Liturgical year | blog.theologika.net

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Sep 29, 2024

The Company of Prophets – Open to All

“You’re right, but you’re too young to know this.”

These words were actually spoken to a young woman by a graduate school advisor when she presented the results of her doctoral research. The faculty member advised her to go back to the data that had been collected previously and see whether there were statistics that would back up what she was presenting in her case studies, so they could be cited to back up her claims.

As it turned out, her sample fell right into the range of responses seen in the entire set of data collected over the multi-year period in which the program had been serving the community. When presented with the evidence, the advisor signed the paperwork for the young woman’s degree.

What is a Prophet?

We tend to think of prophets as being somewhat like fortune tellers. Those who can see what is coming and advise their clients accordingly have a long history of popularity. Will I meet Mr. Right? Will my children be healthy? Who will win the competition? What do you see in your crystal ball?

But a prophet, in religious terms, is not a fortune teller. A prophet is one who praises God, proclaims God’s love for all, and speaks this truth to power. A person who sees through the trappings of power and influence, whose heart is on fire for justice and who is willing to take risks to make the world a better place for all – this is a prophet.

Most prophets do not seek that role. They would be very happy to go about life unnoticed and living in peace with their families and friends. But something gets awakened inside their hearts and builds until they cannot resist it anymore. They must speak. When they do, the opposition begins.

Not all prophets realize the significance of what they are doing in the beginning. A question is asked and they answer truthfully, giving their opinion or an explanation of the reasons for the choice they have made. The opposition they face is not always obvious to them. They assume the questions that follow are a sign of the honest interest of the questioner. Sometimes that’s all it is. Other times, it leads to much more serious opposition.

The Call to Prophesy

In Hebrew and Christian scriptures, the prophet is called by God to speak on behalf of the poor and those of low status in their society. They call out a reminder to the people, “The word of the Lord came to me…” “Thus says the Lord…”

Prophecy is not limited to those who are educated or who have leadership roles, though sometimes prophets will move into leadership. For example, Moses is remembered as the one who led Israel out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus. He spoke the Lord’s words and brought the Law as dictated by the Lord to the community. He combined the roles of leadership and prophet. Moses had been raised by one of Pharaoh’s daughters, according to tradition, so he most likely had an education. However, when he was called by the Lord, he was a shepherd in another land, to which he had fled after killing an Egyptian overseer who was abusing a slave.

A large group of elders helped Moses and Aaron lead the people as they traveled through the Sinai Peninsula. A younger man named Joshua was his assistant. One day, “the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.” This had happened before, but that day something different happened. The Lord shared the spirit that he had poured into Moses with the seventy elders of the people. In a sign of what had happened, all of them began to prophesy, to praise God and share the Lord’s message.

Two elders had remained in camp rather than go out into the desert with Moses. (Somebody’s got to stay home and make sure everything is in order!) They too began to prophesy. A young man hurried out to let Moses know what was going on. Joshua, advised Moses to make them stop what they were doing. However, Moses refused. Instead, he declared, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! … that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!” (Num 11:25-29)

Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!

Can you imagine what kind of world that would be, if all were prophets? Certainly more inclusive. Since the Lord excludes no one from love, all would be welcomed and their contributions and insights valued.

Jesus himself made that point. One day, John came to him to report that someone else was driving out demons in his name. John wanted Jesus to put a stop to that encroachment on his power. But Jesus was not upset. “Do not prevent him.” Why? Because “whoever is not against us is for us.” Anyone who is working for justice, acting lovingly, sharing something as simple as a glass of water because the recipient belongs to Christ, will be rewarded.

Jesus went on to speak about how we are to support the little ones who trust and believe in him. He spoke in terms that have been misunderstood through the ages. He was speaking hyperbolically – using exaggerated terms and examples to make a point. The words he spoke were not literal instructions for how to treat other people or even oneself. For example, he spoke of cutting off a hand or a foot if it causes someone to turn away from God. He also spoke of a terrible punishment that came to be used literally to punish those whose behavior, especially in the sexual realm, was not socially acceptable. These words were not meant to be used the way they were interpreted in later years. (Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48)

The point Jesus was making when he spoke these words to John was that we must not act in ways that keep others from coming to know the Lord. We must not put up barriers that exclude any of God’s children. We must not demand that others be just like ourselves or part of some inner circle of the wise or the saved. Anything that keeps us from being loving and accepting of God’s little ones is a detriment. We need to turn away from our spiritual blindness and see truly the Lord of love. We must welcome and support the little ones, who are not always going to be part of our communities.

Prophesy Continues in the Community

St. James wrote to Christians in general, throughout the known world. He spoke prophetically, teaching those who received his words how to live as followers of Jesus. He spoke with authority as leader of the community in Jerusalem and played important roles in the early leadership of the Church.

Christians in the early years, for the most part, were not from among the wealthy. Those who had wealth, gave it to the community. But most folks were the everyday, ordinary people who worked for a living and cared for their families and those in need.

James cried out in his letter a warning against those in society who were holding onto wealth at the expense of others. “Weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away … your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you…” He spoke of those who withheld wages from workers, reminding them that “the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” In their lives, they have lived in luxury and eventually even killed “the righteous one,” who offered no resistance to them as he accepted death. (Jas 5:1-6)

The words of James ring true through the centuries and into our times today. The poor still work hard but most cannot escape the limits under which they toil. Few receive the help and the opportunities that allow them to move into more comfortable situations and status in our world. All too often, they are told, and they come to believe it, that there really is no way to change their fate.

But prophetic words and actions continue to be heard even today. Some are from people who are famous. Martin Luther King, Jr. who became a leader in the Civil Rights struggle. The Carters, Roslyn and Jimmy, who have spent so many years working with Habitat for Humanity. Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement.

Others are less known. The men and women who work to provide meals for the elderly or families through programs such as Second Harvest. Children in organizations such as Scouting, Campfire, or 4-H, who include community service as part of their activities. Members of church communities who offer safe parking and host the un-housed in their facilities when the weather is too cold for sleeping outside at night. Those who work for affordable housing.

Prophets are among us yet. They speak out and remind us that our God cares for everyone. No one is excluded. Our social class, our citizenship, our race or ethnicity, our gender orientation, our political beliefs, our preferred social and recreational activities – none of these matters when it comes to God’s love for us. God made us all, just as we are, in all our rich diversity.

And we who have been blessed with the riches of modern life – enough food, shelter, education, healthcare, and so many other things – are called to share what we have with those who have not.

No one is too young to observe injustice or to remind us to act justly. May we keep our ears open to hear and encourage their passion for justice, never discounting their words because they are young. Sometimes the young see more clearly than those with eyes which have become used to seeing things as they are, rather than envisioning what they can become.

The company of prophets is open to all. As we go through this week, let us keep our eyes and ears open. Let us open our hearts to hear the Lord’s voice. Let us speak words of comfort to the afflicted. Let us speak words of challenge to oppression in its many forms. Let us live in the joy of the love of the Lord for all, sharing freely the gifts we have received.

Readings for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Sep 22, 2024

Whoever Receives One Child in My Name

In times of economic and social stress, a common practice is to blame those who are different, not from one’s own family or community, for the difficulties all are facing. The sense is that if these others hadn’t come into our part of the world, all would be well. After all, they may not look like me or eat the same foods. They may wear different clothes or style their hair differently. Their music may be different. They may worship differently. Could it be that they are inherently bad or evil or responsible for the problems we are facing now? The question arises in many ways, both overt and subtle.

All too easily, this kind of thinking leads to a conclusion that is unwarranted: “Of course! All was well before they came, so they must be the reason things have changed for me and my family.” “We need to send them back to where they came from!”

But was everything really all right before others came into our lives? Not usually. There have always been challenges in our communities and nations. Peoples have moved from region to region through all of recorded history – most likely even earlier. Otherwise, how would humans have come to live all over the world?

For better or worse, movements of peoples often lead to strife, including wars and massacres. We humans are not very good at trusting that most folks really aren’t that different from each other. Our concerns are very similar. It’s our customs and ways of meeting those concerns that differ. Since there are so very many people and environments, it’s not unreasonable that many different ways of addressing the challenges we find in our local areas have been developed. When we get to know each other, we find many commonalities. In fact, much of what we take for granted today came from the meeting of peoples from different lands with different traditions.

How do we deal with conflicts when they arise? Whose paths do we follow when we face challenges as communities and nations? Do we look at what the bullies, strongmen, and dictators – those who live in fear and rule by fear – propose as the reasons for economic and social challenges? Do we need to be afraid? Do we need to close out social interaction? Do we need to build “forts” around our communities? Would higher walls fix anything? Should we just toss out everyone and their families who have come to this community from somewhere else? What if they were born here but look different than my family and I do?

Or do we welcome the newcomers and learn from the gifts and insights they bring? Where do we draw the line? What do we do?

St. James asks us to reflect, “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?”

When we listen to those fears and passions that can be so easily stirred up by powerful people whose interests are best served by keeping the less powerful up in arms against other less powerful neighbors, we do not receive the blessings we seek. As St. James notes, “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice, But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle … full of mercy and good fruits.” (Jas 3:16-4:3)

Those who call others to live together in peace are often opposed by the powerful, as noted by the writer of Wisdom. “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us… reproaches us for transgressions of the law… Let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness.” Such testing can even lead to the death of the one who works for justice. (Wis 2:12, 17-20)

Notice what happened to leaders of the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Many were beaten, imprisoned, and even killed. But through their patient endurance, things began to change.

Today, children who look different, with ancestors from around the world, can attend class together and be friends. They can work together to find solutions to the challenges they face in daily life. They can go to parties together. They can go fishing or camping together. They can date. They can marry and raise children.

Jesus’ disciples fell into the common human pattern of trying to compete for high position. He had been telling them that he would be killed and would rise from the dead, but what they focused on was something totally different. Who would be the most powerful among themselves?

Teaching them with a clear example, he brought a small child into the group of them. “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Then he went further, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” (Mk 9:30-37)

How we treat our children, what we teach them is critical. Do we teach them to welcome people who have had different experiences and come from other communities? Or do we teach them to fear those who are different? What does that do to our communities, to our nation? What does it do to our world?

The song, “You’ve Got to Be Taught,” from Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical, South Pacific, is a beautiful reminder of the dangers of prejudice based on skin color or national origin. As the song points out, this all begins before children are consciously able to distinguish among people by these accidents of birth – “before you are six, or seven, or eight!” You must learn “to hate all the people your relatives hate. You’ve got to be carefully taught.”

As we look around us today and see the controversies over immigration, access to jobs and health care, support for families who are food-insecure or who have no housing, it’s critical to remember that people don’t deliberately decide that what they want is to leave their homes so they can suffer homelessness and poverty in another land. They don’t leave with the idea of taking jobs from the people in other lands or diminishing those communities to which they are traveling. They leave because they have to go from where they are or be killed. Those who were born here and yet lack the basic necessities also need help and support. They didn’t choose their parents any more than those born into wealth and opportunity did.

When basic needs are met, then people are able to grow and learn. They are able to develop the skills needed to earn a living and provide for their families.

When adults treat others who are from different backgrounds with respect and care, children learn that all are valued and all have dignity.

What do we learn from the children whom Jesus gave us as models? They play with each other. They learn from their families and teachers. They grow to be adults. They are open to receive love and to share it with their peers. As long as we don’t teach them to be afraid of others by the way we act, they will continue to act with wisdom in dealing with those they meet on this journey of life. And how do we teach them to be kind and open to the gifts of others? By the way we model this through our lives as they watch and learn how to behave in their society.

May we as a people remember this lesson – to be like children, open and loving, not focused on who gets the most or who is best. We teach our children to share. We teach them to make friends. We are stronger when we model and teach living love and acceptance than when we teach fear and hate. May we accept each day with the joy and hope of a child who is unafraid of others and who can trust that they too will have their needs met and dreams supported. May we welcome others, including the children in our midst, as we would ourselves hope to be welcomed.

“You’ve got to be taught” – whether to be afraid or to welcome “the stranger” in our midst. Through meeting and accepting “the stranger,” we meet and welcome the Lord who lives in each of us and promises, “Whoever receives one child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

May this be our quest as we go through this week. May we see the face of the Lord in all we meet. Then may we see his loving smile in the response of those we meet.

Readings for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Sep 15, 2024

Faith Without Works? No Way!

It happens sometimes that out of the blue, an insight comes to us. Something we might never have considered, suddenly is seen as the clear explanation of a phenomenon we have noticed. Sometimes it’s a relatively minor thing. “Gee, when I go to bed a bit earlier, I’m not so tired in the morning!” “Wow, Mom doesn’t get mad if I clean out the dishwasher before she has to tell me to do it.”

Once in while in our lives, the insight is more fundamental. “When I am kind to someone rather than angry and vengeful, we can sometimes find common ground and not become enemies.” “If I forgive or overlook a slight, I may discover that another person is really afraid of being hurt by me. Then we can begin to talk and find common interests.”

And then there are the transformational encounters, those that set us on a path we might never have chosen for ourselves and that lead to a totally different life than we ever imagined. That life may be filled with joy. It may also lead to difficulties and sorrow. These encounters are never without consequence. They are life-changing.

Speaking the insight that is received

The prophets, for example, are ordinary people who have heard the Lord’s voice in an unmistakable way calling them to speak out in the face of injustice. They don’t seek this role. They typically try to get out of it. They argue with the Lord about their fitness for the role. But the Lord is persistent and the fire of that voice burns within the prophet until speech bursts forth.

Prophets can be men or women. Some are young and some are old. We know the names of some. Others remain anonymous, with their words being attributed to other more famous folks.

The prophet Isaiah spoke in the years before the Babylonian exile, calling the people and their leaders again and again to faithfulness to the Covenant. Unfortunately, the response was inadequate and Israel was conquered, its leaders and many of the people taken into exile in Babylon. Through the years, disciples and others wrote words of encouragement and prophecy that have also been gathered into the collection we know as the Book of Isaiah.

The readings known as the Servant Songs are from this later add-on to the prophecies of Isaiah. The prophet here tells of his call and its result.

“The Lord God opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.” Physical and verbal abuse were heaped upon the servant by those angered by his words. (It’s safe to use the masculine here, because he speaks of giving his “cheeks to those who plucked my beard!”) Yet the servant remains faithful to God, trusting in the Lord’s help, knowing that he will not be proven wrong in his calls for fidelity to the Covenant. “See, the Lord God is my help; who will prove me wrong?” (Is 50:5-9a)

Who do you say that I am?

Jesus too came with signs and wonders, as well as teachings that were disturbing to those with power and influence in his time. He had heard the voice of his Father and knew that he must speak. The healings were signs of God’s compassion and focus on caring for the needs of the poor and the ill.

Yet who would have expected a carpenter from Nazareth to speak such words and perform such signs? People from his area of Israel were not seen as educated or as exemplars of the faith. He was not one of the priestly class. He was not a teacher of the Law. Yet here he was, speaking as one with authority and calling the people to faithfulness to the Lord.

No one expected that Jesus would go off to the Jordan River to be baptized by John and come back over a month later with a whole new sense of who he was. Most folks remained unchanged outwardly by their experience at the Jordan.

Jesus was touched in a special way in his baptism. He heard the Father’s voice calling him, awakening him to his calling. He took time to let it sink in, spending time alone in the desert praying and testing what he had experienced. He resisted the temptations to use the call for his own benefit and fame. He returned to his home territory and began teaching those who would listen and healing those whose ailments seemed incurable. This arrival of a new prophet was noteworthy and attracted a lot of attention.

One day, he asked his close friends, “Who do people say that I am?” Most folks thought he was a prophet, maybe John the Baptist or Elijah returned from the dead and heralding the coming soon of the Messiah. Then he asked them a more fundamental question: “Who do you say that I am?” This is really a critical question. It’s one we each have to ask ourselves at some point in our lives.

Peter’s answer to this question, “You are the Christ,” was a momentous statement. “The Christ” was the title of the long-awaited one who would restore everything to the way it is supposed to be. At that time, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, was expected to be the one who would restore Israel to a position of power in the world. It was a dramatic and dangerous thing to say. People had been tortured to death for claiming less. The Roman authorities did not hesitate to deal severely with folks making such claims. Jesus knew this and warned his disciples not to speak of it to anyone. Notice, however, that Jesus did not deny the claim.

Jesus knew that being the chosen one was a dangerous role. He knew in the depths of his being that he must take the word of the Lord to Jerusalem and the authorities there. He knew what typically happened to prophets who brought the Lord’s commands to them. He knew he would be risking his life. In fact, he was pretty sure it would lead to his death.

The Gospel of Mark was written within about 40 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In the stories leading up to his final days, we see statements that are based on the insights of the Christian community after the resurrection. Jesus’ statement that he would be killed and rise after three days may be one of those later insights. Regardless of such details, Peter was deeply upset by the idea that his friend would be killed. He tried to get Jesus to back off and not risk going to Jerusalem at all. But Jesus refused the advice. “Get behind me Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Jesus set Peter and those who came later straight. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” It’s not going to be an easy path. There will be opposition to all that discipleship entails. Folks in power will not take kindly to being told their honor and privileges are not signs of their personal superiority. Those who have security and comfortable lifestyles will not want to give up some of what they have so that others who have not been so fortunate can have the basics of survival and dignity. (Mk 8:27-35)

Demonstrating Faith from Works

How exactly are followers of Jesus to live in faith? Is it enough to believe intellectually? Is it OK to say that if people just worked harder they would be able to support themselves and their families? If I offer wishes for peace and a safe life to a person who has no way to experience it or make it happen, have I done what Jesus calls me to do? What risks am I willing to take?

St. James faced some of these issues as they arose in the early community. He asks point blank, “What good its it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” It’s not enough to offer only good wishes. Those who have enough must share with those who do not.

People do not all have the same opportunities. Faith demands a response, a practical response, in which the needs of all are considered. If I claim to have a right to have a roof over my head, food on my table, healthcare for myself and my family, education, safety, and so forth, then I must recognize that others have the same right. We are all children of God. Yet not all have the same opportunities or social capital. So we must share what we have. And when our communities, our cities, our nations get very large, we must set up systems that assure that all have access to these benefits. St. James turns the statement around for the people of his day and for us, “Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.” (Jas 2:14-18) Only our works truly show forth our faith.

These issues of listening to the voice of the Lord and working for social and economic justice have led to struggles for centuries. The Lord has not stopped calling prophets to speak. Many of the great saints have led by their example of service to the poor. Groups of men and women have joined them in the endeavor and continue to do so even today.

In our own times, people continue to hear this call. We debate it on the local, national, and international stages. Some folks get very rich. Others remain very poor. Some take advantage of the misfortune of others. Some step up to try to help. Some stand outside and call for justice. Others work from within, to set up programs and policies to make things more equitable.

As we move through the next weeks and months, facing tremendous national and international challenges, may we be attentive to the call from Jesus, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” Losing one’s life does not always entail physical death. Sometimes it’s a question of sharing what we have.

The Bottom Line?

Faith without good works? No way! They dance together and shine wonderfully, bringing the Kingdom to birth in our times.

Readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Sep 8, 2024

Ephphatha – Be Opened

Two little boys, brothers, went to the local park nearly every day with their Nanny. One spoke Spanish easily with her, since his parents had spoken Spanish with him from the time he was an infant. The other refused to speak Spanish, though he had also heard it regularly as a child. Their Nanny, who was from Mexico, understood enough English that she was able to communicate with both of them.

Why did the second child refuse to speak Spanish? He explained later that he had noticed that children who spoke Spanish at the playground were treated with less respect and friendship than those who spoke English. Although his complexion was darker than his brother’s, by refusing to speak Spanish publicly, he avoided awaking the prejudice of others in the park.

Both boys learned Spanish in elementary school and high school. Both speak Spanish well today. The second one even did research in archives in Spain for his Senior thesis in history from a prestigious American university. But they have both felt the sting of the prejudice that assumes their Latin heritage makes their hard work and successes suspect.

Trusting in Unsettled Times

Throughout history, as peoples have moved from one location to another, those who are not members of the local community and are newly arrived have been seen as threats. This is not without reason in many historical instances, as newcomers so often have invaded and taken over lands that have belonged to others. Even when the newcomers are simply seeking refuge from famine or war or illness in their homelands, they are often seen as a threat. We see it all too clearly in our country today. We have seen it before. It is never a positive trait or characteristic of a people who say they trust in the Lord. It is, instead, a sign of lack of trust, courage, and faith in the power of God to provide for all.

In ancient Israel, this same phenomenon was seen. When times were changing, other nations invading, threats of loss or exile at hand, people were quite reasonably distressed. The Hebrew word we translate as frightened meant to be thinking fast, as in panicked. For Greek translators, the word had the connotation of being downcast or disheartened. Either way, Isaiah tells us the Lord says, “Be strong, fear not!” God is coming to save the people. The eyes of the blind will be opened. Deaf ears will hear. Mute tongues will speak. Rivers and streams will flow in deserts and dry grasslands, bringing abundance of water to the thirsty. All will be well. (Is 35:4-7a

The psalmist sings of the works of the Lord, bringing justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, sight to the blind, protection for strangers. The works of the Lord are seen in the way those who are in need are helped. (Ps 146)

Judging By Appearance

Economic inequality is another issue with ancient roots. We see it today as people loudly proclaim their beliefs/fears that newcomers will take away their jobs and hurt them personally. Yet the reality is that without the energy and willingness to work of new arrivals, many services would not be available in our communities. Our immigrant ancestors came with the same determination to give all they had to make a life here and give back to the country that had given them refuge.

St. James chided early Christian communities in which those with wealth were more enthusiastically welcomed than those who were poor. When this happens, “have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?” He tells his community and, through the centuries, he also reminds us, God has chosen “those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom…” (Jas 2:1-5)

Those who minister in immigrant and low-income communities will testify that this is true yet today. There is a tremendous depth of faith, hope, and determination to contribute to the new land in which they are living and working. And such statements of hope are typically concluded with the phrase, “Si Dios quiere.” If God so wills it.

Be Opened

Jesus was presented with a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. The people who brought him to Jesus cared about him and asked Jesus to heal their friend.

Jesus led the man away from the crowd. Then he touched the man’s ears. He spit on his finger and touched the man’s tongue. (Spittle was believed to have healing properties in Jesus’ time.) He looked up to heaven, groaned (a prayer?) and said, “Ephphatha.” This Aramaic word was used in telling of this event in the Gospel of Mark, which was written in Greek. It means, “be opened.”

Immediately the man’s ears were opened so he could hear and his speech impediment was taken away. His ears and tongue were opened and freed.

Jesus told the man and his friends not to tell anyone, but who could keep such an amazing gift quiet? People who heard about it were astonished and spoke of the wonder they had witnessed: “He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (Mk 7:31-37)

When we are baptized, a part of the ritual includes the blessing of the ears and mouth of the newly baptized. The prayer and hope in this ritual is that the new Christian will hear the Gospel and share it with others, just as the man healed so many centuries ago did.

Ephphatha – Do we hear today?

As we move through the days and weeks to come, how will we hear the Lord’s voice in our world, in the people we meet and those we serve? Will we see the Lord ‘s love for those who are maybe a bit different? Will we see the Lord in those whose speech is accented or who don’t speak English easily or at all? Will we support access to health care for those who can’t afford to pay full price? Will we help those who earn minimum wage to be able to feed their families and provide a home for their children?

How will we welcome the immigrant, the stranger, the old, the young, the deaf, and the mute?

Will we hear the Lord’s word? He speaks to us today. “Ephphatha – Be Opened. Hear my voice and see me present in those you meet each day.”

Readings for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Sep 1, 2024

No More and No Less – Just Right

Many years ago, when my children were in early elementary school, there was a program they enjoyed watching with their father. I think it was on NPR and I don’t remember its name. But one phrase repeated frequently during the program has remained with us to this day: “Measure carefully!”

The program featured a chef at a Western ranch. He used local ingredients and prepared what looked like delicious meals. It was not a competition like so many we see today, just the preparation of foods for guests at the ranch featuring ingredients more often seen as Western, including chilies.

The chef would get out a bowl as he explained what he was going to prepare. Then he would begin assembling the ingredients. One after another, he tossed them into the bowl and mixed them together. The amount of some things was clear – one egg, two carrots. But when it came to others, although he had a recipe, everything was approximate. As he put in a handful or two of flour, he would say, “Measure carefully.” As he shook the salt out of the shaker into the bowl, again, “Measure carefully.” The same went for spices such as red chili or coriander, and liquids. He might use a measuring cup, but it was far from an exact science in his kitchen. The amazing thing was that everything seemed to come out tasting good. At least the folks to whom the dishes were served always praised them!

Today as we cook, in our own homes or together, it’s not uncommon for someone to remark as they add a “glug of milk” or a “pinch of salt” or a “dash of chili” to the dish, “Measure carefully!”

Statutes and Decrees that are Just

As Moses neared the end of his life, he spoke to the people about their way of life and the commandments they had received from the Lord to govern their lives. The commandments dealt with many different facets of life, far more than the simple Ten Commandments which so many of us assume is the total sum of the Law. Ways of living, including what kinds of food could be eaten, how it was to be prepared, what rules of cleanliness applied in daily life, how to deal with illness and people who were ill, how strangers were to be treated, and much, much more were spelled out in the Law.

Moses told the people that they needed to observe the guidelines and rules of the Law if they were to enter into the Promised Land and take possession of it. The land was, in fact, already filled with other peoples who would not be happy to give it up. But the Lord would give it to them, provided they observed his commandments. They were to follow the commandments as received.

In following the commandments, the people would demonstrate to all the nations their wisdom and intelligence. Seeing this, the peoples of other nations would recognize the greatness of the Lord who had chosen them as his own. “You shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.” Seeing their life of obedience to the law, observers would know that no other nation “has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law…” or has a God so truly great and close to them in daily life. (Dt 4:1-2, 6-8)

The story of the Exodus and the Covenant, with the Law that laid out its terms, were written down long after the times in which they were reported to have happened. The book of Deuteronomy, for example, was composed many centuries after the Israelites had settled in the Promised Land. In those many years, the traditions and customs described in the book had developed and been influenced by those of surrounding peoples. The essentials of the relationship with God were unchanged. The Covenant that bound them together was still foundational. But many years of dealing with events that might not have been foreseen originally would have been included in the texts.

We see similar things in our lives today. A law is written and signed, but just what the day-to-day implications of that particular rule are sometimes takes a while to figure out. In some cases, entire governmental agencies are set up to administer the laws regarding a particular facet of our common life and to develop the specific details and rules for keeping everyone safe.

Both recipes and laws can have areas that are not always crystal clear in their implementation. Getting to a balance between too much and too little, meeting the intention of the original vision, can be a challenge.

Ritual Cleanliness and Purity

By the time of Jesus, the Law was very complicated. Its requirements were complex. Ritual purity was fundamental in daily life. Washing of hands in a ritually determined way before eating or when returning from the marketplace, the ritual purification of equipment used for cooking and eating or beds for sleeping, the restrictions on foods that could be eaten and how they were to be prepared – all were defined as part of the Law. The purity laws were based on understandings of how things are supposed to be, based on observation of how most things of a certain type are. For example, pigs are unclean because they do not chew their cud as other animals with cloven hooves do. A characteristic of their nature makes them ritually unclean – not a member of the club.

Jesus’ disciples, we are told, did not always cleanse their hands ritually before eating. When a group of Pharisees came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus, they noticed this behavior and confronted him. “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”

Jesus didn’t try to explain why the ritual actions required by the purity code were not being followed. Instead, he quoted Isaiah’s condemnation of those whose outward behaviors are in conformity with what is legally required, but whose hearts are intent on something totally different. Human traditions and practices are not necessarily equivalent to God’s commandments. Unnecessary burdens have been added to the law of God.

Rather than require his disciples to change their approach and put ritual purity first, Jesus called the crowd and made his position clear. “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” (Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Human traditions can develop that add extra burdens which get in the way of living out the Covenant, living in close relationship with God.

Doers of the Word

St. James speaks of gifts, specifically those given by God. “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” God’s first gift is to give us life through the word of truth, a sharing in the life of Christ, the Word.

We who have received the word are to be doers, not simply hearers. If we are to be pure before God, unstained by the world, our response to the gift must be to take practical steps to help the afflicted, to do the works of justice. James speaks specifically about widows and orphans, the two groups of people in his time who had no one that would step up and protect or support them. Without a husband or a father for protection and support, they were the poorest of the poor and the most likely to be abused. (Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)

This imperative, this requirement of the Law, and the results of being doers of justice and mercy is key to a life of faith. Psalm 15 asks, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain?” The response is that those who walk blamelessly and do justice “will never be disturbed.” They are the ones who live in the covenant with the Lord.

We are called to be doers of the word, the word of justice and truth from the Father. We don’t have a recipe for every situation. We can’t fix the injustices that leave some folks needing to flee their homes and travel to a new place. We can’t personally feed every child or adult who has no income. We can’t declare peace on earth and have all wars and injustice stop.

But we can reach out in our own communities. We can smile at people we meet on the street as we wait for their dog to finish sniffing a fence so they can walk on their way. We can share the extra food from our gardens. We can help a child learn to read. We can help find work and food for refugees or low-income members of our communities. We can go the extra mile and accompany those who are ill or dying or mourning the loss of a loved one.

The limitations that our cultures and traditions put on reaching out in service are not always binding. Sometimes we need to remember that recipes don’t have to be followed as exactly as the mixing of a medication would require. Sometimes the social expectations with which we grew up need to be ignored or modified. Sometimes, we need to “Measure carefully” and toss in our hearts and our very being as we live the Covenant with our God. Then we will find that what results is just right. No more and no less.

Readings for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Aug 25, 2024

Go Forward, Go Backward, or Stay Put

A train set can provide hours of entertainment for children and adults alike. A basic set allows the train to go around and around in circles or ovals. With a few specialty pieces, it’s possible to set up multiple paths. With enough of these specialty pieces, the trains can go straight ahead, turn around and go backwards, or just go in small little circles, never actually getting anywhere else.

As children grow older, and more parts are added to the set, the sky is the limit (as well as the floor space) regarding how complex the creation can become. There are tunnels, overpasses, buildings, passengers, even animals that can be in the pastures or villages through which the train passes. As the child’s vision expands, hours are spent dreaming and creating the countryside through which the train passes.

As adults, most of us don’t design transportation systems, or bridges, or buildings, or spacecraft. But that does not mean we have no reason or opportunity to dream and create a future for ourselves and our families.

Decision times come in various disguises.

Transitional Times for a People

What do we do in times of transition? Where do we send our trains? Do we go forward into new dreams and possibilities? Do we look longingly at the way things used to be – what some call “the Good Old Days?” Do we simply try to keep things just the way they are, with no major changes?

These are questions that people have had to answer for themselves for thousands of years.

The Book of Joshua was written long after the events which it describes. Most scholars agree that there is no good way to say when they occurred or even if they did in the way described. Yet the story is told to describe a relationship between God and the Hebrew people after they left Egypt and as they moved into the land of Palestine.

It was a bloody history of conquest, as were most such events in the ancient world. Peoples moved into lands occupied by others and killed off most of the original inhabitants. Genocide is not a new phenomenon in the world.

Following the death of Moses, Joshua led the people across the Jordan River and into the land of Caanan. One by one, the tribal peoples living there were conquered and their lands assigned to the twelve tribes of Israel. As long as the people lived in compliance with the Covenant, all went well with the conquest and settlement of the land. When they did not, things went badly.

As Joshua neared the end of his life, he called the leaders of all the tribes together at Shechem. He set out the possible options for them going forward once he had reached the end of his life and leadership time.

“If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve.” This was the first option, though phrased in a negative format. Option 1 = Move forward with the Lord.

“… the gods your fathers served beyond the River…” – those from the days before Abraham moved from Ur in Mesopotamia in response to the Lord’s call. Option 2 = Go back to the very beginning.

“… or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.” Option 3 = Stay put and don’t upset things as they are!

Joshua then added his own decision for his family: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” His decision was to move forward.

Blessedly for the rest of us who are part of the tradition of the three great Abrahamic religions, the leaders of the people agreed that they and their communities would also serve the Lord, “for he is our God.” (Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b)

Relationships in New Perspectives

St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the relationship of Christ and the church, the community of believers. In his time, women were not treated as equals to the men in their families. They were part of their father’s family until they were married, at which time they became part of their husband’s family. They did not have any independence or freedom to make their own decisions about most things. Their ability to move about freely was highly limited and their survival depended on the good will of the men.

Within the Christian community, however, women received more respect and had more freedom. The women who traveled with Jesus were respected by the community of disciples. A woman was the first to testify to having seen Jesus after the resurrection. Women were worthy of respect.

Paul spoke of the relationship of Christ and the church in terms of marriage. Christ is head of the church and its savior. Christ loves the church and gave himself to make us holy. The relationship between Christ and the church is like that of a husband and wife. Each is to love the other. He speaks of women as subordinate to their husbands, but that is not to be understood as mandatory in any way for today’s relationships. He balanced his statement about women with the totally revolutionary statement that men are to love their wives and care for them as they do their own bodies. This was absolutely new and unexpected. (Eph 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32)

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the notion of subordination of women is totally absent.

“Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: “It is not good that the man should be alone.” The woman, “flesh of his flesh,” his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a “helpmate”; she thus represents God from whom comes our help.” (CCC 1605)

So, go forward – Men and women as equals and helpers to each other?
Go backward – Men as the ones who decide everything for women and control their activities?
Stay put – Recognize that women have rights, but limit those rights and opportunities to what they have now?

Deepening Relationships in Faith

Jesus didn’t leave his claims about his body being real food and his blood real drink as optional statements intended to get folks talking about him or following him. He was absolutely serious about what he was saying. He knew the idea was deeply troubling to many, so he took the question to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” He clarified his statements, noting that “It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail,” but the notion of life after death was not universally accepted in the Jewish community of his day. His statements seemed like those of a madman, unless he truly was the person he was claiming to be: Son of the Lord God, the One who was to come.

Most of the people who had come to see him, hoping for more healings or meals, left him after these statements. It was just too much to accept. We don’t eat human flesh and we don’t drink or eat blood at all, would be their reaction. Eating the blood of an animal was forbidden by the law of Moses. Meat was always treated to remove blood before it was pure enough to consume.

Blessedly for us, when Jesus asked Peter and the others if they too would leave, Peter gave his statement of faith that we share: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe … that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6:60-69)

Only two options this time. Walk away – this is all too much and not possibly true – Go back!

Remain and move forward in faith that this man is really the Holy One of God who gives his flesh and blood as food for the life of the world – Go forward!

Decisions today

As so often happens, we come to times of decision in our lives today too.

Will we retreat in fear from those we don’t know or understand? Will we put up walls of silence or mockery, or restricted access to the necessities of life, or bricks? Will we demonize those whose ways we don’t understand?

Will we close our eyes and just wish it would all go away already? What if we just sit this one out? Nothing ever changes, why bother?

Or will we choose to move forward, following our Lord in service to the poor, to refugees, to the lonely, the sick, the dying, the little ones of God? Giving of ourselves and sharing the gifts we have? Trusting that all will work out all right if we all work and share together?

Just as in the days of Joshua, Paul, and Jesus, we have decisions to make for ourselves, our families, and our world. Will we be like children who send the trains in circles around and around? Or will we be like those who send them cycling back again and again to other simpler areas of the world they have created with their tracks? Or will we be like those who lay the tracks so that the trains can go forward in many ways, taking direct routes or “scenic” routes along the way to their destination?

My Great-grandmother was known to remark that “the good old days weren’t so good!” It’s a perspective worth remembering as we move through the days and weeks to come. She grew up in a time of travel by horses and carts, lived through two World Wars, as well as Korea and Vietnam, saw the moon landing, and watched her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren grow up in a world far different from the one into which she was born. “The Good Old Days weren’t so good,” was her advice.

Time goes forward. So do we. How will we lay out the tracks for our journey now?

Readings for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Aug 18, 2024

The Living Bread from Heaven

One morning, a very hungry toddler sat down to eat her breakfast. One of her favorite foods was applesauce, home-made from wonderfully sweet apples. She was proud of her growing skill with a spoon and ate most of the applesauce using her spoon. But then the bottom of the bowl appeared. It became more and more difficult to scoop out the applesauce with her spoon, but there was more left to enjoy. Not one to waste a bite of something as wonderful as that applesauce, she held her spoon in one hand and lifted the bowl to her mouth with the other, happily slurping down the remainder of her applesauce.

We humans eat lots of different kinds of food. Some are special treats. Others are things we have been told are “good for us,” though we may not particularly like them. Most things we don’t really think much about at all. They are simply part of our everyday lives. We eat because we are hungry. We eat because we enjoy the food. We eat because those around us are eating and we enjoy the social nature of the experience. We eat because if we didn’t, we would not survive. For most of us, the latter is not our primary reason for eating.

The foods we eat are transformed by our bodies into the elements needed for us to grow and to live our lives. We must have the basic building blocks in order to continue. Energy needed for life comes from the food we eat. Without it, we would die. Even with food, the time comes in each person’s life in which we die. Food as we know it is not sufficient to maintain life forever. And after we die, our bodies return to the earth and recycle back to basic elements that can be reused by another organism.

Our toddler is part of a long-standing cycle of food and its uses.

Given the centrality of food in human life, and its social nature as well, it’s not surprising that when folks think about an afterlife, or a supernatural (or transnatural) world, they often include imagery of eating. Banquets are part of the mythologies of peoples around the world. The ancient Hebrews and Christians were no exceptions.

Wisdom’s banquet

Wisdom, a highly valued quality and indicator of maturity, is personified in the Hebrew scriptures. Wisdom was with God from the beginning, present at the creation of the world. Wisdom continues to act in the world and in our lives to the present day. Wisdom is perceived as feminine. For Christians, the Holy Spirit is identified as the Spirit of Wisdom, an integral aspect of the ever-dancing, swirling Trinity of Love, our God.

In the book of Proverbs, we find Wisdom hosting a banquet at the home she has built. Proverbs presents many sayings and examples of what is required of those preparing for service in government – those who will serve in the King’s court. Manners, codes of behavior, rules of civility – all are spelled out in this book. By the ninth chapter, those ready to serve, those who have matured sufficiently, are invited to Wisdom’s banquet. However, not only those who have met the expectations of their society are invited. She invites those who lack understanding, those who might not be seen as clever: “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!” Those who accept the invitation, will live and grow in understanding. This food is not physical food. It has a different purpose and leads to a different conclusion. It leads to maturity in thought and action. (Prv 9:1-6)

Physical food for a Spiritual outcome

The crowds around Jesus after he had fed so many in the wilderness were totally uncomprehending when he explained that he had not come into the world to provide miraculous quantities of fish and bread for them. On the contrary, he himself was actually living bread from heaven. His own flesh would be the food that would bring life to the world.

The claim was not well-received. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

But Jesus didn’t back down. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

Then Jesus shifted the conversation quite dramatically. He linked the eating of his body and blood to eternal life. “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

How? Why? What?

“Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.”

We have moved into an entirely new realm. This is not normal food. The life about which he is speaking is not the normal human life here on Earth that we all experience. This is something totally different. Because the life of the Father flows through Jesus, a share in his body and blood is a sharing in the life of the Father. The body and blood of which he speaks are not the human, physical body we typically recognize as we interact with each other, rub the sleep out of our eyes in the morning, and enjoy our morning applesauce!

It was not until Jesus’ final supper with his friends before his death that it became clear what form that food and drink which are his body and blood actually would take. When he blessed and shared the final loaf of unleavened bread at his last Seder and the cup of wine after the meal has been eaten, the Cup of Thanksgiving, then gave them to his disciples, and explained that these were the food of the New Covenant, his body the bread broken and shared and the wine his blood, that of the sacrificial lamb, that his earlier words began to make sense. Until then, few who heard his words believed him anything more than a madman.

Because the life of the Father is shared with the Son, and we are invited to share in that life as we eat the bread and drink the wine that have been blessed and changed – his body and blood – we can share in their eternal life. This food leads and strengthens us for the journey of transformation and growth in maturity to the eternal table of the Lord. (Jn 6:51-58)

A New Way of Living

Living as children of God, sisters and brothers of Jesus and of each other, Followers of the Way, proved to be challenging, especially as the Good News broke down the barriers between the Jewish people and the Gentiles (all the rest of us). How does one live as a wise person rather than a foolish one? How does one know what the will of the Lord is? What traditions are to be followed? What new ways will enter our everyday activities?

St. Paul cautioned the people of Ephesus that there are many ways in which people can stray from the will of the Lord, many ways to act foolishly. The behavior which is not foolish is that which is filled with the Spirit. Lady Wisdom’s banquet hall, though not mentioned by St. Paul, welcomes those who seek her, with prayer, hymns, singing to the Lord, and giving thanks at all times.

The giving of thanks is not to be limited to times when things are going well. Paul says, “giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.” Things don’t always go well, in terms of our human evaluation of them, but God brings good out of all things. Our sharing in divine life did not and does not exclude all suffering. We share in the whole life of Jesus in our communities and our everyday activities.

As we go through our days this week, enjoying our applesauce eaten by spoon or slurped out of our bowls, spending time at work and school, finding companionship with our families and friends, and sharing in the Bread of Life, the Body and Blood of our Lord, may we give thanks for all we have received and for the Spirit of Wisdom who shares in and rejoices in our lives.

Readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Aug 11, 2024

Be Imitators of God and Live in Love

“Live in love.”

Three simple words, but such a challenge they offer.

We live in families, communities, regions, and nations that are not always in complete agreement about what is important in life. In fact, there are huge and seemingly irreconcilable differences among them. Even within families we have differences. How are people to behave? Are there different standards of behavior for men compared with women? What about people who are non-binary – how do we understand and deal with this kind of diversity? Where do children fit into the picture? What do we expect of them and how do we treat them? What are our responsibilities to each other and to our environment? How do we share the land? What do we eat? How do we learn what we need to know as adults? How do we make a living? How do we choose our leaders? What happens after we die?

So many essential and fundamental questions that must be addressed if people are to live without conflict.

One of the foundational rules (and jokes) in Anthropology is NEVER to use words such as never or always to describe human behavior. Experienced anthropologists joke that when they get together socially or professionally and one among them declares that people all over the world always do X, Y, or Z, someone will respond, “But among the people of (insert name of culture) whom I studied, they do W.”

One universal, so far as I know, is that people need nourishment of some sort in order to live. That nourishment comes in many different forms, but it is essential.

Elijah received bread and water

The prophet Elijah was fleeing for his life. The king was absolutely furious with him for having killed the prophets of Ba’al who had been leading the Hebrew people in worship of this god of another people. Elijah was ready to give up and die. He asked the Lord for death, lay down, and went to sleep. An angel, a messenger from the Lord, woke him up and ordered him to eat and drink. A simple loaf of bread (a hearth cake) and a jug of water were there by his head. He ate the bread and drank the water, then went back to sleep. But the Lord wasn’t finished with him. The angel came again and ordered him to get up and eat. The journey would be too long if he didn’t eat first! Elijah obeyed, the began walking again, clear to the mountain of God, Horeb (aka Mt. Sinai). (1 Kgs 19:4-8)

As an aside, a friend who is a Deacon and young enough to have grown up with Pop Tarts as a breakfast treat, noted that in our day, the angel might have come with a Pop Tart for Elijah to eat. (Nice image, Deacon Joe!)

Whether a hearth cake or a Pop Tart, the Lord provided food for Elijah’s journey. The Lord had work for him to do and knew he would need support in the form of food.

Jesus offered himself

Jesus too knew that we who follow him will need food. He fed the crowd with a few loaves and fish. People flocked to him for more. But they were uncomfortable with what he was telling them about himself. He’s Joseph and Mary’s son. We know him. What does he mean saying, “I have come down from heaven!” We all know that’s not possible.

But Jesus wasn’t deterred. “Stop murmuring among yourselves.” The Father is the one in charge. The Father teaches all and those who listen will find Jesus, the one who can show them the Father. Belief results in eternal life. What sustains that life? The bread of life, the bread given by God, Jesus himself who is that bread.

Jesus moved the conversation and the call from the practical, pragmatic question of physical strength and survival to a much broader form of life. This broader life, a life as a child of God in this earthly world, requires a different type of food than a simple hearth cake or Pop Tart. It is not as obvious as going to the market to buy food for the day for oneself and one’s family. It is not food that we can get for ourselves. In the desert the people received manna from heaven. We too need something more than ordinary food, even tasty treats. We need strength and nourishment for living life on a spiritual level too. Regular food is important, but more is needed. (Jn 6:41-51)

Food for living in love

St. Paul spoke of the challenge of living in the new spiritual realm of which Jesus spoke. Through baptism, Christians have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, chosen for redemption through Christ’s sacrifice. This new life requires setting aside behaviors such as “bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling” others. There is no room for these. They are not food for imitators of God, sharers in the life of Christ. Christians must be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Through our imitation of God, as beloved children of God, we live in love. In this, we share in Christ’s life and sacrifice. He becomes our food. (Eph 4:30-5:2)

Is this limited to any particular culture? Is it bound by any human rules? Not really. Jesus comes and offers himself as food for all of us. We receive this food and are strengthened to be imitators of God and live in love as God’s children. Nourishment offered and received, given to all freely.

As we move into this coming week, let’s be aware of the gifts we all receive from our Father and the many ways we are nourished by those gifts. Let’s set side anger, judgements, jumping to conclusions, belittling others and all those things that make life miserable for ourselves and others. Let’s instead look with compassion on others who might not have the same opportunities we have had. Let’s forgive those who have offended us. Let’s work together to build a better life for all.

We have received the gift of the bread of life, living bread, available to all who seek it. May it always be the food for our journey as imitators of God, living in love.

Readings for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Aug 3, 2024

Food that Endures for Eternal Life

Food. A simple word, but oh how many forms the reality it names can take!

All living things require something to nourish them and keep them alive, making it possible for them to reproduce and pass life on to the next generation. Simple single-celled beings still must grow and divide. Their genetic material is duplicated and passed on to the next generation. As life grew more complex, and the original single-celled creatures transformed into multi-celled ones, nourishment continued to be needed. Some things were able to produce their own food. Some had to get nourishment by consuming others. Some, such as the cells which became mitochondria, found ways to live and reproduce by becoming permanent residents of others, playing central roles in their ability to live and reproduce. Many, many variations eventually resulted in the wonders of the world we experience today.

Among humans, a time comes in the life of each infant in which the mother’s milk, or its substitute, is no longer deemed sufficient by the child. Babies notice that others are eating. They see the companionship of family at mealtimes. They experience the peace and happiness of their families as they share a meal, laughing and talking as they eat. And then one day, sitting in the lap of a parent or other family member, they reach out for the food that is being eaten. They draw the hand holding the food towards themselves and the food into their mouths. They make a fuss if they are not being fed. They want to be part of the community, one of those sharing in the meal. They still need and want the milk that sustained them from birth, but that is no longer enough. They are ready for the next step, for the nourishment that comes with eating together in community, in family.

Where is food to be found?

For people who must travel, the question of where food will be found on the journey must always be addressed. Some areas are rich with food, both plant and animal in origin. Others are places of scarcity, deserts. Food is difficult to find and not always obvious to those new to the area.

Not long after the Hebrew people left Egypt in the Exodus, they discovered that traveling through a desert was not a picnic! It had been scary and exciting and an adventure during the first week or so, as they were chased by Pharoah’s army, crossed the sea on dry land, and then continued on into the land ahead of them. But soon any food they had was gone and food became scarce. They couldn’t return to Egypt, but they had always had food there. True, they had been badly treated and forced to work as slaves, but at least they had food… Egypt had plenty of food for all.

Complaints began to arise among the people. “Do you remember how good the bread was?” “Who could have guessed what was happening as we ate that last meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and herbs!” “Will we ever have enough to eat again?” “Why did we ever think Moses and Aaron knew what they were talking about?” “We should go back to Egypt!” Moses, Aaron, “… you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!”

The Lord heard their complaints and acted. “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you… In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”

Quail appeared every evening for the people to eat. In the morning, flakes fell from the sky. They had no idea what those were and called them “what’s-the-stuff,” (manna). This was the bread from heaven they were to eat. The quail and manna sustained them on their long journey through the desert. A gift from God, bread to eat. (Ex 16:2-4, 12-15)

Centuries later, Jesus fed a very large crowd who had come out to a deserted area to hear him teach. He had just a few small loaves of bread and a few fish. He blessed them, broke them, and shared them with the people there. All were fed and twelve baskets of left-overs were collected. The people wanted to make him a king. He and his friends slipped away in the evening. The next day, people found him again in Capernaum. “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Now he was called Rabbi, a term of honor.

Jesus was not fooled. “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Jesus had something better in mind. “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” And what food is this? The food that endures is that “which the Son of Man will give you.” Why? Because God is giving it to us through Jesus. The bread of God is the source of life for the world. Who is the bread of God? Jesus himself. “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (Jn 6:24-35)

More than ordinary food

Food for eternal life. A life different from the everyday ordinary lives of men and women in the world before the coming of Jesus. A life in which we move from looking out for ourselves first and others later. A life in which we live in God’s way, as a community caring for each other. New people, new life, new future. (Eph 4:17, 20-24)

In many ways, moving into the life of God’s family is a lot like a baby reaching out for food with the family. There’s something more to be experienced, something more to share, something more to grow into. God’s food is so much more than the ordinary. Food for eternal life, food that brings goodness into everyday life. A food that feeds rich and poor, young and old, men and women, citizens and non-citizens, all of God’s creatures, large and small.

The love of God, shared with us through Jesus, food that endures for eternal life. Ready for all of us to share.

Readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Jul 28, 2024

Just In Time With God

The family baby was around three when a flea infestation took over the house. Her mother vacuumed the entire house at least twice a day in an effort to get the fleas under control. But every time the little girl walked through the house, her sleepers were quickly covered with fleas again.

This had been going on for many days when one morning, the 20+ year-old vacuum wheezed its last. Funds were scarce that month and the family still had a hand vacuum. The woman was about to get it out and start in on the rug, on hands and knees, when a relatively new friend knocked on the door and let himself in. His first words astounded her, “You all don’t know anyone who needs a new vacuum, do you?” Totally unexpectedly, as the result of some sad events in his life, he was no longer going to need his nearly new water vacuum.

It was such an incredible gift and the timing could not have been more perfect. Within a few days, the flea problem was under control. That vacuum was truly a gift both from their friend and from God. An early example of what I’ve come to call, God’s Just-In-Time Financing!

In both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, we hear stories of the ways God provides for the people in unexpected and seemingly impossible ways. A large crowd had gathered out in the countryside, away from the markets and inns of the small local towns. The prophet had been speaking and people listened to the Lord’s words which he spoke to them, entranced with the message. As time went slipping by, mealtime approached. A man approached the prophet with twenty barley loaves and “fresh grain in the ear.” The prophet told his servant to give this food to the people to eat. It was nowhere nearly enough to feed the one hundred or so people in the crowd, but the prophet insisted. The food was distributed and all ate their fill. There was even food left over!

Who was the prophet? Elisha. Hundreds of years before the coming of Jesus, Elisha trusted that God would provide for the people – and it happened. He didn’t claim that he had miraculously created enough food. He gave the credit to God. It didn’t matter how the Lord managed such a feat. There was precedent. Food falling from the sky as the manna did in the desert. Birds appearing where they could be caught and eaten. Or people sharing what they had so all might eat. The How of it didn’t matter. It was the When of it that did. Just in time. (2 Kgs 4:42-44)

Many years later, when Jesus and the disciples sailed across the Sea of Galilee to get a break from ministry, the people traveled by land and got there ahead of them. All four Evangelists tell us about the events of that afternoon.

The time passed quickly and it was getting to be time for all to eat. Jesus asked his disciples what they would do to feed the people. All they could offer was to send the people home or to the local towns to buy their own meals. Then, as mealtime approached, a child offered his own meal of five barley loaves and two fish to share. The disciples scoffed when Jesus accepted the gift offered by the child. But Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in the grassy field and distribute the food to them. There were 5,000 men present – not counting the women and children. It was a huge group!

This day was something of a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. He had been teaching and healing, but the number of people healed was small in comparison with the number touched by the sharing of food that afternoon. Now a large number of people at once were touched by the gift he brought – trust in God and a willingness to share the power of love with all. Food was not expected, but God provided, just in time that day, through Jesus. Now they wondered, when would Jesus do it again? Was he the prophet who was to come? (Jn 6:1-15)

St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the way they were called to live with each other in trust of God. Humility, gentleness, and patience are to be hallmarks and the keys to maintaining unity. The community is to remain one in spirit, just as God is One. All share in the one faith, one baptism, and one Lord. (Eph 4:1-6)

We never know when the Lord’s Just-in-time will appear. Sometimes what we need appears. Sometimes it’s something else that shows up, rather than what we thought we really needed. But “the hand of the Lord” is active and present each day of our lives. Our job is to open our eyes to see it and remember to ask sincerely, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

This week, may we keep our eyes open to all the ways God provides for us. And may we be part of God’s team of helpers who reach out to provide kindness and support to those in special need of the Just-in-time touch of the Lord.

Readings for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Jul 21, 2024

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

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Jul 14, 2024

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

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Jul 7, 2024

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

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Jun 30, 2024

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

Posted by Kathleen Brewer de Pozos, PhD on Jun 23, 2024

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