Luke 14:1, 7-14

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Reflection        In this season of political theatrics it is clear, God’s version of political power is not getting much media coverage because God’s political power exalts the humble and the meek. Jesus’ mother Mary knew this when she sang Hannah’s song “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly….” (Luke 1.45-55) and apparently Mary effectively communicated this wisdom to her son whom we hear unequivocally,“For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." ( Luke 14:11)

The social political structures that support domination and oppression; racism, classism, agism, nationalism, sexism, elitism, all of the ‘isms’ or ideologies that support domination and oppression will be replaced by God’s political power which is expressed in humble self-giving love – servant love. As Jesus firmly informed the  disciples who were disputing about which one of them was to be the greatest;  “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves….I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:24-27) We, the people of God, are to become new as Jesus, to be and to lead the new way of the kingdom of God by serving others, especially the least and the lost and the lonely.

Essentially Jesus is saying, “This is how to subvert power that intends to dominate or oppress. Be humble. Refuse honor. Serve the oppressed. Do this rather than buy into the established social political structures that dominate and oppress.” Arguably the single greatest expression of political power in history is the Incarnation. God emptied God’s self, humbled God’s self to become fully human, not only consenting to the human condition, but consenting to suffer with all of humanity. Not only refusing to call upon divine power to escape evil and suffering, but holding nothing back

 God gave God’s self to be with and for humanity even in death.

This is noble power. This is humble servant power. In Luke’s gospel text, in fact in most of his teachings and parables Jesus seems to be saying, “If the law, if power is an instrument of dominance and oppression, if the law, power is used to give advantage to some at the expense of others, If the law, power excludes some people from full participation in God’s Kingdom, ever so humbly refuse to comply. Go and sit down at the lowest place. Sit on the bench with homeless women at Sr.José’s homeless shelter. Help set up St. Andrew’s Medical Clinic to serve suffering children. Help care for the pets of our penniless neighbors by supporting Paws With a Cause. Raise a cup and share a meal to support our friends stricken with HIV/Aids at the Pink Party in Tucson next Sunday evening.”

Where shall we sit? Shall we elbow our way to places of honor with great media coverage or humble ourselves, refuse honor and sit with the least and the lost and the lonely?

Paste this link into your browser to read a contemporary psychologists reflection on “The Paradoxical Power of Humility.”  https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainsnacks/201501/the-paradoxical-power-humility 

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Gospel text for Sunday 21 August 2016

Luke 13:10-17        Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Reflection    Twenty five years ago I swung my bruised body on my all too familiar crutches into my acupuncturist’s office. Being a whole person healer Dr. D began by listening attentively to my tale of woe; my head dive over a patch of ice, my frozen ski binding that provided the opportunity for my femur to release out the side of my leg, the head first toboggan ride down the ski mountain, the sea of faces in the chair lift line all silently praying, “Thank God that’s not me,” the medic gone rogue yanking my leg across the equator, the single minded orthopedic surgeon whose only answer was the knife, my stubborn refusal to submit to his plan, now, 10 days later, my crippled leg lay motionless on Dr. D’ acupuncture table.” Throughout my monologue Dr. D drivers spiked points of pain into my ankles, wrists, top of my head. When finally my words run dry Dr. D pauses, needle in midair and avers, “One day you will be grateful for all of the traumas and pain you have experienced,” which stung more grievously than the needle she promptly planted into my swollen knee. 

Suffering happens. The weight of suffering is integral to the constitution of life. In the words of the old Rolling Stones song, “No, you can't always get what you want. You can't always get what you want. You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime you find. You get what you need.” 

Thich Nhat Hanh refers to this attitude of consenting and welcoming the present moment as mindfulness. In an interview with Krista Tippett the Vietnamese monk explains. “Mindfulness is assent to life as it is. Look at a flower and see that it is on its way to be garbage. Look at garbage and see it is on its way to be a flower.”+ In the same way we may experience suffering as being on the way to compassion. And of course, when we experience compassion we are on the way to experience suffering with others.

What does all of this have to do with the woman who was “bent over and quiet unable to stand up straight?” Everything. We have no idea what ails her but we do know this. Two thousand years ago if she had scoliosis, not only would she suffer the physical pain associated with the condition, but her neighbors would see her as a sinner who must have done something wrong to bring this grievous state upon herself, the religious leaders would consider her doubly unclean (woman and diseased) which  would foster oppressive feelings of guilt and unworthiness and eject this woman into exile.

Then Jesus arrives and turns the proverbial temple tables upside down. In direct violation of social norms and temple law, Jesus looks at the woman and calls her to him, he calls her to return from exile. Then he speaks directly to her, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." and lays his hands on her. Jesus sees the woman exactly as she is. He not only acknowledges her existence he affirms her dignity and worth by touching her. And the healing is this. The woman is set free from the social, emotional and religious conditions that have oppressed her for eighteen years and her relationship with God is restored. “Immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.”

We are all bent beneath the weight of something. And, if we are not now, just wait a minute. Jesus shows us the way of living freely; refusing to be oppressed by physical, social, emotional or religious conditions; look into the face of suffering, consent to the present moment and discover God with you, no matter what.

+To hear Thich Nhat Hanh’s entire interview, click on this link       http://www.onbeing.org/program/thich-nhat-hanh-cheri-maples-and-larry-ward-being-peace-in-a-world-of-trauma/74 accessed August 20, 2016.
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Gospel text for Sunday 14 August 2016

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Gospel text for Sunday 31 July 2016

                                                                                                                                                         Mt. Lemmon Sky Lab   

Luke 12:13-21        Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, `What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, `Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

Reflection        It is not all about me, rather, it is all about we.  Apparently the person in the crowd who “…said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me,”” quite forgot this bit of wisdom. He was willing to sacrifice the “we” of his fraternal relationship in favor of augmenting the personal possessions of his “me.”  Isn’t it ironic, to ask Jesus, of all rabbis, to be the mediator of such action; Jesus, the ultimate reconciler of all people?

What the greedy brother fails to recognize and Jesus’ parables intend to teach is the interdependence of all creatures and creation. 

Words from my favorite contemporary poet David Whyte’s poem “Everything is Waiting For You” sing in my heart. 

“Your great mistake is to act the drama as if your were alone.”

“To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.”

“Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.” 

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation.”

Whyte’s words invite us into conversation with with each other and all that is. This is where we find our riches. This is were we discover who and whose we are. 

Please click on the image in the upper right hand corner of this post to hear Whyte’s poem and his commentary.  Uploaded to YouTube on Feb 26, 2011, Internationally acclaimed poet David Whyte is an Associate Fellow at Templeton College and Said Business School at the University of Oxford, David works with many European, American and international companies, using poetry and thoughtful commentary to illustrate how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement. In his talk, David encourages us to remain open to know the dialogue with our surroundings inform and inspire our ideas. (accessed July 30, 2016)

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Gospel text for Sunday 24 July 2016

Luke 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” 

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, `Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Reflection       If even Jesus is subject to the “time of trial,” (think forty days tempted in the wilderness immediately following his glorious baptismal moment (Luke 4.2)) it might serve us well to acknowledge our own vulnerability to temptation and take Jesus’ prayer to heart, “Do not bring us to the time of trial,” or in Matthew’s version, “but rescue us from the evil one.”

What if we decided to admit, “I am subject to temptation. I am susceptible to trials?” What if in the company of the Apostle Paul we humbly confessed, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate?” (Rom 7:15) A long time ago when married my husband and I had an argument. I was sitting at the far end of the great room. He was on the other side of the room, his back toward me. Sitting there I rehearsed in my mind reasoned words of reconciliation. “This is not who we are. This is not how I want to be with you. Can we remember why we are together? Can we hit reset and do better?” 

Feeling composed with my conciliating words I walked across the room, stood in front of him and out of my mouth blast indictment and condemnation while my inner narrator commented, “I do not want to say this. I am doing what I do not want.” And like Paul I concluded, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Ro 7.17, 19) 

Have you ever experienced a  disconnect between your mind and your mouth? Have you ever experienced a rupture between your deepest desires and your actions? Welcome to the human condition. This is not because we are bad it is because we are vulnerable.  We are assailable to trials, liable to temptation. This is intrinsic to our human condition, the very same condition to which Jesus was subject. 

What are we to do when we realize we are not in control?  Beat ourself up? Take a drink, a pill or eat to numb the effects? Redouble our efforts to be in control? Or, might we consent to the reality that we are vulnerable and follow Jesus’ counsel, “Pray, saying Father…”  Even Jesus did not rely on himself to control his situation. In all things Jesus turned to his relationship with God.

There is no shame in being subject to the time trial. The inability to be in control is not cause for self recrimination. Apparently Jesus knew this as did the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous when in the late 1930s they identified the first of three of twelve steps toward a transformed life; admitting we are not in control, believing there is a power greater than ourselves that can restore us and and deciding to turn our will toward that power… the power we call God, the God to whom we pray saying, “Our Father…”

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Gospel text for Sunday 17 July 2016

                                                          Luke 10:38-42        As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Reflection      Even though Martha got the first part right, inviting Jesus into her home, it was not long before her concern about preparing Jesus a proper meal drove her to distraction and resentment of her sister Mary.  Can you hear Martha clanging her pots and pans while muttering, “Sure must be nice to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to his stories while I mash chickpeas in the kitchen!”

I have heard many commentaries play off Martha against Mary and I believe they miss an important point. Let me suggest that Martha and Mary represent two aspects of our selves, both of which are essential for us to be whole; the listening heart of Mary and the serving heart of Martha.  Mary and Martha go hand in hand. Contemplation and action belong together.

For Martha’s actions to be sensitive they must arise from the receptive state represented by Mary.  For Mary’s reflection to be productive it must lead to effective action. Jesus sees that Martha’s actions are rooted in worry and distress and consequently are neither sensitive nor effective. She identifies with being busy, “I am the responsible one. If it was not for me nothing would get done around here.” Martha’s interior state is unsettled, worried and accusatory which undermines anything she does.

By contrast Mary’s interior state is quiet and attentive. Her listening heart is open to experience the presence of Jesus, God with her.  There is, however, a hazard possible for Mary as well. Some may call it quietude or self-indulgent navel gazing. Eventually Mary must stand up and allow her relationship with God to effect the way she lives her life. When she does her actions will be sensitive and effective.

Most of the time most of us find our ordinary state of awareness is much like distraught Martha. In that fazed and fuddled state we are incapable of living the Way of Jesus; loving God and loving our neighbors. What we need are both sisters, holding hands and showing us the way of a sensitive listening heart compelled to effective action. Then, in the words of Cynthia Bourgault we will have “the capacity to be fully engaged at every level of (our) being: alive and simultaneously present to both God and the situation at hand.” (Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, p 117)

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Gospel text for Sunday 10 July 2016

Luke 10:25-37        Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.' Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise.”

Reflection      Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is pray saying, “O God, I love you. I love all of your creation.” I pray for my church and pray the daily office. I am disciplined in my prayer life. But if when I stop saying my prayers and head into the world I do not stop at the side of the road to give water to my dehydrated neighbor I am not loving God. Every Sunday I go to church. I am devoted to reading and studying the scriptures, saying the prayers, receiving the bread and wine made holy. But if I do not go out of my way to help the lost, the lonely and the least among us, I am not loving God. 

Here’s the thing. If I cannot or will not or do not love the people I see right in front of me, how can I possibly love God whom I cannot see at all? Some of you may recall that the great convert Paul established a church for the Gentiles, meaning the non-Jews,  in Corinth and stayed in touch with the new Christians through friends and letters. Apparently Paul was concerned that some of the Corinthian Christians imagined they were better than others; more spiritual, more righteous, more knowledgable. Throughout his letter to these early Christians Paul reminds them that no matter how much they think they know or how good they think they are, if they do not have love, they have nothing at all. In Paul’s words, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (ICor 13.1-3) 

All around us we find opportunities to participate in God’s eternal love; in the hunger of our neighbors, in the loneliness of our friends and parishioners who are unable to join us for worship and play, in dogs and cats who need friends and veterinary care, in strangers or foreigners who need welcome, a bottle of water, a place to live, in the oppressed and the poor who need access to resources, prisoners and addicts and all folks who need hope and another chance. 

The question before us is not, “How are we to inherit eternal life?”  The question before us is, “How are we going to love our neighbors and in so doing love our God?” 

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