“Who do you say that I am?”
“But who do you say that I am” (Mt 16:15)?
This question is just as important to us today as it was when Jesus asked his disciples the same question some two thousand years ago. The answer is wide and varied as attested to in the many books written about Jesus and the many denominations who claim to follow him. There is also a vast array of pictures, paintings, documentaries, and movies. Through each medium, we are given a view of the Jesus of history or the Christ of faith, some emphasizing more the humanity of Jesus and others more the divinity of Jesus, and some a balance of both the human and the divine. Debate has continued from whether Jesus was God or only human to did he ever really exist at all?
When I taught fifth and sixth-grade students at Rosarian Academy, each Easter Season, I assigned my students the task of drawing a picture of the Resurrected Jesus. I quickly noticed a common characteristic of their artistic renditions: Jesus consistently did not have a beard. At first, I started to hand back the pictures to say they needed to add a mustache and beard but I quickly stopped myself. I realized I had made a mistake. This is how they saw Jesus from their perspective at their age.
The way we talk about and express Jesus may actually say a lot more about us than Jesus. The portrait I posted above is the Warner Sallman painting he titled, “Head of Christ”. I chose it because this was the portrait of Jesus I grew up seeing in our home and when I close my eyes and talk to Jesus this is often the image that most comes to mind for me.
Seeking to know Jesus better, I have two bookshelves with books just on Jesus, though for the writing of this blog I have gone back to the earliest, primary sources, the Gospels. I read the daily Mass readings each evening the evening before, pray with them, and have shared some of my reflections with you. Hopefully, they have provided some food for prayer, reflection, and practice.
“But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks his disciples. It is an important question to meditate on, especially in our time of uncertainty and unrest. I invite you to do so this Lord’s Day and through the week. Please feel free to post your response whether positive or negative. I would be interested to read how you answer Jesus’ question.
Painting: Warner Sallman’s “Head of Christ”
Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, August 23, 2020
“Love only can become our light and joy in cheerful service of each other.”
“The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:11-12).
Jesus warns us to resist the sin of pride, where we place ourselves as the focal point instead of God. This happens when we seek to be the center of the gravitational pull within our realm of influence. Through our subtle and not so subtle actions, we can embrace this temptation to live a life of, “Look at me, look at me!” Desiring to be affirmed is not a bad thing but that ought not to be our primary motivation for our actions. Ultimately, we will be better served when we seek our affirmation from God.
Choosing our own self-determination free of God’s guidance is the height of pride. God does not seek to limit us but to inspire us so that we may actualize the fullness of who he has created us to be. St Mother Teresa often guided her sisters not to seek to do great things but to do little things with great love. I came across a cassette tape of one of her talks during my freshman year of college. Her words started to plant a seed in my soul that urged me to look out beyond myself toward others.
Growing up with an introverted and shy nature, I spent much of my youth in my own world. In my second semester of that same year, I took a psychology course and thought it would be interesting to work in a hospital. A close friend of mine, Steve, shared with me that his mother was a nurse in a nursing home in our hometown. That summer, when the semester ended, I applied for the job as a certified nursing assistant and was hired.
The first resident I assisted was named Margaret. She rolled passed me in her wheelchair and a particular odor followed. The aide I was training with caught my eye and I realized this would be my first solo attempt of service. I redirected and guided her to the toilet, which was in a small closet-sized area in between two adjoining bedrooms. It was a particularly hot day, and as I removed Margaret’s depends, I found quite the surprise. For the next fifteen minutes as I washed her midsection and perineal area, I sweat, teared up, and repeatedly fought back the urge to gag, all the while Margaret sang. Once cleaned up and in a fresh nightgown, I helped her into her bed, tucked her in, and then Margaret said, “Give me a kiss lover.”
Others may have run for the door and never looked back. I stayed, and for the next four or five years, I experienced the wonderful gift of building relationships with the many residents and coworkers who drew me out of myself and into their worlds. What started out as a job became an extended family.
God presents us with opportunities daily. Often moment by moment, we are faced with a decision to choose to keep the focus on ourselves or to be present for and give of ourselves to others. May we resist the urge to turn within ourselves out of anxiety or fear of risking to love and instead pray for the courage to be open to the opportunities of grace God gifts us with. May we be willing to serve in little ways with great love, one person, one encounter at a time. I pray that you may encounter your Margaret! For Margaret helped me to live what St Mother Teresa taught me: “Love only can become our light and joy in cheerful service of each other” (Teresa 2010, 355).
Link for the photo of Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa. Where There Is Love, There is God. Edited by Brian Kolodiejchuck, M.C. NY: Doubleday, 2010.
Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, August 22, 2020
Let someone know that you love them today.
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:34-40).
Jesus, in response, was not just throwing up a cloud of theological dust into the eyes of the Pharisees. His answer to, “which commandment in the law is the greatest?” was drawn directly from the Torah. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 and merged the two verses together as one unit. His purpose was to emphasize the point that what was to be the greatest aspiration for humanity was to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, not either/or. Jesus again was showing that he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but that he came to fulfill them (cf. Mt 5:17).
In this statement, Jesus also revealed the foundation of reality, the Trinitarian communion of love. For the immanence of God – God within himself – has always been, always is, and always will be a communion of love. God the Father loves the Son, God the Son receives the Father’s love and in return loves God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit is the love expressed and shared between God the Father and God the Son. The overflow and abundance of this perichoresis, or divine dance of trinitarian communion, has loved creation into existence.
This means that we as his created beings have been loved us into existence too! Created in his image and likeness means we are capable of loving him, and one another. Thus, as God has loved us so we are invited to mirror on earth the love that is shared in Heaven. It is through our participation in the love of Jesus that we can live up to his command to love our enemies, best expressed in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:29-37).
Even in the midst of pandemic, polarization, and division, we can rejoice in the love of God, who is Love, today. We can thank him for giving us the gift of life. We can refuse to contribute to the chaos, we can take care of ourselves and each other by resisting the temptation of complacency and taking each other for granted. Life, even at its best, is fragile and can slip away from us in the blink of an eye. With each opportunity that arises, say yes to sharing the love with which we have received from God with each person we encounter.
If we catch the eye of another smile. Even behind masks, our eyes can still smile. If someone says, “How are you today?” say, “Better that you asked.” If someone interrupts you, let everything go for that moment and be really present to that invitation to engage with another. Go out of your way to do some random acts of kindness, especially for that someone who ordinarily and regularly gets under your skin. We need never fear that God’s supply will ever run out, so today, go for it! Perichoresis! Participate in the dance of God’s trinitarian Love and let his Love reign free.
“Dance, dance, wherever you may be
I am the lord of the dance, said he
And I lead you all, wherever you may be
And I lead you all in the dance, said he.”
Picture: Sharing our smiles with you. JoAnn and I at the reception following our class’s installation as a lector during formation for the permanent diaconate about nine years ago.
Chorus from the hymn: Lord of the Dance by Sydney Bertram Carter
Link for today’s Mass readings for Friday, August 21, 2020
The banquet is ready. Are we willing to accept the invitation to attend?
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son” (Mt 22:2).
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus not only talked about feasts but he is recorded as often celebrating table fellowship with others. Those he ate with ranged from people who were considered sinners to the religious elite among the Pharisees.
In the parable from today’s Gospel, Jesus presented a wide range of reactions to the invitation offered by the king through his servants. Some are so caught up in their own lives, that they are not able or willing to break away and others reject the invitation outright and do so violently, by mistreating and even killing the servants of the king. Then others, the good and bad alike, welcome and say yes to the invitation.
God invites, but we must be willing to change our hearts and minds to see the invitation for what it is, an eternal gift. Those who refused were unwilling to change their plans, as well as others who, with hearts of stone, were outright hostile, willing to abuse and even kill the servants.
Near the end of the parable, Jesus presents a curious fellow that the king found present at the banquet without the proper attire. This is not a literal indictment of not having the proper clothes, but the wedding garment imagery may be a recognition of a willingness to receive the benefits of the invitation without a yes to the responsibility involved with the invitation of transformation.
In our first reading from the prophet Ezekiel, God speaks to his people through his prophet stating that “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts” (Ez 36:25). We are invited to participate in the banquet of eternal life with God. The invitation is freely given, yet it requires that we dress for the occasion of participating in the banquet of a king. This dress is no material garment of fine linen and gold embroidery, but our willingness to repent, to turn away from those idols, that which we have placed or put before God, to have our heart and spirit renewed. We are invited to be a part of God’s new creation by participating in the life of his Son, the firstborn of the new creation.
God the Father offered an invitation to an eternal banquet to the judges, the prophets, the people of Israel, to be one with him that they might shine brightly before all so to make his will and glory known to the world. In God’s timing, he sent his Son to fulfill that mission of invitation and to be with us in our present moment and in our present condition in life. Jesus meets us where we are right now in our everyday experiences and tells us that “the feast is ready.”
This is an invitation to begin again, to turn away from our selfish ways, to receive a new heart and a renewed spirit. God invites us too but we need to be willing to let go, to change our hearts and minds, to be transformed and perfected through our participation in the life of Jesus and through the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit.
Our yes demands accountability, we can’t just show up dressed for the part and take up space. Our ultimate attire is the transformation from within in which our posture changes from a curving in upon ourselves to an opening and willingness to devote our time, discipline, talent, and treasure to serving at the banquet and inviting others to attend.
“Many are invited, but few are chosen” (Mt 22:14). The first step is saying yes to the invitation. The second step is being willing to move beyond our comfort zones so to embrace the change we are invited to. We need to be willing to allow God to renew our hearts and minds, which is not easy, but we can also take comfort that we are not alone. Jesus invites us, as well as guides us, and empowers us all the while as he accompanies us.
Photo: Serving Thanksgiving dinner at Seton Manor, my novitiate year (about 1992) with the Franciscans. Seton Manor was one of the ministries in which I was blessed to serve people living with HIV.
Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, August 20, 2020
God offers us his grace that we may share it with others.
Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard…” (Mt 20:1).
At dawn, nine, noon, three, and five o’clock the landowner hired day laborers to go into the field to bring in the harvest. Many, familiar with this parable, find themselves a bit bemused, bewildered, or even angry at the ending when they read or hear that the landowner had his foreman pay everyone the same pay. The immediate cry is, “That is not fair!” Those, more often than not, who respond this way are focused on the hired hands who started at dawn, worked all day, and were paid the same as the laborers who started at five o’clock.
The workers who started at dawn agreed to a certain wage and the owner paid that agreed amount. The landowner explained, “to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage” (Mt 20:13)? What is missed, if someone is feeling as perplexed as were some of the dawn laborers, is the generosity of the landowner.
We see this similar scene of generosity given and played out in some of Jesus’ other parables. The older son who refused to listen to his father’s invitation to come in to share in the celebration of the feast when his wayward brother had been lost but now was found (Lk 15:11-32); the man who was forgiven his entire debt from the king and then when he had the same opportunity to forgive one who owed him, did not (Mt. 23-35), and in the parable of the Good Samaritan the priest and Pharisee left the man on the side of the road yet the Samaritan the despised one was the one to provide aid (Lk 10:25-37). Each of these parables represents the generosity and mercy of God.
There is a reason Jesus shared the parable of the workers in the vineyard after warning about the dangers of riches. Jesus is inviting the disciples and us to be generous with our time, talent, and treasure. He is also calling us out of our group think or tribal mentality. He is showing us that God’s invitation is for all and he is free to bestow his mercy, grace, and forgiveness on those for whom he chooses, whether we approve or not. Ideally, he seeks to bestow his mercy on others through us.
Are we aware of how generous and merciful God has been with us? If not, may we give some thought to the blessings we do have in our life, instead of focusing on what we do not have, otherwise, we will envy the generosity he shows others. Do we fall into the camp of the laborers who worked all day for their fair share but were begrudging those who received the same pay for an hour’s work, the older brother unwilling to be grateful for the return of his brother, the servant unwilling to show mercy to a debtor, and/or the priest and Pharisee that took the long way around the wounded man on the Jericho Road? Or will we rejoice today in the glory our Father shines upon us, seek opportunities to share our joy, fruit, and gifts with others, and be thankful when God bestows his generosity and grace upon others, even at the eleventh hour?
Photo: from pexels.com
The link for the Mass reading for Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Our life, all that we have, is a gift from God.
“Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Mt 19:25-26).
The disciples are “greatly astonished” about Jesus’ comments about how difficult it would be for the rich to enter heaven. Their astonishment came from the belief system that those who had wealth did so because they had been blessed by God for following his commandments. Just remember the rich young man’s attitude from yesterday. He had followed God’s commands and was blessed with riches, but Jesus turned his world upside down when he asked the man to give up all he had to follow him.
Jesus attempted to help the man and his disciples to understand that what we have, all that we have, is a gift from God, starting with our very existence. He is the ground, the source, and sustenance of our life as well as our ultimate fulfillment. A problem arises when we place our security in material things instead of God who provides them for us. If our security is dependent on that which is finite, we are always going to be left unfulfilled, attached, and/or at worst addicted, and so like the rich man, unwilling to give of ourselves to those in need, because we are afraid we won’t have enough. Also, when we look to our own effort and work ethic, we can build a reliance on our self alone. We can place ourselves as the supplier of our security instead of God. Pride then becomes a dangerous idol. We think and start to believe that we don’t need God because we can do well enough on our own thank you very much.
“Who then can be saved?” The disciple’s question can then very easily be our own. If we can’t buy, earn, or achieve our way into heaven, how will we get there? Jesus is clear. For men, this is impossible because there is no means for us to get there on our own merit. But for God, all things are possible because our salvation is a gift freely given by him.
As with any gift though, we need to be willing to receive it and accept it. One way is to be grateful for what we have and recognize that the source of this gift is God. In this way, we can share freely from what we have, because God, who is our source, is unlimited. As we give from what God has given, God will continue to supply. What is primary then is deepening our relationship with him and collaborating with him. As we do so, we will have the proper orientation to encounter one another in love.
What is essential in our life is not what we have, but that we recognize that God is the source of what we have, that he will provide for us and be present with us. Time goes fast. This life we have been given is good, but it is also finite, and fragile. Let us not take each other for granted, let us take the time to love God and each other as he loves us. “Let us encourage one another while it is still today” (Hebrews 3:13).
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Photo: One of the gifts from God that I have been most thankful for was the times when JoAnn and I went for walks and enjoyed God’s creation. This Red Shoulder Hawk came to say hello a few weeks ago when I just happened to take another route than my usual. What are you thankful to God for?
Link to the Mass Readings for Tuesday, August 18, 2020
So close but yet so far.
A young man approached Jesus seeking to know what he must do to attain eternal life. Jesus shared that the key was to keep the commandments. The man asked which ones he was to follow, a reasonable request as there were 613 commandments to choose from! Jesus gave him six: do not kill, commit adultery, steal or bear false witness; do honor his father and mother, and love his neighbor as himself (cf. 19:18-19). The man affirmed that he had followed them all. Then he asked that next question, “What do I still lack” (Mt 19:20)? I can feel the disciples wince, see the mouth of Jesus curl into a smile while his left eyebrow raises. Mark is more eloquent than me: “Jesus looked at him, and loved him…” (Mk 10:17). Matthew, in his Gospel account, does not engage in such subtleties.
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions (Mt 19:21-22). The young man was so close!
Jesus saw that which was keeping this man from following him. Jesus gave him the opportunity to renounce what he had, give to the poor, and have eternal life, which was his original request. It is what we have all been created for, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (St Augustine, Confessions). The young man knew what he needed to do but was too attached to his wealth to let go, so he walked away sad.
We do not know if the young man reconsidered Jesus’ offer and returned to Jesus. I invite you to find a quiet space today, enter the stillness, and return to this scene in your imagination. Play it out again in your mind and come to the same ending, with the disciples and Jesus watching the rich man walk away sad. Continue your observation of them as they ever so slowly turn their heads and gaze at you. You then ask Jesus, “What do I still lack that is keeping me from walking a more intimate walk with you?”
What are you holding onto that is keeping you from giving yourself to the One who is truly Good? Jesus looks at you and loves you, and says, “If you wish to be perfect…” How does he fill in the blank for you?
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Painting: “Christ and the Rich Young Ruler” Heinrich Hoffman, 1889
Link for the Mass readings for, Monday, August 17, 2020
The love of Jesus is not to be shared with a select few but with all peoples.
[A] Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon” (Mt 15:22).
In Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman, Jesus revealed through three responses, some of the darker sides of our fallen, human nature. In his fourth response, he also identified the way to resist these three sinful tendencies.
When the Canaanite woman called out to the Son of David to have pity on her, Jesus first responded with silence. His silence can represent the indifference we feel toward those not like us. We ignore their very presence as if they don’t exist. In the early nineties, while I was in the novitiate with the Franciscans of Holy Name Province, we toured an impoverished inner-city area in Philadelphia. One of the local friars pointed up to the elevated tracks as the commuter train headed past us toward the heart of the city. He shared how the majority of those commuting into the city had no idea of the need, pain, and struggles of those down here below, like the homeless mother and her three young children that I had met that day. Are we aware of those in need around us, or do we ride our own Elevated Train of Indifference?
The disciples approached Jesus and asked that he send the woman away. Jesus replied: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24). Jesus’ response can represent the dangers of tribalism and nationalism, and how it can taint our perception regarding how we perceive those that are outside of our group. Those we consider as not one of us. The danger is that this perspective can grow such that we see them as less than human. A Lakota elder, Fire Hawk, who became family to me in my early twenties shared how in his youth, he thought about being a priest. He voiced his interest and was told that it was not possible because he was Indian, and after receiving one too many baths in which he was scrubbed down in bleach and water, to wash the red out, he gave up on the idea. Do we dismiss those in need around us, do we not help, or worse crush their dreams because someone has a different national, religious, political, racial, ethnic, or gender identity?
The woman increased her boldness and walked directly up to Jesus and did him homage and asked him directly for help. Jesus’ third response: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” (Mt 15:26). In this derogatory statement, Jesus’ third response can reveal the power of our words and symbols that we use to belittle, demean, and dehumanize. When we place labels on others and begin to believe them, we begin to see others as less than human. Not only do we refuse our help but we also make them into an enemy that must be put in their place. This path can lead to the horrific scenes witnessed in Charlottesville a few years back. Before we slip into the defensive posture that it can’t happen here. Let us remember that on April 18, 2015, in our community of Jupiter, three white teens were out “Guat-hunting”, their phrase, looking for Guatemalans to rob. That night they found a Guatemalan young man, 18-year-old Onesimo Marcelino Lopez-Ramos, a son and brother. After their encounter, Onesimo was bludgeoned to death with a rock. Are we aware that our attitudes, our words, and our actions matter?
The Canaanite woman retorted, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters.” Jesus’ responded: “O Woman, great is your faith” (Mt 15:28)! This final statement can reveal to us that there is an antidote to indifference, tribalism, and dehumanization and that is the love expressed by the Canaanite woman for her daughter. She crossed social boundaries, side-stepped indifference, refused to be sent away, risked ridicule, and possible abuse and death because she would not be denied until her daughter was healed. She did not get defensive, did not fight back, because she did not think of herself. She thought only of the welfare of her daughter.
What is Jesus saying to us? We are to see each other as interconnected human beings. What befalls one of us befalls us all. We are sacred beings created in his image and likeness by the same God and Father of us all. Jesus demands that we meet darkness with light, hate with love, and that in everyone we encounter, we engage them with that same love and mercy he bestows upon us. We are to will the good of the other as other, no matter who they are. We are to choose faith, hope, and the greatest of these, love, as the light that guides how we encounter one another, especially those who are hurting in our midst.
It is not enought to believe in and receive Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist. If we truly believe we receive him then we need to allow him into the darkest, most wounded areas of our souls where our biases and prejudices dwell. We also must have eyes that are willing to see him present in others. May our thoughts, words, and actions be transformed and utilized to encourage, empower, affirm, and love. May each of our places of worship, gathering, and all our homes, in the words of Isaiah, “be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
Photo: accessed from pngwing.com
Link for today’s Mass readings, August 16, 2020
Spiritual Stepping Stones 