Persistence

This week's Gospel has two different things going on.  The first, incredibly significant, recounts Jesus providing the Apostles with the Lord's Prayer.  If you want the center of Christianity, look here.  But believe it or not that's not what catches my eye in this reading.

The second half of the reading, a parable about persistence, is what catches my attention this time around.  The story is that a man goes to his neighbor's house late at night to borrow bread to give to an unexpected guest.  The tag line is that if the neighbor being asked "does not get up to give the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence."    

I've heard a number of sermons that suggest that this means that we should be persistent in prayer, and I don't disagree.  Then again I'm sure that there have been untold numbers of innocent men, women, and children who prayed their tails off for deliverance from various perils and didn't get what they wanted.  At least they didn't get what they wanted in their lifetime here on Earth.

So, how do I understand this reading?

This way: prayer is an expression of faith in God, and to God.  It is our way of saying to God nothing more than we accept the idea that God has an ultimate plan which includes our salvation if we are willing to accept the offer of salvation.  We may not see the "right answers" to our prayers in our lifetimes, but in the end (as in the end of times), all salvation will be given to those who accept that message, and that's all that matters. 

And, quite frankly, I think that God will grant salvation to those who struggle to accept that message.  I hope that's true, or else I'm in bad shape. 

I hope for your acceptance of God's promise of salvation.  And if you come to a perfect understanding of how to get to that acceptance, please tell me.

Peace be with you.

- The Older Brother

Anxious and worried about many things

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things......." I can relate to Martha. In fact, if you replace the phrase "anxious and worried" with the word "preoccupied" I can say it applies to me. Well, maybe you can change the "Martha, Martha" part too. I don't want to admit that I'm anxious and worried. But I if I really think about it I have to ask myself; why I am preoccupied with so many things if I'm not anxious and worried about them? It's true though, and I find that I dwell on certain things even more when there's something unfair about it.

Which brings me back to this Sunday's Gospel reading: My sense of justice tells me that it's not fair that Martha was stuck with all the work. The Gospel says plainly that she was "burdened" with much serving. Part of me expects that Jesus should have told Mary to take Martha's place and give Martha a well deserved rest. We don't know exactly what Martha was doing, but we can be pretty sure that she was doing what she thought was the right thing to do. Jesus didn't seem worried about how things were going to turn out though; and I remember that He fed the multitudes with a few loaves of bread and fish.(not once but twice!) When I remember this, His words to  Martha take on more weight and I feel that I have to re-evaluate my sense of justice. Even though hospitality was considered a virtue in ancient times, Martha's solution to the problem of what to do with so many guests was not the only solution. I suspect that if she asked Jesus what He wanted to do about serving the crowd He might have told her not to worry about it, but to sit down and visit with Him. I don't think she asked. She probably immediately set about doing what she thought the "right" thing to do was - which, just to re-iterate, was merely to serve Jesus and those that were with Him.

I find this to be an important point that I must consider more deeply: Martha was only trying to serve the Lord. I understand that instead of running around like a mad woman, she would have been better off sitting down and listening to our Lord. But if Jesus corrected her when her root cause of her anxiety and worry was simply to be of service to the Lord, can all those things that I am preoccupied with be pleasing to My Lord?

“Who is my Neighbor?” – An Examination of Conscience
LK 10: 25-37

From a Christian perspective, this is an obvious story about moral choices in relationship to some difficult situations.  Maybe some of you are familiar with the Catherine “Kitty” Genovese story? On March 30, 1964 Kitty was raped and killed in not one, but two separate attacks near her home in Queens, NY.  After interviewing 38 neighbors (who heard Kitty screaming for help that night) incredibly the police found that only one neighbor summoned police.  Pitifully, people exhibited no mercy by their shameful, indifference on this date.  And tragically for Kitty, it appears that fear & silence triumphed.
    

Moving ahead to 2019, we find our church in a moral crisis.  Jesus describes how the priest & Levite decided to avoid & ignore the battered victim; while the Samaritan risked his own safety to rescue the unfortunate traveler.  Fear is a powerful mechanism built into our brains.  It enables us to survive, yet sometimes it can paralyze us.  It is evident that some of our most trusted Church leaders chose to follow the priest & Levite in this story. For too long, they chose to ignore aberrant, clerical behavior; sometimes that rose to criminal levels. Much like those from that Queens neighborhood in 1964, they too became paralyzed by fear and a trembling heart (Deut.28:65). “Fear unconstrained metastasizes.”

Today, we are witnessing the devastating effects of fear & silence within our faith community.  Too many clerics failed to intervene earlier by turning a blind eye to those being abused by their fellow priests, bishops and cardinals.  They failed to listen to the courageous ones who tried to speak out about their experiences.  Experiences that resulted in unimaginable pain & suffering.  For some survivors, it led to chemical dependency.  For others, it meant unresolved anger preventing them from maintaining stable relationships.  And tragically for others, even suicide became there only escape from unrelenting shame.  These are just a few effects of fear, silence and abandonment.

Edward Everette Hale (1822-1909) was an author and clergyman. You might be familiar with his famous quote and a citation that I believe applies to current events; “I am only one; but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”  So, “What is the one thing that we can do that perhaps we have thought about, but failed to act on?  “Who is my neighbor & do I chose to follow in the footsteps of the Levite & priest; or not?  The Pilgrim suggests that we collectively stand up to the indifference.  Let us ask God to help us follow in the path of the Good Samaritan by acting out in love, justice & divine mercy.  Let us refuse to allow fear & silence to triumph any longer.  We stand at a critical time in world history.  I suggest that we become active participants in the re-building of our church.  Perhaps, we (clerics & laymen alike) should ask ourselves if we have done enough to make the right choices & in what ways can we reach out to all who suffer in silence?” Please know that all who read these reflections are being prayed for by the fishermen.  The Roaming Pilgrim.

Lead the Way

                                                                

                                                                      

I have always been amazed of the veterans who have served our country. I read American history with great respect, from the minutemen soldiers at Concord, Massachusetts, to the fighting 69^th Irish regiment, who fought at the battle of Gettysburg. We can never forget the soldiers, who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France to free a continent during World War II. 

One landing point in the D-Day invasion that captures my heart, were the men who climbed the cliffs of Pointe de Huc.  The cliffs of Pointe De Huc are 100 feet high, overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy, France. It was a vital strategic land mass that was heavily fortified by the Nazis.  So the Army sent Special Force soldiers known as Army Rangers. The Army Rangers motto is: Rangers Lead the Way. The Rangers would climb the cliffs for Love of God and Country.

The Gospel of Luke (10:1-12) presents Jesus sending out 72 disciples to the villages he is about to visit in order to lead the way. This was not an easy assignment to go out and proclaim the gospel. Indeed, Christ said: “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. There is work for all in God’s field.”

I can only imagine what the 72 disciples felt when they were called to “Lead the Way.” A calling to evangelize to the four corners of the earth.  Martyrdom was only a village away. They were willing to lay down their lives for our Lord, Jesus Christ.  “I am sending you like the lambs among the wolves.” The dangers that would await the disciples were no different than the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.  They knew their mission was dangerous, but peace would come at a great sacrifice.

We are called to proclaim the gospel in our work place, our family, and in our hearts. This can come at a great price. People will mock you all because of me. It’s not politically correct to bring our faith to the work place. Dare we utter the name of Jesus without offending anyone?  Are we willing to Lead the Way with our example and use words when necessary?

It is my prayer, that we never forget the men who would sacrifice their lives, so that peace can come to the world.  Let’s not forget the 72 men who were called by Christ to be messengers of peace on behalf of the King of Peace. Peace comes from God and it is a gift of God that passes all generations.

St. Joan, pray for us! St. Paul, pray for us! Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Bernard of Clairvaux