Bulletin July 29 ’12 17^th Sun Ordin B

2 Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15

Being the youngest of five, I’m sure I was the one who said, ‘Are we there yet? How much longer? When are we going to stop to eat? I’m hungry doesn’t anyone care?’

And John tells us in the opening of the Gospel that He had obviously performed many miracles on the sick people? How many more did He give encouragement to? Then I got the sense that He wanted to give some insight to His apostles on the upcoming feast of Passover. And He looked up and there was a huge crowd; where did they come from? That is an important reflection for today; the Sea of Galilee is surrounded by hill country…along the Lake (it’s also known as Lake Genesereth) were ten cities and many small communities. Nazareth, for example, at the time of Jesus had about 150 – 200 people. So these people traveled to see Jesus. Why? This was varied as to each person: was it His miracles; His preaching; their hoping that He was the Messiah; they needed healing themselves; maybe they didn’t even know why they came or maybe it was the ever present human trait: curiosity. And they walked; it took hours to get there and they were hungry. When was the last time they ate? They had followed Him earlier and John said they saw His miracles and thy still stayed and ‘wanted more’. And they were hungry and He knew it. God knows everything about me: He knows when I am hungry, angry, lonely, tired and He knows what I need all the time, most of the time, I don’t know what I need, God does. So this is a big, important gospel; there is so much in it. But there is a much deeper lesson.

Every Gospel describes the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. In fact Matthew and Mark each have two with Jesus feeding the Jews first, then the Gentiles. But John, today’s gospel, stays with this one miraculous feeding for the whole sixth chapter which continues on for the next five weeks. Scripture scholars call this the Bread of Life discourse. It is a time to go deeper into the meaning of the Eucharist for me and each person. In this account Philip and Andrew have special roles to play, which one would I be like? Philip sees the enormity of the crowd and can’t see how they (Jesus and the apostles) could possibly feed them. They don’t have that amount of food themselves or even the money to buy the needed food. Andrew spies a boy with five barley loaves and two fish and sees a possibility, maybe. Did the little boy come up to Andrew and asked him if he wanted some of his lunch, and Andrew, believing in Jesus, thought maybe this was a something Jesus might want know. Philip was into the realm of impossibility; Andrew into the realm of the possible. So I reflect:

• Miracles are possible, but do I believe in them?
  
• Do I believe that God is always present?
  
• Do I believe that God cares for me that much that He is always waiting for me to ask for Him?
  
• Do I ever ask for this same kind of caring that Jesus had?
  
• Jesus wants to always feed me, do I let Him?
  
• And Jesus blessed the loaves and fish and there was more than enough. Do I give that much?
  

Faith Catholic commentary on this Gospel says: 


 “Miracles are performed for the benefit of the recipient…Today’s Gospel is not about hoarding one’s resources or one’s time or one’s talent. It is about giving--sometimes, until it hurts. It is about getting others to do likewise. When did we challenge another to give of the talent they might have? When did we teach our children to give generously? When have we witnessed the surprise that seemingly has no explanation? When did someone come into our life at our most vulnerable moment? Do we believe in miracles? “

“Do we find even the most minute opportunity to give something of what we have been given? Paul invites us to do this with perfect humility, meekness and patience. Are we willing? Can we remember when someone did just this for us? What would our life be today, where would we be today, if someone had not done likewise? Does gratitude not move us? Would we want to be the one who should have the millstone tied around our neck and thrown into the sea?

Yes, miracles can happen! Are we willing to be the workers of them for others?”


And Jesus gives us Himself in the Eucharist. Jesus is always giving; that’s why there were 12 baskets left over. And what did the Apostles do with the leftovers…this is not told by John, but it’s a no-brainer. They gave them to those who didn’t have anything or couldn’t come. They were aught to be alert to respond always in love from the abundance that God has blessed us with. Later on in the chapter Jesus tells us the meaning: ‘you must eat my flesh and drink My blood in order to have life (6:53)’ I’m always struck by what happened next: all these people who witnessed this miracle and the others and heard Jesus speak and saw Him act, they walked away. Their religion had no depth. They didn't want God or they wanted God on their terms.

July 22, 2012

Bulletin July 22 ’12 16^th Sun Ordin B

Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34

So where is my place of rest? Where do I go to slow down and relax? When I go to ‘that place’ do I bring the Lord along with me? Do I realize that it really is the Lord calling me to ‘BE’ with Him?
So often I ask people do you ever have the desire to ‘get away’ … to ‘be alone’ … maybe to just go and walk along the beach … and ‘chill out’. This ‘call’ is the called ‘contemplative’. So what does mean? Now if God is absolutely ‘crazy in love’ with me and each person then He wants to have time with me and each person. Since there is so much noise in my life then He wants this time to be a time when I’m not stressed or worried about what is coming up in my life but just a time to be at peace with Him. It’s not a time to solve problems or a time that my whole life is put in order nor is it a time when my living in my world will be forever peaceful. It’s just responding to the invitation to ‘BE’ with Him.
The fallacy in all this is that I think I have to get away to the ocean or beach where things are peaceful or it’s that ‘vacation paradise’ that is just the ‘perfect place.’ God doesn’t work that way. The ‘place’ is any physical place that I go to be in company with peace Itself, with God. And He is always inviting me; the devil clouds my vision to make me feel that this ‘place’ has to be the perfect Shangri-La. God is perfect, not the place. The place is meant to slow me down and be open in mind and spirit to God’s presence and surprises. He loves me and each person that much. This is what the Gospel reading is about today. The apostles had just come back from their first taste of ministry which included some powerful healings, and Jesus was saying, ‘Come, let’s go to a place where we can be at peace and reflect about this with God. It wasn’t an invitation to ‘escape from reality’, to get away from it all’; to “come away by yourselves to a deserted place” doesn’t mean to escape from reality. Rather it is a time to stop and ponder what had happened to them. For me and each person it is a time to look at my daily life to see what is really important and to see if I am living the superficial and not getting in touch with my gifts and why God has placed me here and what is my role in His big salvation plan.
As Fr. Gene Lauer so beautifully expresses it in his “Sunday Morning Insights”: This ‘getting away’ means: “an opportunity to talk quietly and undistracted with the divine being so that our perspectives on life can be put in order. Very simply, it means a time for a prayerful look into the very foundations of our being. The unfortunate consequence of looking at solitude as a time for escape from reality is that, when the escape is over, we take up exactly where we left off. All of our unpleasant realities are still there, unconfronted and unresolved! We come back to the same frantic rut, perhaps rested but not renewed. When we come back from a thoughtful time away, we come back more real, more able to see what is important and worthwhile in our daily reality.”
So the Lord is calling me and each person to take time in ‘my’ place. Where is my place…well down through the years I have discovered with God that it can be any place. It doesn’t have to be exotic, but it’s a place where I’m still, open and responsive to the Lord. And I need to do this. Msgr. Chet Michael in his Daily Growth Plan says that we should consider an hour a day with the Lord, a day a month, a week a year. Is this possible? Its necessary how can I make whatever is possible, possible.
And Jesus’ “heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd and He began to teach them many things.” And the responsorial psalm today was the famous Psalm 23; The Lord is My Shepherd; is He? Each day I have to take time to ‘be in touch to let God be God to me. So I reflect on:

• Life seems to disrupt my cherished plans, sometimes in simple ways, other times seriously; but that is the reality of life. How do I react when my plans don’t work out?
  
• If I could look at people through the eyes of Christ what do I think I would see?
  
• Jesus’ critics always seemed to be negative, they saw nothing but failure; I can get that way when I become ‘too busy’. How can I stop myself? What keeps me from going to God’s place of rest for me?
  
• Do I prepare myself to stop each time I come to the Eucharist? This is God nourishing me; He knows what I need, do I allow Him to fill me with Himself, His gifts, His love and His surprises? What do I have to do to prepare for this sacred time with Him?
  

July 15, 2012

Bulletin July 15 ’12 15 Sun Ordin B

Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13
Why me? God created me in love and I have freedom and why me. I have said so often that God just doesn’t seem to answer ‘Why’ questions. So what is my life all about? What is each person’s life all about? I look back through my life and I think of the people that passed through my life and thought not ‘why’ they passed though my life but ‘what’ have they done for me. How they have touched me? What was their legacy to me? Somehow they thought that I was important enough that the message they left with me was ‘for me and for future use’. And since it is all about God, the source of the ‘why’ is God and His plan for me. This plan has to focus on what He has gifted me with and what He needs me to pass on, my legacy. So am I doing this? Do I even reflect on this? Am I ever grateful enough? Is gratitude what the devil does not want me to do? If so, why? It must be that if I reflect on this ‘call’… or ‘invitation’ … or ‘need’ that God has for me, then I will discover the intimacy and legacy that God has for me. These clues to God’s plan for me are what I found in the readings today.
The first reading is the special story of Amos who was shepherd and worked pruning sycamores. He was not chosen by anyone to be a prophet; he enjoyed no patronage from royalty nor was he connected with a particular shrine that had prophets nor was he in a ‘prophetic guild.’ He wasn’t really welcomed with open hands either, in fact he was ‘ordered’ to go home and to leave the people alone. His response is interesting: “Not my idea to be here, or to be doing this. I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The Lord told me to do this.” I think, ‘what has the Lord told me to do…or, where has the Lord led me and said, ‘Be Me.’ in doing this, God never means that it is going to be easy; or that I will be welcomed; or that everything will go without incident. He just needs me and each person to be there and be doers of His word and love; He takes care of the rest. The seed is planted and when it grows and comes to fruition, God knows.
Paul is telling the Ephesians that God’s plan for salvation is not an afterthought. This is His plan from the beginning. The ones God has chosen, and that’s each Christian, every person really, is not chosen because they were special, or knew everything or even that they were holy but that they might become holy and blameless. Salvation is the cause and not the consequence of virtue. God has chosen each person to be a part of His plan. And each and every part of His plan is not only important but it is vital.
The Gospel prepares the twelve apostles for their first mission and they go out in two’s. I always wonder who was attached to whom; who was with Peter, Judas, Thomas and John—what did they talk about, how excited were they, what people touched them and left them with the ‘touch of God’? How did it feel when they touched someone and that person was healed immediately? Was there hugs and thanks…did they take the credit and be proud…did they tell them about Jesus…what did it do to their faith? Whatever happened, Jesus gave them the message that God gave to Amos: if the message of God: salvation and love is accepted, then be grateful. If it isn’t accepted, it is not wanted, move along.
So it all comes down to God’s plan: the reason I was created is that I’m a not an island to myself, I am part of the mainland. God created me with others to share with others, to care for others, to show and be Christ to them. God continues to send me and each believer out each day just as He did with the prophets and the apostles. The world, more specifically, the world God has placed me in needs this message more than ever: God wants a family that will be faithful to Him, to love each other and care for His earth and creation. God wants me and each person to be holy; this holiness doesn’t come from me but comes as a gift from God. So I reflect on:

• How do I deal with failure?
  
• Do I realize that I am ‘just the right person’ to make God’s word clear and meaningful to each person who hears me?
  
• Do I turn to God when I’m discouraged?
  
• Am I willing to ‘step aside’ when the right person is right next to me or do I need the attention?
  

Living the Word, a scripture reflection series says this about the focus of today’s reading: “God doesn’t work alone. From the beginning God engaged others in the works of creation and salvation: Adam named the animals, Noah built the ark, Abraham and Sarah birthed a people, Moses led them to freedom. Prophets, priests and kings – all were given jobs. Jesus did – and does – the same with His disciples.” And God created me with the role He graced me and hoped I would do. Praise God that He had that confidence in me; but it’s not about His confidence, it’s about His love. Thank you Lord for your blessings…help me today. This is the only day I have; yesterday is passed, tomorrow isn’t here yet, so I have this day to work on your plan; I have this day to love like You.

July 8, 2012

Bulletin July 8 ’12 14 Sun Ordin B

Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6
So what is Jesus about and what am I about? Am I on the right path? Am I listening? Do I feel that listening means just listening to God’s voice? Yet how very infrequently do I hear this voice…maybe only a few times in my life. So how is God speaking to me? God sends all these wonderful people who are in my life right now and also wonderful people that appear for a few moments: maybe a lecture, a class, someone passing through, a relative, a friend, a no one that I have never known before but the common denominator is that they made me STOP and what they said was a message. Maybe this message was comfortable, maybe challenging, maybe unusual, maybe surprising, and maybe thought-provoking but it always put me on alert that this was of great consequence and directed at me. Did I take time and listen…reflect? A few times I did; I find myself more often these days to stop and to spend time with their ‘message’.
Often I felt initially that their message was too personal or too embarrassing and ‘I didn’t want to go there but now I’m realizing that this could be the way that God is helping me grow closer to Him. Why do I say this? Today’s readings spell out the way that God uses ‘prophets, insightful people’ to convey His message to me so that I continue on the road He wants me to be on.
The problems in all of this are: what is it that blocks the ears of my heart from hearing? What is it that closes the eyes of my heart from seeing? What is it the keeps me from feeling the touches of truth from those who come with a ‘message’ from God?
There must have been sadness in Jesus as He responded to the people gathered from His home town, “A prophet is not without honor excerpt in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” He knew He was a prophet who would speak the word from God. He also knew the fate of prophets down through the ages: rejection, persecution or at least disbelief and not to be taken seriously. The lack of faith in these people prevented Him from working any miracles. Lord help my disbelief…help the doubts that spring up in my faith journey. Please make me aware of Your constant miracles in my life.
Ezekiel was on a mission from God with full authority to be God’s representative and to deliver God’s message. The people he was sent to were rebellious and “hard of face and obstinate of heart.” They knew that he was a prophet from consequences that befell them. I have been that ‘hard of face and obstinate of heart too, Lord.
But I have also been on the other side that Paul relates. Having gifts, sharing the gifts being proud of the gifts and being too elated because of these spiritual favors received. So lest Paul was too much the center of attention and thus a hindrance to the gospel he was sent to preach, he was given a ‘thorn in the flesh.’ It doesn’t matter to me what this ‘thorn’ was but that it reminded Paul of his role and that it’s all about God and living God and being Jesus and not about me.
So it’s about me listening to the prophets in my life and responding when called to be a prophet. Fr. Gene Lauer, a great spiritual guide says this: “Here are some biblical characteristics to look for or to discover if a prophet is present. What he or she is saying will seem quite unusual, perhaps a bit abrasive and uncomfortable, but it will have about it an admirable strength of convictions. The message will seem logical but out-of-place. It will invariably be at odds with the prevailing economic interests of the establishment. It will seem too idealistic to be put into practice, at least in the immediate future, but well-intentioned people will allow that it has some chance in the distant future, i.e., in the future that comes after they die when they won’t have to deal with it. The prophetic figure may also be identified by unusual fact that he or she will do everything to direct attention to the prophetic message rather than to him or herself. The prophet will not take advantage of sudden opportunities for personal gain (yes, he or she will actually pass up opportunities for making a lot of money just to make sure that the message is taken seriously)”
These words give the characteristics of a prophet. They are not idealistic, in reality; they are a description of the person and attitudes of Jesus. This is what I am called to be and to respond to; so I reflect on:

• When problems, disappointments come I tend to say, Why me?
• When I do this, I’m never looking for an answer; I just want sympathy or just an opportunity to complain.
• That’s really the worst thing I can do in my spiritual growth because it puts the attention on me and not on my loving always present God.
• What I should be saying is, Why not me? I’ve been given so much; can’t I spend time in gratitude and eating a ‘little humble pie’?

July 1, 2012

Bulletin July 1 ’12 13 Sun Ordin B

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9 13-15; Mark 5:21-43
What has the Lord done for me? I’m reflecting on this as I look at the readings.
In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, the author is sharing how God does not delight in death: God delights in life. All around me, the world is bursting out in life: the flowers in gardens and flower boxes and the wild flowers along the road; even weeds have blooms. In the recent storms, I’ve seen a number of rainbows; and then there is the smiles and happiness of people enjoying the beginnings of summer, especially the precious little ones. God has made each person for life and each person is asked to share life and love just as Jesus did throughout His life. I reflect on how I am sharing from my joys, blessings, love and even hurts?
And then Paul is telling the Corinthian community to come to the assistance of less fortunate Christians: to give from their abundance. I look at how God has blessed and gifted me and it’s a constant reminder to give from this abundance and also to give of my time, perhaps one of the most precious gifts that often is hoarded and not shared. Paul also uses the unique phrase that makes me stop and pay attention. He tells me that I should excel in graciousness. This is what Jesus did, am I doing this? And he tells me to look at how generous God has been in His gifts to me and each person: “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less” – so what am I doing with what I have because I have been given a perfect amount for what God has planned for me to be. Am I hoarding…being restrictive in sharing…thinking more of me or being Jesus? Paul says, “For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Immediately I look at Jesus total giving of Himself. Then I was curious and looked up ‘gracious’ in the thesaurus. It showed a number of adjectives for gracious: cordial, courteous, kind, merciful. And this brought me to hum to refrain, ‘The Lord is kind and merciful’ and that is what the Lord has been to me over and over. So what am I doing?
Mark in the Gospel recounts two of Jesus’ healings to two desperate women. One had been hemorrhaging fro twelve years and because of this she was ‘unclean’ according to the Law and therefore could not be in any contact with friends or family or even worship with others. Alone, afraid, maybe angry and lost; yet to Jesus, like each and every one of His creation, she was important. The other was a twelve-year old girl whose frantic father had come to Jesus for healing. She was important, everyone is important and valued and loved by Jesus. What did Jesus do; he healed them and showed the graciousness of God and brought them to life so that they may be filled with life to love others. The same healing God gives me and everyone in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation: He heals me to love.

In Mark, A devotional Commentary, which is a meditation on Mark’s gospel, the author shares these beautiful, challenging words, “How do we stand? How do we look at Jesus? Is He some wonder-worker of the past? Was He perhaps a very holy man, an outstanding combination of generosity and humility? How deeply do we believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, our perfect and complete salvation? Many of our attitudes about faith and the Christian life are formed by the world, and if we were to look around, it would become clear to us that this world functions with little recourse to faith.  Yet, it is this environment that often forms our thoughts about God.

When we act in envy or bitterness, does this is not signify a lack of faith? Are we not, in effect saying: “I have a right to be angry because nobody (not even God) is looking after my interests”? When we repent of a specific sin, but resign ourselves to the fact that we will probably go ahead and commit it again, is this not a sign that we do not believe that Jesus’ blood has cleansed us and won us freedom from sin? When we find ourselves restless in scripture or prayer, is it not oftentimes because we don’t’ expect that Jesus will speak to us and give us peace and joy in His presence?

These are but a few of the many ways in which our unbelief can manifest itself. Jesus wants us to put aside thoughts like these so that our faith can become more like that of Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman. He wants to tell us ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ (Mark 5:36) He can say this only if we have begun to put off our old attitudes and mind sets and take on a new mind that is formed in His image. We need to come before God in humility today and ask Him to increase our faith. Let us renounce the attitudes of the world and beg the Holy Spirit to fill us with His truth instead.” So I reflect on:

• What am I asking the Lord to heal in me?
• In what situations in my life now is the Lord asking me to trust and have faith in Him?
• When Jesus says, ‘Don’t be afraid’ He is being very practical because fear doesn’t help me grow or add to my spiritual development and it certainly hinders my looking at God as a loving God. If I trust deeply I will see my fears vanish. What hinders me?
  

Lord, help my unbelief and help me believe.