A few words from our old friend Amos…the prophet Amos was outraged and ashamed of how the poor and foreigners were being treated by the people of Israel. He condemned them for human trafficking and cruelty to the poor. He warned that God would punish them for their selfishness and obsession with becoming rich. 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 “wholeheartedly” 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” become “getting rich” and then begin to take over our thoughts and become the measure of the success of 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 to our “stuff” and our relationship to God and 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 marginalized and the immigrant and migrant? What would the prophet Amos and Jesus have to say to us today about the humanitarian crisis at our southern border today?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

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 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 and “the lost.” 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 the sinner and the tax collector… “the lost”. He is trying to tell them that God’s love, mercy and forgiveness is for everyone and 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 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…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 is to “live like the forgiven” …and 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 this humanitarian crisis at our southern border 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…just imagine! What would I need to let go of…or begin to do in order to better “live like the forgiven”? Who are “the lost” in my country, my neighborhood, my school, my family?...Who most need me to lavish love and forgiveness upon them?

Blessings,
Fr Tim

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 discipleship! 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 the old identity and to develop a new identity as disciples of Jesus Christ...as members of a new family. 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, 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 during this “Season of Creation” we have to examine our relationship with the earth as well!

How we live on the earth and how we “use” the earth, how we consume and what we consume. 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