Facts matter.....

I can’t get the words “ever ancient, ever new” out of my head today.  Or the newest catch phrase in our political lexicon "facts matter".  I have been reading—or at least hearing—Scripture my entire life, either on my own or when I attend Mass. Today’s first reading for mass reminds me that no matter how much I think I know about the Bible, I learn something new every single time I read it.  Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit’s way of keeping me filled with a wonder of and a hunger for God’s Word.  Maybe it’s because I have a lot more time to read and think about every word or phrase that I read, now that I’m retired.  I don’t exactly know why, but one would think that after 65 years I would be able to tell the story of Noah’s ark to my children and grandchildren accurately.  After contemplating today’s first reading, apparently not.

  

Every children’s book I have ever seen or read to my kids or grandkids says that the animals went onto the ark “two by two”, so Noah took two of every kind of animal into the ark, right? Not exactly. The Bible states, “Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth” (Genesis 7:2–3).

How have I missed that my whole life after reading the actual Bible passage (or hearing it at mass) at least a thousand times?  Not only the number of creatures that were saved on the ark, but the types of creatures that were destroyed! 

“So the LORD said: ‘I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them.’”

There is no mention of the fish or shellfish that live in the oceans being destroyed in the flood.  Only the men, beasts, ‘creeping things’, and the birds of the air.  I guess fish could be included in the term ‘creeping things’, but then why the phrase “so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth every moving creature that I have made.”?

I know.  The Bible is not meant to be read as a literal history of the world.  I’m just pointing out that I can be a lot better at paying attention to what I read and hear from now on.  Do I give my complete attention to my family, friends, or others that I should, and act accordingly?  Or do I skip over some important details, to make it easier to move on without much thought or effort on my part? And what of my obligations to the greater society and decisions I arrive at when participating in the public debate?  Do I pick and choose which facts to look at, or do I look for the whole Truth in what is being presented to me, then make an informed decision?  When examining my conscience at the end of the day, do I look a look at the sum of my decisions and actions and take responsibility for my shortcomings, or do I try to justify my poor performance in the eyes of God?

It’s funny how a simple sentence in the Bible can get me to think about my sins and how sorry I make God for making me, but also how great and merciful He is by sending His Son to save me from myself.

Why am I still hungry?

I love food, especially good food. Especially good Italian or Mexican food. These days, almost everyone shares lovely photos of food with their friends. However, no matter how good or interesting the food is, we are never satisfied.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying the search for good food, but it highlights our hearts' desire for something more fulfilling, something that cannot be satisfied by food alone.

As Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading: "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for 3 days and have nothing to eat" (Mark 8:2). His heart is also moved with pity for us, as we have been with Him for so long, yet we are still so hungry -- searching the world for ways to satisfy our hunger, be it through success, power, money, relationships, lustful desires, food, entertainment, travels, social media, etc.

Just like Adam and Eve in today’s Old Testament reading (Genesis 3:19-24), we have been tempted by the devil with the false promise that we will be satisfied when we eat the fruits of this world; yet every time we think we have satisfied a certain craving or desire, we find our hearts still yearning for more. More temptations will continue to lure us further -- many of which distract us from spending time with God, bringing us further and further away from Him, and sometimes even hiding from Him.

The truth is, God is the One for whom we are seeking and yearning. It is only in God that we are truly satisfied. Only in God do we find the truth and happiness we never stop searching for, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to Himself.

Jesus gently reminds us in Matthew 4:4 that the bread we keep seeking for in the world can never satisfy our hunger. Instead, He offers us Himself, the Bread of Life who came down from Heaven. This is Whom we ultimately yearn for and Whom we can consume and be satisfied with at every Catholic Mass. He is also the Word of God satisfying our hunger for truth and happiness when we listen to Him speak to us and comfort us. Jesus calls to us: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Mr. Steve--Religion Teacher?

Years ago (sometime in the mid-eighties, I think), Sister Enza asked me to teach CCD to St. Luke’s first graders on Saturdays. I still can’t figure out why she asked me.  Maybe it was because I provided the whole school with candy canes at Christmas time.  I worked at Thrifty Drug and got a discount.  My cost was 79 cents for a box of 50.  I would buy $20 worth every Christmas (sometimes more) and give them to Sister Enza for the school.   Maybe it was because Marilyn and I were at every children's mass at 11 a.m. like clockwork with our two kids in tow.  Maybe she was impressed with the level of understanding my daughters showed in their own CCD classes.  Whatever the reason, I reluctantly agreed.   

CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, or “Catechism”) was pretty simple with first graders. It certainly wasn’t the Baltimore Catechism I was taught at that age. The lesson plan was mostly left up to me, so long as I taught the children the very basic things they should know about God—Who He is, why He created us, and about Jesus Christ in a very basic manner.

My first day was interesting, to say the least. There were, to my recollection, 5 girls and 5 boys. The girls were very quiet and eager to learn, and the boys wanted only to play. It quickly became apparent to me that I was going to have to get thinking on their level to get through to them and get them to listen to what I had to teach.  I thanked God that my inner self is still a 6-year-old boy, sometimes. 

I asked them, “What have you learned from Mommy and Daddy about God?” I asked this for two other reasons than the one above: first, I wanted to know what kind of support I would get in my teaching from the parents. Second, I wanted to have a starting point from which to begin.

The only answer I got from one of the girls, and the others all agreed, was that, “God loves me.” Aha! Now I had a reference point with which to begin. I asked one of the boys “Why?” He said, “Why what?”, as he wandered around the classroom looking for toys to play with.  I said, “Why does God love you?”

Before he could answer, I asked the rest of the class, “Why does God love all of you?” You could hear a pin drop. They wanted to know the answer. I told them I would give them the answer at the end of the semester if they hadn’t figured it out by then all by themselves.

It was all I needed to get their attention. I began to tell them what I wanted them to learn that first day, which was basically Genesis 1—the creation of the world. The language I used was something like, “God made the heavens and the earth and everything in it”.  Big mistake! That set the boys off going around the room again, pointing to everything from the chairs they had been sitting in to the chalkboard to the toys that were there, asking, “Did God make this? And this? And this?” I replied that He didn’t make them in the way they were thinking things were made. I made this question their homework for the week. I wanted them to ask their parents for the answer. I thanked God the hour was over. I assigned the children the prescribed homework assignment from their CCD workbook as well (I think it was a picture of God “hovering over the waters” and separating them into the seas and the dry land), telling them that the best coloring jobs would receive a surprise the following week. I also told them that a treat would be given for the best behaved each week. That first day I chose one of the girls for the best behaved (she was a little “mother” trying to help me rein in the boys), and I gave her a lollipop with the understanding that she would ask her parents before she ate it.

When the children had gone, Sister Enza came to me and asked how it went. I told her about my attempts at my first teaching job and my frustrations that I felt I probably didn’t teach them the lesson they were supposed to learn. She said, “Don’t worry. They’ll surprise you, I guarantee it!”

The next week, I pointed to the chair I was sitting in and asked one of the boys, “Who made this chair?” He said, “God”. I said, “That’s right! Do you know how?” Another of the children piped in, “God made the tree that was made into the wood for the seat!” Another said, “And He made the man who made the chair!” Yet another kid said, “And he taught the man who made the chair how to put it together!” Still another said, “And Mommy said He made ME, too!” I was so amazed at the answers they gave, and the thought that they had put into the homework, that they all received a lollipop that second week!

The following morning, which was Sunday, as my family and I were leaving Mass, one of my students’ parents came up to me and thanked me! She said her son loved me and the “stories” I was telling. She said he could hardly wait for Saturdays so he could go to school with “Mr. Steve.” She said a couple of the other parents had also expressed similar sentiments to her. I started to feel better about this “teaching” thing.

The rest of the year was a breeze. I had fun, and I learned more from those children about the innocent faith that Christ asks of all of us than I could ever teach them. Which is, I think, what Sister Enza had in mind all along. And yes, by the end of the semester the children (and me, too) all learned why God made us, and more importantly, why He loves us.

These kids are all in their mid-thirties with children of their own by now.  I wonder how much of what “Mr. Steve” taught them they remember, if they remember at all.  Most of all, I wonder if they still remember that God loves them, and why.  I pray that they do. 

Now that I'm retired, I am giving serious thought to the idea of volunteering to teach a low-grade level CCD again.  Or even something as simple as teaching youngsters how to pray the Rosary.  We'll see if the Holy Spirit concurs and helps me in my discernment.

Love is never divided, only multiplied

“It is not good for man to be alone.”—God, Genesis 2:18

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”—Adam, Genesis 2:23

“If we all give more to each other, we all end up with more for ourselves.” –My nephew Alex Farnsworth, in a Facebook post December 6, 2010

“Love is never divided, only multiplied.”—My reply to his post

You hear stories of people who say, “Our love grows every day”, or “We work hard to keep our love this strong.”  God has certainly blessed me, because my love for Marilyn is stronger today than it was when I proposed to her, and it’s never been an effort for me to be in love or to stay in love with her. I thank God every day that He created Marilyn so that I would not be alone.  I think often of what keeps our love for each other so strong.  It’s because we’ve never had to “work” at our love.  It is so hard to put into words because there are too many words to describe our love.  It just exists.

What has made our love stronger is discovering that love is never divided, only multiplied.  There is nothing like the love of a parent for a child. And that love strengthens the bond between the husband and wife.  When Marilyn told me she was pregnant, I was worried. I didn’t know anything about raising a child! Worse, would our baby require so much love from Marilyn that I would be less loved?  Alicia, from day 1 of her life, answered that question for me. When I was in the delivery room, I watched as Alicia’s face appeared and she looked right at me!  At that moment, I knew what paternal love is about; it’s an unconditional, no-holds-barred head-over-heels love that is complementary, not competitive with marital love, and nothing can take it away.

A couple of years later, Marilyn told me she was pregnant again. Again, I was worried. I loved Alicia so much, how could I ever love another child so much? Would I have to “split” my love for them? Again, I didn’t have to worry. The minute Sarah was born, God gave me the grace to multiply my paternal love. I love each of my daughters the same—boundlessly. It has given me an understanding of just how much our Heavenly Father must love each of us!

I rediscovered this feeling at the birth of each of my grandchildren.  There is Lily, who brightens my life every single day with her own discoveries of love for God and others.  Josephine is every bit a reminder of the curiosity and unfettered love we all begin our lives with.  Paloma (‘Dove’, in Latin), is named for the symbol of the Holy Spirit, and she reminds me of the third person of the Trinity Who is best described as the Love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for the Father.

Is there a limit to the love we can get or receive?  God allows us to set the limit.  The more we give, the more we receive.  My question is, why would anyone want to stop giving or receiving love? 

The evening and the morning are filled with the goodness of God.

Marilyn, Alicia and Lily went to Legoland today, leaving me (at my request) alone at the hotel on the beach in Carlsbad. I brought along the book “Jesus, A Pilgrimage” written by Father James Martin, SJ to read while sitting on the patio waiting for their return. But I haven't picked it up yet. I decided to read the Scripture for mass this morning and write a reflection instead. I'm glad I did. The Holy Spirit has a way of speaking to me that continually surprises me while at the same time freaks me out in a pleasant sort of way.

As I sit here gazing out to the ocean and listening to the waves crash onshore no more than 100 feet away from me, I realize all of creation is a reflection of God and an opportunity to worship him.

The first verses of Genesis (Genesis 1: 1-19) speak of the earth as a formless wasteland where darkness covered the abyss. God decides to create. He orders, organizes, gathers, and shapes the formless stuff into something nothing short of magnificent. To do this, He only needs to speak the word. Then, after the creation occurs, He stands back, looks at His creation and says, "Man, that is good!" I thought about the use of the exact words in the book. It's not simply that he thinks his creation is good. He sees just "how good it was." It reminds me of those times when I help Lily with her Legos. We build different things with them, we say “Wow! Look what we did!”, then we can play make believe with the results. There is joy that comes from taking a bunch of scraps and seeing what can be done with them.

The psalm for today includes parts of Psalm 104. The psalmist calls upon his inner being to bless the Lord. God is so great; His robe is majesty, glory, and light. God organized everything so that it works together beautifully. The earth and the ocean each have their place. The fuller reading of the psalm really emphasizes how everything has its own role but complements the rest of creation. For example, God places birds in the sky but then also gives them branches from which they can send forth their song. What would the birds do without branches? God takes care of the seemingly insignificant parts of His world. He sees it all and says, "Man, that's good." How much more does He take care of us, who He made in His own image and likeness?

In the Gospel reading we continue to see the creative power of God at work in Jesus. Jesus is both fully human AND fully divine. So being human, like His disciples, He gets tired and has times when He tries to get away from the crush of people who want His attention. However, they always seem to find Him. They want to hear from Him and they want to be cured of their illnesses or bring their relatives and friends to be healed. Jesus cannot speak to everyone or lay hands on everyone. The people discover, though, that this is not necessary. "If only we can touch the tassel on his cloak...." And all who touch it are healed. Jesus frequently got angry when He saw how illness or demonic possession could twist a human being into knots and make their lives miserable. When the people are healed, I see Jesus, just like in creation, standing back and saying, "Man, that is good."

Communication and Trust

If my 48 years in management taught me anything, it was that every goal was successfully accomplished only if a plan was formulated. Then tasks were delegated, communicated, executed and followed up.  At every company I worked for, they all had catchy anagrams for this process.  Some had several.  At U-Haul, they had 3 that I was particularly fond of and used a lot; IFDOAS (Intelligently Follow the Directions of a Superior), DOAB (Do Our Absolute Best), and my “go to” method for getting things done was RAA (Responsibility, Authority, Accountability).  For any of these to work, you need to identify those who will be the most effective, arm them with the knowledge and tools they will need, then check back with them frequently to gauge their progress and supplement their authority, if needed.  It usually helps to be with them there in spirit, if not in person to give them the confidence that they are on the right track.  They have to know that you will back them up, even if they make a mistake, which they will! 

I see this process being used by Jesus in today’s gospel (Mark 6:7-13).

Responsibility

The first thing that is worth pointing out in this passage is that Jesus “summoned” the Twelve.  This means He brought them to Himself.  Sure, we can read this as simply meaning that He, in a sense, called a meeting with them to discuss His plan.  But we should look deeper.  We should see in this summoning the fact that Jesus was not only calling a meeting, but rather, He was drawing them to His very person.  In this act of summoning, the Apostles were personally encountering Jesus, receiving His grace and power, and being changed themselves. He also summons each of us, daily, to Himself.

Authority

So what is the authority that Jesus gave the Apostles then, and gives to us, now?  It’s often not appreciated for what it is.  Jesus very much does want to give us authority over the evil one and his minions since they are far more powerful than us.  So, if we are to have a chance in the battle, we need Jesus’ authority.  This is not only some supernatural power to cast out demons; rather, it’s much more extensive.  How do we exercise this authority given to us by Jesus Christ through our baptism?

Through the power of true Christian charity.  Charity, or love, overwhelms the evil one and renders him powerless in our lives.  Selflessness, sacrifice, humility, faith, truth, and honesty are among the most powerful weapons in our battle.  The evil one does not know what to do with these.  We do not necessarily have to engage in some sort of dramatic spiritual warfare to do battle.  Simply love God and live that love in your daily life and you will, in a sense, be casting out demons left and right!  We will have the victory in our Christian living because God will take care of all the rest.  It’s His mission and He is the one summoning and sending us.  Do not be afraid to follow His lead! He gives us the authority and power we need to fulfill His will.  If we are open to this process our Lord will use us abundantly.

Accountability

From there He sent them out two by two.  This is also significant.  Jesus knows our human weakness.  He knows that by ourselves we will most likely fail, but with the Christian support of another we are greatly strengthened.  This is because Jesus’ mission is not only something we do ourselves, it’s something that is communal as well.  We are each one piece in His mission. However, to fulfill that mission, we need the love and support of others.  We need to go two by two into the battle. He sends us forth to bring His love to others.

Sadly, in today’s world, it seems the two things headed for extinction are communicating with strangers and trusting in their innate goodness. Our culture is becoming polarized and all too often focused on talking only to people with whom we share a small view of the world and distrusting everyone else’s view or comment. Maybe if we were willing to embark on a pilgrimage such as the 12 Apostles did in today’s gospel, without out all the “baggage” we carry with us of preconceived notions, we might be able to communicate more openly with others and realize that we need their trust and understanding as much as they need ours.

I'm just a seed in the Kingdom of God

O, to be like one of the disciples, to whom Jesus explained everything in private as the Gospel lesson in Mark tells us (Mk 4:26-34).  What did He tell them about the Kingdom of God that He did not tell the crowds of ordinary people to whom He spoke through parables? Did He make God’s message clearer to them? I don’t know the answer to that. But what can be much clearer than the image of a tiny mustard seed growing to become a large plant or a kernel of corn growing to a plant that yields a thousand-fold in the harvest? Even a child can understand these images of the Kingdom of God as a reality that expands miraculously as our faith grows.

 Jesus wants to use each one of us for the building up of His Kingdom.  We may feel as though we cannot do much, that we are not as gifted as others, that we will not be able to make much of a difference, but that’s not true.  The truth is that each one of us is packed with unbelievable potential that God wants to bring to fruition.  He wants to bring forth from our lives glorious blessings for the world.  All we must do is allow Him to work.

Like a seed, we must allow ourselves to be planted in the fertile soil of His mercy through faith and surrender to His divine will.  We must be watered by daily prayer and allow the rays of the Son of God to shine on us so that He can bring forth from us all that He desires and has planned from the foundation of the world. 

But can we simply live by faith? While the idea is not complicated, the practice seems to be for most of us. We lose our confidence and our faith dims. We struggle with suffering and we draw back, seeking more certainty, more details, and more reassurance. We see in Hebrews (Heb 10:32-39) and the Psalms (Ps 37:3-4, 5-6, 23-24, 39-40) that during times of affliction, we should be even more confident that God’s will and the Kingdom of God are our refuge. Even while suffering, we need to endure and continue to do the will of God to keep our lives on track. Trusting in the Lord and doing the will of God will make our steps surer and give us more confidence in God’s promises.

We will experience distressing times in life where we will lose our confidence in ourselves and in our faith. Those distresses can shake our beings and threaten our sense of our very identities. When that happens, we should draw on our baptism experience and the promises God made to love us and care for us as a member of the body of Christ. Drawing closer to HIm is how we can experience the Kingdom of God and live by faith in confidence and without fear.  If we could just love each other and reassure each other of God’s love, we would see the Kingdom of God grow miraculously.