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Faith, Generosity, and the Lessons of Sacrifice

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, Social Justice, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for November 10th:

  1. 1 Kings 17:10–16
  2. Psalm 146:7, 8–9, 9–10
  3. Hebrews 9:24–28
  4. Mark 12:38–44

What this week’s readings say to me:

This week’s readings call us to:

  • Have hope, and be unafraid.
  • Share what you have.
  • Trust that when you give to God or give to others in God’s name, God will give back far more. You will receive more than what you gave.
  • Do your part, and when you do, give your best.
  • Be welcoming.
  • Be introspective.
  • Broaden your vision, and look beneath the surface of what’s around you.
  • Follow those who follow strive to live the practices described above.
  • Remember that only Christ — God incarnate — can live them perfectly.
  • Remember that Christ can help us do the same on the other side of death.

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

When I think of the messages from this week’s readings and the ways I just presented them, they seem wise. These messages read as reasonable lessons to live by.

But this week’s readings include uncomfortable, even disturbing details. I find myself wrestling with God about these details and the message their inclusion sends.

In the first reading, I notice Elijah asks a woman for the last bit of food she has. She doesn’t seem to be able to get the raw materials to make more meals once these materials are gone. She figures that she and her son will die once they’ve eaten all they have left.

Now I understand that the lesson is that they can give all they have left to Elijah. God will see their generosity and faith and will respond to it by providing for them. The same goes for the woman in the gospel passage who puts all the money she has into the treasury.

Maybe another teaching of these readings is that God is generous, even when people are less so. God is generous even when people forget God.

Maybe a third teaching is not to give for appearances’ sake only. Serve causes that are just by doing more than what is comfortable or convenient.

But I hesitate to suggest that God wants people to leave themselves none of the necessities for life. I do more than hesitate when I read the first reading and the gospel passage. If I’m honest, the examples these two readings set make me angry. These readings present a God who asks everything of God’s people.

And I suppose God does, giving everything back that the people can imagine and more. Christ did die for us. He died so that I, you, and whoever the ubiquitous “they” are could live forever with Him.

I don’t feel the need to pretend. Giving everything to God and in God’s name is a big ask. I can imagine the widows in both the Old Testament passage and Gospel passages experiencing anger before they gave. If not anger, they might have felt anxiety and doubt. They might have questioned whether they were acting with wisdom. As I imagine them wrestling with these emotions and then acting in spite of them, I’m reminded of a famous quote:

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

I think a modified version is true as well. Faith is not the absence of doubt or fear but acting in spite of the doubt and fear.

I think it’s valuable not to rush past the parts of these passages that trigger uncomfortable feelings. I believe it’s important to reflect on the “giv[ing] until it hurts.” It can be helpful not to skip to the parts in the passages that describe God giving in return. This can be helpful because we can’t fast-forward past the challenges in our own lives. But we can acknowledge them for what they are. And we can trust that God is with us as we navigate them.

Outside of these passages, we don’t know what the giving back is going to look like. Who will give us what we need? We don’t know what we’re going to go through before we receive or when the receiving is going to come.

I take comfort that most faith communities wouldn’t expect members to give until they had literally nothing left. Some ask this only when the members must choose between loyalty to a faith community and loyalty to another community. I’m not going to pretend like I’m comfortable with faith communities asking their members to make this choice. I’m also not going to pretend I’m comfortable with God asking people to make this choice.

I believe in a God who is personal and is the source of everything, including who each of us is. How can I betray the source of who I am, who each of us is?

Here’s a glimpse behind the curtain of this blog in case I haven’t made something clear before. I write most posts over the course of a week. After writing the previous paragraph, I went on about my day. Then, I remembered a verse. It says Jesus came so we could “have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). After he remembered this verse, I remembered how the passage from Hebrews 4 November 10th ends. It says:

Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

Hebrews 9:28

Calling to mind these verses remind me that God doesn’t want suffering. God desires to save. It’s injustice that creates suffering, and sometimes standing against injustice means a person acting with justice suffers. Jen Frazer, OSB reflects on this perspective.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

In the end what meaning should we take away from these readings? It is the very generosity of our two widows (in the first reading and in the Gospel) that highlights their social oppression. Even if the sacrifice is unjust, God who knows our hearts honors that sacrifice as the act of love that it is. God is on the side of the oppressed because they are in need of God’s protection.

Jen Frazer, OSB, in her reflection on the Mass readings for November 10th

This week’s prayer:

May I give for no other reasons than for love of God and neighbor. Help me to trust in Your presence wherever there is also injustice. Help me to experience that all things work “for good of those who love God” (Rom. 8:28). Amen.

Work cited (but Not Linked to)

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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The Importance of Persistence in Faith and Prayer

Posted in Disability, Ordinary Time, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for October 27th:

  1. Jeremiah 31:7–9
  2. Psalm 126:1–2, 2–3, 4–5, 6
  3. Hebrews 5:1–6
  4. Mark 10:46–52

What this week’s readings say to me:

This week’s readings are a reminder that we need a Savior and that we have one. In the first passage, the Lord unites the scattered tribes of Israel and leads them out of captivity and mourning. The psalm praises God for this liberation, this cause for joy. It expresses faith that God’s providence and never ceases. Working for the Lord, though often difficult, will bear good fruit. The epistle identifies Christ as the Savior whose liberating power, mercy, and providence are never-ending. The Gospel passage is a reminder. God wants us to be equally unrelenting. We should continuously ask for Divine liberation, mercy, and providence.

God wants us to participate in these gifts because participation, not passivity, allows for spiritual growth and relationships. So do the following:

  • recognizing that God is in our midst. This presence is reflected in so many ways and is recognizable to each of us in unique ways
  • recognizing the desire within us for God
  • continuing to call out to God despite fear, doubt, and other resistance from within and resistance from without.
  • trusting that God responds when we persevere in faith

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

I wish I were as persistent as the blind man in the Gospel passage. I also wish God’s responses to my prayers were as direct and as Jesus’ response is in the Gospel passage. I also wish God’s responses addressed my desires as clearly as Jesus does the blind man’s desire in the Gospel passage. Maybe part of the problem is my ability (or lack thereof) to perceive the response. Likely another factor is my inability to understand how my desires and God’s responses to them fit into God’s vision.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

In a reflection on this week’s gospel passage, Courtney Esteves explores the implications of the question, “What do you want?” She invites us to think about what it tells us about Jesus. It also reveals something about ourselves. Additionally, it informs us about others whom we ask the question. She encourages us to be open to various responses to that question. These responses offer insight we see them as significant or insignificant.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help me to be persistent in turning to You to satisfy my desires. Help me to perceive Your responses and to recognize in them Your wisdom and love. Amen.

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Reflections on Divine Understanding and Surrender

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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This week’s readings:

  1. Isaiah 53:10–11
  2. Psalm 33:4–5, 18–19, 20, 22
  3. Hebrews 4:14–16
  4. Mark 10:35–45

What this week’s readings say to me:

The theme I’m getting from this week’s readings is that God understands us. However, we don’t understand God, at least not fully.

The first reading is a reminder to me that Christ experienced the frailty that is inherent to the human condition. In the crucifixion, He also endured suffering that comparatively few have experienced. But His suffering isn’t in vain. His entry into death defeats death by because He’s life in the flesh. Because of this, he conquers his death and ours. This defeat of our deaths occurs when we surrender to Christ whatever comes between us and life.

The passage reminds me that Christ offered his life to God and to us as a healing balm for the effects of sin. I can do the same. I can offer my life and what I value for the same purpose.

The psalm reminds me that God is “trustworthy” (Psalm 33:4). The gifts that come from God’s goodness are everywhere. It also promises that the more I’m open to God’s presence and guidance, the more I’ll experience it. As I experience it more, I’ll become more open to it. This openness will continue regardless of the circumstances I find myself in. It reminds me to seek faith and to ask God for help in recognizing God’s care.

The epistle reminds me that God understands my weaknesses and is waiting for me to turn to Him so that I don’t mistake those weaknesses for sources of freedom. He recognizes that I need his help not to confuse those weaknesses for him, in other words.

The Gospel passage reminds me that while I want to experience Christ’s presence, I tend not prepared to do what it takes to experience that presence. I’m prone to confusing being in God’s presence with bowing to the imposter god of human pride.

The gospel passage shows the sons of Zebedee having the same tendency. This tendency means they don’t understand what their wants and needs will ask of them and of God. They understand that abiding in God with Christ will satisfy those wants and needs. But they don’t understand that abiding in God with Christ requires surrender more than attainment. And surrender is often uncomfortable to the human ego. Surrender often feels impossible.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Rebecca Malone discusses two different understandings of glory. She explores how these understandings provide insight into this week’s readings.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, thank You for meeting me where I am. Help me meet You where You are. Amen.

Work cited

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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Sacred Readings and a Dictionary Bring Wisdom to Life

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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This week’s readings:

  1. Wisdom 7:7–11
  2. Psalm 90:12–13, 14–15, 16–17
  3. Hebrews 4:12–13
  4. Mark 10:17–30

What this week’s readings say to me:

The first reading shares characteristics with a love poem. Someone prays for a beloved one to come into his life. The prayer is answered. The one praying chooses the beloved over power. The beloved is more valuable to the one praying than jewels are. Compared to the beloved, gold might as well be dust, and silver is no better than mud. The beloved is more important to the one praying than health or physical attractiveness. Unlike the sun, the beloved’s brilliance never fades. The narrator chooses the beloved over all the visible things I mentioned before. However, the beloved brings all of the above with her.

Who is the beloved? Prudence, the passage says. This quality is personified as a woman in this week’s Old Testament passage. Merriam-Webster.com defines the quality as follows:

  1.  the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason
  2. sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs
  3. skill and good judgment in the use of resources
  4. caution or circumspection as to danger or risk

Breaking down this definition even further offers insight. Sagacity is the state of being sagacious. Miriam-Webster online defines sagacious as:

  1. of keen and farsighted penetration and judgment: discerning
  2. : caused by or indicating acute discernment

The same dictionary defines discernment as “the quality of being able to comprehend what is obscure”. It defines “obscure” as “dark, dim,” or “not readily understood or clearly expressed.”

One of the ways it defines “shrewd” is “given to wily and artful ways of dealing” and “wily” as “crafty.”

So to have wisdom in decision-making is not to rush the process. Wisdom slices through superficial concerns that cloud the process. To be open to wisdom is to be open to giving love, even though this Divine Love is difficult to understand and practice. Nonetheless, God loves wisdom, and wisdom loves God.

God sees the potential in each of us to be open to wisdom and love. God loves us for that potential. God loves us, too, in the midst of our struggle to be open to that potential.

The psalm prays for wisdom. It then offers a vision of what being open to that wisdom looks and feels like. Sometimes the experience of being open to wisdom isn’t easy. But the narrator suggests that a difficult experience is preferable if it helps him grow. He prefers it over having a pleasant experience that doesn’t contribute to growth.

The epistle uses sharp language to describe just how discerning God’s wisdom is. A paraphrase of it might be God’s wisdom is deeper and wider than any x-ray vision a person could imagine. Each of us will one day see ourselves and our actions the way God sees them.

The Gospel passage says that receiving the wisdom of God means more than just following the letter of God’s wisdom. It means letting go of whatever tries to stand in the way of that wisdom’s active spirit. The passage acknowledges that we need help to let go. It also promises that when we remove obstacles to the spirit’s movement, wisdom operates more freely within us. We will receive more than we let go of.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

This week’s readings inspire Donna Orsuto to pray and to issue a challenge.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help me to remember that authentic wisdom comes with humility and without superficiality. Help me to take an honest look at my priorities. Enable me to make well-reasoned decisions. Let wisdom guide me. Amen.

Work cited (but not linked to):

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. ” 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time — 13 Oct. 2024: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.193, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 23 Sept. 2024, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm.

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Considering the Spirit’s Action in Our Lives

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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A note before I dive in:

Yes, this post responds to more readings than my posts usually do. I won’t have much time for the blog in the next couple of weeks. That’s the reason for this change. So I’m going to handle this reality by reflecting on two weeks’ passages in one post. What will it be like to look at two weeks’ worth of passages in one week? Let’s see.

Readings for September 29 and October 6:

  1. Numbers 11:25–29
  2. Psalm 19:8, 10, 12–13, 14
  3. James 5:1–6
  4. Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48
  1. Genesis 2:18–24
  2. Psalm 128:1–2, 3, 4–5, 6
  3. Hebrews 2:9–11
  4. Mark 10:2–16

What this post’s readings say to me:

The action of the Spirit defies human categories and divisions. It brings us breath and clarity of vision that we don’t have without it. It makes us brothers and sisters of Christ who can speak and act as He does. It allows us to recognize one another as children of God. It allows us to recognize that we all need one another’s gifts. It allows us to recognize that we need the gifts of nature, and the grace of God’s love and mercy. The movement of the Spirit unites us to God and to one another. At the same time, it gives different gifts to each of us.

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

I’m saying to the readings, “I feel left out of your message. It’s not obvious how to find a way to apply your message to my life.” The readings for October 6th have a lot to say about marriage. I’ve never been married, so it doesn’t seem helpful for me to reflect on what the passages say about marriage. I encourage reading the passages for both weeks and reflecting on what they say to you and about marriage.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

  1. Click here to read what Veronique Dorsey says about the readings for September 29th.
  2. Click here to read Mary M. Doyle Roche has to say about the readings for October 6th.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help us to honor the commitments that are not harmful to us. Help us to be loyal and compassionate in the relationships that are not harmful to us and those around us. Help us to celebrate each other’s differences and to remember that unity and equality don’t mean sameness. Grant us the grace to care for the resources around us and to use them wisely. Thank you for your providence, Lord, and for making us for relationship and communion. Amen.

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Passages Provide Multiple Perspectives on the Passion(s)

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

This week’s readings:

  1. Wisdom 2:12, 17–20
  2. Psalm 54:3–4, 5, 6–8
  3. James 3:16—4:3
  4. Mark 9:30–37

What this week’s readings say to me:

The first thing this week’s readings say to me is something I heard in the homily last week: (I paraphrase here, even though I’m putting the following in quotation marks): “Read all Scripture in light of Christ.” If I apply this instruction, Jesus Christ is “the just one” and “the wicked” are those who crucified Him (The New American Bible, Wisd. 2:12) It also characterizes “the wicked” as:

  • finding it extremely distasteful when someone else takes a stand against the self-serving things they do and voices opposition to these activities, holding them accountable and wanting their actions to reflect the good they’ve been taught to do
  • trying to trap the person who does justice, make that person look untrustworthy and to stop others from doing what he does and says
  • taking the name of God in vain, in a way, by talking about God as if their faith in God excused them from acting with justice themselves
  • Plotting to break the resolve of just one through violence and then justifying their actions by saying that God would spare him from this violence if, in fact, God were on his side.

The psalm is written from the perspective of a person of faith who strives to act with justice. It acknowledges the power of God — even the power of God’s name. It calls out to that power for help. The speaker is frank with God about the suffering he’s experiencing. But after talking to God about his suffering, he reminds himself that God “is [his] helper, by resolving to give of himself to God and to just causes, and to recall God’s faithfulness even in the midst of circumstances that tempt him to doubt.

The epistle gives answers as to what leads to the “wicked” behavior described in the first reading: “jealousy and selfish ambition” (Wisd. 2:12; Jas. 3:16).

Behavior that’s inspired by wisdom from above, on the other hand, is “first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace” (Jas. 3:17).

Conflicts great and small come from “passions” — selfish desires, the passage says (Jas. 4:1). The footnote on James 4:1-3 in The New American Bible Revised Edition says:

Passions: the Greek word here (literally, “pleasures”) does not indicate that pleasure is evil. Rather, as the text points out (Jas 4:2–3), it is the manner in which one deals with needs and desires that determines good or bad. The motivation for any action can be wrong, especially if one does not pray properly but seeks only selfish enjoyment.

In the Gospel passage, I see the apostles struggling with letting their “passions” get the better of them (Jas. 4:1). When Jesus tells them he “is to be handed over to man and they will kill him” (Mark 9:31). I imagine the apostles’ primary response to have been fear. Maybe doubt and discouragement joined the fear.

Maybe their desire to counteract these uncomfortable feelings tempts them to be jealous and selfishly ambitious. The passage tells us that after Jesus warns them that he won’t resist the violence of his opponents, and this lack of resistance will lead to his suffering and death, they discuss “among themselves…who is the greatest” (Mark 9:34). Jesus tells them that the one who is “the greatest” is the one who doesn’t wish or strive to be and instead serves everyone else, especially those who are humblest and most vulnerable.

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

I’ve heard or read most of the passages often enough that I accept their teachings as truth, even though my desires don’t always counteract what the first reading describes as “wicked[ness] (New American Bible, Wisd. 2:12). The first reading feels less familiar. It also uses the sharpest language. Maybe that’s why I reacted most strongly to it.

The passage prompts me to ask myself when someone rubs me the wrong way, why is that? Is he or she mirroring my flaws, and some part of me knows that? Sometimes that’s what’s going on.

Am I tempted to highlight or to bring out someone else’s flaws to avoid confronting my own flaws and to make me feel better about myself? Too often.

How often do I think of prayer as a substitute for doing something to solve a problem rather than as a way of discerning how I can take part in solutions? Sometimes – because I like comfort. I get extremely anxious about the cost of taking stands. At other times, the problems just seem too big, and I can’t see how to break them into small parts, to take part in the small steps.

Are my decisions based on wanting to be a minister of justice? What does being a minister of justice means to me? It means being fair and merciful, seeking to take part in righting wrongs. As I’ve written on this blog before, the quest to right wrongs must be about more than punishing the person who makes poor choices and harms others.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

While often translated as “betray,” the meaning of “to be handed over” [in the Gospel passage] can be understood—as one scripture scholar notes—“as the idea of God’s plan unfolding.”

Carolyn A. Wright in her reflection on the readings for September 22nd.

Ms. Wright explores what the way we translate that phrase means for our understanding of God and the roles in bringing about God’s vision.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, You know I’m neither totally wicked nor perfectly just. Thank You for allowing me and everyone around me to bear Your image. Grant us the grace to become better and better servant-leaders. Thank You for the servant-leaders among us, of which You are the foremost. Amen.

Works cited:

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. ” 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time — 22 Sept. 2024: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.192, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 30 July 2024, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm.

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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God Throws Us Life Preservers

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for September 15th:

  1. Isaiah 50:4c–9a
  2. Psalm 116:1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 8–9
  3. James 2:14–18
  4. Mark 8:27–35

What this week’s readings say to me:

The first reading presents someone who trusts receives God’s guidance and doesn’t rebel against it. He goes where God’s Spirit prompts him to go, and he hasn’t “turned back” (New American Bible Isa. 50:5). He hasn’t “turned back” even though he’s treated the way Christ will be treated during his passion (New American Bible Isa. 50:5). He never wavers from the path God leads him on despite his being treated this way. Why? Because, as a newer translation of the same addition of the Bible says, “He who declares my innocence is near” (New American Bible Revised Edition, Isa. 50:8). So in this passage, God is the best defense attorney. God knows God’s own law better than the people who are wrongly accusing and abusing Isaiah. The case of the accusers has no foundation.

In the psalm, the narrator explains why he loves the Lord. He says he loves the Lord because the Lord has heard his cries for help. He was in danger of death. His spirit was threatened by other spirits that have rebelled against the Holy Spirit. God saw how vulnerable he was in the face of these forces and stopped them from causing him to stumble and from weeping in hopelessness (New American Bible Revised Edition, Psalm 116:8). As a result, [he] “shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (New American Bible Revised Edition, Psalm 116:9). According to a note in the New American Bible Revised Edition, “walk[ing] before the Lord in the land of the living” “probably refers to being present to God in the Temple” (Psalm 116:9; 116:9n). This explanation prompts me to ask the question: what can we do to be active in living with faith?

The first two verses of the Old Testament reading give one answer and the third reading, the epistle, develops that answer further, telling us that wanting others to have what they need doesn’t bring faith to life. It’s taking part in providing what others need that brings faith to life. Faith isn’t demonstrated by prayer alone. Prayer opens us to the guidance that helps us discern how best to respond to the needs around us. Whatever the needs are, God brought us into being to meet them, even in the face of extreme opposition, as is the case in the Old Testament passage.

None of us is alone and having been given this work to do. God has done this work first and has called prophets to take part in it. God has also taken on a human life and suffered for it.

We will struggle. and sometimes suffer when we imitate Him. Why? Because humans have a tendency to want to hold onto power by keeping it to themselves and using it for themselves. Christ’s power, on the other hand, comes from his willingness to share and to surrender it. If we trust that surrendering is the true source of power, we receive that power as well. We receive that life. Turning inward in fear and holding on tightly to what we have isn’t the source of life, the Gospel passage says. Being able to hold loosely to what we have because we trust in God is the source of life.

What I’m saying (to the readings and beyond) this week:

To the first reading I say that I wonder if it’s my experience that “God opens my ear” (New American Bible, Isa. 50-4c). Maybe God does but like a door, I close it again because when my spiritual ear is open, so many voices come in and none of them is perfect, and that includes my own, of course. So when I choose what voices to listen to when and I act accordingly, I’m not sure it’s God or everything less than God that I rebel against.

Because of this experience, I take comfort that Christ encountered both opposition and support from every corner. He didn’t encounter opposition or support from only one group or another that He seemed to belong to or not to belong to or that seemed to some of his contemporaries to have spiritual and/or temporal authority over Him.

It’s a challenge to internalize that God defends me and that “I am not disgraced” when I have trouble recognizing this (New American Bible Revised Edition, Isa. 50:7). It’s a challenge not to be controlled by fear and not to be held back by walls in my mind and the walls I want to build around me to protect myself.

As I reread the psalm excerpt, I see that it’s written from the perspective of someone who feels trapped — “helpless” even (New American Bible Revised Edition Psalm 116: 6). It’s God who saves this person when he cries out to God. This person alone can’t save his own life.

Reaching out to God in the midst of fear is the key to not letting the fear kill the soul. It’s a key that’s most difficult to take hold of in life’s most difficult times, but that’s why God became one of us and then allowed Himself to be killed. He took the worst parts of us onto Himself so that we could become our best selves, so that we could become more and more like Him. That’s why the name for Christ that resonates most deeply with me is “God with us” (New American Bible Revised Edition, Mat. 1:23).

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Zulma Tellez reflects on Christ on the cross as a profound a profound expression of God with us.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, You have thrown me many spiritual life preservers, the greatest of which is Your sacrifice on the cross. Don’t let me close my spiritual ears to the sound of your voice. Instead, help me tear down any walls that fear has built in my mind and heart to keep me from reaching out to You and my neighbors. Amen.

Works cited (but not linked to):

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. ” 24nd Sunday in Ordinary Time — 15 Sept. 2024: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.192, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 30 July 2024, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm.

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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The Spirit Opens Us to God and One Another

Posted in Disability, Ordinary Time, Reflections from Other Writers and Speakers, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for September 8:

  1. Isaiah 35:4–7a
  2. Psalm 146:7, 8–9, 9–10
  3. James 2:1–5 
  4. Mark 7:31–37

What this week’s readings say to me:

The readings for September 8 give me more to work with in the exploration of what justice means that I began in last week’s post. The passages tell me that doing justice means making sure that everyone has what they need to thrive physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Justice serves what gives life by looking beneath the surface for signs of that life. It doesn’t serve that which is fleeting or artificial—except when what is fleeting or artificial serves what’s good and eternal.

Beyond this week’s readings:

In the previous section, I wrote that justice removes barriers rather than that justice heals, even though the readings for September 8 contain more than one reference to what are often called healings. I wrote to “removes barriers” because I’d like to propose that the references to physical healing in the readings don’t have to be as much about removing this physical impairment or that one – any physical impairment, for that matter — as we may be accustomed to thinking they are. (By the way, these perspectives on physical impairment and their relationship to well-known accounts in Scripture are far from unique to me. Ms. Iozzio, whose reflection is linked in the next section, offers a perspective that relates to my own.)

Healing is involved, but I propose that more is being healed than seems apparent. A man’s physical Deafness is removed, and his difficulties with speech are removed so that he can connect with and contribute to his community in different ways than he has before. The event inspires his faith in Jesus as God incarnate.

I find it revealing that Jesus doesn’t say to the man “hear” and “speak clearly” when he lays hands on the man. Instead, He says, “Be opened!” (Mark 7:34). Granted, I can imagine ancient peoples explaining Deafness as being caused by the ears being closed. But I can also see “Be opened!” meaning, “Be open to faith.” For this man, Jesus is also opening the door to relating to his community in a new way. I invite you to read more about that new way of relating by clicking the link in the next section.

Each of us, regardless of what our limitations are and what causes them, are our most God-like selves when we’re open to faith and community. There are multiple ways to facilitate this openness. Healing impairments is only one of them. We can remove barriers. We can also be open to alternate ways of communicating and seeing. Impairments do no mean that a person reflects God’s image any less clearly than someone who seems to be without impairments. Being a member of the Deaf community or having a disability or illness doesn’t make anyone any less complete than anyone else. This perspective affects everyone because no one on this side of heaven has an invincible body.

New Testament support passages support the perspective that, though we are called to do our best to take care of what we have, and God is present to us to us so that we can share our desire to be well, having certain abilities isn’t the ultimate goal of the spiritual life. Consider that:

  • Jesus tells his apostles that a man’s blindness is not reflection of his own sinfulness or the sinfulness of his parents (John 9:1-3).
  • Saul, who will become Paul, goes blind when Jesus speaks to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:7).
  • Jesus heals a paralyzed man, telling him to get up and walk so that [onlookers] “may know [He has] the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:9-12).
  • After healing a woman who’s had a hemorrhage for years, Jesus says to her, “your faith has saved you (Luke 7:50).

The human conditions in the examples above aren’t punishments. Even in Paul’s case, I think it’s the brightness of the light that blinds him, and the blindness helps him rely on God and the people around him (Acts 9:8). Blindness means the loss of physical vision for Paul, but it also means the acquisition of clearer spiritual vision for him.

However, it’s important to note that, in the same way that having an impairment doesn’t make a person less complete, than a person without that impairment, the condition also doesn’t necessarily make a person more spiritually insightful than a person without the same impairment. It’s also important to note that God is at work in different ways in different situations and to be cautious about presuming to understand why circumstances are what they are. Every situation presents its own challenges and its own opportunities for grace.

In each of the examples above, the physical healing isn’t the only or even the primary gift Jesus offers. The miracles treat sick souls, and not just the soul of the person who experiences a physical impact, but also the souls of the people who witness the impact or learn of it more than 2,000 years later.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Mary Jo Iozzio brings contemporary perspectives on Deafness and disability into conversation with the Gospel passage for September 8. She helps us consider that that the passage isn’t about just one person “[b]e[ing] opened,” one person receiving the physical abilities that many his neighbors have.

This week’s prayer:

Lord, help us to be open to You and to one another. Help us to respond to Your invitation to healthy relationships, which are two-way streets that can be built in many ways. Amen.

Work cited (but Not Linked to)

The New American Bible Revised Edition, Kindle edition, Fairbrother, 2011.

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I Couldn’t Say It Better

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections on Scripture, tagged , , , , on August 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

This isn’t me. I don’t have any pictures of me in action. This image was generated by WordPress AI.

Readings for September 1:

  1. Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 6–8
  2. Psalm 15:2–3, 3–4, 4–5
  3. James 1:17–18, 21b–22, 27
  4. Mark 7:1–8, 14–15, 21–23

What this week’s readings say to me:

This week, the theme of the passages is more apparent than it sometimes is. I’m tempted to express that theme using all kinds of clichés: “Don’t just talk the talk; walk the walk. Practice what you preach.

There. I just succumbed to cliché temptation. They’re clichés, and the second version doesn’t exactly include people like me, who use wheelchairs, but the non-cliché versions that bounced around in my head sounded unnecessarily stilted.

And whose word am I called to preach? Whose walk am I called to walk? Whose hands am I called to be? God’s.

This is one of those weeks in which each passage contains a verse or verses that popped out at me for encapsulating the central message for me. I don’t feel like I could convey that message in a more accessible way then these verses do. So this week, this section will feature them.

In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. . . . Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’

Deuteronomy 4:2 and 6

The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

the refrain sung between verses during Mass that also functions a statement of theme for Psalm 15

Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves . . . .
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:22 and 27

This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.

Isaiah 29:13 quoted in Mark 7:6-8

Beyond this week’s readings:

The refrain that is used with the September 1 psalm got me thinking about what it means to “do justice.” I got to thinking about this because I noticed some resistance in me as I read it. I think this resistance comes from my gut reaction to the word “justice. ” My initial reaction tends to associate it with revenge and punishment.

But when I give the word further thought, I’m reminded that justice means recognizing the negative consequences of an action, taking steps to prevent further negative consequences, and extending mercy. One part of extending mercy is seeking to heal the wounds that led to the injustice. Another part is recognizing that any of us could have suffered those wounds. If we haven’t, it’s only thanks to the grace of God and neighbor. We’re all in need of forgiveness and healing. Because I think many of us want forgiveness and healing and have received them from God and hopefully from our neighbors (though not always in the ways I want or expect, in both cases), we have mercy and healing to share with others. This sharing is an essential component of mercy.

What someone else is sharing about this week’s readings:

Hope, in the biblical context, doesn’t mean to stand still and quiet, but rather groaning, crying and actively striving for new life. Just as in childbirth, we go through a period of intense pain, but new life springs forth. It’s not enough for us to be listeners!

Susana Réfega, in her reflection on this week’s readings

This week’s prayer:

Our Father,
Who are in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven

Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,
but delivery us from evil. Amen

Work cited (but not linked to):

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. ” 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time — 1 Sept. 2024: Readings at Mass.” The New American Bible, 2001. Universalis for Windows, Version 2.192, Universalis Publishing Ltd., 30 July 2024, https://universalis.com/n-app-windows.htm.

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The Challenges and Graces that Come with Commitment

Posted in Ordinary Time, Reflections on Scripture, Who Am I in God, Who is God, tagged , , , , , on August 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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Readings for August 25:

  1. Joshua 24:1–2a, 15–17, 18b
  2. Psalm 34:2–3, 16–17, 18–19, 20–21
  3. Ephesians 5:2a, 25–32 or Ephesians 5:21–32
  4. John 6:60–69

What this week’s readings say to me:

This week’s readings speak to me about commitment. What makes commitment difficult? What’s worth committing to, and what does committing to something worth committing to look like?

The first reading asks me whether I want to commit to God or to something else that’s taking the place of God. It reminds me that when I commit to God, I’m committing to the Source of liberation, the Source of protection, and the Source of perseverance and growth. This Source is Someone worth committing to and imitating so I can be a channel for the qualities of God.

What does the psalm, the same one that’s been used for the past two weeks, have to say about commitment to God? It says that commitment to God means honoring God in word, spirit, and action. Living this way helps others have the faith to honor God in word, spirit, and action as well. This way of living also serves justice, even though serving the causes of justice is seldom easy. Yet a person who serves justice is never alone in his or her work. God always supports those who work for justice.

The choices for this week’s epistle characterize justice in terms of relationship. They compare the relationship between people and Christ to a relationship between a husband and wife.

Now I’m not married, so I’m not going to sit here and write about how Paul says husbands and wives should relate to each other. If I did, the sentences would sound too much like I’m telling married people what to do without knowing the circumstances in which they find themselves. I find that an unhelpful and ineffective way to help myself reflect on how to apply the Gospel message to my life or — God and readers willing — to help others do the same. If you want to read the advice that both of this week’s epistle choices have for husbands and wives, you can look them up here. As an unmarried person, I want to consider what the passage from Ephesians listed at the beginning of this post has to say about what committing to Christ and Christ’s commitment to us means for us.

The passage says to me that committing to Christ means caring for my body and treating it with dignity. My body has dignity and is deserving of care because it’s part of Christ’s mystical body, and it bears God’s image.

The same is true of everyone else’s body. Accordingly, the reading calls me to treat others in ways that reflect this reality. It invites me to do for others what will bring them to God, as Christ has done for me. It invites me to imitate Christ, even though doing so is hard, so hard we that we can sacrifice for others only with help of the Holy Spirit.

As if sacrifice weren’t challenging enough, so is believing in what’s difficult to see and what challenges our instincts. The prospect of it being necessary for eternal life to consume someone’s flesh and blood is instinctively revolting in many human cultures. Apparently, the culture of first century Judaism was no exception. I learned in church recently that consuming blood, a creature’s life force, was considered a pagan practice. This understanding puts the people’s reaction to Jesus’s teaching about the power of consuming His body and blood into perspective. Jesus would have understood as well as anyone the responses of those who were hearing Him.

So what does the fact that he doesn’t back down from the teaching when people object to it say? On this reading and with the bit of context I now have, the doubling down reminds me that committing to live with faith isn’t just about adhering to tradition and avoiding activities that don’t adhere to that tradition. Instead, it’s about being aware of who and what my actions serve, whether those actions are traditional or less so. Jesus’ teaching reminds me that God feeds us and never stops offering to do so.

The same cannot be said of anything else we might confuse with God. By reminding me of this spiritual truth, the Gospel passage circles back to the message of the Old Testament passage.

Beyond this week’s readings:

Do I have an unwavering commitment to serving God in how I relate to the people and use the resources around me? I wish I could say I did. I’m glad making a commitment isn’t a one-time event, an opportunity that appears once and then dissolves. I’m glad that I have opportunities moment by moment to recommit to serving God in the world around me as well as to believe in and receive the nourishment God offers me to power my recommitment.

This week’s prayer:

Thank You, Lord because, as Anna Robertson says, no matter how often each of us wavers in our commitments to what is good, You never waver in Your commitment to each of us.

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