Please find my hOlybytes at dasis.medium.com

Hello friends! 

It is a new season and time for a refresh. Each week I will publish a reflection on my journey in relation to the scriptures for the upcoming Sunday. And occasionally, even a drone may sneak into the picture!

Please find and follow me at dasis.medium.com   

There you will find my 4-6 minute reads and can even listen to them read aloud to you by AI. (she almost sounds human)

Please share your thoughts, questions and comments with me and your friends.  Tell me what you would like me to write about. 

Your questions and presence makes me better and I long to hear from you.

Grace, Grit and Gratitude,

Debra

Psalm for Sunday 15 January 2023

 

Dear friends  please see my new blog site at dasis.medium.com   Follow me there as soon the medium site will replace hOlybytes.  Thank you! 

Psalm 40:1-12

 I waited patiently upon the Lord; *
he stooped to me and heard my cry.

 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; * he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God; *
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the Lord.

 Happy are they who trust in the Lord! *
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

 Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us! *
there is none who can be compared with you.

 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *
but they are more than I can count.

 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *
(you have given me ears to hear you);

 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *
and so I said, "Behold, I come.

 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *
'I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart."'

I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O Lord, you know.

Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; *
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.

You are the Lord;
do not withhold your compassion from me; *
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever.

Reflection   Why should I attend Church?: Ruminations of a recently retired priest.

Last night I dipped my toe in a stream of holy water while attending Evening Prayer at Church of the Holy Faith. With one hand wielding his oxygen backpack Mark shuffled his way through the lighting of candles, took his place as officiant and asked me, the only other person present, “Are you familiar with Evening Prayer?” Nodding yes I asked, “Rite I or II?” Raising a solitary finger Mark began the service for two, “From the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same…” 

A moment’s respite in the ancient words quickly gave way to raucous as my heart summoned my roiling head to rest rather than wrestle with the arcane sexist language. From the law written “deep in my heart” I heard, “Be still and know that I am God,  born in the light of this well wrought poetry. Let the letters be ladders rather than stumbling blocks.“ Recalling a year with the great congregation from which only weeks ago I retired I heard myself “speak of your faithfulness,” promoting the practice of “putting our heads in our hearts.” Perhaps I should listen to my own counsel? Sighing I settled on the blue kneeler cushion.  I am almost embarrassed to confess, I felt welcomed home. 

“I waited patiently upon the Lord; he stooped to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;  he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure. He put a new song in my mouth…” 

Like sweet honey slathered on a stone, the responsive reading of the psalms, the mingling of two voices saying the Magnificat and St. Simeon’s song silenced my head, sweetened my heart and set me to “depart in peace.”

Which stands me square in the wake of the question, “Why should I attend Church?” Excusing my hesitating head my heart sings, “Because Church is a holy “other” place. Unlike secular spaces construed to confirm my power, pleasure or position, Church puts me in my proper posture, a nameless creature among numberless others, knees bent before the Mystery, wrought by the work of the people (liturgia), that cannot be captured in words.”

The fact of the matter is this. It is I who is captured by words! “God he. God the Father. Thou. Thy. Mankind.” Rite I language. Why do I balk?  Must the words be stumbling blocks? Rather than meeting each word as a rung on a soaring ladder, aping my ancestors my toes curl and cling to the fettle thing. Admitting I am mired in the clay of the desolate pit I cry, “O God, where can I go from here?”

Thanks be to the Psalmist’s song. “ I waited patiently upon the Lord; he stooped to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;  he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure. He put a new song in my mouth …” 

Today I cease my search for a Church that looks, feels and speaks like me.  Today I stop my futile attempts to feed my heart with reason when it craves mystery. The One, Holy and Living Mystery put a new song in my mouth and this is what I sing.

“I love to do your will, O my God; your law is deep in my heart. I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation at Church of the Apostles. I did not restrain my lips… I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance. I have not concealed your love from the people. Now it is time for me to find my proper place in the heart of a different great congregation and wait patiently to hear my new song.

If you find this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you. 

Gospel text for Sunday 8 January 2023

Matthew 3:13-17        Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Many people who come after Jesus, most notably the writers of the Christian gospels and other religious officials, spill buckets of ink insisting we believe certain things about Jesus. But John the Baptizer ‘came before’ Jesus pointing the way of repentance. And Jesus comes before us, embodying the way of living in right relationship with God, all people and creation. 

The question true Christians face is not, “What do we believe?” It is, “How are we living?”The clue to answer this question is hidden in plain hearing, in Jesus’ response to John’s hesitation to baptize him. And Jesus says, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” We are meant to live in fulfillment of all righteousness.

What does righteousness look like? Let’s begin with what it is not. Righteousness is not an abstract moral code nor a mark of religious piety. Righteousness is not about belief. Righteousness is right living.  It is an attribute of God and as beings created in the image of God, righteousness must also be an attribute of each one of us. Righteousness means living in right relationship with God, all people and creation. As righteous people we are faithful, truthful, humble, and make choices for the good of all people (even at our own expense). 

It is important to understand that the writer of Matthews gospel is interested in Jesus’ identity. This is evidenced in the baptismal narrative when a voice from heaven addresses the crowds, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” But Jesus has a different agenda and I would argue it is Jesus to whom we must listen. Jesus’ life and ministry is nothing if not a gleaming example of how to live in right relationship with God and all people. This is righteousness. 

Which brings us to Jesus’ other weighty word,  ‘fulfillment.’ To fulfill is to make real and carry out. It  presumes there has been an order or instruction that is to be performed and perfected. When Jesus says, “for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness,” we understand the instruction to be performed and perfected is righteousness, living in right relationship with God and with all people. 

The radical twentieth century social activist Dorothy Day who founded the Catholic Worker Movement writes, “All are called to be saints but all are not called to be extraordinary.” Day continues, “God expects something from each one of us that no one else can do. If we don’t do it it will not be done.” *  Each one of us is uniquely gifted to do what only we can do  by living in righteous relationship with God and all people.

Earlier in Matthew’s text we hear John the Baptist excoriating the outwardly religious folk, “You brood of vipers! … Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” (Matt 2.7-8) John’s message is clear. It is not enough to step into the river and be baptized. It is not enough to go to church on Sunday and resume life as usual on Monday. Our actions must make real the mark and mission of our baptism, otherwise the ritual is empty as a fist full of air. 

Empty rituals can not fulfill a life of righteousness. Kings’ Cake at Epiphany parties, exotic vacations even lavish liturgies and baptismal rites may be titillating but they do not fulfill a life of righteousness. We are meant to use our lives to embody and express God’s promise of dignity and love for all people. 

So, how will you answer the call to be an ordinary saint today? How will you do the one thing that no one else can do to fulfill your life of righteousness?

• Shawn Madigan, CSJ, ed., Mystics, Visionaries & Prophets: A historical Anthology of Women’s Spiritual Writings (Minneapolis, Fortress Press) p332.

If you find this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you. 

 

Gospel text for Sunday 18 December 2022

 Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Reflection        Of what are you afraid? Being censured for living in accord with your conscience? Being convicted for challenging the status quo? Being condemned for speaking the unspeakable? loving the unlovable?

The angel said to Joseph, “Do not be afraid…”  Do not be afraid to do what is right even though it puts you crosswise with social, cultural and religious laws and order. Do not be afraid to protect and cherish a pregnant teenager and raise her son as a Holy gift of God. “Do not be afraid.” The angel’s counsel rings through the years to awaken our ears.

Of what are you afraid? Being censured for living in accord with your conscience? Being convicted for challenging the status quo? Being condemned for speaking the unspeakable? loving the unlovable?

Fear is formidable. When bound by trembling, trepidation or timidity  there is no possibility for light, life and love to enter and take root in us. But, when we choose to live without fear we are the fertile ground in which the seed of Holiness is planted, gestates, is born and raised. This I believe is the heart of the story of the ill conceived birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. 

What will it take for us to awaken from the dream that by refusing risk or responsibility we can escape the rough and tumble stumbles of life? What will it take for us to consent to Holiness born in and of, with and through us? The answer is simple. Living without fear.

Living without fear; new light penetrates even our darkest darkness, love replaces faint heartedness and Holiness is born of us. And yes, the birth of Holiness costs our whole lives.

If you find this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you. 

Gospel text for Sunday 11 December 2022

 Matthew 11:2-11        When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Reflection        What are we hoping against hope will arise in the wilderness of our lives today? What are we looking for ? An apocalyptic fix by an autocratic messiah king wielding power from an imperious precipice, bursting onto the scene with grandstanding performances? Or a humble servant silently birthing the Spirit of the living God in our unguarded hearts, one person at a time?

According to the Jewish scholar, rabbi and physician Maimonides, who is to Judaism what St. Thomas Aquinas is to Christianity, belief in the eventual coming of a messiah is a fundamental part of Judaism. Maimonides describes the messiah, the “one who is to come,” this way. “A king shall arise from among the House of David, studying Torah and occupied with commandments like his father David… and he will impel all of Israel to follow it and to strengthen breaches in its observance, and will fight God’s wars, this one is to be treated as if he were the anointed one. If he succeeded and built the Holy Temple in its proper place and gathered the dispersed ones of Israel together, this is indeed the anointed one for certain, and he will mend the entire world to worship the Lord together…”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messia

Rumors must have been rampant about Jesus’ mind-bending mountaintop sermon proclaiming the poor and the hungry are blessed, the meek who understand their place in God’s kingdom are happy and those who are just and sincere are satisfied. (Matt 5.1–11) Waiting in prison and hearing about “all the things” that Jesus was doing; giving sight to the blind, restoring the lame to walk, cleansing the lepers, healing the deaf and raising the dead, John the Baptist had to be scratching his beard in bewilderment. How does Jesus conform to a messiah’s job description?

To make matters even more muddled, some of the things Jesus says are flatly offensive. “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (that would be the religious Jews) you will never enter” God’s kingdom. (Matt 5.20) What? Are not the religious people guaranteed a fast pass to the kingdom? After all, they are the people with temple privileges, the ones who enforce and piously follow the letter of the law. No wonder John is perplexed and sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come?” (see below)

Here is the thing. Jesus does not come to fulfill the letter of the law. He comes to fulfill the Spirit of the law. “You have heard it said, you shall not murder…but I say to you if you are angry with a brother or sister you will be liable to judgement…” (Matt5.21–22) “You have heard it said, an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say… give to anyone who begs from you…” (Matt 5. 38,42) “You have heard it said that you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matt 5.43–44) Give your charitable gifts anonymously. Uphold your position of power with mercy and integrity. Speak truth and treat all people with dignity. Be humble rather than make a display of what a righteous religious person you are. (Matt 6.1–11)

From the point of view of John and the religious Jews of his time, Jesus does not fit the messiah’s job description.This remains true today. Although many Jews understand Jesus to be an exemplary prophet, he fails to gather the “dispersed ones of Israel together,” therefore Jesus cannot be the anointed one. To date Jesus fails “to mend the entire world to worship the Lord together.”

To make matters even worse, Jesus offends the keepers of the law, the religious people, calling them hypocrites, “For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside (you) are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matt 23. 25) “You are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt 23.28) Jesus is exposing the superficial way overtly pious religious folk adhere to the letter of the law but miss the mark by failing to follow the spirit of the law. (Sound familiar?)

The one whom John baptized in the river Jordan, the one whose sandals John is not worthy to tie, the one upon whom the Spirit of God descends, the “one who is to come” and bring the “kingdom of heaven near” appears to be the unorthodox healer, preacher, dissident, Jesus who comes to reform, not replace the Jewish tradition. But John’s expectations about what the messiah’s success should look like prevent him from recognizing Jesus’ status quo shattering presence and consciousness bending invitation to change.

Which begs the question; What expectations, beliefs or preconceived notions make us deaf and blind and unreceptive to the”one who is to come?” What are we hoping against hope will arise in the wilderness of our lives today? What are we looking for this Advent season? An apocalyptic fix by an autocratic king wielding power from an imperious precipice, bursting onto the scene with grandstanding performances? Or a humble servant silently birthing the Spirit of the living God in our unguarded hearts, one person at a time?

If you find this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you.

Gospel text for Sunday 4 December 2022

Matthew 3.1-12        In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

                     "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Reflection        Finding his place in the mystery of the wilderness rather than in Roman baths or columned temple halls, grizzly John the Baptist is an anomalous character. Even though John's scraggly beard is crusty with legs of locust glued to globs of honey and he looks more like a hippie than a holy man, crowds listen to him. What is he saying?  “I am nothing. What I have to offer you is merely a bath in water that is nothing compared to the baptism by fire that the one who follows me will bring to you.” 

John consistently directs attention away from himself toward Jesus. “He who is coming after me is more powerful than me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.” (Matt 3.11) Yet, even as John is a paragon of humility, he is an intrepid prophet fearlessly speaking truth to power. He not only calls for the people’s radical change, “repent and be baptized,” daring to criticize King Herod for marrying his brother’s wife, John also demands social justice. This does not end well for John who ultimately loses his head for it. But I am leaping ahead.

Even though he is a descendant of the priesthood of Aaron, as a comment against common corruption John renounces his rights to a position in the Temple. As a critic of injustice and exploitation the humble prophet John chooses to stand outside of Roman culture and condemn the status quo.  But, in keeping with his culture, John expects a Messiah to come and in a singular sweeping apocalyptic act set the world right. He declares, “(the Messiah) will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

John expects an all powerful Messiah King will bring an end to the corrupt status quo and institute a happily ever after life. This is where he and Jesus part ways.

Somewhere I read the contemporary Christian Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan’s description of a fundamental difference between John the Baptist and Jesus. According to Crossan both of them are interested in how the world will be transformed into the Kingdom of God. John believes the solution to the insoluble social situation depends on a deus ex machina, Divine apocalyptic intervention.  This means the kingdom of God is contingent on a God engineered catastrophic event that happens to the people and instantaneously results in peace and righteousness. 

By contrast, Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God depends on actions through the people, socially conscious action taken to transform the misuse of power, position and privilege in the world. Rather than waiting for a distant god to provoke an apocalyptic event and instantaneously revolutionize the world, Crossan argues that Jesus assigns the responsibility for restoring peace and righteousness and remodeling the world to the slow work of the people. This represents an enormous advance in the development of human consciousness; from apocalyptic magical thinking to taking personal responsibility for the quality of life and care of all humanity.

What does this mean for us today? I believe it means taking a stand with Jesus and exercising the right use of position, power and privilege in response to human suffering; mass shootings, seditious conspiracy, hunger, obfuscation of truth, homelessness, hopelessness and every form of oppression and inhumanity. 

What does this mean for us today?  It means we, the people, must take responsibility to care for the roughly ten percent of the eight billion people in the world who are suffering from extreme poverty; beginning in our own country where nearly thirteen percent endure impoverishment. 

What does this mean for us today? It means we, the people, must speak truth to power, calling for responsibility, accountability and factuality. It means, with all humility we must use our hands and feet and voices to end hate, harm and hopelessness by living, acting and voting to insure dignity and care for all people, beginning where we stand.

No singular apocalyptic event, no messianic savior king or president, will bring to light the Kingdom of God on earth. But a million, a billion, countless trillion decisions made by each of us every single day will. We are meant to be humble prophets, standing shoulder to shoulder with John and Jesus, willing to renounce positions of power and privilege in the interest of claiming our shared responsibility for calling out corruption and being the kingdom of peace and righteousness on earth.

If you find this post to be meaningful please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you. 

 

Gospel text for Sunday 20 November 2022

 Luke 23:33-43        When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. The people stood by, watching Jesus on the cross; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same  sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Reflection        Practicing what we preach can be a rather agonizing experience. When, my six year old daughter Leela planted her tiny hands on her hips, looked me square in the eye and said, “Why do I have to eat healthy food if you smoke those cigarettes,” a steel saber could not more surely have pierced me to my core. And there it was, the test of my integrity. Was I going to practice what I preached about making healthy choices and give up smoking? What was I willing to give up to live in integrity? 

Two thousand years earlier Jesus' integrity was also questioned. Throughout his ministry Jesus preached, “But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6.27-28) And then we meet Jesus at the place called The Skull, nailed to a tree between two criminals. One of the criminals, who no doubt would have planted his hands on his hips to chastise Jesus were they not nailed to a cross, questions Jesus’ integrity. “If you really are who you say you are, get yourself and us out of this mess.” 

Jesus does the unthinkable. He does not climb off the cross. He does not implore God to save him. Instead, he forgives the criminals between whom he hangs as well as the perpetrators of his crucifixion saying, “Father, forgive them…” At the end of the day, when push comes to shove, Jesus practices what he preaches. He forgives the people who hate, curse and abuse him. In fact, he gives up his life rather than giving up his integrity. 

This raises a question for all of us, “For what are we willing to die?” The only way I know to begin to respond to that question is by asking yet another question, “For what are we willing to live?” Jesus lived his life practicing what he preached. “Love God, love your neighbors,  love your enemies, and forgive them.” Jesus was willing to die for that which he was willing to live. There is no better way for us to live our lives than to live for that which we are willing to die. And yes, I did quit smoking the day Leela confronted me. 

If you found this post meaningful, please share by clicking on icons below. Thank you.