Law of reconciliation
Friday of the First Week of Lent
Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031425.cfm
As of late, it doesn’t take much to see people tearing each other down. As we have increased our ability to share information, you would think we’d become more understanding of each other and our differences of opinion. A friend of mine recently commented that never in their life have they experienced a time where current events are so polarizing that it’s as if it was multiple different events. It’s as if we are different groups wearing different glasses through which we see the world. Instead of celebrating our differences and learning from each other, we resort to arguing and dismissing the views of the other.
In the movie “Conclave” there is a sermon that states “certainty” is a great sin. Faith requires both a sense of certainty and doubt. If we have a sense of full certainty, we lose tolerance of different beliefs and viewpoints. It is in our doubt where we are open to reconciliation. When we live in a state of certainty, we are prone to judge others.
In today’s gospel, Jesus challenges us to think more deeply about the law, not just in our behavior and actions, but in settling disputes with others. Reconciliation goes beyond forgiveness of sins, it extends to reconciling with others regardless of if we sinned or not. In the end, we may decide to go our separate ways, but it is always good for us to clear the air and gain understanding of where the other person is coming from and to share our understanding of where we are coming from. We can live civilly with one another when we disagree. To follow Jesus is to seek reconciliation and to challenge ourselves beyond the law to become more loving. It’s not about following the rules, it’s about being transformed in love.
Divine agency
Thursday of the First Week of Lent
Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031325.cfm
This passage led to a lot of frustration for me growing up. Given the way I understood it, I was left very frustrated; God wants to help you, you’re just not doing it right. What I heard was that I need to ask harder, knock harder, and seek harder in prayer. God would answer anything as long as we came to God fully in the right way with the right intent. Yet the more I prayed, I didn’t seem to get direct answers to my prayers or it could be a hit or miss. The evidence wasn’t there either on what made one prayer get answered and another one not. That said, over time it has now become part of my prayer practice through a prayer known as the Efficacious Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a prayer that was regularly practiced by St. Pio of Pietrelcina. It wasn’t until reading and reflecting on today’s gospel that I was able to recognize why it changed.
This gospel is less about prayer and more about action and agency. God uses all means within creation to connect with us which means we too are God agents in the world. God had blessed us with so many gifts by creating us in God’s image and likeness. We have the divine spark within us that is always ready and able to answer when someone asks, to show when someone is seeking, and to open the door when someone knocks. When we are in such need as well, it is good to turn to God in prayer, but God also wants us to turn to the divine spark in others and in ourselves. We are called to fill the needs of the world with what God has given us and the world is here to fill the needs that go beyond us. The struggle we experience is two fold:
We don’t ask, seek, or knock.
We don’t answer, find, or open.
God’s economy works if we participate in it. What makes this so evident in this gospel is how it ends. Jesus at first describes how much more giving God is beyond a parent, but then he concludes by saying, "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets." This is the golden rule, the sentence after goes on further to say that it is the law and the prophets. God is calling us to agency. It’s not just the rule, it is the prophetic voice. It is what will make God’s kingdom a reality. Not only must we ask, seek and knock, we must answer, find, and open for those who come to us.
Let us be grateful for how God has been shown to us through the aid of others and may we return the same.
Labor frustration
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031225.cfm
Jesus is frustrated in today’s scripture. The work he is doing to share the gospel to the people doesn’t seem to be getting through. He references the stories about Solomon and Jonah to express his annoyance.
In the story of Jonah (Jonah 3), Jonah was called by God to witness to the Ninevites that if they don’t change their ways, they’d be overthrown. The Ninevites were gentile. This story of Ninevites shows an example of God in the Old Testament going beyond the Jewish people to care for the salvation of others. When Jonah shared his message with them, the Ninevites repented and changed their ways. Even the Ninevite king followed suit. The sign of Jonah mentioned in today’s gospel was of conversion. He had a message to share to an unlikely group of people and they changed their ways. He didn’t perform miracles; he merely shared God’s news.
In the Solomon story that Jesus references, the queen of the South traveled to meet with him and seek his guidance (1 King 10:1-10). They gave gifts to each other and Solomon gave her answers and clarity to questions she had. She tells Solomon:
“The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true. I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes that not even half had been told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. Happy are your servants, happy these ministers of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. Blessed be the LORD, your God, who has been pleased to place you on the throne of Israel. In his enduring love for Israel, the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice.”
She too was a gentile like the Ninevites. She saw not just the greatness of Solomon and how he treated his people, but the greatness of his God.
When Jesus talks about the Queen of the South and the Ninevites, he’s saying that those unexpected to listen to God’s news will actually listen and follow the teachings. Whereas those that were expected to listen would not and would be left behind. He wanted his tribe of people to receive the good news along with gentiles and those considered sinners and on the margins.
How often this can happen to us too! We can seek certain fruits from our labor and not receive it. We can seek to help others and not be received how we want to be received. We can be surprised by those who actually listen, change, and follow. They may not be who we originally thought. Our labor is in our control (Jonah) and so is our integrity (Solomon); how others respond is not. We must always hope for our continued conversion and the continued conversion of others. May we experience the fruit of our labor and find peace when we do not. May we too, like the Ninevites and the Queen of the South, be open to changing our ways when we receive the news of God.
Prayer
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031125.cfm
Prayer is for us, it’s not for God. If God knows what we need before we ask, why do we need to pray? There are lots of different methods and ways to pray. Even though Jesus teaches us how to pray in today’s gospel, this isn’t the only way he prayed. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays so long that he put his disciples to sleep. In this prayer in the garden, he struggles with accepting his fate. He knows what needs to happen, but he asks God for a way out. He shared his emotions with God and God responded by giving him strength.
On the cross, Jesus had several prayers. In the gospel of John and Mark, Jesus exclaims on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” In Luke, Jesus prays, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” and “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus turned to God with raw emotions, honest and genuine.
There are a lot of other places in the gospel when it references Jesus praying. The “Lord’s Prayer” only appears in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In today’s gospel, Jesus instructs us to not babble or to use many words when we pray, but we know Jesus used a lot of words in his prayer in the garden. His advice to us is to not be performative in our prayer practice or use a lot of words to try to persuade God.
Prayer is not a means of bartering with God or changing God’s mind. Prayer is a means of bringing us to God. It helps tap us into the bigger picture we may not see right now and realigns us to who we truly are beyond our false notions and interpretations. God doesn’t want your staged social media post, he was you. In prayer, we become honest with ourselves about our suffering, our gratitude, our needs, and our wants. God works more directly with us when we are truly exposed. We connect better with God when we turn off our noise and stop hiding.
In my Sunday school class (we call it Youth Faith Formation), we start everyday with prayer. We follow a simple guide of reading the gospel, thinking through what we are grateful for, and then identifying what we hope to see in the world. We define it as scripture, gratitude, and intentions. As you journey through Lent, try to take on this way of prayer. Do it alone or even with close loved ones. Go beyond what you think you should be saying and what you actually think. What are you truly grateful for? What do you want to see in the world? Come to God with these things and see what comes back.
Inheritance
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031025.cfm
The Ten Commandments are a set of rules about what you shouldn’t do. To do what they say to not do, you are committing a sin of commission. A sin of commission is taking on an action that you know you shouldn’t do. A sin of commission is actively doing something wrong, whereas a sin of omission is not taking an action that you know is right.
Jesus’s guidance focuses on what you should do and less on what you shouldn’t do. His teaching is about taking the right action. In the golden rule, he calls us to do unto others. In today’s gospel, his parable takes a similar stance. It’s action oriented. He states that those who give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the prisoner will inherit the Kingdom of God and those that do not act in this way will not.
While on the surface it sounds like a sin of omission, for Jesus it is deeper. To inherit something from someone, you must be related to that person. Specifically, you are a child to that person. To not inherit, you are of no relation. It’s not about what you should or shouldn’t do, but who and what you are. The act of caring for others is to be a child of God. It’s not just caring, it’s acting upon that care. God’s glory is found in caring for those in need. As we are all children of God, it’s about time we start living according to that birthright.
Temptation & Prayer
First Sunday of Lent
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030925.cfm
There are parallels between the Lord’s Prayer and the temptations Jesus experienced in today’s gospel. We like to look at Jesus as being fully divine, but like us, Jesus learned from his experiences and observations. While being God, he was human and was on a journey to God. Like with us, God was revealed through his experience with scripture, others, and the world. The temptations Jesus experienced point to how he would teach us to pray.
Temptation 1: Immediate Needs
Setting: Jesus was hungry after 40 days of fasting.
Devil: If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.
Jesus: It is written, One does not live on bread alone.
Lord’s Prayer: Give us this day our daily bread.
How much do we stress about our immediate needs and desires? Jesus reminds us to go beyond such worry. Yes, our true needs must be taken care of for us to live, but our true needs go beyond what we perceive as needs. We have two issues:
The things that we perceive as our needs, that aren’t.
The things that we don’t perceive that are our needs, that are.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we are asking God to take care of these daily needs. We are asking God to take care of us. Part of the care is helping us discern what our true needs are, lest we become tempted.
Temptation 2: Power and Control
Setting: The devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
Devil: I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.
Jesus: It is written: “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.”
Lord’s Prayer: Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name.
We all have a desire for control. We have a desire to acquire things, bond with others, create our world, and defend/protect our ability to do these things. These desires are not bad in themselves, but at times, these desires can take over us. These desires can turn into us seeking power and glory.
In the Lord’s prayer, we remind ourselves where the true power and glory lie. We can’t compete with God. To seek power and glory is a vain action. In recognizing that true power and glory is with God, we free ourselves from such endeavors and temptations.
Temptation 3: Testing God
Setting: Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the wall of the temple.
Devil: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus: It also says, “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven… Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
When we lack responsibility or avoid doing what we know we should be doing, we are testing to see if God will take care of us. It’s as if we’re inflicting suffering upon ourselves to see if God will take care of us. We also say prayers that we’ll change our ways if only God does or gives us something. This too is a method of testing God. We seek validation from God in the midst of suffering and can take God for granted in good times. God loves us regardless.
When we ask for God’s will to be done, we put the trust back in God. There is no need for us to test.
Concluding Moment
Setting: When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
Lord’s Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
We will fall short, but God will forgive us. Let us be mindful to do the same with others.
Celebrating our progress
Saturday After Ash Wednesday
Gospel: Luke 5:27-32
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030825.cfm
Redemption is always possible with God. We always have the ability to choose to follow Christ. This choice, while being a point in time, is also a journey. In the story of Levi, he made a commitment to follow Jesus. That was a moment in time, but his journey didn’t end there. It’s not a one-time decision, but a willingness to be open to God’s ongoing work with us and in us. Sometimes the commitment to being changed by God can be easy, and at other times, it can seem unbearable or impossible. In this instance for Levi, it left him driven to celebrate and share with those within his community.
While this was an amazing thing, those who were respected by society as faithful saw Levi and Jesus’s behavior as debauchery. Our revelatory divine experiences and our response to it may not always be seen by others for what it is. This judgment can cause us to backslide and slip. We are all so fragile!
While we may have our own experiences of being victims of such judgment, we may be guilty of unnecessarily judging the progress of others and causing them to backslide as well. We all have the potential to be condemners and victims. It’s easy for us to do given the juxtaposition of confidence and vulnerability we find in revelation.
Regardless of where we are in our journey, God is with us. When we backslide, God is there. With each step forward, no matter how far away it may seem, God is there. As more distance is revealed and our worldview is transformed, God is there. In the midst of our progress, even when there’s judgment from others, God is with us celebrating our progress.
Everything in its own time
Friday After Ash Wednesday
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030725.cfm
We are all at different points in our journeys. Some of us are in a place for celebration and others are in a place of mourning. As we go through different phases in life, we may find different moments with increased contemplation and other moments of increased action. Our practices can go from leading to supporting or from silence to speaking. At times, we may be generous with our time and, at other times, too time-constrained.
We shouldn’t compare ourselves to the practices of others. We can learn from others and apply what has worked for them to ourselves, but we must also be aware that we may be in a different phase requiring a different practice for the time being.
Finding the right routine for where you are right now and keeping yourself open to what God is calling you to in the moment. We should not condemn ourselves for not mourning at a celebration as we should not condemn ourselves for not celebrating during a time of mourning. That said, we must bear in mind that others' timing may be different than ours. To each in their own time and ours in our time. We must respect and meet others where they are while being aware of where we are. It is through this difference and acceptance that we grow.
It takes all of us to make the kingdom of God. God wants all of us to be part of it with all of our unique traits and phases. We all have a role and that role will change over time. God’s kingdom is a system intended to work with all of us in it: be it a time of fasting for me and a time of celebration for you. May we build and participate in this kingdom together.
No profit in losing one’s self
Thursday After Ash Wednesday
Gospel: Luke 9:22-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030625.cfm
In first reading this passage, it’s easy to take it to mean that Jesus is calling us to self-denial, but in taking a deeper look, he’s actually calling us to self fullness. We can often see self-gratification as self-fulfillment, but that’s not the case. Self-gratification leads to the need for more gratification. In seeking material worth, such as power, money, and personal pleasure, we are escaping our real and true purpose.
The material-drive blinds us to who we and others are. We become a slave to ends that are not God, that are not love. We can easily see others as a means to an end versus being created in the image of God and needing our love and care. We measure ourselves to the successes we perceive others to have and lose sight of the beauty we are in God. This all becomes clear at the conclusion of this gospel when Jesus says, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”
God wants us to live true and full lives; ones that are not seeking that which is not eternal. Taking up our cross is to directly face the struggles of life and not seek to escape them. Let the journey bring fulfillment. There is a freedom found when we stop worrying about how we measure up. Life is not a competition or a fight. God doesn’t want us to fight with or run away from life, but to live, to live life to its fullness. Take up the cross, free yourself from worldly needs, find yourself, and live fully in God.
They receive their reward
Ash Wednesday
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030525.cfm
The news today is quite fascinating. We have articles about people’s tweets and posts on social media and the responses others make to it. We have short videos and commentary videos. We have impressions and mimicked dance moves. We are flooded with staged images and information intended to get a reaction. The more of a reaction, the more attention the poster of the information receives. The views, the likes, the thumbs-up, thumbs-down, etc. It’s all a stage to seek and receive both good and bad attention.
One can quickly become a celebrity and gain power in the public sphere by how well they navigate this world of attention. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it's good or bad, it’s a matter of how much. Some seek positive reactions, some take great pleasure in trolling to receive negative reactions, and others seek both. It gives a sense of being seen or being important. Some folks in the political arena have gotten very good at it too and seem to be driven by the level of reaction regardless. The stronger a reaction means I’m doing something right, right?
Today’s gospel shows that the temple of Jesus’s time was a public forum like we experience in social media today. People throughout history have liked to put on airs. Somehow it makes folks feel validated and/or better than others. We are all wanting to be seen or perceived a certain way or to fit a certain image, but in reality, some days are going to be better than others. Some days, we’re going to perform better than others. Some days are going to be more challenging than others. And sometimes we are going to make mistakes. In fighting to maintain an image and/or get a reaction we can lose who we truly are.
Our need for attention makes us something that we truly aren’t and we are left with cognitive dissonance. We can lose ourselves for how we want to appear than truly being who we are. If we aren’t fully who we are, then what are we? If we are created in the image and likeness of God, why would we want anything else? To be attention seeking is not what God wants from us. God wants us to love who we genuinely are. God wants us to be who we are, not how we’d like to be perceived.
It’s Christmas!
Gospel: Mt 1:18-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122524-Vigil.cfm
The day has finally arrived… It’s Christmas! And we are given a child who is both God and man. He is Emanuel, or “God with us.” He was a vulnerable baby that needed his parents and others to survive and also God. The creator of the world is now part of creation. The creator became the created. The master is also his masterpiece. Our God is not just something outside of the world, but part of the world. The real and the image are united as one existence.
He will experience what we experienced with the highs and lows of human existence. He’ll feel anger, joy, sadness, and peace. As we struggle, our God struggles as well. As we thrive, we can know that God had moments of personal thriving.
While he lived his life for others, he also took time for himself. He relaxed. He served others, but he also let others serve him. He spent time with crowds, his close friends and family, and also alone. He was tested as life tests us. He knew when he needed a break and he’d pause to then return to those in need refreshed. He found his limits and embraced it. He pondered his purpose, found it, and accepted it whole-heartedly. He experienced conflict with, celebration with, and indifference from others. He struggled to find balance, and at times, he found it.
Our God is not just for us; our God is with us. Amen I say unto you, for today a child is born, like you and me, in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
Zachariah’s Sonnet
Gospel: Lk 1:67-79
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122424.cfm
Blessed be the Lord who saves the captive,
A savior brought from the line of David.
Prophets spoke the end of the combative;
A promise alive and mercy fated.
Freedom to worship God all of our days.
My son will prophecy for the Most High.
He prepares the way for the one who saves.
Compassion, the Lord will never deny.
A light will dispel the darkest of night
To fill the whole earth with peaceful delight.
Silent delight and peace
Gospel: Lk 1:57-66
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122324.cfm
Today’s gospel we learn about the birth of John the Baptist. HIs birth was quite a community event. Neighbors and family rejoiced for Elizabeth being able to have a son at such an old age. People were shocked that he was given a new name, not a family member’s name. They were then amazed that Zachariah agreed with the name. After Zachariah shared his story and blessing, they were filled with awe and proclaimed the good news of John far and wide. They wondered about what the child would become.
Jesus’s beginning does not have quite the same fanfare. It was not a community event but was secluded with strangers visiting. These strangers were shepherds and wise men from afar. Both groups came because of mystical experiences they had that led them there. While there wasn’t any significant celebration, there was a heavenly multitude singing praise. To most people in the region, it was just another day, but John’s birth was a multi-day celebration. The miracle of Jesus goes unnoticed, but the miracle of John is praised.
How amazing is it that God chose to come this way! Not just unrecognized, but born in a feed trough for animals. Not just overlooked but rejected from having a room. And still in the midst of the unseen, the heavens sang out in praise.
Our spiritual experience and connection to God is not bound to the outside world. God touches us like a baby in a manger. From the outside it can seem messy and imperfect, but it is deeply a place of silent delight and peace.
Help us to find your joy in the silence of how you came into the world. Amen.
Micah 5 Sonnet
Scripture: Micah 5:1-4
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122224.cfm
Little Bethlehem, child among Judah,
Your glory will come to bring light to all.
The fullness of the first Hallelujah
Remains at rest for its triumphant call.
A bright day awaits for a virgin birth
To seek out and nurture the lost children.
He will lead the lost to find their true worth
As a shepherd to the lambs be given.
His kingdom will come as all are released
The Anxious and fearful find their peace.
Christmas Visit
Gospel: Lk 1:39-45
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122124.cfm
This is a time of year to meet up with family and friends. I remember times when I became absolutely overjoyed when getting to see loved ones. Oftentimes, we want to appear restrained and reserved, but it is truly a blessing to have loved ones and family.
Now in this season of obligatory gift-giving and visits, it can be hard to remember the reason we are sharing gifts with each other. It simply can become a holiday habit. The reason for the gift is to show love for one another and be together with one another in love, but how often we don’t genuinely say this, show this, or appreciate it. How easy would it be to just say it? It does go beyond words, but the words are still important. What is it that you like about others that you don’t often say? Not just with family, but with friends and acquaintances. How much better would it be if that was your gift? It goes beyond just something material.
In today’s gospel, we hear how overjoyed both Mary and Elizabeth were to see each other after they received their news. They were both so happy for each other and glad to be together.
As you experience this season, think of them. Think of how you too could show and share the love you feel for others. Amen.
Handmaiden of the Lord
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122024.cfm
In Mary’s encounter with Gabriel, you can see how she goes through a wide range of emotions. At first she is scared, then she is confused, and then she is humbly resolved. When we encounter crucible moments in our life, we tend to react in a similar way. It’s normally not all experienced at once but is spread out overtime.
The beauty of Mary is how quickly she doesn’t just accept her fate but is open for whatever it entails. That’s very difficult for us to do. Even when we have amazing things happen to us, there will always be something that will change and be different. We may not know it at the time, but any change or transformation has unexpected and unanticipated ripples. It’s for this reason that most of us avoid change. It comes with uncertainty. There’s always
How amazing would it be if we could accept our destiny as Mary does at the end of this scripture! She says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." This is a willing participant in the will of God. She accepts what it will mean and she is an active agent in it.
May we grow this Christmas to accept the will of God for us which will be far greater than anything we could desire or image for ourselves. Like Mary, may we help bring about God’s kingdom. Amen.
Zachariah’s Annunciation
Gospel: Lk 1:5-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121924.cfm
In today’s gospel we learn about how Zachariah was told of the arrival of his son, John. Zachariah was of the tribe of Levi, or the priestly tribe of Israel. So John was a descendant of priests. Jesus, on the other hand, was from the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Judah was historically known for being the tribe where kings and rulers came from, and today, it is the primary ancestry of the Jewish people.
There are some differences between how both of their fathers were informed of their coming. When we look at the passages where Joseph learns about the coming of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, the angel was short and succinct, whereas the angel gets a little verbose describing John to Zachariah. Zachariah experienced his vision while burning incense for the people at the temple, and Joseph’s was probably a more humble setting. Priests also occasionally experienced visions while burning incense. Joseph believed what the angel said whereas Zachariah questioned the angel. Zachariah then is left mute due to his questioning.
You would think a man of great faith and religious practice would believe the angel, but he does not. Often those that may seem the closest to God, can also be the ones prone to question. Also with John coming from the tribe of the chief priests, it's interesting to see the level of scrutiny he receives from the priest throughout his life. While John came from the temple, he chose a different path. He went outside of the institution to experience people in nature.
God challenges us to go beyond. As God challenged Zachariah’s concept of what was possible. With his age, he probably had lost hope of ever having a child. God challenged John to go beyond his chiefly ancestry to bring something new and transformative beyond the established religious institution of his day.
How is God challenging you to go beyond? How are you limiting God’s possibilities in your life?
All is possible with God. May God delight us with his surprises this season. Amen.
Joseph’s Annunciation
Gospel: Mt 1:18-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121824.cfm
Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. We are quick to make assumptions about others and things. We have narratives that we tell about ourselves, and people in our lives are characters we put into these stories. We justify the actions of some as we judge them to be good people, and we do not excuse the actions of others because we judge them to be bad. Yes, some people do very heinous things and some people do very good things, but what one person does in one moment is not the sum of who they are. We are quick to make assumptions about events and things given what we believe we know about the circumstances and the people involved. Even a broken clock is accurate twice a date.
In today’s gospel, we learn about how Joseph reacted when he found out Mary was pregnant. Of course, her pregnancy was a one time in a history event. Once he learned about it, he was quick to come up with a plan that would be respectful of her, but also get him out of the marriage. It took a visit from an angel to get him past it and accept it.
This miracle that happened to Mary and Joseph is for all of us. It had to be different for them experiencing it firsthand than what can fully fathom. We have these bible stories as narratives that we tell each other as well and interpret the world through what we believe about them. If we can believe in the miracle of the virgin birth and that God would come to be with us and take human form, what other miracles are possible? Can someone else go beyond the limits we’ve put upon them? Can we go beyond the limits we have put upon ourselves? Can we open our minds and hearts to see the divinity in others we’ve put down? Can we see the humanity in those we’ve raised up?
Help us to see the world and others as you see them, not as we want to see them. Amen.
Jesus’s Lineage
Gospel: Mt 1:1-17
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121724.cfm
In today’s gospel, we walk through the lineage of Joseph. As was the Jewish tradition, a lineage was through the father. So even though Jesus was a virgin birth, his lineage would have been taken back through Joseph. Both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospel want to show that Jesus was from the seed of David in fulfillment of the scriptures (While, some believe that the Gospel of Luke was mapping Jesus’s lineage through Mary and not Joseph).
This lineage connects Jesus through the stories that we find in Old Testament scripture. These individuals left a legacy that was known. Their stories would have been shared and their stories were central to Jewish history and the evolution of their relationship with God. Over the generations, more was revealed about God and man’s relationship. These were the individuals whose righteous actions and missteps were made known to reveal more about God and humanity. This lineage reflects man’s journey to God through scripture so it makes sense to Jesus be the culmination of that journey as the Son of God.
Through Jesus, the fullness of man’s relationship with God is fully realized. While God created us, God wanted to fully share in our experience, being the creator was not enough. God desired to share in our existence firsthand and to be fully in relationship with us through it. Like with Jesus’s ancestors, a lot would be revealed through Jesus’s life about God and humanity.
Jesus is Emanuel, or “God with us.” Jesus is both man and God. The fulfillment of this evolving relationship with God.
May we find Jesus’s presence with us as we continue this journey to Christmas. Amen.
Honesty and Truth
Gospel: Mt 21:23-27
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121624.cfm
In times of crisis we can ask ourselves: Why did this happen? Why am I feeling the way I am feeling? What is the deeper purpose of significance of what is happening? What is God trying to show me or teach me? What does God want from me? What does God want me to be? The search and quest for the meaning and understanding of life is fickle. At times we feel like we’ve figured it out to then be completely thrown off and have our worldview left with uncertainty and questioning. This can be driven internally by how we’re feeling; things that used to reward us or give us a sense of love, may now fall short.. It can also be driven externally by observing things in the world where we’ve established a deep understanding of cause and effect like good things should happen to good people and bad things should happen to bad. Even sayings like “God will only give you what you can handle” are phrases at times that can make you feel strong, hopeful, and consoled but, at other times, it can crush you.
In today’s gospel, we see this struggle for meaning happening to the chief priests and elders. They want to understand what Jesus thought his authority was. We can presume, given other scripture, that they wanted to catch him in heresy. Jesus turns the question back on them and asks them about the authority of John the Baptist. The chief priests and elders had their beliefs and thoughts about this and had their assumptions about the beliefs and thoughts about others. They were concerned about the judgement from Jesus and from the people depending on their response so they decided not to respond instead of speaking their opinion.
We cannot move beyond our own ignorance if we are not honest with each other. Life has a tendency to be a mystery. We will never have all the answers. For those of us searching, once we feel like we’ve grasped it, it slips or finds a way to surprise us. But for us to continue to grow, we must be honest to ourselves and to God on where we are at. We must be willing to come to God openly with our vulnerability, uncertainties, and even at times with our sense of certainty. It is through our honesty that God can form us. We need not be afraid of being wrong for God will mercifully guide us to where we need to be. Unlike the chief priest and elders in today’s gospel, let us not be afraid to speak up so God can show us the way.
May we be honest to ourselves and God so he can bring us fullness of hope, joy, love, and peace. Amen.