Amazed by Grace

January 4 - Tuesday after Epiphany or January

1 John 4:7-10 / Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8 / Mark 6:34-44

Amazed by Grace

What amazes me most about this miraculous feeding is not that we begin with five loaves and two fish and satisfy a crowd of 5000 men plus who knows how many women and children. What amazes me most is that there are twelve baskets of leftovers. In other words, they did not merely have enough. They were satisfied. The reading doesn’t say that they managed to throw a meal together by making do with what they had. The passage indicates there was an excess of supply – more at the end than what they started with. 

I assume his disciples were as amazed at this as I am.

·        When has Jesus Christ amazed you?

Geography and Prophecy

January 3 - Monday after Epiphany

1 John 3:22-4:6 / Psalm 2:7bc-8, 10-12a / Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Geography and Prophecy

There is a lot of geography in today’s gospel passage: Galilee, Nazareth, Capernaum, Zebulun and Naphtali, Syria, the Decapolis (the Ten Cities), Jerusalem, Judea, the Jordan. Ten places if we go by names (or perhaps as many as 19 if we count each of the ten cities separately). Jesus was on the move constantly it seems. 

Readers like me who are geographically challenged might want to simply skip over the place names and dive into the content. But these place names help to anchor the gospel in a real time and a specific space. Jesus did not benefit from a satellite feed, internet connection or a broadcast tower to spread his message. He met real people in real places.

People on pilgrimage to the Holy Land consider it a grace to stand in those places, even if they are 15 feet above the level of the streets in Jesus’ day. In our own lives there are places that mark moments of deep conversion, realization and key experiences for us. So it was for Matthew and his community as they remembered not just the who, what, when, why and how of Jesus’ life and ministry, but also the where.

·         Take a moment to recall a place you have grown spiritually, where you met Jesus. What does this place mean for you?

The Gifts

The Epiphany of Our Lord

Isaiah 60:1-6 / Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 / Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 / Matthew 2:1-12

The Gifts

I have heard reflections on the Epiphany that point us to see ourselves as the modern day magi, telling us, “The wise still seek him.”  I have heard reflections encouraging us to be like the star that pointed the wise men to Jesus that they might come and worship him; for our contemporaries we are to be the light that leads them to Christ. But I have never heard a reflection encouraging us to identify with the gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. I’d like to suggest we do just that.

If we see ourselves as gold offered to Jesus, the gift for a king, then we can reflect not only on Jesus as our king, but that as baptized believers we are a kingly people, sharing Christ’s authority over creation, and we can extend his sovereignty over all the world by our obedience to his word. Or perhaps we could think of each disciple, including ourselves, as crowns of gold Jesus has won and wears with great joy.

If we see ourselves as frankincense, the gift that reflects his holiness, we can remember that we are called to live holy lives. Every one of us is called to live a life of sanctity, a few of us by leaving the everyday world, most of us by entering it and sanctifying it as he has sanctified us. Alternatively, we could see ourselves as the incense in the thurible, which is used to honor the sacredness of certain symbols of Christ in our liturgies. By our life we could call attention to the Jesus, the Bread of Life who sustains us, or to the Word of God which ought to shed light on the meaning of our everyday life, or even the assembly of the faithful which is his Body, and help us to find him present in every moment of our lives. Or perhaps the incense can represent us coming before God in prayer of praise, thanksgiving and intercession, as incense rises toward the heavens from our sanctuaries.

If we see ourselves as the myrrh, we might want to dig deeper than simply seeing ourselves as helping in the burial and embalming processes for Jesus. Myrrh can also have medicinal properties and be used to salve wounds. Yet as a symbol of suffering it can remind us that we are called to suffer in solidarity with Christ, our priest, and with those who are most vulnerable. Myrrh can represent our own self-mortification through fasting and other sacrifices, or our efforts at self-discipline and the development of the virtues in our lives. Myrrh can also be burnt as incense, and is said to be sweet-smelling; in this form it can act as a repellant to vultures and insects – just as our self-discipline can preserve us from much folly.

·         Pick a gift – gold, frankincense, or myrrh – that you would like to represent you. Reflect on the qualities of this gift and how they are reflected in your life.

·         If you were to journey with the magi and bring a fourth gift to Christ, what would it be? Why have you picked this gift to represent you, and to honor Christ?

Remembering the Blessing and Consecrating the Year to Come

January 1 - Octave of Christmas – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

Numbers 6:22-27 / Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 / Galatians 4:4-7 / Luke 2:16-21

Remembering the Blessings and Consecrating the Year to Come

It is very likely that you have encountered images and stories of the key moments of the past year in recent weeks. Retrospectives are common at this time of year recalling the triumphs, tragedies, trends and turning points of life over the past 365 days.

This is a time of year I think Mary would feel comfortable. The Gospel of Luke tells us, “Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.” Perhaps these are the days to take stock of our own personal images and stories from the year gone by; pictures and videos of birthday parties and weddings, the new addition to the family on the Christmas post card; pictures of vacations and special events. Scrapbooks and photo albums are ways for us to remember the good times we have come through, or even how we have been able to weather the tough times.

The people of Israel knew tough times. The Book of Numbers recounts their situation en route to the Promised Land. Out in the desert there were many hard times, and the Lord used these to teach them his ways. The blessing in our reading today can help us to reflect:

            The Lord bless you and keep you!

            The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!

            The Lord look upon you kindly and give you his peace!

The key line is the middle one, for no one is worthy to see the face of God and live. Yet the blessing invokes that experience. Out in the desert, the Israelites, still far from the Promised Land, were told they would see the face of God.

Whether our year has been a desert journey, or a stay in the Promised Land, it might be good today to count our blessings, to look back over the year and see what moments were grace for us. What trials turned into blessings? What good things filled our lives with joy? Take a few moments to consider what events, people and places you would preserve in your scrap book for this “Anno Domini.” When in this Year of Our Lord have you seen a glimpse of the face of God?

• List five to ten key moments in the past year of your life. Which three were most important for you? Why? Which ones tested your faith, and or helped you grow in it?
• Take a moment to pray the blessing from today’s first reading. What does each line mean to you? How do you connect this blessing to the year gone by, and the year to come?
• Consider what you might face in the year to come. Pray to God consecrating the year ahead to him that he may “Look upon you kindly and give you his peace.”

Glorious Flesh

Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas – December 31

1 John 2:12-17 / Psalm 96:1-2, 11-12, 13 / John 1:1-18

                                                                             

Glorious Flesh

John the evangelist has a unique way of telling the Christmas story. He tells us about the Word become flesh. Flesh is a big deal for John. In the Chapter 6 of his Gospel Jesus says, “Unless you eat of my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you.” John’s Gospel responds in part to the heresy of Gnosticism, which said what is fleshly is neither real nor good. What is spiritual is real and good.

Gnosticism is a possible trap for anyone who takes spirituality seriously. We have been taught that the road to holiness is to subdue the flesh, to master the body, to control our carnal desires. Spirituality, for some, can seem like liberation from the body with its limitations and pains. Hands and feet get dirty. We sometimes overeat or under-sleep. We need to exercise. The body breaks down as we grow older.

But to reject the body, is to reject the Savior. While some would say our problem is in the body and the solution is in the spirit, John’s message is just the opposite: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  For John, the flesh is glorious: “and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.”

There is a temptation in the spiritual life to reject the material world and prefer the spiritual world, a temptation to reject earth and embrace heaven. But that is not the path of the Son of God. He embraced the earth, and embraced the human body with all its limitations.

The early Church Fathers insisted “In caro cardo salus;” “On the flesh hinges salvation.” The solution to our temptation to spiritualize our problems is to meditate on the incarnation, the enfleshment of love — the enduring love that came through Jesus Christ, the Word embodied.

Perhaps if we are going to make a New Year’s resolution related to spirituality, it should be to take the body seriously: to pray not just with the mind and heart and soul, but also with the body; to be more aware of the body, our aches and pains, our exhilaration and energy.

The Word longs to become flesh again in you and me. Come let us adore him - in the flesh!

·        In what practical ways can you become more reverent toward your body? Speak to Jesus as the Word made flesh as you pray with this question.

Woman, Elder, Widow - Prophetess

December 30 – Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

1 John 2:12-17 / Psalm 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10 / Luke 2:36-40

Woman, Elder, Widow – Prophetess

Anna has three things working against her, three things that Christ and his Church turn around to her blessing. First, she was elderly, and presumably coming to the end of her hope to see the promised Messiah. Second, as a widow for most of her life she would have been dependent on family for the basics in life. Third, she was a woman in a man’s world. These three characteristics are turned around and become good news for Anna.

First, as an elderly person Anna represents the long-standing hope of Israel for the promised Messiah. Here her age, representing her long wait, might at first evoke the frustration of waiting, but Luke uses Anna’s age as a symbol of the wisdom of waiting, and so she is an example of the Christian virtues of hope and patience.

Second, as a widow, Anna in her society would likely have been either pitied or exploited but not empowered. The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures use widowhood to represent desolation and abandonment. In the Church the care of widows was important and they were given a special place in the community. Widows in turn devoted themselves to prayer. Anna embodies this ideal for Christians.

Third, as a woman of her time, Anna did not have a public voice, but women are featured in Luke’s gospel as faithful disciples having a proper place. Here Anna is placed alongside Simeon (whose canticle was featured yesterday). Much like the shepherds Luke tells us about earlier in the second chapter, Anna responds to Jesus by telling everyone about him, and so Luke calls Anna a prophetess. Only two other times in the New Testament are specific people mentioned as prophets – all of these occurrences are in Luke or Acts. In this passage Anna fulfills the two classic functions of a prophet: she speaks to God on behalf of the people to direct his care to them; and she is speaks to the people on behalf of God, to direct their lives to him.

Anna, the elderly widow, the woman, the prophet, spoke about Jesus to everyone she knew. From her humble position in society she was able to recognize and faithfully proclaim the most important message ever: our hope is realized; the Messiah is here!

• Who among your elders has helped you to live your faith more vibrantly and helped you to recognize Christ more clearly? Is there a woman who has been a light of faith to you? Pray to God in thanksgiving for these people.
• In your life what burdens have been turned into blessings?

The Basics

December 29 - Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas

1 John 2:3-11 / Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6 / Luke2:22-35

The Basics

1 John informs us that we must live justly if we are to live with God. John’s message echoes what some scholars call the best summary of the message of the Law and the Prophets: “You have been told, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). John’s message is this: if you want to know God, keep his commandments. If you want to know Jesus, live as he lived.

·        What do you find challenging in Micah’s saying?

·        What do you find challenging in the passage from John?

·        How would you summarize what it means to keep the covenant or to follow Jesus?