This Sunday’s Gospel tells the story of the feeding of the five thousand. This is often considered a foreshadowing of the Eucharist and it gives us insight into what is expected of us when we gather around the Table of the Lord.

In our celebration of the Eucharist we are first nourished ourselves, then by the grace of the Eucharist, we are emboldened to go out into the world to feed others. To take the living presence of Christ out into the world and share it with all whom we encounter. We are called to go to those who hunger not only for real food but to those who hunger for racial justice and mercy as well…to go to those who hunger for peace and forgiveness, to those who hunger for affordable housing and just wages.

The “real presence” has the power to feed the hungers of the world but only if we are willing to share it with the world. We may often feel as though we do not have enough to share because the hunger is so overwhelming, but just as Jesus took the boy’s five loaves and two fishes and fed thousands, God will take our “lacking” and turn it into abundance, so that all may be fed.

The Eucharist fills us with the very presence of the Risen One and emboldens us to feed those who hunger for asylum and seek a better life in this country and for those who hunger for an end to racism and bigotry. And it empowers us to do this with love and compassion, so that in the midst of fearful and violent rhetoric we might become the voice of Christ calling all of us to open, honest and compassionate dialogue aimed at healing our divisions. So that we might come to see “the other” as sister and brother, as children of God graced with human dignity that needs to be respected and protected at all costs.

What are the “five loaves and two fishes” of my life that I can share with someone who hungers? Who is God calling me to feed today? What conversations am I being called to have with others who hold different views and how can I keep Christ at the center to keep the dialogue cordial and inviting?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

The Gospel of Mark presents a harried, hurried Jesus, constantly on the move from one location to the next. There are stories inside of stories, like the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage which takes place in the midst of another story about the raising of Jairus’ daughter -- these are often referred to as “Mark-en sandwiches”. Jesus is constantly on the move from village to village, preaching and healing and teaching, proclaiming the lavishness of God’s love and forgiveness for all peoples. Today in the midst of our hurry Jesus invites us to come away for a while and rest with Him, to bask in His deep and passionate love for us.

The disciples had been sent out by Jesus, two by two, to teach and heal and to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and now they have just returned...filled with the Gospel excitement, and Jesus invites them to come away with him for a while and rest.

Whenever I read this passage, I imagine that this time away was meant for the disciples to reflect on what they had experienced and to allow the meaning of it all to settle into their hearts. There are many references in all four of the Gospels that Jesus often went off to deserted places to pray. It seems that he was training the disciples to do the same. He knew firsthand the dynamism of the Good News and the energy it took to proclaim it.

And so, like the disciples, we too are invited to “come away with Him for a while and rest.” But this is no easy thing to do in the midst of “our harried and hurried lives”…just think of the 24 hour news cycle that bombards us and assails our sense of justice and Christian ethical behavior across the political and social spectrum of our society. So many of us stand amazed and appalled at the total lack of care and compassion of our fellow human beings being demonstrated not only by our elected officials but by ordinary citizens who feel emboldened to disrespect the human dignity of our sisters and brothers whom they look down upon and believe to not belong here or that someone has less value because of the color of their skin or their ethnicity and therefore do not deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

In the midst of all of this inhumanity and unchristian activity we are called to action but like Jesus called the disciples to take time “to come away for a while”. We need to come away and pray in order to keep ourselves centered in Christ. By making time in our day for prayer and meditation we can keep centered and not be overwhelmed by the vitriol and violence so as not to be paralyzed into non-action. On the contrary by remaining centered in Christ through our prayer and meditation we are energized and emboldened and moved to loving action, reaching out to the victims and to the perpetrators, to be a healing presence in the midst of a hurting and wounded world.

And so for me it raises questions; when was the last time I stepped out of the rush of my life to just sit and pray and meditate, “to come away with the Good Shepherd”? Did I gain any insights, did I feel refreshed afterwards? What do I need to change in my schedule, so I can spend more time resting with God?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

In last week’s Gospel we encountered Jesus being rejected by his hometown and the people he grew up with…perhaps out of jealousy or quite possibly because Jesus didn’t fit their image of a prophet or more accurately, he didn’t preach their understanding of the Kingdom of God!

This week we encounter Jesus sending out the twelve disciples for the first time. He sends them without even the barest of necessitates: no money, no bag, no change of clothes…just a walking stick and sandals! He orders them to stay at the first house that offers them hospitality so as they get to know the village and the people in it. They are not tempted to move from house to house seeking nicer lodgings or better food.

And Jesus lets them know that, like in Nazareth, they too may be rejected by the people to whom they go. And if they are rejected, they are simply to shake the dust of that house or that whole town from their sandals and move on.

It is quite an austere image of a missionary that the Gospel paints today. Could you imagine yourself setting out on a journey, leaving your home without money, without food, without a change of clothes?…not to mention leaving behind cell phones and tablets! Imagine heading out to other towns and villages, full of excitement and trepidation with only the story of Jesus to share.

Nothing else, just the story of Jesus! In his book, Christianity Rediscovered, Spiritan Fr. Vince Donovan recounts his, and other Spiritans’, missionary activity amongst the semi-nomadic Maasai people of East Africa. Fr. Vince tells wonderful stories of people hearing, for the first time, the story of Jesus and how amazed they were and the incredible discussions that would arise around these stories of Jesus’ words and actions. After they had come to believe in Jesus they would very often seek to join this community of believers.

I remember Fr. Vince once telling me the story of one boma -- that is the name of a gathering of Maasai huts, a village of Maasai people -- and at this one boma after about a year or so of evangelization they decided to all be Baptized.

Well, Fr. Vince had some misgivings about several of the young warriors whom he felt were not yet ready to be Baptized and so he shared this with the Chief. The Chief smiled and told Fr. Vince not to worry that the rest of community had enough faith for them! For the Chief, faith was something that the community shared in common! What might be lacking in one person was made up for by the community!

Fr. Vince also shared an amazing story of one boma whose people wanted to become missionaries themselves! They asked Fr. Vince to whom would he go next to share the “Good News of Jesus Christ”? And Fr. Vince pointed off to the distance and said that there was another boma a days or more walk from them. And the Chief said that there was also another boma in the opposite direction that needed to hear the story of Jesus. So they would send their best “storyteller” to share the story of Jesus the Christ!

And to the absolute shock of Fr. Vince the Chief called forward a young woman (in a completely patriarchal society) because she was the best storyteller and they believed the story was so important they had to send their very best! And so off this young Maasai woman set on her missionary journey with a baby strapped to her back! One of the first if not the first female Maasai missionaries!

But Fr. Vince also noted that sometimes people rejected the story of Jesus and then the Spiritans, like the earliest disciples, would head onto the next village…for the Gospel exists for the sake of being shared.

And through its sharing we come to know Jesus and live in him and he in us! And so the question arises…with whom do I share the story of Jesus? How do I live the Gospel in my daily life? Is there anyone to whom I feel called to share the story of Jesus’ boundless love for us?

Blessings, Fr. Tim

In today’s Gospel Jesus goes home and is not well received by his neighbors and boyhood friends, even though large crowds from other towns and villages followed him around and he was causing a great commotion throughout the region by his preaching and the miracles he worked.

In spite of the fact that his hometown people were “astonished” by his words…they did not believe in him… perhaps their familiarity with Jesus and his family blinded them to his awesome power…and their lack of faith prevented Jesus from working great miracles in their presence.

Aware of their lack of acceptance of him, Jesus acknowledged that a prophet is seldom if ever accepted in his/ her home town.

Perhaps it was jealousy or fear that kept Jesus’ neighbors and friends from accepting and acknowledging his power and true identity.

Often enough our own insecurities prevent us from rejoicing in the successes of our family and friends…how sad when we cannot rejoice in and raise up the prophets in our midst…perhaps because they challenge us to see things with new eyes…perhaps it is because they challenge us to change how we live our lives!

Being a true disciple of Jesus means that we are all called to live prophetic lives, witnessing to the Gospel through our words and actions…and we, like Jesus, will be rejected in some places by those who refuse the challenge of living a Gospel centered life.

But we need not worry for like God told Paul… “my Grace is sufficient for you”! So we know that God’s grace is indeed sufficient for us to stand up to the powers that be and demand racial justice for all of our sisters and brothers of color, NOW! Let us fight against racist and bigoted actions and words wherever and whenever we see them or hear about them.

Our discipleship calls us to be the prophetic voices in the midst of this appalling manmade humanitarian crisis at the border! Let us continue to speak out and to act to bring about a humane and just immigration policy and an end to all the detentions and the turning away of lawful asylum seekers. Let us welcome the stranger among us as the sisters and brothers they are.

Knowing God’s grace is sufficient for us, let us all work for a more peaceful and just society through all we say and do!

Blessings,
Fr. Tim