Love God; love your neighbor. It seems so simple, so easy. And yet we make such an unholy mess of it, over and over again. Why? Why are we are so bad at love? Perhaps because we do not treat it as simple or easy. Yes, life is complicated. But love does not have to be, especially when it comes to our siblings and our Parent. The latter showers us with their love, even desiring to physically meld with us through the Eucharist. What do we do with this gift? We treat it like a reward for following our rules. But what if we stopped that nonsense, and instead made it simple and easy? What if we told our neighbors to just come and eat, and let grace do the rest? Would it tarnish God's love? Or might that love spread like wildfire? Where else might we suddenly find love to be simple and easy? And all this is possible, if we recognize that love is a measure of God's strength, not our own. Which makes love, especially when it comes to our family, the simplest and easiest of things to do.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Pharisees and Herodians did not approach Jesus out of concern that Caesar was stealing God's glory and honor. No, they were looking to protect their own wealth and power. But what about us? Are the motives for our interventions in today's conflicts between God and Caesar truly purer than those of our hypocritical ancestors? I have watched the religious freedom battles of the last few years with much amusement. I have particularly enjoyed the histrionics, by both God's and Caesar's defenders, surrounding the so-called contraception mandate. Yes, within a healthcare system designed to allow the few to make a profit from the illness and suffering of the many, who pays for birth control pills is the real threat to God's glory and honor. Yes, the Pharisees and Herodians are well represented even today. But for those willing to hear, our Brother's wisdom still rings true. So let us not get caught up in outrage over minutiae, and focus instead on that which is truly offensive to our Parent.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
"Many are invited, but few are chosen." So who exactly does the choosing, because God does not seem all that picky. Sure, she gets angry at the ones who turn down his invitation. But the only guy who actually gets thrown out of the party is the one who refuses to open his mouth. Otherwise, the "bad and good alike" are enjoying the feast. So again, who does the choosing? Corporate religion has claimed the job for eons, but volunteering to be hall monitor does not guarantee one the position. No, the truth is that we choose for ourselves, sans intermediaries. Right now, our Parent is preparing "for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines." A feast for all peoples, not just the ones who play by the clerical rules. A feast that is our birthright as sons and daughters of the King. So will you take your seat at table? And when you are challenged about your attire, will you boldly proclaim for all to hear, "I have chosen to dwell in the house of our Lord all the days of my life."
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
How could the tenants in today's Gospel behave so atrociously? Did they think that the owner would let them get away with such mayhem? Did they somehow believe that they were irreplaceable? And are we really any different? Generation upon generation, we have taken the fruit of this planet to fulfill our desires, with little regard for the Landlord's intentions. We ignore sign after sign that we are doing evil to our family and to ourselves. Even those who see the truth fall prey to our anthropocentric lies; falsely believing that it is the vineyard that is in mortal danger. No, it is we the tenants who face that wretched death. And there is no shortage of siblings waiting in the wings to replace us. Our family is not limited to one minor species of talking monkeys. Nor are we the favorite child, as depicted in the fantasies of corporate religion. Our Parent will happily lease this kingdom and its bounty to another people, unless we wake up and see that we are not the artists of this world, free to use it however we might will, but merely the audience for a grand master and their most magnificent work.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Why do we find it so hard to do God's will? Perhaps because our Parent says to us, "humbly regard others as more important than yourselves." We want to do good. We want to live righteously. But we do not want to put ourselves last. I recently saw an advertisement for a campaign to end childhood hunger. It asked us to dine out at a restaurant. That is the American Way. Do good without having to sacrifice a thing. Live righteously while embracing all the fruits that capitalism has to offer. We say "yes" to God with the best of intentions, but we have not yet set foot in the vineyard. We might stare at it from across the fence, but who dares to enter, if doing so means "taking the form of a slave"? It all seems so very unfair. But is it? Is the path of greed really more fair than the path of grace, even if the latter demands obedience to a cross? Well, the good news is that it is never too late to make the right choice; the even better news is that doing so cancels out all of the prior wrong ones.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
What about the foreman? Did he try to talk the landowner out of being so generous? Did he grumble as he handed over the wages? And what would he have done if the landowner had not been on the scene? Who could possibly condemn the poor fellow if he refused to follow his master's instructions out of fear of squandering the resources entrusted to him? So I can understand why the Church acts so stingily when it comes to the sacraments, especially Eucharist. But it is also clear to me that God does not care if one of their children receives more grace than he or she has happened to earn at any particular moment. Our Parent desires to be close to all who call upon them, regardless of the caller's worthiness or cleanliness. So let us be a good foreman and pay our siblings their wages.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." How many of us see our Parent's generosity as an invitation to join the new chosen tribe? Do we think that the Israelites just bitched too much on their way to the promised land, so God decided to replace them? How much death and destruction has its source in our belief that the Divine One has a favorite child? We may not agree on which child that is, but most of us seem willing to bet that there is a favorite, and that we should all do what he says. I say to you that such notions insult the sacrifice that our Brother made upon that lovely cross. He became one of us, and died as one of us, so that we might know that our Parent anxiously awaits our arrival at the eternal banquet. And this home is not just for the one or the many, but for all of us, even those who forget or refuse to acknowledge the wondrous works of our Lord.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do not assume that Ezekiel's and Jesus' advice is meant for you. It is just as likely, if not more so, that the intended recipient is your neighbor. Few among us want to see ourselves as participants in wickedness and sin, but we are, and if we love our neighbors, we will listen to them when they speak disconcerting truths. "If today you hear their voice, harden not your hearts."
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Many days I lament not experiencing the "derision and reproach" of which Jeremiah speaks. Better to be an infamous prophet than an obscure one, or so it seems in those moments. But that is just me "thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." My job is to take up the cross and to walk my own Via Dolorosa wherever it may lead. Whatever beauty emerges from that journey belongs to the One from whom I cannot escape and for whom my soul thirsts "like fire burning in my heart."
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Binding and loosing. If the Easter story is any indication, our Parent seems most interested in the latter activity. And if the nightly news, or the morning newspaper, or social media, or a history book are any indication, we have chosen the former. Is it really God whose judgments are inscrutable and whose ways are unsearchable? There is no need to worry about the Divine One forsaking the work of their hands. It is their children running amok that should concern us.
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