The Lady With the Jar of Oil

     

csavocations.blogspot.com

Deacon Tom Writes ©

The Lady with the Jar of Oil

Palm Sunday, Year B

We don’t know much from Mark’s rendering of the account of the woman who walks into Simon the leper’s house. 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 other details are added to this earliest account we hear today from Mark).

What’s interesting in Mark’s account is that he doesn’t get caught up in personalities. Rather, he sheds some insight into how God provides us with all that we need in life just as we need it. Today, for instance, Jesus is in need; Jesus needs his spirit to be comforted…but none of his closest friends seem to be aware of his needs or realize Jesus is troubled.  (Does this strike a sour chord in us)?

Picture the scene. Jesus is having dinner with Simon and his guests and this uninvited woman comes in, 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 an awful truth, “the poor you will always have with you”.  How prophetic 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, performs an act of kindness, 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, and even some money. 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 those gathered around the table, presumably even some of his disciples, that this outpouring of kindness will be remembered as long as the gospel is proclaimed throughout the world.

It seems increasingly apparent that we, the disciples of Jesus, need to imitate the teachings and practices of Jesus.  We need to practice acts of kindness, acts of forgiveness, acts of selfless giving within our families, communities, and on a global scale. As followers of Jesus we are empowered to bring the good news to everyone we meet in the course of the day. Not by quoting scripture, that’s too easy… rather, by reflecting the living Word that abides within us, and by being an oasis God’s love, healing, and peace to all who pass our way.

Enjoy the day and may you share in God's abundant grace this Holy Week.

Deacon Tom 

Extreme Makeover

King David with harp -imgkid.com

Deacon Tom Writes ©

Extreme Makeover

Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B

One of the most passionate psalms we read in the Old Testament is Psalm 51 attributed to David. It’s the one we use today on this Fifth Sunday of Lent. David is tormented by his guild and wants to be freed from it. He wants it taken away and for him to be washed clean. Mindful of the damage he has done to Bathsheba, Uriah and his soldiers, to the people of Israel whom he shepherds on God’s behalf, and to himself, David 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 and, not in the least, to rid us of our guild, torment, and shame.

If we have been doing any introspection this Lent, we probably have encountered some of our flaws. That’s actually a good thing!  That’s one of the primary purposes of these forty days. But then comes more challenging tasks…. changing those bad behaviors that trouble us and gnat away at us…. And that’s very hard to do. It takes lot of time, effort, and resolve to change our habits and behaviors. Yet no matter how firm our resolve, we are going to need help, yes, help from above. So we turn to God and ask him to cleanse us, renew us, and give us a willing spirit to change our ways.

It is a fact of life that most of us carry around burdens from the past. In this we can easily identify with David. We find his failure in the Second Book of the Prophet Samuel, Chapter 11. When Nathan, the Prophet, confronts David with his sin, David turns to God where he finds forgiveness and 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 and to renew our weary spirits 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 celebration as people who have been given a special blessing, an “extreme makeover” from the hands of God who loves us beyond our wildest imagination. Renewed and set right with God, we will then be eager to enter into the new life that lies ahead.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

You Don't Know What You've Got Till It's Gone

                                                 123rf.com_4036057 Heart on fire.jpg

 

Deacon Tom writes©

“You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone”

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Imagine the sheer horror of you and your family being taken captive by an invading army and brought to a foreign country to live a life of servitude. Sorrowfully, this notion does not just fall within the realm of the imagination, for as we are all too aware, tragic events such as this are very much a contemporary reality. We can only imagine the terror of the 276 young women who were taken from their homes in Chibok, Nigera by Boko Haram, a terrorist organization based in northeast Nigeria.  Their whereabouts and condition is still unknown.  Suffering captivity and being taking away from home, family, and community is a terror that many innocent victims of war and violence have in common throughout history.

As captives we would be stricken by our loss, overcome by fear and grief as we realized that we would never see our homes again, never set foot in those places that give us spiritual comfort and precious memories or never experience the familiar, ordinary, and common joys that come from the bigger sense of family and community. Got the picture?  This is the lamenting that we hear in the Responsorial Psalm today. The people of Israel bemoaning, “How can we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?”  They longed to reconnect to the Temple and their homeland, those places that gave them their identity as the “People of God”. Reflecting on this captivity experience of the Jewish People recorded in Sacred Scripture and repeated throughout the ages by many people calls to mind the expression, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” In other words, we take so much for granted today… our health, our loved ones, our freedoms and our way of life to name a few. 

Given all that we have, it is no wonder that there are other ways to be held in captivity beyond being led away in chains. Our spirits can easily be taken captive. We can become prisoners because of all the changes and uncertainty in the air and the fears and anxiety they breed that paralyze us and take away our freedom. We may fear what the future holds in store; we may be worried about losing our job or fear what will happen if we lose our health care. Parents are concerned if they will be able to pay for college for the kids or how they will be able to take care of mom and dad. And on and on it goes.  Worries, anxieties, and fears combining like a thundering hoard taking control of our spirits and leading us off to places we do not want to go; stealing our ability to live in the present moment which is the only moment we really have… the eternal, present, now.

In looking at the worrisome times we are facing, we do well to look at these comforting words from Psalm 137. Captive Israel came to understand more deeply their longing for God. It was during this time of great suffering and trials, in the middle of their anxieties and fears, in their sense of desperation and hopelessness that they profoundly experienced that it was the great “I AM” for whom they longed, who was the deepest desire of their hearts.

The people of Israel regained their freedom once they turned their hearts and minds back to God. Once they knew what they had lost, they knew what they had to do to get it back.  That is the purpose of Lent…to rediscover the gift of God’s unconditional love for us and to rekindle that love within our hearts. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom  

Time Out

commons.wikimedia.org

Deacon Tom writes ©

“Time-Out”

Third Sunday of Lent, Year B

Many motivational speakers direct their marketing efforts so they appeal to our lack of success, our poor self-image and low self-esteem. They claim to have the know how to help us be successful in life or how to achieve our highest aspirations. Some will attribute their success to the lessons they learned from sacred scripture. It’s not exactly “breaking news” that the bible provides critical insight into our own human nature, that is, if we take the time to look. Yes, the bible gives us valuable insight on how all of us can find the road to success.

Today Moses reveals God’s instructions for our well-being and happiness, key ingredients for a successful life. He does this with amazing efficiency, identifying ten key ingredients on how to treat God and neighbor that if we get right, we are pretty much guaranteed to be rolling along on the road to success. There doesn’t seem to be any real big show stoppers here, really…love God and your parents, don’t sell your soul to any idol, control your language, no adultery, don’t kill or steal or be desirous of you neighbor or his wife or their possessions. Oh, and one more little nugget of advice:  come, set some quiet time and rest with me once a week says the Lord.

God’s tenderness and love for us is revealed in this commandment to keep holy the Sabbath. God is concerned about our well-being. He rested after six days of creation and he invites us to do the same, put ourselves in “Time Out” so to speak.  The Third Commandment is God inviting us into his Rest, where he speaks to us, comforts us from the worries and anxieties we have suffered during the week. Resting in God is where our energy to do anything good or even have the idea to do anything good comes from; it is where our vision of the good is restored, so we can see God at work in our world and in our lives, or where he is absent, and not fall victim to the naysayers or become the voice of cynicism; it is where we come to know and experience God’s love for us; it is where we come to know God’s Divine Will for us. Resting in God is what the Sabbath Day envisioned. If we use this day as God intended, we will embrace the other commandments as well, each in their own way helping us along the road to success, which for us is loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. So, give yourself a break and take this Sunday off, and Rest in God.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom