He Loved People, But He Could Walk Alone

2 Sam 6:12-15,17-19 / Mk 3:31-35

Today’s gospel records one of the saddest moments in Jesus’ life. His family thought He was crazy, and they were trying to get Him to forget His outlandish ideas and come home with them. What a terrible moment of isolation and utter aloneness it must have been, to be abandoned by those who had been closest to Him all his life, those He loved most dearly.

Jesus’ reaction at this sad and humiliating moment is worth pondering at length. He didn’t waver. He remembered who He was and what was the mission the Father had given Him. And He stood firm in His commitment ... firm and very alone.

There are times in every human life when the normal supports that we’ve come to count on simply aren’t there. The temptation is to scurry to a safe place in the midst of the crowd. The temptation is to bend to the pressures and head for a place in the shadows. That’s when we need to think of Jesus standing tall and alone. That’s when we need to ask His help in remembering who we are and where God has called us.

That’s a prayer that is always answered. And with the answer always comes the strength to stay the course. There are no exceptions, because God is faithful.

Don’t Close Your Eyes to the Spirit at Work

2 Sam 5:1-7,10 / Mk 3:22-30

It is truly astonishing to see how far away from reality some of us can wander. Sometimes it’s fear that makes us shut our eyes, and sometimes it’s a powerful personal agenda which reshapes and rearranges reality to fit our personal desires. We get a good look at just such a blinding, distorting personal agenda in today’s gospel.

Jesus had been doing what He usually did: heal the sick, cure lepers, give sight to the blind, and expel demons. And what did the scribes from Jerusalem have to say about all that? “He’s possessed by the devil”! They simply refused to let the evidence speak for itself, because to acknowledge the facts would undermine what they valued more than anything else: their own power over the Jewish community.

The Spirit was at work in their very midst, but they simply turned their backs and refused to see the Spirit -- all to protect so little! In part it was a form of despair, thinking that there was no more to their lives than a bit of power over their piece of the “turf.” At the same time, it was a form of presumption, denying that they had any need for God. It was a sin that could never be forgiven, because it locked out the Spirit, saying either “I don’t need your help,” or “You can't help me.”

The Spirit is powerfully at work where you are every day. Don’t underestimate your need or the Spirit’s power. Welcome the Spirit with a hopeful heart, for the Spirit knows exactly what you need today and will give it to you if you ask.

Light or Darkness: Which Do You Bring?

Is 8:23—9:3 / 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17 / Mt 4:12-23 or 4:12-17

Some years ago there was a new eighth-grade class at the local parish school, and they were trouble! Negative and sniping, they were down on everything and everybody, most especially themselves. Nobody wanted to teach this class, until finally old Sister Ambrose volunteered.

She was a wise old nun, so she did something very simple. She gave each student a list of their classmates. "Next to each name," she said, "write down all the good things you know about that person. Don't exaggerate or make up anything. Just write the good that you see and give me your papers on Friday." And so they did.

Over the weekend, Sister read the students' comments and then typed for each one a full page of all the good things the class saw in him or her. On Monday she handed them out.

The students were astonished. "Is this me?" asked some. "I didn't think anybody noticed," said others. "Wow, I can't believe I'm this good!" said still others. And so it went.

Years later, when the class had scattered to the four winds, many of them returned for the funeral of one of the boys who had been killed in Vietnam. After the burial they were clustered around old Sister Ambrose when the dead soldier's father came along.

"Thank you, Sister, for all your help to my boy," he said. "He grew up fine, just as you hoped, and he made us very proud. Now I want to return to you something you gave him long ago in the eighth grade."

With that he pressed into her hand a yellowed piece of paper, folded very small to fit into a wallet, and falling apart now from being folded and unfolded, read and reread many times. It was the list Sister had typed for that shy boy so many years before!

Silently and tearfully each of his classmates reached into their wallets or purses and produced their own worn and yellowed sheets, which we falling apart from being folded and unfolded, read and reread many times across the years.

And old Sister Ambrose, now leaning heavily on her cane, sighed and whispered a silent prayer, "Thank you, God."

+ + +

A small kindness cast its light like a beacon across many years. It pierced the darkness, and nothing could put it out.

May our light shine, and bring light to all we meet. And may it never grow dim. Amen.

Faithfulness or Success, Which Will you Choose?

Acts 22:3-16 / Mk 16:15-18

One evening a man took a small candle from a box and began to climb a long winding stairway. "Where are we going?" asked the candle. "We're going up higher than a house to show the ships the way to the harbor."

"But no ship in the harbor could ever see my light," the candle said. "It is so very small."

"If your candle is small," the man said," just keep on burning brightly and leave the rest to me."

The little candle said meekly, "I will."

When they reached the top of the long stairs, they came to a large lamp. The man took the little candle and used its tiny flame to light the lamp. Soon the large polished mirrors behind the lamp sent beams of light out across the miles of sea to guide the ships safely home. The candle smiled for he realized his faithfulness was rewarded with success.

+ + +

In today's readings, we are reminded once again of the great omnipotence of our Father in Heaven. No task is impossible for the Lord, because He calls not the qualified, but He qualifies the called. In our first reading we hear the testimony of a hard-hearted persecutor of God's faithful sons and daughters who is dramatically called into spiritual service. Jesus transforms his heart and sends him forth.

In the Gospel, we are reminded that Christ chooses an unfaithful and somewhat unstable fisherman to lead His Church. He selects first disciples with no leadership qualities, those that doubt, one that has questionable financial abilities, and others that bicker over petty things or could potentially cause trouble. Yet, this motley group, this band of brothers, was transformed by the power of God to do great things. Of all the first disciples, the only one who showed real potential for worldly success ended up betraying Jesus to His death. Blessed Mother Teresa spoke it best when she said that "God does not call us to be successful, He calls us to be faithful."

The great commission, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation" is for each of us and we do our Lord a great injustice when we think ourselves unworthy for this personal call. The faithful Eleven have changed the world forever and so can we. The success of our work is in His hands.

A Jealous Heart Is a Great Destroyer

1 Sam 18:6-9,19:1-7 / Mk 3:7-12

The songs that King Saul heard in today’s Old Testament reading as he returned from battle soured his soul. “Saul has slain his thousands, and David has slain his ten thousands,” was their chant, and it cut to the quick. Saul had never lived up to the early expectations of him, and he never really got a sense of what it meant to be a king -- to be, more than anything else, a protector and guide for his people, especially for the weak. For him, ego was master, and ego’s jealousy led him to ever-greater depths, culminating in a plan to murder David.

A jealous, wounded ego can be a great destroyer, and one that can so nicely justify itself to itself all along the way. It can bring a kind of madness upon us, leading us down ugly roads we’ve never even thought of before, roads from which there is no easy escape. A jealous heart takes no joy in its own gifts, and it gives no gifts. A jealous heart never knows peace.

Jesus has shown us a much happier way of living, which wastes no time pretending that we are or ought to be the center of the universe. Letting God be God for us can free us from so much that is useless, and can make us ready for real living in His presence.

Relax in the Lord and share His joy.

Name It, Claim It, Feel It, Fix It!

Heb 7:1-3,15-17 / Mk 3:1-6

Jesus came to us as a brother to reconcile us to one another and to our Father. Given the realities of our human condition and the abundance of our sins and mistakes, piling one on top of the other day by day, his coming should be cause for rejoicing for every last one of us. One would think so, but it is not so, nor has it ever been. Even in Jesus' day, large numbers of his listeners resisted his message and never did find reconciliation.

The reason for this is plainly visible in today's gospel and it was a source of both pain and frustration for Jesus. There is nothing more inaccessible than a closed mind, and that is what Jesus found when he faced the Pharisees. The price of reconciliation and healing is always the same, no matter what the circumstance: Name your sin, claim it as your own, experience its ugly reality in your own heart, and then open your heart to the Lord's healing and to his help in mending the hurts you have inflicted.

Name it, claim it, feel it, fix it. The Lord wants to help us at each of those four stages, but he cannot do so if our minds or hearts are closed, if we do not or will not take ownership for our sins.

Fear closes minds, but faith can open them. Trust in the Lord's powerful desire to heal you, cast aside all fear, and open the door to him. You'll never regret it!

Not As Man Sees Does God See

1 Sam 16:1-13 / Mk 2:23-28

King Saul made the ultimate foolish choice: he refused to trust the God who made him and who had given him the kingship. Instead, he turned inward upon himself, with predictably disastrous results. There would have to be a new king, but God warned Samuel to judge more astutely this time. “Man sees the appearance, but the Lord looks into the heart.” Samuel listened to the Lord and ended up selecting the youngest and least likely of the candidates, David, a youth of pure heart, who became a great king.

It’s so easy to get caught in the trap of judging by appearances, rejecting too quickly what may have hidden merits, and giving our applause and our hearts to what glitters, but has no staying power. It’s especially hurtful when we do that to our fellow human beings.

Seeing as God sees takes time and requires an open and discerning spirit that is willing to be surprised, and willing to see goodness, truth and beauty in the most unexpected places. Seeing as God sees is not only a more truthful way of living, it’s a lot happier way of living as well.

Let the truth set you free.

Stop the Dithering

1 Sam 15:16-23 / Mk 2:18-22

Saul was the king that the Israelites got when they decided they wanted to be like all their neighbors. As a leader, Saul had real limits, not the least of which were his fearfulness and his resulting lack of vision and purpose. The prophet Samuel confronted him: “Though little in your own esteem, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?” Just barely! Although the Lord had promised to guide and protect him as he did the Lord’s work, Saul dithered instead, and let himself be distracted by the spoils of battle. And finally, he tried to bribe his way back into the Lord’s favor by offering lavish sacrifices. It didn’t work.

It never does. God doesn’t need our trinkets or our flowery words. God already has it all, and He can’t be bribed. The one thing God wants from us is integrity, namely, that we walk in the truth wherever that leads us. Saul could have walked that walk and had a happy life as a good king and a friend of the Lord, but he didn’t do it, because he could never bring himself to trust completely in the Lord who alone could give him the power to do it.

So how far are you willing to trust the Lord? Are you really letting him be Lord for you? What better offer are you waiting for?

Why not stop the dithering and give Him your “yes” now!

Are You a Sleep Walker?

Is 49:3, 5-6 / 1 Cor 1:1-3 / Jn 1:29-34

At the end of a long business trip, a man was searching for a gift to take home to his wife. "How about some perfume?" he asked the clerk. She showed him a bottle for $50.

"That's too much," he replied. So the clerk showed him a smaller bottle for $30. "That's still quite a bit," he complained.

Rolling her eyes, the clerk brought out a tiny bottle for $15. Again he shook his head. "What I mean is I'd like to see something REAL cheap." With that the clerk handed him a mirror!

+ + +

Sometimes it takes us quite a while to recognize the truth. Just look at John the Baptist in the Gospel. He's known Jesus all his life, but shaking his head he says, "I didn't recognize him.... How could I have missed it? I just didn't recognize him!"

How often that happens. How much we miss. And nowhere is that more true than when it comes to seeing ourselves. It's strange but true that relatively few of us would recognize ourselves in a "blind tasting" where our physical appearance was just slightly disguised!

Our ordinary conversation reveals that relatively few of us recognize what makes us special and what rightly endears us to others. We just don't see even half of our own goodness.

Relatively few of us are really aware of WHY we do much of what we do. We see mainly the surface of things which can cover up both the good and the bad, and can keep us perpetual adolescents and perpetual victims to life's surprises.

Relatively few of us recognize that many of the "streets" we drive on daily are dead ends.

In a word, many of us are habitual "sleep walkers" which is costly in the extreme. It robs us of the delight that should be ours at seeing our goodness, our giftedness, and our hard won progress.

It robs us of the chance of growing and getting better.

Being "sleep walkers" condemns us to half a life and, eventually, to dying without ever having know ourselves or our friends.

None of that is what God wants for us. God wants our life to be like his: Conscious, full, and fearless. His constant call to us is to step out of the dark into the light. His repeated assurance is that he'll give us what we need to look within fearlessly and to see what is there ... and what is not. His promise is nothing less than his own Spirit by whose power we can do whatever is necessary to respond to the truth he helps us see.

God wants a whole life for you and me, and not just a fragment. So why not step out into the light and let him show us the way?