Just a Thought...or two...

May 22, 2022

5/21/2022

Pretty much everyone has felt lonely, abandoned by friends or loved ones at some point in their lives. Most of us have felt fearful; wondering how we will make it through rough times with our children or parents, siblings or friends. Or, for African Americans and people of color -- they worry if they and their loved ones will make it through the violence spawned by racism and white supremacy that plagues our country, and our world.

Or, like the residents of Buffalo NY, who have suffered such horrible personal loss, wondering, how will they carry on?

Or we may have suffered or be suffering a terrible illness and wonder if we will be able to make it through it.

Today’s Gospel tells us that in the very midst of our “lost- ness”...suffering...fear or sense of abandon that we are never truly alone, we are not abandoned, we are not orphans....for the Risen Christ remains with us.

When I was little I used to think that Christ was with me....but only when I was doing something good or only when I was in holy or sacred places.

Oh, how wrong I was! Jesus proclaims to the disciples that no matter what they “feel,” not matter where they go, he will be with them. And, even more -- the Holy Spirit will be given to them and find a resting place within them.

We are the inheritors of this same promise. We are never alone; never abandoned! Our God is with us always...even when we can’t feel that presence or sense it, God is with us. Even in the midst of our worst moments, our most selfish actions, even in the midst of our greatest sin...God is present and loving us through that dark moment -- whether I acknowledge or embrace that presence or not! The “Presence” is still there! And each moment is charged with the possibility of different outcomes, precisely because of that “Presence”. But, only if I am open and present to it!

When I embrace that presence of that Divinity that dwells within me, then new and different possibilities abound for my life. Embracing that Divine Presence within me and embracing it in “the other” is how I can work to overcome the sins of racism and white supremacy. When I acknowledge and embrace God’s very presence in “the other” then I will truly see them as “God bearers”, they themselves, dwellings of God!

This message of the “Divine indwelling” is a critical part of the core message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, along with Christ’s great command, to “love one another as I have loved you”. These truths leave NO space for racism and white supremacy! None!

Let us continue to hold in prayer the victims and families, friends and residents of Buffalo New York in the midst of their sorrow and grief. But also let us work to find meaningful ways to fight systemic racism and white supremacy in our nation and in the world around us.

How do I respond to being loved so deeply and passionately by God? How do I share God’s amazing love for each person, with others who are different from me? When was the last time I heard the Holy Spirit calling me to something...or away from something, what was or will my response be?

Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim

May 8, 2022

5/7/2022

The image of Jesus as the good shepherd is one of the oldest images in Christianity. I remember seeing it in the catacombs of Rome...painted on the walls of ancient caverns by a people from long ago. What is it about this image that has captivated the minds and hearts of Christians for centuries?

Surely for the post modern mostly urban culture of the West, this image may well seem a bit arcane and less accessible than it was to our ancestors. Jesus is depicted, through the use of this image, as a shepherd, who was, in that time and in that culture, a relatively unimportant and certainly not powerful figure.

The disciples and all those who followed Jesus around experienced Jesus as kind and gentle, like the “good” shepherd who watches over the sheep with great care and concern and even risks his/her own safety for the sake of the sheep.

This image of a kind and gentle god was somewhat unique, but then so was the idea of a god who would be willing to suffer and die for us.

I believe that this image of the Good Shepherd has endured precisely because of its radical departure of a more common image of a distant and disinterested and sometimes even vengeful god. One to whom you made sacrifices to appease his/her anger and rage for any possible slights or missteps against them you may have made, and thus survive for another day.

This image of “the good shepherd” tells us that our God loves us and cares for us and journeys with us as we travel through the valleys and hills of our lives. Our God, holds us in his hands!

But too, it may well speak to us of what we are called to be...in Christ’s image...”good shepherds” of the lost and vulnerable, the poor and the forsaken.

As disciples of Christ we are called to reach out to the poor, to reach out to the marginalized and the ones society dismisses or demeans.

And as we have just recently celebrated Earth Day, we recognize that truly “good shepherds” also recognize the importance of all of creation and our environment, for our sheep depend on a healthy ecosystem. So as “good shepherds” we are also called to care for creation, to be aware of how our lives impact the earth and the lives of others.

And so we ask ourselves: how am I being called to be a “good shepherd” in my family, in my school or place of work, in my community, in my nation, in the wider world? What am I willing to risk “as a good shepherd” for the sake of the flock... for the sake of creation...for building up of the Reign of God?

Easter Blessings,
Fr. Tim

May 1, 2022

4/30/2022

In the readings this Sunday, the spiritual dynamic seems to be three- fold: God draws near, sensing our own unworthiness, we protest; grace overcomes our weaknesses, failings, and fear, resulting in abundance far beyond our imagining...and our nets overflow with God’s love for us!

In today’s Gospel, I am sure Peter remembers well, the cock crowed three times, and the other disciples know well they had abandoned Jesus in his last hours. But each one eventually opens their heart and responds to God’s call.

I always have to smile at Peter’s response to Jesus revealing himself to the disciples, yet another time...“Let’s go fishing”....the truth is, the disciples, dazed and confused return to that which they knew best... fishing! However, even the one thing that they thought they knew how to do, doesn’t work anymore!

Everything has changed...and then there are these appearances of Jesus, raised from the dead! He appeared to them and breathed on them and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit, he gave them a mission and sent them out, just as he had been sent by God....and then they went fishing!

And so Jesus follows them and tries again to help them understand what their mission is and to what it is that he is sending them to do...he makes another attempt to guide them on their way.

Jesus tells Peter explicitly that he is to shepherd his flock...and for each time he denied he knew Jesus, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him.

And Peter eventually accepts this new role but with the knowledge that it will ultimately take him to a similar death as Jesus, who is asking Peter to take up “his” cross and follow him. The disciples are often presented as not fully understanding Jesus’ message and to what it is that Christ is calling them...but he is patient and calls them again and again...just as Christ calls us.

Over and over again, no matter how many times we find our nets empty and think all the fish are gone, Jesus comes to us and tells us to “try the other side”. Regardless of how many times we deny Jesus or refuse to throw our nets on the other side, Jesus is patient and will lovingly ask us again....with God there is always another chance! Where is God calling me to cast my nets? Imagine for a moment how they must have felt.

I think that we all know how Peter and the other fishermen felt. After a long and fruitless night they’re tired and disappointed...and they are confused about what has happened to Jesus, dawn arrives and the nets are empty. We’ve all invested time and energy into things that simply did not pan out; we’ve known failure in one guise or another.

In the midst of the daybreak of their disappointment, with empty nets in hand, Jesus called Peter to go back out there and lower their nets again. Disciples trust, even when their nets are empty, that there are fish out there to be caught. Jesus calls the disciples to action, to show their faith in him.

Even though Peter three times denied he knew Jesus, he was given the opportunity to three times proclaim his love for Jesus! We are called to measure our fruitfulness, not by individual success, but by our faithfulness to our call...our call to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Our trust remains not because of what we can do, but rather, in what God can do through us.

What is God calling me to in my life? When I hear God’s call how do I move from protest to grace? Am I willing to follow Jesus’ directive to “launch out into the deep”?

Fr. Tim

April 24, 2022

4/22/2022

Doubt is a perennial reality of the Christian life and in today’s Gospel we see that it has been so since the very beginning. My grandmother used to say that “a little doubt is good for the soul”.When I experience doubt, it means that I am really engaging in and wrestling with the Christian mystery.

I think that Thomas gets a bit of a bad rap because we forget that Thomas is one of the very first human beings to ever hear of the resurrection of Christ. Imagine what it must have been like for the disciples. They had pinned all of their hopes on this man Jesus and then they saw him executed by the Romans. All their hopes hung on that cross and seemed to die with him. Then, in the midst of their trembling and fear, Jesus appears to them and imparts to them “his peace” -- the peace of the Risen Christ!

And then he breaths on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift was to embolden them as he sent them out into the world to proclaim the Good News that death had been defeated, our sins were forgiven and even though our bodies die, we will live forever!

The peace of Christ is at the center of Christian life and of the Easter story. This peace is like no other peace. It is Christ’s peace. It is a transformative peace that flows forth from the Risen One...directly from God to us.

In this Easter season let us open our hearts and minds to the presence of the Holy Spirit who is calling us and emboldening us to proclaim the peace of Christ to all the world. And let us pray, may this “peace of the Risen Christ” settle upon Ukraine and all places of war and suffering.

Have I accepted Christ’s peace in my own life? How can I show forth Christ’s peace in my daily life...how can I share it with the world around me?

May the peace of the Risen One be with you always,
Fr. Tim

April 17, 2022

4/15/2022

On that first day of the week, while it was still dark... Mary went to the tomb only to discover it empty... then she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciples.

Mary ran off in a hurry to share what she had found; and in her sharing, the disciples began the journey that would eventually lead to an encounter with “The Christ”... “The Risen One”.

Though we know well the Easter story, do we ever fully grasp its meaning? The stone has been rolled away...the tomb is empty for the resurrected One cannot be contained!

Like the first believers, we so often must continue to live even with our dashed hopes, our suffering, and our misunderstanding of God’s mysterious power.

Like the first believers, we come to the tomb and expect to find death, but instead we find signs of a new life that we cannot even begin to comprehend.

Like the first believers, we do not realize that all of history has been broken open and is now filled with the life-giving presence of the Risen One!

This is the day the Lord has made...let us rejoice and be glad!!! Like the disciples, let us actively seek the risen One in our midst...in the ordinariness of our daily lives.

For as surely as Christ appeared to the disciples, Christ now appears to us in our lives -- even in the midst of death, sorrow and pain, Christ is present, and this is what heals us and helps us carry on!

Let us keep our eyes, ears and hearts open to the presence of the Risen One. Let us, like Mary, run forth to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all the world!

I pray you all,
the Risen Christ’s most abundant Easter Blessings.
Fr. Tim

...Christ is present,
and this is what heals us
and helps us carry on!

April 10, 2022

4/8/2022

Palm Sunday’s readings carry the sorrows and the weight of the world. The false accusations, denials, betrayals, injustice, and beatings Jesus faced are heartbreaking.

Today’s Eucharist begins with great joy with palm branches in hand, we sing victorious hymns to commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Like the crowds, we too welcome and rejoice in his reign. Similar to the disciples, we are also excited and filled with wonderful expectations.

However, when we listen to the passion of Jesus Christ, the mood of the crowds as well as that of the disciples changes swiftly. The crowds are fickle, cheering for Jesus one day and shouting “crucify him” the next day.

Even many of his closest friends and followers sheepishly denied their knowledge of and association with him, and in cowardly fashion, abandoned him out of fear for their own safety.

Jesus, on the other hand, is resolved to faithfully carry out his mission; the proclamation of the advent of the Reign of God and of God’s lavish love and forgiveness poured out for each one of us, and for the earth itself…”for God so loved the world”.

Through the suffering and death of Jesus we have been saved, forgiven our sins and guilt put as far from us “as the East is from the West”!

We may wonder at times if God really loves us…and just how much. Today we are reminded how much as Christ spread his arms wide upon the cross -- this is how much we are loved by God!

How do I live out my identity as the “beloved of God”? How can I share this message of God’s love and forgiveness with others?

To whom am I being called to open wide my arms to embrace them in the midst of their need? Who are being crucified today… the people of Ukraine, Ethiopia, Sudan and Afghanistan, the millions of refugees…people crucified because of the color of their skin, people crucified for their immigration status, for who they love, what language they speak, for what part of the world or country they were born in, for their age, their gender, their intellectual or physical abilities?

As I enter this Holy Week, whose burdens will I help to shoulder to the foot of cross as I journey with Jesus this week, and meditate upon the gift of love and forgiveness which he has so lavishly poured upon me, and upon all of humanity?

Lenten Blessings,
Fr Tim

April 1st, 2022

4/1/2022

I find it interesting that nine years ago on the fifth Sunday of Lent was the first Sunday of Pope Francis’ pontificate and in the first reading that Sunday, as today, the prophet Isaiah told us that God said “see I am doing something new!”

And on this Sunday, amid all of the disgrace and scandal within the church the Gospel tells us of a woman caught in the midst of adultery, (my question is, where is the man?) dragged through the streets, demeaned and “disgraced”...screamed at and taunted, knowing all the time that she was about to be stoned to death!

Undoubtedly she could feel the intense violent energy of the crowd that was gathering around her...how desperate she must have felt knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it.

And yet Jesus stopped it...drawing in the sand...some scholars say, writing out the sins of the very people who had condemned her and were about to stone her, supposedly all “in the name of God.”

Jesus told the religious leaders they had it wrong...ultimately challenging “their laws” that demanded such violence. There has been much written about this Gospel story, about it being a story of second chances...a story of new beginnings.

Some scholars argue about the final line of this Gospel, as most translations have Jesus saying “neither do I condemn you, be on your way and sin no more.” However scholars point out that some ancient Greek texts do not actually contain the Greek words that would be translated, “sin no more” but rather these ancient texts in question use an archery term meaning “to take better aim”.

It would seem then that Jesus encouraged the woman to be on her way and to take better aim with her life. Perhaps this is a moment in the church for “the Church” to “take better aim” as she moves forward into the future.

Perhaps, with the help of the Holy Spirit, this upcoming synod could be a moment of openness of truly listening to each other, a moment of new insights, through the power of the Holy Spirit making new, as we heard of in the first reading: “See, I am doing something new.”

Perhaps it was no coincidence that on the first Sunday of Pope Francis’ pontificate, the Gospel story was about a “woman”, demeaned and disgraced, about to be violently murdered...a Gospel story about the place and treatment of women in Jesus’ culture and society and Jesus’ refusal to participate in the systematic oppression, misogyny and violent treatment of women.

I believe that this Gospel story does in fact call us to question the place and status of women in the church and in the world! Perhaps there is a lesson here for all of us, especially men and in particular the clergy and religious leaders!

In today’s Gospel...just as Jesus challenged the “law” and the religious leaders...so too we are called to do the same!

We live, still, in a world where women are bought and sold...where they are leered at, but not listened to...where true lasting and substantive justice and equality remain denied to women and especially women of color. It was all on full display these past days in the Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

And while the official church has been vocal on civil and human rights abuses of women around the world she remains far too silent on the just and meaningful place and role of women within the church!

And so we should ask ourselves, especially, those of us who are men, how do I treat women in my life? What do I really think about the role of women in church and society? Do my views on women and their role and place in church and society truly reflect Gospel values? What would Jesus think about my views? And let us all try to take better aim with our lives...

Lenten Blessings,
Fr Tim

March 27, 2022

3/26/2022

Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them!!! What an accusation leveled against Jesus --tax collectors...they worked for the “oppressors,” they worked for Caesar and, as if it wasn't enough that they worked for “the Empire” on top of that, they cheated their own people by collecting more tax than was required by Caesar who was squeezing the very life blood out of their own people. Let’s be clear, the accusation was not wrong: the people Jesus was in fact welcoming and eating with were sinners. That was not a misrepresentation or a twisting of the facts.

This is the context of the story of the “Prodigal Son” or perhaps a better name, the story of the “Lavish Parent”. It is about the magnanimous and unrestrained nature of God’s forgiveness! And to be honest, it’s all a bit absurd! Who could seriously be convinced to forgive those who have abused them, cheated them and caused them more misery than anyone else could imagine?

But there it is! That is precisely what Jesus is suggesting! Jesus is claiming that -- no matter how great our sin, no matter how far we have strayed from goodness and kindness -- we are all redeemable, all forgivable and all loved by God! But, make no mistake about it, it is in no way giving us “a pass” on reprehensible and sinful behavior! It is really speaking of the possibility of transformation and redemption through the power of forgiveness! We've seen it in South Africa, we've seen it in Kosovo, and we've seen it in the lives of thousands of nameless victims who have chosen to forgive their perpetrators of unspeakable atrocities and crimes!

How is it possible to forgive those who have raped, murdered and destroyed the lives of innocent people?
Forgiveness does not in any way imply a lack of guilt...but rather it is about refusing to allow the perpetrator to continue to inflict pain and suffering upon those they have abused.

As long as our anger and rage control our emotions we are not free of our bondage to them!
The violent need to be brought to “justice” and to pay for their sins, but true justice is not revenge!

Forgiveness ultimately frees the victim from the clutches of the perpetrator. It in no way says, “it didn't happen”. It in no way says, “it didn't matter”. It in no ways says, “they are not guilty”.

So what does this all mean for us as disciples of Jesus Christ? Jesus was so kind and forgiving...but how are we to forgive those who are guilty of unspeakable sin? How do we forgive those who wound us and hurt us and the ones we love?

Jesus clearly states that it is “Godly” to forgive. But that in no way means that we do not stand up against violence! It does not mean that we fall silent in the face of violence nor turn our back on those seeking justice in the wake of violence...but we do not do it in a spirit of vengeance but rather in the spirit of true justice.

How do we forgive those who are guilty of violence, especially when it impacts us personally...when it is done in our name or in the name of our church, or in the name of our country? As you can see, it is not so easy...do we really believe in the transformative reality of forgiveness?

How can we contemplate forgiveness in the midst of this hideous war being waged against the people of Ukraine, as we see each evening on the news the unbelievable level of devastation of their lives, their land and forcing them into fleeing their country?

Let us continue to hold the people of Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers. Let us pray for a swift end to the war being waged by Russia against the people of Ukraine and pray that the U.S. and other countries of the world to increase their combined efforts and intercede to bring about a peaceful end to this war, and all wars being waged around the world.

As we reflect this week on the Gospel story of “The Prodigal Son”, we must remember that the forgiveness of which Jesus speaks of holds the power to transform the hearts and lives of both the victim and the perpetrator. God’s forgiveness is boundless and is freely lavished upon us because we are the beloved of God.

And so, this week let us reflect on...who am I called to forgive? What might I personally, and we as a nation, need to be forgiven for? How do we forgive and at the same time demand true justice?

Lenten Blessings,
Fr Tim

March 20, 2022

3/18/2022

As we careen towards the halfway point of our Lenten journey it is good to take a moment and step back, take a deep breath and ask...what are we looking for this Lent? To get closer to God? To clean up our act? To feel more religious? Or, just to lose a few pounds?

We have to be frank about our objective because we’re bound to find what we seek. The right answer might not be what we think it is. We don’t have to get closer to God. We can’t -- God’s right here! God dwells in us; temples of the Holy Spirit! Getting closer to God’s ‘will’ might be a better goal because that alignment is often very far off. It’s what most of us struggle with.

If we find ourselves thinking that Lent is not working -- that the enchantment of “feeling our religion” isn’t happening this year -- then maybe the answer is to practice a new consciousness. What if we all tried to spend one hour a day trying to be consciously aware of God in every person we met and every place we go. Keep searching with our eyes, our mind, our heart.

If we practice believing what we profess—that God is in our midst—then we are much more likely to awaken to the presence of the Divine! At the very least it will begin to change how we see and relate to other people as we practice seeing and believing the Divine presence within each one of them, regardless of how they may treat us! This is what Pope Francis is hoping will happen as we draw near to immigrants and refugees, to all those who are marginalized....that we will come to know them as sister and brother, as images of the Creator, as children of God.

In whom is it most difficult for me to see God? What deeper reality is God calling me to this Lent? To whom am I being called to “draw nearer”?

Let us continue to hold the people of Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers. Let us pray for a swift end to the war being raged by Russia against the people of Ukraine and for the U.S. and other countries of the world to increase their combined efforts and intercede to bring about a peaceful end to this war, and all the wars being waged around the world.

Fr. Tim

March 13, 2022

3/11/2022

This Sunday we hear Mark’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, Peter, James and John are themselves forever changed...”transfigured”, with a growing awareness of the true identity of Jesus! 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 challenge is to learn “to live out of these moments”, keeping these moments alive in our hearts and minds allowing them to continually transfigure us more and more into the image and likeness of God. Each one of us carries within us experiences of the tenderness, mercy and love of God. So often it is the chaos of our lives that “dim” the luminous moments of encounters with our God -- we forget we ever had them in the midst of the rush and busyness of our daily lives.

Not all of these “transfiguration” moments are happy or joyful. Some of them come in the midst of great sadness, even in the midst of tragedy and death. I have had such “transfiguration moments” with people as they were dying -- luminous in-breakings of Grace that transfigured the dying person’s last moments...and, me as well!

Surely these “transfiguration moments” are happening right now in the lives of our sisters and brothers of Ukraine as they fight for their lives and their freedom. These transfiguration moments are happening in the refugee camps as our Ukrainian sisters and brothers are being welcomed and even taken into peoples homes in the midst of their suffering, anguish and lossness.

These transfiguration moments exist all around us in encounters with the poor and the marginalized, with the immigrant and refugee, with the one whom we see as “other”, there is God, waiting, wanting us to reach out and take “the other’s” hand and be transfigured.

Lent is a wonderful opportunity to look for transfiguration moments as well as to step back and recall those moments of grace when the fullness of God burst into our lives...when we realized that we were not alone...that there was 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? What does that “God moment” call me to do, to be? Whose hand am I being called to reach out and grasp?

Pope Frances is quoted as saying, "Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. It is not merely a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery." And has asked us all to hold the people of Ukraine in prayer as part of our Lenten journey.

Fr. Tim

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