.  It allows me to let God be a part of the events that follow. 

When we realize how helpless we really are without the benefit that flows from prayer, we realize the importance of faith of God in our lives.  For me, it is something like exercise.  We don't need a lot to keep in shape.  Doing a lot in a burst, say once a month, probably does more harm than good.  But a little bit every day at the best time for you is all you need to keep in good shape.  A daily discipline of prayer does the same thing for you spiritually.

This discipline can be practiced in many ways, and it is good for each of us to find the way that works best.  A good part of my daily prayer is time spent in attentive silence.  The less said, imagined and felt, the better. For others, it may be the reading of scripture, following a daily reflection like "The Word Among Us" or using the official church prayer.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says of His Father:  He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."  The one way we can be assured of being among the living is to develop the daily discipline of prayer to God who is present and active in each of our lives.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Experiencing God - Amazing Grace 142

"As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Gospel of Mark

Many years ago in 1748, a man by the name of John Newton, son of a shipmaster and captain of the slave ship "Greyhound", was returning home to England when his ship encountered a severe storm.  Newton woke in the middle of the night to find his ship filling with water.  With great anxiety, he went into prayer for his ailing ship, and he experienced the beginnings of a radical conversion that would change his life.  He wrote a song about his experience, a song we all know.
 
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see." 
 
John Newton would later become an Anglican priest to serve and draw others to the transforming power of Grace.
 
Blindness is a condition of not being able to see things properly.  We most often associate it with physical blindness; those circumstances where a person's physical  sight is impaired so that they cannot see physical objects around them.  But blindness can take many forms as in the case of John Newton.  Jesus' most harsh criticism to the Pharisees and Scribes was that they were blind guides, leading others to the same pit of destruction as they found themselves in.  They were blind as to the ways of God because they were stuck in their own narrow views that restricted their vision of God and His ways. 
 
Most of us are blind in some way, particularly if we restrict God to our own limited concepts based on our own limited experience.  God is mystery, a mystery far beyond any concept or image that we are capable of producing.  It's only when we are willing to let go of conceptualizing God, to accept God as mystery, far beyond our ability to comprehend, that we begin to understand the grandeur and awesomeness of this mystery.
 
Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was physically blind.  As a result of his physical blindness, he was a beggar.  But this little Gospel story in Matthew indicates that Bartimaeus could see things that even the disciples of Jesus failed to see.  "When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." 

To call Jesus, Son of David, to give him this title, implied that this blind beggar could actually see clearly who Jesus was.  The fact that he was persistent in his begging for mercy, even when discouraged by those around him, showed that he had tremendous insight as to the ways of God that exceeded those around him.  He knew that the solution to his dilemma could be found in the person of Jesus.  
 
Do we know as well that the solution to our own struggle, particularly as it relates to blindness, can be found in the person of Jesus?  And I don't mean that Jesus will free us from all the struggles that we may experience in life, but He is there to see us through them.  He is there to share in our struggle, whatever that may be. 
 
Bartimaeus' sight was restored.  His appeal for help revealed his deep faith.  It is Bartimaeus' profound trust in Jesus that Mark wants to elicit from us who read this particular Gospel account. 

Monday, December 23, 2013

Experiencing God - Witnessing 141

"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."
First letter of Peter
 
The first letter of Peter was written to the Gentile Christians living in the Northern and Eastern part of Asia Minor.  These Gentile Christians would be considered new in the faith and probably scattered loosely throughout the population of that area.  This letter was sent to console and strengthen those newly baptized Christians who were obviously suffering from some persecution from their pagan neighbors who did not share their new found faith in Christ.  So Peter is writing to urge them to remain faithful to the teachings of Christ. 

The letter also offers some practical advice on how to respond to the situations of abuse they were experiencing.  Just as a football coach encourages his players to remain strong to convince them of their stamina to win the game, Peter provides encouragement to these new Christians to remain strong in their faith and to be an example to those who may not share their view.

What can we learn from this letter?  Today, we live in a culture that is not as Christianised as it has been in the past.  Although we who practice our Christian faith may not be suffering from persecutions and abuse, we can at times feel at a loss as to how to respond to the situations we experience as we encounter those who do not share our faith.  This is particularly true with people from our own families.  Do we respond forcibly?  Do we separate ourselves from them?  How should we act in those situations?  These are often the questions we are confronted with.

The first thing that Peter suggests is to know who we are.  We are seekers of the truth, and we have the desire to live that truth in our lives.  As Christians, there is a need that we give witness to that truth by the way we live.  As expressed in Peter's letter: "Let your love for each other be real and from the heart.  It is this love that we possess for one another that gives witness to the truth of who we are to those who may not share our beliefs."

I've never experienced a situation where a forcible sharing of my faith has had a positive affect.  In fact, it is just the opposite.  It just turns people off.  It pushes them away, and may cause them to become more deeply entrenched in their opposing views.  Create an environment where others feel accepted, loved, and free to communicate their concerns without judgement.  Then you will have an environment where love and faith can grow and flourish.  One of the common expressions used in the Cursillo retreat experience is:  "Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ".   That is why experiences like Cursillo, Alpha, Life in the Spirit Seminars etc., are effective at evangelization.  They are invitational, and stress love and community development.

The first letter of Peter gives so many good examples of how we as Christians can respond to the needs of our family, the needs of our community, and the needs of those who may seem to be opposing our Christian views. Many times we must go against what would be considered our normal human response.  "Those who are slaves, accept the authority of your masters, with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle, but also those who are harsh."  This makes little sense unless we are convinced that faith and love have the power to move and change a heart that is hardened by hatred and sin.  Jesus was convinced of this.

"You know that among the pagans, their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt.  This is not to happen among you.  No, anyone who wants to be great among you, must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you, must be slave to all."
Gospel of Matthew
     

Experiencing God - Life of Grace 140

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith"
Paul's letter to Ephesians

If we take the time to study the lives of the saints, there are three things they have in common.

1.  They lived their lives in anticipation of Jesus' promise to release His Spirit within their lives.  They counted on this promise which is also Jesus' promise to each of us.  They counted on this Spirit to not only guide them in the decisions they were to make, but to sustain them, and to give them the strength they needed to live out their life in Christ.

2.  They were willing to die to "self".  Knowing the will of God through prayerful discernment is one thing.  The willingness to set "self" aside in order to follow this voice of the Spirit is another.  In order to do this, they knew that they had to die to "self" seeking.  As Jesus would say: "For anyone who wishes to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it."
 
3.  They were moved towards generous self-giving as they accepted Christ as their unique Lord and savior.  They saw Jesus as the "wisdom" of God.  They experienced Jesus as the living source, the force or energy that enabled them to live a selfless life. 

Saint Paul himself was to declare this many times in his letters, and I quote from Galatians: We know that a person is justified, not by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.  And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Him, and not by doing the works of the law."  

Now all of this may be a little confusing when we compare it to Jesus' words in the Gospel of Matthew:  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to "fulfill".  Jesus goes on to emphasize:  "For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished"  

The St. Jerome Biblical Commentary defines "fulfillment" to mean: "Bringing the law to perfection."  This does not happen through the process of a rigid literal observance like that of the Scribes and Pharisees.  Fulfillment of the law, as Jesus lived and as Saint Paul explains again and again can only be found in loving God and loving neighbor.  As Saint Paul would say in Corinthians Chapter 13, "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."

To love God, and to love neighbor in this way is not easy.  In fact, in our human condition with all of its compulsive behaviors, it is impossible.  But through Grace, through our personal surrender to the Christ, it is possible to live a life of Grace.  As St. Paul would say in Ephesians:  For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith in Christ."

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Experiencing God - The Sign of Jonah 139

"An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah. And He left them and went away."
Gospel of Matthew

Someone who is suffering serious doubt in respect to faith may say to you:  "If Jesus is who you say He is, then tell Him to give me a sign.  Get Him to do something to prove to me that He is who you say He is." 

Jesus' response to this would probably be the same as that given in the Gospel of Matthew:  "No sign will be given to you except the sign of Jonah.  For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so too will the Son of Man will be, to this generation." 

Confused, the doubter may ask: "How was Jonah a sign to the people of Nineveh?"  The answer:  "Jonah came from a distant place in Palestine and travelled to a city in Assyria, a pagan city, which did not believe in God.  He preached to the people that they must repent or change. They listened to Jonah. They repented and changed the direction in which they were going. As the people of Nineveh listened to Jonah, believed and changed, so we too must listen to Jesus' word, believe and change.  We pray: Show me Lord, and I will believe and change.  God says: Believe and Change and I will show you.

The doubter continues:  "But my problem is that I don't believe, or at least, I have serious doubt as to whether your Jesus is who you say that He is?"  The answer:  "Then don't ask for a sign as if that would prove anything to you.  Miracles are all around you, but you do not yet have the eyes to see them.  Ask instead for the gift of faith.  Ask sincerely from your heart that you may see the light and the truth of the Gospel." 

If we believe something because firm evidence has been given that it is true, then we do not believe by faith.  We believe based on the evidence that has been provided.  But  evidence cannot be provided when it comes to the qualities of the heart. 

If your spouse or friend say that they love you, then you must believe it by faith.  Firm evidence that they love you cannot be provided.  You must look into your own heart, examine what you are experiencing, get in touch with your inner most self, and then conclude that their love is real.  And you may have to do it again and again.  If by faith you conclude that it is true, then that love will transform your life.  It can be the light that shines in the darkness for you. 

But if you say to the one who loves you, prove it, then you are really rejecting their love.  You are really saying: I cannot accept your love until you give me the proof that it is true.

Whenever we place this need of proof on God by demanding a sign, we are rejecting God's love for us.  We are by-passing faith and demanding assurance.  The problem is not with God who continues to love us.  The problem is with ourselves because we cannot respond without proof.

The people of Nineveh listened to Jonah, believed by faith, and responded with changed hearts.  Some of the people of Jesus' day did not listen or believe Him and therefore asked for some sign. They failed to see the Kingdom of God that Jesus was proclaiming to them.

What the doubter needs, and what we need when we seriously doubt, is not evidence or proof from God.  What we need is the humility to know where the problem lies.  And like the man with leprosy, we need the courage to ask: Father, if it be your will, can you heal me of my affliction.  If we do that, then the light of the Gospel will open up in our hearts and we will hear Jesus' words:  "Take courage my friend, do not be afraid.  I am very near to you."    

Friday, December 20, 2013

Experiencing God -Christian Leadership 138

"Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before Jesus she asked Him for something. And He said to her, "What do you want?" She said to Him, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." Gospel of Matthew

Most of us lead lives in which we are always wanting something.  The reason for this is because that's how we think we are going to find happiness.  We want to better ourselves and those we love.  We want for them and for ourselves better jobs, better clothes, better homes, better security, better relationships, better friends, more recognition for what we do, more acknowledgement and more status in our families and communities.  As members of our Western culture, we are very much conditioned into believing that this is the road to freedom and personal realization.  As a result, most of the time of our lives is consumed in meeting this end. 

So why are we so surprised and even critical when the mother of James and John approaches Jesus, bows low to Him, and make a request:  "My two sons are sacrificing a lot in following you.  Promise me that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom."  In other words, I would like you to give my sons the top two positions in your kingdom. 

Are we surprised when we hear that the other ten disciples are very disgruntled and indigent towards James and John when they hear about this request.  After all, have they not given up as much? 

This very request, and the response to this request by the other disciples show clearly that they do not yet see clearly what Jesus is all about.  Is Jesus surprised by this request?  I don't think so.  In fact, He dismissed it quite quickly.  "I'm sorry, you do not know what you are asking.  Such decisions are not mine to make."  But then He goes on to explain again this upside-down world of God's Kingdom, which is a pure reversal of the way we normally think.  Jesus contrasts the way we think in a worldly sense with the way God thinks in building his Kingdom.  And this must have been as difficult to understand for His disciples as it is to us.

The value of life in God's Kingdom has nothing to do with self-assertion or self-aggrandizement.  It has nothing to do with personal status or position.  It is measured strictly in terms of one's value for the other.  The greatest in God's Kingdom does not carry an image of a person of importance as we normally understand it.  The greatest in God's Kingdom carries the image of a servant.  They take on the image of a child, without class or self-importance, of one who is unable to impose their will upon another, but a willingness to serve.

In order to instill this image in the minds and hearts of His disciples, Jesus creates a contrast between true Christian leadership and what we normally see as the leadership model in our society.  Leaders of nations lord it over their subjects.  They have absolute authority over them.  This must not happen to you.

Jesus is not judging the use of worldly power nor does He condemn it.  He is simply describing it.  But He makes clear the fact that such a type of power is not to be used by Christian leaders.  The value of a Christian leader is determined by the value he/she places on others, and their willingness to serve others in building God's Kingdom.

Jesus asks James and John a question:  "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?  In asking this question, I believe He is asking if they are able to let go of their engrained conditioning of being overly concerned with "self" and all of self's desires and needs.  The primary purpose of prayer, fasting and almsgiving is to assist us in this relinquishment. Letting go of "self" is not an easy task. 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Experiencing God - Silence of Meditation 137



In a mother's womb were two babies. One asked the other: "Do you believe in life after delivery?" The other replies, "why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.... "Nonsense," says the other. "There is no life after delivery. What would that life be?" "I don't know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths." The other says "This is absurd! Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical cord is too short." "I think there is something and maybe it's different than it is here." the other replies, "No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere." "Well, I don't know," says the other, "but certainly we will see mother and she will take care of us." "Mother??" You believe in mother? Where is she now? "She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world." "I don't see her, so it's only logical that she doesn't exist." To which the other replied, "sometimes when you're in silence you can hear her, you can perceive her." I believe there is a reality after delivery and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality.

From the Blog:  Awakening Our Truth

Experiencing God - Is God worth the risk 136

"This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly."
Gospel of Matthew

Anyone familiar with the St. Ignatius Spiritual Exercises knows that a common method of prayer that he recommends is to read a story in scripture, and then imagine yourself as part of the story.  You can assume the role of one of the characters of the story or just be there as an observer of the events as they take place.
 
The Gospel story from Matthew about Mary and Joseph and how Jesus came to be born provides an excellent opportunity for this type of prayer.  By putting yourself in their story, you move beyond just the reading of the events.  You actually become the story, experiencing the struggles, the fears, the apprehensions, the joys or sorrows that arise.
 
By placing yourself in the above Gospel story as an observer, you meet Mary, such a young girl to be facing such an enormous challenge to her faith and trust in God.  As is the custom in her Jewish family, she is entering a marriage with a very young man, probably chosen for her by her family.  Being only in her mid teens, she must be experiencing all the apprehensions of this engagement, including the moving away from the current family connections in her parents' home, into an uncertain new relationships with Joseph and his family.  Then she is called to respond to the Holy Spirit in a manner that could jeopardize and certainly complicate the relationships on both sides - the family she is leaving and the relationships she is entering into.  Saying "yes" to such a request meant taking the risk of destroying the relationships on both sides.  Yet, as she ponders the situation in her heart in silence, her faith and trust in God outweighs all the possible consequences that were likely to happen if she did say "yes".  To Mary, God was worth the risk.  And she trusted in God to work out the details.
 
With the facts of her pregnancy coming out, Joseph was really left with no recourse in accordance with his family tradition.  He did not wish to embarrass Mary or punish her family.  That was not his way.  But he would react, as expected of him, by breaking the engagement and quietly moving away from what could be a very embarrassing situation for him and his family. 
 
But what was to intervene was not a rational response, but a response of faith.  In the silence of prayer, in a vision or dream, Joseph followed the guidance coming to him from another source deep from within himself.  He was asked to believe that which others would probably not believe, to accept that which others would probably not accept.  And at great risk to himself, he decided to set aside all that was rational and cultural, and follow his heart.  Let it be done to us in accordance to your will Oh Lord.
 
The decisions of both Mary and Joseph challenge each of us in our own lives as we are faced with the multiplicity of decisions that come our way.  Do we take the path that is rational, that is safe, that conforms with the opinions of the many; or do we listen deeper to the movements of the Spirit within our own hearts.  Do we respond in a manner that may not make much rational sense to us now, but we know comes from God.

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife."

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Experiencing God - Jonah's Sign 135

"As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah."
Gospel of Luke


How can we interpret in a proper manner some of the  harsher comments we find in the Gospels?  Jesus is saying to the crowds that His generation is a wicket generation because it asks for a sign.  And the only sign that will be given will be the sign of Jonah.  What is this sign of Jonah?

The sign of Jonah is the sign of repentance, which means to change.  Jonah's call to repentance or change was directed towards the great city of Nineveh.  What was Nineveh doing that required it to change its direction? 

Probably not too much different that what the cities in our generation are doing today.  Going about their day to day business of commerce, trading, work, trying to build some sort of life for the people living there.  But Nineveh, in its busyness, was asleep.  Its people walked around in a state of unconsciousness when it came to God.  They went on with their lives as if God did not exist.  Does this sound familiar? 

Jonah jarred the city into awareness.  Jonah told the people of Nineveh that if they did not repent or change, they would be destroyed.  He got their attention.
 
Nineveh woke up.  They began to pray and fast. They ceased a lot of their consuming activity and waited on the Lord.  I wonder if this would work today in our great cities and in the lives of the people who live there?  How is it that we are called to repent, to change the direction we are going?

"While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.  But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
Gospel of Luke

"Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."  Perhaps this is a good place to start.  But we can't hear the word of God if we are overly consumed with and attached too the business affairs of our day-to-day living.  Life in our secular world has to do with things like problem solving, fixing things, explaining or taking sides on issues, making money, and the bottom line. It can be pretty circular and nonsensical. To break from this obsession and to begin to see with eyes wide open, we need to bring God into the picture, and He's not that far away.  We need to fast from our obsessive busyness, so that we can hear the word of God as it is spoken to our hearts and minds, and then move to obedience to the word that we hear. 

There is no special season to begin our response to God's call to change.  It is a call to awaken from our sleep and bring God into our conscious awareness.  It is a time to fast from consuming activity, to pray for guidance, to respond to Grace.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Experiencing God - Living in the Now 134

"Remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return"

This is what we say on Ash Wednesday as the sign of the cross is traced on our foreheads.  The Eastern Religions express the same thing in another way:

Regard this fleeting world like this:
Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn,

Like bubbles on a fast moving stream,
Like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass,
Like a candle flickering in a strong wind.

Whatever way it is expressed, it is meant to convey a truth, and that truth has to do with the impermanence of all things; in particular, our lives as we know it. 

One day we are all going to die.  But who among us really believes it.  It's such an obvious fact; why do we pretend it's never going to happen.  And yet, through our faith and Christian teaching, the reality of impermanence and death can be a most important teaching.  For death drives us to seek that which is deathless, to seek that which liberates us from the bonds of death.

The saints of our faith tradition would recommend that we keep the reality of our own death in the forefront of our consciousness.  Why would we want to dwell on something so morbid and depressing?  Because it is though recognizing the impermanence of our life that we can better prioritize our daily activities, and better direct our attention to that which is significant and meaningful. 

There are many things that attract us, that catch our attention and consume our time.  There are many things we do by habit, not really thinking too deeply of their consequences.  It is so easy to put off little things like telling a spouse, a child, a parent that you love them.  It is the awareness of death that draws us out of our complacency, and focuses our attention on what is important.

When I was writing this, I tried to think of a story to serve as an illustration.  The first thing that came to mind was Charles Dickens' Christmas story about Ebenezer Scrooge.  We are all familiar with it.  Scrooge, as you know, was given a great gift; through the Spirit of Christmas future, he could see the results of the destructive path that he was living, a life built on ambition and selfishness.  He saw a life alienated from family, friends and community.   He saw that his illusions of permanence of the things he had gathered in life led only to a black tombstone in an unkempt grave marking off his short span of days.  This gift was enough to jar him into changing the direction of his life, to focus on the ways that led to fullness.

None of us are Ebenezer Scrooge, but we all struggle, at times, with some of his qualities.  Ash Wednesday serves as a reminder that we too need to move away from that which does not bring life to ourselves and others. 

To what conversion are we being called?  What distracts us from all that is more important? 

From the prophet Joel, we read:
"Blow the trumpet, sanctify a fast.  Call a solemn assembly, gather the people.  Sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged, gather the children."

There is a sense of urgency in all this.  What is the urgency?  God is calling us to return, not with complacency and indifference, but with all our hearts.  God is saying: "Come with fasting, with weeping and with mourning, rending your hearts."  Why?  Because we often forget that first and foremost, we are God's children and He loves us.

In Corinthians, Saint Paul is telling us: "Now" is the acceptable time, "now" is the time we must act.  "Now" is the day of our salvation."  We can no longer wait until some future time, because such a future time may never come. 

There was a time when I lived as if my life was to begin at some future moment: When I got that job, when I got married, when I had children, when I got that promotion, when I retired.  An awareness of death tells me not to cling to impermanent things, that "now" is the time to live.

Our Gospel from Matthew encourages us to practice the three virtues of a pious life; prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  All of these things, when practiced with a pure intention and a pure heart, helps us to see more clearly the vision and path God has prepared for us.  Remembering that we are dust, and to dust we shall return helps us to focus on the "now" and the gifts this moment brings.

"Now" is the only moment where we can see that our lives are really meant for love, compassion, and forgiveness.  "Now" is the moment that we can recognize God's abundance, and God's desire that we share this abundant life with those around us.  "Now" is the moment we make Christ visible in our lives. 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Experiencing God - Opening the Eyes of the Blind 133

"They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When He had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 
Gospel of Mark

On March 18, 1958, Fr. Thomas Merton, a monk from Kentucky, while visiting Louisville, had an experience which he documented in one of his books.  He says:  "In Louisville, at the corner of forth and Walnut, in the centre of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people; that they were mine and I theirs; that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers.  It was like waking from a dream of separateness.  I suddenly realized that holiness did not require isolation or renunciation of the world."
 
Have you ever been on an extended retreat; maybe a cursillo weekend, or an Alpha retreat?  As you go through the retreat experience, we often discover something unexpected happening that we may not fully understand. We may discover something in scripture that takes on a new meaning.  We may begin to experience a oneness with the other people who are sharing this time with us. We may come in touch with a sense of community and a renewed sense of the presence of God in our lives. 
 
These new incites and experiences are often described as awakenings, revelations, or coming to a greater awareness.  It is as if the lights have come on and we are able to see things in a way that we could not before.
 
In the Gospel of Mark, we read of Jesus healing the blind man.

"They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”  He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”  Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly."  

If we casually listen to  this Gospel, our response might be: "Oh, Jesus heals a blind man.  Another miracle just like the others in the Gospels.  But if we go no deeper than this, we will miss the point of Mark's Gospel.  If we follow the development of Mark's theme in this Gospel account, we will discover that this is a different and special cure because the blind man is healed in stages.  First Jesus takes him apart from the crowd, leading him outside the village. Then after the usual procedures, Jesus asks him: "Can you see anything?  Are things becoming clearer to you?" 

This question is being asked of the blind man immediately prior to another question that Jesus asked His disciples: "Who do you say that I am?   Are things becoming clearer to you?"

Mark is providing the Gospel narrative of the healing of the blind man as a backdrop to the more critical question that He is asking His disciples immediate after.  He is symbolically setting the stage for the disciples to realize that we all need this touch of enlightenment to be able to see more clearly the person of Jesus and His mission among us.  This is the only way we can integrate the full Gospel message into our lives. 

These touches of enlightenment, these awakenings or coming to our senses, come through stages of growth.  It particularly comes about as we set ourselves apart from the crowd and all the distractions that take our attention away, to be alone with Jesus.

"Can you see anything?  Can you now see more clearly?"  When Jesus tells us to go to our private room and shut the door to pray to our Father in secret, He does it for a reason. 

Jesus' mission to us is to help us see more clearly.  This is also the mission of the Church.  We are here, we are called to help others see more clearly, to bring Christ alive in hearts of those who are struggling to believe. 

Experiencing God - Hebrews on Atonement 132

"Long ago, God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways through the prophets, but in these days God has spoken to us by a Son whom He appointed heir of all things."
Hebrews
 
Most times when I read from the letter to the Hebrews, I ask myself; what is this all about?  It is hard to understand because of its many references to the heroes of the Old Testament with their many rites and worship practices.  The above is the brief introduction from that letter.
 
This introduction  acknowledges a transition of God's revelation from Old Testament prophets to Jesus, the new high Priest and primary focus of the New Testament.  In view of the author's stress on the Old Testament, especially as it relates to its priesthood and practices of sacrifice, the letter  is probably written to Jewish converts to Christianity.  Biblical scholars have determined that it was probably written after the time of the persecution of the early Church but before seventy AD, which would place it before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by  the Romans.  Because of the on-going persecution of the early church during this period, it appears many of the original Jewish Christians had fallen away from the faith.  The author is writing to encourage them to remain faithful to Christ, their new Great High Priest. 
 
Hebrews was written to encourage this group whose faith in Christ was faltering  They may well have been tempted to return to Judaism.  The author (and nobody knows who it is) is reminding these early Jewish converts that the old covenant has given way to the new; that Christ is the new great High Priest who can bring believers to God.  This is something that the old order of Priests could never do despite all their sacrifices. 
 
The overall effect of Chapter two of Hebrews is to present a different image of God than that portrayed in the Old Testament. 
 
The Israelites would have been accustomed to seeing God as a somewhat harsh feudal overlord who required obedience and submission out of fear and obedience to a rigid discipline of rules and laws. 

"Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by His death. By embracing death, taking it into Himself, He destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death. It’s obvious, of course, that He didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why He had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when He came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, He would have already experienced it all Himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed."

Hebrews Chapter 2

God is now portrayed as One of immense compassion for all people to the point where He would lower Himself to be one of us, through Christ.  And further still, Christ becomes the greatest expression of our humanity, pointing the way to the "New Life" that we are called to ourselves.  Christ becomes the means of bringing wholeness and salvation to all people through the sacrifice of atonement in His own person. 

Through Jesus' own fidelity and faithfulness to the Father, we are empowered to live with that same fidelity and faithfulness because the fear of death as an obstacle to New Life has been removed.

The letter to the Hebrews points out that Christianity, if taken seriously, creates an evolution in our understanding of God, an understanding that enables us to live out our New Covenant relationship.  Fear is no longer the motivator for obedience.  It is an experiential love, found in Christ, that holds us firm in our resolve and commitment to faith.

Jesus Himself never writes or speaks about this.  He merely lives the truth of this new revelation, and that's what He calls each of us to do as well. 

Friday, December 13, 2013

Experiencing God - All or Nothing Thinking 131

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Gospel of Matthew

Dr. David Burns wrote a popular book called "Feeling Good". In this book, Dr. Burns identifies many ways of thinking that lead to depression or not feeling good about oneself. The first and foremost erroneous way is dichotomous thinking, or "all or nothing" thinking.

 
A prominent politician who losses the race as a member of the legislature feels like a big zero.  He did not win.  A straight "A" student who gets a "B" on an exam concludes - now I'm a total failure.  A mother whose child gets into trouble at school thinks - what a lousy mother I must be - despite the fact she is generous and loving to her children. 
 
This way of evaluating things is unrealistic because life is rarely completely either one way or the other.  For example, no one is absolutely brilliant or totally stupid.  No one is either completely attractive or totally ugly.  Look at the floor of your bedroom.  Is it perfectly clean?  Is every inch piled high with dust and dirt?  Or is it partially clean?  Absolutes do not exist in this universe on the natural scale.  It you try to force your experiences into absolutes, you will likely be depressed because our perceptions will not conform to reality.  You will never measure up to your exaggerated expectations.
 
Often times, we may be guilty of applying this "all or nothing" thinking to scripture, or exaggerate our expectations in how we are to respond to God.  I can't be a very good Christian because I mess up on so many opportunities in giving witness to God. 
 
In Matthew's Gospel about the parable of the seeds, Jesus is telling us about the sower and how this sower scatters His seeds.  Some fell on the edge of the path and the birds ate them up.  Some fell in the rocks where they could not take root.  Some fell on shallow soil, sprouted and died because they were scorched by the sun.  Some fell into thorns but were chocked out.  But some fell on rich soil, and produced a great crop. 

What I've discovered is that I possess, within my own human condition, each of the circumstances described above.  I see that most others have them as well.  There seems to be some places where God's seeds really struggle to grow, but in other places, they seem to flourish.  Does this make me a bad Christian?  Of course not.  We must keep in mind that the sower is God, and He is very generous in spreading His seeds.  He throws them everywhere.  Where they cannot take root in me, they can more easily take root in someone else.  It's together that God's work can be done.  It never can or will depend on me alone. 

It's good for us to recognize this because it helps us realize we are not an entity unto ourselves.  We need each other in order that your strength may complement my weakness, and my strength may complement your weakness.  That's what church is.  People using their gifts and working with others to make God's Kingdom visible.  If we do this, we have no reason to feel that we're a big zero, a failure, or a bad Christian.  We can live with the true reality that each of us possesses the rich soil that can lead to an abundant harvest.  Let's work together and see what happens.

Experiencing God - Invitation to change 130

I would like to share a story that I've read recently.

"One evening during the summer as I was sitting on my balcony, I noticed a young man waiting at the bus stop across the street from my house.  He was about seventeen and dressed in a way that I don't understand.  His blue jeans were dragging on the concrete sidewalk completely covering his feet.  I counted three tattoos on his muscled arms and a complement of pierced ears and eyebrows.  Imitating my parents from thirty years ago I thought, "What is wrong with these kids today?  Why do they want to look like this?"

As I was manufacturing my own opinions about this boy, an older woman began to struggle across the street with oversize heavy boxes.  The young man noticed her too, and as if it were the most natural instinct in the world, walked over and offered to help her.  She gratefully released the boxes into his arms and led him to her car.  He placed her belongings in the trunk, nodded, and turned to go, but in the most remarkable touching way, the old lady wrapped her arms around him and gave him a warm bear hug of a thank-you.  Then she drove away.  He stood smiling a moment and returned to the bus stop.  Within a minute of that tender exchange, he was aboard the bus, leaving me along on my porch to think about the extraordinary encounter I had just witnessed.  Perhaps this young man would never think about the old lady again, and the favor he had done.  But the woman certainly would.  She had been graced with help that had come out of no where just when she needed it."

In the Gospels, Jesus used stories and parables so well to teach about the Kingdom of God.  Why did He do this?  In using stories, Jesus is inviting his listeners to a new way of thinking about God and His Kingdom that may otherwise allude us.  In effect, Jesus is saying through stories and parables that God's ways may not be our ways.  They cause us to rethink our normal attitudes and behaviors and to see and act differently then we might otherwise.

The story above challenges us to rethink some of our old biases and judgement that we may be carrying, and to become open to new possibilities.  It is a call to change, a call to an interior conversion.  The Kingdom of God begins to open to us as we respond to this need we have to change. 

"Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed."
Gospel of Matthew

The purpose of the parable of the seed is presented to us by Jesus for this reason - as an invitation to change.  It is to help us realize that at times, we walk only the well trodden path, and crush God's revelations under our feet; that we, at times, allow the anxieties and concerns of the world to choke out God's love; that, at times, we listen to and act upon God's word superficially failing to take it into the heart where it can become integrated into our lives. 

If we can remain open to new possibilities, new revelations and incites, then change will happen, and the unfolding of God's plan will be made known to us.

This is the seed that falls on rich soil, the seed that produces a rich harvest and reveals to us that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  This is the mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds that, when planted in rich soil becomes a large tree where birds come and nest in its branches.

The invitation of change is extended to all, but there will always be those who resist.

Experiencing God - Vigilance 129

"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit.  Be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that you may open the door for Him as soon as He comes and knocks."
Gospel of Luke

Scripture challenges us to be in a state of constant readiness, to be awake and ready to respond to whatever comes.  Imagine if you knew that a thief was going to break into your house tonight.  Would you not be prepared for this to happen?  Would you not be vigilant as you wait in anticipation of this event to unfold?  This vigilance or waiting in readiness must not be confused with busyness, although an anticipation of some action is strongly implied. 

During the forty years that I worked for a living, my time could be described as busy, but it was rarely "vigilant" as Jesus describes.  My busyness was most often a response to do what was necessary in order to attain the exterior things that I wanted, whether it be material, pleasure, a good reputation, or praise.  Also my busyness was most often my response in doing what was necessary to avoid a loss of income or unpleasant situations such as criticism and lost of respect. 

This is not the "vigilance" that Jesus is calling us too in the Gospel.  He is calling us "to be awake" to the fact that there are many things more important going on that must be drawn into our awareness.  There many things much more important going on that should draw us away from the external drama of our own personal lives of likes and dislikes, pleasures and fears. 

Most of the world religions, and certainly Christianity, considers it a healthy practice to focus on the end, whether this be the "end of times" or the end of our lives.  The purpose of this is not to move us towards depressing thoughts.  This wisdom helps us to put our lives in the right perspective.  It assists us in discerning the priorities of our lives, and moves us away from being consumed by the superficial.

In challenging us to be vigilant, Jesus is calling us to reject the superficial and to concentrate on what is important.  To do this, we must be awake to what is important.  What might that be?

Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians: "I have been entrusted by God with the Grace that is meant for all.  I, the least of all the saints, have been entrusted with the task of proclaiming to the world the infinite treasure that can be found in Christ." 

We are meant for God.  St. Paul proclaims that this is in accordance with the plan that God has made with us for all eternity.  Our happiness, our well-being, and everything else that we are seeking is contingent upon us realizing that we are a part of this unique calling in whatever form it may take.  In order to do this, we must be awake to it.  We must be awake to what is happening in this present moment so that we may be prepared to act in accordance with God's plan for us.  The action may be something that's relatively simple; caring for a child, visiting a person who is lonely, giving attention to family, a smile.

To be awake is not easy.  We are often so distracted by our own perceived needs for the things around us, our own plans and agendas.  But through Grace, we can quiet this activity down and enter the mystery of which St. Paul speaks.

Experiencing God - Courage! Do Not Fear 128

For they all saw Jesus coming towards them and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said:  “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”
Gospel of Mark

Some time ago, I did a computer search on the New Testament for the word "fear".  The word came up sixty-six times.  About half of the references spoke of fear in a positive way.  For example, a person who is God-fearing, often translated as reverence or awe of God.  The other half made reference to "fear" in the manner we normally understand it - to be timid, shrinking, nervous, anxious or uneasy. 
 
Many references can be found in the letters of John to "fear" in this latter sense.  "In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love."   Also, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is saying: "Courage! It is I. Do not be afraid" as He walked towards the disciples in the boat on Lake Gennesaret being tossed about by the storm.  First, let us explore "fear in this context. 

Everyone experiences fear.  It is a human emotion which is normal to everyday life.  Different people experience fear of different things or situations and with varying intensities.  Much of this is associated with the fear of loss - loss of health, loss of property, loss of reputation, loss of approval.  Ninety-five percent of people have some fear associated with speaking in front of a group of people, which is more to do with the fear of making a fool of oneself. 
 
As an emotion, fear is neither good or bad.  Sometimes it's just there, and for the most part, it is not a pleasant emotion.  Fear comes to us as a messenger that there is something wrong, and to exercise caution.
 
Unfortunately, for most of us, fear often sends its message even when there is nothing wrong or a need to exercise caution.  In these instances, fear prevents us from doing the appropriate thing at the appropriate time.  We become overwhelmed by fear, and it prevents us from responding in an appropriate manner.  Fear can prevent us from being God's instruments to others and to ourselves. 
 
The greatest miracle we find in the Gospel of Mark as Jesus is walking towards His disciples on the water and calming the winds are not these particular actions.  The greatest miracle is Jesus enabling his disciples, who are overwhelmed and confused by the storm, to overcome their fear of loss, and become instruments of God's love for the world.  In fact, I would personally consider the actions of walking on the water and calming the winds symbolic expressions leading to the subsequent greater miracle.  The overcoming of their fear happened to them as it happens to us.  And it happens when they put their faith and trust in the infinite power of God's grace and love. 
 
"Courage! It is I.  Do not be afraid."  These words, when they become an experienced reality in our lives, call us out of ourselves, away from our fears and our illusions of loss, away from our protective boundaries and our need for control, and places us at the doorstep of the One who is so much greater than ourselves.  We are then free to respond to the situation in a manner that comes from God, and not from our fear.  "Father, if possible let this cup pass me by, but your will, not mine be done." Or as we read in the letter of John: "In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Experiencing God - The Hope of Advent 127

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."Isaiah

If we were to reflect on our personal lives here in the Halifax area of Nova Scotia, we can agree that we live in a relatively prosperous community.  We are fairly confident that the good things we have experienced in the past will continue in the future.  We have the freedoms that we enjoy. We certainly expect that our material security will continue in the future. Most of us are of the view that all this is attributed to our own hard work and the values we live. 

Now let's pretend for a moment that our city is invaded by a foreign power that has no concern for our comforts and security or what we believe.  They come in, destroy our homes, our businesses, our sources of livelihood, seizing whatever we have of value.  Then they gather us up and send us off to an unfamiliar place.  They make us work for them in some subservient job.  Although they feed us and give us a place to sleep, we no longer have the freedom to move about as we did before.  Many of us who are seniors cannot expect that during our remaining years much change will happen, or that there will be a chance of recovering all we have lost.  It would be an understatement to say that we would be dazed, discouraged, destitute and lacking hope. 

When second Isaiah began to write his beautiful prophetic imagery in his book of the Old Testament, this was the state of the people of Israel.  They had been defeated by Babylon, a pagan nation, who destroyed Jerusalem, their homes, their livelihood, and their place of worship.  Most of the remaining citizens were then routed to a foreign land.  They were a defeated people with not much left to live for. 

In being detatched from all the things on which they had previously placed their hope, they heard from Isaiah a new message of hope.  "Make His ways straight".  They heard that their God, who made the stars in heaven, that created the boundaries of the earth, that gives strength and hope to the destitute, was walking with them.

It's hard for us to seriously hear this message when things are prosperous, when we have all we want, and when things are going our way.  It's not that God is absent during good times.  It's just that we have become overly satisfied and somewhat distracted by other things.  But when these distractions are removed, it is then that we realize that our true identities can only be found in God. 

Isaiah was there with his prophetic message to remind the people that all was not lost.  Now was the time to discover their true identity.  Now was the time to awaken from their state of unconsciousness and to see that the only source of their comfort and security could be found in God, and God was as close as their own hearts.

This is the message and purpose of advent.  In all our prosperity, there is a danger of being covered with a shroud of darkness and distraction that prevents us from seeing properly.  There is that danger of placing our hope in things that will not last.  We must rediscover that through the darkness of this shroud, a light is shining, a light that can lead to our rebirth.