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Posted by on Jul 21, 2024

Peek-a-boo, I See you!

Peek-a-boo, I See you!

The young baby boy lay on his back in the playpen. A variety of toys hung from the rods that crossed over the play mat and he generally enjoyed reaching for them and playing with them. But this evening, he had another activity on his mind. There was a multi-colored flat cloth sea star in the playpen with him. He reached over for it and pulled it closer. Then he pulled it up over his face and lay there quietly, breathing more loudly than normal. When his caregiver heard his breathing and called out “Peek-a-boo,” he pulled the cloth off his face and, giggling with delight, smiled widely as she continued, “I see you!” Then he crumpled up the cloth again and placed it over his face, wiggling with excitement. Again, at her prompt, he uncovered his face with joy. The game continued for a long time. He would play with another toy for a few minutes, then back to Peek-a-boo.

Sometimes it seems like finding a time and place to spend a little time alone with God, resting, chatting, listening, or whatever, can be a bit like a game of peek-a-boo. Except in this case, we really want to keep the cloth over our faces a bit longer, just to have a few minutes alone with the one who loves us. But then someone notices and our time alone is over.

When Jesus’ disciples returned from their very first missionary journey, they shared stories and experiences. He explained some of the things they had not understood about the venture and encouraged them to trust the Father. It had been an exhilarating and tiring time. Jesus knew from personal experience the importance of getting away from everyone for a while – to rest, to pray, and to process what had been experienced with the help of the Father. So, he suggested they go for a boat ride. And not just any boat ride. They would go across the lake to a place where nobody lived. That way they could just enjoy each other, rest together, pray, and prepare for the next visit to a town where there would be people coming to hear Jesus and receive healing. Anyone who spends much time in the public eye would sympathize and encourage this kind of retreat.

They all piled into the boat and headed out across the water. Folks on shore watched them go, probably with some disappointment. “I didn’t get a chance to ask for healing!” “He left already?” “Do you suppose he’ll be back sometime soon?”

Then a keen observer noticed where the boat was heading. It wasn’t going clear across the lake! It was heading for a place up the coast where people didn’t generally go very often. It was within walking distance. Maybe we can get there ahead of him and be up close to hear his words and see his healing for ourselves! And off they went. “Peek-a-boo!”

When the boat arrived, the crowds had already gathered. “I see you!”

Rather than be irritated or getting back on the boat and leaving in a huff, Jesus felt pity for the people. They had no caregiver who would be there for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd, the imagery familiar to a pastoral people who had started out as traveling shepherds. He and the disciples remained there that afternoon, teaching and healing the people who had followed them around the shore. “I see you too,” he said to them through his actions. (Mk 6:30-34)

Centuries earlier, the prophet Jeremiah expressed God’s anger and frustration with the rulers of the kingdom of Judah, the southern part of the land of Palestine in which the people had settled after leaving Egypt in the Exodus. The kings of Judah had not been faithful to the covenant. Rather than care for the people and help them to live in harmony, they had cared only for themselves. They seemed to believe those over whom they ruled had been created just to support the leaders’ wishes and high-living. The Lord was not amused, to say the least. Through Jeremiah, he rebuked the rulers. “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock …”

Jeremiah tells all that the Lord will raise up a righteous ruler from the line of King David to “do what is just and right in the land.” This ruler will be called, “The Lord our justice.”

In this case, through Jeremiah’s message to the unjust rulers, it seems the “I see you” is not necessarily one we would want to hear ourselves. But for the ordinary folks of the land, and for those scattered into exile when their rulers were defeated and their cities destroyed, the Lord’s “I see you” was a promise of hope. All is not lost. The Lord truly is our justice. (Jer 23:1-6)

With the coming of Jesus and his death and resurrection, the scope of blessing, of “I see you,” was extended far beyond the original Hebrew community. Now those “who were once far off have become near by the blood of Christ.” Paul and the early Christian community marveled as they realized just how broad the Lord’s vision was. Those who had always been seen as unclean and unworthy of sharing in the life of the Lord’s people were now to be sisters and brothers of equal standing and privilege. “Peek-a-boo,” says the Lord. “I see all of you. Come, share in my life, my peace, my Spirit. I love you all.” (Eph 2:13-18)

Peek-a-boo is a two-way game. It takes at least two people to play it. One goes into hiding. Another must find the one hidden.

This week, may we be alert to the presence of the Lord in those we meet. May we also find time to hide ourselves from all the hustle and bustle of the world around us and let the Lord find us. A few minutes here, a few minutes there. Sing a song of praise while doing the dishes, making the bed, caring for a child, walking the dog. Out loud or noiselessly. Either will work. Turn off social media for a few minutes and read or pray a psalm. Say “Thank you” as the sun goes down in a blaze of glory. Greet the rising sun with a “Good morning, thank you, Lord.” There are so many ways and places that we can meet the Lord.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Readings for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on Jul 14, 2024

Two by Two – Preaching Through Actions

Two by Two – Preaching Through Actions

“The Buddy System” is the term used to describe a practice in Scouting in which individuals must always have another Scout with them when going hiking, camping, boating, swimming, or just about anything else. When working on a merit badge, for example, the Scout must have a buddy or a parent present during meetings with the counselor who will sign off on the badge, signifying the Scout has completed the requirements. Two adults must always be present when adults are working with the Scouts.

The system works well both to protect Scouts and to help them learn the importance of teamwork in accomplishing their goals. It provides an extra layer of safety in case of trouble or unexpected emergency as well. There’s a second adult present to help deal with the problem or get assistance.

I don’t think Jesus particularly thought about his instructions to his followers as The Buddy System, but when it came time for them to go out and begin to share what they had learned from him, he sent them out two by two, each had a buddy with whom to share the venture.

Jesus sent his disciples to call those they met to repentance, to change their way of living so it would more closely match the ways of loving care and acceptance of the Kingdom. He gave them “authority over unclean spirits,” those voices that tormented people or led them to make wrong choices in their actions. They were to take nothing but a walking stick with them and they were allowed to wear sandals, but only take one set of clothing. No suitcases or pack animals for them! They were to depend on the hospitality of others. Some would reject them. Others would welcome them.

Most critically, they were to teach and share what they had seen. In their journey, they anointed the sick and healed many people. They drove out some demons. Others proved too strong, a detail we learn from other writers of the Gospels. They traveled and taught together, as teams. They shared their beliefs and understanding of Jesus’ message. Their teaching included practical actions. Healing and bringing relief to the suffering were the signs their teaching was valid. (Mk 6:7-13)

After their brief time traveling in pairs, they rejoined Jesus and shared their experiences and questions. It was an important time of learning for all. After the Resurrection, as they began to go out to preach and teach, they often continued to go in pairs. Paul and Barnabas, Peter and Mark, for example, were some of the early teams who took the Good News out into the world.

Faith is a communal experience. We are called as individuals, but in that call we enter a community who travel and dream and work together to make a difference here and now. Far more important than theological treatises or long sermons, the loving care, the kindness, the compassion, and the passion with which we work to make the world a better, fairer, more just place for all people is the preaching which will soften hearts and open ears to hear of God’s love.

As we live our lives, we too are called to work together and share in the care of the Earth and of all its inhabitants. Those who have fewer opportunities or face more challenges are no less loved than those whose lives are filled with comfort. As St. Paul reminded the people of Ephesus, God has shared spiritual blessings with all and chosen to bring all of us into union with himself through Jesus. He has shared wisdom with us and leads us to share in the mission of his Son. All of which brings praise for the wonder of his love. (Eph 1:3-14)

When we remember that we are loved and speak out on behalf of others who are unable to speak for themselves, we play a role like that of the shepherd Amos, who traveled from his home in the southern kingdom of Judah to the northern one of Israel, bringing the Lord’s word to the rulers of the north. Amos had experienced firsthand the heavy taxes and oppressive rules imposed on the people of the south by the northern kingdom. He knew the suffering of the people and called for compassion and a lifting of the burden. His words were not welcomed by the authorities, but he spoke them and did not back down. The Lord had called him and sent him to be a prophet, to speak on behalf of the oppressed in the name, the authority and power, of the Lord God. (Am 7:12-15)

The most powerful witnesses are those who work for justice, sharing their vision with others, building communities of practical support and new ways of doing things. They find buddies along the way, to share the vision and double the strength of the effort. Where one person meets a brick wall, another may have the map showing a way through the maze. With the strength of a compassionate community, little by little, the world is changed for the better. Opposition may arise, but ultimately, the change will begin.

As we enter this new week, may we find companions in our journey of faith and step forward with courage and hope. Through our daily lives and activities, may the love of the Lord shine forth into our world.

Readings for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

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Posted by on Jul 7, 2024

Unexpected Bearers of God’s Word

Unexpected Bearers of God’s Word

A child is born and worlds of possibility open within a family. Totally helpless and dependent on other people, the child is still a unique individual. Each comes from the womb with their own personality. One will want to nurse immediately. Another will be a bit tired and need time to begin to accept the breast. One may find it hard to nurse. Another will find it easy.

As they grow, they learn to know their family. They begin to smile and “chat” with those who care for them. They notice patterns and recognize the movements of their own hands and feet in comparison to the movements of others. Some are determined to get across the floor to reach something interesting much earlier than others. Some are happy to roll or crawl for a long time. Others want to walk, thank you very much!

We watch the children grow and rejoice in their progress. We laugh at their antics as they explore the world. We comfort them when their exploration goes awry and they get hurt. We set limits so they are protected from danger and learn the ways of their family and culture.

Generally speaking, we tend to think we know them! But I think most parents, at least, will discover at some point that there are aspects of our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews that are surprising to us. They have their own thoughts and experiences. They wonder about things we may never have considered. They learn in ways that are different from the ways we learn. They have talents that are not the same as ours, or they have similar ones but use them in different ways.

These children who have been entrusted to us as individuals and as a community will also hear the Lord’s voice in their own way and in a time that is right for them. We share our beliefs and experiences with them, but they must develop their own relationships – with each other, with their community, and with their God. We are there to support and guide them, but the journey is their own.

Sometimes it surprises us!

Ezekiel did not expect to become a prophet. Granted, he was a priest in exile in Babylon, but the role of a priest is very different from the role of the prophet. The priest leads the community in prayer. The priest offers the sacrifices. The priest keeps things going according to the traditions and rules of the community.

The prophet, on the other hand, is called to speak out and call for change. Prophets remind people of the Lord’s desire for care of the poor. They call for changes in the social order so that justice and mercy are available to all. They demand that the hungry be fed and those in need be clothed and housed. They remind the community of their responsibilities to God and each other.

Ezekiel the priest heard the Lord’s voice and felt the spirit enter into him, setting him on his feet. He was being sent to speak to the people, reminding them of the Lord’s rules and the covenant. The Lord told him, “You shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God!” He was called to be a prophet! (Ez 2:2-5)

Did anyone who knew him as a child expect that? Probably not. But that didn’t stop the call when the time was right and so we proclaim and remember his words to this day.

Jesus was a carpenter. He had learned the trade from his father in the town where he grew up. People liked him. He was a nice guy and had a good reputation before he went off to see that guy John, his cousin, who was baptizing people at the Jordan River. After that, he was a changed man! He didn’t come back to work in the shop. No more working on commissions in nearby towns. His mother didn’t have his income to support her anymore. Other family members stepped in to help.

Then to top it off, stories started coming back about things he had said about God, calling him Daddy! Teaching as if he were one of the rabbis. And healing people! How could an ordinary fellow heal people blind from birth or with crippled legs or arms? Was it all a bunch of tricks? “We know him, for heaven’s sake! Where would all of this come from?”

And then he came to town. He joined the community at the synagogue and as was the custom, he rose to share in the teaching. Those who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands?” It was all too much. This was the son of Mary and Joseph. They knew him. He grew up in their community. He had been their childhood friend. He had played with the other children. He had learned to respect and honor the adults. And now he was teaching them and healing people in other towns! Why not here? How can we believe what he is saying and doing? We know him!

And because they knew him, or at least believed they knew everything about him, they were not able to receive the gifts he was bringing. He was only able to cure a few people. They were unable to accept him as a bearer of messages and acts of love and healing from God. (Mk 6:1-6)

Saul of Tarsus was a well-educated, highly respected teacher of the Law, a Pharisee. He had everything going for him. A good career. The respect of all. Influence in the council of leaders in the faith. Everything.

Then he went on a trip to Damascus to arrest the followers of Jesus there. On the road, he met Jesus! And everything changed. He became Paul and one of the most well-known preachers and teachers of the early Christian movement.

We read the letters of Paul to the communities that formed when he visited their towns all over the Middle East and even traveled to Rome. Yet Paul was not one who was always welcomed. He met much resistance at all stages of his life as an Apostle. He was not easily accepted by the community in Jerusalem. He was rejected by his former colleagues in Jerusalem. He was driven out of many towns where he preached. Eventually he was sent to Rome for trial and execution. Yet he always remembered the encounter with Jesus on the road and the wonder of it.

Paul suffered from some “thorn in the flesh” that he really wished would go away. We never learn what it was, but it was hard for him to bear. Yet the Lord assured him that “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Whatever it was, the fact that he suffered with it allowed the Lord’s power and love to shine through even more brightly to the communities he visited. In weakness there is strength. God’s ways are not our ways. (2 Cor 12:7-10)

A child is born. A world of possibilities opens. In the weakness of each person, in the uniqueness of each person, in the many experiences and gifts of each person, a world of ways opens in which the Lord touches the person and through them touches each of us. We all bring the gifts of the Lord to others. It may be in a smile. It may be in a word. It may be in encouragement to step out and try again after something goes wrong. Each one of us shares in the wonder of the unexpected. Sometimes that unexpected is even a word of love spoken to us personally from the Lord. Listen.

This week, may we keep our eyes and ears open to hear the Lord’s voice in those around us. And may we share the love we receive with all we meet along the way.

Readings for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on Jun 30, 2024

Justice is Undying

Justice is Undying

We hear a lot about the notion of justice, especially when someone innocent is hurt or killed. Voices are rightly raised demanding that those who harmed the victim be punished for having done so. In this idea of justice, punishment for the wrong-doing balances out the injury to the victim and the scales are balanced once again. So, in this mode of reasoning, if a person is killed, then the killer should be killed or at the very least imprisoned for life. If other members of the community see the punishment, they will be less likely to commit the same offense.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as all that. Identification of the guilty party is not always simple or accurate. An entire genre of literature, for example, is based on the idea that it’s not easy to identify the culprit when someone in a community turns up dead! If the penalty is death, then innocent people will die when they are falsely accused and convicted. Even life imprisonment for those who are actually innocent is a terrible injustice. And taking away a second life doesn’t bring back the original victim…

What then does it mean when we hear in the Book of Wisdom, “Justice is undying?” Does this mean that God is a judge who is always watching and ready to punish every mistake or smallest failing? That is certainly the image some folks have had of God. But is it really an accurate picture? Who would want a God like that?

When reading scripture, it’s important to remember that the writings were originally composed in a different language, in a far-past era, by members of a different culture than ours. Many of the same issues we face in terms of interpersonal relationships are similar, but many aspects of our lives and our understanding of reality, including cause and effect, are different. Even the meaning of a word as seemingly obvious as justice can be different.

The Book of Wisdom was written in Greek by an anonymous Jewish scholar in Alexandria, Egypt, sometime between 200 BCE and 100 CE. Its purpose was to encourage fellow Jews who were living outside Palestine to be faithful to the Covenant. It is written in verse, following the patterns of Hebrew poetry, and includes references to the Exodus, the wisdom of King Solomon, God’s mercy, and the foolishness of worshipping idols.

In the very first chapter, our narrator calls all to justice because justice is the key to life. Justice is the characteristic of living in right relationship with God. “God did not make death,” our narrator proclaims, “he fashioned all things that they might have being.” It is only through the envy of the deceiver, the devil, that death came into our world. (Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24)

What does it mean to live in right relationship with God? Does it mean to walk around with our hands raised in prayer, looking down on those who don’t share our beliefs exactly? Does it mean hoping to be part of some small “faithful” remnant of God’s chosen ones when the last day of judgement comes? Does it mean hiding away in the mountains or in the desert, so we won’t be tempted by worldly pleasures?

For most of us, these are not ideal options, nor are they the way God wants us to live in justice. We are called to care for each other. To be kind to those who are treated as inferior. To reach out and share what we have with our neighbors. To speak a word of support for those whose rights are being trampled. To welcome those who flee violence in other areas and help them begin a new life in safety in our communities. To help the child who struggles with reading or arithmetic, reassuring them that they are not stupid, just that they learn in different ways. To forgive the person who has hurt us. To ask forgiveness from the person we have hurt. So many, many ways we are called to life in justice, in right relationship with the God who created all of us for imperishable life.

Jesus healed the sick, including when he wasn’t aware that healing was needed. When a woman in a crowd recognized him and touched his cloak as he passed by, she was healed of a condition that had made her an outcast for twelve years. Jesus did not consciously heal her. He noticed her touch in the crowd because he felt the healing power go through himself to her.  But he did not react with anger at being touched by a woman, by someone who was ritually impure, whose very touch defiled him as well. He spoke kindly and reassured her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

At the home of Jairus, he prayed over a twelve-year-old girl who had been ill and just died. Her father had come to Jesus to ask him to visit their home and heal his daughter. Jairus was an official of the local synagogue. Yet he reached out to this traveling preacher and asked for help. Jesus sent all out of the room except for the child’s parents and family. He took her hand and called her back, “Little girl, I say to you arise!” And she got up and walked around. (Mk 5:21-43)

Did Jesus do these kinds of things so people would say good things about him or follow him around praising him? No. He typically told the people he healed not to tell others about it. Did they keep quiet? Some might have, but I think mostly they didn’t. Can you imagine having a great source of suffering healed and it not be noticed by family and friends? Then how could one not tell of the wonder and the healer who had given that great gift?

The Christian community in Jerusalem had many hard years of struggle. They were outcasts in their own city and country because they followed The Way of Jesus. Often members of Christian communities outside of Israel sent gifts of money and supplies to Jerusalem to help the members of that first community. St. Paul urges the community in Corinth to send gifts from their abundance to help supply the needs of those in Jerusalem. He cites the example of Jesus, who became a human in order to share our lives and bring us to the richness of divine life in the Kingdom. He reminds them that God provides for all, as long as we share, just as during the Exodus, manna fell in the wilderness and was enough for all to share. We too share as we walk in justice with our God. (2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15)

As we move through this week, may we be alert to the needs of others and offer a smile, a hand, a word of encouragement, forgiveness, and even a share in the riches we have, however great or small. Together we are on a journey with the Lord, whose justice is undying, a journey of solidarity and right-relationship with each other and our God.

Readings for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on Jun 23, 2024

Power Over the Storms

Power Over the Storms

Two winters ago, we had a series of atmospheric rivers on the West Coast. They began in November and continued well into March. Storms are normal at that time of year, but these were far more powerful and destructive than regular winter storms.

Living just a block from the ocean, we are used to hearing two days in advance when a big storm is coming. The waves crash on the beach, water splashes up over the cliffs, and we can hear them from our home. We don’t hear the waves except in winter.

That year, the winds howled, the waves crashed, trees fell across paths in the state park across the street from our home. In fact, the park was closed after a falling tree killed a man walking through one afternoon. The road along the cliffs above the water washed away a few blocks from our home. Fences along the sidewalk by the field were toppled and seaweed landed across the street, clear over to the field on the other side. Two parts of the cliffs, in areas where people are warned to stay away, slid off the rest of the cliff. One slid into the ocean. One slid down onto the beach. To my amazement, a day later, all of that rock from the cliffs had been washed away into the sea.

As it happened, in mid-March I needed to go to a nearby city to help care for a baby. The family lives near the bottom of a hill, one house removed from the road to the top. Electric buses go up and down the hill day and night. There is a distinctive whine from the engines as they go up the hill. More than once during the time I was there, I woke with a start in the night as I heard the bus go up the hill. It sounded very much like the whine of the wind as the storms blew from the ocean, across the field, and over our home.

It used to be that when I read the story of the calming of a storm on the Sea of Galilee, I thought of a storm with lots of waves and some wind. I’ve seen waves in lakes and on rivers. I’ve seen storms blowing in from the ocean. But after that winter, I have an entirely different comprehension of what the stakes can be and how powerful the winds and waves really are. It’s no wonder peoples all around the world have believed that their gods are responsible for storms. Only a very powerful force could possibly cause so much uproar or still it so quickly. The storm stops. The sun comes out from behind the clouds. The birds begin to sing again. And all is right with the world.

Jesus had been teaching in Galilee for a while on the day he decided to leave behind the crowds and go to the other side of the lake by boat. Hundreds of people had followed him around the side of the lake to hear him teach and heal the sick. He needed a rest and some time to pray. Going just a bit up the coast was not going to be enough. At evening, people would not follow him around to the other side of the lake.

He lay down in the boat to rest and he slept deeply. He didn’t notice the beginning of the storm. His friends did their best to handle it on their own, keeping the boat afloat and heading in the right direction. But eventually the waves got so big they were crashing over the top of the boat. There was real danger they would all die in the storm. That’s when they woke Jesus.

To their amazement, he didn’t seem at all worried, just puzzled that they were so frightened. “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”

Although they had been traveling with him, hearing the stories he told about the Kingdom of God, learning the deeper meanings of the stories, and seeing the miracles of healing bodies and minds, they still saw him as a prophet or a wise teacher. But now he can calm a storm? That is mind-blowing. “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (Mk 4:35-41)

Job also had an encounter with God. He knew he was dealing with the Lord God, but he had not had a happy experience in the process. His entire family had died, his business and wealth were gone, his friends had abandoned him or tried to convince him he must be a great sinner to be so severely punished by God. Job believed in the depth of his being that all of this had happened unjustly. So, he confronted God and stated the reasons why he believed God had acted unjustly.

God responded to Job’s accusations and a conversation developed. God spoke to him from out of a storm, “Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb…?” God pointed out the clouds he had made, the darkness at night, the shoreline that kept the sea from sweeping over all the land. If he could do all of that, who was Job to complain of injustice?

Their conversation continued. Eventually, having proved Job’s faithfulness in the face of tragedy, God restored his fortunes. Nevertheless, the lost family could never be restored, only replaced with a new family. And hopefully, the suffering he endured could only help him become more compassionate. (Jb 38:1, 8-11)

So how do we understand storms, figuratively in stories and in the hard times of our lives and/or literally and physically in the world around us? Why does suffering come? Who is in control of the forces of nature? Who controls our behavior to and with each other? Where does Christ come into the story?

In our Christian tradition, we return to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He was a man, an ordinary guy as far as anyone knew, who had a role and an origin no one suspected and we can’t really explain logically. Truly human and truly divine. One in being with the Father. Yet he lived an ordinary human life, followed the call he received at his baptism, shared the truths he had come to understand about the Kingdom of Love, the Kingdom of God, and eventually died because he would not deny who he was and what he had come to understand of God’s love and plan for all of us. He was raised from the dead and we all have a very special life because of him.

St.  Paul reminded the folks in Corinth that all changed once Jesus died and was raised again from death to life. Those who live believing in him no longer live for themselves. Those who live in Christ are “a new creation: the old things have passed away … new things have come.” (2 Cor 5:14-17)

The storms of life come and go. Sometimes they blow very strongly and we wonder if we will survive. They may come upon us quickly, like a storm that blows up suddenly at sea. Other times we see them coming from a distance and have time to prepare.

Storms never last forever. The sun comes out again. New life sprouts. It’s not that God causes storms to punish folks. Rain comes with storms and waters the earth. Crops grow, the land blooms, and life moves forward.

Like the people of Corinth, the disciples in the boat, and even Job so many years ago, we don’t always understand what is happening. But we live in Christ. We are a new creation. We have a well-founded hope and confidence that new things have come. All will be well.

This week, may we all keep our eyes open to see the Lord’s presence in the events of our daily lives: the people we meet, the challenges we face, the joys we experience, the surprises that cross our paths. The Lord is there with us in the boat. We never need to be afraid, even when the winds blow wildly, or the whining engine of the electric bus wakes us in the night!

Readings for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

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Posted by on Jun 16, 2024

New Shoots and Unending Hope

New Shoots and Unending Hope

The branch had been cut off the tree and set to the side of the yard to dry out and become firewood.  It was a pretty long branch, probably one that had branched off from the trunk years ago. It sat in the sun and didn’t know it was supposed to be dead and drying out. Spring came as usual, and new shoots sprouted from the branch. They began to grow just as if they were still on the mother tree.

I don’t know how long the new growth will be sustained, but many trees have grown from the trunks, stumps, or branches of other, older trees, which have fallen in the forest or been cut down and used for firewood or building useful things such as homes. I was reminded of the song from the St. Louis Jesuits, “Wood Hath Hope,” as I saw that branch, sitting up in the air with only non-living things supporting it, and new shoots sprouting hopefully in the sun and rain of a mid-June day.

Centuries ago, when the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon, Ezekiel spoke of a tender shoot torn from the top of a cedar. (Ezek 17:22-24) In this case, the reference to the shoot came after a series of reflections on the social and political destruction of the city of Jerusalem which led to the exile. The city was destroyed in 586 BCE. Yet as a member of the community of survivors in exile in the country responsible for the destruction of their own, Ezekiel could speak of hope and new birth.

The small bit of the mighty cedar from which the Lord God plucked it will now be planted on a tall, tall mountain in the highlands of Israel. As such shoots do, this one will grow and itself become a mighty tree in which birds can build their nests.  Ezekiel tells us that all the trees of the field will learn from this that the Lord is working among them, building up the low trees and bringing down the high ones.

Like all prophecies, the story has a deeper meaning. The Lord cares for the lowly, protects and supports the lowly. In contrast, those who are strong and powerful, who don’t think they need the Lord’s protection and help, will fall.

For Ezekiel and those in exile with him, this prophecy gave hope that one day they would return home to Israel and Jerusalem might once again be restored. In time, that did indeed happen. Persia conquered Babylon and Cyrus, king of Persia, sent the Jewish people back to their land.

Jesus also spoke of small things becoming bigger. (Mk 4:26-34) He described a farmer who went out into a field and scattered his seeds. As the days passed, the seeds grew and eventually became ripe for harvest. Many grains grew from the seeds scattered on the field. The harvest was rich and more grain was available for sale or use by the farmer and also for planting the next year.

Another story described a tiny seed as comparable to the kingdom of God, a mustard seed. These tiny seeds were among the smallest we see, but they grew large enough to be like trees, sheltering and feeding birds and other small animals. I wrote about mustard seeds three years ago and invite you to read about them again today.

Jesus used stories to teach the people he met along the way each day. He took time to explain the stories to his closest friends, so they would know what he meant by them and not draw the wrong conclusion about the points he was trying to make. However, he knew that as humans, we remember stories better than long, drawn-out explanations. A story is nearly always a good place to start.

After we have spent a while pondering the stories and doing our best to live according to the lessons we have heard, we reach a point of trying to explain why we keep going and what it all means for us. St. Paul was no exception. He took time to explain to the community at Corinth what it had all come to mean for him and would ultimately mean for them. (2 Cor 5:6-10) He spoke of being at home in the body and at home with the Lord. We have two homes, he explained. The body is the reality of how we live here as humans, from infancy through the end of our lives. Being at home with the Lord is a way of saying we have ended our bodily life here with families, friends, and the realities of eating, drinking, working, playing, sleeping, and so forth. We now experience family, friends, and those who have come before us in a totally new and amazing way. We are with the Lord, the source of all life, true unending and limitless love.

To the extent we are really honest with ourselves and others, daily life is not always a garden of roses! There are hard things we have to experience and learn. There are wonderful times as well. With any luck at all, the wonderful times will be remembered clearly. However, all too often, we remember the hard times more quickly. We tend to forget that the everyday, ordinary things are far more common. Because they are so ordinary – is that why we forget them?

Paul reminds us that our lives here will come to an end. When that day comes, and we meet the Lord in person in our new home, we will remember much that has happened that we may prefer be forgotten. With the Lord’s help, may we also remember the many joys and blessings of the times we may have forgotten in which we really did meet the task set out for us from the beginning – to grow like a sprout on the branch of a tree, or a seed in a field, or a bird in a nest on a great mustard plant that grew from a tiny seed, easily overlooked as insignificant.

This is our challenge today. Where are we planted? What kind of plant are we meant to be? How will we grow and blossom to produce the fruit or grain needed by the One who tossed out the seed or plucked us from a different tree and planted us here? At best, we will simply move through our days, offering a smile, a gentle word, a greeting, a hand, a moment of silent companionship for those whose journey also continues alongside our own. And when the day comes that we go home to the Lord, may we all see the wonder of the tapestry of life that our times together have created.

Readings for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on Jun 9, 2024

How Do We Explain What We Experience?

How Do We Explain What We Experience?

Many years ago, I went with a Girl Scout troop to Disneyland. It was a rather unusual trip, because there were only two girls left in the troop and both were graduating Seniors. One girl’s father had passed away and her mother had no one with whom to leave her other child, so the girl’s brother came along too. The other girl’s young nephew came along because her mother, the Scout Leader/Grandmother, was caring for the child.

After a busy and enjoyable day in which the girls and other family enjoyed the more exciting rides and toddler and Grandmother enjoyed the more sedate ones, all joined for dinner. After dinner, there was the usual performance that closes the evening. The toddler played happily as the show unfolded. Music blared over the surrounding area. As the story became more complex, the music became pensive, excited, threatening, suspenseful, foreboding, and so forth. Each time the storyline took a different twist or turn, the music clued in the audience about how they were to feel and what was going on in the narrative.

The only one who clearly was unaffected was the toddler. He simply played happily, climbing up the fence rails, running up and down the sidewalk and otherwise enjoying the world in which he found himself. The music told him nothing. There was no nonverbal explanation of the story for him to experience, because he didn’t have words to put with the music that would tell the meaning without saying them. A frightening story evoked no fear in him. Similarly, when the story’s ending proved to be happy, that also produced no reaction of happy satisfaction for him.

How we explain what we experience depends on our family and cultural stories of how things came to be. The same essential phenomenon may be explained in many different ways. Each culture has its stories to explain “the whys and wherefores” of the world as experienced day to day. We hear those stories and they become our worldview and fundamental explanatory system as we grow from infancy into adulthood.

The Hebrew scriptures begin with stories of how everything came to be the way they are. Two separate stories are told, because there are different questions requiring answers. In the first story, we hear how God created the heavens and the earth and found them all good. In that story, humans were created and given stewardship over creation. Men and women were created as equals and all was pronounced good.

In the second story, humans are formed from the clay of the earth and placed in a beautiful Garden. Again, men and women are created to be equals. The garden is filled with everything the people might want and they are free to explore and take advantage of it all. The only restriction is that they may not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or of the Tree of Life. There is an opponent of the Lord God in this story, the Deceiver (aka Satan). This Deceiver enters the garden and starts talking with the woman who becomes mother of all humans, Eve. He asks her about the Lord’s prohibition on eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, then convinces her to taste the fruit. Once she tastes it, she encourages her husband, Adam, to taste as well. Once they taste the fruit, they become aware of their difference from the rest of the beings in the garden. They hide from the Lord when He comes to walk with them in the beauty of the evening, noting that they are naked. The Lord realizes that they have taken/received knowledge they previously had never even suspected existed. They had been like the toddler at Disneyland, unaware and gloriously untouched by the pain and suffering of separation from the One who loved and created them. Now they hide from him.

In the Hebrew story, the man and his wife must bear the consequences of their action. The serpent (Satan) also had to experience consequences as he was condemned to travel on his belly for the rest of time. He and humans would become enemies. But for humans, a different kind of consequence resulted. They were escorted out of the Garden in which they had been created and in which they lived closely with the Lord. They could not return there – no turning back time. Now they would live by their work. They would experience hardship and conflict. They would die eventually. (Gen 3:9-15)

Sometimes we hear these stories and think about the consequences as punishment. What would life here have been like if we humans and our ancestors had never disobeyed the Lord by tasting and receiving knowledge of Good and Evil? Would they/we have remained as innocent as young children forever? When a child doesn’t grow past the innocence of early childhood, we protect and care for them, knowing that something is seriously different about their experience of life and the world. Such children may grow in age, but they don’t grow in the way a normal child will mature into adulthood.

An important insight from this second story of creation is that the evil and the conflicts we see and experience in our world are not the result of a creation that is itself a rivalry or duality between forces of good and forces of evil. In this Hebrew explanation of the source of evil in the world, we see human free will as the source of the conflict. Humans can choose how to react to the call of the Lord. They can hear and obey (listen deeply) or they can hear and choose not to live by the rules of the Lord.

Yet, who can know what the world would ever be if humans had remained in the Garden of Eden? Would we be truly human? We certainly would be different. Nowhere nearly as attuned to discord. But would we appreciate beauty and cooperation as well if we had never experienced their absence?

The story of the closing of Eden to humans continues with a brief statement that the Lord made clothing for Adam and Eve and helped them learn how to live on the land and provide for themselves and others. In essence, they now got to learn how to find or grow and prepare food. They got to make clothing and learn how to stay warm and dry at night or on rainy days. They got to have children, not painlessly, but with the promise of others with whom to share love, discovery, and companionship. They became adults, with all the joys and struggles of adulthood. They also still had a great Love underlying this process and supporting them in it.

This theme of responsibility for actions and of the trickery of the Deceiver flows through the Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian. Jesus is accused of driving out demons by using the power of a demon. He notes that such a reality would be ridiculous and points out that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives, helping us to see the difference between good and evil and to choose the good. Our relationships are broader than just our biological and social families. Our families are those with whom we share a common love and faithful obedience to the Lord’s call of us to holiness, to choose the good now that we have seen the contrast between good and evil. (Mk 3:20-35)

St. Paul talks about the spirit of faith that leads us to speak of what we have seen and experienced of the love of the Lord. Opposition will come, but that will pass. It is transitory, not at all comparable with the glory of eternity that will be open to those who, having grown up and tasted the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil now choose the good. Those who follow the wisdom of that tree can be confident that they will live in God’s kingdom when all is said and done. (2 Cor 4:13-5:1)

These early stories are not intended to be scientific explanations of how everything came to be or why things happen the way they do. They are poetic images, music in the night, that help us understand what is going on and where we fit into the picture. They offer hope for us today and into the future. Life is not easy. It’s not always an Eden. But the Lord God didn’t stay in Eden after locking the door as humans moved into the world. The Lord God came with them and remains with all of us as we too make our way through the challenges of life, choosing goodness and accepting the results of our choice to follow.

As we move through our week, may we be open to learn new ways of living from our God. Where will we find him present? What music of life will we hear that tells us we are moving from danger into safety in our stories? What choices will we make this week that lead those who are alone or afraid into a place of acceptance and courage?

The Lord God is with us. May we be always aware of his presence and open to love.

Readings for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on Jun 1, 2024

Life-Giving and Life-Sustaining Blood

Life-Giving and Life-Sustaining Blood

My father was a life-long blood donor. His dedication to this service began when he was a young man. His younger sister developed a condition in which the platelets no longer held the blood inside her veins and arteries properly. She began to bleed internally. The only treatment was to give her blood and hope her body would begin to produce the platelets she needed before she died. Unfortunately, it did not. She died at the age of 18, the year before I was born.

In memory of his sister, Dad gave blood regularly for the rest of his life. He lived to be 93 ½ years old.

For Aunt Dolores, the reality of life-sustaining and life-giving blood was very immediate and intimate. For most of us, it’s much more of a theoretical, abstract concept.

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we have the opportunity to reflect on the importance of blood to life and to our experience of the presence of Christ in our lives.

Our ancestors in faith, the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, were pastoralists. They raised sheep and goats and traveled with them from one pasture to another until a great famine led them to move to Egypt. There they grew in numbers, but always remembered that they were a separate people, with their own God. Eventually, after they had been enslaved, God sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt and back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was not an easy, peaceful transition.

To this day, we remember the events of the Exodus from Egypt. Plagues, storms, disasters, and the death of firstborn children of Egypt – all were part of the signs that led Pharaoh to allow them to leave. The Angel of Death swept through Egypt one night, but skipped the homes that had the blood of a lamb smeared around the door frame. This first Passover has been celebrated annually since that time. Jesus and his followers celebrated the Passover in Jerusalem at the end of his life. Three of the evangelists place the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist at the end of a Passover Seder.

St. Mark tells us about the preparations for that evening’s celebration and also about Jesus’ actions in taking the bread and giving it to all, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” He passed the last cup of wine around as well, saying, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” (Mk 14:12-16. 22-26)

Since that time, we have shared this bread and wine in our celebrations of thanksgiving, our Eucharist. His words are repeated each time, including the instructions to “Do this in remembrance of me” which are found in another Gospel account. (Lk 22:19)

Thousands of words have been written, hours of thought, conversation, discussion, arguments, and energy have gone into the endeavor of reaching understanding of how this can be and exactly what is it that is happening/has happened through these words and actions. I do not pretend to have better answers than those who have come before me.

Nevertheless, I do want to reflect a bit on the idea of blood as life-giving and life-sustaining. Moses carried God’s words and instructions/ordinances to the people after his encounter with God on the mountain top. He told the people what God was asking of them and they agreed to do as they were instructed. So Moses wrote it all down for them and began this new formal relationship with a ritual, a ceremony, to make it all official.

Pillars were erected to represent all twelve tribes of Israel, young bulls were sacrificed. Some were burned completely as a sacrifice and others were only partly burned and eaten by the people as peace offerings. It was a sacred, sacrificial meal. Then half the blood of the sacrificed animals, which had been collected in bowls was poured out on the altar in sacrifice as well. The rest of it was sprinkled over the people. Our contemporary minds say, “Ewww.” But they believed that in blood, God’s life force was present. The Hebrew people did not and do not consume blood. When the blood was sprinkled over the people, it was a sign of the covenant relationship between the people and God. Life-giving and life-sustaining. (Ex 24:3-8)

For Jesus and those around him, the sacrifice of animals at the temple remained a reality. Part of his anger with those who administered the markets supplying animals for sacrifice was due to the fact that all too often the ordinary people were being charged too much to purchase the animals for sacrifice. It caused greater hardship than necessary.

So when Jesus spoke of his body and blood as signs of a new covenant, his friends immediately wondered what he meant by that. They didn’t suspect that he would rise from the dead. They didn’t even know that he would die the next day! There was a lot to sort out in the days, weeks, and years after these events. But the community continued to gather, pray together, and read the Hebrew scriptures that spoke of God’s love and the promise of a redeemer. And they broke the bread and shared the cup, as we continue to do today.

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews also reflected on this great mystery of the new covenant and the new high priest in the heavenly sanctuary. This new high priest does not need the sacrifice of animals and their blood. The blood of life, the life of God, has been shed to bring life to all, a share in divine life. The everyday ordinary blood of human and animal life no longer needs to be shed for this covenant. Another has shared the blood of life. (Heb 9:11-15)

Most likely we will never know how many people lived because my father shared his blood with them. I’m sure he has been thanked many times in his new life with the Lord by those who received his gift. I too thank him tonight as I write. I was wondering how to address these readings and this feast all day. And then this evening, after the dishes were washed and it was nearly time for bed, the memory of Dad and Aunt Dolores came to me. Life-giving, life-sustaining. Blood of life. Body to nourish us on our journey to everlasting life.

May we remember this week that we are sharers in the life of God. The Body and Blood of Christ we share are those of our God, become one of us and raising us to new life. Not a riddle to solve. Not a logical puzzle. A mystery to enter into. A cause for rejoicing.

Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – Cycle B

 

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Posted by on May 26, 2024

Did Anything So Great Ever Happen?

Did Anything So Great Ever Happen?

Stories of gods and demi-gods are found in cultures around the world. Typically, there is a major, powerful deity who has a spouse and children. Those divine children may also have spouses, or they may befriend and have children with humans. The grandchildren of the great gods, those born of a human and a divine parent, are known as demi-gods (half-gods).

Stories are told of these gods and demi-gods, as well as of their friends and enemies. The stories aim to explain the world in which we live and the reasons people behave as they do.

The gods and demi-gods act in very human ways, loving sometimes, hating sometimes, betraying each other, or tricking each other. A number of charming sets of stories of the ancient gods set in contemporary society has been told by Rick Riordan. His stories are based on Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian deities who are still active in modern times, having children with humans and carrying out their battles and rivalries with each other and with the forces that preceded them. All are set in places that have similar importance today as did the ones from ancient cultures. My family and I have very much enjoyed reading these stories and seeing what places in contemporary America might be the location of Olympus, the gates to Hades, the city of Rome, and other ancient mystical places.

Our own Judeo-Christian heritage has grown out of a different experience. As the Israelites prepared to enter the promised land, crossing the Jordan River into the land they were to conquer and claim as their own, Moses spoke to them of their unique history and relationship with their God. “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth … Did anything so great ever happen before?” (Deut 4:32-33, 39040)

What was this great thing that had happened? Their God took them from among the population of another nation, led them out with many signs and wonders, defeated that nation (the Egyptians), led them through the desert, cared for their needs, and gave them a set of rules and commandments by which to live. Finally, their God was giving them a new land in which to live and prosper with their children. This was unique. Their God was not many gods. Their God was one being and entered into a very special relationship of love and care. No other gods were equivalent, nor was any other “deity” to be worshipped. All powers were subject to their God.

To this day, the descendants of Abraham, Jews and Arabs alike, along with Christians and Muslims from around the world, believe in and worship one God. Jesus, born into Jewish culture and family, grew up learning of the wonders of God’s relationship with his people. He was a normal man, from a normal family, and in the course of his life, his nature as both human and divine came to be known. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became a human in Jesus. Jesus, the Word of God, the Logos, was born into a human family, grew up in a very normal way, and following his baptism in the Jordan River, began to teach and preach. He learned much along the way during his public life. He learned from men and women with whom he interacted. He learned from non-Jews as well as from other Jewish people. He spoke of God’s Kingdom and what it meant in reality for humans.

Powerful people were threatened by Jesus and his teaching. His death should have ended it all, but with the Resurrection, everything changed. Recognition of the divine nature of the man Jesus became the hallmark that broadened even further the amazing things God has done. “Did anything so great ever happen before?” Did God ever before enter into human life so intimately, sharing our joys and sorrows, our triumphs and our defeats, our health and our suffering and death?

St. Paul spoke to the people of Rome about the relationship between humans and God. Those people who have believed and are now led by the Spirit of God become children of God. They are not slaves, subject to every whim of a master. They are God’s little girls and boys, God’s children, brothers and sisters of Jesus, the firstborn. They are loved deeply by the Father and join in glory with their God. This is truly unique. (Rom 8:14-17)

Making it all even more marvelous, this relationship with the Father is not limited to the people originally chosen for a relationship with him. It took a while for the community to realize the full wonder of what God was doing, but they/we got there.

St. Matthew closed his account of Jesus’ life with the story of Jesus commissioning his followers to go out and tell the world what they had seen and heard from him. On a mountaintop in Galilee, the eleven disciples were with him when he appeared. He approached the group, who were not totally sure what to think of his coming to them there, but he had a message, a commission for them. “Go… and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:16-20)

This trinitarian understanding of God, the one God of the tradition, is seen as including much more than one individual human’s personhood. God is parent/creator. God is brother/redeemer, God is the Spirit of Love, the Holy Breath of God. God has been described as a great dance of love whirling through all of reality.

It’s really a much more complex mystery than we have words to express. God comes to us in many ways and many places. We see God’s face in the love of family and friends. But also in the kindness of strangers and the wonders of all creation. We feel the breath of love, patience, forgiveness, and joy that bubbles up at the most unexpected moments in our lives.

“Did anything so great ever happen before?”

We celebrate the Holy Trinity today and through the week to come. May we rejoice in the wonder of our God who enters into our lives in so many and such marvelous ways. We ask that our eyes be opened to see and hear the presence of God among us. We prepare for the day we will see our God in glory.

Peace and joy be with you, today and always, as we celebrate the wonder of our God!

Readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – Cycle B

Illustration – The Shield of Faith – Background Information

 

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Posted by on May 19, 2024

Covenants Renewed and Transformed

Covenants Renewed and Transformed

The feast of Pentecost began as a harvest festival in Israel. By the time of Jesus’ life, it had become a festival celebrating the gift of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, when Moses went up the mountain to meet the Lord and returned with the tablets of the Law. It was a festival celebrating and renewing the covenant between the Lord and the Jewish people.

Fifty days after the Resurrection, and after Jesus had been taken from their sight at the Ascension, the apostles and close followers of Jesus were gathered in a room in Jerusalem to pray, as Jesus had instructed them to do. This day was the feast of Pentecost. A loud noise began in the room, like a mighty wind on a mountain top, and flames that looked like tongues of fire appeared over the heads of those gathered there. On Mt. Sinai, there had been a loud wind, flames, and a loud voice signaling the presence of the Lord. Now these were being experienced in a room in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit swept into each person in that room and they were transformed. No longer frightened and hiding in fear for their lives, they began to praise the Lord boldly and speak of what they had seen and heard, using languages they had never before spoken.

Folks outside noticed the uproar and wondered what was happening. Jews from all over the world were there for the feast and noticed that what they were hearing was in the languages of all the surrounding countries, including Rome. More surprising, what they heard was the disciples telling of “the mighty acts of God.”

The reading from Acts of the Apostles for this feast of Pentecost stops at this point, but the actual story goes on. Peter went out and spoke to the crowd, telling them about the Resurrection and the new covenant that God was establishing with all who would believe and follow the Lord Jesus. Large numbers of people believed and the growth of the community began in earnest on that day.

This day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of a promise Jesus made before his death. St. John speaks of the promised Advocate who would come and testify to the disciples of the truth that Jesus had taught them. They in turn were to go out to the world and testify to what they had heard. Since so much of what Jesus had taught them was still hard to comprehend, the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, would come and guide them to understand it. In this, the Advocate would make clear the meaning of what Jesus had received from the Father and shared with them.

This process of understanding all they had heard was only beginning at the first Pentecost. Many controversies, many changes, many years of discussing and coming to new understandings awaited the community. When folks with one set of ideas came to town and began to teach ideas different than those initially presented by Paul or the other apostles, it became necessary for these leaders to remind members of the communities that were in turmoil what the fundamental teaching was. One major conflict revolved around how much of the ancient Jewish Law was to be required of new members of the community, particularly those who were Gentiles. Did they need to become Jews? What did it mean to live by the Spirit? Did that mean by the ancient Law or something else?

St. Paul devoted many of his letters to dealing with these questions. How do we recognize life in the Spirit?  Paul explained that living by the spirit meant denying many kinds of actions we commonly see among humans – actions that have negative effects on life in community or family. Instead, living in the Spirit would result in what he called “the fruit of the Spirit … love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These things are all signs of the presence of the Spirit in our lives. We receive the gifts we need to serve the Lord in the ways He calls us to serve the community. And together we become one body of Christ.

All of this brings us to some important questions. What does it mean to live in the Spirit today? Has that changed from what it was in the past? Was it all set in stone nearly two thousand years ago? Or are there new understandings that can come to us today?

How does our covenant with God become renewed and transformed through the centuries. At the time of the Apostles and early Christians, there was an expectation that Jesus would return in glory within at most a hundred years or so, maybe even sooner. But that didn’t happen.

As our community of faith has continued and grown through the centuries, many men and women have pondered these questions. Many wise ones have written their thoughts, observations, insights into living in the Spirit. The teachings have been organized, categorized, shaped into traditions and ways of doing things (laws). They have grown and developed along with the growth of knowledge in science, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, literature, and all the many areas of human inquiry.

As we today deal with new questions that arise from the realities of our lives, as well as some very old challenges dating from the dawn of human history, how do we know what the Spirit is guiding us to do? What do we bless? What do we reject? What do we seek to transform? How do we determine which is the option to which the Spirit is calling us?

We can go back to a fundamental insight from Paul – when we are under the Spirit, we are not bound by old laws that do not lead to the blossoming and development of the fruit of the Spirit. If it’s not loving, joyful, peaceful, and so forth, then it may not be of the Spirit. But if it is, and if it includes more people and opens the gates to loving patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control, then we know the Spirit is present.

God’s time is not our own. The gifts of the Spirit and their fruits are ever new in our lives. The covenant is continually being renewed and transformed. We open our eyes to the insights of our contemporary world. We recognize that many things we humans believed in the past might not have been totally accurate. We admit that we don’t yet know everything. And we keep our ears and eyes open to see where the Spirit will lead us now.

It’s Pentecost. We rejoice this week that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, is here among us – teaching, guiding, laughing, playing, and bringing joy and peace to our hearts.

Alleluia.

Readings for the Feast of Pentecost – Cycle B

 

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