Gospel text for Sunday 28 October 2018

Mark 10:46-52        Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. 

Reflection        When Jesus asks Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” I want to ask Jesus, “Why are you asking a blind man what he wants? Isn’t it obvious?” In “The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything,” the theologian James Martin, S.J. suggests, “Jesus was helping the blind man identify his desire and to be clear about it.” (p 58) You see, it is when we notice and name the deepest desire of our hearts that we discover God’s desire for us. 

Martin explains, desire gets a bad rap in many Christian circles, mostly because we think of it only in terms of sex and consumerism. But, sex is clearly one of our greatest gifts because “without it, where would we be?” The desire to consume food, shelter and clothing is our natural desire to survive.  Desire is a primary way in which God speaks to us. Of course we are not talking about superficial or inordinate desires for a perfect home, a showier car, more power, more privilege, another cruise…  you fill in the blank.  

When Jesus asks Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” he is asking, “What is the deepest desire of your heart?” Sitting by the roadside, Bartimaeus has had plenty of time to think about it, and when someone sitting near him nudges him, “Jesus is calling you,” he does not hesitate to declare his desire, “I want to see again.” When Jesus says to him, “Go; your faith has made you well,” he is inviting Bartimaeus “out of his distress into a broad place with no constraint.”  Accepting the invitation, Bartimaeus throws off the cloak of his past, leaps up, and changes the course of his life, no longer sitting on the sideline of life but immediately  following Jesus on the way. 

A key to discerning God’s desire for us is noticing and naming our desires. Our deepest desires help us to admit God’s desire for us.

A pivotal moment in my life occurred following a week long intensive, training future spiritual directors, when my colleague and dear friend looked me straight in the eye and asked, “What is your deepest desire, what do you want to do with your life?” I can still feel the sinking sense in my stomach knowing I would have to speak aloud the words I had denied for decades. “I want to be a priest.” My friend’s  response, “Well, it is about time you said it.” 

After nine years sitting in darkness, the voice of my friend broke through the whirlwind of my self-absorbed suffering, inviting me to notice and name the deepest desire of my heart. In so doing I  joined Bartimaeus in noticing and naming our desires. Finally I could say out loud, “Although there is no way I can do this thing called priesthood (frankly it terrifies me), I know that God can do all things, and that no purpose of God’s can be thwarted.” Within the month I left my home to begin the journey toward priesthood.

Now, let me ask you, what is the deepest desire of your heart?  

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Gospel test for Sunday 27 July 2014

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52         Jesus put before the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Reflection        The kingdom of heaven is like the most fantabulous, extraordinary, multicolor, surrond sound, kaleidoscope of majestic, triumphant, sublime, angelic, grace and glorious holiness. No. That is not what Jesus said. The kingdom of heaven is like a miniscule seed, baker’s yeast, a buried treasure, a wild-goose chasing merchant, a fishing expedition. What are we to make of this? Heaven is not celestial, blissful, supernatural holiness? Heaven is everyday, run-of-the-mill stuff hidden in plain sight. 

Do you remember the “Where’s Waldo” books? “Where’s Waldo at the Beach? The Santa Spectacular? The Incredible Paper Chase? In Hollywood? The Search for the Lost Things?” If you are not familiar with Waldo, he is an adventurous, gangly, bespectacked teen age boy whom you might find on the road, in deep seascapes, in a crowded room or squeezed between memos or skyscrapers. The way the ‘reader’ relates with Waldo books is by searching for Waldo in the elbow-to-elbow mob scenes in Escheresque images. The thing is, Waldo is not hiding. He is an ordinary boy in a red and white striped tee shirt who may show up anywhere. The question is, do you, the ‘reader’ of the “Where’s Waldo” books  have the desire to find him? The persistence to keep looking? And the eyes to be surprised when finding him in plain sight? 

Waldo is like a seed sowed in a field. He is like yeast, a hidden treasure, a pearl of great value, a good fish in a buldging net. He is always right there in the midst of ordinary things waiting for you to be surprised and delighted by his presence. 

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Gospel text for 2 December 2012

 Luke 21:25-36       Jesus said, "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Reflection           Pothos (longing) and Himeros (desire) were sons of the Greek God Eros (love). Whereas Himeros desired that which is humanly possible to acquire, Pothos longed for that which is beyond human reach. As we enter this Advent season of anticipation and expectation I find myself standing between the brothers Pothos and Himeros. I desire the things of the world be made well, I long for union in my God, and I wonder if either is possible? But as I look around and see wars exploding across the globe, economies faltering, pillars of society falling; as I experience my neighbor’s fear and my own trepidation, Jesus’ warning to , “be on guard...not let your heart be weighed down,” cuts to my core, it rings true. With Pothos on my right side and Himeros on my left I must “stand up and raise my head.” I dare not fear that my desire and longing will not be satisfied. 

When in all of history have human lives not been fraught with times of trial? Not a single epoch I’ve read about lacks the “distress among nations,” and “people fainting from fear and foreboding” that Jesus talks about. I guess that’s why Jesus taught his friends (and us) to pray.... “save us from the times of trial.” It seems the inevitable earthly times of trial are the very ground from which springs our desire for a more whole and holy world. When all the signs point to a world shaken and in distress, we are to turn around, “to stand before the Son of Man,” the only One who may satisfy the deepest longing of our souls. We are to pray, to stay in relationship with God.

On the subject of desire, longing and prayers St. Augustine wrote, “Thy desire is thy prayers; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will also be without ceasing. The continuance of your longing is the continuance of your prayer.”

Advent is a season of desire and longing, longing for what is and for what is to come. Perhaps another way to say that is, Advent is a season of preparing our hearts with prayer to receive what is and what is to come.

Image above is skopas' Pothos; the lyre is a modern addition, the head - with the features of Alexander - is an ancient restoration (Archaeological Museum of Naples)

Gospel text for Sunday 12 August 2012

John 6:35, 41-51

Jesus said to the people, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, `I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Reflection

The people with whom Jesus is speaking were among those Jews who received the loaves of bread that fed five thousand. Apparently the next day they were hungry for more so went looking for Jesus. When they found and began to question him, Jesus said to them, ”Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life… (6.27) …my Father gives you the bread from heaven.” (6.32) With just a few words Jesus switched hands from the literal to the metaphorical, “I am the bread of life.” The writer of John’s text wants us to move from seeking the physical (manna, loaves of bread and signs of Jesus’ identity) to seeking the divine (life in the Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Which raises the question for me, “Am I willing to find my life sustaining “bread” in relationship with Jesus and God the Father?"

If I chose to respond to this invitation literally (physically) I would react as did the Jews who “disputed among themselves saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”” (6.52) As the disciples noted, “This teaching is difficult.” (6.60) And that is precisely what faith is about, things that we cannot wrap our minds around. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1) Holding a loaf of bread in my hands I have no need for faith. I can touch and see the weight and substance of the loaf, and it will temporarily relieve my physical hunger. But to experience the life giving qualities of abundance, satisfaction, fulfillment, even joy I must look beyond the physical and find my life in Jesus, that I might live in him and he in me.   

We are all moved by hunger for something more and have oh so creatively contrived means to sate our desires; acquisition of food, wealth, property, power, status, partners, perpetual youth.  This is nothing new to the human condition. You can read about it in the Old Testament in stories of King David, in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times or People Magazine.  The thing is, the deepest desire of our hearts cannot be satisfied by anything physical. The deepest desire of our hearts invites us to discover that which is beyond the physical in the physical, to find divinity in the flesh.

I believe we all have glimpses of divinity in the flesh, moments when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms is pulled aside. For a chef it might happen while holding a sheaf of parsley in his hand, reverently inspecting the curl of the leaves and twists of the stems while rubbing a bit between his tongue and palate. A new parent might get a glimpse sniffing the scent of their fresh bathed infant or a music lover following the decrescendo of a plaintiff melody. It could be the smell of rain on the desert or the look in your dying friend’s eyes. I believe we all have had glimpses of the divine in the flesh.

It is this to which Jesus invites us to find our life, our true and eternal life.  It is the very flesh of this life that draws us  to reach (and taste) something more.  

John 14.6-14

Here are my responses to the four questions for engaging this text.

I observe Jesus claiming identity with the Father – God. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” And even Philip who has walked with Jesus and lived with Jesus, who has seen Jesus’ healing and heard his teaching, even Philip doesn’t get it that Jesus is the living Son of God. If even Philip doesn’t “believe” how much harder for those of us who have never seen Jesus to really “believe.”

Jesus’ promise that, “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do,” is both attractive and disturbing. I deeply desire to love and do acts of mercy and compassion such as Jesus did. And I believe that I believe Jesus is the Incarnation of Holy God. Still, I love conditionally, I am judgmental and much of the time my actions in the world are less than compassionate and merciful. I can only deduce from this that, like Philip, I still do not “believe.”

I wonder what would happen if I more consciously and conscientiously chose to open my heart and respond to the ordinary people and situations in my life with mercy and compassion? I wonder if that would strengthen my belief? I wonder if that might help me recognize Jesus as Incarnate God? Still, I know me, there is every chance that I think I desire to love and be compassionate as was Jesus but actually I will not follow through. It seems I cannot even sustain my desire.

O Lord, give me the grace to desire to know you and make my belief strong so that my actions in the world will continue Your works of mercy and compassion. In the name of Jesus the Christ I pray. Amen