Simple Abundance

Deacon Tom Writes,

"Simple Abundance"

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B

In the gospel we hear the story of the “Vine and the Branches” that, not surprisingly, contains a message quite suited for us today. That message is this: if we live our lives trying to discern God’s Will for us and see ourselves connected with and dependent upon one another, a life of simple abundance awaits us. Not an abundance of the material “stuff” this age of consumerism has spawned upon us, but rather, an abundance of those necessities that matter most for our overall “well-being”: mental, physical, spiritual, emotional and yes, even material!

We begin our journey to pursue the rich abundance the gospel speaks of in earnest when we realize that it is lacking in our lives. Simple abundance is a matter of choosing to live well-balanced lives that contribute and enhance the “well-being” of others.  It is what Jesus taught his disciples to do when he said they must put others first and be the servants of all. This is the hardest challenge Christians face and, make no mistake about it, it is in actuality a… “dying to self”. 

For most of us this doesn’t describe the current state of our spiritual journey. John’s gospel today reminds us that God calls us to “bear much fruit”, but we settle for so much less. Think about it!!!  Would our God, who through Christ promised to raise us from the dead and share eternal life with us not also want us to experience some simple joy and happiness during this life that has more than its share of sadness and sorrows?  I am sure that God wants us to have these good things and more, but we often settle for the glitter and trinkets, far lesser “stuff”.

God has truly set a banquet before us. It starts in this life and comes to completion, perfection in the next. We know that we can do nothing without him, nor should we want to. For God desires to be a part of our life’s journey so he can fill us with his joy and peace, fruits that matter.   And, he waits for us until that day comes when he, the harvest master, gathers to himself the rich harvest of the fruit of our lives.

May our harvest be abundant and may the harvest master welcome us into his kingdom as his good and faithful servants.  

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Shepherd Me, O God

Deacon Tom Writes,

Shepherd Me, O God

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

One of the songs in the Hymnal is based on the 23^rd Psalm and carries the refrain, “Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life.” This beautiful melody helps us draw upon the rich imagery of a “good” shepherd, one who keeps the flock safe and secure, even when dangers abound. The idea of a good shepherd, unfortunately, seems to have folded into the pages of history as our society has progressed from its early ranching days into the age of high-tech. Yet, it seems from some recent events that we still long to have good shepherds in our midst, watching over us, shepherds who put the needs and cares of others before their own.

Several memorable examples come to mind. The first is that of Estella Pyfrom, a guidance counselor in Palm Beach County, Florida. She was aware that many students did not have access to a computer after school. Coming from poorer families, she recognized that this was a serious problem. Her solution: she took her life savings and bought a bus, filled it with computers, and brought technology to the kids. Her mobile computer lab called “Estella's Brilliant Bus” has provided free, computer-based tutoring for thousands of students since 2011. To the many students who have received essential computer skills that promise to enhance the quality of their lives, Estella Pyfrom is truly a “good shepherd.”

Then there is Danielle Gletow who notices that Foster children go without so many ordinary things that children who grow up in biological families often take for granted. Her solution: she has created an online site where the wishes of Foster children are posted so the public can help grant them. "I'm here to be the mom to all these kids who might not feel like they have one," she said. Since 2008, her group has helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.

These ongoing acts of kindness give us the extraordinary witness of two individuals who went to incredible lengths to improve the lives of others in need. You can call them “good shepherds” and rightfully so because their primary concern was the well-being of others, the strangers in our midst.

Christ remains for us, of course, the eternal “Good Shepherd”, the one who laid down his life for us. The Lord told us three things about the true shepherd:  he gives his own life for his sheep; he knows them and they know him; he keeps the flock together.

While Jesus is the true shepherd calling us to the one fold, those who follow him can easily recognize that there are times when we are called to shepherd others. These recent experiences of Estella Pyfrom and Danielle Gletow are extreme cases for sure. But, in the ordinary course of our day, we too have many opportunities to be shepherds to those around us. We share in the ministry of Christ, the Good Shepherd, when we share Christ with others by reaching out to those who are lonely or sick; when we welcome the stranger or feed the hungry; when we forgive those who have hurt us; when we work to break down the barriers that divide us so that we may become one in Christ. We participate most in being good shepherds when we… “Shepherd others beyond their wants, beyond their fears, from death into life”, as Jesus so often does for us.”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: 123rf.com 20726856.jpg

We Are Witnesses Too!

Deacon Tom Writes,

We Are Witnesses Too!

Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

Today’s readings remind us how incredulous the resurrection is to the logical mind. That’s perhaps why both the first reading and the gospel mention that there were eyewitnesses to Christ’s death and resurrection. There were people who saw Jesus die a horrific death on Friday and then saw him among the living walking the shores of Galilee and with His disciples on the road to Emmaus soon afterward. So alive, in fact, that in the gospel today Jesus is asking his disciples, “Have you anything here to eat?”

Hearing the personal narratives of eyewitnesses to history is powerful. Recall some of the stories you may have heard first hand from people who landed on the beaches of Normandy or were at or near the World Trade Center on September 11th. So many perspectives, so many details, that when we encounter people with rich experiences we tend to capture these memories and save them for future generations.

Our scriptures today do just that. For 2000 years believers have benefited from hearing the story of Christ’s death and resurrection directly from eyewitness accounts detailed in the scriptures. Does the eyewitness testimony we read in the gospels carry the same weight for us today as it did for those first believers? No matter how strong our faith, we tend to have a little Thomas within us; we tend to believe and yet there remains some doubt echoing in our mind. Who wouldn’t like a little sign from above, the answer to a heartfelt pray that brings reconciliation to a bad relationship, healing to a chronic illness, peace to the troubled waters of our lives. In different ways we carry that same doubt that Thomas experienced when he made it known to the first princes of the Church, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” After all, “Seeing is believing” as the saying goes, and wouldn’t we all like to see, that is, to comprehend this mystery for ourselves!!!

We all face this struggle. We all struggle with believing in things we haven’t seen. St. Paul tried to teach the Corinthians that the real nature of our faith is summed up by the statement, “We walk by faith, not by sight.”

While we today have no personal eyewitness experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are witnesses to the death and resurrection he brings about in us, the death to self, and his raising us to new life in every difficulty and struggle we face over the course of our lives. These trials and triumphs represent our eyewitness testimonies, those stories of our living faith and how Christ has remained present to us and has continued working in our lives. These are the eyewitness accounts that we bequeath to the generations after us, those who embrace the faith continue to believe as they walk in the light of our faith experiences as they grow in their own so they too walk “by faith and not by sight.”  

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: cliftondiocese.com_Braking of the Bread

Of One Heart and Mind

Deacon Tom Writes,

Of One Heart and Mind

Second Sunday of Easter – Divine Mercy Sunday, Year B

If you were asked to name one reason why the followers of Jesus were able to succeed in forming a community of believers, you could look to at the first line from today’s reading from Acts of the Apostles. There we read, “The community of believers was of one heart and mind.” Unity is a powerful state of mind. It goes a long way in moving a community forward to accomplish the very goals and ideals that brought individuals together in the first place. It seems that one of the things that mattered to the Followers of the Way in those first days after Christ had died was that “There was no needy person among them.” You see, those first Christians did what they saw their Master do; they took care of one another physically and spiritually just as Jesus taught them to do.

It seems that we are at a point in time when we Christians have lost that sense of unity that was so important in the early church. One can only wonder if we can ever regain that sense of working together to transform the world according to the gospel mandate. Does our love for Christ today impose upon us any sense of obligation for us to work together to solve some of the problems that are so blatantly visible around us:  the problems of hunger, disease, violence, indifference, mean spiritedness to name but a few? Our inability to address these social maladies contributes to the spirit of division and the resulting polarization that has settled in like a heavy fog distorting our vision of the Kingdom Christ instituted.

We Americans have fallen into a faulty mindset. We believe that if you work hard enough you can succeed, that every individual on his or her own can overcome any obstacle. That’s a flagrant distortion of the reality around us. Most informed people are aware of the systemic problems with funding education and the massive difference in the quality of education between cities and suburbs, the lack of jobs and the opportunity to “get ahead” for growing numbers of Americans, and the existence of an expansive population of people living on the margins, pay check to pay check, while an elite few accumulate massive wealth. We know there is a huge drug and alcohol problem that renders newborn infants mentally deficient for life. There is pervasive poverty that prevents many people from getting proper nutrition for themselves and their children. Etc., etc., etc. Poverty, disease, ignorance, hunger, and many other conditions that we turn a blind eye to, separate and divide us from one another. They work contrary to all that Christ taught us during his ministry.

As we experience the joy of the Risen Lord this Easter season, let us invoke Him to help us realize our call to be of one heart and mind and to enable us to realize that we all share in the One Body of Christ. Let us pray that with Our Lord’s help and grace we may one day soon proclaim, “We have no needy among us.”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Rise and Shine

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Rise and Shine”

Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord - The Mass of Easter Day, Year B

One of my lingering childhood memories is that of my mother calling from the bottom of the stairs, “Tommy Joe, rise and shine! It’s time to get ready for school.” It’s a pleasant memory. To this day there are times when I can still hear those words echo in my mind, especially on those rainy days when I just want to roll over and go back to sleep…. and then, softly in the back of my head, I hear these words, “Tommy Joe, rise and shine! It’s time to get ready..”.

As people who profess Christ’s Resurrection, we realize that we who have been baptized with Christ into His death will also rise with Him to eternal life. There will come a day when we all will “rise and shine” forever; a day when we will possess the fullness of life that Christ has promised to all who believe in Him and follow His ways. 

Yet, I do not think that the promise of rising to new life is one that is entirely reserved for the next life. We are meant to “rise and shine” today because we participate in the Mystical body of Christ. We “rise and shine” today because God has chosen us to be the stewards of all of creation and we have said “yes” to that call. We “rise and shine” today because we have committed ourselves to follow Our Lord in the ways of peace. 

We “rise and shine” every time we chose to imitate Christ by forgiving others who hurt us; when we offer up our sufferings to be a part of His suffering; when we embrace others’ sorrows as if they were our own; when we persevere to the end as He did.

On this most wonderful day, may we, like Christ, awaken to God’s call to “rise and shine.”

Happy and Blessed Easter to you and your loved ones!

Deacon Tom

The Lady with the Jar of Oil

Deacon Tom Writes,

The Lady with the Jar of Oil

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, Year B

We don’t know much about the woman who walks into Simon the leper’s house from our reading in Mark’s Gospel. But we do know that this was an important event for two reasons. First, because Jesus tells us that “wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” Second, this story is told in all four gospels. (If you’re interested, here are the references:  Matthew 26.6, Mark 24.4, Luke 7.36, and John 12.1. You can see how details are added to the earliest account that we read today in Mark).

I like Mark’s account because we don’t get caught up in personalities. Rather, we gain insight into how God provides us with all that we need in life just as we need it.

Picture the scene. Jesus is having dinner with Simon and this uninvited woman comes in off the street, breaks open an expensive jar of perfumed oil, and anoints Jesus’ head. There is a little outbreak on how unreasonable this is, to do such a thing at the expense of feeding the poor. (An estimate places the value of the oil at about one year’s wages for a field worker). But Jesus states and awful truth, “the poor you will always have with you”. How true and how sad!

This act of kindness by the woman with the oil comforts Jesus as His hour approaches. A stranger appears on the scene, does what needs to be done, and then goes off into the night. Jesus needed to be strengthened and encouraged but he gets neither from His close friends and disciples, only from this stranger.

There are times in our lives when we have the chance to be an “angel of mercy” just like this woman with the jar. We have opportunities to lift someone’s spirits, give them some positive affirmation, encourage them, or cheer them up. It may cost us some time and some energy. We may have to rearrange our schedules or go out of our way. But remember, it was expensive oil, a year’s salary. Remember too, as we come into Holy Week, that when we do any kind deed for another person, we are really doing it to Jesus who was so grateful for this act of kindness that He tells them it will be remembered as long as the gospel is proclaimed throughout the world. And, that’s why we hear this story today.

Have a holy, Holy Week!

Deacon Tom

Image credit: riverwindgallaryart.com

Extreme Makeover

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Extreme Makeover”

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B

One of the most emotionally charged psalms in the Old Testament is the one we read today. It is attributed to King David and is so appropriate as our Lenten journey nears completion. David is guilt ridden, and rightfully so. (Read 2 Samuel, chapter 11 to see why). In this dreadful state he wants his guilt taken away and to be washed clean. Mindful of the damage he has done to others, himself, and to his people, he turns to God and begs, “create a clean heart in me, O God.” Most of us can relate to David because we have been in his shoes. And we, like David, would like to have a fresh start, an “extreme makeover” to renew and purify us through and through.

If we have engaged in the difficult work of spiritual introspection this Lent, we most likely have encountered some of our flaws, and that’s a good thing, one of the primary purposes of these forty days. But then comes the more challenging task…. changing our ways…. And that’s very hard to do. Yet all the energy, time, and effort we may make to bring about changes in attitudes and behaviors will, by themselves, likely won’t be enough; we are going to need even more. So we turn to God and ask Him to cleanse us, renew us, and give us a willing spirit to change our ways.

The truth of the matter is that most of us carry around burdens of the past; burdens that weigh us down and rob us of the joy and happiness God intended for us to experience is this life. In this we can easily identify with David.. David finds comfort in the compassion of God, and so can we. Sinners that we are, God is always seeking to create a clean heart in us so that we can grow in His love and share in the joy of His salvation. These last few weeks of Lent give us ample opportunity to confront our shortcomings and defects so that we can join in the Easter celebrated as people who have been given a special blessing, an “extreme makeover,” and a fresh start that we enjoy life to the fullest as God intended for us from the foundation of the world..

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom