26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

 

A long time ago I heard a priest give a homily to group of children on this passage.  I can’t remember the priest’s name, but I know that his words have always stayed with me, and so I share his homily – in paraphrased form. It went something like this:

 

“Before the dawn of time God was in heaven preparing for the creation of the world.  God had many angels assisting in very many ways, including one angel named Harold.  Now, Harold was a kindly angel, but he was a bit of a klutz, so he was usually given menial tasks so that he couldn’t do much harm.   That is why Harold was quite surprised when God called him over and gave him a very important and profound task.  You see, God pointed to a huge, beautiful, highly polished mirror and said, ‘Harold, this is the Mirror of Truth.  I need you to take this down to earth so that all who look at it will see and know the beautiful and glorious Truth.  But it is very fragile, so you will need to be especially careful and cautious in bringing it down to earth.’  Harold was so proud to have been given such an important job, so he very, very carefully picked up the Mirror of Truth and walked very slowly and gingerly toward the edge of the heavenly cloud so he could descend to earth.  But with each step he became more and more excited and forgot himself, and began to walk more quickly, then TOO quickly, and then….. he tripped and fell!  And the Mirror of Truth slipped out of his fingers, toppled over the edge of the heavenly cloud, and tumbled down to earth where it smashed into billions of small pieces spread out over the whole world!  Poor Harold.  Poor, poor Harold.  He failed.   In shame and humiliation, he walked back to God with his head bowed, and his face buried in his hands, muttering, ‘I am so sorry.  I am so, so sorry.’  But God embraced Harold lovingly and mercifully and said, ‘It’s OK, Harold.  It’s OK.’  ‘How can it be OK, Lord?’ Harold replied through tears. ‘Because of me your children on earth will never now the Truth.’  God reassured Harold, ‘That’s not true, Harold.  You completed the task I asked you to do.  You have delivered the Truth to my children, just like I asked.  Only now, as each person travels through life and finds a small shard of the truth, they will have to share it with others.  This way, as they put their pieces together, they will each see and learn more and more of the Truth.  At the end of time, before they return to me, they will know the whole Truth, because they worked together.’”

 

A simple child’s tale, but oh, so instructive.  We are so tribal, aren’t we?  It seems the need to belong, to be part of the right group is so strong that we will often turn to violence against those who aren’t “one of us.”  We see it when we place too much importance on our identity whether it be our politics, our race, our nationality, our ethnicity, our town, our sports team – yes, and even our faith.  Even Jesus’ closest followers couldn’t help but try to exclude and push away people who were healing others simply because they were not “one of us.”  Are we any different?   So often we believe WE know the truth, because of how we were raised, because of what we were taught, or what we’ve experienced.  Or because of who we are and the group that we identify with.  We look only at that small bit of truth that we hold in our hands, and ignore the truth that the other holds – even if the truth that THEY hold leads them to bring God’s love and mercy and forgiveness and hope and consolation – in a word, healing – to others.  

 

Dear Lord, help each of us to see your Truth in the other.

 

“Call Me Ishmael

Humility Before the Lord

 In Mark 9:30-37, Jesus explains to the disciples that he will be killed and rise again. The disciples were confused and struggled with this idea. While they traveled, they argued about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus took the opportunity to explain that humility is key to being in good standing with him. He also welcomed a child into the discussion, demonstrating the value of humility and service to others. He said that if we can accept others as he accepted the child, we will deepen our relationship with him.

How many times have you felt just like the disciples? They were completely confused about what Jesus was going to do and what he wanted from them. How many times have you asked the Lord what he wanted from you? How often have you simply asked the Lord, “Why?” I have found that the confusion we experience is usually related to not accepting the will of God. Have you ever known you were being called to do something but chose to do your own thing instead? Sometimes, the will of God involves something we have been avoiding or delaying, or perhaps something we simply don’t want to accept—much like the disciples. When you resist what the Lord wants for you, it leads to unnecessary frustration. That’s why our faith calls us to surrender. We are called to trust and have faith that the Lord will get us to the other side. Have you been able to surrender to the will of God? Or have you either ignored it or been too prideful to accept something you do not want? The Lord wants us to remain humble and places a strong emphasis on serving others. Can you humble yourself if the will of God calls you to?

When Jesus spoke to the disciples, he brought a child into the room and embraced him. He said to the disciples that we are to do the same. Just as he embraced the child, we are called to embrace him. The two are the same; we are children in the eyes of the Lord. We are called to look up to him and allow the Lord’s embrace to protect and shelter us. However, there is a requirement for that to happen: we must humbly accept that the will of God is what is most important. We have to let go of our desires and accept what the Lord wants for us. Just as the disciples had to accept Jesus’s sacrifice, we too must accept what God wants for us. Whether it’s an untimely death, financial loss, or sickness, the will of God is perfect and what we are called to surrender to. In embracing God's will, we find true peace and purpose in our lives.

 

Sunday 8 September

23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 7: 31-37

BE OPENED

O’ Lord, You are the wandering rabbi whose brief sojourn transformed humanity and offered it a remarkable reset.

Lord, You are the God of migrants and seafarers whose destination is in the magnificent freedom You alone offer.

Praise to Jehovah Jireh!

O’ Lord, You are certainly the God of openness who reigns not with threats or violence, but rather with tenderness and compassion.

Lord, You need no microphone or podium to speak from, for Your voice can be heard in the silent chambers of my soul.

Glory to Jehovah Sabaoth!

O’ Lord, You inspire me to seek decency and respect while You unlock spectacular possibilities within me.

Lord, we call upon Your greatness to restore us to sanity and enable mankind to love one another as You love them.

Praise to Jehovah El Roi!

O’ Lord, You are the infinite God and sole comfort to all creation and we simply ask to be agents of Your divine grace.

Lord, despite my defects, I continue my journey toward kindness and healing, acting in concert with Your beloved Son.

Glory to Jehovah Shalom!

                                                                                                     The Pilgrim

 

 

What's inside your cup?

Here's a scenario that plays out countless times every day: Someone is walking down the street with a cup of coffee in their hands and someone else bumps into them abruptly. What happens? Well, most likely coffee gets spilled, right? Or perhaps you have a cup of milk on a table and the table gets agitated as someone else gets up. What happens? Milk gets spilled. The simple truth is that when things get agitated, what they have in them tends to spill out. Tea cups filled with tea spill tea when they get upended.

The same is true for people: when we get agitated or upset, we tend to spill out what we have inside. A bitter person is very likely to start cursing when they get upset. A prayerful person is likely to be more patient, kind and forgiving when things get upended. I think this is closely related to this weeks Gospel reading. The person that upsets us does not make us sinful; it's what comes out of us in response that matters most.

What is your cup filled with?

                            + Theophilus