Category Archives: Sunday Morning

Why we rejoice

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I have always been interested in the art, the craft of titling books. When scanning for my next book to read I am often drawn in by the title. I can remember coming across Norman McLean’s novel, A River Runs Through It. There was something about the title that intrigued me. So, I picked it up off the shelf and read the first few sentences: 

“In our family there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing; grace was in the air, and grace came by art and art did not come easy. My father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman. He taught us the grace of the woods and the grace of the river. He taught us that a man could be a sinner and a fisherman, and that the two were not incompatible.” 

I was hooked.

This summer I saw promotions and advertisements for a streaming series, “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” I suspected it was a young adult romance novel – not exactly a book for me – but I thought that was the kind of title that was intriguing and sure to have captured the intended audience. 

I thought to myself, “Self…maybe you should write a book, “The Winter I Turned Old.” I am sure there is an audience out there. Don’t worry I am not having a life crisis. It is probably just the experience of all the little aches and pains, shorter days, longer nights and colder weather. This Florida native is suffering the cruelest of circumstances: I have even started wearing long pants.

As we approach the shortest day of our year, as the light of day is consumed by the edges of night, the grip of winter tightens, and collars are turned up against the chill air, it is then that these bones feel their age, and the minor inconveniences of aches and pains remind me of my mortality. Yet there is a great reading that comes our way and is to be recommended: the readings of Gaudete Sunday.

I was “hooked” by the opening lines of the first reading from Isaiah: “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”  Isaiah certainly has a way with words.

This December I have been preaching on the Book of Isaiah, one of the great prophets of Israel and Judah. Every weekday of Advent so far, unless there was a solemnity or feast day, the first reading has been from Isaiah. Today our first reading was Isaiah 35 and it is a great reading with wonderful images of renewal, restoration, hope and reasons to rejoice because of the promises of the Lord.

Do you need those promises today? Maybe today is a good day,  but we all have those times in our lives when we need to know that God’s promises are for us. We need those promises to lift us up that we might rejoice in the Lord always.

Jerusalem and Judah had those times when they needed to be reassured that the Lord was with them and for them. The chapters leading up to our first reading describes a time when Jerusalem and all of Judah was under the threat of one most powerful nation of that time. The Assyrian Empire was expanding southward, already having conquered the 10 northern tribes. In the south, people felt helpless, afraid, and uncertain whether God would save them. The political and religious leadership was a disaster. As a result Jerusalem seemed vulnerable and the people were disheartened and spiritually weak. Chapters 28–34 a running admonishment, warnings against foreign alliances instead of trusting in God, and rebukes for spiritual blindness of leaders and people alike. 

The crisis is quite real and existential. Assyrian invasion and victory means exile, destruction, and the end of the nation. Isaiah 34 is a chapter full of judgment, destruction, and despair. The land is pictured as scorched and empty. It is an image of how the people feel: abandoned, disheartened, and unsure of God’s presence. Into this atmosphere of anxiety and judgment comes the promise of chapter 35

“The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song” (Isa 35: 1-2)

Into that darkness, Isaiah says: “Strengthen the hands that are feeble…Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!” Why? Because God is coming, not only to judge, but to save, to heal, to restore, to bring His people home. This is the heart of Gaudete Sunday. This is at the center of God’s promises of a Savior – and the proper response is to rejoice.

We rejoice because God brings life out of the deserts of our lives. Every one of us knows what a “desert” feels like:

  • A season of prayer that feels dry
  • A relationship that has grown tepid
  • A grief that just seems relentless
  • A worry that burdens our thoughts and keeps us up nights
  • A sin we have struggled to uproot
  • A disappointment that is slowly hardening our hearts

These are the real deserts of human life. Isaiah is not being poetic for the sake of poetry. He is speaking to real human loneliness, fear, and exhaustion. 

Isaiah reminds us that the desert is not our destiny. God can irrigate what seems dry, renew what seems dead, and bring joy where there has only been sorrow. Advent reminds us that God is always beginning something new.

We rejoice because God is already at work even when we cannot see it. Gardens don’t bloom overnight and neither do deserts. New growth slowly arises, quietly and often unnoticed. In the same way, God’s grace often works quietly and invisibly:

  • A small shift in our conscience
  • A softening of the heart
  • A desire to pray
  • A willingness to forgive
  • A new patience with someone difficult
  • A sudden moment of clarity
  • An unexpected sense of peace

These are signs that God is already making the desert bloom. We rejoice not because we have everything figured out, but because God is acting even in the places we cannot yet see. And we especially rejoice because God comes to heal, not to condemn. 

Gaudete Sunday is an invitation to recognize the God who heals. Isaiah proclaims: “the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.” God does not come into our lives with a running list of our failures. He comes like a physician who knows exactly where we are wounded and brings the healing and cure we have long needed, clarity of thought, strength to get up and move ahead, and a pathway home. 

We rejoice because God is leading us home. The reading ends with a beautiful line: The “ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee” This is the promise at the center of Advent: that the God who comes to us at Christmas and the God who will come again in glory is the same God who is even now leading us, step by step, toward the fullness of life. No matter where we have wandered, no matter what has grown dry or is broken, God’s desire is to lead us home.

And, big picture, we rejoice because God is faithful to His promises. So… 

  • Rejoice, not because life is perfect, but because God is making all things new.
  • Rejoice, not because the desert is gone, but because God is making the garden bloom.
  • Rejoice, not because the journey is over, but because God is walking it with you.
  • Rejoice, because God remembers, heals, strengthens, and restores

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice”

Amen.

Image credit: Prophet Isaiah, Mosaic, Right of Lunette, South Wall of Presbytery, Basilica of San Vitale | PD-US | scripture image from Canva CC-0

Hope Restored

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Readings from the Prophet Isaiah are part-and-parcel of Advent. This past week all the first readings were from Isaiah taken from various chapters and all well chosen for the Season of Advent. Every reading proclaimed verses which, to our Christian ears and understanding, are promises of a Messiah to come – a covenant promised fulfilled. It is a message of Hope for us. The words were a much needed beacon of hope in the darkness that surrounded the people of Jerusalem in the prophet Isaiah’s own time. 

The audience was the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the late 8th century B.C., during the reign of King Hezekiah. More specifically, Isaiah addressed three groups of people. Firstly, Isaiah addressed the leadership of Jerusalem (political and religious). Isaiah often portrayed them as blind, deaf, and stubborn (cf. Is 29:9–16) because they paid more attention to pomp, circumstance, gold and glory. They were not leading the people into covenant with God, much the opposite. And so Isaiah also spoke to the wider population, those led astray and whose spiritual perception had become dulled. 

The glory days of King David are long gone and by comparison, the great tree of Jerusalem is like a stump: lifeless and increasingly barren. And now the Assyrians are at the gates of Jerusalem. They have conquered 10 of the 12 tribes already. Jerusalem is next. Hope is quickly fading like a dying ember as the hour approaches midnight.

But there is another group within the city. The prophet Isaiah also addressed a faithful remnant – people who are righteous before God and yet their world is crumbling. They need reassurance that God will act to save and restore the situation that is clearly going astray. They need hope that a Messiah would come to set things aright. Today, our first reading gives us one of the most hope-filled visions in all of Scripture: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom” (Is 11:1).

That single line can be an anchor for your Advent reflections. Why? But Isaiah teaches us one of the great Advent truths:  God does His best work with stumps.

When everything looks finished, when the situation looks hopeless, when the future seems cut down to the ground, it is then that God begins something new. The “shoot” is small, fragile, humble. But it is alive, and it carries the promise of a new Kingdom. Someone small, fragile and humble was born in a manger in Bethlehem. It was the beginning of something new. Someone who was revealed, just as Isaiah said, with the gifts of the Spirit: “a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord” (11:2). He was the One for whom Israel waited. He is the One we await at Christmas yet the One who already reigns. He is the One who can work with the stumps in our lives – that part of us that seems cut down or dying. What might that be?

Hope, because there are days when the news feels overwhelming; when the world feels unstable; or when personal disappointments pile up. Hope can feel like a cut-down stump. Yet Christ is the “shoot” who revives it.

Maybe trust seems dead or dying in our lives because we experience betrayals, family wounds, and broken promises. A person can feel unable to trust others, family members, themselves or even God. Trust can feel like a cut-down stump. Yet Christ is the “shoot” who revives it.

Compassion and tenderness seem absent because stress and busyness can harden hearts. We become too preoccupied and so we respond more with irritation than empathy. We find we can neither give or receive compassion. It can all feel like a cut-down stump. Yet Christ is the “shoot” who revives it.

Has our ability to forgive been cut back? Are we still a forgiving people? Forgiveness might be absent because we carry the burden of memory and hurts that we can’t shake, can’t set down. Resentments have settled in over the years and petrified a part of our heart. It feels even worse than a cut down stump. Yet Christ is the “shoot” who revives it.

What about our prayer life? Because of everything already mentioned and even more, we may be bereft of courage, of joy, of wonder, and patience. Prayer feels dry, mechanical, or absent. It seems “dead,” as though not even the stump is left. Christ can awaken it with one small word spoken into a dark night: “Lord, help me to pray.”

“Lord, help me to hope, trust, be compassionate, and forgive… even when I don’t feel like it. Lord, take my stumps and from them may your grace give forth a bud that will blossom.”

Advent is a time to be attentive and bring “our stumps” to prayer and to the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Bring them and give them over to the One who brings life out of nothing.

“A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom” (Is 11:1) The Messiah has come and will come again – but He is with us even now in the Word of God, the Eucharist, and in the Spirit. A shoot is ever and already sprouting. In Him through Him and with Him you have the possibilities of being restored and renewed so that from you the bud of Christ will blossom.

And in time from that bud shall come a new, strong, tall tree upright before God.

Amen

Image credit: Prophet Isaiah, Mosaic, Right of Lunette, South Wall of Presbytery, Basilica of San Vitale | PD-US | Pexels

The coming flood to sweep us away

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In our first reading, the Prophet Isaiah says that All nations shall stream toward it. Of course he is speaking about a day in the future when the light of salvation will shine from the highest mountain. If you grew up in Orlando, you could be forgiven for thinking Isaiah was referring to Space Mountain at Disney World. Based on all measures of tourism, people indeed stream toward that Magical Kingdom – that entertainment mecca that offers a respite from the imperfect, unredeemed world in which we live.

 Our world is not too dissimilar from the apocalyptic images of wars and rumors of war. In our world, people are homeless, hurting, and helpless. People are lonely, lonesome, and lost. It can be a struggle – and there is a part of us that wants the holiday season. That wants a break, a pause, a Disney moment. We need to recharge, be happy, be hopeful, and hospitable. So, we also open our homes for gatherings of friends and families. There are concerts, lots of children’s Christmas pageants, musicals, and we light up our homes and streets against the darkness of winter, the darkness in the world. And like Disney, our homes are filled with people and music: familiar tunes like “Silent Night” where  All is calm, all is bright.  But the world we live in is not perfect, not redeemed, not Disney. 

The words of our Advent scripture are neither “Christmassy” or “Disney.”

…the flood came and carried them all away.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left. 
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left. 

On this first Sunday, the message is ominous and dark. It takes us by surprise.  The message of our Advent Scripture roars, asking us to look around because it is just like it was in the days of Noah. We are going about business as usual, but there is a coming flood that will sweep us all away. While the world would present a huggable, domesticated, Disney Christmas, Advent begins with a roar that shatters the calm on this day.   It cries “wake up!” because Salvation is coming; Redemption is on its way!  You have to be ready.

If we really hear the Advent message, we would better understand the power of the coming God. If we are deeply connected with the reason for the season, we would not come to church at Christmas in our finery, we would be prepared and come wearing crash helmets and life preservers, prepared to be swept away in the flood of God’s power and grace.

God is not like Disney.  God does not want to pacify us – He wants to electrify us. He does not want us lining up for Space Mountain, but rather would have us stream towards the mountain of the LORD’s house. He does not want to dazzle us with fireworks and Main Street – He wants to mystify us the idea that God, our Redeemer, the one to heal, house, and give hope –  would come to us as one of us – as a helpless child.  Would draw us into the hard and demanding work of raising a child.

A child in a manger, arms raised upward, inviting you into the embrace.  A child we are called to pick up and take into our lives, doing the hard work of nurturing our faith into maturity. A Child that will make the demands of love known. A Child that will point to homeless, hurting, and helpless – past all the magic of Disney – and remind us of Love’s demand to be played out away from the Magical Kingdom – on the highways, byways, back alleys, and streets of the Kingdom of God.

The readings of this first Sunday in Advent asks us to wake up, be vigilant, and reminds us that this Child’s story cannot truly be rolled into malls, markets, Main Street Disney, or any endeavor that would soften, temper, domesticate, obfuscate, or obliterate news that should roar at us like the full grown lion, sweep us away in the flood waters of change. It truly is “As it was in the days of Noah…”

Salvation is coming; Redemption is on its way!  You have to be ready. You have to ready your family. That’s the gospel message…. and now comes the hard part: what will you do to prepare? And in midst of all the fun holiday endeavors, what part of Advent will you carve out for the Lord? What’s the plan? What are the actions? 

I have faith in you… after all, you have organized the family vacation to Disney World – a logistics miracle in itself! You prepared, you readied the family, y’all had a great time. You got this. You can make your Advent family plan to be electrified by the love of God, break out the Advent crash helmets and life vests, prepare for the coming of the Christ Child, with your prayer, time to volunteer, and more. You got this.

“As it was in the days of Noah…” but unlike those days, you can be ready for the Redemption that this way comes. It’s Advent – prepare yourself.

Amen

Image credit: Canva, St. Francis, CC-BY-NC

The King We Choose

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Kings are an interesting concept. When someone tries to impose their will upon us, one of our tried-and-true responses is, “Who died and made you king?” Maybe our American spirit has a bias against unbridled power in the hands of the one. Yet there is something within us that wants a king when we want a king – you know – the times we feel uncertain, times are turbulent, and we are just a tad frightened. Like the people of Israel at a pivotal point in the Old Testament. The people come to the prophet Samuel and demand that he ask God to send them a king so that they could be, not the people of God, but that they could be like the people in the nations around them. It seemed to the Israelites that those people were secure, safe and prosperous. 

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua – some of the great names of Israel’s history and none of them were kings. Yet under the leadership of God, they led Israel from slavery to the freedom of the promised land.  Deborah, Gideon, Samson – none of them were kings, yet under the leadership of God, these Judges united Israel to defend itself and its identity as a people chosen by God. When the people asked the Prophet Samuel to ask God to give them a king, Samuel understood the implications: the people thought that the Lord God wasn’t doing such a good job. The people wanted a different king. They wanted to be people other than who they were called to be: the people of God. 

The people wanted a  king who could offer security against enemies foreign and domestic. A king who would promise a better tomorrow, a prosperous future, and make us feel better about our lives. A king who would ensure we will not be threatened, face risk, or suffer. The people of Israel wanted a king that projected power, invulnerability, and a better tomorrow. That better tomorrow never came under the kings of Judah and Israel who were largely self-absorbed tyrants. The times were always turbulent, the future was always just around the corner, and after 400 years, there was no king – and the people of Israel were enslaved in exile in Babylon. So much for kings.  Be careful what you ask for.

Interestingly, our ancestors fought a revolutionary war to throw off the burden of kings in order to live free. As a political people we want no king. But what about as a people of faith? Of course, the answer is “yes” because on this day we celebrate “Christ the King Sunday!”

We are a nation dedicated to the proposition that we need no king, and yet there are times when I wonder if we Christians are not too dissimilar from the Israelites of old and we too want to be like other people and follow the kings of fashion and fame, lifestyle and licentiousness, and, power and politics. The Solemnity of Christ the King is to remind us to daily choose the king we would follow.

What kind of king is Christ the King? 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
[who] reconciled all things …, making peace by the blood of his cross

Jesus is a king like no other:

  • He has no scepter but only towel to wash his disciples’ feet
  • He wore no crown of gold but one of thorns
  • His royal courtyard was a place called the Skull. His courtiers were a criminal on his left and a criminal on his right.
  • His royal court was not a place of judgment and execution for those who contested his power, but a place where forgiveness was found
  • The King was not separated from the people by a security team, but he walked, spoke and shared the life of his people, like us in all things except sin
  • The King of Kings did not entertain only the nobility and powerful. He shared table with the sinners, the prostitutes, tax collectors, widows, orphans, foreigners, and thieves.
  • His kingdom’s boundaries do not delineate, separate and marginalize. Rather his rule and grace extend to prodigals, the Samaritans, the poor and outcast, the lepers, and to all the world
  • The King did not impose his power, he proposed his grace and mercy
  • The King did not lay the debts of his monarchy on the backs of his people, he laid down his own life so that the debt of human sin would be forgiven
  • He did not wield the sword of war and conquest but preached the good news that can quell the wars that rage within us and around us
  • The King reconciled all things …, making peace by the blood of his cross

He is not like other kings and yet he is King of the world. “In him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.” Perhaps better said, King of Hearts – every heart, for the desire of God is that all be saved.

And what about us? We are like the people who came before the Prophet Samuel – each day we are at a personal tipping point. Do we want to be like the people of the other nations, subject to other kings or will we pray for the grace to be members of God’s kingdom?  Will we distort the kingdom with sin, selfishness or diminish it with our pride and prejudices? Will we stand with the powerful and entitled, or will we stand with those of the margins?

If this is the king we want,  then we are called to follow and love with our whole life, our entire being. If we choose to follow the King of All Hearts, we are choosing to reflect his image and inherit all the rights of his kingship. We need not look for a scepter with which to rule over others, but only need to look for a towel with which to serve. Not condemn but extend mercy and forgiveness.  We must choose to make the King’s virtues our own – so that others will recognize the King and that we belong to Him, the King of All Hearts.

Image credit: Stained glass window at the Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral in Roslindale, Massachusetts, depicting Christ the King in the regalia of a Byzantine emperor CC-BY-SA 3.0; January 2009 photo by John Stephen Dwyer

The List

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Note: seems that I did not post last Sunday’s homily…. so here it is.

Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch (Mal 3:19)

That brings back memories of growing up in the South. I would sneak off to summer tent revivals and listen to the pastors preach up a holy firestorm of hell and damnation. There was such passion, rhythm, and vitality. It was a preaching that left no doubt that the end was near, and time to get right with God.

We may not know when the end of time is coming, but we know the end of the Liturgical Year is upon us when the readings are ever more apocalyptic, reminding us to “get right with God. We know that in our hearts, but the ever practical mind sighs and adds as another thing on our growing list of things to do. We are a people beset with things to do.  Good, holy and true things; necessary things – obligatory things, things we promised. We continually review the checklist. Earlier parents were thinking of all the steps necessary to prepare, organize and get a household of young children off to Mass. Check, we got the family here. Now the goal is to try to be fully present at Mass. Our heart reaches up to God at the same time as our mind keeps interrupting with a list of all the things we have to do before the end of the weekend. We are busy people and that is just in the “now.”  But folks, what about the list more suited to the readings of the end time? What about your “bucket list?” That list of things you want to do before the end of your earthly time.

Years ago HBO produced a documentary: “Last Letters Home: Voices of American Troops from the Battlefields of Iraq.”  The show featured letters written by soldiers to their families – written as it were, in the end of days. Some were letters to be opened “just in case.” Others were just part of a regular series of letters that happened to be the last letter. Those were the days when most of us heard about wars and the rumors of war; they were thrust into the middle of what, some days, seemed like the end of days. But in such times, the mind gives way to the wisdom of the heart. 

Many of the letters contained insights when soldiers discovered within them a depth of love and gratitude heretofore unknown. What is remarkable about the individual letters, or the series of letters, is the increasing depth of their thoughts – the revelation of the beauty of the inner temple built by God’s grace. These letters expressed the soldiers’ love of family members, love of God, and their hope for healing and redemption.  In the midst of war, nation rising against nation, and among all their struggles, as the gospel says, I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking .  Their letters speak of that Spirit-given wisdom. It was their bucket list. And it is a list – not of what they wanted to do, see or enjoy – but a list, an expression of what they wanted to be, to become.

I was privileged to meet Ed Dils of Parkersburg, WVa. He was the father-in-law of my business partner. In Christmas 1944, Ed was with the US Army on the front line of the Battle of the Bulge. It was a critical juncture in the war when the entire strength of the German army was amassed against a thin and thinning US front line. Without the aid of the US Army Air Corp because of the weather, the onslaught of German tanks and artillery were frightful. Shells burst through the forest, exploding and raining down shrapnel, burning branches and logs, and death. Surely the end was near. Like the soldiers of every war, this moment brought Ed Dils to the depth of his being. There on the battlefield of the Belgian forest, Ed wrote his bucket list.  

  1. To be more tolerant, but at the same time more firm in my convictions of right & wrong.
  2. To do all in my power to hold fast my belief in the God-given goodness of human nature.
  3. To keep aglow my faith in the future, the hope for a brighter tomorrow … even when all may seem hopeless
  4. To be ever mindful of my many blessings – helping others to see theirs.
  5. To be neighbor and to love my neighbor no matter how difficult at times it may be.
  6. To be ever grateful for my family and my wife.
  7. To accept cheerfully and willingly the hard things that come, but not to assume a passive attitude and maintain my drive to bring about the good and worthwhile.
  8. To realize faults and human frailty in myself and others, but to try to respond with helpful compassion
  9. To be proud of my accomplishments, yet humble in my thoughts and beliefs. 
  10. To keep myself physically, morally, and spiritually worthy 
  11. To integrate into my being – “All things happen for good to those who love GOD.”

Ed carried that list in his pocket every day of his life for the next 65 years until his death in 2010.  The list gave evidence of having been opened and unfolded many times, its edges and creases worn, frayed and torn in places. Clearly he consulted his list of who he wanted to be, to become. And although he likely never checked off a single item in his own mind, he fulfilled his bucket list before the end of his life. He became a beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He quietly went about his life, spreading hope, love, compassion, and joy. If you needed help in life, everyone knew you could go to see Ed Dils.  And everyone went to Ed Dils.

He was humble, tolerant, hopeful, mindful, grateful, aglow with faith, and held that what he was before God, he was that and no more. By the grace of God, he became a saint in his own time.

He prepared for life, the end of life and the life to come.

Not by doing, but by being aware of who he was, what he was becoming, and who God was calling him to be.

In the midst of our busy lives and complicated lives, with our to-do lists and the wonderment of how it will ever get done, the end times are indeed coming. These last days are upon us… So.. what is on your bucket list?

May the grace of God lead you to know who you are, what you are becoming, and give you to the wisdom to know who God is calling you to be.

Temples of the Lord

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The usual sequence of Sunday Gospels is interrupted as the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Lateran Basilica in Rome is not the oldest church in Rome – but did you know that the Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome – the place from where the Bishop of Rome, Pope Leo, leads his diocese even as he leads the church universal. The Lateran did not even start out as a church – it was a palace on the Lateran Hill that came into the possession of the Emperor Constantine. Later the emperor gifted it to the church and by 324 A.D. it was converted to become a church and was declared to be the “mother church” of all Christianity: ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput – of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head. The underground and pilgrim Christians now had a permanent home – and so it has been for 1700 years.

I love the imagery from the first reading: “The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out…” It is from the Prophet Ezekiel who is speaking to the Israelites exiled to Babylonia. They know that Jerusalem and the Temple are about to be destroyed, but Ezekiel tells them that one is not an everlasting Temple. And so he shares his vision of water flowing out from this heavenly, living temple. It is the water of life. It restores and renews everything. The plants flourish; the fish are plentiful. His message is that the exile will be for a while, but God is with them. Even now the Lord is at work renewing and rebuilding the Temple on a new foundation. No doubt the people wonder “when and where.”

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Hope does not disappoint

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Part of the blessing being a parish priest is that you are invited into some of the most intimate moments of a family’s life. There is perhaps none more intimate and intense than the moments when illness passes through uncertain diagnosis, to one which blurs into the final days of a life. It is part of a life of ministry to be into a family whose loved one’s days are numbered. It is a privilege to journey with the family as they prepare for the loss that surely and steadily this way comes. In those times, Hope can seem more tentative, more distant; perhaps hovering on the edge of disappointment.

It seems to me the families that best journey this path are the ones who tell stories, not waiting for the wake and funeral service, but begin the telling at home, in the hospital, or in hospice. Those stories are the ones that are snapshots of life, wonder, and bring an easy laughter to the soul even as they bring a moment of joy to the dying person. For just a moment, a good life is recalled and one is transported away to another time and place. It is a comfort and a reminder of a life filled with love, family, and friends. A good life.

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Collision or Conversion

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The early 20th century evangelist, Billy Sunday is reported to have said once that the best thing that could happen to any person would be to reach a moment of deep conversion, to be justified by God, to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, walk out of the revival tent, be hit by a truck, and killed instantly. There would be no backsliding, no withering under the scorching sun of modern life, and no chance to move from this one moment of original holiness.

I wonder what Billy Sunday had to say about the Pharisee in our gospel parable? The introduction kinda’ says it all. The Pharisee is someone who is “convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else.” I guess the Pharisee needs to look both ways upon leaving the Temple and avoid anything resembling a 1st century truck.

From the outside, I suspect the Pharisee is a model of piety. He is praying, fasting, and giving generously to the poor. He is doing what the Law demands, what God requires. He is doing what all the prophets demanded. How is he the “bad guy” in this parable? From the outside he looks OK.

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Will He Find Faith?

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I am partial to the Gospel according to Luke. I think his writing is good at telling the story and leaving room for the hearer to work though the implications of it all.  Some of the most memorable parables – the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, Lazarus and the Rich Man, and more are all unique to Luke’s gospel. 

As do many parables, there is a stark contrast between the two main characters. The unjust judge knows what he is supposed to do. Scripture is filled with admonitions for judges to be the defender of justice for the people just like this widow as well as the orphan, stranger and alien among us.  And yet the judge is not faithful to his role and not faithful to God.

Also, Luke is particular about his choice of words and phrases – the small nuances of language find their place in his telling of Jesus’ story.

Today we have one of those small curiosities of language: But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8).  What the Greek actually says is not “find faith” but “find the faith.” It is the only place in all of Luke’s gospel he uses this phrase.  In fact, it is the only place in all the New Testament. Maybe it’s nothing, but then again, as he often does, maybe Luke is trying to tell us something in this small parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. 

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Grateful

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On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus meets 10 lepers. They ask for mercy, they are cured, and told to show themselves to the priest who will verify their healing and ritually cleanse them so that they can re-enter society. Only one returns to thank Jesus. Some folks conclude that the others are not grateful.

I don’t think so… who wouldn’t be grateful to be cured of this dread disease? Who wouldn’t be grateful for being restored to their family and community?  No longer banished from the towns, the market, and the usual ebb and flow of life.  No longer consigned to beg day upon day without end.

Why don’t they come to thank Jesus? Well…. They are doing what He told them, “show yourself to the priest.” They are grateful for the “thing,” the healing, but they fail to see, to realize the One who healed them.  But one of them was able to see deeper; was able to connect the dots from the good thing that had just happened to the One who was the source of the healing power.

And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him . 

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