Mark 10: 28-31 The first will be last, and the last will be first

In today's Gospel follows the story of the young man who has been faithful to the law of Moses, and yet Jesus calls him to give up everything of this world and follow him.  Today Peter says that he and the other apostles have done just that: followed the Law and given up everything to follow Jesus.  It is almost as if, he is asking "Where is my reward?" 

Jesus reassures Peter and us that he has done right, and that everything will be given back to him in the life to come, but that he should be prepared for persecutions and tribulations in this life before he can reach the next.  Within Jesus' words is an echo from Job when trials and persecutions afflict Job, then he family is lost, and finally he is afflicted in body, yet Job remains faithful and is rewarded abundantly with great riches, wife and more children, and life.  Is Jesus perhaps trying to make this correlation for Peter?  That suffering in this world and becoming detached to temporal things will lead us to ever greater joy and the richness of the life to come?  Perhaps. 

St. Augustine wrote about the two Cities, the temporal city and the City of God existing with each other, how we can belong to both: living in this world yet simultaneously living in God's kingdom.  Our priests and other religious are called to live that way, and thus are our living example.  We find our greatest saints, both lay or religious are that same way, so we know it is possible.  How can we strive to find that balance in our lives starting fresh today?

Mt. 10: 13-16 Let the little ones come to me

Today's Gospel reminds me of an incident I experienced in a church a number of years ago.  There was a family with little children including a baby.  During mass the parents tried to keep the children quiet, then the baby started to cry.  They church had no crying room.  After mass an older parishioner told the family they weren't wanted at the church, that they should not come back.  To see the look on the parents' faces was heart breaking.  They had come because they had that strong desire to adore and honor the Lord and receive him in Holy Communion.  This was their faith.  This was the faith that they had their children baptized into.  It is a shame that the family was rejected the same way the parents and their children were rejected by the disciples.  But in both cases, there was a happy ending.

Jesus rebuked the disciples and freely opened his arms wide to the little ones.  God so loves us not matter how old we are, or difficulties, or infirmities.  In the case of the family, the parish priest took notice and in the manner of Christ, wrapped his vestment covered arms around the parents in a warm embrace and asked them to continue to come, that the person was in error, that they were wanted.  He befriended them.  As the children grew they became some of the first altar servers at the parish. 

The point?  Everyone has their place.  Everyone is needed.  Those little children who hang around their parents knees at the church, they need to be welcomed by us, not rejected.  It is they who reteach us what it is to live in innocence. 

John 15:12-17 Love one another as I have loved you

"There is no greater love than this, to lay down one's life for a friend." 

There are so many images that come to mind when I reflect upon this one sentence.  I think of the stories that we read about people acting as heroes to save another's life, even at risk to their own.  Whether it is Wesley Autrey or Christopher Knafelc who jumped onto tracks to save someone; or Arthur Bloom who uses music to help injured soldiers readjust and take back their lives; and there are so many thousands of examples of men, women, and children who go out of their way to save others at personal sacrifice.  They have laid down their lives for loved ones and friends. It is profound to think about these people that we see in the news, and then to read today's Gospel reading.

Jesus laid down his life for us at great personal sacrifice because he loved us, because it was the right thing to do, because it was the Father's will.  Jesus loves us.  He asks us to follow his commands to love God and love each other, and in doing so, we are his friends and have all the love, mercy and compassion that go with that.  If  we can do nothing else in our day, let us at least smile at a stranger.

"This I command you: love one another."

John 10:1-10 You must enter through the gate

It is amazing that all it takes if faith in Christ to enter through the gates of Heaven.  God has blessed those who are faithful, and makes them holy, and so they can enter through the gate.  Jesus gives us a parable about entering into the sheepfold through the gate.  Those who try to climb over are like robbers.  They have not had the needed conversion of heart and soul that comes through Christ: the repentance and salvation that he preached, that the Church preaches now at his command. 

There is a story, The Dangerous Journey, a retelling of Pilgrim's Progress written for children, that emphasizes how difficult the life of a Christian, the temptations and challenges that befall us on our path.  The main character, Christian, has several friends on his journey that help him.  Toward the end of his journey he comes across a fellow sojourner who has crossed the field and climbed a fence and walks with Christian the rest of the way to the castle.  When they reach it, the man is not allowed in because he came as a deceptive untrustworthy stranger across the field and over the wall.  Christian's heart has been true though and though he's been tempted and strayed from the path, he was always found the right path again that led him to Kingdom, to the gate, to the place of his salvation.  And it is his example that will lead the other members of his family.  Jesus is trying to impart this to us.  Life can and will be difficult, but the only way to the Kingdom is through him.  He is our shepherd, and so too are those he has appointed in his place: our pope, our cardinals, our bishops, our priests, and our deacons.  Theirs is to help us follow the course so that we come to the gate not as strangers, but as friends and brothers and sisters of Christ. 

John 21: 1-14 Have you caught anything to eat?

Yesterday I mentioned a little of Christ Jesus' humor.  Today in the Gospel, the Risen Christ stands upon the shore and calls out to a boat of adult male fishermen, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"  I wonder how annoyed they were at first, or if they thought this guy was crazy, especially when he next told them to throw their nets over the other side of the boat.   Here's the catch, they threw their nets on the right side of the boat like the guy on shore said, and they caught so many fish, they nearly couldn't haul it in.  That was when John recognized the Lord and dove into the deep water to be the first to reach Christ on the shore. 

Once all together, the Lord feeds and nourishes them for their trouble and exertions in reaching him when he called out to them.  That is the cool thing about the God, he is always the initiation, the first mover, whether as God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, and then he waits for us to respond, and join into a communion with him.  This Easter season, we have a Risen Lord encouraging us to repent and live do that we might live in him.  How are we responding to that call?

Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 The Prodigal Son

For today's readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022716.cfm

Children are a parents' joy.  No matter how old parents and children get, there tends to be a joy of being together as they once were.  Holidays tend to be when families get together again.  In America they can be tense times as grown children are thrust back into old roles that they had as young children and sibling jealousies pop-up.  This happens just like it happened in the parable of the prodigal son. 

The one is jealous of his brother who has gone and squandered his money while he stayed with his father.  He did the right thing, yet feels that his brother got the better end of the deal.  The father is trying to welcome his other son though, letting him know that no matter what he has suffered or gone through, he is loved, honored and respected for who he is, not the externalities.  There is hope for each of us in the Father's kingdom.

Mark 4:21-25 Invisible Becomes Visible

(From my reflections)

In my childhood church there were large stained glass windows lining the walls of our vaulted church ceiling.  As students we were encouraged by our school principal to attend daily mass since the church was right next door.  I remember the early morning sunlight streaming through the images of saints down to all of us sitting in the pews.  I used to sit and wonder about the saints pictured in the glass like St. Vincent de Paul holding a child and helping the poor, St. John Vianney preaching to the children, St. Claire distributing food to the poor.  I only knew them from what they did in the images.  Some I didn’t even know their names.  They taught me what it was to be a saint.  In reflection a saint is a person whom God’s light shines through.  Today’s reading reminds me of that.  Our God has given us his light and there is no way to hide that.  Jesus asks us, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?”  The light shines through us in what we do, how we treat others, and in what we say.

Imagine that God’s love is so great.  In today's Gospel we are told, “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.”  There is a universal understanding of the idea, “The more you give the more you will receive.”  It is the law of cause and effect.  We begin to learn this when we are young.  When a child shares with their sibling, aren’t they often rewarded to encourage them to share?  It continues throughout life.  Children usually expect the material, it is easily understood and tangible.  As we mature, we begin to understand that the teaching is applied to those things that we cannot see, they apply to the spiritual realm.  How many of us when we were younger did good things because we thought it would help us get to heaven some day?  In that hope of trading good deeds for a chance at heaven, there is still a part of us that remains selfish.  It is as if we are holding our love ransom.  But Jesus calls us deeper into a more intimate relationship, and calls us to be vessels of heavenly light that we may bear the Light before all nations.  God’s grace is so abundant in these who love Him that His light shines through us.  We are to be placed on a lampstand where the life of grace shines forth from within us. 

To paraphrase St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, Christ in the present gives us the gift of grace reserving for immeasurable glory in the life to come.  We read in John (10:10) “I have come, so that they may have life,” this is the present life of grace.  We are a just people who lives from faith, which allows us to live in God's grace more deeply, so that we may also receive as His children a life of glory in the future through love. “We know that we are transferred from death to life, because we love our brothers and sisters, so let us live through good works.” (1John 3:14)

We are called to be like the saints in the stained glass windows, allowing God’s light to shine through us in our thoughts, words, and deeds.  For, “Light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. (St. Paul to the Ephesians 5:9)

Mark 2:18-22 The Bridegroom Is with You

Yesterday we were invited to the Wedding Feast by the Lord.  Today the scribes are asking why Jesus and his disciples do not fast like John and his disciples do.  Jesus responds, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?"  The answer is no, it would be an affront to not accept the hospitality offered by the bridegroom, almost an act of aggression. 

A class of 11-14 years olds yesterday were talking about Jesus as the bridegroom.  They discussed how the bridegroom throws the party after the wedding and how he provides the wine and other refreshments, making sure that all who are present are welcomed and comfortable.  They decided that yesterday's reading really showed that he was the bridegroom because he took that part and extended the invitation to each of us because we are all followers, his disciples, and he led his disciples to the feast. 

Could you imagine being called to a wedding where there was no welcome from the couple being married or their family, no celebration, no nothing?  It would be non existent and what was before would remain.  The kingdom isn't like that.  Jesus himself indicates that he is the bridegroom.  He has come in person to fulfill the prophesies.  He has come in person bringing with him a new covenant.  This is the meaning behind the old cloth being patched with the new cloth, or the old wine skin being patched with the new skin.  They old won't hold anymore, even with the patches.  God has extended to us a new, richer, deeper relationship with him through Christ Jesus.  We are called to accept that invitation and celebrate with him our communion.

Mark 2:1-12 The Healing of the Paralytic

Sometimes children can be fun to watch.  There were once two children who really wanted cookies.  One child asked his mother and she gave him cookies, and then they were gone.  The second child asked his mother for cookies too.  The mother took the child into the house and showed the child how to make cookies using a cookbook, how to measure the ingredients, set the oven, and make the first batch with the child.  When they were done the child ate some cookies.  Both children had cookies.  However, one was transformed from within through the teaching that the mother gave. 

Something similar is proposed in today's reading of the paralytic.  Jesus could have simply said, "take your mat and walk."  Think of the mother handing the cookies to the child.  The child has not learned, only received a gift, possibly only superficial, that he doesn't fully appreciate or understand its worth.  Had Jesus had the paralytic to take his mat and walk, the gift of healing would have been fought against and not appreciated or understood to its fullness.  When Jesus says that the paralytics sins have been forgiven, that allows for that inner transformation and healing.  It is profound and like learning, does not necessarily show physically on the outside.  Once that interior change has taken place then it radiates outward and Jesus is then able to tell him to take his mat and go.  Who but God alone can touch out innermost self to transform it?  Not even a mother teaching a young one can do that, it has to come from God for we are each a temple of the Lord, and he makes us holy.

John 1:1-18 Light of the World

In John's Gospel we hear a new creation story through the revelation that has given to us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be.  What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

Christ is our light.  John the Baptist pointed to him as our light and testified to the Light so that others like us might recognize the Savior.  We are born into that light.  We received the Light of Christ at our baptisms, at our confirmations, at every sacrament the Light of Christ is present.  As Catholics we walk our journey through life with the Light that God has given us, knowing that God is there with us.  He is our light and life that animates us with us in his strength, fortitude, compassion and mercy. We are the Lord’s children by his will for John tells us, “To those who accepted him (meaning Christ Jesus) he gave the power to become children of God.”  Through Christ we have come to know Truth and the fullness of grace. 

Christ is the Light of the World.  We are his disciples.  St. Augustine wrote, “We have not only been made Christians, we have been made Christ.”  What does this mean?  There was once a man riding his bicycle along my road.  I watched him from the upstairs window. As he passed in front of my home, he hunched over forward on his bicycle and collapsed with the bike.  I grabbed my telephone and raced outside to him.  As he opened his eyes he saw me looking down at him, and asked, “Are you my angel?”    I couldn’t help but laugh for I have so many flaws.  But for that moment, I was Bryan’s angel.   

None of us is perfect.  We are all flawed human beings.  However, we are instilled with the Light entrusted to us by God.  Remember that children’s song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”?  It means that people will come into our lives, and need that light to show them the way in the dark, and it is through our love, compassion and mercy for others that the light spreads and brings life to others.  There are so many Bryans in the world, and sometimes I may be in need, and maybe you.  God will provide the opportunities, but we must be willing to share the light and life which has been given to us through Christ.  In giving of ourselves like this, we are like John the Baptist testifying to the Light so that others may believe and have the light of life.  Remember what John tells us in regard to Christ, "What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race." 

We are the face of God to each other.  We are His hands and feet.  Let us strive to act as children of the Light showing mercy and compassion to others through our actions and words.  We ask this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

(From my reflections)

Matthew 21:23-27

A Star Shall Advance from Jacob (from my reflection journal)

Together we are all preparing for the coming of Christ.  Yesterday's message focused on what John the Baptist’s teaching on preparing for Christ.  John calls us to share what we have with others.  At a catechism class I taught some kids talked about how their families have too much stuff and how they could give some things to thrift shops.  An aide came through our room at one point and we used him as an example how we can share out time with others.  That got the kids excited because as we talked they realized they could share themselves with the baby Jesus. The children also understood that John calls us to be honest.  I am proud of them for that. Because Jesus is the Truth being dishonest makes us not ready to be in Christ’s presence.  These children are very good teachers!  When we discussed taking more that we ought, the kids recognized that immediately. For them this is the most difficult thing.  They call ‘hogging.’  Someone reminded everyone that the way to not be a hog is to share.  If these are some lessons on the path to Christ, then by whose authority do they come? 

In today’s Gospel the priests and the elders demand to know by what authority Jesus is teaching, and who gave him authority.  It is ironic to us because we recognize Jesus as the Christ who is teaching about God the Father, while these priests and elders whose focus is supposed to be on heavenly things are asking him about earthly matters.  They couldn’t see the deeper, hidden picture. 

As the children reheard yesterday’s Gospel story they had a picture in front of them.  Within that picture were hidden pictures that they had to find.  The activity helped them understand that what we see could have a deeper meaning.  Have you ever been to care facility and seen a young person with a patient?  Have you ever seen a woman with a newborn? Have you ever seen a man play with ball with kids?  What about someone praying to God quietly in church?  These are all things that are seen.  There is an invisible connection between the people in each, forming relationships, emotions: a deeper picture.  The priests and the elders only saw Jesus teaching. They missed the deeper pictures and the invisible connections. So Jesus asks them, where was John the Baptist from, “Was it of heavenly or human origin?”  Jesus was trying to refocus them and broaden their thoughts.  They feared saying John was from one or the other.  John had already told the crowds that he merely baptized in water, but one would come after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.  Could you imagine if they had the courage to acknowledge that one could come and be both of earthly and heavenly origin? 

Remember the Prophet Balaam’s words, prophesying about the God the Son that he would be king of kings, and “his royalty shall be exalted…a star shall advance from Jacob and a staff shall arise from Israel.” We await joyfully this Advent for the newborn king, the Good Shepherd who uses his staff to guide us.  Let us prepare with the steps John gives us.  Let us be mindful of sharing our love with others.  Let us follow the star to Christ, where we, like the little children, can share all of ourselves with Him.  We ask this in Christ’s name.  Amen.