Unity or Disunity?

Ephesians 4:2-3 (GNT): Unity or Disunity

Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.

Paul teaches that peace, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, and love bind us together in Christ. And this is a deep truth many of us experience on both sides of the issue. We experience unity through loving acceptance and disunity through shallow prejudgment. The choice, often, is ours. Which do we choose?

Several years ago, my neighbor asked if he could borrow my mattock to dig out some bushes and exposed tree roots in his yard. In the past, I have always been protective of my tools, and I have to admit Shakespeare's Polonius whispered in my subconscious, “Neither a borrower nor lender be,/ For loan oft loses both itself and friend” (Hamlet 1.3.75-76). Polonius aside, I gave in and lent him the mattock.

Fast forward three weeks, and the mattock never made its way back to my garage. I began to seethe with anger and the gossipy defamation began to flow. “Who does he think he is not returning my mattock? The audacity. . . ,” I grumbled with a few choice words peppered in. I quickly began to lose my cool, and in my mind, my neighbor was no longer someone I could say hello to each day, and he became a person I resented.

After two months, I mustered-up enough courage to walk over, knock on his door, and ask if I could have my mattock back. When I did, he looked puzzled. He excused himself, disappeared into his garage, retrieved the tool, and handed it back with an apology and thanks. He had simply forgotten I had lent it to him.

After weeks of anger, impatience, judging, and isolating myself from my neighbor, I discovered I was wrong. All of this could have been avoided if I would have been humble, patient, and gentle in my thoughts, words, and actions. Due to my short sightedness, I destroyed the peace and communion with my neighbor and opted for the easy path of disunity and conflict.

Paul reminds us to look at our own relationships. Do we, too, jump to conclusions with each other, refusing to offer the benefit of the doubt? Instead, Paul writes, we should always be “humble, gentle, and patient,” showing our “love by being tolerant with one another.”

Loving God, we pray for the humility to be kind, loving agents of Jesus Christ in this world, preserving the peace and unity that your Spirit gives. We pray in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan

Satisfaction Through our Love of Others

Romans 8:1-3 (NLT): Satisfaction Through our Love of Others

[T]here is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin . . . God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

Choosing the wrong thing is a life-long struggle for every human being, and I am the first to admit that I struggle with it daily. When faced with choices, we are prone to choose self protection, self comfort, and self preference. It is just the human way. Often, however, our choice of self over others leads to desensitization, separation, and indifference. Seeking the self-centered, insular life is dangerous, for in its lack of community, it can separate us from the love of God and others.

One afternoon, my wife was taking our kids to her parent’s house. The morning had been busy for me, for I was playing with my two younger children. I had a few personal and professional tasks to complete that day but did not find time to do them. Given the opportunity, I decided to stay home while my family went on their visit. My reason for staying behind, of course, was to get my “work” done. But I knew that would only take 30 minutes of the two hours they would be gone. I desired to have some “me” time in the quiet of the empty house.

Once my family left, I commenced my plan: I would whip through my chores and have the remaining time to relax -- I could read, watch a movie, or surf the Internet. Within 20 minutes, my conscience kicked in and my heart began to ache. I wanted the noise, chaos, demands, smiles, and questions of my children. I pined for the company of my wife. In the empty quiet of the house, I realized that my heart, too, felt empty, bereft of the life and spark of love that my family brings. And I had an epiphany: It is in community with my family that I am made complete. Within the next ten minutes, I finished up my chores, grabbed my wallet and keys, and drove to my in-laws.

Seeking the insular self, although immediately appealing, proves to be an empty end. True happiness is found in community with others, especially those we love.

In Romans 7-8, St. Paul points to his experience with the impulse to sin. He talks about wanting to do the right thing, but, instead, choosing what is wrong. And in this lesson, Paul teaches that through our faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are redeemed. We are sinners, Paul teaches, in the hands of a loving, merciful God who sent his only Son to redeem us. When we listen to and choose the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the great gift we are all given through our baptism, we follow God’s personal plan for each of us, to live a life of self giving, mercy, and love in community with others.  

O’ Loving Father, please guide us by your Spirit to choose love of others over love of self. And in your wisdom, remind us that we are always your children through the redeeming love of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan

Proclaiming the Love we Know

Matthew 10:27 (NLT): Proclaiming the Love we Know

What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!

Growing up in a small town meant that my circle of friends was close knit. This was both good and bad. The bad was when that group got involved in something risky, illegal, or hurtful, I was either with them or against them. Being a born follower, my choice was usually the former. During those impressionable years (between the ages of 11-15), I was forming an identity. And the people surrounding me were very influential. This more often turned out to be destructive.

There was one exception, however. He was older than me and a significant member of the crowd. He worked hard, saved his money, and did not get involved in the negative choices of the group. When poor choices were the norm, he chose the better way and let his example speak. It spoke loudly to me. This young man was the strong silent type, and he always reached out to me with kindness and included me when others ostracized. He was patient and a skilled fixer of things. And he is the one I remember 35 years later as my role model and influence. There was something about his character that announced goodness, kindness, hope, and care. Later in life, I both figured out and confirmed that he was a Christian. He just did not advertise it. Instead, he lived it.

As my friend’s example points out, through our baptism we are all commissioned to be both disciples (students) and apostles (evangelizers) of the Good News. This does not mean, however, that we must literally “shout [the Good News] from the housetops for all to hear!” For as we know, shouting often scares people away. Our “shouts” can be more subtle and in accordance with their context. Our “shouts,” moreover, should be reflected in the everyday way that we express love, kindness, care, and concern for others. Our “shouts” should show in the way that we include others and refrain from the temptation of gossip and judgment.

My childhood mentor -- even though he most likely had no clue he was this to me -- shouted a way of living that I found appealing. His life’s example stood out from the others and drew me in. And he said nothing to me about his faith; he simply lived it. Had I asked him about his faith, I am certain he would have opened up.

Some of us are more comfortable in directly sharing our faith with others; some are better at simply living the example. Whatever the context, whatever our strengths, let us pray to be the example in someone else’s life, drawing them and ourselves closer to Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan

Does our Familiarity Breed Contempt?

Mark 6:2-5 (NLT): Does our Familiarity Breed Contempt?

They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick.

In last week’s gospel reading, we saw that through the faith of an unclean, hemorrhaging woman, Jesus was able to work the miracle of healing. And through the faith-filled plea of a father, Jesus was able to raise a man’s dead daughter to life. Faith, according to last week’s gospel, is crucial in experiencing God’s healing work in our lives.

This week, Mark turns the tables. It is in the absence of faith that Jesus’ healing and impact are limited. How many times in our experience have we doubted, shut people out, and withdrawn from the healing presence of others? In Mark 2-5, the evangelist begs the question. Frank Doyle, SJ, argues the following regarding this passage:

They do not hear the message because they are blinded by the familiarity of the person. [This is] a perfect example of the saying that familiarity breeds contempt, not just boredom but contempt.

We are not much different from the people of Nazareth. The same thing can happen to us all the time. God is constantly speaking to us through the people we know, through things that happen to us, through situations in which we find ourselves. Again and again we do not recognise his voice, his message because he is speaking through someone we know very well, or someone we do not like, or someone who is a total stranger or a foreigner.

Because of their blindness, we are told that Jesus was not able to do any of his great works there. How often have we too blocked out God’s love and healing power because we refused to recognise him in a particular person or a situation? Yet, it was precisely through this person or experience he was trying to reach us. (“Living Space”)

Doyle’s commentary resonates with me as I hope it does with you. God is among us if we open our hearts and listen to him. If we listen to the person who annoys us -- the one we tend to run from and shut out -- we can find God’s presence there. If we face the situation that makes us uncomfortable, that causes us irritation and pain, God is there. And if we pause in the midst of our rush, we can sense God’s presence in the moment.

Christ is near us, around us, and within us, wanting to be heard and welcomed into our hearts. But we often push him aside, ignore him, or flee from him. Our comfortable familiarity, dismissive attitude, and self seeking can breed contempt in our hearts. Jesus calls us to be people of faith, opening our hearts, minds, eyes, and ears to him through our listening to and love for others.

Loving Father, please grant us the grace to listen with open hearts, even when we are tempted to close ourselves off to your presence in the familiar. We pray to be people of faith, trusting in and radiating your healing love all around us. In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Have a Blessed Week!

Stan

The Gift of Faith

Mark 5:34, 36 (NRSV): The Gift of Faith

[Jesus] said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (34).

But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe” (36).  

There have been too many times when I have heard people say, “You can’t prove that God exists.” Still, others have made the following retort to the question of faith: “No one knows what is true.” And I have to admit, there was a time in my life when I leaned toward the latter argument.

Faith is a gift of grace. But like all of God’s gifts, we have to be willing receivers. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews states that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). Faith, therefore, requires our “hope” and “conviction.” These two attributes do not come naturally to many of us, especially if we are tempted by society’s naysaying voice of doubt. It is all too easy to be seduced by the siren’s song of cynicism in our world and embrace only empirical data, limiting our belief to what we can see and quantify. Faith, on the other hand, requires us to step out in humility, trusting God’s grace and power in our lives. Faith means turning our hearts over to something greater than our selves, our logic, our empiricism, and our doubts. Faith, finally, is opening our hearts to allow God’s Spirit in therefore liberating us to become people of hope and conviction.

In the above passage from Mark, Jesus reminds both Jarius and the hemorrhaging woman that faith is the key component to his miraculous healing (in the case of the hemorrhaging woman) and his giving of life (to Jarius’ daughter). The hemorrhaging woman, although branded by society as unclean and an outcast, approaches Jesus just to touch his clothes. She believes this is all she needs to do to be healed, and she is right. Because of her hope and conviction of Jesus’ power, she is made well. Jarius, also, embraces hope when he chooses to follow Jesus’ command to eschew fear and embrace belief. Amidst the naysayers of Jarius’ house, Jarius listens to the Lord with conviction and hope that he will bring his little girl back to life. And Jesus does.

Although those same people in my life will continue to express doubt as their best answer to the question of faith, I hope to always be convicted by the examples in Scripture to which Jesus points -- a woman outcast hopeful for healing and a father convicted that only Jesus can restore his little girl.

As we serve those around us this week, let us remember Jesus’ words of comfort to this desperate father and woman: Faith, not fear, brings peace, comfort, and healing. Let it start with us today through our example of Christian love.  

Loving Father, please grant us the grace of faith in you, your Son, and your Spirit. And through that faith, let the world be drawn to your love, healing, forgiveness, and peace. We pray in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan