April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

• Matthew 21: 1-11
• Isaiah 50:4-7
• Philippians 2: 6-11
• Matthew 26: 14-27: 66

Reflection Written by: Gayle Sommerfeld

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and marks the beginning of Holy Week, a period of intense reflection and spiritual preparation leading up to Easter Sunday, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. This event is so important that it is in all four of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me” (Matthew 21:2). The use of a donkey was not accidental. In ancient times, a donkey was often associated with peace and humility, not as a symbol of power or strength.

This passage suggests that Jesus was intentionally fulfilling a prophecy from the book of Zechariah, who wrote, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowds that had gathered to celebrate the Passover festival spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road. This was a customary act of homage given to royalty or dignitaries. The palm branches symbolize triumph, while the cloaks signify submission to the authority of the one being honored. The crowd shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9). The crowds who welcomed Jesus recognized him as the promised Messiah, the one who would save them from oppression and establish God’s kingdom on earth. They shouted “Hosanna,” which means “save us now.”

The cheering crowd would soon turn on Jesus. The religious leaders felt threatened by Jesus’ growing popularity, and they plotted to have him arrested and killed. In a few days, the same crowds who had welcomed him with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna!” would soon cry out for his crucifixion. While many are genuinely enthusiastic about Jesus’ arrival, others were looking for a political savior who will overthrow the Roman occupation and establish a new kingdom of Israel. This may explain why the Pharisees, who are uncomfortable with Jesus’ growing popularity, say to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” (Matthew 21:15).

Jesus responds to their request by saying, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). This statement emphasizes the inevitability of Jesus’ mission and the fact that God’s plan cannot be thwarted by human opposition. It also reminds us that the ultimate significance of Palm Sunday lies not in the adulation of the crowd, but in the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation.

Even as the crowd welcomed Jesus with joy and celebration, his entry into Jerusalem was the beginning of what might have been the end of the story. It was the start of a sequence of events that would lead to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Palm Sunday foreshadows the events of Good Friday when Jesus would be crucified on a cross. The palm branches laid in Jesus’ path would soon be replaced by thorns, and the shouts of “Hosanna!” would turn into cries of “Crucify him!” Palm Sunday is a reminder that the road to Easter Sunday is paved with suffering and sacrifice. It is also a reminder of our own need for salvation. We cannot save ourselves.

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, we are called to put our trust in Jesus and follow him. While Palm Sunday foreshadows Jesus’ Passion, it also points us towards the triumph of Easter. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end – it was the beginning of a new life, a life of resurrection and hope. As we journey through Holy Week, we are invited to meditate on the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection and to renew our hope in the promises of God. The story of Palm Sunday is a story of hope and transformation. It is a reminder that no matter how dark and difficult our circumstances may be, God’s love and grace are always available to us. May we be open to the transforming power of Jesus’ love.

Questions for Reflection

• Are you like the crowds that welcomed him to Jerusalem with joy and enthusiasm, but later turned against him? Or are you like the disciples who followed him even when it was difficult and costly?
• We are challenged to examine our own motivations and expectations as we follow Jesus. Are we seeking him as the true source of salvation, or are we looking for him to meet our own desires and expectations?

March 26, 2023

Fifth Sunday of Lent

• Exodus 37:12-14
• Romans 8:8-11
• John 11:3-7, 20-27, 33b-45

Reflection written by: Janet Ann McDermott, MTS

“Lord, if you had been here…”

The scriptures for the Fifth Sunday of Lent remind us of the story of Lazarus.  Upon getting the news that his friend Lazarus is ill, we hear Jesus telling his friends, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”  THEN JESUS WAITS TWO FULL DAYS before heading out to the home of Martha and Mary to be with them and Lazarus.  Paul’s letter to the Romans tells the church, “…if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive…”  What, then, is the meaning of these scriptures for us as we continue to observe the season of Lent while looking forward to the celebration of Easter?

I recently read a commentary written by Thomas Merton, “To know the Cross”.  The commentary is basically about the meaning of suffering.  We can grin and bear it (and be proud of ourselves in the process).   We might be someone who embraces suffering as another “proof” of our general attitude towards life.  What, then, is the value of suffering?  Merton offers that, for someone in whom the Spirit dwells, suffering united with Jesus’ work in us, is there to help us recognize where we need to grow and let Jesus continue the work of salvation through each of us.

As days passed after reading that commentary, I discovered for myself that Merton’s challenge for his readers describes the difference between believing in Jesus and following Jesus.  We can admire ourselves for “having a good Lent” staying true to our Lenten resolutions.  We might find ourselves adding our observances to the already heavy burden of living in a fractured world.  Or we can invite Jesus into our Lent observances, asking for continued self-knowledge and praying for the continued salvation of the world through the presence of Jesus in ourselves.

What does this have to do with the Lazarus story?  Perhaps the final words in the gospel give a clue:  “Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.”

The first step towards faith is the believing.  We may find ourselves believing in a lot of things – the planet Mars, comes to mind.  Or famous persons whom we have never met, but who have an effect or attraction in our everyday living.  But the following is another giant step.  Following means that, even in those times when we believe ourselves dead or when we see death all around us, we invite Jesus into the experience.  Believing that our life has meaning because Jesus lives in us: let that be the reason for our Lenten observances.

Questions for Reflection

• Am I one of those who is merely in the habit of believing in Jesus?  What would be required of me if I chose to be a follower of Jesus?
• What keeps us bond us, and in what ways do we need to come to new life?

February 5, 2023

The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

• Isaiah 58:7-10
• I Corinthians 2:1-5
• Matthew 5:13-16

Reflection written by: Janet Ann McDermott, MTS

There is a quote from Scripture that hangs on the wall in my home.  This letter from St Peter (1 Peter 2:9) has formed the basis of how I have hoped to express my understanding of my place in the Catholic Community, being, as I am, a person baptized into the Body of Christ:

“But you are a chosen race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, God’s own People, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of God, who called you out of Darkness into Marvelous Light.”

(I got this copy of St Peter’s letter, beautifully printed, from an event sponsored by or in honor of our past Archbishop, Raymond Hunthaesen.)

Today’s Scripture readings echo what Peter’s letter describes.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers that they are “the light of the world”, that Jesus wants us to BE THAT LIGHT, don’t hide it. (No bushels, please) As Paul so aptly describes, his work, in and of itself, is done in his own weakness.  No worries, he implies, because the fruits of that weakness can therefore only be attributed to God.  We, according to Peter, have been called out of the darkness of our own inadequacies into the LIGHT because – not because we are something special or better-than – but because we have been chosen to be God’s own People!

What does being a light entail?  Read the words attributed to Isaiah.  They are wonderful words, words you might imagine finding in our own Sunday Bulletins.  “…share your bread, shelter the oppressed and the homeless…do not turn your back on your own” THEN “light shall rise for you in the darkness”. 

Thinking about “light”, I notice that light isn’t something we can usually “feel”.  In other words, sometimes we can do and act and be that person of light without realizing there is a light at all.  Our “light”, then, may shine in places unknown to us.  The “light” we are called to be is really the light of Faith, a light we can proclaim, as Paul writes, where and when we offer what we know ourselves to be, accepting even our weakness as may be seen by ourselves or others.

With regard to sharing our light, there are times when discernment and skills of engagement may be required.  Personally, I think it may be easier to just “be who I am” by doing or saying whatever comes to mind.  But God’s Spirit is a spirit of Love.  Knowing when to act or not requires a life of prayer and respectful listening.  Sometimes the “bushel” is a good place to be?  Sometimes patient waiting is the more loving response.

If I were to give a homily on these Sunday readings, I would assure the assembly that, even as there are reasons and history that could possibly cause us to be worried or discouraged about the state of the world or the numbers in our Churches (the “darkness”), we are God’s People, here to celebrate the wondrous deeds of God in our midst.  We are a people of light.  We are a Royal Priesthood invited to the Table of the Lord.  We are not alone, darkness is not our heritage.

For Further Reflection

• Do I have a call to speak out?  Describe it, give it words.
• When have I waited to speak out, did I later discovered that patience was the “call”?
• Have I embraced the call to “declare God’s Marvelous Light”?

December 25, 2022

The Nativity of the Lord: Christmas Mass during the Day

• Isaiah 52:7-10
• Hebrews 1:1-6
• John 1:1-18

Reflection written by: Janet Ann McDermott, MTS

“In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1)

Today – this very day – we are here (wherever that is today) to celebrate the wondrous deeds that God has done for us:  The Book of Genesis celebrates God who created everything…God who “saw that it is good”.  Now, in our historic time, the Creator God chose to become one of us, to remain with us forever.  No wonder the scriptural passages are replete with cries of joy and amazement.  How can we ourselves take it in?  Yet, as the People of God, people washed clean of all that separates us from each other and from God. We, together, are reminded to hear the call to rejoice.

At this time of the liturgical year, people of many traditions come together, each in their own way, to remember and to celebrate.  We are God’s people!  All are welcome!  We come together as families, we attend parties with our friends and co-workers, we make special note of the lost and marginalized, drawing them in by our generosity and outreach into the joy of our God Emmanuel.  This child Jesus, who is the Son of God and son of Mary, has come into our world and remains with us.  Jesus, who, throughout his earthly life, showed us in his message and ministry that all are included, today calls us to do the same.  Hopefully, by celebrating the birth of Jesus together, we are being reminded once again that there is so much more to be done because by our Baptism we are, with Jesus, the children of God.

This message of joy-filled thanks is particularly needed in our world today.  Many of us attempt to revive old traditions lost during the recent pandemic – and find that the old ways must yield to new realities.  There is war with its attendant efforts to “win” by using old methods that don’t work.  The poor and hungry cry out for a new society of care, the race-based bias of the justice system fills our prisons. Yet, this Holy Day reminds us that God is still with us, God remains unchanged. Can we trust the call to persevere?  The call is to treat others as fellow children of God when, in many instances, we are not sure what that would entail.  Can we trust that actual physical presence of Jesus which resides within ourselves as well as in others to result in joyful care? 

Our God has chosen to live with us as one of us.  I, for one, need to listen to that reality, to pray for help and clarity, so that the reign of God can bloom and blossom in God’s much-loved Creation.

Questions for Reflection

• Have I considered that I am missioned to bring the joy of God’s presence to others? 
• What gifts do I have to share….? 
• Can I trust that God will work with the gifts I offer?

December 11, 2022

Third Sunday of Advent

• Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10
• James 5: 7-10
• Matthew 11:  2-11

Reflection Written By: Gayle Sommerfeld

Throughout my life, I have found myself in situations that were strange, new, or beyond any of my previous experience. Often, I felt like a stranger to myself and stuck in my life. I bet you know what that is like. In the reading from Matthew this week, I wonder if that’s how John the Baptist felt when he was imprisoned by Herod. John has time to think while he is in jail. Jesus is not exactly the messiah John expects.  The Voice of the one who cried out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord” now is having some doubt about whether Jesus is the one he has waited for. Maybe we are, too. Yet, the time of salvation is drawing near. John sends his disciples to Jesus to ask if he is the one they have been waiting for, or if they should expect another. Jesus answers by telling them to report back to John what they “hear and see” of Jesus. The blind see, the lame walk, and the poor “have the good news proclaimed to them.” Who or what are you looking for, as we enter the halfway point of this Advent?

In the second reading, James instructs the faithful who are waiting for the Lord’s coming to “be patient and do not lose heart.” There are many things, people, and situations around us that can cause us to lose heart and become discouraged. Times when things don’t work out as we hoped for, or our hard work and persistence seems unrewarded. And I, for one, am not very good at waiting and having patience.  What do people hear and see when they encounter you? What do people hear and see when they encounter your family or workplace?  What do people hear and see when they encounter our parish community at St. Joe’s? If what they see and hear is not the reflection of Christ and good news, then what needs to change?

Every day we encounter all the circumstances of our lives, joys, sorrows, successes, disappointments, losses, struggles, the ordinary and the exciting. And every one of these has possibilities for love, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing, joy, beauty, wholeness, and holiness. So, I wonder, how will we receive the next person we see? How will we receive the latest news and circumstances of our lives, especially the challenging ones? Will we recognize, greet, and embrace our coming salvation?

In our first reading from Isaiah, God’s people have been in exile for a long time in a foreign land, the temple is destroyed, and there is little hope left. Yet the people are told to have hope and find strength, that in a future time coming relationships will be restored, love renewed and even the desert will bloom by the abundance of water. This week, we speak of joy, the joy of a people redeemed and restored, but also the joy of a God who is deeply involved in the life of the world and with us.

For the last three weeks, I have been trying to prepare myself for the coming of God in our midst. And wow, Advent is going by so quickly. It is so easy to wander off into a desert of my own making. Dry, lifeless times where I am so busy and unfocused, that prayer seems like just another job to cross off my long “to do” list. Where did joy go in all of this? We put our joy into practice by sharing with those in need, by acting with fairness, honesty, and justice. Come out of the desert and make space and time for the God who loves us more than our wildest imaginings. Others will know who we are in at least two ways:  by our love and by our gratitude. How can these be more present in us, not just this week but always? May we be present to the love that is so deep we know it in our very bones.

Questions for Reflection:

• In what ways will you show God’s light to others this week?
• What would help increase your sense of the Holy, not just at this special time but year-round? How might you refocus on what is important? What gives you joy?
• Who is Jesus for you?
• What big events have taken place in your life over the past year?

November 27, 2023

First Sunday of Advent

• Isaiah 2:1-5
• Romans 13:11-14
• Matthew 24:37-44

Reflection Written By: Gayle Sommerfeld

This first Sunday of Cycle A in the Church’s liturgical year presents readings which ask us to make some room in our lives. Advent brings four weeks of holy longing for Christ’s coming into our dark and broken world to make all things new. We have a certain hope that the Lord is coming. I am also tired already, anxious at times, have many things on my to-do list, and hope hurts sometimes. It is good to spend time in waiting, rather than hurrying into “Christ is born!” without any thought or preparation.  Setting aside a month to be with the stories of the prophet Isaiah, Elizabeth, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Mary, and Joseph can deepen our appreciation of the fullness of Christmas and how it fits into God’s bigger story and ours.

About seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah has a vision of the presence of the holy and one God in a new place and in a new way than he knew before. We hear about the holy mountain which will rise above all others and to which all nations will come to visit and learn the instructions and the ways of the Lord.  The new presence of the Lord in the new house will bring a new light into the world and by this light there will be no need for wars or despair. If all the nations continue walking up the hill towards the light, towards the temple of Jerusalem, then they will walk together and live together within that light.

The Gospel of Matthew was written some 30 to 50 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. For these early Christians, their lives were in chaos.  Their leader, James, had been killed, as had most of the apostles and disciples who met and knew Jesus firsthand. They expected Jesus’ return soon, but that hadn’t happened. Did they get Jesus’ message wrong? Leaders in the Church were arguing about it all. It is hard to have hope after so many years.

In the Gospel reading this week from Matthew, Jesus tells the story of Noah and the building of the ark somewhat differently than Genesis does. In Genesis, the world is corrupt and filled with brutality and that is why God sends the flood.  Jesus uses the Noah story to describe how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man at the end of history.  In verse 37 and following, Jesus talks about how it was during the days of Noah, “People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” For many years, they watched Noah build a giant wooden box in the middle of the desert. For many years, they listened to him talk about how God was going to send a flood and how it was time for them to repent. They laughed and all thought Noah was crazy. But then came the flood.  They were all completely unprepared and perished. Didn’t God give those people a chance?

That’s how it will be when Jesus comes again. Romans 13 describes what it looks like to not be ready.  Some of us will be ready, and some of us will not.  Awareness and preparation are called for… What is required is not withdrawing from ordinary life, but maintaining, in the middle of the ordinary, a sense of hope, of the unexpected and an awareness of the holy and living from that.

We meet the Holy One when we move out of ourselves in prayer to God, and when we move out of ourselves in service to others.  May we all keep watch in this season of Advent for the Lord’s coming.  May we all remember that the God who brings justice is the same God who brings mercy, love, and redemption. May we remember that Christ is here, has come and that He will come again.  As we prepare room for Christ Jesus, may we come to experience more deeply all the hope, peace, joy, and love that are ours in him.

Questions for Reflection

• What images do you have of Christ’s return? Would you be ready?
• Has any recent turn of events has taken you by surprise? Why were you caught off guard?
• Reflect on your anxieties this week. Bring them to the Lord. And pray for the peace in meeting the unexpected. During Advent consider encountering Jesus through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

November 13, 2022

The Thirty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

• Malachi 3:19-20a
• 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
• Luke 21:5-19

Reflection written by: Janet Ann McDermott, MTS

Lo, the day is coming… Mal 3:19

Whenever anyone takes the time to comment on the Reflections I have offered, I immediately encourage the speaker to write their own for the St Joe’s community as I have been doing.  I get a variety of answers but continue to hope to share this rare opportunity to listen to Spirit through the act of reflecting and writing about what we have found in the weekend’s Scriptures.  In many cases, I add the following comment, “I am in the practice of preparing the Reflections every six weeks.  That means that I do not know ahead of time which Readings will be offered on a particular weekend liturgy.  And that is what has been exciting and a great grace for me.”  The listener usually gives me a sort of gasping reaction…like, in your dreams would I put myself into that situation.  Well, I have.  And it’s been a very rewarding experience.

However, this weekend, the weekend of the 33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, the letter attributed to St Paul has put me in the position of looking, at least for me, at the proverbial “elephant in the room”.  Perhaps it is due to our recent and intense political arena.   Paul’s letter is an advisory one for the newly formed Christian community.  Among his words of advice, he includes the following instruction: “we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.” (2 Thess 3:10).  For me, that sentence at first glance (read), leapt out as the political rhetoric that is currently being used to create political divisions.  What am I to think?  Is Spirit entering the world of politics and bringing me along?  I have spent a good two weeks with that question.  Is this a case, perhaps, when words in Scripture, taken out of context, can be used against the poor and marginalized whom Jesus asks us to serve?

In my pondering I continued and looked at this Sunday’s passages from Luke.  The gospel reading includes a lot of end-of-times stuff.  (The Church itself is approaching its own annual “ending”, closing in on the end of the Liturgical Year with the start of Advent on the horizon.)  

 In the gospel quoted, Jesus tries to describe the fate of his followers, not all of it very appealing “all that you see here (the Temple) – the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone what will not be thrown down (LK 21:6)....they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons “ (LK 21:12) (etc)  To some this sounds a lot like our world today.  Ultimately (Jesus promises) it will be good: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” (LK 21:19)

Returning to the politics of our time and pondering Paul’s instructions, I find myself called to once more remember that I don’t really know who Is unwilling and who is, rather, unable to work.  I am not the judge, God is.  For me, my task is to be like Jesus: to listen, to heal, to walk with others as we all find our way back home to God.  How do I do this?  Jesus has promised that God will open the way before me, especially when I don’t attempt to walk alone, bringing others along the way as Paul and the Disciples did in that early Christian community.

Thoughts and Questions for Consideration:

• Jesus tells us to persevere no matter what is going on around us.  How do you feel about the news headlines today?
• We are told that God is the Creator – a Creator who loves all of creation.  Spend some time talking to our God with your concerns about today’s world.
• Often the natural world can tell us a lot about the work of God.  As the leaves fall and the rains and wind prevail, consider the stark beauty of the current season and the promise that the new year will soon be here.

November 6, 2022

Thirty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

• 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
• 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
• Luke 20:27-38

Reflection Written By: Gayle Sommerfeld

At first glance, the first reading from Maccabees is not a cheerful way to start the morning. We have the story of seven brothers, all of whom, rather than break the law of Moses by eating pork, were one by one put to death due to their defiance of the king. The seven brothers faced their deaths with hope and belief in life beyond this one. To each one, all was not lost with their deaths. Nor was it with the early Christian martyrs, many of whom we now celebrate in the church as Saints.

Yet, all three of the readings do have a connection/thread running through them. That connection is belief in resurrection from the dead and a life beyond this one. Really, that belief in God being the “God of the living” means everything for us. Without Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is no reason for our faith/hope, or for the Church to even exist. So, the readings for this Sunday are quite important.

Luke 20 happens shortly before Jesus’ arrest. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection or life after death. We all ask questions for a variety of reasons: curiosity, wanting information on a topic, getting someone else’s opinion. The leaders of the people are now looking for reasons to discredit Jesus and put him on trial.  Here, as they had in Luke 19, the Sadducees were trying to trip Jesus up and make him look like a fool with their question about the widow who married seven brothers one by one. And in heaven, whose wife is she then?  I can almost hear them snickering to themselves, thinking that they have him trapped this time. With all seriousness though, Jesus answers them. There is life beyond this one. It is not like life here on earth but is much more. There are a couple of realities Jesus comments on here. The first is that there is life after this one. Heaven is for real! Jesus also says that heavenly life is not like that of earth. And “God is God of the living”. There is absolutely nothing that escapes God’s attention. I don’t know about you, but this makes me want to sing and dance!

Reflection Questions:

• What do you most desire from God? Do you feel you can ask for that desire? Why or why not?
• “God is God of the living”. What does Jesus’ statement mean to you?
• During the month of November, we remember with gratitude the lives of those dear to us who have gone on before us.  Consider choosing one or two of these dear ones and write a thank you letter to them.

October 2, 2022

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

• Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
• 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
• Luke 17:5-10

Reflection Written By: Janet McDermott

HOW LONG, OH LORD?
I CRY FOR HELP BUT YOU DON’T LISTEN!” Habakkuk 1:2-3

Sometimes our parents have chosen to tell us “no”.  In many cases, the “no” is “for our own good” – or so we may have been told.  But there may also have been times when our parents or loved ones have other plans for us – a surprise, perhaps plans for a much-anticipated trip or when a special visitor is on their way to see us.  In any case, getting “no” is not what we as children wanted to hear.  And we may have objected to that response by saying or doing wild and crazy (think “tantrum”) things and perhaps later regretted it.  Today we are asked to deal with the child inside of us.

In preparation for writing this Reflection, I was drawn to the first Reading, a lament of the Prophet Habakkuk.  I had no idea who the prophet was or the circumstances of his lament.  I learned that Habakkuk was from among the group described in Hebrew history as the “minor prophets”.  Other than that, not much else is known.  Nothing, that is, but his prophetic words.  “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen!”

How many times in our lives do we think to turn to our God for answers, for help, yet it seems that there is no one there listening?  What exactly do we expect when we send our appeals to the God of our faith?  What is the nature of that relationship between our individual self and the Almighty One?  I have come to believe that one of the deeper and enduring tasks of our life is to give words to that relationship (God is Father? God is Creator of all things including me? God loves me?  Loves him/her?  God makes God’s Self known through the shine on my child’s/my grandchild’s face?).  I wonder if, perhaps, as many as there are persons in creation, there are words to describe that primal relationship.  We each have to name and rename who God is as our relationship with God grows and matures.  Then, from the perspective of our relationship with God, we can look at the answer to Habakkuk’s lament – “how long?”

St. Paul implores us to listen to his words and example.  “Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me”.  Earlier in the same epistle he writes, “do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord…bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God”.  For him, and for his followers, faith in God (the is-God-listening faith) comes from the example of others and from the strength given by God through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Paul’s letters continue to call people to faith in Jesus, using words, examples, using his own life – all to describe a relationship with God through Jesus the Christ.

Luke’s gospel offers a perspective on our relationship to God, using the example of a servant in service to its master.  Being a good servant in Jesus’ story is simply what is expected when one is a servant – nothing fancy, just the simple satisfaction of being a faithful servant: what does the servant rightfully expect? In the scriptures above, then, the “how long” is not really an issue.  We have a relationship with God who loves, cares for and watches over us and others.  We go to God with our needs and the needs of others, we leave those needs at God’s feet, invoking our privileged relationship with Jesus, God’s Son, and leave the rest to God.

In answer to Habakkuk’s lament, God is said to reply (calling us to the patience of a loyal servant):

 “the vision still has its time….and will not disappoint.  If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”  Thankfully, then, we have the response we all need as we await God’s loving reply, especially when we wonder if God has heard our prayer.

Thoughts for Consideration

• Recall sometime when you have been surprised by unexpected events.  Is it possible that God too has good surprises in mind for you?
• Consider the role of friends and mentors.  Who has given you the inspiration and courage to believe in God’s listening heart?
• Stop throughout the day to ponder the possibility of God’s promised gifts that await and perhaps surprise.

August 21, 2022

Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time

• Isaiah 66:18-21
• Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
• Luke 13:22-30

Reflection Written By: Janet McDermott

I come to gather nations of every language. (Is 66:18)

Make straight paths for your feet. (Heb 12:13)

Sometimes we like to think of ourselves as the “lucky ones”, perhaps carefully avoiding the word “privileged”.  We may have various reasons (or starting points) for that: where we live, who our friends are, our job or vocation, even the nature of our religious beliefs.  But all-in-all, it can come down to the we/they comparisons that so tempt us to find reasons for our personal fortune or excellence compared to that of others.

As I read the scriptures chosen for this Sunday’s Liturgy, I find surprising statements, statements that remind me that God may have other plans, plans that can change us.  We are reminded that God is interested in the welfare of those who might not at the surface conform to our inherent tendencies of comparison and judgement.  We are being reminded that the “eye of the needle” is ours when we are open and aware of God’s standard, how God moves within our creation: discipline, pain, suffering (according to Paul).  That’s how God deepens the garden of our souls so we can enjoy what Paul’s letter describes as the “peaceful fruit of righteousness”.

This Sunday’s gospel is attributed to Luke. Ever notice that, in a large portion of Luke’s gospel, it is always told in the context that Jesus was “making his way to Jerusalem”.  I learned that this phrase found in Luke arises from Luke’s understanding of the work of Jesus: Jesus taught and healed along the way, always on the way to completing the core work of Salvation – Condemnation by authorities, Passion and Cross, Death, and, ultimately, the joy of the Resurrection.  The salvation to be offered, yet uncompleted, was coming to fruition even as he walked among the people.  That salvation was accomplished through suffering, acceptance, and commitment.  Only then was there glory.

Oh, that our growth could happen some other way! 

Sometimes, when we look around at the persons who don’t appear to be blessed, we might be wise to bring to mind Jesus’ chosen path through pain before his glory.  Today we are called to understand that God’s work is being accomplished in many and various ways that include the people we tend to dismiss.  Isaiah writes that God will “come to gather nations of every language (folks different from ourselves)… will send fugitives to the nations (think of us in our comfort and safety as being the ”nations”)…who shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the Lord.”  God’s work is inclusive and surprising.  God is not deterred by the national boundaries or the turmoil all around us.  

Today we might take time to consider this work of God in our world. Can our sense of good fortune hide from us God’s real actions?  Let us look around.  Participation in God’s work may be happening in the sick and those accompanying them, struggling for a cure – or in the dying.  Can the joy of closeness to God be deepening within families who are suffering from draught and lack of food and water?  Perhaps God comes to us in the lame, in the mentally or psychologically challenged. How does God use the goodwill of political leaders?  Consider how God is being revealed to us in our relationships, in our family, our friends, our neighborhoods. Can we join with these “others”, walking with them “to Jerusalem”?  Perhaps this kind of path will bring light to our eyes and healing to our souls, can “make straight the path” for our spiritual journey through the “eye of a needle” as we step out of our perceived “luck” and into the real world of God’s love and action.  That was Jesus’ way.  Let it be so for us also.

Thoughts For Consideration:

• We have been gifted in many ways.  Consider then how God is calling us to walk with, to be gift, for others.
• There are many conflicts in our world today.  Can I consider God’s presence in the courage, the commitments, of others?
• Scripture teaches that God works with us most especially in those times when we are distressed or in pain.  It’s the path of Jesus.  Our society has taught us to avoid pain.  Can we reconsider our relationship with distress, trusting that God is active with us, leading us through our difficulties?  
• Perhaps this Sunday, you can consider accompanying St. Pat’s parishioners, and walk with them as they journey to St. Joe’s this Sunday. Literally walk with them, as they make their way to their new parish.