Clean Me Up, Lord!

Christ cleans leper man (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File)

                      

Deacon Tom writes©

Clean Me Up, Lord!

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Leprosy was dreaded disease. Can you imagine the feelings of utter rejection the Leper in today’s gospel experienced when he was found to be “unclean”?  Unclean!  This word meant banishment and isolation not only from participating in the services at the Synagogue, but also from family, friends, and even their livelihood. People with leprosy were banished to the “abode of the dead” for all intense and purposes. And, worst of all, there was no way back.

We can’t help realize as we read the gospels that Jesus did not recognize any barrier that kept people alienated from God’s abundant love. In fact, throughout Jesus’ ministry, he continued to challenge rules, attitudes, powers and authorities that led to division or imposed obstacles to genuine and authentic spirituality, that is, union with God. Today’s gospel shows Jesus bringing God’s healing power to this forsaken man and making him clean. This intensely liberating act by Jesus allowed the cleanse Leper to reclaim his rightful place in the community.

Sin is tantamount to “spiritual leprosy”, a sickness that deprives us of God’s graces that are vital to life. Sin diverts our focus away from God. We choose instead to pursue our own selfish and often destructive desires. Let’s face it, we are not very pleasant at times and fall way short of “the glory of God”. We are demanding of others. To get what we want we can often be abusive, manipulative, and conniving. When we don’t get what we want, we can become bitter, resentful, and very ungrateful. We experience too many days when we are not our best selves and those around us know it! We do many things that alienate us from one another, that undermine one of the most basic tenets of our faith, namely, that we are “temples” of the Holy Spirit and that the Spirit of God abides in us. 

Jesus is always looking to wash away our sins in order to strengthen our relationship with him. The Leper in today’s gospel shows us how to do that when he asks Jesus:

“If you wish, you can make me clean.”  

And Jesus’ reply, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

If we wish it, Jesus can restore us to health –physical, spiritual or emotional. He can get us back on the road to true happiness and joy, even though we may have messed things up quite a bit. He can, in the words of the 23^rd Psalm, “…. Restore my soul…” if, that is, we ask Him, and if we let Him. Let us look to Jesus to help us overcome our sinful past and to be made clean to enjoy the abundant life we find only through, with, and in him.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Family Life or Family Strife?

Holy Family - 123rf.com

Deacon Tom writes ©

Family Life or Family Strife?

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

You can’t expect to be on a championship team if you aren’t willing to give it all you’ve got… and then some!  Anyone who has played sports or attended their kids’ practices knows the coaches’ constant demand for 100% from each player. Those who want to win bad enough do everything within their power to increase their performance so they can achieve their goal. Our human nature is such that we will do whatever it takes to get what we want once we want it bad enough.

St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, one of the optional readings for today’s feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, envisions a quality of life so desirous that we are willing to sacrifice a great deal to attain it. St. Paul is giving us incredible insight on how to live wholesome, faith-filled lives rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that we can succeed at having lives that yield peace, thankfulness, gratitude, and harmony for ourselves and those with whom we share our lives, hopefully starting within our own families.

Paul is creating within us the desire to be God’s family. He is giving us a clear image of what it is like to accept this generous invitation. In a world that was brutal, suspicious, violent, insensitive, uncaring, Paul offers a vision of hope that flows from our identity as being a part of God’s family. He says, “Put on… heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…” In addition, we must bear with one another…forgive one another…settle disputes justly so that “the peace of Christ control(s) your heart”. What an alternative vision compared to the harsh reality the Colossians’ day-to-day experience. Is it any wonder why Christianity grew so rapidly in those early days?

“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live,” we read in Deuteronomy 30:19. The life that we are called to imitate is modeled on the life of the Holy Family. Within the structure of that family Jesus came to know and experience the love of a mother and of a father. That is where Jesus came to know of God’s love for Him. Amid the day-to-day life of the Holy Family, Jesus’ conscience was formed, His love and dependency on God fashioned, His love for God’s Holy People realized. In the safety and security of the Holy Family, Jesus was able to discern the Father’s call.

As we celebrate this Feast of the Holy Family, let us strive to create an environment for our children and for one another that is healthy, safe, loving, respectful, joy-filled, generous, and full of laughter. Let us give our children and one another the space and atmosphere where we can all come to know God’s love, hear His call, and grow together as His children, members of God’s Holy Family, so that the peace of Christ controls our hearts.

Wishing you a most joyous and peace-filled New Year!

Deacon Tom

The Feast of Christ the King, Year End Review

Flickr.com

Deacon Tom writes ©

"Year End Review"

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Today we celebrate the "Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe", more commonly known as the “Feast of Christ the King”. The gospel we read is from Matthew and is known as “The Judgment of the Nations”. It is an apocryphal reading meaning it has to do with the “end times” and the Final Judgment. Matthew is presenting us with a summation of Christ’s teachings, which is namely this: that there is a direct relationship between our actions in this life and where we will spend our eternal life. This is very appropriate since today marks the end of the liturgical year. It is right that we stop and do our own simple “Year End Review” on how faithful we have been to the gospels and the teachings of Jesus Christ this past year.

Today’s gospel gives us insight into the ordinary call to holiness. Often it seems that the work of the gospel is way beyond us, that we have to be a Saint like St. Francis or St. Martin de Porres to be faithful disciples of Christ. That’s not the case at all. Look at the sheep in our reading today who have done the good works of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, etc. Isn’t it interesting that they were not the lease bit aware of the good they had done for the Lord?  They have to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry, or naked, or sick?”  They were “surprised” that what they had done for others was noteworthy. You see, the good that they did for the Lord was the ordinary good they did for everyone and anyone around them. It was not some overwhelming, impossible task. They were not asked to do the impossible. They lived a life of ordinary goodness or holiness, giving of themselves without counting the cost, day in, day out, to friends and strangers alike.

We are called to be just like them. As a matter of fact, that is what God wants most from us…to be ordinary in our love for one another. We have been called by God to live ordinary lives of holiness, to share our love with others by our example, our witness, our smiles and laughter, our words of encouragement and hope, and at times, even our material support and physical presence through which  we become Christ for one another.

May God’s abundant blessings be with you and your families this Thanksgiving weekend.

Deacon Tom