Prayer
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Matthew 6:7-15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022426.cfm
God knows our needs before we ask; which tells me that prayer is more for us than it is for God. Prayer is a way to make us more like God, it helps make us more connected to God, to God’s ways and will. As God is merciful and forgiving, God wants us to likewise be merciful and forgiving. Prayer helps us grow that within us. Not in a give and take way but to permeate God in the world. If God is love, God wants us to share that love with others and increase that love in the world. God wants us to bring God’s providence to the world. God wants us to live in a way where we answer the prayers of others. By forgiving, we increase forgiveness in the world. By caring, we increase the care in the world. How we treat others puts a ripple out into the world.
The Lord’s Prayer is both an ask of God and a calling for us. God is asking us to bring God’s kingdom to earth, to bring the daily bread together, to forgive others, to not lead others to temptation, and to help deliver others from evil. The prayer is not just a request to God but for each of us. It takes all of us. It’s not simply God, but it’s God acting through us. May we ever continue to increase that representation.
The Deserving & Undeserving
Monday of the First Week of Lent
Matthew 25:31-46
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022326.cfm
In today’s gospel, Jesus reiterates the same message four times. The summation of his message is that God is present in those who are marginalized by society and that it is paramount for our salvation to help them. He gave examples of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the ill, and the imprisoned. He said that he’s present with all of these people. Jesus did not add additional qualifiers for this either. Jesus does not say that he’s only present to those who abide by the commandments, or that he’s only there for those who did not waste their resources, or that he’s only there for a particular group of people, or that he’s only present to those of a particular faith or who live by a particular purity code, or that the only people who need assistance for their illness are those who took care of their bodies to the best of their abilities, or that we should only help prisoners who are innocent. Jesus could have added these modifiers instead of reiterating the same message four different ways. In today’s gospel, he says that whatever you do or don’t do for them, you do or don’t do for him as well. Jesus’s message is that we can find God within those in need and that no one should be abandoned or left out.
And yet, we are always qualifying those that are deserving or not deserving. Especially in times of polarization, it’s easy to point to who is deserving and not deserving depending on how they’re affiliated with our group or how our group represents them. Jesus is calling us to transcend all of this. Jesus takes it back to his two commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. In this gospel, Jesus shows that they’re practically one and the same.
This framework can be seen through other scripture and within other parables of Jesus as well. One example of this is in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Long after his brothers gave him over to be a slave, they came to him when they and their people were starving. Instead of turning them away, Joseph shares with them what he and the Egyptians have been able to stockpile. God wants us to live by such grace, thus this message is throughout scripture and more pronounced within the gospels.
What we do for the marginalized in our society is the same as what we do for God. Salvation isn’t something we earn, it’s something that is given to us by God. And salvation isn’t merely granted by belief alone. Faith is not strictly belief if we are to take this gospel seriously. Faith is always carried out in action and in how we live our life. Jesus doesn’t even take people's faith traditions or religious belief systems into consideration within this gospel but focuses on people’s action to others.
I don’t believe God is keeping score, but God does know who and who is not there for others in need. We are always given the opportunity to convert to this way of thinking. Our salvation is found in how we give and take care of each other as it’s a reflection of our relationship with God. We can lose ourselves in debates on who is truly in need and who is not, but God does not do this. Jesus says that we should be there for those in need. It’s far more simple than trying to figure out who is truly deserving and who is not.
Sola Scriptura
First Sunday of Lent
Matthew 4:1-11
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022226.cfm
The phrase “Sola Scriptura” means by scripture alone. It was a doctrine of the reformers to critique certain practices of the Catholic church that they found to not be aligned with what they observed in scripture. Two particular doctrines of concern were indulgences and papal infallibility. Sola Scripture means that the church should refer to scripture as the final authority. The doctrine though does not mean that the scripture cannot be misused or misinterpreted. There will always be a perspective of interpretation. Scripture requires interpretation so there is still a margin for error in how it is used. Part of the concept and idea of the Holy Spirit is that God empowers us with the ability to rightly read and interpret scripture, it takes a connection to God to understand scripture. In the Catholic church, we look to Tradition and one’s personal experience and encounter with God as other means of the Holy Spirit’s work in the world.
In today’s gospel, the devil recites scripture in an attempt to manipulate Jesus. Our own scripture shows a direct example of how scripture can be misused. Scripture should not be used to manipulate or control others. In response to the devil, Jesus also uses scripture back in response. The use of scripture can be used in both directions. Yet, people still recite Bible verses at one another as a means of authority, as a means of correction. But from which direction are we speaking? And how can we know?
For me, all of scripture can be summed up the words Jesus used to summarize the law:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
When Jesus responds to the devil, he uses scripture to say:
One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. (We need to God, God is the source of life)
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test (We need to trust God)
The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve (We are to worship and serve God alone)
Jesus’s responses point back to the first commandment of Jesus. Whereas the devils use points away from it.
But using this as a key of understanding and interpreting scripture has its challenges too. Our wills are great at justifying many things, and we can rationalize a lot. Our interpretation of scripture requires discernment. That said, I still find reviewing the use and interpretation of scripture by referring to the commandments of Jesus is a good start. Does how you use scripture drive you and others to growth in Jesus’s commandments or does it take away or distract from it?
Being the Change
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Luke 5:27-32
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022126.cfm
In today’s gospel, Jesus offers another way, a change of life, a conversion to Levi and he takes it. Levi takes the extreme risk of leaving everything behind to follow Jesus. In making this decision, he invited his community together to celebrate his transformation. Included in the bunch were his fellow tax collectors. They were his tribe; the group of people bound by their profession with all the pros and cons it brings. They made a lucrative income, but, because of their power and abuses, they were looked down upon. Levi was leaving it all behind. He was moving from a life of known comforts and struggles into a new unknown with its own set of challenges and awards. Those that were closest with him wanted to be there for him, even though, in some form, he’s leaving them behind too.
The Pharisees and the scribes didn’t know all this. We can make assumptions on what they would have thought, but they never even gave the chance to know otherwise. Their judgements are on the surface, they play into the obvious stereotypes of their time and do not see beyond it. They cannot see that tax collectors are just like them, human and created in the image and likeness of God. To the Pharisees, they were just something to be objectified. Something to fill a role in their narrative. The Pharisees are the good ones, and the tax collectors and others like them are the bad ones. And Jesus, for associating with them, is one and the same with them.
Jesus understands the Pharisees perspective and speaks to them from that vantage point. Jesus implies in what he says that the tax collectors are sick and sinners and the Pharisees are righteous and healthy. But, in saying such things, he’s really saying, you have made them sick by how you haven’t accepted them and neglected them. He had come to heal the sickness caused by society’s ostracization, judgments, and purity codes. Jesus came to restore the balance and reveal what was hidden under the surface. Those who are glorified by society are just as susceptible to sin as those who are not. Those that thrive within the systemic sins of society have more to lose by fighting against it. Jesus chose to work most with those who could be more instruments of change; those who were more open to change and see a new and better world.
You can drive more change from the top, but often the type of change that’s needed is hard for those in power to commit to because they have something to lose. Jesus too calls us today to be instruments of change in the world; to sow seeds of love. We have the choice like all the characters in today’s story. Are you going to sit on the sidelines and silently judge? Or are you going to transform your life like Levi and advocate and befriend those in need like Jesus?
Fasting
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Matthew 9:14-15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022026.cfm
As was stated on Ash Wednesday, fasting is a way to connect to God so there isn’t a need to fast when you are in the presence of God. It’s similar to praying. Why would one pray to God, when directly encountering God? Prayer and fasting is a means for us to connect to God when there is some form of separation. They are a way to let go, focus, and open up to God.
And for us, with our separation, we must seek out God through prayer and fasting. Fasting gives us intentionality in our actions. Fasting chooses to give up on something to recognize that life is more than these things. That the true source is not these things but God. It helps refine us for a more full encounter with God.
May our fasting further connect us to Christ this season.
Beyond Our Drives
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Luke 9:22-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021926.cfm
The Four-Drive theory is a concept developed by Paul Lawarence and Nitin Nohria. The theory is that we as human beings are evolutionarily driven by four things: the drive to acquire, the drive to bond, the drive to create, the drive to defend. The drive to acquire is the ability to gather the resources that you need. It’s the ability to possess material things. The drive to bond is the ability to live in community; the ability to connect with others. The drive to create is the ability to have autonomy; it’s the ability to make things and to choose for one’s self. The drive to create extends so far to your own personal freedoms, your likes, and dislikes. It’s your ability to choose for yourself. The last of the drive is the drive to defend. As these other drives are threatened, the drive to defend takes over and you are left defending and protecting what you have.
When we feel like we have limited resources, the acquire drive is dominant and we’ll see the world through the lens on how we can acquire. If we are feeling disconnected from others or lonely, we can view the world through the lens of seeking out community or relationship with others. If we feel like we are controlled and are unable to make decisions for ourselves, we can seek more autonomy and find ways to have more control. If we feel like these things are threatened, we can defensively posture ourselves to those threats.
Reading this gospel with the four-drive theory in mind, Jesus is calling us to a deeper freedom beyond these drives. Yes, we all need things, but an abuse of the drive to acquire can lead to us taking in excess. Yes, we need to bond with others, but we can take poor actions in the need to belong. Yes, having autonomy is a good thing until it drives us to take away the autonomy of others. Yes, there are threats we need to protect ourselves against, but there are also threats that we create that cause us to live in fear or attack others we merely perceive as threats. While on the surface, we may think the differences are easy to distinguish, in reality, they can be very challenging.
These drives serve a purpose, but when taken to extremes, they can be very detrimental. When one gains more in these drives, they can often feel like they have more to lose. Or as they grow in one, they may think it will satisfy another. They can fall trap to what seems to be an insatiable need to acquire, bond, create, and defend. Even if the needs are already met, the drive may still remain. When one acquires more power and privilege, the abuses of these can be taken to more extremes. The underlying need behind these drives for one’s self and for others can be lost for the sake of fulfilling these drives themselves.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is warning us against skewing these drives in such a way. That may partially be what he means when he speaks about saving one’s life. These drives are self-focused. If they become an obsession or are abused, they can lead to very bad things for ourselves and for others. Our drives should not take away from another person’s ability to do the same.
We must see the needs of others in addition to these drives for ourselves. We must recognize that deep down we all need the same things. We can fall victim to the abuses of these drives in others as we can also let these drives get the best of us. May God help us heal from the abuses of these drives. May we all learn to find the genuine need behind these drives for all of us so that we can live in harmony with one another. Amen.
Romancing God
Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021826.cfm
As a Catholic convert, this gospel always gets me. In the gospel, Jesus clearly states that we should not do righteous deeds, give alms, pray, or fast for the recognition of others. Jesus goes so far to say to even intentionally keep it hidden. Then as a Catholic, I rub ashes on my forehead and walk around showing my faith practice to others. The gospel even clearly states to wash your face when you’re fasting. I know there’s other reasons for this tradition. The sacrament uses the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Those words are quite a different message than what is shared in the gospel. Every year, this gives me tension.
Now, today’s gospel in and of itself has tension as well. I think we all can agree that we shouldn’t give alms, pray, fast, or do acts of kindness in a performative way or for the recognition of others, but, from an evangelical perspective, shouldn’t we not hide these things to be an example for others? Jesus, in this gospel, clearly states otherwise.
There is something sacred and intimate in a one-to-one encounter. If we are truly doing something for God, or for our relationship with God, shouldn’t it be between us? Like taking the communion, while we participate in it together, the encounter with the sacrament is 1-to-1. No one can consume the sacrament I consume. No one truly can know or experience my direct encounter with God. God wants an intimate connection with each of us, but an intimate connection is not just one way. It requires each one choosing each other. A way for us to make such a connection to God is through the actions, alms, prayer, and fasting that’s just between us. From dust we have come, and to dust we shall return. In that, there is something that still remains which is more than just dust. The performance and the reputation will go away, but the connection between each of us and God will not.
God wants all of us. We are created in the image of God, and to that image we shall return. In sharing in the divine encounter we grow that bond, why would we want to tarnish it by having it serve another purpose? Does a spouse find you more loving if you seek others outside of your relationship to see you as a good spouse? Or does it tarnish it in some way? Wouldn’t our God want the same from us? Who are you truly doing all of these for?
The gospel of two Johns
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Gospel: Jn 1:1-18
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122525-Day.cfm
I like to think of Jesus as the fully human part of Jesus Christ, and Christ as the fully divine part. It’s the Christ component that the gospel writer John focuses mostly upon. He begins his gospel by making this very clear: The Christ was at the beginning, the Christ was with God, and the Christ was God. When John uses the term the Word, he means the catalyst that creates and sustains life. John is in awe of who and what Christ is and the awesomeness of Christ becoming man through Jesus. He describes Christ as the Word – through Christ was all things and life, without Christ neither could have come into being. The life created was the light of the human race and that light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. John is saying that Christ gives life to all things and permeates what Christ created.
The ultimate being of Christ decided to be in the world, to be part of what Christ created. While Christ was imprinted on the world, the world did not know Christ. Jesus Christ gave us the completeness of grace in place of what we had previously perceived as grace. Christ had given us the law through Moses. The law was a means for us to relate and participate in God. The law was given because we were unable to comprehend and understand the divine imprint on the world. The law was a way to prepare the way to John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus. With Jesus Christ, we encounter complete grace and truth. We no longer need an intermediary with the law.
God is expressed throughout God’s creation. I like to think that we all have the imprint of God speaking through us if we let it. Last year, I was part of a Christmas performance where we acted out skits and sang a variety of Christmas songs. One song was, “Happy Christmas (War is over)” by John Lennon. The lyrics of the song are as follows: “So this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun. And, so this Xmas, I hope you have fun, the near and the dear ones, the old and the young. A merry, merry Christmas and happy New Year let's hope it's a good one without any fear. And, so this is Christmas for weak and for strong, for rich and the poor ones, the road is so long. And so, happy Christmas for black and for white, for the yellow and red ones, let's stop all the fight. A merry, merry Christmas and happy New Year let's hope it's a good one without any fear. War is over, if you want it. War is over now.”
I like to think of this song, in the context of today’s gospel. So this is Christmas, God came down for us. The creator became the created to be one with us. In so doing, God showed us how to love one another, and what did we do with that? God didn’t just come down for some of us, but for us all: the weak, the strong, the rich, the poor, for those of all races, for those of all genders. And what do we keep doing with this? We segregate, we push away, and we emphasize our difference, but that which created all of it, does not. Christ loves all of us, and Christ is in all of us. Christ is self-giving to us. All of us. We cannot escape it, no matter how hard we try. And now we’re coming to a new year, so it’s a good time for us to make a choice. We can live in fear and indifference, or we can live in freedom and love.
May we live by the light within us that came to us through a humble birth to teach us and show us how to love. Merry Christmas!
Zachariah’s Sonnet
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:67-79
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122425.cfm
A holy advent prophets did foresee.
Through the house of David, he was fated.
For a Messiah to set them all free,
Generations of people have waited.
The dawn from on high shall restore the day,
Filling the world with illumination.
For him to come, one must prepare the way
To lead his people to their salvation.
To our fathers, he delivered mercy
Transforming them from their iniquities.
With forgiveness, he remakes us worthy.
His power saves us from our enemies.
You, my child, shall be that prophet most high,
Guiding us to faith and peace by-and-by.
Faith and Hope
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:57-66
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122325.cfm
Faith and hope both require doubt. If you don’t have doubt, faith and hope would be knowing with certainty. We have doubt, but then we also have moments and experiences that reaffirm us in our faith which also gives us hope. Faith is regarding what is, hope is faith in what is to be. Faith is past and present; hope is future focused. Today’s gospel is a story of faith and hope. The miracles that happened to Elizabeth and Zachariah were recognized by the people around them. In seeing these miracles, the people were reassured about their faith as they also had hope in who John would become. They didn’t know exactly who or what he would be, the future wasn’t written yet, but they sensed it would be something special.
Now, what if God similarly has faith and hope in us? But how can God have faith and hope in us if God already knows everything? This is part of the incarnational mystery. At the first incarnation of creation, God gave us the divine spark. God trusted that creation would bring into being what God wanted to be brought into being. God let go of certainty so that we could truly participate in God through our own choosing. We weren’t created to automatically carry out God’s providence but to choose God’s providence. God took a risk with creation. God took a risk with all of us, individually and communally. This was the same for John and Jesus and those surrounding them. Their destinies weren’t written during their lives. They always had the option to choose otherwise. Every moment they could choose otherwise. That’s part of being human. With the second incarnation, God gave up on certitude by becoming human in Jesus, and God the Father put faith and hope that Jesus, through his own choosing, would fulfill the divine mission.
When we listen to the message of Jesus on the kingdom of God, the kingdom is not brought about for us by God alone, but through us making a choice to participate in it. God is counting on us as God counted on John and Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Zachariah and Elizabeth. God keeps putting faith and hope in us. God’s kingdom will come for us if we so choose. While we’ll always have God’s grace and forgiveness, God wants more for us and from us. The for and the from are one and the same as it’s always in our choosing that God is more fully revealed for us and for others.
As we celebrate this Christmas, may we grow in faith and hope as we also accept and take responsibility for the faith and hope God puts in us. It is in this shared faith and hope that we experience love of God and love of neighbor.
Magnificat Sonnet
Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:46-56
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122225.cfm
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
For my redeemer, my spirit will praise
For on his lowly servant he’s adored
To transform all our hearts with love ablaze.
The Almighty has done great things for me,
He grants mercy to those who admire him.
With his power, he sets the captives free,
And the totems of the proud, he will trim.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
And has lifted up the small and lowly
With joy, He’s replaced their suffering groans,
And the thriving rich will find their folie.
His children will be saved by his mercy,
Full solace to replace controversy.
Do not be afraid
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Gospel: Mt 1:18-24
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122125.cfm
In the advent gospels, the angel tells people to “not be afraid.” When the angels use the phrase, they are referencing the person’s response to them. It’s like a way of saying, “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” In today’s gospel, the Angel gives a reason for the lack of fear as is also done in other passages within scripture. The reason to not fear is because God is pleased with her. The fear mentioned is regarding the moment of divine encounter. The fear is directed at the presence of something divine.
The theme of not fearing is throughout the Old and New Testament. Joshua 1:9 says to fear not for God is always with you. This fear is about what is to come. It’s a fear of uncertainty or an outside threat, not something divine. The reason to not fear is because God is always present with you. As Romans 8:31 says, “If God is with us, who can stand against us.”
When scripture says fear of God, the more accurate meaning is to be in awe of God. To fear God is to be overwhelmed by the immenseness of God, not be scared or terrified of God. With God there is no need to fear. No fear with God or anything else, but it is natural for us to fear. Fear can protect us, but it can also hold us back from possibility. Even with her devolution and favor with God, Mary was still told not to fear.
We shouldn’t let fear overtake us. God doesn’t want our fear to limit God’s plan for us. God wants us to let go of our fear so God’s will can be done through us. Don’t let fear limit you, but embrace the safety of giving your will over to God.
Nothing will be impossible
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122025.cfm
“Nothing will be impossible for God.” When the angel speaks of God here, he uses the future tense. In the present moment, we only see what is, but in the use of future tense, we have a sense of hope. It’s an anticipation of what is yet to come. With God, there is always more possibility. The barren conceived a child and the virgin will as well. It doesn’t matter if there was no relation to man or if one is beyond her years of fertility. God will transcend. Goodness will prevail. God’s will shall come into being. This is hope. The present circumstances may be suffering, but God isn’t done yet. There will be more that God will have come into being.
Lectio Divina
Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Lk 1:5-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121925.cfm
Lectio Divina, or “divine reading” in latin, is a means of slowly reading and reflecting on scriptures. It’s a means of using scripture as prayer and to meditate on the deeper meaning. It’s less about an academic study, but a means of making a personal connection or finding a personal meaning in your present time and space. Lectio Divina is comprised four components:
Lectio (Reading): slowly read the scripture several times and identify what stands out to you.
Meditatio (Meditation): ponder the words and phrases and reflect on what it means to you.
Oratio (Prayer): Respond to your observations and share your feelings and thoughts with God.
Contemplatio (Contemplation): Let go of your thoughts and rest peacefully with God.
Lectio: When I read the scripture today, it stood out to me the descriptive words and how they tell the story on their own:
priestly, righteous, blamelessly, barren
priestly, troubled,
joy, gladness,
great, strong, spirit, power, righteous,
old, advanced,
good, now, speechless,
proper, long,
unable, mute,
completed, fit
Meditatio: We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We have a view of the world because of these things. We can do everything right or believe we are doing the right things, but still be barren. We can be priestly, but also trouble in the presence of a divine messenger. God’s intentions are ultimately joy and gladness, spirit and power. Yet, we still look around us and not accept it because we know better. We’ve limited ourselves by our perception and our experiences. We may lose what we have taken for granted, but such experiences may also complete us.
Oratio: God, help me accept my present struggles while still knowing that you are at work within me. Help me not limit your work to my perception, worldview, explanations, or preconceived limits. May I be open to your will and not impede it for myself or others. Amen.
Contemplatio: Let it all go. Rest in the moment without the words and just be.
God with us
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 1:18-25
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121825.cfm
Emmanual, or “God with us”, is one of the names of Jesus. God is all powerful (omnipotent),l knowing (omniscient), and all present (omnipresent). God is the creator of all things. God manifests life. God spoke existence into being. With all this power, knowing, and presence, our God chose to be with us. Of all the things, God chose us. To be with us is not to strictly know us, be present with us, or hold power over us. Our God gave up on all those things to truly be with us.
God experienced what we experienced first hand as one of us through Jesus. Jesus experienced doubt, experienced empathy, experienced frustration, experienced sadness, experienced happiness, experienced connection with others, experienced disapproval from others. Jesus experienced faith, hope, and love. While all of that could have been known by God, God wanted to experience it as us. God gave up on eternity to experience time; to be both objectively and subjectively human. To experience the human condition: birth, death, and everything in between. All of this to be with us in both the literal and figurative sense.
Everything in one person. And in so doing, taking the time and place in history to help guide and show us the way so that we could experience the same. When Jesus is said to be the word made flesh, it’s not a reference to scripture coming to life. First off, not all the scripture was written yet. The word is the catalyst that brought all existence into being. Why would that seek and want to be with us?
Earlier today, I learned of a prayer St. Francis frequently prayed and would pray hours on end. It was simply this: “Who are you, my God, and who am I?” There is a deeper love and experience that transcends our understanding and it wants to be with you. It wants to be with us.
A Sonnet for the Genealogies of Jesus
Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 1:1-17
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121725.cfm
Alas his ancestry was hard to tell,
A humble birth at first not written down
Then miracles make the need to compel
And go beyond just noting the birth town.
One story tells of forty-one fathers;
fourteen from Abraham to King David
The next set to those held by exilers,
Then fourteen to Jesus the Anointed.
Another begins with God and Adam;
A lot of names, different from the other.
Still acknowledging David and Abram,
None show the lineage of his mother.
Truth speaks louder than historical fact;
One is known more by the ones they impact.
Limiting our sight of God
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 21:28-32
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121625.cfm
Who is it that society deems sinful and evil? Who is it whose actions and deeds are considered to be abhorrent? The gospel likes to use tax collectors and prostitutes as a representative of these individuals. We can disagree with what they were doing, but they served a societal role for their time. If there was no demand for sexual acts with a prostitute, there would be no prostitutes. Similarly, there was a need for the government to collect taxes from its citizens and tax collectors filled the need. They were incentivized to take more to keep some for themselves. People hated them, but ultimately, they were filling a need and gaining compensation for it. They were not the state, but they benefited from the state. And similarly today, we demonize the person providing the means, not the end that’s causing it. If there are no consumers or recognized value, a product dies. There is always a deeper societal sin at play that may not be recognized on the surface. It’s easier to blame an individual or another group than it is for us to accept our contribution to civilization’s discontents.
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the story of two sons to an audience of chief priests and elders. One who does the fathers will after saying he won’t, and one who doesn’t do the father’s will after he says he will. Jesus asks which is better to which the crowd replies the one who does the will.
Jesus’s story starts with three characters, two sons and a father. This presumes equality amongst the children. Neither one is identified as older or younger. Neither one is identified as more skilled, more successful, or having more favor. So, in such a case, we can presume equality. Their actions and behavior in the story stand on their own without reference to anything more. Either of them could have done what the other did. Their different actions and behavior are the only components to form an opinion about the story.
Jesus then flips the story by saying the son who did the will of the father was like the tax collectors and the prostitutes who followed John the Baptist’s path to righteousness. Not only was Jesus’s audience of chief priests and elders not like them, but even in observing the conversion of the tax collectors and prostitutes, they did not see the error of their ways and change themselves. So, it was a double miss on their part. They didn’t recognize the truth on their own when they are religious leaders who profess it, and then upon witnessing the conversion of those they condemn, they did not change their ways either.
But aren’t some folks just not meant for salvation as they are just innately too evil? The chief priests and elders disregarded the prostitutes and tax collectors which impeded them from seeing the truth. We are all equal in the eyes of God and to think otherwise is not just an injustice to others, but an injustice to ourselves. Who are those you push aside? Who are those you’ve already condemned? Who are those that have committed no direct wrong to you, but you already dismiss them for what they symbolize? How have you possibly contributed to their demise? Is there something else to blame? What will it take for you to see your equality, learn from it, and recognize salvation present for you both? The father in Jesus’s story gave both sons the opportunity as John did to the prostitutes, tax collectors, chief priests, and elders. If we do the same, we are doing the will of God.
Questions can be weapons
Monday of the Third Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 21:23-27
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121525.cfm
In today’s gospel, the chief priests are not asking Jesus a question because they care to know, but because they wanted to accuse him further. If he said his authority was from God, they could accuse him of blasphemy or use the law against him. If he said it was from human origin, they could claim that they were above that because they represent God’s law and are the religious authority. It was not an honest question. Jesus returns their question with the same question but about John the Baptist.They ponder how they should answer given how Jesus or the people will respond. Given the implications of either answer, they felt like they couldn’t just answer with what they believed. Their ponderance reveals the malicious intent of their original question. Jesus didn’t need to call it out. He just let them stew in it and let them know that since they couldn’t answer his question, he wouldn’t answer theirs.
Questions can be used as a tool in argument. Questions can be used as a means to resolve an argument or be used as means to gain an upper hand in an argument. These questions vary in intent. One is a means of asking a direct question like a chess move. You’ve already prepped yourself for a follow-up to get the person in check to get more dominance in the conversation. You anticipate the person’s next move or you ask a question where there’s no right answer. These questions are a means to maintain or gain control. Another type of question is from a humble position. You ask open-ended questions without making presumptions. You ask questions to try to understand. You truly listen to their response and don’t limit your interpretation of their words to already formed conclusions. By asking open-ended questions and not assuming the answer, you put yourself in a position of vulnerability. It gives the other person more dominance or at least equality in the conversation.
As we journey through Advent, observe the questions you and others ask each other. Are you asking questions to further understand? Or are you asking questions to move yourself into a dominant position? As frustrations come about this season, it’s each to fall into the latter. Try to catch yourself doing this and find a means of changing your approach. We all will benefit if we seek to understand more than be understood.
Healing, sharing, and blessing
Third Sunday of Advent
Gospel: Mt 11:2-11
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121425.cfm
When John’s disciples asked Jesus if he was the Messiah to come, he didn’t give them a simple “yes”, but told them to share what they saw and heard. He then provided them with examples. He first listed off five miracles of healing: two miracles of sensory healing, one miracle of healing disease, one of mobility, and one of bringing back to life. Then he turned to sharing good news to the poor. He concluded with blessing those who did not take offense to his message. His explanation was focused on them observing healing, teaching, and blessing. The observations on Jesus’s divinity are relational. Jesus didn’t emphasize his personal accomplishments or power but kept his focus on the impact it had on others. Jesus’s divinity is recognized through delivering to the needs of others, not on his personal greatness.
In the short duration Jesus was alive on earth, he needed to make a significant impact so that those who had seen and heard would carry on the message and continue to live the example as followers. While we have also fallen very short throughout history, there has always been some to carry the message forward. That is how in the gospel of John, Jesus is able to say to Thomas, “Blessed are they who have not seen, but believed.” After Jesus’s ascension, we may not see Jesus directly in bodily form, but we can know through the message that has been carried on through others, scripture, creation itself, and moments of divine connection. We, like those in Jesus’s time, continue to experience and encounter God through healing, sharing the gospel, and blessing. As followers, may we continue to carry on this tradition for those in our time and for future generations.
Do we hear what the prophets say?
Saturday of the Second Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 17:9a, 10-13
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121325.cfm
In Matthew 7:20, Jesus says, “By their fruits you will know them.” Jesus was speaking about how you can determine who is a false prophet and who is a true prophet, by what fruit they produce. Sometimes you need to wait a while or know where to look to see the fruit because prophets don’t control how their message will have an impact
Each of us still has a free-will which means, even if someone shares God’s message, people still have the freedom to go against it. And often, with prophets, the message is received by unlikely sources, mostly those on the fringe of society and oftentimes at the expense of the elites. Part of the prophets message normally is a leveling of the playing field. One group isn’t being chosen over another, but it’s a matter of who is willing to respond and receive the message. When we’re in a position of thriving, why would we change? If we are comfortable with or have accepted the status quo, there is uncertainty and risk with change. But, when our suffering is great, we’re more open to hearing and responding to a message of hope?
This is Jesus’s message in today’s gospel. John the Baptist was the new Elijah who came to restore all things, but the people did not listen to him. They continued to maintain their regular life without any significant change. They disregarded his message and went on their way. We know that some people did, but not the masses of people that should have. If they allowed God’s intention to come to fruition, it would have been so much more, but not everyone heeded and truly heard the message. Jesus predicted that his experience would be the same. God’s intention with Jesus was so much more than what came into being, but they didn’t let it come to fruition. Jesus didn’t need to die for our sins. Jesus was always bringing salvation to all regardless of if he was crucified or not; yet, those of Jesus’s time and society decided to have him killed. It makes me wonder what we’d do with Jesus today, and I’m afraid that the result would still probably be the same, but I hope more people would truly hear and respond to the message firsthand.
God didn’t intend for his son to be killed, we killed him. We killed our savior. While a prophecy was fulfilled, it was not the intention of the action. The prophecy existed because we were not yet what we needed to be, not that it was God’s intention for it to be that way. God wanted to be surprised. God wanted the prophecy to not come true. God hoped for more from us, so God still took the chance anyway. When we recognize God’s attempts, it allows us to see that we’re not there yet. Such observations have the potential for repentance, or transformation. God keeps trying in hopes that we’ll wake up to it and change. God will keep giving us the means and ways even if we’re going to reject it. When will we all learn to take God up on it? When will we surprise God by responding to the call?