Reflections on the Gospel Reading for the Day
We are not alone in taking up our crosses.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24).
Jesus invites us to deny our self-centered default position which places I, me, and mine, at the center of each our decisions. We can deny our self when we resist making excuses for our sins and come to a genuine place of sorrow for the pain we have caused God, our self and others. By acknowledging our sins and confessing them, we die to our selfish ways, and then we rise again through the power of Christ. Empowered by our humility and the strength of Jesus we are better equipped to resist those temptations when they rise again.
We are also in a better position to then take up our cross, which is to follow the will of God. Jesus showed us the proper orientation of surrender when he said at Gethsemane: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42). Jesus followed his Father’s will to the cross and endured horrific suffering, excruciating pain, humiliation, and abandonment, to death and into new life!
Many a mother I have talked with has shared the struggles of labor, but also expressed the joy of giving birth; many of my students have been exasperated by the time and effort expended for an examination, a sporting event, art show, musical or theatrical performance and yet experienced the joy from the feat they accomplished; and how many times have you faced a challenge, trial, or cleared some obstacle and felt the exhilaration of overcoming the hurdle?
Taking up our cross and following the will of God means accepting a disciplined approach to our lives. When we follow God’s will, as opposed to our own solely, the difference is that we are not alone in our persistent effort. Seeking God’s will in the midst of our decision-making process and trials for our everyday physical as well as spiritual pursuits is the key.
In my mid-twenties, I entered the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province to study for the priesthood. In the year and a half of discernment with them, I contemplated from time to time about my ordination day. I often did not feel any joy. I enjoyed every aspect of my experience with the friars and the ministries I was involved in, but there was something or someone missing. I took a leave of absence and, at that time, I realized what was missing was having a family.
About two years later I met JoAnn, and her three children, Mia, Jack, and Christy. Six months after that we were married and seventeen years later, I was ordained to the permanent diaconate. This is the short version of the story. There were many crosses along the way, but in seeking God’s will throughout, the circle was complete!
The journey continues as the five of us face a new cross together. From the beginning of JoAnn’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, we have both prayed, not that our will but God’s will be done. Though this cross has been the heaviest, Jesus has born it with us and blessed us richly in our surrender. Self-denial, carrying our cross, and following Jesus is the path that leads to freedom for excellence, fulfillment, and joy in this life and more profoundly in the next!
Photo: Mia’s last visit July 4th weekend with Levi and Harley
Mass Readings for today, Friday, August 9, 2019
We are not defined by our mistakes or sin but by the forgiveness and love of Jesus the Christ.
Peter shows, as he did when he walked and then sank in the water, how our faith journey can be compared to a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, sometimes more intense than others. As expressed time and again in the Gospels, Peter provides examples of taking a step forward and two steps back.
In today’s Gospel from Matthew, Peter still called Simon at this time, exemplified this balancing act of our growth process as he first answered Jesus’ question as to who Jesus was when he stated, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus not only commended Simon for being open to sharing this revelation given to him by God the Father, but also added, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:17-18).
Name changes were common when there was a significant change in one’s life throughout the Bible. We can see evidence of this in the examples of Abram, changing his name to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel, just to name a few. Without a doubt, this event was a significant giant step forward for Simon Peter!
Yet, just as Peter reached the heights of theological insight he would just as quickly come crashing down again as he cut his teacher off. Jesus began to share with his disciples about how he would suffer, be killed, and rise again on the third day when, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:22-23).
From being called the rock upon which Jesus would build his Church in one instant, to being called Satan in the next, Peter’s experiences offer some solace for us who are on our own faith journeys. Peter apprenticed with Jesus and as in any learning experience, he made mistakes. We need to realize that in our spiritual life this is going to happen to us as well. We will have days when we feel the joy of the Holy Spirit filling our soul, and yet in the next instant, we may feel empty. We may have clear discernment and direction and then feel indecisive and confused. Some days our prayer is fruitful and we feel energized and other days we may experience dryness and that we are just going through the motions.
Jesus’ admonition of Peter to get behind him was not the end of the story. In fact, it would get worse when Peter denied Jesus three times! Yet, Peter persisted and Jesus time and again gave him an opportunity to repent, to start over. After his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved him, and three times, the third a bit exasperated, Peter said yes, undoing the travesty of his denials. After the Ascension of Jesus, Peter lead the early Church and gave the ultimate witness and measure of his spiritual growth and maturity by giving his life.
We too will have fits and starts along the way, but the key is to remain faithful to the journey. To continue to dust ourselves off when we have fallen down and be willing to learn from our mistakes, to repent and be forgiven, to seek the help and support of Jesus and one another, and be willing to begin again.
The Good News for us today, is that we are not defined by our mistakes or our worst moments. We are defined by Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God!
Photo: Beach clouds sun from Pixabay.com
Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, August 8, 2019
Do we have “great faith” like the Canaanite woman did?
He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” (Mt 15:23-24).
I would encourage you to read in full Matthew 15:21-28 to get the full feel of this Gospel account. (If needed, see the link below).
Jesus’ reaction in this scene does not appear to be consistent with how he has acted toward others who have approached him in the past. Is he just having a bad day and taking it out on this woman? Is his reaction because she is a woman and a Gentile at that? I don’t believe either case to be true.
Jesus has seen his disciples time and again attempting to turn people away, just as recently when the five thousand were hungry and they were ready to send them to the nearby villages, knowing the hour was late to get their food. Jesus was also tired that day too, all but spent, yet, even so, I am sure that he did not check to see who were the card-carrying Jews among those gathered, but instead fed all that were present.
In today’s recording of Matthew, I wonder if Jesus was not so much testing the woman’s faith, as much as he was testing the faith and the response of his disciples. The woman was calling for help. Would the disciples offer to provide her support, following the lead of Jesus who they have observed so many times before? Jesus remained silent to her initial plea for help. What did the disciples do? They asked Jesus to send her away. Jesus appeared to support their indifference when he justified his non-response by stating that he was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, clearly, she was of another fold.
Again, the disciples did not step up to defend the woman in need. Maybe they even egged Jesus on. The woman persisted. She came forward and knelt before Jesus imploring him to help her and Jesus met her with a degrading slur, referring to the woman as a dog. The disciples would now certainly appeal to Jesus for mercy, right? Nothing. Nada. His apostles stayed silent, or worse they may have even started to have a good laugh at her expense.
The woman did not back down, she remained resilient in her effort because her daughter needed her help and she would not be turned away. She did not react or get defensive, but returned with her own retort, by stating, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters” (Mt 15:27). Jesus then upended the whole scene and shared that the woman was the one who had great faith! A woman, a Gentile, not his disciples.
Those who have great faith are the ones who believe and act on that belief. Coming up with excuses to support our own indifference or rationalizing turning away people in need is not faith. Those who are aware of the need of another, even and especially when the task seems beyond them and is willing to take the risk, to make the effort to reach out and help, are those who show great faith. How would we have acted in this same scenario? I invite you to read Matthew’s account again in full a few times and imagine yourself in the scene.
With honesty, let us assess where we find ourselves in the scene? Are we aghast at Jesus’ initial responses, do we stay silent or speak up for the woman? Do we add our own insults? If we are going through a trial as did the woman, do we have her persistence, determination, and resilience, resisting to be turned away or lose our cool, but remaining laser-focused on our goal, not willing to give up?
Can we recall times when we did not recognize the need of others or respect the dignity of others because we perceived them as different or other than us? Were there times when we have or supported others who have loosed derogatory or dehumanizing speech or actions behind people’s backs or directly? Have we defended, justified, or rationalized our gossip, prejudices, or hurtful behavior?
If so, may we seek God’s forgiveness, and if possible reach out to apologize to those we have directly or indirectly hurt. May we commit today to follow the guidance that St. Paul offered to the members of his Church at Ephesus: “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:29-32).
Jesus, please fill us with your love and grace. Guide us and give us the courage to resist hurting others with our thoughts, faces, words, actions or inactions. Help us to be your light in the midst of the darkness of hate by being more aware, understanding, patient, present, kind, encouraging, empowering, and loving today and each day. Help us to reach out to respect the dignity of all we encounter, especially, those we have considered different or have in the past kept at a distance, so that one day we too may hear the words you spoke to the Canaanite woman, “Great is your faith!”
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Picture: Jesus and the Woman of Canaan by Micahel Angelo Immenraet, 1673-1678
Mass readings for today, Wednesday, August 7, 2019
The Transfiguration is an invitation to see each other through God’s eyes.
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. (Mt 17:1-2).
Peter, James, and John certainly experienced Jesus’ profound teachings, his powerful signs, his wonders, and they also witnessed his healings, casting out demons, and forgiving of sins, which, alluded to the reality that he was the Son of God. I imagine Peter, James, and John, though acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah, still pretty much looking at Jesus as a human being. In the encounter of Jesus transfigured, Jesus revealed to his inner circle of Apostles not only a foretaste of what was to come in heaven but a glimpse of his actual divinity.
Jesus is not 50% God and 50% human. He is fully God and fully man. This is the Mystery of the Incarnation; the reality that the second Person of the Trinity took on flesh and became human. This is an important reality, because in this very act of Infinite Grace, the Son of God assuming humanity, Jesus, the Godman, opened up heaven for us in the humanity he assumed. The Son of God became one with us in our fallen and sinful state so that we can become one with him. Through participation in the life of Jesus Christ, we can restore and/or deepen our relationship with his Father, and we too can be transformed.
“By revealing himself God wishes to make [us] capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him far beyond [our] own natural capacity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, 52). This reality of the invitation of communion with the Loving God and Father of all creation is for all. Authentic joy and fulfillment are achieved through developing a relationship with the God of Jesus Christ.
Many may say they are happy and living a good life without having a relationship with Jesus Christ or apart from God or his Church, and I would not disagree with them. I would only add that if we are honest with ourselves, there is more to life than the mere material and finite reality we see and experience with our senses. When we slow down enough, when we are actually still enough, we can experience a deeper yearning for more, and begin to see what is keeping us from the deeper reality offered to us.
Even with great achievement, mastery, honor, and accumulation, there is still a lingering question, “Is this all there is?” We experience consciously or unconsciously a restlessness, we continually search to fill this unease, feeling satisfied for the moment, but eventually in short order, we are left empty, time and time again. This unease is our soul’s yearning, our transcendent nature longing for more, and that longing is for the infinite that the finite cannot provide. St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) articulated this desire and yearning so well in the opening chapter of his autobiography, Confessions: “You move us to delight in praising You; for You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”
The Feast of the Transfiguration is an invitation, not to reject our humanity, but to embrace the fullness of what it means to be human, as the Son of God did through the Mystery of his becoming one with us, all of us, all of humanity, not just a select few. We are invited to embrace the fullness and rich diversity of our humanity; the reality that we are physical, emotional, intellectual, while at the same time, spiritual beings. Our fulfillment and joy come from a balance of nurturing the reality that each and every one of us has been created in the image and likeness of God.
Peter, James, and John, and each of the saints embraced the invitation of Jesus and that has made all the difference. God also invites each one of us to experience the wonder and to explore the full breadth, depth, and width of all that our reason and faith can open for us, so to embrace the deepest yearning of our souls, such that our intimacy and loving relationship with God, ourselves, and each other expands.
Today, tomorrow, and each day going forward may we, through our participation in the life of Jesus the Christ who is fully human and fully divine, be willing to open our hearts and minds and souls to be transformed so to experience the fullness of our humanity and our divinity and begin to better embrace our common dignity. We need to refuse to belittle, demean and dehumanize, and instead see each other through God’s eyes, as his children. Once we recognize that we are all interconnected and embrace the richness of our diversity, we will then begin to heal, and the tide of violence will begin to recede.
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Photo: Just a small portion of the many students through the years that I have been blessed with as we have learned together to embrace our dignity.
Mass Readings for today, Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Withdraw and pray today and each day
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself (Mt 14:13).
This is not the first time nor the last time that Jesus withdrew to a deserted place. Unfortunately, his effort for some alone time ended abruptly, for when he got off the boat he was immediately met by people seeking him.
Making time for quiet may seem like a waste of time, just a simple act, but it is one that is very necessary. As busy a Jesus was, Jesus would make time to pray. Though the “deserted place” was full of people by the time his boat reached the shore, he did have some quiet, alone time on the boat before he disembarked. Jesus showed no frustration for having his plans interrupted, instead, his “heart was moved with pity for them” (Mt 13:14).
Often we lose our patience when we are interrupted. When we are cut off or cut short by someone else we may react in a negative way internally or externally. Most of the times our hearts are not moved with pity nor do we show compassion for those who may consciously or unconsciously come to us in need.
If we find that we are constantly impatient, short with others, one reason could be that we do not give ourselves time to stop and be still, we do not make time to pray, we do not sit for a few moments and breath. We just keep moving ahead, on the phone, on our apps, on the computer, working, studying, interacting with others, completing this activity believing that once we finish we will be all caught up. Hyped up on caffeine to keep up the pace we have set, we then wonder why we are consistently anxious or on edge, if we are even aware!
Jesus needed some downtime, and in today’s Gospel, we read that he did not get the amount of time he set out to have, yet he did get a brief respite on the boat before he reached the shore. When he saw the people he did not whisper to himself, “Oh no, here they come again.” He instead was moved in his heart with compassion to serve their needs.
We need to follow the lead of Jesus today and each day to create some time to withdraw and be still. I often remember a period of a week during the first year after I graduated from college. I was working for the National Audubon Society and lived on a 680-acre sanctuary in northwest Connecticut. It was summer and each night as the sun began to set, I would take out my Bible, read a few passages and then just sit quietly and meditate on what I had read. As the natural light ended, I went to sleep with the sun.
The peace and calm I felt for that week period of time, I can still remember vividly some thirty years later. We need to follow the lead of Jesus and make time to be still and pray daily. The time that we commit to need not be a long period, five to ten minutes a day can work wonders, but we must be consistent. Make some time to withdraw today and each day this week to pray and be still. Then see how you feel within yourself and toward others.
Photo from Sharon Audubon Center
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, August 5, 2019
“One’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Jesus said to the crowds, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (Lk 12:15). Jesus is responding to the man in the crowd who asked him to be an arbitrator between him and his brother. The brother was concerned that he would not get his fair share, or any share, from the inheritance.
Jesus is offering the man a healthier orientation and perspective, which is to help him to see what is most important in life. Jesus knows the scriptural stories of conflicts between brothers, such as Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Joseph and his eleven brothers. Jesus knew his own culture and interactions of the people of his time. He knew that conflicts over inheritance could quickly escalate into blood feuds and even deaths.
Jesus is helping the man in today’s Gospel and us today to see that what is primary and important is relationships, not wealth. One’s life does not consist in possessions, and this ought not to be our pursuit and primary focus in life. Wealth and material goods are fleeting, they do not last. We will always seek the newest, updated model of this or that, we will become bored quickly and want more and more. Ultimately, we will not be fulfilled, because we have been created for so much more.
We have been created to be in relationship with God and each other. We have been made to worship, and if we do not worship God, we will worship something, and too many of us as Christians, idolize wealth. Dr. Matt Nelson, author and assistant director of the Word on Fire Institute has written that: “Sanity begins with the realization that God does not need us to worship him, we need to worship God. Worship cultivates peace in the soul of the deepest and most lasting kind. When we worship we rest. It is thus the essential human activity, the first of all first things and the secret to real and lasting happiness.”
Let us meditate on the words that Jesus offers us today, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” What is more important to us, our things or God and the people in our lives? Do we place our security in wealth or God? Do we want apparent, temporary happiness or real and lasting meaning and fulfillment? All that we have is a gift from God. What prevents us from sharing with others in need from that which we have received? How we ponder and answer these questions will have an impact on the peace and happiness in our lives.
Painting: Jesus displayed in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles, CA
Nelson, Matt. Just Whatever: How To Help the Spiritually Indifferent Find Beliefs That Really Matter. El Cajon, CA: Catholic Answers, 2018.
Link for the Mass readings for Sunday, August 4, 2019
Today, let us decide who will we serve.
Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” (Mt 14:1-2).
After the death of Herod the Great (4 BC), one of his sons, Herod Antipas, was given a portion of his father’s kingdom by the Roman Emperor Augustus. Thus, Herod Antipas was the tetrarch, or prince, of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. Herod, like, Pontius Pilate, held power as long as he was a faithful servant to Rome.
News of the ministry of Jesus got back to Herod and he believed Jesus to be John the Baptist raised from the dead. What followed in today’s Gospel were some reasons why Herod arrested and unjustly beheaded John the Baptist. John was killed for speaking truth to power, as happened often in the long line of prophets before him. Jesus would continue John’s ministry of calling for repentance, for a return to follow the will of God. He too would also suffer capital punishment, at the hands of Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate. The Apostles and martyrs of the early Church followed John and Jesus, lived the truth publicly and courageously, and were bold witnesses of their faith.
How are we living our faith today? Are we faithful to the Gospel values that Jesus and the Apostles taught and were willing to die for? Do we serve Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate or Jesus the Christ? Do we serve fear or love? Are we putting our identity first or our integrity of living and holding others accountable for living the Gospel?
It is important to stop and reflect on questions such as these, to examine our conscience and determine who it is that we are truly serving. It is not easy living the teachings of Jesus. We will fall short, but we must remember that God loves us more than we can ever mess up. We experience the fullness of his forgiveness, light, love, and mercy when we are continually willing to follow the call of John the Baptist and Jesus, which is to acknowledge that we have put something or someone else first before God. When we repent, turn back to God, we are strengthening the union of relationship we were created for.
When we are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to shine upon the darkness of our mistakes, failures, and sins, we will experience his forgiveness and mercy, we will become more open to truly knowing his will and how best to serve our loving God and Father. Embraced by and participating in the Trinitarian Communion of his love, let us recommit ourselves today to living as Jesus’ disciples, to growing in courage to better follow his path, so to better live and speak his truth in and out of season.
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Photo: A quiet spot I stopped to pray at while in Chinatown walking back from the post office yesterday.
Link for the Mass readings for, Saturday, August 3, 2019
Will we follow the son of a carpenter?
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:54-55).
Many people wonder what Jesus did from the age of twelve until he began his ministry around the age of thirty. Today’s reading gives us some insight into that question. Most likely, Jesus did nothing extraordinary, he was just as ordinary as any other first century Palestinian Jew living in the small town of Nazareth, with a population of about 250 to 500 people.
Jesus most likely worked as a carpenter. This was rough, menial work, and as a day laborer, a position that was looked down upon. We can even see evidence of this in the Gospel accounts. Mark describes Jesus as the carpenter, the son of Mary, Matthew in today’s account portrays Jesus as the carpenter’s son, and Luke and John just refer to Jesus as Joseph’s son, leaving out any reference to carpenter altogether. Most scripture scholars believe Mark was written first, so we can see a progression in the biblical tradition moving quickly away from identifying Jesus as a carpenter.
Jesus’ return to his hometown and his teaching was first met with wonder. The question arose, “Where did he get such wisdom and how did he work such mighty deeds?” But wonder soon turned to judgment. Who is he? Isn’t he just the carpenter of Nazareth, no better than any of us. In effect, “Who does he think he is?” Not only does this show that Jesus probably lived a very simple peasant life, but that Jesus’ social status was set in stone.
The people’s hearts and minds were closed to Jesus. THEY KNEW who he was and there was no way someone like him could do what they had heard, so they “took offense at him… And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:57-58).
How many times have we judged someone? Have we said to ourselves, “I know who he or she is.” We box them in, not as they are, but as WE see them, as we define them. We look at another individual not as a person with dignity, but as a two-dimensional caricature to satisfy our own prejudgments. We also do this to ourselves by limiting our potential when we say we can’t do this or that.
Maybe we have had a similar experience as Jesus did in returning to his hometown, in that we have sought or are seeking to move beyond our particular social status, or follow a dream or career out of the norm of familial or community expectations. No matter our age, through no fault of our own, by pursuing this path we threaten those who are not willing to accept our vision, those who are not willing to grow beyond what they have always known.
Jesus rebukes limiting perspectives. His Father has a plan for our lives and so he invites us to open our minds and hearts, to rest in the depths of our soul where we can touch the love and power of the Holy Spirit, repent from limiting ourselves and others through our judgmental and prejudicial dispositions, so to be healed from the finite limitations of our brokenness and sin. We need to resist the temptation to limit Jesus, others, and ourselves.
May we instead accept the invitation of our loving God and Father to embrace the infinite possibilities that will arise when we participate in his Life and Love. This invitation is for each and every one of us, no matter our race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religious, political, economic, social, immigrant, or migrant status. The Holy Spirit seeks to free us from the shackles that bind us, the limitations imposed upon us, and those we impose on ourselves and others.
Let us follow Jesus the carpenter today, for he knows our potential, and seeks to impart upon us his love and encouragement, so that we will actualize the vision of who he calls us to be. In this way, we will better be able to empower others in our realm of influence to do the same.
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Picture credit: Darrel Tank/GoodSalt.com used with permission
Parallel Gospel accounts: Mark 6:3, Matthew 13:55, Luke 4:22, and John 6:42
Link for the Mass readings for Friday, August 2, 2019
