Just a Thought...or two...

September 25, 2022

9/24/2022

In this weekend’s Gospel Jesus tells the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. What is most interesting to me is that this is the only parable in which the main character is actually named. Usually in parables the characters remain unnamed so we are more easily able to insert ourselves into the story. But Jesus breaks with the tradition and calls the principle character by name: Lazarus.

Jesus speaks of a real person -- someone who mattered, someone who mattered to God...even though he seemed not to matter to those around him.

The parable of Lazarus is yet again a statement of how much the poor and vulnerable are loved and valued by God even though they are not by those around them.

Throughout Scripture prophets call attention to the poor as the “blessed ones” of God. The people of Israel were continually warned against maltreating the poor, the marginalized and the alien. So often we hear people speak of the poor and the homeless as some kind of blight or an inconvenience that they can’t be bothered with and are not responsible for.

In our nation today, bigotry, racism and bias put black lives at risk, threaten Muslims, immigrants and refugees and marginalizes them all. These attitudes devalue God given human dignity!

In today’s Gospel Jesus clearly warns us of the consequences of just such attitudes!

As we reflect on the Gospel this week, let’s reflect on how we respond to the “Lazarus’” we encounter in our lives.

How do we as individuals and as a faith community show that we value and care for the poor and marginalized of our community? What are the social and political ramifications of this Gospel for us today? In the midst of widespread gun violence, racism, Islamophobia, anti- immigrant and anti-refugee sentiments, what is the “Gospel response” we are being called to respond with to these situations?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

September 18, 2022

9/16/2022

Today we hear a few words from our old friend Amos. The prophet Amos was outraged and ashamed at how the poor and the needy and the foreigners were being treated by the people of Israel. He condemned them for what today we would call human trafficking and cruelty to the poor.

The book of Amos warns that God would punish the people for their selfishness and obsession with becoming rich. A few chapters before the reading we heard today, Amos proclaims; “Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; then it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Jesus also took up the topic of being obsessed with the accumulation of wealth, particularly when others were in such great need. Jesus warns us that we need to be “whole-heartedly” devoted to God and if we divide our heart between God and money we will lose out in the end.

Now the reality is that we all have to be concerned with making a living and providing for ourselves and our families. But how much is enough? At what point does “making a living” becomes focused on “getting rich” and then begins to take over all our time and thoughts and becomes the only measure of the success in our lives?

Being rich is not a sin...it is what we do or don’t do with what we have that can be sinful. Keeping God at the center of our lives will help us decide how to use what we have and with whom to share our wealth. It seems the Gospel is calling us to reflect on our relationship with our “stuff” and our relationship with God and our relationships with others.

How much of my “stuff” really matters to me? Would I feel freer if I had less stuff? When was the last time I talked to God about how I share my time, money and talent with others, especially the poor, the underprivileged, the underrepresented, the marginalized, the immigrant and the refugee? These are the people whom Jesus reached out to, and calls us, his disciples to do the same.

Blessings,
Fr Tim

September 11, 2022

9/9/2022

Today’s Gospel focuses on the lost being found...a sheep that wandered off, a coin misplaced and finally a rebellious child who had gone far from home.

By this point in the Gospel the religious leaders and elders of the people have become increasingly displeased at the type of people that Jesus has been hanging out with and eating with -- sinners and tax collectors, the sick, the poor and the marginalized, the lost and “outsiders”.

Aware of their anger he tells three short stories, each one designed to drive home exactly why he is doing what he is doing... attempting to reorient their understanding of who the sinner, the tax collector, the lost and outsiders really are in the eyes of God. He is trying to tell them that God’s love, mercy and forgiveness is for everyone. It is not held back from anyone regardless of their actions or status in life! Arguably, the best known of these three stories is “the prodigal son” and with good reason as it is so jarring to our sense of what is right and what is fair.

Each of the three main characters has an insight into human relationships or our relationship with God. But for me what always seems to take center stage are the lavish actions of the father.

His love for his child is so great that it overpowers any other feelings that he might have had of disappointment, sadness, or anger. They are all completely overpowered and blown away by
his love for his child and his “thrill” at his child’s return!

And that is what Jesus is trying to get across to the Pharisees and religious leaders...that God’s love for us is so great that there is nothing that can hold it back from being poured out upon each one of us regardless of how great a “sinner” we may be!

God’s forgiveness is LAVISHED upon us. The real challenge for us is to accept it and “live like the forgiven”. And, in turn, to lavishly offer our love and forgiveness to others!

Imagine what the world might look like if all of us throughout the world who claim to be disciples of Jesus were “lavish” in our love of the marginalized, “the lost”, the refugee and the immigrant... how different the world’s humanitarian crises might look.

Imagine if we lavished our love on those who are different from us -- different by the color of their skin, different by their politics or religion or country of origin or sexual orientation or gender or age or economic status. Imagine if we were all lavish with our love and forgiveness towards everyone...imagine what the world would look like, imagine what your life would be like!

A couple questions to ponder this week: What would I need to let go of or begin to do to better “live like the forgiven”? Who are the lost or the outsiders in my neighborhood, my school, my family and who most need me to lavish love and forgiveness upon them and let them know how much God loves them, just as they are?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

September 4, 2022

9/3/2022

A real deal breaker...In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus utter the words that no doubt sent a flood of people walking away from him -- walking away from their following Jesus! Not only did he tell them that they had to renounce their family and all their possessions but that they would have to suffer as well, and carry their cross!

How this must have stung their ears because in their culture family was everything. Family gave you your “identity.” You knew your place in the society and how to act and interact with others based on your identity, which was rooted in your family.

So to renounce your family would be tantamount to renouncing your identity. Which, it seems, is exactly what Jesus was attempting to do -- to help his disciples to let go of their old identity and to develop a new identity as his disciples, as members of a new family. The family of disciples of Jesus Christ.

To do this Jesus wanted them to leave behind their old life and all its trappings and to be willing to walk with him, knowing that it would be a difficult journey. It was all about living their discipleship and putting it into action each and every day...full on, all the way!

Membership in this “new family” would now be the source of their new identity, the source of knowing how to act and interact with others, and to come to know what their mission in life now was.

And during this “Season of Creation” as we examine our relationship with Jesus Christ, we need to examine our relationship with the earth as well!

We need to examine how we live on the earth and how we “use” the earth; how we consume things and what we consume. Our consumption impacts not only the earth itself but it impacts our sisters and brothers, especially those living in developing countries.

Many of the items we buy and use have their source in the developing world, and are made by poor workers living and working in inhumane conditions. Far too often children are exploited and abused while making the products that we in the West buy and wear or items we use in our homes or businesses.

The pollution created by the making of so many of the items we buy and use on a daily basis is driving the climate change crisis.

And, as we have seen here in our own country and in Europe, India, Pakistan and many parts of Africa, severe droughts and historic flooding and raging wildfires are destroying, not only people’s homes and towns, but taking their lives as well. Climate change is very real and we need to act now!

As we begin the Season of Creation there are many things for us to reflect on, to find actions that we can begin to take or continue taking that become “our active caring for creation”.

We all need to take a hard look at our own carbon footprint and spend time researching how we can reduce our carbon footprint as part of our active caring for creation. At the same time, we need to be engaged on a larger level actively working for policies that will help reduce our nation’s role in this man- made climate crisis.

Being good disciples means being good stewards of “our common home”.

How does my membership in “the family of disciples of Jesus” inform my daily actions and interactions with others and with the earth? How do I keep God at the center of my busy daily life?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

August 28, 2022

8/27/2022

The Word of God came to our ancestors within a very specific socio-historical, geographic, political and religious context.

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus challenges several social norms of his culture...he challenges the negative connotations surrounding humility and social status.

Jesus encourages us to consider “taking a lower seat” at the banquet table rather than seeking a place of honor. He warns that if you seek places of honor, you may well be asked to step down when someone of greater importance shows up to the banquet...implying that there is always someone of higher status than yourself.

No doubt Jesus is hinting that we need to cultivate an attitude of humility...last week’s Gospel warned us that at the heavenly banquet “some who are first in this world will be last in the Kingdom and some who are last in this world will be first will be first in the Great Banquet.”

True humility is based on understanding and accepting who we really are in grand scheme of the universe. And not allowing “self-importance” to get in the way of our discipleship of Jesus Christ.

Humility is not born of a lack of self-esteem or rooted in self-loathing, but rather, comes from knowing our true place in the world, and accepting God’s deep and passionate love for each one of us.

So, we do not seek to wallow in self-pity or in curating a poor self-image; no, we are called to humbly rejoice in the fact that we are the beloved of God.

And, we are called to acknowledge that each of our sisters and brothers are also the beloved of God, regardless of their social status or life conditions.

Our sacred scriptures tell us that the humble will be raised up and the mighty will be brought low...clearly it is better to be among the lowly who God will raise up than to be one of the haughty who will be brought low.

How do I understand humility? Am I comfortable taking “a lower seat” at the banquet or do I seek out the seats of honor? How does accepting God’s deep and passionate love for me humble me?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

August 21, 2022

8/19/2022

This weekend’s readings challenge us to understand “the other” as “ourselves”. The concept of “otherness” is a reality that allows for discrimination, persecution, racial and ethnic profiling …for hatred of “others”!

When we fail to see our common humanity then we believe that we are “different” from one another and then we see them as “other”. And from this we can come to believe that we are superior or better than the one who is different from ‘my clan’, those who are like me.

This concept of “other” often creates a situation where the one who is “other” is dehumanized and degraded. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream…a dream where everyone was equal…where there were no “others”…only “us”!

This dream of MLK’s was a “Kingdom dream”…the Kingdom of God…and he saw this dream because he had “Kingdom vision”…Martin Luther King lived as if “the Kingdom of God” was here and now!

In the Gospel we hear this weekend that Jesus tells us to be very careful about who we believe is on the inside and who is outside…because we might be the ones who end up on the outside, precisely because we separated “others” out and made them “outsiders”!

Jesus tells us a “cautionary tale” of “otherness”! Jesus is seeking to tell us that there is no “other”…we are all the children of God…including all the migrants and immigrants around the world, like those at our southern border! Jesus is telling us we are all sisters and brothers, beloved children of God!

Regardless of the color of our skin, the place or circumstance of our birth, or our social status or our religious or political affiliation or our gender, each and every one of us is connected as a beautiful creation of God -- as Martin Luther King proclaimed, whatever happens to one of us happens to all of us!

Imagine if we lived like that…that is what Jesus did for us on the cross! What would our world look like, what would our political conversation sound like? Would we be banning books in our schools just because they were written by people of color or because they tell stories challenging racism or books that raise up stories of inclusion and representation to our children? These books written in the hopes that they will help our children grow up to build a society where diversity is celebrated and those who are “other” are welcomed and made to feel loved and accepted -- as my sister and brother, just as they are, beloved children of God!

What am I willing to do to break down the barriers that separate me from “the other”? Do I really believe that “we” are all God’s children, loved equally by God? What does that mean for me? How might that challenge how I live my life? Who do I see as “other”?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

August 14, 2022

8/12/2022

The readings this weekend are filled with challenge and excitement at the same time. It seems like we are revisiting the question of “the cost of discipleship” once again!

In the first reading we have “the reluctant prophet” Jerimiah who, when God calls him to speak a prophetic word to the people, responds with “truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy”.

Jerimiah eventually finds his voice but it almost costs him his life when his prophecy leads to his being thrown into a cistern to die.

Then in the second reading St. Paul reminds us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses but there is a race that lies ahead of us and that running that race may cost us our lives. But we nonetheless are called by our discipleship to “run the race.” That is, to actively live out our discipleship by our daily way of life.

And in the Gospel, Jesus recognizes that not everyone who has heard his word or seen his miracles will believe in him. Jesus also recognizes that faith in him will be the source of division on all levels, both communal and familial.

And yet his zeal and excitement for preaching the Reign of God is like a blazing fire already setting the world afire!
Jesus knows that discipleship comes at a cost! A cost that he wants his disciples to understand. He wants them to understand just what they may have to pay for their discipleship.

Putting our discipleship into action and standing against unjust political policies that hurt the immigrant, the poor or the marginalized may get us labeled unpatriotic. Questioning the ethics behind a particular practice at our work place may get us labeled difficult or insubordinate. Standing up to a bully at school on behalf of another may get us labeled all kinds of nasty things meant to shun us.

Standing up and demanding racial justice and calling for an end to all forms of bigotry, misogyny and an end to the intolerance and rejection of immigrants and refugees, standing with the chronically underemployed, with Muslims and people of other faiths and with the LGBTQ+ community…standing up for the rights of others may get us called unpatriotic but it is clearly living out the call of the Gospel, living out Jesus’ call to discipleship!

Answering God’s call to be prophets in the midst of a self-centered and angry world is a tall order, but God does not ask of us that which we cannot do!

Living our discipleship, following God’s call is no easier for us that it was for Jerimiah or for Paul. We need to remember that we do not run the race alone but that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and filled with the very presence of the Risen Christ…thus we are able to set the world ablaze by manifesting the Reign of God by what we say and do! What is the cost of my discipleship? How will I show forth my discipleship this week?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

August 7, 2022

8/5/2022

In the first two readings this weekend we are reminded that we walk by faith and not by sight -- Abraham and Sarah journeyed an unknown path to an unknown land following the invitation and promise of God to become the parents of a new people, who would become as countless as the sands on the seashore.

In the Gospel, once again Jesus encourages and admonishes the disciples to focus on the Reign of God and not to seek security in the things of this world... and to be ready when the “Master” returns because much will be demanded from the one to whom much has been given.

This weekend’s readings suggest our faith is based on a God who has so generously blessed us...and the future to which we are called is beyond our wildest dreams!

But we live, now, in a world that is filled with fear and insecurity where millions of people are made refugees. A world where the majority of all human beings go to bed hungry each night. We live in a world rife with corruption and the oppression of the poor. And yet, these are the very people who walk in faith, who continue to journey toward that “promised land” believing that God’s Word is more powerful than the cruel hand of any dictator or the sufferings caused by being poor and without power in a world that seems not to care.

How will they be led to “the promised land?” Who will feed them in their hunger? The Gospel answers these questions: we are the stewards of “the household” left in charge “to distribute the food allowance at the proper time.” NOW is the proper time!

We are the ones called to shelter the homeless, to welcome the stranger and to offer freedom to the oppressed!

We are called “to be” the Reign of God! It is our responsibility to reach out to all those in need and all who are suffering and lend a hand...to pull them up out of their poverty and suffering...to do as Jesus did!

And this will require, for many of us, that we shift our focus in life from “securing the things of this world” to “seeking the Reign of God first”.

Imagine for a moment what the world would look like if we all truly sought the Reign of God first...imagine...I think we wouldn’t be dealing with mass shootings and all the gun violence, nor would we have the humanitarian crisis that we do on our southern border!

We wouldn’t be living in a country torn apart by fearmongering, systemic racism, bigotry and misogyny. If we all made building up the Reign of God a priority our world would look very different!

In what ways do I seek the Reign of God first in my life? What might I have to change in my life to make “building up the Reign of God” a greater priority?

What are the greatest social sins that I see today that hold back “the Reign of God from bursting forth...and what can I do to change that social sin?

Let us talk about this as a faith community; let us have the difficult conversations about white privilege and racial equity-- let us be the conversation starters in the our community and in our local church!

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

July 31, 2022

7/29/2022

In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ parable asks us to consider our wealth and how we use it. It is a cautionary tale for sure. First Century Palestine was a “limited goods” society, which meant that they understood that there was a limited amount of goods to be had by all persons; so it was believed that when one person amassed great wealth it meant it was at the expense of someone else not having enough.

It was not a capitalist society of consumers in the same way as we are today. The parable is about a rich man who focuses his life on acquiring more and more for himself while ignoring the Reign of God and the needs of others.

That man in the parable has ignored what is important to God and not focused on the Reign of God, but focused only on himself and on acquiring more and more possessions.

The second reading also warns against greed and calls for us to focus on Christ and the Reign of God. Whereas the first reading cries out that all of life is suffering and empty, and is written through the eyes of someone who lives as if God didn’t matter and they were not cared for or loved by God, they had lost all hope!

But Jesus has called us to live with God at the center of our lives. And so the meaning in our lives is found in God and not in the possessions we accumulate.

Often we hear of people whose lives are burdensome under the weight of their possessions, as if they are “owned by what they own”. Our consumeristic society tells us that we need to consume; it tells us we need to buy more and more “stuff” and in and through having more “stuff” we will find happiness.

But we all know the truth—happiness is not found in “stuff” but rather through a loving relationship with God and loving one another as Jesus loves us.

Academic study after study has shown that the accumulation of wealth does not make people happier. On the other hand, it is glaringly clear that poverty causes great human suffering.

And this is ultimately Jesus’ point about the man in today’s Gospel—instead of thinking of God (who commanded that the poor be cared for), instead of thinking of his neighbors and those who labored in his fields, he thought only of himself and amassing great wealth for himself, that he might eat, drink and be merry. And ultimately it meant nothing as he did not live to use his wealth.

I think these readings call us to ask ourselves a few questions; do my possessions ever get in the way of my relationship with God or my relationships with others and my ability to care for the poor and those in need? How do I keep God at the center of my life each day, and throughout the day? What is the difference in my life between what I want and what I really need?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

July 22, 2022

7/22/2022

In today’s Gospel the disciples ask: Lord teach us how to pray. A simple request but what Jesus teaches is an amazing response! It surely amazed the disciples, to speak to God in such warm and familiar terms.

Think for a moment of reaching out to the Creator of the universe as the “perfect parent,” a loving Mommy or Daddy. It is both intimate and tender. This sets up a whole new world view. It affects how we interact with each other, it affects our stance towards the world, our stance towards life itself!

In place of a distant and impersonal deity, Jesus’ words call us into a relationship with the Creator as a loving and caring parent! That would mean then we are the beloved child!

So then this prayer not only speaks to God’s identity as loving parent but in a very real way proclaims us beloved children of our Abba God.

In this prayer we pronounce that the very name of God is holy, and then we cry out that “God’s way” should prevail both in heaven and on earth. So as we pray for this to be a reality then we are also called to work for it to be so, by the way we live our lives...building up the Reign of God.

As the prayer progresses, we next ask for the necessities of daily life...not for a super abundance, but for “our daily bread”. Just that which we need, not for riches and excess! This request has much to do with how we live on this earth. For instance, it has everything to do with our carbon footprint, with how we care for our common home.

Asking only for “our daily bread”, will then impact the needs of others, especially the poor and the marginalized. If we truly seek “only what is necessary for our lives” then our excess can be shared with those in need. I would argue that this reality is directly connected to the previous request that “God’s way should prevail both in heaven and on earth” -- surely sharing our excess with the poor is building up the Reign of God.

As the prayer moves along, next we ask to be forgiven as we forgive others. This is a very dangerous ask because it seems to be asking to limit God’s forgiveness to the same extent we forgive. Do we really want God’s forgiveness to be modeled on and limited to the manner and nature of our personal forgiveness of others? I am not so sure that is the case.

But I think there is a challenge here for us, to look at how we forgive others, a call to more freely forgive our sisters and brothers. Fortunately, God’s grace and forgiveness is limitless, always available, and just waiting for us to ask for it!

And finally we ask our loving Divine Parent to guide us and guard us as we journey through our day. In the midst of all the “violent words” we hear spoken each day, let us speak these words of intimacy, tenderness and forgiveness. Let us open our hearts to these words and allow them to transform us and our world into a place of peace and healing...into the Reign of God. Amen.

Blessings,
Fr. Tim

<<Previous