Late in Advent......

.....the evenings are long and the longing for beauty comes gently in thought, then with force to the shivering soul.........

Just in time for Christmas!

Happy Birthday?

It's common to hear children talk about Christmas as being Jesus' birthday. I've heard adults do the same, and I confess I find it sad to think an adult would think this is the case. Is Christmas Jesus' birthday; NO! To call Christmas Jesus' birthday is to neglect the real significance of the solemnity. Christmas celebrates and proclaims the Incarnation; God become fully human. We, as followers of Jesus are asked to do the reverse; namely to become divine (well as close as we can get). It seems to me that no matter what anyone thinks about the virgin birth or the authenticity of the nativity narrative, the Incarnation and our own striving to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" make Christmas much more. Like Mary in today's gospel (Luke 1:26-38), at Christmas we hear "The Lord is with you". May we be as generous as Mary in our own response!

Mea Culpa!!!

Still preparing the way........

Once again this Advent, John the Baptist is the central figure in today's gospel. Once again his humility and faithful witness to the "one who is to come" reminds us that it is Christ who stands at the head of our Christmas feast and indeed our faith itself. Just like today, religious leaders come and question his message because:

Once again, I cannot help but marvel at the one who said of himself:

‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord” ’,
as the prophet Isaiah said.

John 1:23

May your spiritual and physical preparations for Christmas be blessed this third week of Advent!

Makes me cry every time..... :_)

I love her!

We all need one another to row for.........

Advent II

The scripture readings of Advent are among the most beautiful and sometimes disturbing of the entire liturgical year.

Isaiah 40.1-11

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.

Followers of Jesus cannot help but see Saint John the Baptist in these words, and indeed he is the main character in today's Gospel reading:

Mark 1.1-8

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight” ’,
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

John was not known for his words of comfort; indeed he was given to calling people out for their transgressions (deservedly so). What I like about today's reading is how his humility and understanding of his place in the larger picture shine through. One day I'll tell you the story of how I came to select John as my patron saint, but for now I'll let his words speak to the quiet Advent place we can create in our hearts despite the busyness of the season. We often forget that Advent is a time of spiritual reflection and preparation for Christmas our Incarnational feast.

In that preparation, I can think of no better meditation than the words of today's psalm, Psalm 85:

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.

May righteousness and peace kiss in your today and faithfulness spring up abundantly!

THE MERCY OF GOD IS BOUNDLESS.......GRACE IS EVERYWHERE!

We the people are the authorities!

William Arthur Ward...........

You are perfect-just as you are!

Celebrate You!

No, not that kind of talent!

Parable of the Talents: Matthew 25: 14-30

What have we been given? The answer will be different for everyone, but everyone has been given much. What do we do with the talents (gifts, abilities, strengths, passions) we've received? If we hoard them and keep them to ourselves, they become weak with disuse and gather the dust of indifference. Matthew makes it clear that Jesus requires us to use our talents in service to others.

The chief talent we've been given is faith, but if not used for good, faith too becomes just one more thing we keep for ourselves. Faith must be the impetus for works in service to our sisters and brothers. In this teaching, the old Reformation argument of faith versus works seems to loose it's potency. Faith without works, as St. James says in his epistle, is dead. If we are truly people of faith, we must "put our backs into it" and work in service to others.

What does that mean for me? The answer will be different for everyone, because all have been given a unique pallet of talents with which to create a beautiful painting of love, mercy, compassion, justice, peace and hundreds of other good things. If I keep my talents to myself, they are useless, even to me. Shared, our talents shine like the sun for all to see and all profit from our actions born of the unique gift that is me, you, and every person who draws breath.

Don't do what the lazy slave did and bury your talent! Just imagine what a world we would live in if we all shared our beautiful and unique heaven sent gifts!

Wisdom from the desert

-Every day you provide your bodies with good to keep them from
failing. In the same way your good works should be the daily
nourishment of your hearts. Your bodies are fed with food and your
spirits with good works. You aren't to deny your soul, which is
going to live forever, what you grant to your body, which is going
to die.

St. Gregory the Great

-God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into
the valleys.

St. Tikhon of Voronezh

-It is better to eat meat and drink wine (the Desert Fathers and Mothers abstained from both) than to eat the flesh of one's brethren through slander.

Abba Hyperechius

Tuesday's thoughts.........

.......to ponder

Mercy

Matthew 25. 1-13

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

On several occasions over the past year or so a religious group has through it's leader predicted the end of the world. On all occasions obviously, the world did not end. It is obvious that the early Christians expected the return of Jesus in their lifetime. Indeed, in another reading for today's commemoration, St. Paul takes pains to calm those who are upset over the death of some in their community and what this meant in connection to their salvation. One explanation I've heard concerning the 2000+ year delay in the return of Christ is that it is an act of "mercy" on the part of a loving God.

A question arises as regards this explanation "Do we see ourselves in need of mercy?". In our modern American myth making, we have created the belief that we are "rugged individualist" in need of nothing from anyone. We speak of the self made man or woman and praise those we so designate for making their own way. The obvious truth is that no one makes it on his or her own, and that we all need one another to survive. I would offer also that we all need "mercy" divine and otherwise as well. Mercy, is in part about our need for and obligation to extend forgiveness.

As a case in point, I offer the post below labeled "Terminated". As much for myself as for the perpetrators mentioned, I need to extend and receive mercy (forgiveness). I need to extend mercy to place this event in context and move on to another chapter in my life. I need to receive divine mercy (since I seem to be far from able to do so at present) to make this happen. In both instances, the key ingredient seems to be time. Time to hurt; time to heal; time to forgive; time to move on. Perhaps our need for "time" is the divine impetus for 2000+ years of waiting. Wouldn't it be interesting to discover the delay in Christ's return is the product of the human need for time and the response of God's divine mercy?

In the first half of the last century, a Polish nun Maria Faustina Kowalska claimed to have received a vision of Christ. In this experience, she says she was told of God's boundless mercy and of God's desire to pour this upon all humanity. What was the catch? We have but to ask and we will receive God's mercy. Simple enough eh? Is it? Remember our attachment to the myth of the rugged individualist? We Americans find it difficult to acknowledge our need for assistance, perhaps even assistance from God. To do so, I must humble myself and admit I can't quite go it on my own. I have to admit my need for mercy, my need to be forgiven.

I don't know when I'll be ready to forgive those who wronged me in the "termination" experience, but I know I must if I want to put it behind me and move on. Like the wise virgins in today's gospel, I need to carry my flask filled with the oil of divine mercy I receive and not hesitate to burn that oil in extending that gift to others. In the end, we are all beneficiaries.

We all need a little help once in a while....

We the People say AMEN!

We sometimes need reminding......

Food for thought Friday.......

How soon they forget.....those bible thumping souls who close their hearts!

Terminated!

On Friday morning, A colleague and I were informed we were terminated from our jobs effective immediately. We were then given thirty minutes to clear out our offices and leave the building. Our crime? We make too much money and the agency is in fiscal decline. Now let me assure you, I didn't make a great deal of money (social workers rarely do). The plan is to have one person do both of our jobs for less than one of us earned.

What bothers me most is that we were treated like criminals. We both ran efficient programs which exceeded their goals and objectives every quarter (in my case, every quarter since starting this job 2.5 years ago). If I had been told I was being laid off for the same reason, I would have been able to accept this as a sign of the economic times, but get out in thirty minutes? Much of this treatment is easily attributed to the management style of the two individuals who kicked us out stone faced. Indeed the fiscal decline of the agency is attributable to the inaction of these two and that of the board of directors.

In my anger at such treatment, in parting I got off the zinger "Between the two of you there isn't one human soul". A bit strong? Now two days later, I feel I was given a prophetic word to speak to anyone who so little values the dignity of any human person. By the look on their faces, I think it made it's point.

True Beauty

To use the bible.......

.....to justify injustice is sacrilege!

"The words of the prophets........

.....are written on the subway walls......."

The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life!

A proposal was made at the United Nations that the Scriptures of every religion be revised; everything in them that leads to intolerance or cruelty should be deleted; everything that damages the dignity of human beings should be destroyed. When it was found that the author of the proposal was Jesus Christ, reporters rushed to his residence. His explanation was simple: “Scripture, like the Sabbath, is for human beings, not human beings for Scripture.”

"THE SONG OF THE BIRD"
Anthony de Mello S. J.

It has always seemed to me that some people worship the scriptures instead of God. They insist that a literal understanding of the bible is the only understanding of "truth". What about what has happened in the last 2-3 thousand years since the Hebrew and Christian scriptures were written? Has God been silent? I think not!

I love these two sayings from the United Church of Christ:

“Never put a period where God has placed a comma.”

"God is still speaking."

While I'm not a member of this or any church at present, these statements are a much closer representation of what I believe than a static and unbending interpretation of the bible. I honor the bible above all books, but with a fluid interpretation open to the living human experience. God is alive and active in our lives and world, and I for one don't intend to let my limited understanding be an obstacle in God's way!

A lesson in how never to argue.....

Once upon a time there were two monks who had lived together for 40 years and never had a squabble. Not even once. One day, one monk said to the other: "Don't you think it's about time we had a squabble, even if it's just once?" "Sure," replied the other monk. "Let's get started right away. About what shall we squabble?" "About this piece of bread perhaps?" the first monk offered. "Ok, let's have a squabble over this bread. How are we going to go about this?" Asked the other again. "This bread is mine, and mine alone," said the first monk. "Oh yeah? Well you can keep it," said the second monk.
Anthony de Mello, SJ

Signs, signs everywhere a sign.......

Amen!

Beautiful and Motivating!

The goodness within the human heart!

One day we'll learn we're all "birds of a feather"

Love always conquers hate!

A prayer for morning......

Hear my prayer O God.... I place all my trust in you.... Be for me all I need this day; that I may be healing love for those I meet.... May we, in this sharing, know your love incarnate. Amen

Signs of the times (now and always in the God's eyes!)

You'll cry, but don't miss this!

Give me half his faith; half his hope; half his joy and I shall be fortunate above all but him. Give him every grace and bless his life as he has blessed all who but see his smile. Amen

Let us always and forever welcome the light!

Fear keeps us from much that is good. Change can be the very engine of growth. We can become comfortable with even the most painful situation. Let us always and forever welcome the light!

Do it anyway.......

A friend of mine posted this on facebook, and while I'd read this before it is good to be reminded. I confess, I should have this playing on a loop in my car when I drive......I sometimes get a bit angry when seeing the driving habits of others...mea culpa!

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” ― Mother Teresa

I didn't even need my resume'!

Matthew 20.1-16

The Labourers in the Vineyard

‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

It seems likely that this story is a sort of "sermon" inserted by the author of Matthew's Gospel to address some concerns in the community for which it is written. It helps to remember that the early followers of Jesus expected his imminent return. Perhaps those who accepted faith in Christ early in the community's formation resented those newly arrived who received the same benefits of membership as the "old timers". Don't I deserve more as one here from the begining?

I love how landowner hires everyone regardless of qualifications. No resume' required, s/he just says to start working. At days end all receive the same wage even though the last hired worked but an hour. This type of generosity is seledom seen to this very day. We might sympathize with those who worked all day in the burning sun, but generosity by it's very nature is extravgant.

Perhaps we modern readers of this story might take from it's particulars that everyone in the community of Christ, and yes those outside it, are equal and deserving of the extravagant gift of justice and largess demonstrated by our God. We may from time to time feel we deserve more for whatever human reason, but doesn't it make things simpler when all receive the same? Christ came for all; who are we to decide on the divine pay-scale?

Because silence..........

......seemed the only appropriate response, I didn't post yesterday. For the story of Father Mychal Judge who died giving the last rites to a dying fire fighter on 9/11/01 click here

A thought for today and every day.....

"None of us can do anything great on our own, but we can all do a small thing with great love."
Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta