February 24, 2013

Bulletin February 24, 2013

2^nd Sunday of Lent C

Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28-36
Lent continues…how am I doing? So often I get frustrated that the Lenten plans and hope-filled promises I made would just make this the ‘best Lent’. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t what Lent is all about. Lent is about the motivation that I have to be a disciple; it’s about the attentiveness I have and the awareness of God’s presence in every moment and aspect of my life and it’s about my own sincerity, not that I do things ‘perfectly’ but that I am doing ‘sacrifices’ to be grateful and close to the Lord. Today’s gospel of the Transfiguration fits in perfectly with this faith journey.
What is the most important message in this beautiful Gospel scene? Peter said, Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”. Nice words…he was totally overwhelmed with the experience of seeing the transfigured beauty of Jesus. Jesus is God and shows His divinity is this the important message of the scene? Luke continues, “But he did not know what he was saying.” So often this is me, having an insight and rushing to conclusions. Luke continues, “While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.’”
This is the key…of course I want to listen to Jesus. I want to do everything that He tells me; I want to live up to His expectations and to follow Him wherever He leads me. Definitely! This is so important…but if I reflect on this short sentence from the Father it says so definitively that JESUS IS SPEAKING TO ME….then I have to say, ‘what is He saying? How do I know His voice? What am I to do?’ I really have to be still and aware to listen and ‘let God be God to me.’ I have to slow down to let this happen. I need time for silence, to reflect and to pray. So often I ask, ‘how exactly do I do that? How do I pray…how do I listen…how do I be silent? It seems I spend more time on the questions than I do with the ‘doing’. It is not complex at all; St.Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower in ‘Story of a Soul’ called it The Little Way; Mother Theresa called it the Simple Path. So how do I do it?
The first point that I have slowly learned over the years is that the best way for me to pray is to just do it. Whatever way I feel comfortable in praying is the right way for me to pray; but I have to bring myself to the prayer. I can and do recite many different prayers that I have collected down through the years in addition to praying the Divine Office each day but still there has to be time for me with God. AND, I do not have to do all the talking. How important that is! And I find it so very easy just to carry on conversations with God as I move through the day. Driving is an amazing time for prayer because of the other drivers who might need special prayers because of the way they are driving or where they are rushing to with whatever is worrying them and even just to look at the beauties that surround. There is so much noise in my world that I like to ‘turn it off’…like in the car, no radio or cd’s; at home, turn off the TV, not spending ‘crazy time’ at the computer…reading and being still. I find each day there are so many different ways that ‘silence’ just makes me more aware of the presence of God and in this awareness I can listen with the heart…that is the important part of listening, with the heart.
‘Mother Teresa, A Simple Path’ is a wonderful book that continues to help me. Here are some random selections from Mother Teresa and some of her sisters:

• “I always begin my prayer in silence, for it in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence—we need to listen to God because it’s not what we say but what He says to us and through us that matters.”
  
• “A clean heart can see God, and can see the love of God in others. When you have a clean heart it means you are open and honest with God, you are not hiding anything from Him, and this lets Him take what He wants from you.”
  
• “From what I have found, there is just too much noise in modern life--and because of this many people are afraid of silence. As God speaks only in silence this is a big problem for those searching for God. Many young people, for instance, don’t know how to reflect and just act instinctively.”
  
• In cities these days there is so much chaos and physical violence, a lot of anger, frustration, and shouting, just the opposite of the peaceful countryside or the sound of a waterfall. People try to fill the emptiness they feel with food, radio, television, and keeping busy with outside activities. But this emptiness can only be filled by the spiritual, by God. If we give time for God to enter this space, then our hunger can be more easily satisfied by just being with God in prayers. From this place we can grow stronger in our relationship with God and in our spiritual life. But it is a hard thing to be prayerful in our society, which feeds us with so many distractions.”

So I reflect on:

• I can see Lent in one of two ways: negatively as a time of deprivation or positively as an opportunity for growth. Which helps me be closer to God?
  
• I ask myself: Do I often or at least occasionally miss my blessings because I am preoccupied with my burdens or shortcomings?
  
• Can I recall a time when I missed something beautiful and special because I was preoccupied with another matter?
  
• What do I hope God will change in me this Lent? How have I opened myself to God’s presence?
  
• In Luke’s account, as in Mark’s and Mathew’s, the Transfiguration follows Jesus’ first insistence that He must bear the cross, and that His followers must do the same. How am I doing with my crosses? Am I bearing them, trying to get rid of them or complaining?