My Heart is Glad - Billy Boy

When I was a little boy sometimes I was scared by the world.  I was a little shy, a little overweight, a little poor, and maybe all of these made me a little insecure.  But there were many people in my life that lifted me up.  One was a teacher that I had in kindergarten.  She would sing nursery rhymes to our class.  It seemed that there were some she would sing directly to me.  The songs touched my heart then and still do today.  My favorite was Billy Boy.  If you don't remember the song, it started like this:

               “Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
                 Oh, where have you been, Charming Billy?”

More than 47 years later, I can still hear her singing that song in my head.  I still hear her voice.  I don’t remember her name or her face, but I remember the melody, her voice, and how it made me feel.  I do remember that she was young.  I remember she had blonde-red hair and her voice was joyful.

Through-out out my life, whenever I doubt myself, that song still comes back to me.  Remembering the song, her voice and her smile, I am no longer insecure.  A song that a young teacher sung to feed the spirit of a six year old boy still makes my soul rejoice today.  The memory feeds me good thoughts, good feelings and confidence.

So, how do I feed my soul today?  I turn to God and I feel his grace in me.  Praying, I open myself to God.  I feel the joy and love that is Christ touching my heart.

In Psalms, the words of King David “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”  They psalm continues, “Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body rests secure.”  I was touched by a small bit of God’s good when I was six years old through a teacher singing to me.  It is a good that has been with me all my life.  It has made my heart glad and my soul rejoice.  Many times in that memory, I felt secure.  God was there in that little song. God is still with me and has always been with me.  No matter where I have been.

That's What My Momma Told Me

In the time before cell phones, one Friday, I came home from college.  After briefly visiting with my parents (basically a hello and what do we have to eat), I left again.  I headed out to go fishing and camping with my brother and friends. 

We fished all weekend.  Then, Sunday morning about 6 o'clock, a game warden walks into our camp and asks for me.  He had a single message, "Your momma's looking for you, you need to go up to the landing and call her."

Even though the game warden did not say there was a problem, my dad was sick and I thought the worse. Everybody at the landing looked at me when I arrived.  They all knew more than I did. 

I called my mom.  When I hung up, the old man at the bait shop said, "You've got to be the biggest baby I ever saw."  My mother had called speaking to the owner of the bait shop.  "Have you seen my baby? He's a football player about 6'4" and 275 pounds." He shared it with every one in the bait shop.  They all laughed.

I was mad. I was 22 years old and did not even live at home.  My mother did not apologized but explained that she loved me.  She only did what she did out of love.  Some day, I would understand.

I promised myself,  I'm not going to be like my momma.  I'll never embarrass my children like she embarrassed me.  I forgot that promise and have embarrassed them many times.  My eyes have been opened to what my mother preached to me, "Tell me where your at, tell me when you'll be home, let me know."   I have experienced worry and concern in my own heart.  My mind has been opened to understanding what she did.  I understood love.

Christ does this.  Jesus Christ opens our eyes and our minds to understanding.  He opened Mary's eyes at the tomb to recognize him. On the road to Emmaus, the risen Christ opened the eyes of Cleophas and the other disciple with the breaking of the bread.  Christ Jesus opened the minds of the Apostles so they could understand the scripture.  As true Christians, our minds and hearts are to be opened as well.

In the catechism, it states "it pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will.  His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh . . ."  God the Father, loves us so much that through Christ he opens our eyes and through Christ he opens our minds. We understand why God the Father did, why Christ did, everything that was done. It was out of Love.

That's the same thing my Momma told me. 

"Peace Be with You" - So, How Screwed Up Am I?

I ask myself a lot, especially when I see myself stumbling. "How screwed up am I?  Do I know his peace?"

Jesus gave us his peace.  Before Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and before Jesus began the way of the cross, Jesus gave the apostles peace.  In sharing his peace, Jesus gave peace to each and every one of us. Being human, maybe we screwed this up?

Sometimes our best intentions can screw us up. When my daughters were younger, my family went to a theme park that had a large wooden roller coaster.  One of my daughters wanted to ride it with her daddy.  Wanting to make her happy, we rode it together.  When we got off, everyone laughed at me. You were white! You looked so scared! 

I said that I wasn’t scared but it was a lie. They were right.  But, I wasn’t scared by the roller-coaster; I loved them.  Being over six foot three and three hundred pounds I was afraid for my daughter who was not much over four foot six and maybe sixty-five pounds.  All I could imagine was being thrown against her, again and again.  

The whole ride, I thought “How screwed up is this!”  After the ride started, I was fighting to keep myself from bashing against my daughter.  I was so scared that by doing what my daughter wanted me to do I was going to hurt her.  I fought so hard, I could not enjoy the roller-coaster.

I think this is my life.  I think it’s other people’s lives, too.  Each of us can be so scared of being human.  So scared that the ride is going to throw us somewhere we don’t want to be, that we don’t enjoy it.  How screwed up am I, are we?

I know that I sit in a roller-coaster, in middle of the ride that is my life, on the ride God has asked me to take.  I think to myself, “How screwed up am I?”  I think in this, I forget that Jesus promised his peace.

I see myself being thrown about, pulled from one direction to another, thrown to this one with needs and another who wants.  Pushed and pulled into their lives.  Just like on a roller-coaster being whipped left and right or thrown up and down. 

Everybody is watching me.  I asked myself, “Are they impressed with me?  Am I impressed with me?”  I feel drained white and scared.  As I am thrown about; I am afraid that I am going to cause someone to be hurt.  

Then, I find his peace. Jesus promised his peace and I find his peace in the face of those I help and those I pray for and those I love.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians “Be like Me” for like you “I am a man.”  In these words, I think we need to remember that we have to live our own lives.  Every person’s ups and downs are different.  Maybe we are thrown about by injustice, addictions, shame, or something we have put in the back of our minds trying to forget.  We have to realize we have been thrown down before we can rise to new heights.  This high is the place where we realize that Jesus promised his peace.

Many seek peace on this condition, "I don’t wanna change," and stay on the ride because it's all we know.  But, our life with Christ is a ride that changes us.  A change that is there no matter how screwed up we are if we are open to the peace that Jesus gave us.  Peace comes when we focus on Jesus, the peace that is with us.  It is his peace that will change us.

Creation, Evolution, and Salvation

This week there was a debate between a scientific evolutionist and a fundamental creationist.  Each one standing at opposite ends of justice. They stated their case.  Now, I have my two cents to add.

In support of the creationist:  Human beings are not a mistake, a freaky branch in the chain of life.  Human beings are the fruit of the love of God, not a chance occurrence.  Human beings are the result of the will of God the Father, our Creator. 

Believers know this.  Yes Father, you have willed us.

In support of the evolutionist:  Humanity’s existence is influenced by all that is the history of the world.  In this history is hate, violence, prejudice, ignorance, and sin which has been imprinted on us. But humanity has experienced the history of human goodness, love, and achievement.  Both good and evil are present in us.

In this dualism, humanity evolved.  But, God and grace are in our history, too. Through God and grace, human beings have become who we are; and, what we are to become.

Life is not a straight line. I cannot sit at the beginning of me and see me that I am to become.  There are too many bumps, curves, and intersections.  Life is not a straight line of sin and it is not a straight line to salvation.  Yet, God always has a straight line to us that we fail to find. 

An example is the fruit tree.  Most fruit trees have trunks and branches that are bent and knurled; maybe, full of thorns; maybe, the stem is brittle or poisonous.  The branches can be broken, curved, and knotted, but at the end of the branch is the fruit. The places were the distractions of the tree end and the goodness of the fruit begins, the source of new life.

Salvation is that place offered to us by God.  Salvation is beginning of a new life, where we begin to find a new earth; where we begin to find a new heaven; where we begin to see that straight line. 

We are given salvation by God who accepts us even though we find ourselves clearly unworthy, broken, knurled, some even poisoned.  Humanity stands before an accepting God that brings us to the place of salvation, to a place of peace where God’s justice resides. 

So for evolutionist and the creationist let us remember the words of St. Josephine Bakhita - Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know him.  What a great grace it is to know the Lord.

Sacrifice, Love, and Smiles

It was love that brought Mary and Joseph to present the infant Jesus at the Temple with a sacrifice of two doves.  A young family all smiles and full of love for each other and God.  Truly, Jesus, the Holy One of God, needed no consecration; but, still an infant in Mary’s arms, He is offered to God. The family did this through love.  It was through love, Jesus offered all to God: his entire life, work and sacrifice.  Through love, Christ sacrificed himself for our sins.  It should be through love that we come to the sacrifice of the Eucharist.

 

But why sacrifice?  According to the dictionary definition sacrifice is the surrender of something of value for the sake of something else.  This is the concept of sacrifice in scriptures.  Sacrifice is also a characteristic of love.   Love demands that we make many sacrifices. 

 

In love, all that is sacrificed is a gift of love.  A gift must be given freely to truly be a gift.  That is the ultimate truth of all sacrifice. It does not matter if it is parents sacrificing for their children or Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross.  Each of these the gifts of life and self are offered freely.

 

The sacrifice of the Eucharist is not just the sacrifice of Christ for us. It is what we bring through our relationship with Christ to God.  It is in the sacrifice of our self that we come freely and willingly, giving all that we are to God.

 

This is a giving that extends past the doors of the Church.  Giving the gift of life and self that we are blessed with to others freely and with love is a sacrifice we can share.  This is done in our works of charity, justice, and dignity.  It is done when young men and women in religious formation give the gift of their lives to God.

 

Do you see the smile of the Holy Family reflected in you?  Sharing our gifts makes our lives become considerably more enjoyable.  I think this is where we find the smile that Pope Francis believes is shared by all Christians as a joyful witness to our faith.

What Does it mean to Obey?

The Bishop spoke to the Deacon's formation class this past Sunday.  One of his topics was being obedient.  This was during our discussion of our assignments and ministries when we are ordained.  The Bishop said that the role of a Deacon is to be obedient.

He said the root word for "obey" means to listen for the truth and to follow that truth.  I was amazed at this. This is not what my parents told me being obedient meant.  It is not what I heard growing up in the Baptist Church about what obedient meant.  To obey was to what you were told without asking questions.

So I had to look the word up to make sure I heard him right. I looked up the Greek and Hebrew words for obey.  Believe it or not, the Bible was not originally written in English.

The internet can be a great thing. I googled my search for the meaning of obey.  

I found out that the Hebrew word for obey is shama.  According to some bible study tools I learned that shama means  “to hear” but other meanings including “to understand” and “to hear in a judicial way.”  One definition that I like stated the root word means ““to hear intelligently; to consider and consent with contentment; to diligently discern and perceive with the ear; to give ear.”

One of the Greek words often translated as obey is hupakouo.   In the the same study tools I had used before the definition of hupakouo is “to listen/to harken” as “one who on the knock at the door comes to listen who it is, (the duty of a porter)”.  This word for obey follows a sense of understanding and responding to what is asked of us.

We must obey God.  In the old testament the Hebrew word used would have been "shama."  The early follows of God were asked to hear and understand God.

We must obey Christ.  In the new testament, the writer using Greek would have used the word "hupakouo". Listen to his call.  Answer his knock, discern.

God asks us to obey the divine message.  The message we find in Christ is Love. We need to listen intelligently to God's message of love in Christ.  We need to diligently discern what we are called to be, to love, and to obey as Christ knocks.    

In Turmoil the Church Still Flows - WEGoss2

In Turmoil the Church Still Flows - WEGoss2

In turmoil

the Church still flows -

facing

Charybdis pulling

at safe waters.  

In turmoil

We right our ship -

facing

Scylla's rocks

with what is left. 

In turmoil

the Church still flows -

pulling

Together works

after the latest wreck.

In turmoil,

God

flowing

Christ to us

through the broken

God

Brings - glorifies

Christ through us,

Christ in us

all in all.

In turmoil

the Church 

is about Jesus.

is about Life.

is about People.

is the grace of God

in human lives

making us Human.

Epiphany Explained

Epiphany Explained – WEGoss2

wise men had no control

          of that made so clear

                    the light of a star

                              over human divinity

carrying gifts

          and traveling from far

                    in faith, begets unity

                              God comes near

clarity moments

          found tranquility

                    in a light that breaks fear

                              born in a stables bar

salvation has come

          and the wise revere

                    that all can acquire 

                              the promise of eternity

A Lesson for Men

The verse from Colossians 3:21 - "Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord,"  is one that I like.  Don't think me a chauvinist; but, hear me out. I have a reason this is a favorite verse. 

Every time this verse is read in mass, I hear these or similar comments.         

•   "I bet your wife doesn't want you to include that in the readings."   
•  "Why did you read that part, isn’t that the optional bracketed text." 
•  "Surely, you don't think in today's world, women are inferior to men." 
•  "I would never get my wife to consider herself subject to me."

The reason this verse is a favorite is because the verse is not about any of these ideas. 

This passage does contain directions for a Christian Family.  But it is not instructions for wives; it is an instruction to men.  Throughout the bible, it is stated that the husband must be the spiritual head and model of worship for the family; but, Christ brought a new model.

To understand this verse, look at the beginning of the passage.  "And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection." (Col 3:14)  This is the model the husband should follow. This Christian husband is one that a Christian wife should have.  The wife would love the husband and respect him in the love that Christ teaches.

The husband must not be the dominant oppressive patriarch with a stern unyielding rule. A loving family is absent the selfish power and compulsion that will cripple and distort love. The family is to "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." (Col 3:12)  To love is not easy, that maybe is why we fail as Christians and why many families fail.  The family is where we learn to love.  Love is this where the family grows. 

Maybe when we discuss this verse, we should look at Jesus command - love others as you love yourself.  One ancient philosopher put it even more simply.  Let us not impose on others we would not impose on ourselves. So following Christ's directions it would also be husbands subordinate to your wives, as is proper in the Lord. 

The reason this is one my favorite verses is it teaches me to be a better man.

God Have Mercy (Mt 9:27-31)

When I was a boy, we played a game called "Mercy."   Two players would interlock their fingers.  Each would try to get the advantage through strength or leverage.  They would then bend the other player's fingers backward, making them ask for "mercy."  The winner would then have mercy and release the other player.

An act of mercy is one that removes hurt and suffering.  The winner in a game of mercy could do this.  The players were connected.  Each shared the struggle of the game. The winner knew the hurt of the loser, because many times before, this winner may have have had asked for mercy.

The truths we can learn in a child's game are surprising.  As in the game, a true act of mercy shares in the suffering of the other person. This is something we do not want to do in real life.  How many of us really can say we practice mercy by sharing in the suffering?

The Father sent the Son to know mercy.  Jesus was a man; yet, also divine.  In Jesus, God experienced the human condition from birth to death.  God shared in our suffering, our hurt, our misfortune, our angst, and our condition.

When we see the need and only feel bad, we do not show mercy.  Each of us, can easily see the affliction of others and feel compassion but it is hard to bring ourselves to share the suffering.  God did.  God became man. So that God could have mercy.

I Got My New Glasses Today

I got my new glasses today.

Over time my eyes have gotten worse, nothing I did; just age (too old), circumstance (an old sports injury to my eye), and environment (sunshine and glare). With my new glasses, I can see what I did not know I couldn't see.  My eyes were opened.

My glasses broke and I had to send them in for repair.  So only having an old prescription pair, I took some vacation.  During this time, I worked with some folks who had nothing, not even heat, and it has been cold. Some were elderly.  Some were sick.  Some had nothing.

A human faults sometimes let us place ourselves above folks worse off.  We just can not see as well as we need to see.  The world has affected us in our age, our circumstance, and our environment.

The predicament of the poor many times is nothing they control; just age, circumstance, and environment.

I see people talk in loving words about their children and the great things they have accomplished.  I see how alone they are.  I wonder how did they get in these predicaments of poverty.

I put on the glasses of love and my eyes are opened by the one who loves us all.

I got my new glasses today.

contrary 2 love

A love poem to my wife and to God

contrary 2 love   by WEGoss2

Still,

water is tickled

                              by a pebble

beginning an inviting intrusion.

Separate,

never the same,

                            ripples, outward

in beautiful symmetry.

Contrary 2 love

      (self-ness)

                              awakened -

meeting in opposites

Contrary 2 love

      (Individualistic-ness)

                             distinctively -

merging 2 one.

Away,

runs together

                             water & pebble dance

a sparkling togetherness

Contrary 2 love

       (uniqueness)

                             agitation  -

freeing the soul.

Always,

water & pebble

                             polished to a gem

absorbing the polished.

Contrary 2 love

       (differenceness)

                             friction -

making us more.

Together

Some despair

                             in ripples of

identity, meaning,

Contrary 2 love

      (worldliness)

                             crisis -

bonding the 2.

Forever,

1 beginning

                             2 to 1 but 2

the pebble heart of  water

Contrary 2 love

        (self…)

                             but 2 -

growing to 1.

Who is this Pope?

I received a text message.  It was a question that asked, “Who is this Pope? Is he Peter the Roman?”  If you do not know, this is a reference to the St. Malachy prophesy.  These prophesy are of the last pope supposedly attributed to St. Malachy from the 12^th century.

My answer was this: He is man who recognizes he is a man with faults and weaknesses like every man.

Peter the Roman is identified as a good Christian leader.  Many Popes could be identified as Peter the Roman. The Pope sits in the Petrine Chair, as the Bishop of Rome.  Peter the Romans is said to guide the church through many tribulations before the coming of final judgment.  Throughout history, the Popes have guided the Church through tribulation, scandals, war, and attacks by those against it.  The origin of the Pope is Christ’s words, “You are Kepha, and on this very kepha, I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”  Kepha is rock, which translates to Greek as Peter. This was a promise of a continued line of Peter of Rome. Many Popes (Peters) would lead the church against many different tribulations - heresy, wars, plagues, schisms, injustice, and internal controversy.

I called and asked this person what his concerns were.  It was stated all that was being heard and attributed to what the Pope said.  Tribulations made by not understanding what Pope Francis says in relationship to Church teachings.  An Interpretation of Pope Francis words written without even an exploration the catechism by writers who do not know the Church.  Many journalists may be trying to spread agendas.  These are not the same as the Catholic Church’s agenda but may legitimize secular thought by linking them to the Pope’s words.

All of this comes from Pope Francis humility.  When asked in an interview, “Who is the man Jorge Bergoglio.”  The Pope thought and said, “I am a sinner.”  This is the defining statement that supports all that he has said so far.  We are not to judge others, only offer the love of Christ, who is the ultimate judge of what is in a person’s heart.  We are all sinners, how can someone imperfect judge another imperfect soul.

Christ is the perfect man, Christ is the one without sin, and Christ will be the judge of all. As sinners, we are to respect with dignity each and every person.  We are to tolerate others, tolerate them because we are all sinners and be examples of Christ love.  Show them the path of Christ, show them that they are to “Love the Lord God with all their hearts and all their souls and all their minds, and love their neighbors as themselves.” We can only do this completely, if we recognize that we are all sinners.

A Thank-you for the Music Ministry of My Friends

Victor Hugo said, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.”   

Our spoken word does not always voice what we need to say, especally in our prayers.  Only in the silence of prayer can our hearts truly reveal our inner most thoughts.  After that, music comes nearest to articulating the expressions of our soul.   Sacred music is these prayers which we cannot put into words because of our earthly limitation.  Music is the  soul's projection of a vision of joy or sorrow; life or death; love or remorse.   In it, we know of prayers that we cannot speak aloud.

Martin Luther said, "...music is one of the most magnificent and delightful present God has given us."   It is a gift that is the expression of  our soul to the outward world.   Like a breath, it escapes from what is in us.  

There is an old Hebrew teaching that every breath we take is a prayer to God; with your help,  the breath of our words of prayer are magnified with your gift of music.  In our pride, we do not thank God enough and we do not thank those who work for God enough.    Thank you and thank God for the gift of music that you bring.  

  

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you...  - Philippians 1:3

Homiletic's Class - Reflection for Holy Thursday

The following was an assignment for my Homiletic's Class 
A Reflection for Holy Thursday.

We all look up to someone -  our father, mother, or even a grandparent.  Maybe we have someone who was a mentor to us.  A lot of people followed Jesus and his disciples, listening to his teaching.  Some of the followers may have been tied to them by circumstance, maybe before Jesus, the disciples were their mentors.  Have you ever wondered about those who followed?  Maybe it was an apprentice fisherman.

My name is Moshe. Yes, I remember Jesus.  I am an old man now, but I have lived my life by the model he gave us.  What model?  Let me tell you the story.

  I was down by the sea of Galilee.  I was not much more than a boy, just old enough to become an apprentice.  I was working with my mentors Simon and his brother Andrew.  They were teaching me to fish, make nets, handle the boat, and all the things a man needs to know.   A teacher named Jesus came to the shore, preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven.  He said to Simon and Andrew, "follow me, I will make you fishers of men."  I was thinking, this sounds funny, so I asked them if they knew this man, "Where does this man come from, where does he eat?"   Jesus said to me, "Come and see."  So, I did.   

  I followed Jesus as he went from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom to come.  He spoke and taught in the synagogues.  Everyone that heard him, praised his teaching.   They were amazed that he taught with so much authority.  He did not teach like the scribes or Pharisees. There was a realness about him.  You believed what he taught.  

I remember one time, a scribe asked him, what is the greatest commandment.  Everyone knew what Moses taught, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind."  But Jesus added to this, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  It was the same law we all knew but so much more when he spoke it.

Wherever he entered some place new, people were waiting. Whether it was the countryside, a village or even a great city, people came.  The sick would be laying on the streets in the market place just asking to touch the hem of his cloak, and many touched it and were cured.  

  Jesus did the most wondrous and glorious things. He calmed the sea in a storm. He fed thousand with just a few loves and some fish.  He raised the dead.  

Yet, even with such great things, the most learned of men in the Law, still tried to trap him with questions.  He always gave answers they could not refute.  And in all of this, Jesus could have become angry against those who doubted him, but he remained so humble.   

He rejected no one and was friends with tax collectors and sinners.  All those that others looked down upon, came near Him to listen.  The Pharisees called out against him because Jesus sat and ate with sinners.  I was among the sinners who sat listening to his words.

In his words and deeds, Jesus taught us faith.  Jesus taught us to forgive ourselves and to forgive others.  Many were healed because of their faith.  Yes, and many were healed because their sins were forgiven. He taught us to pray "forgive us as we forgive others." 

Many, many people grew to believe in Jesus, people said that even some of the rulers believed in Jesus, but could not follow Him because they were afraid that they would be persecuted and loose power and their office.  I do not think these people heard his words.

Jesus was a man, I know this.  He shed tears and became hungry; but, he was more than a man because of his love.  It was a love that forgave us our sins.  A love that allowed us to believed in the power of forgiveness.  When Jesus forgave us of our sins, our sins (all our sins) were forgiven.   This was Jesus' true humility, living less in himself and doing all for the Kingdom of Heaven. 

I could go on, because there is so much more to tell. But I must tell you of the things that occurred at that  Passover meal. At the end of the meal, Jesus took the bread and blessed it.  He said "This is my body. This is a cup of the new covenant."  All those at the table shared in the bread and cup.  

Then Jesus did the most remarkable thing, he took off his robe and tied a towel around his waist and washed everyone's feet.  Simon, who Jesus call Peter, did not want the master to wash his feet. The master washing the feet of his disciples.   Everyone was in awe.  Jesus then said, "I have given you a model to follow, as I have done for you, you should also do."  

     I can tell you the story over and over, and remember something different every time.  But every part of Jesus teachings were in the washing of the feet.  His message, his ministry, and his life was simply this expressed so simply:  

• Jesus loved us, he washed our feet for love;
• Jesus forgave us, he washed away what soiled us; and 
• Jesus humbled himself in everything, putting every one before himself.  

     
     This was the model he gave us after that meal and in his life.  Not just in washing our feet with water and a towel but in all he did.  He humbled himself to wash us with forgiveness  and dried us with love.  He did this even the next day when they took him, beat him, and crucified him.  Humbled on the cross, he forgave us and still loved us even in what was done to him.

     Many took his model and began to teach and heal those in need.  They served, they loved, and they forgave sins by his authority.  My friend Peter said that "Jesus was the living son of God."  I know this is true.  Many others also believe.

     This is end of the story of a man's life; but, that is not the end of the story. The rest of the story is the one of Christ Jesus, which is greater still.  But we will save that for another time. 

     Now many years later, people go to the 5 Gospels to hear Jesus' story, to discover the model - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.  Yes, Yes, I know that is only 4 gospels.   The fifth gospel, I hope is found in me, following Christ's model of love, forgiveness, and humility.  Please, let an old man finish by asking you this: Is the fifth gospel your life as well?

Thank you my friend, Moshe.   It is such good news to hear the gospel coming from you.   I too challenge you to follow the model Jesus gave us, be the gospel living in the world.

Prayer of the Faithful - 23 Week in Ordinary Time

1.      That the Church, the People of God, be witnesses of hope and
healing to those who bear a cross of distress in a challenging world…
We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

2.      That Pope Francis, Bishop Duca, and all priests and deacons
inspire the faithful to bear their crosses each day with patience and
fidelity to the Gospel…  We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

3.      That the resolve of leaders in Syria, Egypt and all of the Middle
East is strengthened by God to end the fighting and choose a future of
peace…  We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

4.      That students and teachers grow in God's wisdom as well as academic
wisdom…  We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

5.      That our community puts Christ first in building a foundation of
faith in our Church, in supporting the Diocesan Appeal, and to those
we minister to…  We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

6.      That those who bear the heavy crosses of severe illness experience
God’s healing and presence… We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

7.      That all who have died may be welcomed into the eternal life
Christ has prepared for us…  We pray to the Lord– Lord Hear Our Prayer

8.      That the Lord comes to the aid of those who have requested our
prayers, those on our prayer list, and those intentions we now voice,
(Pause)   We pray to the Lord – Lord Hear Our Prayer

9.      That we find true strength in God as we add our own intentions
and needs in the silence of our hearts… (Pause)  We pray to the Lord –
Lord Hear Our Prayer

Me Is A Complicated Thought

Recently during a family dinner, one of my dining partners was my great niece, a kindergartner.  When asked why she did something, she gave a wonderful answer. “You wouldn’t understand - it’s complicated.”  The complication's of a six year old life.

It's complicated is what people think about being a Christian.  Jesus taught in parables.  What was Jesus trying to tell us?  Those who seek his word have to think about what was said.   Its complicated.  But, Jesus' simple truth is love, forgiveness, and humility.

Sometimes, we are like that little child.  We live in a world that revolves around us.  Conversation and understanding is based on “me, me, and me some more.”  Nobody understands me, it's complicated. 

As a result of this relativism, the agendas put forth in the world are too often flawed.  If it is important to me, then it should be important priority to the world.  Ideals based on "the me" becomes the social conversation and changes perceptions in the world.  The subjects of our conversation, no matter how contradictory to reason, becomes acceptable.  A conversation without reason is complicated.

 

If however, Jesus' message is in our thoughts, our conversations become based in Christ.  We grow and become like the disciples.  In the Gospel of John, the disciples began to understand and no longer heard only parables but Jesus' message saying “Now your are talking plainly. . . .” (Jn 16:29)   They lost the relativism of their thoughts, language, and conversation.  They changed. 

This change starts within ourselves.  It is a change in "the me" but is not a change based on "the me."   The change becomes our Christ centered thoughts of love, forgiveness, and humility.  We share it and our conversation begins.   Without hate, without violence, and without prejudice, we converse with others.   Soon, it is a conversation to the world.   If everyone is no longer thinking only about themselves and their thoughts are of love,forgiveness, and humility, they will find  "me."  It's complicated, but it is easy to learn with Christ as our teacher.  

Well Done My Faithful Servant: Remembering My Father

My father was a Southern Baptist Minister.  September is the anniversary of his death.  His death pushed me away from God for a while.  Not because I did not believe, but because I was scared.

His death was a slow suffering death.  At the age of 12, he began smoking.  He contracted TB and developed serious lung issues in the military immediately after WWII in Japan.   As long as I can remember, he had problems breathing. 

In the last couple of years of his life, his brain became tortured from lack of oxygen.  A calm, gentle man with a great intelligence outwardly became hurting, angry, and frustrated.  At one point before his death, connected to a ventilator, he could not talk so he suffered even more.

I remember him lying there and dying.  The ventilator breathing for him in a constant rhythm: woosh-click, woosh-click, woosh-click.  It was the hardest thing to go there and visit my father, the man I loved so much.  I did not want to see him small, fragile, and struggling to live.  Suffering and dying at 55 years old, I did not want to remember him that way.  So, I ran and hid from it.

I only wanted to remember his good times.  I wanted to remember his largeness, his laugh, his smile, his hugs.   I wanted to remember his life for God, the love and kindness showed to everyone.  I wanted to remember the lives he touched.  Changing rough, grumpy, callous people with his presence.  Always ready with a prayer.  Preaching in the pulpit, sharing Christ's message, not for money but for love.

He told me that each and every person has their own relationship with God.    Some have a deep relationship and some only a casual acquaintance.  The God a person's life could be the God of the Bible or maybe a god they thought was God.  A god fashioned to fit their lives.   His ministry was to guide them to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  He was only part of a person's journey to a relationship with Christ.  A relationship found in themselves.

Twenty years later, I lay in a hospital bed, with a ventilator breathing for me.  Woosh-click, Woosh-click, Woosh-click.   I was alone and quite with God.  The first time I had been alone with God for some time.   I remembered my father's funeral.  The sermon came from Matthew, the parable of the "good and faithful servant."   As the minister closed the funeral, he said God was welcoming this man with "Well done my good and faithful servant."  

I looked at the crucifix on the wall, Christ suffering for the sins of humanity.  There in the hospital bed, my father's message continued twenty years after his death.  Mr father had been only part of my journey with God.   In the example of my father's life of faith and suffering death, God spoke to me in the woosh-click of the ventilator.  

Forgotten over the years was the understanding offered by my father.  I had taken what God had given me and made it into what I needed it to be.  My father's gift of faith and example had been buried.  I had done this because I was scared like the foolish servant who buried what the master had given him.  

Christ's parable tells us to take the gifts and talent God gives us and build his kingdom.   The greatest thing God gives us is the simple example of our lives.