Gospel text for Passion Sunday 20 March 2016

Luke 22:39-46        He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ [Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.] When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’

Reflection       It is human nature to react and meet violence with violence. We are hard wired to protect ourselves. That is why when the disciples see Judas preparing to betray Jesus they ask, “Should we strike with the sword?” Should we counter-attack?  Jesus is unequivocal. “No,” but the sword has already injured the ear of a slave. Then Jesus responds in the extreme; Jesus touches and heals the injured slave’s ear. The kingdom of God does not operate according to the same rules of engagement as the kingdom of humanity.

The disciples do not understand this because, instead of following Jesus’ instruction to, “Pray that you may not be tempted,” they fall asleep, which is to say, they are unconsciousness. The question before each of us is, “Are we asleep or are we praying that we “won’t give in to temptation?” Are we praying to align our will in the will of God? Are we open to receive the spiritual strength to live in accord with God's rules of engagement? Or are we like the disciples, unconsciously reacting and willing to preemptively strike out against those who threaten or betray us?

Here’s the thing. It is down right painful to avoid the temptation to react to anger with anger or violence with violence. It takes an enormous amount of discipline forged of continual turning to God in prayer to resist the ways and temptations of the world. It is only in the grace of God, represented by the angel from heaven that strengthened Jesus in his fevered prayer, that we too can offer healing, forgiveness and peace to our world held hostage by fear mongering, power-hungry, self-serving individuals and institutions. 

The time is now to wake up and pray for the strength to align our will in the will of God and live according with God's rules of engagement.  Unless we stay awake and pray we will be swept into the sea of violence and the peace and reconciling power of God’s Spirit  that flowed through Jesus will fail to continue to flow through us. The kingdom of God depends on us and we depend on prayer so "Pray that you may not succumb to temptation."

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Gospel text for 13 March 2016

John 12:1-8       Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?" (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Reflection        As a priest given the privilege of anointing let me just say this. Whether I am placing a frankincense scented sign of the cross on an infant’s pristine forehead or anointing an elder person’s  furrowed brow and curled feet on their deathbed, the confluence of touch, and smell, and prayer arouses Divine Presence and reaches beyond time. This is truly holy ground. I believe this is what Jesus’ disciple Mary recognized. She was meeting Jesus on holy ground. Mary could see beyond external appearances to something more, to the spiritual dimension. Mary recognized Divine Presence in and of and with Jesus. 

By contrast, Judas was locked into worldly affairs. He could not see beyond external appearances and so he took advantage of Jesus’ situation for his personal gain. Because his heart was hardened he did not recognize Jesus nor could he recognize himself. The deepest truth of Judas’ self, that he too was a beloved son of God, was hidden from him.  Judas could not recognize divine presence with him. But the heart of Mary, the true disciple, was broken open with love. Putting her faith in something more than external appearances, love poured through her extravagantly, like expensive perfume released from a bottle permeating the air and infusing the holy ground. 

This week I had a glimpse of what extravagant love looks like when a woman shared with me her experience as a caregiver. The person given to this woman’s care is not what we would describe as a docile dying woman. She tends to be querulous and wearing. She has been dying for a very long time. Nonetheless the caregiver sees beyond the unpleasant external appearances  and veritably glows when describing sitting with this woman, ministering to her every need and demand, often at great physical and emotional personal expense. What I saw in the face and heard in the words of the tireless caregiver was extravagant love, poured through her like expensive perfume, recognizing the holy ground hidden in plain sight.

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Gospel text for 6 March 2016

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

All the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So Jesus told them this parable: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate.

"Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”

    

Reflection        The most hopeful and glorious thing about this story for me is the overabundant  and unconditional welcome home the father gave to his estranged son. As soon as the profligate son admitted to himself,  (“came to him self”), that in violating his father’s trust he had also violated his relationship with God, harmony was restored. But the son did not know this. He thought his shameless actions condemned him to be of lesser value to his father. He thought he would have to beg forgiveness and assume the role of a hired hand. And those very thoughts changed everything. The son’s humility coupled with his desire to return home turned him from disorientation to reorientation. His choice to return to relationship with his father aligned him with the will of his father and with God. No groveling. No payment.

When the father “put his arms around his son and kissed him,” any concern for lost property, social stigma or irresponsible behavior was eradicated. The father immediately reinstated the son in the family and community. The father’s unrestrained welcome is the natural response to restored relationship, it is the grace filled, God given response.  

Here is the thing. In God’s economy what is primary is love and relationship. Action may be called sin in as much as it fails to enhance love or undermines relationships. The traditional understanding of sin as private acts that require explanation, amends, satisfaction or restitution fails to acknowledge the grace of God  that, “…does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…” (1Cor 13.6-8a) 

In an imagined conversation between the father and returned son Louis Savary writes, “Let’s not focus on the past, my son. Stay focused on my love and my grace. Never let others discourage you concerning your past. There is much work to be done in the present and the future and you can best do your part in that work as my forward-looking free son…” This is recovery. This is resurrection life, given by grace to all who choose to change their minds and turn toward God. 

 Savary, Louis M. The New Spiritual Exercises: In the Spirit of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. NY. Pallets Press, 2010. p33.

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Hebrew Testament Text for Sunday 28 February 2016

Exodus 3:1-15        Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.”

Reflection        What does the tale of Moses talking to a burning bush have to do with us today? That depends entirely on how we choose to engage it. If we read these lines of scripture briskly noting, ‘I’ve heard this story a million times,” we can walk right past the burning bush. It will have little effect. There is every reason to believe that Moses could have done just that. In fact, there is a bush that grows is Northern Africa and Southern Asia named Dictamnus. It is commonly called ‘the Burning Bush.’ The Dictamnus plant produces volatile oils that cover the entire plant. In very hot weather the bush sometimes spontaneously combusts and burns in a flash. 

Being a shepherd on the desert it is likely Moses had some knowledge if not experience of ‘the burning bush’ and could easily have decided to stay focused on his business of shepherding and continue on his way. No story. But when Moses saw the burning bush he paused to ponder, to inquire. “I must turn aside and look at this great sight…”  He was receptive to the cloud of unknowing, the incomprehensible mystery before him. Moses’ heart and mind were open to look with wonder. He was willing to set aside what he knew (what he was doing) in order to engage what he did not know.

As we pass by this mythic tale, shall we pause? Might there be an invitation to look at whatever is before us and wonder how the eternal flame of God might be speaking to us? Are we willing to “turn aside” from the ordinary course of our life and “see” something extraordinary? Are we willing to engage something we can neither understand nor control? Are we willing to step out of our comfortable ruts and admit God’s Presence? Are we willing to let the course of  our life be changed? Are we willing to do what is humanly impossible, make a difference in peoples lives, perhaps even leading a whole nation of oppressed people to freedom? 

Before he knew what God would ask him to do Moses responded to God’s call saying, “Here I am Lord.” Moses stepped onto holy ground, into holy relationship. And by the grace of God with him the simple shepherd did what was impossible, led the oppressed Hebrews to freedom.  

Are we willing to listen to the cries of people suffering in our midst? The aged, disabled, infirm, addicted, imprisoned, homeless? The impoverished, the foreigner, the refugee? African Americans, Native Americans, South Americans? Are we willing to answer God’s call to deliver all of God’s people to a “land of milk and honey?” If there is a burning bush standing in our way, perhaps it is time to pause and ponder it. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictamnus accessed 25 Feb 2016.

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Gospel text for Sunday 21 February 2016

Luke 13:31-35        Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’"

Reflection         There is a lot going on in this text, in fact, the verb “to go” is what captures my imagination. The Pharisees’ warning to Jesus to “Get away…” can also be translated “Go away.” Immediately Jesus responds telling the Pharisees to go to Herod and that he must go and finish his work during the next three days on his way to Jerusalem. The irony is, Jesus tells the Pharisees that he has to go to Jerusalem to be killed in response to their warning to go away to avoid being killed.

It is also worth wondering, what turned the Pharisees around? All along the way the Pharisees have gone out of their way to challenge and entrap Jesus. Now, they are going out of their way to warn him that Herod wants to kill him? Why the sudden change of heart and tactic? Frankly, we have no idea what the Pharisees were thinking. Some commentators suggest their motives were genuine. Others suggest that even though the religiously conservative Pharisees secured their lives by working as arms of the state, interpreting Jewish law and maintaining order among the Jewish people, some of them described Herod the Great as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis, the evil genius of the Judean nation.”*  At the end of the day, Pharisees were Jews, not Romans. Their God was the God of Israel, not Herod.  

Apparently some of the Pharisees put their lives on the line when they warned Jesus to “Go away…” They chose to turn away from their comfortable alliance with the occupying Roman officials that insured their protected status in favor of turning toward the God of Israel. Turning toward God, following the way of Jesus, is costly. In fact, it costs everything. As the German Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, grace is not cheap.

Grace requires more than being a law abiding citizen. Grace requires more than being socially and politically correct. Grace requires we go, pick up our cross and follow Jesus to Jerusalem, “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” It means dying to our old way of bartering for safety, security, esteem, power and control in exchange for obedience to secular authority.  Grace means being born again as people who put flesh on the bones of our faith by standing up for the dignity of all people. Grace invites us to risk everything, to put our safety, security, esteem, power and control on the line in order to go, to follow the way of Jesus and live according to a higher standard of dignity for all people. It seems, some of the Pharisees acted on this. 

Achtemeier, Paul J., Harper’s Bible Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.), 1985.

Spino, Ken (Rabbi) (2010). "History Crash Course #31: Herod the Great (online)". Crash Course in Jewish History. Targum Press. ISBN 978-1-5687-1532-2. Retrieved 7 May 2013.

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Gospel text for Sunday 14 February 2016

Luke 4:1-13        After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written,'Worship the Lord your God,

and serve only him.'"Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,'He will command his angels concerning you,to protect you,'

and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Reflection        While in the wilderness Jesus demonstrates the discernment of Spirits. What do we mean by discernment? A dictionary definition  of discernment is “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure; to distinguish and select what is true, appropriate or excellent; to penetrate beyond the obvious.” This definition of discernment is all about what we are able to do. We are the active agents. It is about us grasping, penetrating and mastering the situation.

The definition of discernment found in Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises* is, “…our willingness to look at and appreciate the signs of God’s love for us and, in response to the voice of the Spirit of God, follow where the Spirit leads.”  The tone is quite different. Rather than grasping, penetrating or mastering we are willing, listening, and following. God is the active agent. We are willing to respond to God through the leading of the Spirit. I believe this is what is happening with Jesus in the wilderness.

Jesus allows the Spirit of God to lead him to the wilderness (metaphor for the movements of his mind and his heart). The story continues with the devil tempting Jesus to grasp, penetrate or  master his situation rather than follow the Spirit of God. If you are the son of God, prove it by satisfying your hunger. If you are the son of God, do something to improve the social and political situation in the world attain fame. If you are the son of God, leap from the top of this temple and prove you are indestructible.  

Each time the devil taunts, tempts and tries to undermine Jesus’ intention to follow the Spirit of God, Jesus returns to the word of God. When inclined to satisfy his hunger Jesus remembers the counsel to the Israelites in the Hebrew scripture and replies, “I do not live by bread alone;” the word of God is the source of my sustenance and life. (Deut 8.2-3)

When tempted to make an idol of social and political power Jesus remembers Moses’ instructions to the Israelites, (Deut 6.13-14) and replies,“Worship the Lord your God and serve only God.” Finally, when provoked to challenge God’s faithfulness, again, rather than relying on himself Jesus listened to the words of Holy Scripture and replied, "You shall not put the LORD your God to the test…” (Deut 6.16) 

Jesus listens to the word of God and willingly follows the lead of the Spirit of God. Lent is our wilderness time, an opportunity for us to do likewise; sacrifice our inclination to grasp, penetrate and master our situations and instead be willing to listen and follow the lead of the Spirit of God.

*The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, as translated by Louis J. Puhl,S.J.

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Gospel text for Sunday, 7 February 2016

Luke 9:28-36       About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Reflection      Isn’t this what we all want… to peek behind the ‘veil,’ have a mountaintop experience, catch a glimpse of the unseen? When Moses descended from his forty day mountaintop experience Aaron and the Israelites saw “the skin of Moses face was shining… because he had been talking to God…” (Exodus 34.30,29) They saw beyond the ‘veil’ that separates humanity and divinity. Likewise, when Jesus took his companions “up the mountain to pray,” Peter, John and James, were awake and witnessed that “…while (Jesus) was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white…” The ‘veil’ separating humanity and divinity was lifted and the three disciples heard a voice from a cloud that left them speechless,  a fitting response to encountering the divine.

When we hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration generally our attention is glued to the supernatural spectacle of neon Jesus glowing on a mountaintop.  If we reorient our attention to the disciples, our eyes are opened to see beyond the extraordinary to the presence of God with the ordinary. When, like the disciples, we wait with Jesus in prayer, our hearts and minds are open to see beyond the ‘veil’ and experience the transforming glory of God with us, with all of us, right here on earth.

As long as we allow our attention to be captured by the supernatural details of Jesus’ transfiguration story (arguing pro and con, did this really happen? is this hyperbole?) we hold the radically transforming power of the story safely at arms length. But when we choose to turn away from the noise and distractions of neon signs and debates, follow Jesus up the mountain and give our attention to God in prayer, there is every chance our hearts and minds will be opened to experience the radically transforming presence of God with us. I wonder if this is what Paul is thinking when he writes to the Corinthians, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit?” (2 Cor 3.18) The veil between humanity and divinity is torn. Nothing is hidden when we stay awake and follow Jesus.

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