It seems to me that there are always going to be those people who grumble. No matter what the situation, there's someone nearby that sees what is going on in the worst possible light. If something bad happens, well you probably deserved it; if something good happens then this is just another example of the gross injustice of life. They quite often go so far as to make accusations, don't they? I see this happening in the Lord's presence in this Sunday's Gospel. "When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, 'He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.' ” It reminds me of elsewhere in the Gospels where people said that if He really was the Son of God, then He would know that this person is a sinner. It seems to be intended to cast into doubt our Lord's divinity.
But clearly, there is more going on here than what is written; and this is what I truly love about scripture. It is so deep and rich and full that a simple passage such as Jesus inviting Himself over another man's house because he climbed a tree to see Him, is worthy of deep contemplation. I believe that contemplating scripture in this way always leads to an encounter with our Lord.....
Consider that there are many recorded encounters with our Lord in the Gospels, and very few of these people responded by pledging half of their possessions to the poor. Not only this, but Zacchaeus pledges to make amends for any harm he has caused by paying four-fold anything he has extorted from anyone. He is a sinner and he knows it. But this kind of things does not happen because a man invites himself over your house. Does it? So there must have been something going on in the heart of Zacchaeus that our Lord, who knows men's hearts, responded to. There was a crowd around Jesus at the time, so much so that Zacchaeus had to run up ahead and climb a tree to see Jesus. Scripture does not tell us that anyone else in the crowd was singled out for a visit. But Jesus tells Zacchaeus that He MUST stay at his house. Perhaps this is because our Loving God always responds to a heart that is seeking Him.
Zacchaeus was not a grumbler; he could not get near to our Lord, so instead of perhaps lamenting his small stature and the large crowd, he tried his best to see Jesus; and Jesus responded. Jesus always responds. My offering for your consideration; Don't be a grumbler. Seek the Lord; and be prepared for your visitation!
"For today I must stay at your house........"
+Theophilus
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Humility: The road less traveled
(LK 18: 9-14) Gospel Reading 10/27/19
This reading has Jesus comparing the prayers of a pharisee and a tax collector. On face value, it seems rather forthright. The Pharisee is arrogant, critical & self-righteous, while the tax-collector is humble, ashamed & pious. Experience continues to show me that the road to humility is filled with unforeseen potholes, unexpected roadblocks & frustrating delays. Sound familiar?
This reading has Jesus comparing the prayers of a pharisee and a tax collector. On face value, it seems rather forthright. The Pharisee is arrogant, critical & self-righteous, while the tax-collector is humble, ashamed & pious. Experience continues to show me that the road to humility is filled with unforeseen potholes, unexpected roadblocks & frustrating delays. Sound familiar?
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At one time in my life, I too wore
a uniform & was given a great deal of authority, much like Marcellus. Like him, I carried myself with a defiant
sense of arrogant pride & self-righteousness. I had a narrow definition of inclusivity; centered on only me and small band of others that I deemed worthy. As I look back, this was a trap that centered itself in a demeaning attitude. Much like the Pharisee, I also felt superior & overly critical of
those around me. (1 Chr. 32:25) And like Marcellus, God was not in the equation
then. What about you? How many times in your past (or possibly right
now) did you (like me) harshly disparage others & was anything but humble?
Feelings of pride are not necessarily
bad & it is important to experience pride.
Pride is like money. Money has its
advantages & can be beneficial; yet when we begin idolizing money, it turns
on itself and becomes arrogant (Prov. 11:2).
Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) is a self-help program for addicts. It is rooted in an ongoing process of change,
humility & surrender; identical to Marcellus’ conversion experience. These are the fruits of many conversion
stories; including mine.
This road to
humility is formidable; at times paved with disillusionment & shadows. There are painful truths along this path that
I would much rather avoid. Some have associated
this pain with darkness. I never cared for the dark, especially as a
child. With more time behind me, than in
front, I now see darkness as an unavoidable encounter. Perhaps the journey
through darkness can offer us an opportunity to acquire humility and discover
the light? (Isa. 9.2) Maybe, the Lord allows us to wander in this darkness
before we find the ultimate truth about ourselves? As Christians, on a shared pilgrimage maybe
the darkness has something meaningful to offer? Have I ever in life, prayed like the Pharisee,
but also longed to be the tax collector? Absolutely. Have I sat in the chair of
condescending superiority; criticizing others and seeing them as being inferior
to myself? Definitely. I have many more miles
to travel & much work remains, before I depart from the Pharisee part of
myself. Perhaps, now is the time to ask Jesus, who is the personification of
perfect humility, to lead me out of the darkness of self-righteousness and into
the light of modesty & wisdom? What do you think? Will you join me on my quest? Hope to see you on the road.
The Pilgrim.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Thursday, October 17, 2019
The Unjust Judge
I’ll open the blog with a question. Have you ever stood
before a Judge? I’m raising my hand and no it was not Judge Judy. I’m guilty of moving violations, red light
violations and parking tickets. In some cases, I plead guilty; and others I
plead not guilty. I wanted my voice
heard before a judge who would be impartial and listen to the whole story. It’s
a humbling experience to stand before a Judge. A judge is to preside over a
courtroom, hearing evidence, making decisions on motions, instructing juries
and make rulings. The judge is responsible for assuring the law is followed and
carried out in every case. The judge is to conduct the trial impartially. I remember one judge did not look happy. I was
thinking he did not have a good night sleep. The judge in the end ruled with
wisdom and compassion in my favor. Thank God!
The gospel of Luke (18-1-8) talks about the parable of the
unjust judge. The judge who lacks compassion is repeatedly approached by a poor
widow, seeking justice. The widow in
this parable plays an important role. Widows were often powerless and
vulnerable to society. Here the widow is standing before the judge pleading for
justice, time and time again. Her continual coming to the judge is a lesson,
which we should persevere in prayer. The
widow has great faith in prayer, she will not stop. “There is power in persistent prayer” says
the prophet Micah. (Micah7:7)
Finally, the judge breaks down and delivers a just decision
on behalf of the widow. The widow teaches us a valuable lesson, to persevere in
our faith against all odds. Don’t Stop
Praying, Don’t pray one time and give up. Keep on praying. Stay persistent in
your prayer and don’t give up. Keep going to God with your cares, your concerns
and your anxieties. He wants to help you, let him. The value of persistent
prayer is not that he will hear us but that we finally hear God.
St. Monica
prayed her whole life for the conversion of her son, who later became a doctor
of the Church. His name was St. Augustine.
Saint Monica, Pray for us.
Bernard of Clairvaux
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Thank you.
In this weeks reading Jesus performs another miracle and heals 10 men. As Jesus entered a village on of the men called out to Jesus and asked that he help them. They were leper’s and considered outcasts of the village. Jesus simply told the men to go see a priest and as they walked away each one them was healed. One of the men came back to thank Jesus for what he done. That man was from Samaria.
This reading is just another example of how Jesus loves all people. Regardless of what the world said Jesus did what was right. At that time Leper’s were considered the undesirable people. They are sick, terrible looking and contagious which meant nobody wanted them around. Well, Jesus seems to have a thing for those people. Jesus tends to find away to let the undesirables know that they can be loved and they are worthy of Gods Grace. I feel like throughout his life Jesus let’s us know that there isn’t a medical condition too life threatening , a physical appearance too scary, or a position in life that is too low for Gods Grace. I find tremendous comfort knowing this.
In my life there have been many occasions when I have felt undeserving of Gods Love. There have been occasions when I thought that I was too far gone for even God to love me. Times when I thought had done too much wrong or been away from the church so long that maybe I was out of touch with God. It’s strange but if you tell yourself something long enough you start to believe it. You start to believe that maybe God doesn’t love all of us and there is a chosen few who get the all the blessings and some of us just don’t. Some of us just get a life that is filled with dark times followed by more dark times. Luckily, I know better now that I have matured as a Catholic. That still doesn’t mean life will not challenge you. I don’t care who you are, life will throw you some curve balls and that is when you will find out where you stand with the Lord. That is when you will see what level of belief you really have. I’ve had my fair share of dark times and, throughout those dark times I do one thing. I have faith. Faith that Jesus wasn’t just healing leper’s and performing miracles to show his worth. He was making a statement to me and to everyone who has ever felt undesirable at some low point in life. That statement is I love you. Maybe those 10 men that he healed represent the men of the world that need to know that they are worthy of Gods love, no matter what. No matter what they have done in the past God loves you. No matter what your current condition is, God loves you and if you have faith he can take your life and turn it around. Turn it around like the leper who turned around to thank Jesus for healing him. Out of 10 healed leper’s the only 1 returned to say thank you. Have you thanked God recently? Have you thought about all of the times that God has healed you? Have you thought about all of the times that you felt undeserving of Gods Love. Have you thought about those moments in your life God showed up. That wasn’t an accident. That was God’s Grace. God has been with you whether you feel like you deserve it or not. There is nothing you can or can not do to deserve Gods Love. So remember even when you think he isn’t with you... he is. Try to make it a daily practice to say thank you.
Thank you for the Grace of God.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Tough Love
This week in the Gospel, the Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith. In response, Jesus tells them that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed they could move mountains. (Ouch. We're asking you to help us, Jesus. Maybe you could not put us down!?)
Jesus then tells the Apostles that if they did what they were commanded to do, they would be "unprofitable". (Thanks, again, Bro! So, if we do what you ask, we make no profit for you? Thanks for the motivational speech, Buddy!)
So, what's the deal?
As to the faith/mustard seed thing, I think that having faith is an on-or-off thing. You have faith or you don't. I usually don't think of it that way because I say, "Well, I do some of what Jesus is asking, so I must have a little faith." No, that's not true. In reality, if I had faith, I would respond to Jesus fully, and I don't respond fully. So I have to work on having faith. I have to make a conscious effort to respond to Jesus' love by trusting Him. Listen, Jesus wants a complete relationship with us, not a partial relationship. That's all He's getting at.
What about the "unprofitable" line? What is Jesus trying to say to us, here? Think of it this way. Have you ever gotten a B+ on a test and been real proud of yourself, but your father says, "How come you didn't get an A?" That's dad-speak for, "That's great. But next time I know you can do better."
It's tough love, but it's love.
- The Older Brother
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