Just a Thought...or two...

September 24, 2023

9/22/2023

At first glance Jesus’ parable of the workers who come late to the field and receive a full day’s pay seems “unjust”. It offends our sense of fairness...why should those who didn’t work a full day be paid a full day’s wages, especially when those who worked a full day received the same pay?

God’s amazing generosity and love falls, like a gentle rain, on the just and the unjust! No one is left out of God’s Reign; no one is left unloved! While that sounds all warm and fuzzy, the truth is that a whole lot of “Christians” don’t buy it and don’t like it!

I believe that if we really understood this parable, and Jesus’ point, we would be having a very different debate on many social and political issues like racial justice and white supremacy, immigration reform, receiving refugees, universal access to healthcare, the national budget, wars raging around the world, a just wage....and the list goes on.

We are called to love as Jesus loves us...to build up the Reign of God...and in the Reign of God even the latecomer gets the same love. As Christians we are called to try and look at these issues through the lens of God’s justice and generosity, not human justice or human generosity.

God’s justice and generosity challenges our own sense of what is fair. While we know we are not to live by “an eye for an eye,” in fact, far too often it is very much how we in deed define “justice”. Far too often we seek retribution, not true justice based on God’s generosity as evidenced in today’s parable.

Throughout the Gospels Jesus shows us that justice is about repairing damaged relationships; about making sure that the poor, the immigrant, the marginalized, and all those who are left out, that they are included regardless of when they arrive to labor in the fields, regardless of what color their skin is, or their gender or where they were born.

To quote a former professor, Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA, “Divine generosity is always a scandal to people who believe that it should be granted to those who deserve it. And it is in this conviction that their error is laid bare, for no one deserves the generosity of God. It is a free gift, given to all who will accept it. If we think we deserve it, we will resent those who in our judgment do not. It is arrogant to think that we have earned God’s blessings; it is selfish to want to hug them (God’s blessings) to ourselves.” Because thinking God’s generosity is earned, leads to excluding others and judging them unworthy of God’s amazing generosity and love.
What is my own sense of what is “just” or “fair” in light of this Gospel message? How just and generous are my relationships? How does this Gospel message of God’s generosity -- which I am called to imitate -- call me to respond to current social issues such as the demand for racial justice, the call for fair and just immigration reform, how to respond to the refugee crisis, the need for a just wage and access to decent healthcare for all?

How does God’s generosity towards all peoples, and Jesus’ call in this parable to imitate God, challenge my generosity toward other people in my daily life -- not in just the big issues but in the smaller daily interactions I have with others? How does it impact who I think is worthy and who is not? In Today’s parable, Jesus is telling us that all are invited and all are worthy in the eyes of God; even those who come late, God chooses how lavishly generous to be. How do I feel about this reality?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

September 17, 2023

9/15/2023

Revenge versus forgiveness, kindness, and compassion – today’s first reading from Sirach reminds me of “The Our Father”. It ties God’s forgiveness of our sins to our forgiveness of our neighbor’s sins against us.

As we forgive so too shall we be forgiven! Today’s Gospel speaks to us about forgiveness from the heart. Not a walking away from a wrong done to us, not a “simple letting it go,” but a deep decision to forgive. This is more than simply “moving on,” this is about a way of being in the world, a way of living forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a decision of the heart -- one that we must live into, one that takes time when the wound has been great.

We live in a society that often confuses justice with revenge. We seek “an eye for an eye” and we call it justice! And yet that is precisely what Jesus warned us against...he calls his disciples beyond the usual standards of conduct, beyond just loving your neighbor to loving your enemy! This is the crux of the matter! How can I forgive someone who has wronged me, someone who has hurt me, or made me look foolish. How do I forgive someone who has taken away something I valued or worse, someone I loved?

I think that in the parable we hear in the Gospel it is a case of the forgiveness received that had not been allowed to transform the heart of the one who had been forgiven. For, if he had truly accepted this gift of forgiveness and taken it into his heart, he surely would not have treated his coworker as he did. But, instead would have reacted with the kindness and forgiveness that had been shown to him.

This issue was not about whether the money was owed or not. It was about passing on the kindness, compassion and forgiveness that had been shown to the man who owed the large sum to his master who had forgiven his debt.

It is about acknowledging the richness of the kindness, compassion and forgiveness that God so lavishly showers upon us in the midst of our sin. And, our response to that lavish forgiveness is to shower it in turn upon each of our sisters and brothers regardless of the size of their sins or hurts against us!

Who most stands in need of my lavish forgiveness today? To whom do I need to seek forgiveness, from God, from sister or brother?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

September 10, 2023

9/8/2023

In the Gospel this weekend Jesus is essentially talking about mending relationships, about restoring that which has been broken. And when I think about broken relationships I tend to think about “shalom”.

The Hebrew word “shalom” we often translate into English as “peace,” but as so often happens in translations of one language to another so much of the depth of the meaning and sentiment of the words and the world behind the words are lost or worse, misconstrued or just plain incorrect!

The fullness of shalom means so very much more than just peace; so much more than just the absence of war. Shalom means happiness, good health, prosperity, friendship, and well- being. Shalom means right-relationship with God and right relationship with your neighbor --it is so much more than “peace”.

In today’s Gospel, in a very real way, Jesus is talking about shalom; about working to restore the ancient roots of our relationships with one another, recognizing that we are sister and brother, that we are bound to each other in and through our having been created, brought into being by God.

Jesus recognizes that we hurt one another and that we must seek to repair the injuries and to both seek and to offer forgiveness. We must work to forgive and to restore what was taken or destroyed as well as being willing to be healed of the hurt and the suffering that was inflicted upon us.

We must be willing to “be SHALOM” for the world. Not just for ourselves, but for the sake of the world! Shalom means becoming aware of my own careless words or actions that have wounded, becoming aware of when I have hurt someone, then seeking them out to mend the relationship. Shalom means a recognition of our common sisterhood and brotherhood, of our interconnectedness that flows through our very veins. It is a recognition of our common lineage, our common ancestry as the children of God, made from the dust of the earth and given life by the very breath of God.

Shalom means there is no place for white supremacy and white privilege; there is no place for a world where we value one person over another based on the color of their skin or the place of their birth, their sexual orientation, their socioeconomic status, their gender or their immigration status!

Shalom means that I am called to stand back and reflect on my own biases in how I treat others, to reflect on my own micro aggressions towards others and how and what I think of others in the recesses of my heart, and take meaningful steps to work to be more loving and kind towards others and treat them as my sister, as my brother!

When we wish “Shalom” to someone we wish them happiness, good health, prosperity, friendship, and well-being, and right- relationship with God and with all their neighbors...and so much more! You and I are called “TO BE SHALOM” to and for all of our sisters and brothers, and for the world itself!

In the midst of all that is happening in the world today we hear the clarion call for total racial equality, in the midst of economic suffering, war and famine, in the midst of all of the suffering of our sisters and brothers how can I “BE SHALOM” in my family, my workplace, in my school, in my community, in my country?
May the SHALOM of God be upon you all!

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

September 3, 2023

9/1/2023

The message in today’s scripture may appear rather grim...it all focuses on suffering and the reality that as followers of Jesus Christ we are going to have to sacrifice something.

The cost of discipleship means not avoiding the tough issues of life. Jesus tells the disciples that they will need to carry their own crosses. We can’t avoid it -- like Peter wanted Jesus to do. We will have to “carry” the problems and difficulties of our lives...all of the sorrows, illnesses and losses that come our way.

We are not “protected” from suffering as disciples of Jesus were. Rather, we are accompanied by Jesus in our sufferings! And, that reality makes all the difference! Having faith that our God does not abandon us in our times of darkness helps us get through the darkness. It becomes a light “in” the darkness -- in the midst of the suffering.

Jesus didn’t walk away from suffering; he accepted it. And even in the midst of dying, he reached out to the one suffering next to him and offered the repentant thief comfort.

Jesus does not say that suffering in and of itself is good...but rather warns us that in choosing to follow him we will be called to sacrifice; to give of ourselves for the sake of the other.

We are being called to let go of our self-centeredness and open ourselves to the sacrifices required in building up the Reign of God. It’s a radical call from Jesus. How radical will my response be? Sometimes the response may be large and bold, and sometimes it may be small and more subdued. It may be a grand outward gesture or perhaps a more personal response like working on a character flaw, living more intentionally or trying to be ever more aware of how I treat others and how I show others respect and care on a daily basis in my life.

Surely one part of the response to Jesus’ call is standing up for the voiceless and those whose voices are ignored and disregarded. Part of my radical response to the call of discipleship is to be willing to give up some aspects of my personal comfort for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of the needs of the poor, the immigrant and those marginalized by hatred, racism and bigotry.

What sacrifices for others am I being called to make as a disciple of Jesus Christ? What might I be asked to let go of in my life that I might be better able to help carry “the crosses” of others? To what personal action is my discipleship calling me this week?

Blessings,

Fr. Tim

August 27, 2023

8/28/2023

In today’s Gospel Jesus asks the disciples “who do you say that I am?” Peter proclaims that he is “the Christ”... the Messiah! And from this declaration, Jesus proclaims that “Simon” is blessed and that he has come to this insight, not by human knowledge, but Divine inspiration.

In the Gospel of Matthew this is yet another pivotal moment. Jesus acknowledges that he is more than a prophet, more than a messenger...He is the “Son of God”! From this moment forward Jesus’ public ministry takes on cosmic proportions...from now on his mission is to the whole world...not just the People of Israel.

But what does this mean for me as a disciple of Jesus? Who do people say I am, when I am not there to
hear? Who do “I” say I am, by the way I live my life...by my words and by my actions?

The great American educator, Parker Palmer, once proclaimed... “let my life speak”...but speak of
what? Can people tell that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ by how I live my life?

Is the message of God’s deep and passionate love for all people of every race, and Jesus’ clarion call to us, his followers, to love and care for all others evidenced in the way I live my life?

As a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ I am called to love God with my whole being and to love and care for my neighbor as myself! And yet down through history to this very moment in time Christians have perpetrated sins of racism, bigotry, antisemitism and misogyny and outright hatred of their neighbor whom Jesus has commanded they love.

And yet we call ourselves Christians, followers of Jesus.

We cannot, hate our neighbor, act with racist and bigoted hearts and believe that we are living as Christ has called us to live. We must ask ourselves: do I harbor hatred, distrust or ill will towards my neighbor?

We must name and call out the sins of racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny when and where we see them! It is in this way that “our lives will speak” to the world the truth of who Jesus Christ is; it is how our lives become prophetic voices!

And so let us ask ourselves, what prophetic witness will I give to who Jesus Christ is by my words and actions today?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

August 20, 2023

8/18/2023

Today’s readings overturn our presumptions about the relationships between “insiders” and “outsiders”. From the Prophet Isaiah to Psalm 67, from Paul’s letter to the Romans to the Gospel of Matthew....we are treated to God’s vision of who is “in” and who is “out”. Some of us may feel a bit disconcerted by what we encounter in today’s readings. It seems there is something innately human about drawing boundaries between those who are like us and those who are different...“insiders and outsiders”. Those who are part of the clan and those who are not; those who are part of the family and those who are not...“insiders and outsiders”.

Down through the centuries wars have been fought, nations destroyed, and societies pulled apart in efforts to protect social boundaries that delineate who are part of the clan -- who are the insiders and who are the outsiders. Slavery would be a perfect example of a social construct that delineated between peoples and that destroyed individual human lives, families and entire nations! All based on social constructs of what made a human life matter and be of value.

Today’s readings call on us to reflect on our own social constructs...who we treat as insiders and who we treat as outsiders...whose lives we believe matter and whose lives we believe don’t matter! And whose lives matter more than others! How do we look upon refugees and immigrants to our country and upon the tens of millions of refugees roaming the world in search of a safe home? Do we see them as sister and brother or as alien and foreigner, outsiders who don’t belong.

What scripture makes clear is that we are called by God to work to eradicate all social structures and attitudes that exclude and marginalize “the other”.

In today’s Gospel we see a shocking moment where Jesus is challenged by a Canaanite woman to “revision his mission, and to open it up and expand his mission” and to proclaim the Reign of God goes beyond just to the People of Israel and that it includes absolutely everyone!

Because human being is a child of God and, yes, even the Canaanites are included! There is no place for racism or bigotry or xenophobia or misogyny in the Reign of God because we are all God’s children. And racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny are all sins against God’s children and against the Reign of God!

Everyone is invited, and as St. Paul reminds us, “the gifts and the call are irrevocable”! The Word has gone out...all are invited to be part of the Reign of God...and the Word of God once spoken cannot be called back!

I believe that all of us who call ourselves Christians and disciples of Christ are called to reflect on all of this in light of the racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism and outright hatred displayed in the violence in what we saw in Charlottesville and the violence we continue to see today against our Black and Brown sisters and brothers, even perpetrated by our very own local, state and national government officials. As well as the rise in the overt hatred and violence aimed at our LGBTQ sisters and brothers.

We have to ask ourselves: who are the people in my clan and are there people I exclude? How could I be more inclusive of “the other” in my life? And what socio-political and religious structures does the Gospel call me to work to change to be more inclusive so that no one is left out and all people feel loved, seen, respected, and embraced -- just as Jesus calls us to treat them?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

August 13, 2023

8/11/2023

An eerie and frighting scene unfolds in today’s Gospel. While Jesus is quietly off at prayer, the disciples asleep in a boat in the sea of Galilee, are suddenly set upon by a violent storm.

Their tiny boat is tossed about and nearly swamped, and the disciples fear for their lives. Jesus arrives on the scene and calmly “walks on the water,” towards the boat -- a figure of serenity in the midst of chaos.

But the disciples, in the grip of fear, are unable to accept the serenity he brings to the chaos swirling around them, threating their very lives. What is so interesting is that Jesus invites Peter to venture into the tumultuous waters and meets him in the midst of the storm.

This point is, I believe, very important for us today: that Jesus comes in the midst of the storm and reaches out to us, not after the storm has been calmed. And even though we may doubt, as Peter did, Jesus still extends his hand to raise us up, to assure us that indeed it is he!

Today we may need this Gospel message more than ever with the sickening number of armed military actions, military coups and outright wars swirling all around us.

Having just remembered the awful bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan, and the tremendous human loss and suffering they brought about, still some world leaders threaten to unleash “fire and fury” with the specter of the use of nuclear weapons. It seems we have learned nothing!

Clearly the horrid storm of wars and violence are not the answers to the troubles our world faces. Let us pray, listening for that “still small voice of God” within us, calling us all to work for peace and reconciliation, in our own lives, in our communities, in our nation and in our world. May the SHALOM of God be upon us all!

Blessings,
Fr Tim

August 6, 2023

8/4/2023

This Sunday we hear Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration of Jesus...right before the eyes of three of the disciples, Jesus’ true identity bursts forth and in one brief luminous moment , and Peter, James and John are themselves forever changed....they are ”transfigured” with a growing awareness of who Jesus really is!

I believe that each one of us have our own “moments of transfiguration”, moments in which we see or feel the very presence of God. They are moments when, “deep inside” we come to know with certainty that God is present...that God is real.

These moments of awareness hold the potential to transfigure our lives into something new, something wonderful. The great challenge is to learn “to live out of” these transfiguration moments... keeping these moments alive in our hearts and minds allowing them to deepen our understanding that we are all formed in the image and likeness of God, and that the very Spirit of the Living God dwells within each one of us!

Each one of us carries within us experiences of the tenderness, mercy and love of God. Too often it is the chaos of our lives that “dim” the luminous moments of encounter with our God...and we forget we ever had them in the midst of the rush and busyness of our daily lives.

This Gospel we hear today, calls us to step back to reengage those moments of grace when we realized God’s ever- presence in our lives...when we realize that we are not alone... that there is something more to life...more than what we can
see or touch...more than we can imagine...”God moments”! When was my last “God moment”? How was I transfigured by that moment, and how does it impact my discipleship and what does it call me to in the world today?

In the midst of reflecting on the glory of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ, we also have to take a moment to reflect, on this the 78th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on the growing threat of the proliferation nuclear weapons in our world and the very real and present danger it presents for the future existence humanity and our of our planet.

We along with other nations have committed ourselves to a moratorium on the proliferation of nuclear weapons and we must work to make sure that agreements such as the New START Treaty remain in place and are adhered to by all parties. And we much work with other countries around the world to bring into line those nations that are outside accepted and agreed upon restrictions for the production and use of nuclear arms.

Let us pray that we may never see another horrendous mass destruction of human life as we witnessed 78 years ago at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And may all the souls lost on those two days and the months and years following, rest in peace. And may all of the survivors and those affected by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki find healing and peace and may their lives be transfigured by God’s amazing grace. For this let us pray to the Lord.

Blessings,
Fr Tim

July 30, 2023

7/29/2023

In today’s Gospel Jesus compares the Reign of God to an immense treasure...a pearl of great price. Who among us has not dreamt of finding such a treasure? Imagine the impact it would have upon your life.

How would you use it...what would you do differently within your life with this newfound wealth? Would you share it with friends and family, would you even tell them? Would you use it to help the poor and less fortunate?

But if the great treasure we stumbled across was not a buried chest of gold, or a pearl of great price but rather, the great treasure was the promise of eternal life, the Reign of God!

This is exactly what Jesus is challenging us to do — to think of how different our lives would be if we “lived” in the Reign of God...all the time, not just on Sunday while we are at Mass — every day, all the time!

Usually when we think of finding a treasure we immediately think of financial gain and how that would change our lives and the lives of our family. But in this case, we are challenged to think about how our lives would change from the point of view of how we love one another, how we care for each other...how we live the Gospel in our day to day lives. How we impact the lives of others, for the better.

Finding and falling in love with the Reign of God is the whole point of the parables we hear today. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, the former Superior General of the Jesuits, once wrote: “Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything”.

Blessings,
Fr Tim

July 23, 2023

7/22/2023

Once again this week Jesus speaks to us in parables -- multifaceted gems that once tumbled around in our hearts, ruminated upon and yielded unbelievable insights into the Reign of God. While the disciples certainly preferred straightforward answers, Jesus obviously preferred parables.

Of the comparisons of the reign of God to a field, a mustard seed and the leaven in bread, I have always liked the comparison of the mustard seed and the Reign of God. This tiny, tiny little seed grows into a great bush, so large that the birds of the air make their nests in it.

If you take the parable at its face value it all seems quite lovely. However, there is a dark side farmers know well: the mustard bush is an invasive plant. It grows wildly and rapidly, quickly overtaking a garden, ruining the plants that had been planted with care and reducing their yield, if not completely choking them out.

Mustard bushes can be uncontrollable and rapidly spread across a farm if not quickly uprooted before going to seed. Surely this reality was not lost on Jesus; nor on those who heard him tell the parable. It seems that perhaps Jesus is presenting an image of the expansion of the Reign of God as something uncontrollable, invasive and fast growing!

Looking through the lens of this image…the Reign of God is not something that can be domesticated or controlled. By its very nature, it grows uncontrollably and burst forth offering refuge. I believe that many of us though would prefer something that we could contain and control… and domesticate!

But the truth is that the Reign of God is just that…“God’s Reign,”…not ours. We are part of it by our baptism and we are called to help water it so that it continues to grow and “invade” every crevice and furrow of this planet, but we don’t get to tame it.

Two thousand years ago Jesus’ vision of the bursting forth of the Reign of God was nothing less than radical. And, it still is today. We are called to be part of that radical vision -- to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned…to love one another as Christ loves us and to reach out and to care for “the other.”

Part of the Reign of God is the proclamation of the deep and passionate love of God for all peoples! And wasn’t it just this radical vision of the reign of God that Jesus preached that got him crucified? As his disciple, just how radical of a life am I willing live?

In a world that proclaims a “gospel of personal prosperity” -- tax cuts for the rich at the cost of healthcare cuts for the poor -- to what lengths am I willing to go in building up this radical vision of the Reign of God that Jesus preached? What concrete action can I take today to “water” the Reign of God? Where and how do I see the Reign of God bursting forth in imaginative and radical ways?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

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