Truth

Fall time - Tree with red leaves

From Trust to Joy…

In The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen wrote, “Both trust and gratitude require the courage to take risks because distrust and resentment, in their need to keep their claim on me, keep warning me how dangerous it is to let go of my careful calculations and guarded predictions. At many points I have to make a leap of faith to let trust and gratitude have a chance. The leap of faith always means loving without expecting to be loved in return, giving without wanting to receive, inviting without hoping to be invited, holding without asking to be held. And every time I make a little leap, I catch a glimpse of the One who runs out to me and invites me into his joy, the joy in which I can find not only myself, but also my brothers and sisters.”

Take a moment now to reflect on where you’ve experienced the Lord this past week and to what degree trust was involved. How did or does your experience help you to trust or to have faith, placing hope in the Lord with regards to a situation(s)? What happens when you bring areas in which your trust has possibly shifted away, back into prayer and back to the Lord?

Continuing to contemplate your experience, what qualities or characteristics that you associate with the Lord, are most noticeable? And how do these same qualities inform, influence, and inspire you and your choices?

The Gospel for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mark 10:46-52) begins in a sea of people, from within which, Bartimaeus, the blind man, is calling out to the Lord. And despite others around him telling him to stop and to keep quiet, he keeps calling out, “Son of David, have pity on me!” (v. 48).

Imagine what Bartimaeus might be holding in his heart as he’s trying to get Jesus’ attention? How about Jesus? What might be in his heart as he navigates through the crowd? What qualities do they each seem to have that might be informing, influencing, and inspiring them? What do each of them seem to be focused on?

Next, notice how Jesus receives and responds to Bartimaeus, the blind man who has let his guard down and opened himself up to both chance and Grace.

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way. – Mk 10:49-52

Jesus is essentially saying: I’m here and I’m listening… I see you… I hear you… Come closer… Tell me more. And Bartimaeus, by coming closer and sharing more with Jesus, is able to receive peace, healing, and greater faith.

Take whatever you are focused on, to Jesus, the One who is, who was, and who will ever be—here for you, listening to you, seeing and hearing you, and always saying, come closer, tell me more.

Then, after a period of sharing and listening, envision Jesus saying the same to you as he did to Bartimaeus, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”

The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. – Psalm 126:3

A Time to Reflect…

The Gospel acclamation for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time is, “If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.” (1 John 4:12). Take some time to consider this verse.

What are the things that you heard and saw this past week that caught your attention? What values, notions, and ideas did they express?

It can be tempting to rush toward opinions and judgments based on listening to and watching what others are doing, what they have to say about situations, and about what’s happening in society and throughout the world. Not only that, but also to not really take time to honestly consider, reflect on, and discern the values being represented.

It can also be easy to be drawn in by a thing or two that may seem of the utmost importance, only to be swept up and moved along without recognizing movement away from values, expressed notions, and ideas that truly align with and promote the sentiments of Love.

In the coming days try to notice the words and actions to which not only your ears and eyes are exposed or drawn, but also your heart. What is stirred inside of you? and how are these things a reflection of Love?

Continuing to take these things to prayer, seek to see them as God sees them.

No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. – 1 John 4:12

Orchids

In the Presence of Peace…

In the Gospel passage for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus’s disciples reach out to him as the boat they are in is taking on water in the middle of a storm. Jesus says to the wind and the raging sea, “Quiet! Be Still!” and just like that, the storm settles down. This is something he could have done without saying any words, but Jesus, always the teacher, gives his disciples, and us, both an example to follow and words to ponder.

After quieting the storm, Jesus asks his disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” He is not reprimanding them or trying to make them feel bad, but rather he is asking them to reflect on the situation, and trying to help them to know, and to remember, that he is there with them and for them, and so, there is nothing to fear. Without Jesus, the storm can rage on, whether loud and brash or quiet and discreet. It is Jesus’s presence that both quells the storm and brings peace into the quiet and stillness.

Orchids

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:
“Let us cross to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.
And other boats were with him.
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,
so that it was already filling up.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?”
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” – Mark 4:35-41

Your Grace…

Breaking, broke, broken,
Rescued, healed, awoken,
Ever taken with your Way.
For the sake of all,
It’s all the same.
No one more than the other,
Each onto its own,
But gathered in Your name.

Your grace O Lord,
The longing of our hearts.
Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani.
At times, perhaps,
We think we know,
Yet thinking doesn’t make it so.

Your grace O Lord,
The longing of our hearts.
We feel one way or another,
Sometimes many ways at once,
Yet feeling doesn’t make it so.

Your grace O Lord,
The longing of our hearts.
With us, within us,
Always within reach.

Your grace O Lord,
Makes known your Way,
The desire in our hearts,
Yours and ours together,
Rising up, makes it so.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday…

Sometimes due to the weather or one’s location, for example in the snow, on the sand at a beach, or stepping out of a pool, the impact of where one has traveled can be clearly seen. Most often though, we tread without leaving any physical indications at all.

The response for today’s Psalm is derived from Psalm 86, verse 11ab: Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.

The text for the complete verse is as follows:

Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,
single-hearted and revering your name. – Psalm 86:11

Reflect on the places to which you have traveled and/or spent time over the past few days, or the past week. As you remember where you have been, what comes to mind?

In what ways would you say that you experienced walking in God’s truth, single-hearted and revering God’s name? Were there places or situations where you were more grounded and fully present to the moment?

As you allow yourself to imagine revisiting these places, take time to notice or re-notice things.

Next, have a conversation with the Lord and share whatever thoughts and feelings arise within you. Ask to be shown what the Lord sees in these experiences and wants you to see as you continue striving in discipleship.

When your conversation is completed, pray:

Teach me, Lord, your way that I may walk in your truth, single-hearted and revering your name. – Ps 86:11  

Something About the Way…

Traveling through time,
Year after year, tick upon tock,
Broken down into moments,
One leading into the next,
Some greener than the others,
But all steady in their passing.
Once gone, they are away,
As if lost, forever missing.
Yet, amid the shades of darkness,
Light lives, cradled deep within,
Both ready and most willing,
Shining ever, and for all.
Walking with great care,
Thoughtful hearts take notice,
Finding Whom they seek,
Steady in their passing.

“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” – Matthew 2:2

Measuring Attitude…

There’s the saying that attitude is everything, and there is no denying the importance and impact of attitude on behavior. The Gospel for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mt 25:14-30 shown below), provides an example of how attitude can affect choices. In this passage, referred to as the Parable of the Talents, Jesus tells the story of three servants and how they handled the possessions their master entrusted to them while he was away.

To start, we learn that the master gave each servant a different amount based upon their ability. This suggests that he had a sense of what they were capable of and perhaps a desire not to give them more than what they might be able to handle. But also, more importantly, the master gave something of value to each of them, allowing them room for growth. He would not have done that if he did not see potential in each of them.

Looking at how each servant responded, we can see that the ones who were entrusted with more (five and two talents respectively) produced more and the one entrusted with the least (one talent), produced the least. It can be tempting to look at this situation, and the master’s response upon his return, as a simple matter and to judge the servant who buried the talent instead of growing it as weak for allowing his actions to be driven by fear. However, there is more to this story than what is on the surface.

Think about the characteristics of Jesus and the way that he responds to people. He listens, he notices, he allows people to be who they are, and where they are in their journey, while at the same time loving or valuing them, and encouraging them toward growth and living in the light. There is always a path toward shedding whatever it is that is holding someone back from becoming more and more authentic as one created in the image of God.

When considering this passage in the light of attitudes, we can easily jump to a conclusion that two of the servants had what might be thought of as a healthier attitude and did something productive with what was entrusted to them. While on the other hand, the third servant focused on the unjust ways of his master, resulting in a poor attitude and therefore a lackluster performance. What about the master though?

What was the master’s attitude in this parable? At the beginning, it is implied that he saw less potential or expected less from the third servant. Also, upon his return, how did he receive the third servant’s choice and the reasons behind it?

The third servant says, “Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.” All the master seems to take in is the fact that the servant did not multiply what was entrusted to him. And his reaction to that is to assign the servant even less value (“You wicked, lazy servant!”) and to condemn him to darkness. How might his response have been different if he was able to consider the impact of his ways, and the fear it created in the servant?

Although the servant didn’t, at the time, possess the wherewithal to multiply what was given to him, he at least recognized its importance and preserved it. His fear held him back, but he did do something. It seems the master couldn’t appreciate that. If you think about Jesus and his interactions with people, in what ways does the master’s words and actions reflect the attitude and behavior of Jesus?

While the Parable of the Talents might be considered in terms of “what one does with what is given to them is important,” it can also serve as an invitation to consider roles and the attitudes that can accompany them. As you consider your own life, in what situations might you be one of the servants who multiplied the talents? the servant who was given one talent? the master? Reflect upon your demeanor in these roles. How, if at all, does your attitude shift in these different situations? Where is the light of God and in what ways is Jesus present to, and in, you?

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master’s money.

“After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
‘Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'” – Matthew 25:14-30

It Takes Everyone…

Reading Scripture it’s not too hard to envision the Pharisees and scribes as having a persona of lofty authoritarians who are learned, serious, and on the surface appearing to be so proper. Yet, Jesus points out that their actions do not align with their words. In the Gospel for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jesus tells the crowd and the disciples to observe and do as the Pharisees and scribes say, but do not act as they do. Do not hold down or seek to elevate yourself above others. Jesus then goes on to say, “you have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.” You have but one Father, but one master, Christ, and that the greater glory is not in being served or glorifying yourself, but rather in being of service to others, and therefore of service to God.

Reflecting on this Gospel and considering other Scripture passages as well, it may seem obvious that the Pharisees and scribes were not about what they proclaimed. Perhaps they fell victim to the notion that they had already arrived, were afraid of losing what they had attained, or some other thing that shrunk their hearts and made them sterner with others, and lax in their own prayer and practices, making them less likely to be inspired by God and more likely to be misguided and led astray.

Despite this, the actions of the Pharisees and scribes don’t make them worthless or deserving of being canceled. We can hold them accountable but must remember they are still part of God’s creation. They also need love, mercy, and prayers.

Jesus says to observe and listen to what they say. Maybe he’s reminding us that God can still work through them. Their transgressions are not bigger than God.

Praying with this passage brought to mind an instance from grade school, in my 2nd grade classroom, where being orderly was of the utmost importance to the teacher, most especially when it came to the inside of a student’s desk. All the students knew what was expected, and it seemed that all of us really tried to meet this expectation. However, there were a couple of students who had a very hard time with being organized. So, one day, the teacher was walking around the classroom, teaching a lesson, and without warning, flipped and dumped out the contents of this student’s desk, startling everyone, to say the least, and sending books, paper, pencils, and so on, all over the place. The student was then yelled at for being so disorganized, the teacher turned the desk back upright, and told the student to pick everything up, and put it back in the desk, neatly. The student, who was normally quiet, shrunk even more, their cheeks turned red, and tears were coming down their face as they began doing as they were told. The rest of us 7- and 8-year-olds, just sat there horrified. None of us dared to try to help the student for fear of what would happen if we did. It’s interesting how fear can interfere. It’s also interesting how judgment can be too.

When I think about this instance, in the light of this Gospel, I wonder, what was the point, or the lesson being taught that day? What made it so important that the inside of our desks be orderly, to the extent that a student who was trying their best and just being themself, be demeaned like that, and the room be made so disorderly, in efforts to obtain order? However, faith also calls me to hold and look at the entire picture, including before and beyond that instance and to recall that I also had what one would call a lot of positive experiences in that classroom.

Looking at the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus points out a disconnect not only between their words and their actions, but also in their hearts. He cautions the crowd, and us, to not be fooled or distracted toward self-serving ways. To not rely on external things, such as possessions or positions of authority, to gain good graces or a particular outcome, but rather to rely on the grace and guidance of God. Jesus is saying, if we’re going to be led by anybody or anything, or if we’re going to follow anybody or anything, first and foremost, let it be God.

But there’s more… humility.

When we think about this Gospel passage, it can be tempting to cast stones at the Pharisees and the scribes, thinking of ourselves as perhaps being far removed from them, especially in the “us” and “them”, divided times I which we live. Yet, in our certainty and in our knowing, we too can become susceptible to an attitude or posture that interferes and creates static, making us less receptive to being led by God, more likely for other things to come before, or in place of God, and making us less loving, compassionate, and forgiving.

It’s unlikely that the Pharisees and scribes set out to fall into a haze, becoming less aware, open, or able to continue learning through experiences, and blocked, at least at that time, from continually drawing closer to God. However, in certainties and in knowing about what ought to be, it can be easy to become closed off to what is, and the open, honest dialogue that helps us to know when we are moving toward a will that is not in alignment with God, and that is of disservice, rather than what is best.

“Humility is an attitude of honesty with God, oneself, and of all reality. It enables us to be at peace in the presence of our powerlessness and to rest in the forgetfulness of self.” – Thomas Keating

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” – Matthew 23:1-12

The Strength to Get Along…

Taken by the contrasting colors of the leaves against the soothing blue backdrop of the sky, it’s interesting how well they get along.

In the Gospel passage for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the heart of Jesus’ response can be seen as an invitation to consider love, and how it is revealed through, and in, relationships. Jesus reminds us that being faithful to God is more than striving to love and serve God. It also involves striving to love or to take care of oneself as well as one’s neighbor.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“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.” – Mt 22:34-40

Reflecting upon the past week, in what ways did you strive to love and serve God? What thoughts and feelings surface as you recall the situations where the love of God was most present to you? Allow yourself to envision God’s response to a heart, your heart, operating in love and service.

Continuing to stay with the moments of the past week, are there ways you took care of yourself through them? Take some time to consider more fully how each experience came about. What might God want you to know about them? How might you pray in response?  

What moments come to mind as ones where the love you have received extended beyond yourself whether in thought or deed?

Still reviewing the past week, who or what would you include as your neighbors (family, community members, any fellow human being, animals, nature, etc.)? What did you appreciate in them? For each way that you might have struggled to appreciate them or that you felt more than a little challenged by them, try to return to naming something you appreciated.

How do you feel inspired by the things that you have contemplated during this time? And what do you desire to carry forward?

I love you, Lord, my strength. – Psalm 18:2

Lights in the World…

Leaning into Fall, the trees embrace the Essence of their nature. Season after season, year after year, who’s to say on time, or in time? Either way, waiting without edge, trusting in the beauty of Your time as you gently reveal the colors, so many colors, of Your way.

Beacon calling out to one and all alike, remember: life is but a spectrum, at its fullest and shining bright, when casting out the shadows, fears, and doubts. Your light so much stronger than the decay, rising up and out from far below.

It’s time to recognize again who we really are. So much alike, created to be different, but not with indifference or carrying any shades of hate. Loved into existence, the vision of Your eye. Side by side, each and every one of us are vessels of Your grace, and we all have a place.

Holy God, Most High Creator, hold us all together, unite us in Your heart… in our hearts.    

Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life. – Phil 2:15d, 16a