Jesus compared “this generation” to children who could not be satisfied. For when the flute was played for them they did not dance, when the dirge was played they did not mourn. There was no pleasing them no matter what. Jesus drew the parallel to the present bystanders who acted as fickle as the children. They criticized John as being possessed for practicing fasting and asceticism. They then accused Jesus of being a glutton and a drunkard because his choice of companions for table fellowship.

In today’s Gospel account, Jesus could have been addressing his detractors as well as his disciples. He encouraged his followers to be wary of wallowing in the mud of fickleness. He also wanted them to be sure that they were authentic dispensers of his truth and the will of his Father no matter the reaction of the people, for “wisdom is vindicated by her works” (Mt 11:19). Just as Jesus taught that false prophets would be revealed over time by their fruits (cf. Mt 7:16), so those who were true to his teachings would be vindicated, if not fully in this life, certainly then in the next.

Pope Francis said that “The first thing for a disciple is to be with the Master, to listen to him and learn from him” (Francis 2014, 15). May we pray for open hearts and minds eager and willing to hear the word of Jesus our Master and the courage to act upon his leading in our everyday circumstances. To do so, we must first slow down our pace and quiet our minds sufficiently enough so that we can even hear his word. We also need to discern the difference between his voice, our own, and the many other distractions, diversions, and temptations we hear. God himself speaks to us in so many ways; directly in the silence of the heart, through others, spiritual direction, small groups, fellowship, through the Bible, as well as our culture, and influences, as well as through his creation.

More often than not, we may not definitively know if what we hear and how we are being moved is coming from God. Yet, remaining paralyzed and doing nothing is not an option. We can find support and confirmation from Scripture and Tradition, others who are wise and practiced in following God, then we can reassess our guidance and then act. If we are wrong, we learn from our mistakes and begin again. If we are on the mark, this helps us to build our confidence in recognizing God’s voice. What we do not want to do is remain indecisive out of fear or anxiety, from the perceived reaction that will come. Nor do we want to remain indifferent to action.

Another important step in discipleship is that we are not to seek to impress, but to express. Adulation and acclaim for ourselves are not what we are about. Our firm intent is to become less so that Christ becomes more. We are also to resist moralizing and condemning others and instead be willing to meet people where they are, accompany and break open the word in practical ways so they see the benefits of having God in their lives. The invitation and life of a disciple of Jesus is not an easy one. Will we follow?

We need not be afraid that we don’t have what it takes, because we don’t at the start. Just as in learning to walk, our beginning attempts more often than not ended with a thud and us sitting on the floor or ground looking up. Yet, we got up, and with continued practice, we gained strength, balance, made corrections, and so began to gain confidence and the ability to move forward upright, step by wobbly step. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. put it more eloquently when he spoke to students at Spelman College in April of 1960. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” So it is in anything we do, but especially in the spiritual life. If we are not moving ahead we are falling behind.

Jesus, please help us to know you and your voice so we may follow the will of God. Grant us the courage to walk with you and to face the risk of whatever the reaction of others may be as we offer your truth with love and mercy.  Set a spark in our soul so that above all we begin, one step at a time, hand in hand with you to serve those you bring to us. Help us move forward and allow God to happen in our interactions with one another.

—————————————————————————–

Photo: Day of installation as Lector with my classmates Pete and Hank. During the service we were told: “Take this book of holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of his people.” – from the Rites, Volume Two.

Francis, Pope. The Church of Mercy: A Vision for the Church. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2014.

Link for today’s Mass readings for Friday, December 11, 2020

“Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11:11).

Jesus shared that there has been no greater than John the Baptist. John is a bridge from the Old Covenant to the New. To say that John and Jesus played significant roles in ushering in the Kingdom of heaven is an understatement. For they both preached the same message of repentance, of the need for all to recognize how they had turned away from God and needed to turn back to him. This is a key invitation for us as well during the preparatory seasons of Advent and Lent. May we have the ears to hear!

John lived a life of asceticism giving all to God, rejecting the material comforts of his time, choosing to live in the wilderness, and relying solely on the divine providence of God. He followed in the line of the prophets and he did so with full-throated confidence and fearlessness. Many were moved by his words and came to repent. John though ministered not to put himself on a pedestal, his role was to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. He was to assist in ushering in the Kingdom of heaven, he himself was not the Kingdom. As John shared, Jesus was to increase and he was to decrease (cf. Jn 3:30). John’s words of speaking truth to power also led to his martyrdom. The death of John signaled the time for Jesus’ public ministry to begin.

Jesus recognized the contribution and place of John in his Father’s plan, yet he also shared how “the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” The reason Jesus made this claim was that John’s baptism was one of repentance. The Baptism Jesus instituted was one of new life. Through our being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we have died with Christ and have risen with him. We have been given a new life and are incorporated into his Mystical Body.

Through our Baptism, we, in participation with Jesus, become priests, prophets, and kings. As a part of the common priesthood, we are to sacrifice our time, giving of ourselves in prayer and worship; our talent, embracing the unique gifts God has given us to share; and our treasure, being good stewards of the blessings God has given.

As prophets, we are to speak the word of God, speak truth to power as John and Jesus did, we are to be the voice of the voiceless and stand for up for the human dignity of all those who are vulnerable or mistreated from the moment of conception, through each stage of life, until natural death.

We are to be servant kings, resisting the temptation to seek our own power, glory, fame, and riches, and instead surrender ourselves to the will of our Father, and like his Son wash the feet of those in need. There is no service of our brothers or sisters that we ought to feel is beneath us in reaching out in love, which is to will the good of each other.

Advent is our time to repent, to recommit, to rediscover the wonderful relationship we are invited to embrace and are called to share: The infinite divine love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, whose name we have been baptized in. Remember why we dip our finger in the baptismal font before Mass and make the Sign of the Cross. We do so to recommit to our baptismal vows. When we do the same action when we leave, we leave as priests, prophets, and kings to go forth into our realm of influence to love one another as Jesus loves us, with an all-embracing, unconditional love!

—————————————————————————

Photo: Baptismal font with a statue of John the Baptist, from Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, Oceanside, CA

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, December 10, 2020

Verses that we read, such as: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28) really hit the spot, they arrive at the right time. I am sure that if you are reading these words you may also welcome Jesus’ invitation. Yet what is the labor and burden that we need to rest from? If you are like me who work in education, or a student, as the final weeks of the semester come to a close, there are exams to correct and to take. Of course, those at the university level may have just finished and are feeling the relief of arriving home to embrace the rest. Others in other occupations also work long hours, and sometimes, two or three jobs, just to get by. How about overseeing the care of the home and dealing with family issues that can be enormous, especially at this time of year?

Is the burden, the weight of all that has to be done to prepare for Christmas, the decorating, putting up lights, shopping, buying presents, cooking, baking, writing and mailing Christmas cards crushing you under the weight?

Unfortunately, there are way too many who are not so much burdened by work but the lack of access to gainful or meaningful employment. They are burdened with keeping the bills paid and a roof over their heads as the temperatures fall. Some have no home or family, they are burdened with getting from day to day, seeking ways to get food, clean clothes, a place to wash and relieve themselves. Christmas cards are a distant thought. Many others are burdened and living in fear that they or their family member or members may be deported.

Speaking of fear, how many of us are burdened by fear, anxiety, stress, and strain from a myriad of swirling reasons? Concerns about our family, community, country, and the world are a burden that can weigh heavily. Advent and Christmas, even when life is more stable, are still times in which many buttons are pressed and many stressors are triggered. What is the adage that is offered when family and friends gather? Resist talking about politics, religion, and… we all can add a few others.

If you are feeling weary and worn this Advent Season, take some time to just stop and take a slow, deliberate breath. Notice your shoulders coming out of your ears. Embrace the invitation of Jesus and rest in him. Allow the burdens to come to mind, then visualize yourself giving them to Jesus, open yourself to his guidance, ask to be open to help, and seek who may be best able to assist you in any particular situation. If you are burdened by any sins, rest in Jesus and confess to him, avail yourself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus will forgive you and bring you a lightness and fresh start!

Our God “does not faint or grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound” (Isaiah 40:28-29). We do not have to deal with anything alone. We have help and support. My friend, Pastor Jerry Scott, taught me years ago a life lesson which I still return to, more often in my fifties than in my twenties. When a person is chopping down a tree, exerting a lot of energy and effort, but finding the results insufficient, he or she needs to realize that they need to step back, take a breath, and sharpen their ax. With a little rest, renewal, and a sharpened blade, the job can be accomplished in half the time.

We need to figuratively do the same daily with each of our endeavors. We need to resist just putting our head down and plowing through with blinders on. We need to instead take some time to stop and assess from time to time what we need, where we need help, how are we truly fulfilled, and yoke ourselves to Jesus for his guidance and strength. As Jesus carries the burden with us, as we follow his will, we can work smarter instead of harder. In developing a pattern and place of trust and hope in him, seeking his guidance and direction this Advent, we will renew our strength and soar as with eagle’s wings; we will run and not grow weary, we walk and not grow faint (cf. Isaiah 40:31)!

Photo: My axe, which you can see is in some desperate need of sharpening! – literally and figuratively 😉

Link for today’s Mass readings for Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Mary, full of grace and the model of discipleship, is on display in today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel. In a mystical encounter, the angel Gabriel shared with Mary that she would bear the “Son of the Most High” (Lk 1:32). Mary heard clearly what Gabriel said though she did not fully comprehend. Who could? So Mary asked, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man” (Lk 1:34)?

This is a different question than what Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, asked of Gabriel in a similar situation: “How shall I know” (Lk 1:18)? Zechariah was looking for a sign, he sought proof. Mary, through her faith in God, sought to understand what God required of her, so she combined her faith and her reason. While she pondered Gabriel’s response, the whole of the cosmos held its breath for her response.

When Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38), a weary world, wounded by sin exhaled with relief, for the long-awaited savior could now come to redeem what had been lost. Mary, in her obedience, undid the Sin of Origin committed by Adam and Eve in their disobedience.

Mary, help us to ponder your yes, your willingness to follow the will of God and to give birth to our savior. Help us to ponder what this reality means to us and our lives. Help us to be disciples like you, resisting a knee jerk reaction of rejecting outright what we do not understand and choose instead to be open to the possibilities available to us that are beyond the realm of our senses and limitations.

May we too, like you, seek understanding instead of demanding proof. Help us to understand that this surrender is not a practice in limiting ourselves to mere superstition but an embracing of the fullness of what it means to be human, so to embrace the reality of our physical as well as our spiritual natures, and allowing ourselves to be expanded by God beyond our finite limitations.

——————————————————————–

Photo of Mary, side altar at the Mission Dolores Cathedral, San Francisco from visit there, last year.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, December 8, 2020

Have you ever locked yourself out of your house or car? Have you ever needed to get somewhere and were stuck in traffic? Have you ever needed to mail something at the post office and when you arrived the line was already out of the door? Have you been sick and not been able to get to a doctor? Have you or are you dealing with a chronic or debilitating health condition? Are you aware of recurring sin, that you just can’t seem to get past?

If you have experienced any, many, or all of the situations above, you may have some empathy for the man in today’s Gospel of Luke who is paralyzed. Word has come to him that Jesus of Nazareth is close by. He heard that Jesus had helped the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk. Could he receive healing? How though could he get to him? Somehow men came forward to bring the man, we don’t know if they were family, friends, or neighbors. In Mark’s account (cf. Mk 2:1-12) he wrote that there were four men. The key point is that they bothered to care, they made the time, carried him on a stretcher, and brought the man to Jesus.

When they arrived they could not find “a way to bring him in because of the crowds” (Lk 5:19). Unfortunately, “the crowds” could not be bothered to move, to adjust their positions, or to make a way for them to get through. We can imagine the man’s anguish. He had come this far but would be able to get no closer. Maybe some of his bearers were getting frustrated with the lack of willingness of others to make way. Yet, one of the five, maybe even the man himself, was able to think outside of the box.

They maneuvered the man, still on the stretcher, up to the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down before Jesus. Jesus witnessing their faith said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven” (Lk 5:20). Before the man could even fully take in the wonderful gift of mercy he had received, the scribes and Pharisees challenged Jesus’ words, accusing him of blasphemy. Only God could forgive sins. Jesus not missing a beat doubled down: “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home” (Lk 5:23-24).

The man, who, with the aid of four others, met every obstacle placed before him to get to Jesus. Then he faced his last obstacle, the one that put him in this position in the first place, his sins. He was ready, willing, and able to face his sins and relinquish them in the healing words of Jesus. Just to be clear, not everyone who is dealing with a physical or chronic condition does so because of sin. This man had, for it was so deep in his being, and for how long we do not know but, he was paralyzed by them. We can beat ourselves up pretty good, and be so unforgiving of others and ourselves, that sin often has debilitating effects.

The passage regarding the Healing of the Paralytic is a wonderful account to meditate upon. I invite you to read it through a couple of times. Who do we at the moment of our reading see ourselves to be in the story? Are we one of the four men that offer help to the paralyzed man, the many onlookers in the crowd who prevent access to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees, or are we the man paralyzed by sin? Is there something that is preventing us from getting to Jesus, is there a recurring sin that we keep repeating, are we are unwilling to forgive someone, are there particular attachments we cling to?

Let nothing prevent you from coming to Jesus. There may be those blocking access to him. You may have gone in the past to Confession and had a horrible experience with a priest who may have actually berated you, or the opposite. You may have had a sin that was totally discounted or brushed over. You may have even encountered an indifferent priest who appeared not to give you the time of day. Those are unfortunate experiences, hurtful, and inexcusable. You may have had others say to you or you may say to yourself, I do not need to go to a priest, I can just go to God. You can. The practice of examining your conscience and doing that is a wonderful spiritual discipline. I would encourage you to continue!

I also invite you to come to Jesus. He is present in the sacrament of Reconciliation as he is in all the sacraments. This is a personal encounter with Christ. As the paralyzed man needed aid getting to Jesus, so do we. The priest is a minister of God’s mercy and grace, present to us so that we can hear the words of Christ: “Your sins are forgiven” and “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” There is something about hearing these words that are freeing and healing. Just as the man heard Jesus say he was forgiven and left praising God, so too may we come to Jesus so that we may also encounter his mercy, and also leave healed, filled with joy, and praising God!

————————————————————————————

If you happen to be in the Jupiter area this Wednesday, December 16, priests will be available to hear confession at 9 am and we will also be having a communal penance service and personal confessions at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Both services will be held in the main sanctuary. St. Peter Catholic Church is located at 1701 Indian Creek Parkway, Jupiter, FL 33458.  If you are reading this from places afar, I am sure that you can access a parish near you this Advent. If you are not Catholic, you can still reach out to God and one another!

Photo: Pope Francis giving absolution to a young teen

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, December 7, 2020

Today we begin the second week of Advent. John the Baptist, standing on the shoulders of the prophets like Isaiah, has “appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1:4). People living in Jerusalem and from the whole Judean countryside came to repent of their sins. There was an authenticity that drew the people to John. He was clear and consistent with his message and he lived a life of simplicity and totality for God that backed up what he preached.

How are we doing in our life? In what ways are we living with God, spending time in prayer, in his Word, in worship, and for God by sharing our faith through service and specific ministry? In what areas are we putting other things before God? The seasons of Advent and Lent are times of invitation to reflect and examine our consciences. God has called us, as he did John the Baptist, to prepare a way for the Lord in our hearts and minds and for others by our witness.

Discernment on how he is calling us to draw closer to him in a relationship, and how and who we can reach out to is a good daily practice. He is also inviting us to be honest and humble to acknowledge those ways in which we put others and other things before him. For each of the aspects in our lives in which we can readily echo St. Paul: “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want” (Romans 7:19), and we do so with certain actions and behavior regularly, we have the opportunity to participate in the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

A gift of mercy that is much misunderstood and woefully unused. Each sin we commit does not just affect ourselves alone, but also all of humanity and creation. A sinful act ripples out like a pebble thrown in a pond and subtly touches all around us because we are all interconnected. Conversely, when we avail ourselves to the healing of reconciliation we are forgiven, we are healed, our relationship with God and one another is strengthened instead of weakened, it too ripples out and strengthens the Church. Recall those times in your life when you were estranged from someone you cared for because of a fight or something you had done that harmed the relationship. Then you recognized the hurt you caused and were truly sorry. You approached the person and apologized and they forgave you. That anxiety, angst, and sick feeling of separation in the pit of your stomach just all evaporated in the moment of embrace. Reconciliation brought healing to the relationship.

Reconciliation is a wonderful gift that we can share with one another this Advent. To take time to be still with the intent to allow the pains and hurts that are churning under the surface to bubble up and be acknowledged. May we have the humility to admit what we have done, the part we have played in causing any hurt that has contributed to any distancing of ourselves between God and one another. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a wonderful place to start. We are not confessing to the priest, we are confessing to Jesus who then absolves us from our sin through the priest.

Hearing the words that we are forgiven and absolved is a powerful counter to those wicked accusations that will arise in our minds soon after, maybe even as soon as we kneel in the pew to pray, that our sins can’t be forgiven. We can shout back with full confidence, “Get behind me Satan!” For through the love and tender mercy of God, our loving Father, we have been forgiven. Restored in our relationship with God, we can then approach one another to seek forgiveness and the embrace of reconciliation. Life is too short to hold grudges. May we relinquish our pride and ego that imprisons us, and instead invite the Love of the Holy Spirit to reign in our hearts. Let us follow the lead of Isaiah and John this Advent and “prepare the way of the Lord!”

If you happen to be in the Jupiter area this Wednesday, December 16, priests will be available to hear confession at 9 am and we will also be having a communal penance service and personal confessions at 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Both services will be held in the main sanctuary. St. Peter Catholic Church is located at 1701 Indian Creek Parkway, Jupiter, FL 33458.  If you are reading this from places afar, I am sure that you can access a parish near you this Advent. If you are not Catholic, you can still reach out to God and one another!

Photo: Pope hears a woman’s confession, photo credit – Giuseppe Cacace, AFP

Link for today’s Mass readings for Sunday, December 6, 2020

Jesus sent out these twelve (Mt 10:5).

Jesus sent out his Apostles to minister in his name and share the Gospel as he did, declaring that the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Our faith tradition is one of evangelizing, sharing the Good News. That means that first and foremost we need to be people of joy. We may share the most wonderful words about our faith, but if they are not backed up by a life of radiating joy, then our words will have little if any impact.

This does not mean that we are happy and buoyant every second of the day, it does not mean that we will not experience hardship, sorrow, and loss. What it does mean is that we are not defined by our suffering but by our hope as we experience each of our adversities, conflicts, and challenges.

What defines us is the joy of knowing that we are not alone in our trials and that we are loved by God more than we can ever imagine. Jesus experienced the darkness of the human condition all the way into the deepest depths of God forsakenness. He did not just suffer on the cross but he went all the way to experience death. Yet, through the binding force of the love of the Holy Spirit, he was drawn back to life and conquered death not only for himself but for us all.

This is good news to share. How we live our lives each day and interact with others may be the only Bible that someone else will ever read. “Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.” – Pope Francis from his apostolic exhortation, Joy of the Gospel, line 6.

Photo: Teaching is one of my greatest joys!

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, December 5, 2020

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is followed by two blind men asking him to heal them. They continued to follow even after Jesus entered the house. When they had done so, Jesus turned and said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this” (Mt 9:28)? The pair said in unison that they did. Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith” ((Mt 9:29). Both men were healed.

Though the pair were blind physically, they had faith that Jesus was the Son of David. This term was a title for the Messiah. The two blind men believed that Jesus was who he said he was and then collaborated in their healing, for as Jesus touched their eyes, they had faith and believed that Jesus could heal them and they were healed.

Though we may have eyes to see and ears to hear, do we see and hear with the faith of the two blind men in today’s Gospel? Jesus came into the world just over two thousand years ago as the visible reality of the embodiment of God’s Love. Jesus calls us to be conformed to this same love. No easy task, for more often than not, we are blind and deaf to this gift.

The saints are those who followed through the narrow gate as did the two blind men. They encountered Jesus, had faith in him and believed. Will we follow the same path? Do we believe that Jesus is truly who he said he is, the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity who became one with us so that we can become one with him? Let us pray together:

Jesus, this Advent, I choose to walk on your path of love. Free me from my blindness such that I may experience the grace of your Father, so to know the safety and security of your presence. I believe and have faith that you will provide for my every need and will be present through my pain and struggles, the everyday moments, as well as my joys and successes. Expand my heart and mind that I may more fully experience your love so as to have the courage to surrender the false self of my ego, my fears, prejudices, pride, and indifference. Help me to begin anew in small ways to love others as you love me, recognizing that your Love is not merely a feeling or an emotion, but a conscious act of the will. As I participate in your life and love, please help me to be more present to those people I encounter and give me the courage to will their good, without conditions and without counting the cost.

Photo from pexels.com

Link for the Mass readings for Friday, December 4, 2020

Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt 7:21).

I have written quite often, quoting and paraphrasing one of my favorite quotes from St. Irenaeus, that Jesus came to be one with us so that we can be one with him. In his becoming one with us in our humanity he invites everyone, no one is excluded, to participate in his divinity. Yet if everyone is invited, how can Jesus say that not everyone will enter the Kingdom of heaven?

The answer to that question is in the line that follows. The one who will enter heaven is, “the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” If this verse does not help, then it might be helpful to understand a little about heaven, as best as we can, as the mere mortal, finite beings that we are.

Heaven is not so much a place but a state of being in relation to God. Heaven is the state of being in which we are privileged to share communion and a deeper intimacy with God for all eternity. We will still not know everything about God because God is infinite and we will still be finite in heaven. God is without limit, we are limited. We will never exhaust our relationship, never get bored with God.

Maybe a more three dimensional, an earthly example may be of help. If we were invited to play a sport, an instrument, or to act in a play, with the end goal being that we would play in the upcoming game, concert, or performance, we might feel pretty excited about the offer. We tell the coach, conductor, or director “That’s great news!” Yet, in the days that follow, we do not attend any of the practices, we do not practice the skills required to play the position, instrument, or role and we don’t return any of the follow-up invitations by phone, email, or text. The day of the big game, concert, or performance comes, we gather our self together and head on over to the arena or hall. We arrive to see the coach, conductor, or director but are denied entrance. We might say, “I don’t understand, you invited us to play!” The reply is, “Not everyone who says to me coach, coach (conductor, conductor, or director, director) is ready and prepared.”

Jesus indeed invites us to play a part in God’s theodrama, everyone. Some say yes and some say no. Some say yes, and then don’t do anything, some say yes and do some things, some say yes and dive in. Most of us take a few steps forward and a step or two back. Just like preparing to play in the big game or perform in the big concert, or play, we need to be committed, disciplined, and persistent with our faith life. Unlike a missed opportunity to participate in a game or performance, that we can correct and make another attempt down the road, we don’t want to miss the opportunity to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven.

The above analogy does not imply in any way that we earn our way into heaven, or we can do so on our own effort and will power. The bottom line is that Jesus gave his life for all of us and through his grace, we have been saved. This is a free gift. Yet, we have to be willing to receive and open the gift. Our time here on earth is the time we are given to work out our salvation, to put into practice his teachings, and be about building a relationship with Jesus, being conformed to him, so that we can come to know his Father as he does and help others to open their gift as well and invite them to play their part.

If we want to know God’s will, we need to come to know God. Advent is a time of preparation, to place ourselves in a position before God so we can come to know him and his will. Jesus helps us to recognize when we are off the target in our attempt to conform his Father’s will to our small reality. Instead, we need to reorient ourselves such that we allow our minds and hearts to be expanded by his love.

This happens when we are quiet and still, through mediation and prayer, spending time in his word, spending time in worship and fellowship, and in doing so we will be more open to be led by the Holy Spirit to step out of our comfort zone and reach out to others in an act of service for another’s sake and not just our own. For we are here not only to actualize the grace we have been given for our salvation, but we are also here to help others to do the same.

——————————————————————————

Photo: Tapestry hanging in the sanctuary of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, CA. Some of the saints who practiced their part in God’s theodrama and are now with God in heaven.

Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, December 3, 2020

“Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them” (Mt 15:29-30).

There is a key yet subtle point before Jesus began to heal that might be missed. Before great crowds came to him, Jesus “went up on the mountain, and sat down there.” This is no insignificant sentence. The posture of sitting on the mountain would have been recognized right away by the people of Jesus’ time. This was the posture of the teacher and sitting on the mountain a reference to Moses. Prior to the healing in this setting, as he did throughout the Gospels, Jesus most likely taught about the reign of God. In fact, time and again, Jesus’ “works of healing took place in this context of his preaching of the kingdom of God” (Lohfink 2014, 58).

A great multitude of people came to Jesus to hear his message and also brought with them a plethora of needs. Jesus made himself available, restored, and healed those who were brought to him. He encountered them as they were in their present condition. There is no record in this Gospel account that Jesus asked for any identification, that he discussed their belief system before healing them, nor did he ask if they were Jewish or Gentile, and nowhere in this account did Jesus deny anyone who came to him. The response of those to being healed and restored was that “they glorified the God of Israel“. This is because, “where God is master, there is salvation and healing” (Lohfink 2014, 62).

The recorded accounts of mass healings in today’s Gospel are but a foretaste of the heavenly realm of eternal communion with the Father. Jesus is the kingdom of heaven at hand, for as St Irenaeus wrote, “Jesus opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed.” Jesus though was not done. The whole process took some time, which is an understatement, and as people were getting ready to leave, Jesus showed compassion yet again. He sought the assistance of the disciples because he did not want to send the people away hungry.

The disciples, of course, are taken aback because of the reality of the undertaking Jesus proposed. Jesus asked what they had with them and they shared just some bread and fish. Jesus took “the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full” (Mt 15:36-37).

This Advent let us make an extra effort to surrender our will to God, to pray with and meditate on the Gospels such that they become a living teaching that is relevant in our lives, that moves us to serve those in need as Jesus did. Identification, religion, race, gender, creed, or political affiliation does not matter. What matters is that we are willing to see in each person before us a human being with dignity and worth.

Neither are we to be dismayed with how little we believe we might have to give. We are to offer what we have to Jesus in solidarity for his purpose, just as the disciples with the seven loaves and fish did. In so doing, the Holy Spirit will work through us to provide those we serve not only with their immediate need, but also an abundance of grace, mercy, love, and healing to overflowing.

—————————————————————————

Painting: The Multiplication of the Loaves by Giovanni Lanfranco between 1620-1623

Lohfink, Gerhard. No Irrelevant Jesus: On Jesus and the Church Today. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.

Mass readings for Wednesday, December 2, 2020