Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Only In God_110421

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Only In God”

 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In the course of today’s readings, we encounter several women who have remarkably strong faith. They are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for all their needs, even for the most basic necessities of life! We know neither of their names only that they share a common bond, that of widowhood. Being a widow was tantamount to being assigned to a most difficult and arduous station of life in the patriarchal society of the bible, and it remains such to this day. The loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. It reduced a woman to a life of begging and dependency upon the acts of charity from others in the community.

Despite her direful plight, the first widow we encounter in the Book of Kings offers the Prophet Elijah hospitality. She and her young son have only a “handful of flour… and a little oil” and that’s it. The widow and her son are themselves far beyond the bounds of destitution and yet she willingly makes “a little cake” for the Prophet leaving nothing for herself and her son! Yet, “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry!”

In the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place at the Temple offering. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.” Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from her wealth as the others did, “but from her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

These women teach us of a deep and trusting faith in God, lessons very appropriate for us today. They teach us not from their head, but from their heart and from their deep-seated experiences of life. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our need? This is a difficult question for us to face honestly as we tend not to reflect too deeply into our own possible shortcomings but, it is an area that is certainly worth the effort. If we spend some time thinking about this question it may lead us to reflect on an underlying struggle we face often in this life – that is, how much do we really trust that God will be there in our time of need, whatever that “need” might be.

There is an aspect to these widow’s faith that reflects Christ’s complete self-giving, his pouring himself out completely for our sake, Christ’s “kenosis” as St. Paul writes in Philippians 2:7, in which Christ surrenders his own will to the divine will of his Father. This complete giving of self is a gift from God that scripture reveals mostly in the lives of the poor and lowly ones, such as these widows we encounter today. They teach us that God cannot be outdone in generosity. Their strong faith enables them to trust God completely, to trust “only in God” and “in all things,” not only for all the necessities of the present moment but for all our future needs also.

May our faith grow like that of these two women we meet in scripture today so that like them, we are willing to share generously the gifts we have receive from above.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Image credit: wikimedia.org-Hand_gottes.jpg

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - First Things First_103121

Deacon Tom Writes,

“First Things First!”

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

We have so many demands upon our time that we can hardly keep track of them. Fortunately, we have the technology to remind us where we have to be and when we have to be there. We have electronic calendars, email reminders and cell phones, Ipads and Ipods. We leave ourselves voice mail messages, stick post-its on the refrigerator. All this busyness and the technology to keep up with it is a part of the great reality in which we live, but it comes at a price. And the price that we pay seems increasingly that we crowd so many other important things out of our lives, like God! …. Really, who has time for God given our demanding schedules?

Working God into our daily lives has become a challenge for us today, but it hasn’t always been that way. From the very beginning the Jewish people were encouraged to place God at the center of their lives – physically, spiritually and mentally. Moses laid this obligation before the people in what has become the famous Jewish prayer, the “The Shema” which begins with the command, “hear, O Israel!”

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.”

These words that God spoke through Moses were a simple message intended to help the people find their happiness in this world by cooperating with God’s plan. Keep it simple; put first things first God says; live according to my plan; love me above all else…… with every fiber of your being.

Today we are busy. We are busier today than yesterday, and it doesn’t stop: the laundry, the shopping, the portaging the kids to sporting events and school plays, the extra projects at work... phew...and on and on it goes. If you have any doubts, just ask someone you know who’s retired! “We don’t have time,” they complain. “We don’t know how we got things done when we were working” you’ll also hear.

The challenge we face today is consciously putting God first in our lives. And, to do that, we have to increase our awareness that he is present in all those activities that fill up our day. We need to develop a mind, heart and spirit that is tuned into God’s presence... in those little and big things that fill up those limited and priceless minutes of our lives. It’s a matter of practice…of building the habit of inviting God into all the activities of our day, into all that busyness that so often overwhelms us. Invite God to be with us during our evaluation at work. Invite God to be with us when we’re running the kids or grandkids to soccer or piano lessons; invite God to join us in the Dentist’s chair or when we’re getting the oil changed. All the activities of our day are opportunities to draw close to God and to show him that we are mindful that his desire is to be a part of the lives of those who love him. Inviting God into all our daily chores will make those insignificant things we do throughout the day more meaningful and help us experience the presence of God in all that we do.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B_102421 - The Courage to Beg

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Courage to Beg”

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Today we hear the familiar story of Bartimaeus, a man whose disability sets the stage for his encounter with Jesus. It’s an ordinary day; Bartimaeus sets up on the side of the road to do the only thing he is able to do…Beg. His blindness makes him vulnerable and without the help of others, his life would go from bad to worse. How excited he must have been when he heard the crowd approaching! Perhaps, he might have thought, their generosity would get him through a couple of days, please God! But in reality, a greater gift awaited him.

In some ways we are like Bartimaeus. We routinely set out each day trying to secure the necessities of life, to earn enough to pay the mortgage, the orthodontist, buy groceries, fill the gas tank of the car. Yes, we need these things to provide for our families. That’s keeping it real. But there is more to life than the things that money can buy. Ironically, Bartimaeus, the blind man, helps open our eyes to the fact that our very well-being, over very existence depends totally on someone else, and that someone else is God.

It takes courage for Bartimaeus to continue calling out to Jesus when those around him demand his silence. It seems that blind Bartimaeus recognizes Jesus’ true identity as the “Son of David.” He cries out, not for a handout to get him through the day, but for God’s mercy (read pity) that will open for him a whole new way of life and satisfy all that is lacking within.

We all stand in need of God’s mercy, for his healing, for the gift of sight to see the awesome works of God around us and even in our lives, to peer into the mysteries of life, relationship and to know their true value. We have so many needs; there are so many things to pray for. Prayers that break the silence to ask for God’s guidance, protection and his mercy so that we might make it through today and have hope for tomorrow; prayers that silence the rumble of war and that bring peace to our troubled world; prayers for those who are abused and neglected who are often silent victims.

Like Bartimaeus, let’s not be silenced by the world around us. Instead, let us call out “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on us” and see what wonders lie in store.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Image credit: maryricehopkins.com:Bartimaeus3

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - How Low Can You Go?_101721

Deacon Tom Writes,

“How Low Can You Go?” 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Remember the lyrics to Chubby Checker’s song, Limbo Rock? “Jack be limbo, Jack be quick, Jack go unda limbo stick.” The idea was to contort yourself from one side of the “limbo stick” to the other. The challenge was to see “How low could you go?” We had a lot of laughs trying, but not too much success!

Today’s readings provide us with profound insight into the revolutionary nature of the Kingdom Jesus laid the foundation for during his ministry. It comes as the Apostles are arguing about who was the greatest, who would be first when this kingdom came to full stature. To their dismay, Jesus makes it clear that what he has in mind isn’t about choosing a CEO or EVP; rather, it’s about attracting servants. Jesus is challenging his followers to conduct their lives in such a way that to others they would appear to be “the slaves of all.” By their outward acts of service, Jesus’ followers would reject the vestiges of power and privilege that governed the prevailing society. For the Apostles, as for us, this teaching that the rules that govern the Kingdom of God are vastly different than those we are accustomed was, and remains, quite a shock. In this world the great ones lord it over their subjects; in God’s realm, the greatest ones are the servants of all.

Jesus isn’t making small talk. We know from the way he lived and, especially, by the vicious death he suffered that he meant what he said about Servanthood. He was the faithful servant who came into our broken and troubled world to bring us the Good News of our Father’s love. It is a love that the Father intends for us to share with one another... willingly... graciously... indiscriminately.

It is in the spirit of Servanthood that Jesus takes on the role of the Suffering Servant who, in the words of Isaiah, “through his suffering…will justify many.” Most of us are not called to suffer the way Christ did, and thank God for that! But, we are called to share the suffering our brothers and sisters in Christ experience today by being aware of their poverty, how they are victimized and exploited by our society and then to respond, as best we are able, as moved by the Holy Spirit. We share in Christ’s suffering when we put ourselves into these desperate situations and we stand there as a sign of God’s presence. We witness to God’s presence when we make the decision to cooperate with the abundant graces God has placed in our hearts. The lower you go to serve God’s children, the higher you rise in the Kingdom of God where Jesus tells us that “as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus experienced all of our human condition in their entirety. He suffered the abuse, rejection, ridicule of the people he came to redeem; he suffered the rejection of family who thought he was out of his mind; he suffered the loss of beloved friends. He suffered the injustice of capital punishment! He experienced the full spectrum of our human drama, and he did so willingly... “tested in every way” Paul writes. Why? Because of his great love for us. And, the Kingdom he sets in motion is that place, the only place, where the love we see in Christ’s life and death calls us to follow him by “giving our all” to being “servants of all.”

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Choose Wisely_101021

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Choose Wisely”

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 Have you ever had the chance to watch a little child try to decide which coin to take when given a choice between a nickel and a dime? Quite often, the child will choose the nickel because it’s bigger. The poor lad hasn’t learned to distinguish monetary values. Today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom is intended to teach us about what constitutes real value in our lives so that we may know how to make wise and morally correct decisions and not fall victim to the ways of the world. Here is today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom again.

I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
Because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
And I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.

The teacher of Wisdom informs us that other virtues accompany Wisdom for those who pursue Wisdom. Prudence and Perseverance, Patience and intense Prayer are found in Wisdom’s company. That explains why Wisdom is so rare and elusive, while foolishness is seen all around us, like pollen during ragweed season. Foolishness appeals to the here and now, feeds upon our egos and disillusions, and makes no demands upon our character. Foolishness endures because it is so captivated by the glitter of the physical reality around us and is so easily enticed by the things of this world… the riches, temporary fame and fortune, success and the pleasures that fail to give lasting joy and happiness. The Wisdom described above is a manifestation of God’s very identity and his essence. It is a part of God’s very being. God shares his Wisdom, a very part of his nature with those who ask for it, with those who seek lasting riches found only in the things from above. When one possesses this form of Wisdom, they abide in God and God in them.

If we seek the things from above, we will never be disappointed. God’s Wisdom will guide us on our earthly journey and enlighten us along the way so we, unlike the little child who is deceived by the belief that bigger is better and makes the wrong choice, won’t settle for second best. May we have the Wisdom of God at work in us so that we always and easily choose wisely.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom



Image: eastdailyoffice.wordpress.com

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - RESPECT_100321

Deacon Tom Writes,

RESPECT

Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

Aretha Franklin was arguably one of Rhythm and Blues top female vocalists. Referred to as the “Queen of Soul”, one of her many blockbuster hits was, “RESPECT.” It became the US’s No. 1 hit in 1967. The following year it won two Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it at No. 5 on their list of “The Greatest Songs of All Time” securing its place in music history for all time.

Besides being a musical blockbuster, the very title of Franklin’s music expresses, perhaps, the most fundamental obligation and duty we owe not only to one another but to the entirety of creation around us. Why is that?

In calling forth creation, Genesis recounts this majestic moment when, after Adam named all the animals, God found no suitable partner for him. That there was no suitable “partner” for the man from all that God had made is telling. Man’s partner does not come from all prior life that he was given dominion over. Rather, the man’s partner is “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” How unique that this creation story is centered around a partnership between two created beings, intimately sharing the same flesh and blood, whose purpose in life was to become, as it was to begin, “one flesh?”

This is our foundational narrative. This is the Creator’s plan from the beginning, a plan that would manifest itself in the unity and equanimity of the man and the woman that would extend to all of creation they were to govern.

Respect is a duty we owe to one another and all creation. It is the profound recognition that we are “created beings” whose origin is from the beneficent Creator who has made us “little less than god” (Ps 8:6) who are destined to share in his very being for all eternity.

If we only understood the meaning of the word “respect.” If we only knew the meaning of the Creation Story, what a different world we would experience. Fostering respect for one another is the way out of many of the problems we confront in our society today. This is certainly rich soil to cultivate. We are living in a time when respect for one another has all but disappeared. Worse, we are living at a time of disrespect for individuals, institutions, laws, any moral authority. Don’t tell me what to do!!! Don’t try to limit my freedoms!!! Such disregard for others can only produce outcomes that will lead to further division, strife and alienation from one another.

Today’s readings urge us to reflect on not only how we treat others but how we view them. For in Christ we are all members of the “One body”. And people of faith treat one another with RESPECT.


Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Envious Hearts_092621

Deacon Tom writes

“Envious Hearts”

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Both Moses and St. Luke shed some light about a serious sin that we all experience from time to time, the sin of envy.  In the spiritual realm this is such an insidious offense that it ranks as one of the seven deadly sins so named because they tend to inspire one to further sin. We hear today how Moses responds to a complaint brought to him by two of his tribesmen.  What bothered them was that several others of their group were prophesying even though they had not been in their company when they received the “spirit. Moses sensed that a spirit of envy or jealousy was at work with those who lodged the complaint. Instead of chastising the two who had received the gift of prophesy while away from camp, instead he responds, “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

In a similar way, the Apostles see that someone not in their group is casting out demons and report that to Jesus.  Jesus wisely cautions his disciples “Do not prevent him.” Jesus knows that any good work done in his name will produce good fruit.

Very often our fragile human nature shows itself in the ugliest of ways. In these two incidents from Sacred Scripture we notice how one group of individuals is offended because others appear to have gotten something that they did not deserve. In the first reading the Spirit came to rest on the men who left camp and the “crowd” is upset with this; in the gospel a stranger was empowered to cast out demons without being an Apostle and again the “crowd” of disciples are offended. Envy is at work in both these events. In both instance the intention of those who complain is to get someone – Moses or Jesus – to issue a cease and desist order to the perceived antagonist. Rather than get their way, our teachers today hold a class that remains applicable for us today. 

Our sequential, linear minds constantly seek to put God in a box. We want to control God. We want him to be predictable and to be fair; fair, that is, as we perceive fair to be. But God is above all our thinking and our wildest imagination. God’s ways are simply beyond us and we need to grow into that realization.

God is at work all around us, in all faiths, in all peoples, in all circumstances. God’s Spirit works in the hearts of the faithful everywhere. God is the reality through which we live, and move, and have our being. It is not jealousy that should fill our hearts when we see good being done, but rather a deep sense of awe at the wonders God is unfolding minute-by-minute, day-by-day all around us. Even by those who look, act, believe, and worship differently than we do. Better than keeping a jealous eye on what others appear to be doing is for us to act as those upon... whom God’s spirit has been bestowed. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image from: zazzle.com