Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

At the beginning of this month, my cousin died of cancer. Nicole was a few months shy of her fortieth birthday. She had prayed for a miraculous healing. It did not come. Two days after her death, the son of a dear friend celebrated his fiftieth birthday. Kevin has lived with major medical problems for almost all of those years. He was not supposed to live past four. But grace has rained down upon him. Why? Why does one survive and one not? How many in the crowd surrounding Jesus hoped for a miracle, a healing, for themselves or a loved one? Why were two rewarded, but not the rest?

Life and death. It all feels so capricious. And that notion is exactly what we need to be rescued from. But like a man struggling not to drown, we must trust the arms of our rescuer first. Are you willing to submit to your Parent's logic? Are you willing to surrender to their control? And what might they show you if you are so willing? After my cousin's death, a group of her friends took charge of all the funeral arrangements, allowing her immediate family to simply grieve. So perhaps Nicole's prayers did not go unanswered. And perhaps Kevin has a new guardian angel. Wishful thinking, or a glimpse into grace? I choose to praise our Master and to believe myself rescued. What will you choose?

Wisdom 1:13-2:24; Psalms 30:2-13; 2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" Hard questions, especially right now, but ones we need to hear. Those most affected by the terrorist attack in South Carolina certainly heard them. And we know how they responded to the challenge: with words of forgiveness and mercy towards the man who killed their loved ones. Yes, we should admire such faith. But we must also be on guard against the temptation to water it down into feel-good platitudes or quick-fix solutions. Faith is not meant to be easy or comfortable. The cross attests to as much. Our brothers and sisters at Mother Emanuel have picked up theirs and embarked upon that long, hard road. Will we join them?

And what if we did join them? What might that look like? Might it mean facing up to history we have conveniently ignored? Yes. Or banishing symbols of hatred and oppression from our public spaces? Yes. Or even perhaps the consideration of reparations to those whose lives we have plundered for far too long? Yes. And those are just the easy ones. The hard part comes when we must burrow into our hearts and minds to find those places where we simply refuse to love our neighbors, and then realize that we cannot rip out such cancers nor heal such wounds. The uncomfortable truth of sin is that we are incapable of being the family we are called to be, even as we are obliged to pursue it.

So what do we do? Do we drown ourselves in feel-good platitudes and quick-fix solutions? Or do we wake up and embrace a bold and daring faith? A faith that rebukes injustice and orders misery to be still, while knowing full well that neither will go away. A faith that loves ones enemies, even when they hold a sword to your throat. A faith that claims that, no matter how dire the situation may be, evil will never stand victorious. A faith that trusts our Parent and the strange kingdom they wish us to inherit. Yes, let us give thanks to our Master, for their grace is magnificent and everlasting.

Job 38:1-11; Psalms 107:1-31; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Shoots and seeds. It is who we are and what we have to contribute to the kingdom. And it is enough. So why are we left unsatisfied? Is the builder not working fast enough? Or do we not like the product we see under development? Have any of our efforts to insert ourselves into the process brought about better results? Or do we simply end up taking two steps forward and two steps back? Perhaps now is the time to surrender to our Parent's wisdom, and just be shoots and seeds. Let us love our brothers and sisters, really love them, and trust the kingdom to grow however our Master sees fit.

Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalms 92:2-16; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Is Eucharist for the clean or the unclean? We all know the answer corporate religion gives. They fuss and fret over who should and, perhaps more fervently, should not partake of the sacrament. But I say that Eucharist is not a reward for those who have already gotten life right, but an infusion of grace for those who need it most. And who is more in need than those who are dirty and unkempt? How can we expect anyone who is wallowing in sin to let go of such filth without a little help from the Divine? I tell you that our Parent desires a covenant with all of their children; all, not just a chosen few, or some, or even many, but every last one of us. And if accomplishing such a thing means that sacred bread and wine needs to touch unclean hands and lips, then let us sing alleluia and pass them along.

Exodus 24:3-8; Psalms 116:12-18; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-26

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Scripture tells us that we were created in God's image. So if they are three, plural, a we are instead of an I am, then what does that make us? If the Trinity is truth, and we take that truth seriously, can we continue to worship our sacred cows of freedom or tribalism? Parent, Son, and Spirit are bound to one another as a family of love. Like it or not, so are you and I and all the rest of our brothers and sisters. We are family; bound to one another in a sacred dance that takes us far beyond our comfort zones of tolerance, sentimentality, or utilitarian convenience. A true we are, not just a collection of I ams.

So how do we tap into our trinitarian nature? How do we act more like the family that we are? Perhaps it is as simple as being gentle to one another. Give your siblings the benefit of the doubt. Try with all your might to see the best in the person you like the least. Do less agitating and more listening. And take a lesson from some anonymous Turkish villagers who in the midst of genocide mourned the loss of their neighbors: "The Armenians were the salt of our land … that which gave us taste and aroma is gone … may God look after us all." Yes, may We Are look after those she has chosen to be his own, those whom they have blessed with the greatest of all inheritances: family.

Deuteronomy 4:32-40; Psalms 33:4-22; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20

Pentecost Sunday

Veni, Sancte Spiritus. Ask and she will come. But he will not bring the gifts you expect, and certainly not the ones you want. Just yesterday, the Church honored our martyred brother Oscar Romero. What does his sacrifice mean given the violence that has consumed El Salvador since his death? Where is the peace, justice, or love? Are we ready now to bear the truth of the kingdom, or must we continue to hide from its fire? Will you take up your cross knowing full well that it will not change the big picture of this world one bit? Will you see the kingdom as it is, not as you want it to be? And will you run to that kingdom and embrace all the strange beauty it has to offer? Veni, Sancte Spiritus.

Acts 2:1-11; Psalms 104:1-34; Galatians 5:16-25; John 15:26-16:15

Second Sunday of Easter – Sunday of Divine Mercy

Psalms 118:1-24

I am going to take a break from blogging this Easter season. My mind aches, and I have finally been given permission to rest. I will resume my task for Pentecost Sunday. In the meantime, please hear in my silence a cry of thanksgiving for the delightful ordinariness of divine mercy.

The Resurrection of the Lord – The Mass of Easter Day

And so the forty days are over. We spent our time in the tomb, but now the stone has been removed. What do you see as you walk out into the sunlight? Does anything seem different than it was before? Is the world still the world, or has something wonderful appeared in its midst? Are your neighbors still just neighbors, or do you suddenly have more brothers and sisters than all the stars in the sky? Have you simply been paroled for one more year? Or have you risen with our Brother to a state that defies all our rules and explanations? And are you merely going through the motions because this is the day the Church has made? Or do you truly have reason to rejoice and be glad?

Acts 10:34-43; Psalms 118:1-24; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; John 20:1-9

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Yes, we are clueless. The crowds with their cloaks and leafy branches. The disciples and their sense of when to be indignant and when to fall asleep. The naked young man running for his life. And Peter, so brave, until he knows the stakes. Even Jesus, very human Jesus, who believes himself forsaken, if only for a moment. Despite our prayers and rituals and lovely theologies, we understand neither the kingdom, nor the Brother who lights a path to its doorstep. We still expect truth and grace to conform to certain rules; not our Parent's rules mind you, but our own. We remain as blind as those who cried out for Barabbas or who pounded in the nails. Such is how we enter this holy week. But it is not how we have to exit it. The tomb is an invitation, not just a memory. Will you accept it?

Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalms 22:2-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 11:1-10, 14:1-15:47

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalms 51:3-15; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33

"A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me." Let this be our mantra as we enter into the last of these forty days. We cannot hope to be free of sin in this life. But we can plead for a heart that refuses to avert its eyes from our sins or to pretend that they are anything other than what they are, even as we commit them. And we can beg for a spirit that calmly bears both the just guilt of our own evil and the unjust suffering brought on by our neighbors' disobedience, even as we strive to wash them all away. Now, these might not be the gifts we long for at Easter, but they are the ones we need if we hope to enter into the mystery that is divine mercy.