A call to be holy

 

All Saints Day is a beautiful feast celebrating the call to holiness open to all the daughters and sons of God—those already wrapped in God’s loving embrace and those of us still on the road. 

In Leviticus (19:2) God summons Moses to tell the people: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy”—a command that rings down through the entirety of the Bible.  The notion of humans imitating the holiness of God is something distinctive about our Jewish heritage and our Christian faith.  Most ancient religions didn’t correlate the worship of their gods with the values that ought to guide their lives of their devotees.  They hoped that homage to their gods would protect them from harm and lead to prosperity, but they didn’t derive their code of conduct from the example of their gods. 

For the Bible, however, the “holiness” of God referred to the awesome beauty and power of God and God’s astounding tender love and mercy towards God’s people.  One of the earliest acclamations about God is found in Exodus (34:6) as Moses encounters God at Sinai: “The Lord, the Lord, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love and fidelity.”  God’s steadfast mercy, fidelity, and abiding love define what “holiness” means and set a pattern for the way we’re to live our lives.  As Genesis (1:16) affirms, the God of Israel creates humans in the divine “image and likeness”—we’re endowed with a God-given capacity for holiness.

For those of us in the Christian faith, God’s holiness is embodied in the person of Jesus.  In His very being and in the manner of His own life, Jesus revealed God to us.  As Pope Francis has repeatedly said, “Jesus is the human face of the Father’s mercy.”  God’s Old Testament command to “be holy as I the Lord your God am holy” becomes for Christians equivalent to Jesus’ call to His disciples, “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:19) In striving to live as Jesus lived, we find the path to holiness.

In the Book of Revelation we find standing before the throne of God and the Lamb (the exalted Christ), “a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, race, people and tongue” crying out in exaltation, praising God and the Risen Jesus (Revelation 7:2-14).  Psalm 24 also exults in God’s beauty and power: “The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it.”  And it expresses the longing we are to experience as we, too, strive for a life of goodness, a life of holiness: “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face!”

The First Letter of John (3:1-3) underscores the link between God’s love and the quality of our lives: “Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.”  John affirms over and over that to be a child of God is to love as God loves, the central command of Jesus’ teaching.

And, finally, in a gospel passage from Matthew (5:1-12)  we hear Jesus’ beatitudes that begin the Sermon on the Mount, a  summation of the values and commitments that lead to authentic holiness, and, in fact, reflect Jesus’ own manner of life:  Comfort for the poor, for those who mourn, and for the meek;  Blessing on those committed to mercy, to peacemaking, to justice even at the cost of persecution.

At this tense and fractious moment in our history, this Christian vision of what authentic human life can be is balm for our souls.  God calls all of us to be holy as God is holy!  It’s certainly something to reflect upon for the entire month of November—a month dedicated to prayer with all of the saints for all souls.

The "Mother of all sins"

 

Google defines pride as a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is associated or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

With this definition, pride can be a good thing.  But too much of anything can lead to sin—with the notable exceptions of faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

The Bible more often defines pride as, and warns us against arrogance, haughtiness, and conceit.  Pride emphasizes the self over others, and it rejects God’s greatness.  Pride occurs when sinful human beings subconsciously aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him (Luke 14:7-11).

We can never examine our consciences often enough concerning pride.  Pride is referred to as the “Mother of all sins” for a reason.  Pride leads to every other sin and, in many ways, is the source of all sin.  If we want to strive for perfection in life (Matthew 5:48), we should seek true humility on a daily basis.

Humility is nothing other than seeing things as they are.  A humble person sees him/herself in the truth of God.  This can be hard to do because it requires that we see ourselves as weak and dependent upon God.  We may be able to accomplish many worldly things through our own strength and hard work.  But we can’t achieve happiness and goodness unless we open ourselves to the truth of our weaknesses and dependence upon God for all things. 

Humility also helps to purify our hearts of something that’s extremely hard to let go of.  Pride causes us to deeply seek out the esteem of others and to be dependent upon that esteem for our happiness.  That’s a dangerous road to go down because it leaves us constantly dependent upon the opinions of others.  And far too often, the opinions of others are based on false and superficial criteria.

Sure, we need to regularly seek out advice from those we know and love.  But we must allow ourselves only to be dependent upon God and His Truth.  When we do that, we’ll be well down the road of true humility.

At times, the coronavirus pandemic has felt to me like a prison.  We don’t know what the immediate or long-term future holds, whether on a personal, political, or epidemiological level.  But our mission as Christians remains the same – to serve others to enable their progress and joy in the faith.

As we reflect on pride and humility in the coming days on holy saints and good souls, we should thank God for the everyday saints who have responded to this pandemic: the healthcare workers who have tirelessly treated the sick and dying; the volunteers who have stepped up to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and house the homeless; public health officials who have labored, often thanklessly, to limit the spread of the disease; the priests, chaplains, and ministers who have provided spiritual care for the sick and lonely; and the friends, relatives and neighbors who sustain community in this time of quarantine and isolation.

In humbling themselves, these ordinary saints are exalted.  May God bless them, keep them, and sustain them in their labors, now and always.

Encouraging words

 

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.  (Luke 14:1)

There were two things worth pondering as I read just the first line of the 14^th Chapter in the Gospel of Luke today (Luke 14:1-6).

First, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.  This was no small thing.  In fact, it was most likely the source of much discussion among the people and the other Pharisees.  It shows us that Jesus doesn’t play favorites.  He didn’t come just for the poor and weak.  He also came for the conversion of the wealthy and powerful.  Too often we forget that simple fact.  Jesus came for all people; He loves all people and responds to invitations from all who want to have Him in their lives.  Of course this passage also reveals that Jesus wasn’t afraid to come to the home of this leading Pharisee and challenge him and his guests so as to move them to a change of heart.

Second, this passage states that people were “observing Him carefully.”  Perhaps some were merely curious and were looking for something to talk about later with their friends.  But others were most likely observing Him carefully because deep in their hearts, they sincerely wanted to understand Him.  They could tell there was something unique about Jesus and they wanted to know more about Him.

These two lessons should encourage us to realize that Jesus does love us and will respond to our openness to His presence in our lives.  All we have to do is ask and be open to Him coming to “dine” with us.  We should also learn from the witness of those who were observing Him carefully.  They reveal to us the good desire we should have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  Though some who observed Him carefully turned against Him and mocked Him, there were others who observed Him carefully and embraced Jesus and His message.

I also reflected a bit on the beautiful letter from Saints Paul and Timothy “… to all the holy ones in Jesus Christ who are in Philippi…” (Philippians 1:1-11)

I can imagine this letter being written to us, today, wherever we find ourselves.  It’s a message to all of us who are trying to live faithful lives in response to the Gospel message.

“I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you…

I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it…

And this is my prayer:

That your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception,

to discern what is of value…”

This is precisely the message we all need in 2020!  We need the encouragement to keep going even though our mind, body, and spirit may be very tired.  We need to be confident that others are with us on this great journey.  We need to be enlightened to know that we’re here for His reason; and that He will be with us always, even unto the end of time. (Matthew 28:20)

Drawing strength

Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.  (Ephesians 6:10)

As I reflected on this passage in the scriptures today, I can’t help but think that they’re perfect for where we are at this moment in our country and the world.  I’m sure many prayers have risen to heaven to end the COVID virus or prayers for family and friends who have contracted the virus.  Prayers for the healthcare workers and first responders.  Prayers for protection.  Prayers to get through home schooling children and many countless prayers for many other things.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is another example of how the scriptures give us what we need when we need it.  He gives us the instruments to help get us through the strain of a pandemic.  The uncertainty of the election and the change that seems to be occurring as our eyes are forced open to look at racism and inequality at the local, state, and national levels.  With his analogy of a soldier going to war, Paul tells us to put on “armor of God”, “gird our loins with truth”; “clothe ourselves with the breastplate of righteousness”; “hold faith as a shield”; “take the helmet of salvation”; “and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”.  As I read those phrases again, the words that ‘speak’ to me the loudest are God, truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and word of God.  The scriptures have always been important to me and now all the more since March.  

My faith has grown into a deeper trust that God has my back if I trust in Him.   My own family, as far as I know has escaped the virus.  My grandchildren’s schools have done an outstanding job of making learning in the unfamiliar environment as safe as possible, although Marilyn and I (and the kids) were very anxious the first couple of weeks.  So far, so good.  Whether it’s conscious or unconscious we have all put on the armor of God and acted in faith and trust acting in hope and not fear.

In Luke’s Gospel (Luke 13:31 -35) Jesus also acts with the armor of God.  He trusts in the Father’s will for Him and continues His journey to Jerusalem where He knows His end will be.  He makes a prophetic statement to the Pharisees who have come to warn Him, “Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.”  While Jesus knew His purpose, we don’t.  We hope and believe that we’re doing what God has asked of us for today.  That’s all that’s asked of us.  To trust in God.  To search our hearts and listen deeply for God’s peace and love as we make our way through these tough days.  

My reflection on Luke’s Gospel had another interesting angle to me; the exchange between Jesus and some of the Pharisees.  It’s interesting to look at both the action of the Pharisees as well as that of Jesus.

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.’” (Luke 13:31-32)

I have to ask why the Pharisees spoke to Jesus in this way, warning Him of Herod’s intent.  Were they worried about Jesus and, therefore, were they trying to help Him?  Probably not.  Instead, we know that the majority of the Pharisees were jealous and envious of Jesus.  In this case, it appears that they were warning Jesus of Herod’s wrath as a way of trying to intimidate Him to leave their district.  Of course, Jesus wasn’t intimidated.

Sometimes we experience the same thing.  At times we may have someone come and tell us some gossip about us under the guise of trying to help us, when in fact it’s a subtle way of intimidating us so as to fill us with fear or anxiety.

At every company I worked for in my career, there was always someone “higher up” who would come to visit and/or inspect me and my teams’ performance on a semi-regular “unannounced” timetable.  I say “unannounced” in quotation marks because we almost always got a ‘heads up’ warning from somebody else that they were coming, so that we could be ready to impress them.  The amount of time we had to prepare varied, but the news most often came with a warning that ‘heads could roll’ if we were not on all programs when they arrived.  It was very intimidating. 

I learned over the years that the key to keeping my sanity was to react to these ‘warnings’ in the way that Jesus did when confronted with foolishness and malice.  Jesus didn’t give in to the intimidation.  He wasn’t at all concerned by Herod’s malice.  Rather, He responded in a way that told the Pharisees, in a sense, “Don’t waste your time trying to fill me with fear or anxiety.  I’m doing the works of my Father and that’s all I should be concerned about.”  That’s exactly the tactic I eventually learned.  If I followed the programs that my company deemed important at every minute of every day, I would have nothing to worry about. 

The only thing we should be concerned about is doing the will of the Father in Heaven.  When we’re confidently doing His will, we’ll also have the wisdom and courage we need to rebuke all deceit and silly intimidation in our lives.

The household of God

 

Our world continues to be topsy-turvy; the virus continues to prey upon the young and the old, rich, and poor.  Each day the news brings us word of uprisings, crime scenes, political unrest, suffering and chaos!

To paraphrase St. Paul’s letter to the community of faith at Ephesus (Ephesians 2:19-22):

Brothers and sisters:

WE are no longer strangers and sojourners,

WE are fellow citizens with the holy ones

And members of the household of God!

In the midst of all of this craziness, we’re reminded that God counts us among His household, that we’re part of the family that includes apostles, prophets, saints, and sinners.  There couldn’t be better news for the people of God!  For me, this offers hope and gives purpose to my everyday life!  I think today there are so many people who are looking for hope, who are just hanging on by a thread, who spend more time worrying than rejoicing!   God is telling us once again that we’re important, we’re loved, and we’re not alone!

When Jesus chose His twelve apostles, He charged them with the task of spreading His message throughout the world (Luke 6:12-16); no small task!  Think about that on those days when everything seems just too overwhelming and hopeless!  We are also charged with spreading the good news of Jesus, but, thankfully, these twelve and others who followed them, paved the road ahead of us.   We also pause to give thanks more specifically today for the lives and works of Saints Simon and Jude—apostles, preachers, and missionaries who died for the faith.  They spread the message to far away Persia (Iran and Iraq) and other parts of the world.

St. Paul goes on to remind us that WE are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.  May we continue to enjoy life in the company of all God’s faithful and be open to the indwelling of the Spirit as He guides us along the path of righteousness and goodness.  And that path begins with prayer, as Jesus taught us:

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.  (Luke 6:12)

To me, it’s interesting to think about Jesus praying all night.  This act on His part teaches us many things just as it would have taught His Apostles.  There are several lessons we can learn from His action.

First, it may be thought that Jesus didn’t “need” to pray.   After all, He is God.  It’s not a matter of Him needing to pray, rather, it’s a matter of Him praying because His prayer goes to the heart of who He is.

Prayer is first and foremost an act of deep communion with God.  In Jesus’ case, it’s an act of deep communion with the Father in Heaven and with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus was continually in perfect communion (unity) with the Father and the Spirit and, thus, His prayer was nothing more than an earthly expression of this communion.  His prayer is a living out of His love of the Father and the Spirit.  So it’s not so much that He needed to pray so that He could stay close to them.  Instead, it was that He prayed because He was perfectly united to them.  And this perfect communion demanded an earthly expression of prayer.  In this instance, it was prayer all night long.

Second, the fact that it was all night long reveals that Jesus’ “rest” was nothing other than being in the presence of the Father.  Just as rest restores us and rejuvenates us, so the all-night vigil of Jesus reveals that His human rest was that of resting in the presence of the Father.

Third, what we should take from this for our own lives is that prayer should never be underestimated.  Too often we speak a few prayerful thoughts to God and let it go at that.  But if Jesus chose to spend the entire night in prayer, we shouldn’t be surprised if God wants much more from our quiet time of prayer than we’re now giving Him.  Don’t be surprised if God is calling us to spend much more time every day in prayer.  My advice is to try to establish a set pattern of prayer.  And if you find that you can’t sleep some night, don’t hesitate to get up, get on your knees, and seek the presence of God living within your soul.  Seek Him, listen to Him, be with Him and let Him consume you in prayer.  Jesus gave us the perfect example.  It’s now our responsibility to follow that example.

As we honor the Apostles Simon and Jude, it’s good to reflect upon our own calling to follow Christ and act as His apostles to the world.  The only way we can fulfill this mission is through a life of prayer. 

The potential of prayer

 

The potential for prayer exists in every moment of our lives, no matter what we're doing!  God offers us His Spirit at all times, but we must allow Him to help make prayer rise up in us like dough to yeast, so we can experience His Kingdom as He permeates our entire being with His Glory.  The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast show how quickly and successfully the gospel could travel throughout the world despite opposition! (Luke 13:18-21)

We should bring prayer into our everyday circumstances because all forms of prayer, even the most simple and direct, can be the leaven to which Jesus compares the Kingdom.

I remember one time when I went to dinner at Hometown Buffet.  As anyone who has eaten there can tell you, it's always busy and noisy at dinnertime (or at least it was ‘pre-pandemic’), because it draws the large families with lots of small children who are attracted to the good prices and better than average food along with an atmosphere that doesn't restrict the antics of children that sometimes happens.  After I got my plate filled and sat down at a booth next to a family with two small, rambunctious kids, I began to have second thoughts about my choice of seating.  They were really noisy and unruly!  Until, that is, I crossed myself and said grace. The kids noticed my actions and asked their parents what I was doing.  A couple of the kids picked right back up where they left off with their shenanigans, but one continued to be inquisitive about what she saw.  I like to think that I may have put a little ‘yeast’ in her ‘dough’.  A little bit of leavening that hopefully, after some time, affected the entire ‘batch’.

We live in a world of rulers – our government, our employers, maybe someone in our family!  We’re given a voice by God, and a choice by God to do what’s right in our hearts and not be swayed by someone else’s agenda.  NO ONE can stifle or silence us.  We’re allowed the chance to be heard.  And God knows, we’re in a flux of emotion as we see where the world is going; riots (which I pray continue to subside), the pandemic (which, despite political narratives no one could’ve seen coming), an above normal number of hurricanes, the reality of seeing our social lives change dramatically with our friends and family, as well as  limited attendance for funerals, first communions, baptisms – even our church attendance is limited and, quite often, live-streamed so we can watch from the comfort and safety of our own homes.  And on top of all of that, an election that’s causing more thought and concern than most I can remember in my lifetime.

We see where the world is right now; we must continue to spread the gospel in a world of opposition. We have to prayerfully choose our words, deeds, actions – and right now – our votes!  If we do what we can here and now, prayerfully, and through faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and his Blessed Mother, Mary, we can make positive changes in a world torn in chaos.

Let’s learn from the mustard seed and the yeast – our faith and our love must grow exponentially so that there’s no doubt that they’re present in our reality.

Live in love, always

 

As I reflected on a passage from Ephesians today (Ephesians 4:32-5:8), it brought to mind a story I heard in one of my catechism classes years ago.  I think the story drives home what Paul is telling us.

A certain man was very wealthy and raised an orphan boy with all the love and care that he could.  The boy grew up, got married, and had a son of his own.  He wanted to show his gratitude and love to the wealthy man, but he lived far from his benefactor.  When he asked what he could do to show his appreciation, his "father" told him, "There’s nothing that you can do for me that you haven’t done.  I’m already as wealthy as I can be, and your gratitude and love are all that I could ask.  But there, right next to you, is someone I love as I love you.  I can’t be there to show that love, but I ask you to do for him what you think is best, to do what you think I would do.  That’s the best way to return my love."

We’re those orphans whom God has chosen to include in His family, and if we’re truly grateful for all that He’s done for us and wish to imitate His love, then we’ll turn to the broken people next to us, those whom God loves as much as He loves us, and we’ll show what we’ve learned from our Father.  Living in the endless wealth of God's love we’re free to do and give whatever we think best: we’re doing it in His holy name.

In several of the gospels, we’re presented with an extraordinarily powerful image of Christ; a Christ that empowers and frees.  One such example is the story when Jesus recognized the suffering of a crippled woman and rescued her from her ailment on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17).  St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, calls us to be imitators of God.  Although we can’t perfectly imitate God, we can learn from and strive to emulate the life of Jesus, who God reveals Himself through.  As Jesus used His gifts and life to empower and free those in need, He showed us that following the path of Christ calls us to empower and serve others through our own gifts and talents.  Whether that entails comforting a family member or friend in a difficult situation or reaching out to the suffering of those afflicted by poverty or sickness, we can recognize that service to others is fundamental to the message and life of Jesus.

There can be no dissecting our love of God from our love of neighbor. There’s no nuancing who is and who is not my neighbor, just like there can be no conditional love of God.  In other words, you can keep holy the sabbath and care for those in need.  In fact, caring for those in need is keeping holy the sabbath. 

Loving God means loving our neighbor, especially those left alone and abandoned – often referred to as the widow and orphan, the cripple and leper, the sinner and foreigner.  For us it means loving those who have a different skin color than we have, speak a different language, practice a different religion, and wear different clothes.  It certainly means loving the most vulnerable and forgotten in our midst…the unborn, the migrant, the prisoner, the homeless, and those preyed upon for being a woman or gay or Black.

The Gospel doesn’t say “Love the Lord your God when it’s easy.”  It doesn’t say “Love your neighbor who is like you.” 

Breaking it down to bite-size

 

As a supervisor over others for most of my life, I learned early on the importance of “To Do” lists.  They are a great way to delegate responsibility, authority, and accountability for tasks that are necessary for a productive business.  Some of the tasks needed to be repeated every day, but for some reason there was always somebody who couldn’t seem to grasp that concept.  When I would ask why nothing was accomplished the previous day, too many times the answer was, “There were a lot of things on the list and I didn’t know which were the most important tasks, so I didn’t get to any of them!”  I’m sorry to say that often my first response was one of anger, then frustration; after all, I felt the directives were quite clear.  In hindsight, I should have been more like Jesus, and consolidated the 5-7 more important tasks into one or two clear, indisputable mandates that would make completion of the list seem doable; in other words, make the list ‘bite-size’. 

In response to the question of which is the greatest Commandment, Jesus gave the perfect answer.  He said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

His statement gave a complete summary of the moral law found in the Ten Commandments.  The first three Commandments reveal that we must love God above all and with all our might.  The last seven Commandments reveal that we must love our neighbor.  The moral law of God is as simple as fulfilling these two more general commandments.

But is it all that simple?  Well, the answer is both “Yes” and “No.”  It’s simple in the sense that God’s will is not typically complex and difficult to comprehend.  Love is spelled out clearly in the Gospels and we’re called to embrace a radical life of true love and charity.

When we have difficulty loving God with all our heart, mind and soul all the time, every day, every moment, no matter what's going on, it's usually because we're spending too much time focused on other people and/or on our own plans and wishes.

What are our priorities?  How much time should we spend alone with God?  How much time should we spend nurturing ourselves?  How much of our time and needs and wants should be sacrificed for the sake of others?

We can’t love God without loving ourselves and others, but God must always come first.

We must focus on others in order to love them.  And we must focus on our own needs so that we can love others as much as we love ourselves.  Our own needs are important, and we’re responsible for seeing that our needs get met; otherwise we don't have enough to share with others - enough energy, enough enthusiasm, enough kindness, enough patience, etc.  Likewise, we can't focus so much on ourselves that we neglect the needs of others.

We find the right balance only after we put God first and make our relationship with Him our highest priority.  This divine friendship is what heals us in our unmet needs.  It's what empowers us to love others even when they’re difficult to love.  And we don't have to be alone with God all day to have intimacy with Him.

We love Him first and foremost simply by relying on Him for success in loving others and ourselves.  As long as we keep turning to Him for guidance, healing, and strength, we’re loving him with all our heart, mind, and soul all the time, every day, every moment, no matter what's going on.

A God of second chances

 

There were a lot of times in my career when I was asked to do something that made no sense whatsoever to me.  I couldn’t see the benefit to me or for my customers.  That is, until I realized that my assignment was just one piece of a larger plan to improve our service, and lead to better profits and of course a pay raise for me.  The tasks assigned to me were unique to my specific talents and skill set according to my boss, and the only one who knew the whole plan was him.  Sometimes, it was easy to accomplish my tasks quickly and proficiently because the instructions were clear-cut, and all I had to do was follow directions.  But at other times, I really had a hard time being productive because I couldn’t clearly see the end goal, or I overestimated my ability to get the job done.  I was frequently frustrated and impatient.  One of the problems was that I couldn’t say no to my boss when he asked me to do something, so I would take on too many challenges at once—causing me to fail so miserably in all of them that it would result in his lack of confidence and worse, his trust in me.  I think letting him—and the rest of the team down is what hurt me the most.  It’s like the old analogy of the links of a chain.  A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.  If I had been more discerning in what I took on, I would have been one of the stronger links, rather than one of the weakest. 

To his credit, my boss was always willing to give me a 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th chance when I overextended myself.  He took the time to teach me how to discern my abilities as he saw them, and in all humility I believe I was quite successful later on in my career as a result of his ‘cultivation’ of my particular talents.

St. Paul tells the Ephesians (and us) about the unique gifts God has given each so that they might fulfill His plan (Ephesians 4:7-16).  It’s up to each of us to discern what God is calling us to do with those gifts.  This is a lifelong process, not just the call to a certain profession or way of life, but the many calls within that profession or way of life and the calls in all of our activities and encounters with others.

There are times in our lives when we find it fairly easy, when things seem to fall in place and the “call” is quite clear; it’s like we’re being led and all we have to do is follow.  These are not necessarily simple things to do, it’s just that the clarity of the call seems to be in bold letters.  Other times, we find ourselves struggling to sort out what the real call is.  In my own life lately, I see so many possibilities and I’m struggling with what the real call is; none are in capital letters to guide me.

I think part of the struggle is related to getting older and knowing that I won’t have time to do everything.  It also comes from the regret for not always following the call to serve God in a more intentional and complete way. 

In a way I feel like the fig tree in the gospel of Luke (Luke 13:1-9).  This is an image that reflects our souls many times.  Often in life we can fall into a rut and our relationship with God and others struggles.  As a result, our lives bear little or no good fruit.  I wouldn’t say that my life has been barren, but I know that there was much more fruit I could have borne had I been open to the more subtle calls from God.

Perhaps this isn’t you at the present moment, but perhaps it is.  Perhaps your life is strongly grounded in Christ or perhaps you’re greatly struggling.  If you’re struggling, try to see yourself as this fig tree.  And try to see the person who commits to “cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it” as Jesus Himself. 

It’s important to note that Jesus didn’t look at this fig tree and discard it as worthless.  He’s a God of second chances and He’s committed to caring for this fig tree in such a way as to offer it every necessary opportunity to bear fruit.  So it is with us.  Jesus never just throws us away, regardless of how far we’ve strayed.  He’s always ready and willing to reach out to us in the ways we need so that our lives can once again bear much fruit.

Interpretations

 

After Jesus points out to a crowd people how well they can see things and know what kind of weather they’re going to have, He says, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”(Luke 12:54-59)  He’s pointing out to them that they’re witnesses to all kinds of signs that the Messiah has come, but they fail to recognize Him and who He is for them.

In makes me wonder in a bit of panic how we’re interpreting our present time.  If you think about, the pandemic has given us evidence of how much we’re connected.  What we do actually does affect another person.  But it appears that we’ve let the political divisions in the U.S. influence how we treat each other and the pandemic itself during this time.

On November 22, 1963 and September 11, 2001 (and many other times in our history) our country—at least temporarily—put aside or differences and everybody worked and prayed together to see us through those tragedies.  It just seems to me that this moment in time is once again calling us to come together, not split apart.  What St. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians makes the most sense to me about how we’re to be in what is a difficult time for so many: “I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love…”(Ephesians 4:1-6). 

Paul is saying that we’ve been called to care for each other and to acknowledge that there is one God who is father to us all, making us all brothers and sisters.  We know this through Jesus who is one Lord.  This is what He taught.  This is what those people watching the skies should have seen had they been watching Jesus as carefully as they were watching the clouds.

The psalms also remind us that we don’t have to face life’s disparities, contrasts, and confusions alone (Psalm 24:1-6); “Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors and the Holy One will come in.”  All that’s needed is to open one’s self to God’s presence, and God is with us.  It’s true that we believe that God is ever-present.  But until we reciprocate and become present/open to God, it’s like having a friend physically next to us, but refusing to acknowledge the person’s presence.

As we approach election day in less than 2 weeks, my prayer is that we each open ourselves to God’s Spirit of wisdom and grace so that we can, “…interpret the present time,” in the Spirit of, “…hope, charity, gentleness, selflessness and patience.” Then, as we reflect in the midst of the multitudes of contrasts in rhetoric, platforms, and personalities, may we invite our God into our hearts and minds as we go the polls in November.

Remain rooted and grounded in love

 

In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Paul asks his readers to understand God’s plan of salvation in Christ and to recognize that this plan very much includes the Gentiles.  By referencing “the breath and length and height and depth,” Paul asserts that God’s love in Christ is boundless, affecting the entirety of the universe and beyond. In essence, all that’s required is that we remain “rooted and grounded in love;” that we not experience diminished hope for salvation (Ephesians 3:14-21).

Paul’s epistle should give us a boost of confidence; to encourage us to always be present to the redemptive love of Christ which at all times should warm us like a warm coat against the cold.  This is, Paul reminds us, God’s plan.  And it includes all of us, not only those who live here and now, but those who are to come after us.

Each day we should remind ourselves of the immense power of God’s love for us.  Despite all that we encounter we can and should seek solace in His love and in His plan for our salvation.  It certainly isn’t easy, given the variety of things we need to attend to every day and given the rise and fall of our emotions.  But we have to remain rooted and grounded in love and make the effort to comprehend and embrace the infinite power of God’s love.

In contrast to this unifying theme of Christ’s love, the gospel of Luke provides a challenging—even disturbing—truth.  Jesus speaks of division, strife, and disunity which He also brings to the world.  That conflict comes even within earthly families, which are supposed to be places where we find love and acceptance (Luke 12:49-53).

At one level, we can understand this teaching as another warning to the disciples that He wouldn’t be establishing an earthly political kingdom.  Jesus would accomplish something much greater, not through armies and political power, but through self-denying love, in laying down his own life for his friends. Thankfully, we can be included among that friendship group.

What it also teaches us is that the call of God causes conflict.  The peace we look forward to, which comes only in the fullness of the reign of God, isn’t yet here.  Following Christ may cause us to reject contrary teachings and practices that are commonly followed, which can cause problems with others who don’t know those ways and who may feel convicted by a dissenting example.   Division or conflict might then occur between believers and unbelievers.  However, it may also occur within the church, which admittedly is not as unified as it should be, in part because we’re not all rooted and grounded in the love of Christ as we should be.  As an example, one need only to follow “Catholic Twitter” accounts or other “Catholic” social media.  There’s enough division between “Traditional” Catholics and “Liberal” Catholics to make even Jesus weep. 

Both of these groups seem to have forgotten that St. Paul also reminds us that love is patient and kind (1 Corinthians:13).  Just as God has been patient with us, we need to exercise a similar patience toward those with whom we have divisions and conflicts.  When we’re “rooted and grounded in love,” so that we may be “filled with all the fullness of God”, we tend not to be so full of ourselves.  From my own experience, that helps a lot in breaking down divisions.

Don't miss Him!

My reflection on the Gospel of Luke (Luke 12:39-48) today brought back memories of my childhood, and the “ice cream man”. 

During the summer months, the ice cream truck would drive through our neighborhood sometimes twice a day, with the distinctive tune playing that we could hear a block or two away if we were lucky, and if we were playing outside.  That gave us time to run back into our homes and ask Mom or Dad for some money!  Sometimes though, we were in the house or we had the TV on, and we couldn’t hear the ice cream man coming until the truck was driving past our house, and we missed it.  Every time we let him get away without stopping him, we vowed not to be caught unaware again.  Yet, time after time we were.  In fact, we missed him more often than not.  We knew he was coming, but we didn’t know exactly when, so we would frequently get so caught up in other pursuits that we lost our focus on our favorite expected visitor. 

It can be said that Jesus comes to us at an unexpected hour in two ways.

First, we know that He’ll return one day in glory to judge the living and the dead.  His Second Coming is real, and we should be aware of the fact that it could happen at any time.  Sure, it may not happen for many years, or even for many hundreds of years, but it will happen.  There’ll be one moment when the world as it is will end and the new order will be established.  Ideally, we live each and every day in anticipation of that day and that moment.  We must live in such a way that we’re always ready for that end.  Second, we must realize that Jesus does come to us, continually, by grace.  Traditionally, we speak of His two comings—His Incarnation, and His return in glory. 

But there’s a third coming we can speak of which is His coming by grace into our lives.  And this coming is quite real and should be something to which we are continually attentive.  His coming by grace requires that we be continually “prepared” to meet Him.  If we’re not prepared, we can be certain we’ll miss Him.  How do we prepare for this coming by grace?  We prepare first and foremost by fostering a daily habit of interior prayer.  An interior habit of prayer means we are, in a sense, always praying.  It means that no matter what we do each and every day, our minds and hearts are always turned toward God.  It’s like breathing.  We always do it and do it without even thinking about it.  Prayer must become just as much of a habit as breathing.  It must be central to who we are and how we live.

Jesus asks us to live our lives with the freedom that comes from knowing who we are.  That freely lived identity is formed and tested in our everyday lives.  It’s formed by the defining relationships in our lives and by the choices we make, which shape us into the persons we become.  This faithful freedom to be who we are called to be is tested by all the attractions of the world, which pull us in other directions. Usually it’s greed or lust—something just looks so attractive that we feel drawn to want it or to at least try it.  Sometimes it’s fear—anxiety, and worries about the "what ifs," steal our ability to be courageous and steadfast.  In all of these defining moments of our lives, Jesus is there coming to meet us with the offer of grace, with the gift of freedom, with the loving encounter that calls us to be our most loving and self-sacrificing selves.  He simply asks us to be ready to meet Him at the time he comes to us today. 

Outgrowing the terrible twos

 

St. Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 5:12-21) reminds me of those parents who have children in the "terrible twos," a stage of development when they live by the word, "NO!"  It’s an exasperating time for the parents and a potentially dangerous time for a child who doesn’t see the possible pain and suffering her disobedience could cause her.  Sadly, many adults never outgrow this stage and remain unseeing and uncaring of the consequences of their behavior to themselves and others.  A certain current Commander-in-Chief and several other politicians on every side of the political spectrum are (sadly) examples of this in today’s world.

St. Paul reminds his flock that it was Adam and Eve's disobedience that initiated man's fall into sin; when they countered God's instruction, they usurped His position and became their own "little gods."

In contrast to our first parents, Paul cites Christ's obedience to His Father's law of love.  At great cost, His pain and death, He won for sinful man the option of being cleansed of sin and made righteous through their dying with Him to the inordinate demands of their flesh and instead living in God's will, in His good Spirit.  This world's turmoil is caused by man's "NO" to our heavenly Father's gift of new life in Christ.  Or at the very least our underestimating His love.

There’s an old story about our tendency to always want more and more from God, even though He's already given us all we need:

A man answers a knock at his door.  When he opens the door there’s another man standing there who asks, "Are you the man who saved my son from drowning in the canal yesterday?"  Proudly, and with anticipation of the gratitude he’ll receive, the man replies, "Yes, I am."

The stranger then asks in a very indignant tone, "Well then, what did you do with his hat?", completely overlooking the overwhelming fact that his son is alive; focusing instead on his possessions.

In the Gospel (Luke 12:35-38) Jesus talks to us about the necessity of being prepared for His final coming.  It’s something we know is important and I'm sure something we all intend to do.  But somehow and so often, many things get in the way, and we end up saying, “NO!”

I frequently wonder how I’ll feel when my time is up, and I realize I’ve failed miserably to be the kind of loving person God has called me to be.  It's enough to bring me to momentary tears until I remember that Jesus is a merciful judge, and my hope rises again.

Grow rich in the sight of God, not man

 

When I read Jesus’ admonishment when He tells about the man with the great harvest who wanted to build barns to store the extra grain in, I’m a bit surprised at first (Luke 12:13-21).   Why is this not good?  After all, in the Old Testament, Joseph saved his 11 brothers (in fact, all of Egypt) from a famine by looking ahead and storing up grain! (Genesis 41:46-49)

But in this story, Jesus tells us that God announces the man will die tonight, in spite of his careful planning.  After reading the story again, I saw the line that makes all the difference between to two occurrences: “That is the way it works with the man who grows rich for himself instead of growing rich in the sight of God." (Luke 12:15)

It’s not the barns.  It’s not the grain.  It’s that the man became unbalanced in his life and the barns and grain took on too much emphasis.  He thought he could manage his life on his own, without God’s help.

We are God’s creation, His “handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them”.  Our salvation isn’t our own doing, it’s God's “gift, not a reward for anything we have accomplished” (Ephesians 2:1-10).  It’s hard for us to accept that we aren’t doing anything to earn salvation.  But we aren’t.  It’s a pure and simple gift of God’s incredible love for us.  It’s given to us, not because we deserve it, but because “the LORD is God, he made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the flock he shepherds” (Psalm 100:3).  There’s absolutely nothing we can do on our own in this world.  Isn’t it nice to turn over control of our lives to someone who loves us so much?

We could make our lives much easier on ourselves if we could only let go of the control and turn it over to God.  As hard as it seems sometimes, we need to keep our focus, keep our balance, keep perspective.  The only thing we need to keep our eye on is our savior.

Trust in the light of the Holy Spirit

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech.  They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status.  Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?”  (Matthew 22:15-18)

The first thing I thought when I read this passage in Matthew today was that this could be a snapshot of current American politics!

The Pharisees were “hypocrites” filled with “malice”.  They were also cowards in that they wouldn’t even act on their own malicious plot.  Instead, they sent some of their own disciples to try to trap Jesus.  Most likely, the Pharisees sat and discussed this plot in great detail, instructing these messengers on exactly what to say.

They began by complimenting Jesus telling Him they knew He is a “truthful man.”  They then went on to say that they knew Jesus is “not concerned with anyone’s opinion.”  These two accurate qualities of Jesus were spoken because the Pharisees believed they could use them as the foundation of their trap.  If Jesus is truthful and not concerned about other’s opinions, then surely, they could expect Him to declare that there’s no need to pay the temple tax.  The result of such a statement by Jesus would be that He would be arrested by the Romans. 

The sad truth is that the Pharisees spent a tremendous amount of energy plotting and planning this malicious trap.  What a waste of time; time they could have spent spreading love and service to others!  And the glorious truth is that Jesus spent hardly any energy dismantling their plot and revealing them for the malicious hypocrites they were.  He said, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 22:21).

Why it is that human nature feels the need to make everything so transactional?   Why is it that humans need tear others down in order to feel good about themselves?   Why is it so easy to get ‘sucked’ into negativity, mistrust, judgment, and cynicism?   Pharisees and Herodians were very strange bedfellows – they hated each other!  Maybe that’s the message of this gospel, be careful who you hate – hate never has a good outcome!

Jesus is always about love.  They wanted to trip Him up, they’d do anything to ‘catch’ Him – even join their hate together!  

We all belong to God’s Kingdom.  We’re heirs to God and God’s kingdom, and that defines for us who we are and Whose we are (Romans 8:16-17).   We have a privileged citizenship, and we’re called to extend that privilege to all in God’s kingdom.   We, like Jesus need to be voices of love and truth to all facets of our lives.  We can’t be about plotting against, we must be about building the kingdom, finding ways to bridge rather than divide, search for common ground that makes room for growth, vision, and possibility.  We must be like Jesus and learn to make room for the light of the Holy Spirit – and trust where that light shines (Philippians 2:16-17).

Heaven is for the Holy

 

There’s no better gift than to receive a card or letter or see a social media post letting us know that we made a difference in someone’s life and blessed them in ways we likely would never have known.  That’s what St. Paul was up to when he wrote to the church in Ephesus, letting them know that he was so edified by their faith and their love—so brought to joy—that he had “never stopped thanking God” for them and remembering them when he prayed; indeed, Paul was so grateful that he told them exactly what he prayed for on their behalf (Ephesians 1:15-23).

First, he prayed that God would give them the “wisdom and insight” to know God because if they know everything but don’t know God, they don’t know the one thing they really need to know for a good and meaningful life.  Second, Paul asked that God enlighten them so that they grasp “the great hope” to which God not only had called them, but also wants for them: the unbroken joy and unsurpassable love that’s found in everlasting communion with God and the saints.  Third, Paul prayed that they recognize the special gifts that God had entrusted to every member of the church at Ephesus; that they should recognize and claim those gifts, and they should use them generously in serving others, whether in the church or in the wider community.  Finally, when Paul urged them to embrace “the immeasurable power” of God that was at work in them, he was reminding them why they should never feel hopeless or defeated.  They should be bold and courageous in their faith, in their love, and in all the good they did because no matter what life might throw at them, God is always with them and working through them; therefore, they could do far more than they ever imagined.  Paul knew that was true because they had already done so for him.

Of course, this letter of thanksgiving to the Ephesians is also meant for us, in our lives, today.  The best way for us to receive it is to take to heart everything St. Paul says, and live our lives in a holy manner pleasing to God.

In contrast to St. Paul’s letter, there are modern-day ‘evangelists’ who continue to post to the various social media platforms accusatory memes or messages that warn us if we don’t “like” and forward their very important, spiritually relevant message, we don’t acknowledge Jesus before others, as He told His disciples:  "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.  But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God." (Luke 12:8-12)

What is denial of the Son of God?  Surely it isn't just saying the words: "Jesus is not the Incarnate Son of God!"  Rather, it involves behaving like Jesus' teachings are irrelevant.

There's an old saying, "Actions speak louder than words!"  Meaning, we must be careful that our behavior in no way contradicts what we say we believe.  In order to call ourselves Christians, we must acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior. Some days, it will be easy.

Going to church each week we feel comfortable calling ourselves Christians and naming Jesus as our savior.  We wear our crosses and go to Bible study where it’s easy to call Jesus the Son of God, where we feel comfortable pronouncing our faith.

But do we treat Jesus with the same reverence when we go out on the weekends?  Do we acknowledge Christ when we’re out with our friends?  Do we defend His name when asked why we remain in the church?  Do we call ourselves Christians when it’s not comfortable or the popular thing to do?

Sometimes the right choice is not always the popular one.  There will always be instances in our lives in which we find ourselves comfortable, then uncomfortable.  If you called someone your best friend yesterday, would you stand up for him if you found out he was being bullied today?  Would you say you were proud of your son one day, then bail him out of jail the next?

We’re called to treat these situations just as we are to treat our relationship with Jesus.  We’re not called to be like the disciples who were with Him when He was popular then against Him when He was a criminal.  We’re called to be like John and call Him our savior until the bitter end.  It will be difficult.  In order to nurture our relationship with Him, we might challenge ourselves to implement daily prayer.  We must live the gospel in our words and actions, treating the least of God's people as we wish to be treated.  Perhaps most importantly, we must defend him in conversation when called to do so.  Like many things in life, being a Christian isn’t always easy, but rewarding in the end.  If we want to be acknowledged on judgment day, it’s our duty to acknowledge Jesus as God—though not necessarily by “liking” an accusatory Facebook or Instagram post.

When we hear any accusatory voice, we should never listen to it.  Not at all.  Never ever.  It's the sound of condemnation.  If it makes you feel belittled, unworthy of love, undeserving of good things, unable to receive forgiveness, that's not the merciful Father speaking.

Whenever God speaks to us, He speaks to whatever is true in us, whatever is noble, what is right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy in us.

On the other hand, if the voice disagrees with our Lord’s nature and what He’s said about you, reject it.  It's Satan accusing you.  And he's a liar.  Jesus called him the father of lies (John 8:44).  Satan wants to undermine our relationship with God the Father so that he can become our spiritual father.

For example, our loving Father would never say to us, "You're a sinner, therefore I do not love you."  Or "You're a failure."  Or "You're not good enough."  Nor would He ever communicate words of shame to us.  The Father created us as "good" (Genesis 1:26-31).  We were made in the image of God and He always sees the good in us.  When He invites repentance, it’s with encouragement, never shame.

There’s no condemnation for us if we’re in Christ Jesus because He’s set us free from the law of sin and the punishment of death.  He gave us His own Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-2); therefore when the Father looks at us, He sees the Holy Spirit and He sees our desire to grow in holiness.  Even if that desire is nearly imperceptible, He sees it.  He smiles at us and embraces us and affirms what is good in us.

Only those who have no such desire should worry about condemnation.  There are many who claim to believe in Jesus but, lacking a desire to be holy, they don’t remain in Him. They don’t follow Him.  Remember that even demons believe in Jesus—which is why they work so hard to pull us away from Him.

We don’t have to go around being an “in-your-face” sort of Christian.  But we do have to easily, freely, transparently, and completely allow our faith and love of God shine forth, especially when it’s uncomfortable and difficult.  Most likely all Christians hesitate in doing this.  For that reason, the saints and martyrs are great examples for us.  But if they only remain examples, then their example is not enough.  We must live their witness and become the next saint or martyr in the witness God calls us to live.

We should reflect often upon whether we’re only inspired by the martyrs and saints or if we actually imitate them.  If it’s the former, we should pray that their inspiring witness effects a powerful change in our life.

Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:28-29).  

Heaven is only for the holy.  The only unforgivable sin is to reject the desire to be holy.  No one who deliberately rejects holiness will want to spend eternity with God and the saints.