8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 27, 2022

If we take the lessons of Jesus to heart we will be more like him

Luke 6:39–45

And he told them a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.

A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Music Meditations

• Open My Eyes, Lord (Jesse Manibusan)
• Lead Me, Lord (John Becker)
• Lead Me, Guide Me (Velma Lewis—a gospel edition)
• Lead Me, Lord (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir)

Opening Prayer

Prayer of Mary, Queen of Scots:

Keep us, O God, from all pettiness. Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off all self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face, Without self-pity and without prejudice. May we never be hasty in judgment, always generous. Let us take time for all things, and make us grow calm, serene, and gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be straight-forward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life that create differences, That in the big things of life we are one. And, Lord, God, let us not forget to be Kind.

Companions for the Journey

This is a short writing from one of the Christian or non-Christian witnesses of our tradition—a person who embodies the theme of the gospel we are studying today. This commentary is from “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province.

This part of Luke is from the “Sermon on the Plain.” It’s similar to Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” but, as it is with the Gospels, each writer comes at the story from a different perspective. The passage of time, the growth of the church outside its original Jewish setting and the needs of their own church community, dictated that each evangelist tell the story in a way that would speak to his unique community with its special needs and circumstances.

Luke writes for a church which has already gone through its initial fervor. The earlier concerns of primitive Christianity are no longer present. When Luke wrote the church was a more organized institution. Its members had discovered that Jesus’ return was not as imminent as the earlier disciples thought. It was a church getting accustomed to being around for the foreseeable future. It was therefore a church that needed to be challenged again to live a life of prayer, maintain total commitment to the Lord Jesus, shun reliance on money and live a community life that would be a visible sign to others that Christ was alive.

In today’s passage he is describing what should characterize the community of his followers. Imagine a community of people living the kind of life described in this sermon. Jesus wants an entirely new way of living for his followers. First, Jesus advises that the individual disciples are not to go off teaching the faith on their own until they are formed. They are not to be “superior to the teacher but when fully trained every disciple will be like his/her teacher.” They will have to learn from their teachers, lest they lose sight of the teachings of Jesus and introduce another way of living in the Christian community. In this community people are treated differently. They are not to condemn, judge or find fault with one another. They are to treat one another with compassion and forgiveness.

What, one wonders, would be the effects on a community, if this kindness towards one another were truly present? Such a community would in itself be a preaching of the Gospel, even before any member went out on the road to preach. They would be a sign to all outsiders observing them of radical equity, where all were equal regardless of their social and economic standing. This community is called to a special way of life that imitates Jesus’.

The spirituality Jesus is teaching is not just meant for the enlightenment and behavior of the individual. God’s love is effective; it produces good fruit for the benefit of others. The good fruit we bear becomes a way we teach the faith to others. A parent complains his teenage son does not want to be “lectured” to about religion. This may very well be a time in their relationship for the father to reflect on how he communicates with his son, as well as how he listens to him. That having been said, there is also a strong faith teaching that is communicated just by the way the father lives his discipleship. The son will “learn the faith” by reading it in the life of his father. In this case the old saw is true, “actions speak louder than words.” Any child is a constant recording machine of his/her parents’ lives. As the child grows, what was passed on through the parents “good fruits,” may be the strength the child needs in a particularly difficult period. A good parent will be a good tree that bears good fruit..., will be a good person who, “...out of the store of goodness in his/her heart produces good.”

Children of such good parents, are constantly “eating” the good fruit a parent provided through the example of their lives. So, a woman will explain the source of her remarkable hospitality or concern for the poor and say, “my mother always went out of her way to welcome guests, especially when they were less fortunate than we were.” A grown son will remember, “my father used to volunteer at the parish clothing drive, and so I try to help those in need too.” A good tree bears good fruit that never seems to stop nourishing and forming another generation of disciples. We could pray at this liturgy for our hearts, that they remain malleable in God’s hands and receive the ongoing shaping that God is doing to make them disciples’. When our hearts are good, we will spontaneously produce the good Jesus speaks of, as if by second nature.

Jesus calls attention to the quality of our hearts. “A good person out of the store of goodness in his/her heart produces good....” Our individual hearts need tending. Our church heart needs attention as well. For example, our church communities do not always produce the good fruits of mutual forgiveness. We seem judgmental to non-members, we don’t always communicate hospitality to the outsider and marginalized, etc. Does our community draw from the goodness of its heart? Is our church community the Sermon on the Plain made visible in our age? Not all that flows from our hearts matches the behavior described in Luke’s account of Jesus’ sermon. Lent will be a time when we do “heart work.” We will open a construction area in our hearts. Think of those construction areas we see about our cities, the “hard hat” places where serious work is going on. That’s what will be happening for us in Lent. We are all disciples in training, waiting to be “fully trained,” when we will more perfectly reflect the life of Christ. Like Luke’s community, we continually need to hear again the instructions of the Teacher. Jesus is also speaking of himself as our teacher when he says, “No disciple is superior to the teacher, but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his/her teacher.” That’s our Lenten goal, that we will have our hearts and minds further shaped by the Teacher and as a result we will more and more become “like the teacher.”

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Luke’s church was in need of re-commitment to prayer and community life. Does this same need exist in our present church?
• The first lines of this gospel are about discernment: We should look at what people do, not what they say. Our words and actions reflect the condition of our spiritual hearts.
  Have you ever run across someone whose true goodness was reflected in the way (s)he treated others?
  Have you ever run across those who pretended goodness with a certain sense of self-righteousness?
• Did my self-righteousness ever blind me to the “log in my own eye”?
  What is the log in my eye that is blinding me to the goodness of another? (anxiety, poor self-esteem, culture of competitiveness, over-inflated sense of my own worth—this is not an excuse, but to recognize it honestly is the beginning dealing with it)
• Have I ever criticized a friend or relative for a certain habitual behavior, and then realized that I sort of do the same thing?
• Does my ambition blind me to the needs of others or the worth of others?
• How much of our conversation is focused on the faults and failings of others?
• How often do I fail? Do I acknowledge my failures to myself? To others?
• Am I aware of my inadequacies, but not so scrupulous that it paralyzes me?
  Have I ever used my shortcomings as a way to be gentler and more understanding of others?
• Do I habitually look at others with “God’s eyes”?
  Do I make a practice of thinking of the best of others?
• How do I relate to those who live with me, work with me (Am I judgmental, kind, condescending, respectful, bossy, passive, a martyr?) Do I view my daily interactions as a way to practice being compassionate, generous of spirit, and loving?
• What is the role of humility?
  What is false humility?
• What lessons from the life of Jesus have I learned about the kind of person I should be? Where can I do better?

Catholic Community at Stanford’s Encounter Christ small group faith sharing offers the opportunity to meet and reflect with others on questions like these as well as other aspects of the journey of faith.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

I read Luke 18:9-14 (the Pharisee and the Tax Collector). I place myself in the events of this little story. What does the temple look like? Where is each man standing? What is each man wearing? Form a picture in your mind of what each man actually looks like—tall, short, handsome, plain, bearded or not, bald or hirsute, etc. … What is the posture and manner of the Pharisee? How about that of the tax collector? With whom do I identify: the man who did what he was supposed to, gave to the poor, prayed often and regularly, and was an honest, good person; or the tax collector, who preyed on the weak and the helpless, extorting monies from them that they could not afford, and raking in a good profit for himself? When we try to live a good life, and mostly succeed, is it hard not to be a little smug sometimes? When we try and fail and fail at being the kind of person we want, is it hard not to give up sometimes?

In what way am I like each of them? I try to put myself in each man’s shoes. First I look t the part of me that loves and honors God and tries to be a good person. Do I unconsciously measure my goodness against that of others around me? Do I frequently air my opinions about those who are doing wrong? Then I look at the part of me that has made mistakes and hurt people. Am I willing to admit this? And if I DO admit my flaws and failings, do I wear them like a martyr, seeking sympathy and understanding which I am sometimes not willing to grant to others?

If someone has hurt me, do I use that mistake or unkindness as a weapon to guilt others into paying me attention or feeling sorry for me? Is there someone in my life that I need to forgive as God forgives?

A Meditation in the Dominican style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from Sacred Space 2019:

I bring myself before Jesus and allow myself some time to be regarded by his loving look. I ask him to remove any speck or plank that may be in my eye. I pray for the clarity of vision that he had. My perspective may not be the best one; my view of myself and of the world may need correction. I pray for humility and for a deeper capacity to perceive God’s presence and action around me. It does not matter how good your religion looks on the outside, “the Lord looketh on the heart.” It does not matter how much you impress men, or yourself for that matter, with what you say and do, “the Lord looketh on the heart.” It does not matter how sound your doctrine is, “the Lord looketh on the heart.” It does not matter how precisely you keep the ordinances, “the Lord looketh on the heart.” It does not matter how much money you give, how many chapters you read, how much Scripture you memorize, how much you pray, or how often you attend church, “the Lord looketh on the heart.” God wants our hearts. God demands our hearts. The root of the matter is the heart. “My son, give me thine heart.” If the heart is right, the fruit is good, no matter how bad it looks to men. If the heart is evil, the fruit is evil, no matter how good it looks to men. Do not judge. You are what you do Be careful of following a blind person Be careful of teaching others if your heart is not like Jesus’—if you are preaching rather than being.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Fr. Tony DeMello, S.J., said “when I change, the whole world changes.” Attitude is everything. I bring myself before Jesus and allow myself some time to be regarded by his loving look. I ask him to remove any speck or plank that may be in my eye. I pray for the clarity of vision that he had. My perspective may not be the best one; my view of myself and of the world may need correction. For example, when I am listening to others am I only seeing their faults and failings? Can I look back at the last 24 hours and see where I might have been very busy judging someone else? Where might I need an “attitude adjustment”? I pray to Jesus for humility and for a deeper capacity to perceive God’s presence and action around me.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

This week, any time someone irritates you or makes you angry, any time someone does something in word or deed to hurt you, stop and say a prayer for that person. Ask God to be good to that person and grant that person health and happiness. And mean it!

Poetic Reflection:

Thomas Centolella, a Stanford Stegner Fellow, wrote a poem that really captures the message of today’s gospel:

“In The Evening We Shall Be Examined On Love”
-St. John of the Cross

And it won’t be multiple choice,
though some of us would prefer it that way.
Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on
when we should be sticking to the point, if not together.
In the evening there shall be implications
our fear will turn to complications. No cheating,
we’ll be told and we’ll try to figure the cost of being true
to ourselves. In the evening when the sky has turned
that certain blue, blue of exam books, blue of no more
daily evasions, we shall climb the hill as the light empties
and park our tired bodies on a bench above the city
and try to fill in the blanks. And we won’t be tested
like defendants on trial, cross-examined
till one of us breaks down, guilty as charged. No,
in the evening, after the day has refused to testify,
we shall be examined on love like students
who don’t even recall signing up for the course
and now must take their orals, forced to speak for once
from the heart and not off the top of their heads.
And when the evening is over and it’s late,
the student body asleep, even the great teachers
retired for the night, we shall stay up
and run back over the questions, each in our own way:
what’s true, what’s false, what unknown quantity
will balance the equation, what it would mean years from now
to look back and know
we did not fail.

(from Lights & Mysteries)

Literary Reflection:

In this very short poem by Mary Oliver, we get a glimpse of a way the we can treat an experience of being hurt, and forgive that person for the hurt inflicted. Has this ever been your experience?

“The Uses of Sorrow”

(In my sleep I dreamed the poem) Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this, too, was a gift.

Closing Prayer

Jesus, you ask a lot of me. It is sometimes so hard for me to be kind, or understanding or forgiving when I am hurt or angry. It is so hard to love as you did, asking for nothing in return. This does not come naturally to me. Help me to look for the best in people, making allowances for their faults and failings. Help me not to carry grudges which diminish happiness my life and in the lives of those around me. Help me to understand the conviction of St. John of the Cross: “In the Evening we will be judged on love.”

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 20, 2022

Loving as God loves requires a transformation of heart and mind

Luke 6:27–38

“But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.

Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.

If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit [is] that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

Be compassionate, just as [also] your Father is compassionate.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Music Meditations

• Prayer of St. Francis
• 10000 Reasons—Matt Redman
• Hosea—John Michael Talbot
• Love Goes On—Bernadette Farrell
• Christ Be Our Light—Chris Brunelle
• When It’s All Been Said and Done—Robin Mark
• Prayer of St Francis—Susan Boyle
• Psalm 51—Steve Angrisano (Journeysongs)
• Psalm 51—Marty Haugen

Opening Prayer

Adapted from Sacred Space:

Lord, my poor heart is very small, and it can also be very hard. Your heart is tender and compassionate. When I try to forgive others, my heart becomes a bit more like yours, and you swamp me with your overwhelming generosity. Help me to be more compassionate toward those in my life.

Lord, your words today challenge me more than anything else in my life. Help me to LISTEN help me to HEAR, and help me to LIVE these words.

Companions for the Journey

The following Homily is by Jude Siciliano, O.P., in “First Impressions” 2022

When I lived in West Virginia I knew women who made beautiful quilts and embroidered biblical quotes which they framed. They hung them on the walls of their homes. Quotes, like the lines from today’s gospel, made lovely hangings: “Love your enemies,” “Pray for those who mistreat you,” “To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other as well.” We have to keep the words of Jesus from becoming mere slogans hung in frames on walls, or stamped on T-shirts. Followers of Jesus have to take those framed quotes down from the walls, cut them out of their frames and speak and live them in the center of their lives, at their workplace, around the family dinner table, in their dorm rooms and workplaces.

Contrary to some people’s opinions, Jesus does not want us to be doormats, for example, to put up with domestic violence, or any other kind of abuse. Tyrants and armies of oppression have violated and enslaved people throughout history. For the Romans their Jewish victims were like throw-away rugs. As today’s gospel suggests, they could take their cloaks at any time; or slap their cheek at will. Jesus’ message to these enslaved people was one of liberation. They may not have had dignity before the Romans, the high priests and the rich who colluded with them, but they were valuable treasures in God’s eyes. Though they may have felt like and been treated like trash, that was not their condition before God. God loved them, not for what they had achieved, but because God has always loved the least.

So, if someone heard Jesus’ message and believed they were loved and precious to God then, when a Roman, or rich land owner, forcibly took their cloak, imagine their embarrassment when the violated person took off their tunic and handed it to them as well. When a Roman brute slapped them on the cheek and if the victim turned the other cheek as Jesus teaches, who is the stronger of the two, the brute, or the one who claimed his or her dignity before God and put aside hatred and ill will? Such behavior would eventually attract people who might formerly have been aggressive towards the Christian community.

Archbishop Romero, the martyred bishop of San Salvador, who lived in a similar world of an oppressive military that victimized its citizens said, “The counsel of the gospel to turn the other cheek to an unjust aggressor shows great moral force that leaves the aggressor morally overcome and humiliated.” Jesus goes on to speak of forgiving enemies. Stories of forgiveness are heroic. Forgiveness is so uncommon in our world that when it happens it can stun and befuddle people. There is a famous picture taken of St. Pope John Paul II visiting the cell and forgiving the man who shot him. He forgave his would-be assassin. Not just as Pope, but with the authority of that example, he could speak and call for the end of the death penalty.

The setting of a gospel story is important for understanding its meaning. Another clue to interpreting today’s gospel is to note Jesus’ audience. Luke says Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He is talking to those already committed to him who, like us, have faith and a predisposition that is open to grace. A disciple is literally one who sits at the feet of a teacher. That is where Jesus’ disciples heard his teachings about God: that we do not obey his teachings to earn God’s love. Rather, we already have that love. In fact, Jesus taught them in this sermon, “The Most High is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” Therefore, already having God’s love the disciple strives to imitate God. We do not act this way so God will be merciful. We love and forgive because God is already merciful towards us and so we can be merciful with others. A French Cardinal suggested living the Christian life in such a way that it would make no sense if God did not exist. To live a normal human life would be doing what most people do. But Christians are recognized because there is no earthly reason for doing what we do. Nobody expects us to live the way Jesus describes in this sermon. But if we just do what others expect how will they know there is a God? We do what people would call “unreasonable” so that others will know God exists and loves them.

Here let us quote extensively the great witness to nonviolence and love of enemies, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior in RICHER FARE: REFLECTION ON THE SUNDAY READINGS, Gail Ramshaw, pages 161-2.:

I am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one’s enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talk glibly about the easiness of the moral life. He realized that every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God. So when Jesus said, “Love your enemy,” he was not unmindful of its stringent qualities. Yet he meant every word of it. Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it in our daily lives.

Let us be practical and ask the question, How do we love our enemies? First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He [sic] who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one’s enemies without the prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us. It is also necessary to realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression. The wrongdoer may request forgiveness. He may come to himself, and , like the prodigal son, move up some dusty road, his heart palpitating with the desire for forgiveness. But only the injured neighbor, the loving father back home, can really pour out the warm water of forgiveness.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• This gospel section, found in both Luke and Matthew (5:39-42, 48) is one of the most difficult in all of scripture. Which part is the hardest for me?
  Which part is the easiest for me?
  Is there any part I just do not agree with?
• Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
  How counter-cultural was this in Jesus time?
  How counter-cultural is it in the era I am living in?
• Have I ever prayed for someone who hurt me?
  Did it change my feelings about that person?
• How hard is for me to forgive others?
  Do I carry grudges?
• Have I ever viewed forgiveness as a way of accepting bad behavior?
• Have I ever weaponized forgiveness?
• What is the connection between my forgiveness of others and God’s forgiveness of me?
  Does this connection make me uncomfortable?
• Do see the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a place where in my most broken and hopeless moments I can hear Jesus say: “I forgive you. You are mine.”, and “In the place of all those who cannot forgive, I forgive”?
  Does this give me hope or comfort?
• Do I believe God forgives the unforgivable?
  Does this bother me?
• To him who strikes you on one cheek, give him the other
  And from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt
  Have I ever allowed someone to do something to me without retaliating or answering in kind?
  How hard was it?
  Did Jesus?
  How hard was it for him?
  When is it NOT healthy to take this section about suffering abuse from another literally?
• Give to everyone who begs from you
  What are the limits of my generosity?
  Are they too narrow?
  How do I balance my needs and those of my loved ones against the needs of others?
  How big is my closet, my car, my house, my portfolio?
  How much is enough?
• Generosity to another could include personal time and attention as well as something of material value. Over the past 24 hours have I given less of myself than I could have?
• For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
  Do I consider love a feeling or an action?
  What is the difference?
  Is there anybody in my life whom I find it hard to love?
  Is there anyone in my life whom love, but do not like very much?
  Am I more certain to give “behavioral waivers” to certain people but not to others?
• Do I have favorites among my family members, friends, co-workers?
  Is it because they have treated me better, or because I need something from them?
• Have I ever given a gift or performed a favor for someone with unspoken “strings attached”?
  Have I even given a gift to someone or done a favor for someone, and then been hurt or angry when they did not reciprocate?
• Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate:
  From Father Walter Burghardt S.J.:
  

  Compassion means not a weak, embarrassed sympathy but a fellowship of feeling, to be compassionate is literally to “suffer with” another… it asks us to go where it hurts, enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness and confusion, fear and anguish…

  Where am I challenged by this description of compassion?
  When have I needed such compassion?
  Did I receive it?
• Have I ever been tested or worn out by someone else’s need for compassion or by a societal need?
  Did respite and prayer figure into my coping skills?
• What are the risks in being compassionate or in receiving compassion?
• Where does compassion fit into our political landscape?
• Where does compassion fit into the spirit of competition that underscores our American economic system?
• Where does compassion fit into our healthcare system and educational system with their limited resources?
• When are my compassionate instincts exploited by the media, advertising, friends or family members?
• Have I ever felt I was the subject of God’s compassion?
• From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
  Have you ever succeeded in loving an enemy? Why did you do it? How was it possible?
  Have you ever tried to break off a cycle of violence and retaliation? What were the circumstances? How did it turn out?
• Adapted from the Carmelites:
  Am I as literal as Jesus in love and mercy, or do I rationalize it away and compartmentalize it so it doesn’t apply to situations in my life?

Catholic Community at Stanford’s Encounter Christ small group faith sharing offers the opportunity to meet and reflect with others on questions like these as well as other aspects of the journey of faith.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

There are several different translations for the Latin word misericors in verse 36: pity, sympathy, compassion, mercy, for starters. However, each has a slightly different meaning. When Luke has Jesus saying “Be _______________as your father is ____________,” which English meaning resonates most clearly with you? For example, what is the difference between pity and sympathy, between compassion and mercy? In your own experience, have you been the recipient of another’s misericors? How did this manifest itself? Were you made to feel comforted, inferior to the donor of the mercy or pity, or did you feel like you and (s)he had some experience in common that you shared?

When you have found yourself in a position to extend mercy, pity, sympathy or compassion to another, what were the circumstances? How did the other person react? What would be the English word for your behavior? Speak to God about all the ways misericors can manifest itself and pray for the grace to make it an equal sharing of loss, sorrow, confusion, grief or solidarity.

A Reflection in the Franciscan Style/Action:

A very famous Catholic preacher once made the point that this gospel is not about what you believe, but what you do. He said that in Jesus’ time, some felt that the only criterion for discipleship was orthodoxy, that is, correct beliefs. This is what we affirm when we say the Creed. But he also said that this gospel teaches us not to rest there; we must not forget that orthopraxis--right action--is equally important. The Creed, he says, is an affirmation that is excellent, but can cost us very little, and allies us to family and friends who believe like us. This “Gospel Creed” calls us to go beyond our comfortable circle and embrace the larger, messy world. It requires us to DO as well as BELIEVE. Here is the Gospel Creed:

Love enemies Do good to those who hate you Bless those who curse you Pray for those who mistreat you Give to all who beg from you, even more than they ask for Lend without repayment Be compassionate Do not condemn Forgive.

Pick one (perhaps the one which challenges you the most) and try to practice it once a day all week, make a note in your journal about the experience and its effect on you as a person. Hard, no?

A Reflection in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from The Hidden Jesus, by Donald Spoto:

The offering of forgiveness, which does not mean saying that a crime is all right or can be forgotten, is not among the doubtful elements of Christian life; it is absolutely at the root of it. We Christians forgive and do not extract vengeance—punishment in kind—precisely because we ourselves have known forgiveness from God; because we know that God offers, again and again, a chance for repentance. As Jesus forgave his own executioners, so must his followers forgive the same (or even lesser offenses against us). Forgiveness is not something one can take or leave, not something that can sometimes be offered and sometimes not. Forgiveness breaks the cycle of hatred, of revenge, of precisely the attitude that led to the murderous rime in the first place.

One of the most powerful examples of forgiveness emerged from an experience of such horror that it is difficult for us to imagine. During the Holocaust, countless children were exterminated at the Ravensbruck concentration camp. When the place was at last liberated, a piece of paper was found, placed with the body of a dead child; on the paper were words written by an unknown dead prisoner:

“O Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember the suffering they have inflicted on us—instead remember the fruits we have bought, thanks to this suffering: our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, our generosity, our courage, the greatness of heart which has grown out of all of this. And when those who have inflicted suffering on us come to judgement, let all the fruits we have bone be their forgiveness.”

I think of the ways in which my personal forgiveness of someone liberated me from bitterness, from anger, from depression. I think, too, of those who have forgiven me out of a heart much larger than mine. I thank you for the courage and the insight to pray “You forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us”. Can I pray that prayer? Who must I forgive?

A Reflection in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Adapted from Word Among Us:

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”—Luke 6:38

How important is it for us to give? So important, that Thomas Merton said, “Love can only live by giving.” In truth, one way that Christ’s love is kept alive in our world today is through our daily acts of giving. Whether we are making tiny hidden sacrifices or larger public ones, we are advancing the kingdom of God and the cause of love. The culture of materialism and abundance in which we live constantly challenges us to maintain our focus. Over time, what we possess can begin to possess us. The more things we acquire, the more we seem to want or think we need. We are constantly bombarded by images of the newest, biggest, best item that the retail world has to offer. Love can get lost as we begin to define ourselves by the material things that surround us. This climate of greed and insecurity can choke off the life of love, sacrifice, and service that is so vital to the human spirit. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells us that the more we give to others, the more we will receive from God. Of course, he wasn’t referring just to material things (although people sometimes report that their businesses improve after they give more than they thought they were able to). What we get from God in return for our giving to others is the peace, love, joy, and restoration for which our souls long. God offers us his eternal security, which is far more valuable and enduring than anything we can accumulate or cling to here on earth. We can give in spite of our tendencies toward selfishness, and we can overcome the temptation to hoard what we have. By God’s grace, we can bring love to life in our world today with one generous and unselfish act of giving. So go ahead. Give a little bit, and see what “good measure” your heavenly Father returns to you!

Lord, give me the courage and conviction to let go of the things that are blocking the flow of love in my life, so that I can receive a generous helping from you.

Just for Today: I will “clean house” and give away something I have been clinging to, whether it be something tangible or an attitude.

Music Meditation:

Listen to “In 1915 in No Man’s Land” by Celtic Thunder (on you tube) a song about the trenches in WWI, a true story of German and Irish enemies on Christmas day…

Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read Psalm 103. What does this tell you about God’s compassion and Mercy? Rewrite this as if you were talking to God, (I bless you Lord, I bless your holy name, etc) then pray for a heart that is compassionate like God’s:

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
The Lord performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer.
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.
Bless the Lord, you His angels, Mighty in strength, who perform His word, Obeying the voice of His word!
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.
Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Poetic Reflection:

The following poem by Stanley Kunitz illustrates that we are always adapting and changing. We need to ask if those changes are ones which reinforce our worst selves or are changes Jesus is calling us to.

“The Layers”

I have walked through many lives, some of them my own, and I am not who I was, though some principle of being abides, from which I struggle not to stray. When I look behind, as I am compelled to look before I can gather strength and proceed on my journey, I see the milestones dwindling toward the horizon and the slow fires trailing from abandoned camp-sites over which scavenger angels wheel on heavy wings. Oh, I have made myself a tribe out of my true affections, and my tribe is scattered! How shall the heart be reconciled to its feast of losses? In a rising wind the manic dust of my friends, those who fell along the way, bitterly stings my face. Yet I turn, I turn, exulting somewhat, with my will intact to go, and every stone on the road precious to me, In my darkest night, when the moon was covered and I roamed through the wreckage, a nimbus-clouded voice directed me: “Live in the layers, not in the litter.” Though I lack the art to decipher it, no doubt the next chapter in my book of transformations is already written. I am not done with my changes.

Further Reading:

• Matthew 5:20-48 (this includes’ Matthew’s expanded teaching from what we call The sermon on the Mount)
• Psalm 22
• Spoto, Donald, The Hidden Jesus, chapter 9 (Beyond Morality, Jesus’ Teaching on Sin and Forgiveness) on the ethic of love
• “Five Things Forgiveness is Not” (This handout was given out earlier in the Bags We Carry Series)

Closing Prayer

Prayer of Mary, Queen of Scots:

Keep us, O God, from all pettiness. Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off all self-seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face-to-face, Without self-pity and without prejudice. May we never be hasty in judgment, always generous. Let us take time for all things, and make us grow calm, serene, and gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be straight-forward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize that it is the little things of life that create differences, That in the big things of life we are one. And, Lord, God, let us not forget to be Kind.

Five Things Forgiveness Is Not

Adapted from a homily on forgiveness

It has been twenty years since our televisions showed us those horrible images of the jets crashing into the Twin Towers: the fireballs of flame, the towers themselves collapsing before our very eyes, the ash-covered streets, people jumping to their deaths from high windows, the herds of people walking zombie-like over bridges away from suffocating smoke, the reports of brave people felled by falling concrete, the hundreds of funerals with the firefighters of NY in their dress uniforms, eyes red with fatigue and grief, forming an honor guard while the pipes played Amazing Grace—all these images are part of our collective memory.

This week I picked up a book called “ A Widow’s Walk by Marian Fontana, the president of the 9/11 widows and victims family association. Her husband was one of the 12 firefighters lost from Squad 1. It is a beautiful memoir which chronicles her own grief and the struggles she and others faced in the political-and-media-driven aftermath. What struck me, however, was that in 422 pages there was not one word crying for vengeance against the suicide bombers, not one call for retribution and punishment of anyone. At her husband's funeral she spoke these words: “I hope everyone here will use Dave’s life as an example. I know I will. So tell the people around you that you love them, mend grudges, don’t stay angry with people, and be kind.”

I think today’s readings stir up some questions in all of us; we need to reflect on some of the assumptions we hold about forgiveness, many of which, as we will see, are incorrect. I think we need to look at some assumptions we make about forgiveness, so here are five things forgiveness is NOT:

1. Forgiveness is not ignoring evil and forgetting wrongs that have been committed by individuals, governments, churches—even ours. In some places— Northern Ireland, Jerusalem, in parts of our own country, to forgive my enemy is to betray my ancestors; to forgive is to make a mockery of their sacrifices; to forgive is to condone wrongs against justice and decency. A lot of us are afraid that we simply whitewash the past when we indulge in forgiveness against those who have been so destructive. For example, when we look at the history of racism in our country , we need to realize that forgiveness may carry with it some obligation on the part of the forgiven to amend the evils perpetrated on others, and may carry with it a resolve on the part of society as a whole do eradicate such an evil from our attitudes and behaviors. Easier said than done, but necessary.

2. Forgiveness is not the enabling of bad or destructive behavior. We hear all the time of people who stay in abusive relationships out of a mistaken sense of their obligation to “turn the other cheek”. Let me be very clear: I don’t think we are called to be passive victims of abusive and destructive behavior. Rather, I think what we are actually empowered to do is to invoke civil law to extricate ourselves and those for whom we are responsible from a dangerous situation, and then we invoke divine law or the grace of God to help us heal and get rid of our anger so we can move on with a productive and happy life. We hear also of co-dependents in addictive situations—alcohol or drugs—who forgive and forgive, and their loved one does not get better, he or she gets worse. So the reality is that a simplistic” forgive and forget” is not what is called for here. Another way of putting it is: that we must forgive the sin, but ensure that we and those we love are not victims any longer.

3. Forgiveness is not a demonstration of my wonderfulness. This is forgiveness with a hook , one-up forgiveness, and it says, in effect:

“ I have weighed, judged you and your behavior and found you sorely lacking in qualities that are worthy of my respect. I have these qualities at this point in time, but you do not. I humbly recognize my superior moral strength and your weakness, my consistent moral behavior and your lack of morality. I forgive you your trespasses. You, of course, will find some suitable way to be grateful from this day forward.”

THIS IS NOT FORGIVENESS. THIS IS MANIPULATION.

4. Forgiveness is not easy—sometimes it might seem be impossible. I don’t know how a rape victim forgives her rapist. I don’t know how the victim of sexual abuse as a child ever learns to get over it. I don’t know how someone whose parents were gassed and Auschwitz learns to forgive the Nazis who were the instrument of their deaths; I don’t know how the widow in Northern Ireland or New York gets past the anger and resentment. I don’t know how a parent learns to forgive someone who has damaged or murdered his or her child. In fact, if I am sure of anything at all, it is that God understands our sorrows and our difficulties with resentment, anger--- understands, maybe even, our inability to let go and forgive someone. At least, I sincerely hope so. Yes, forgiveness is not easy—in fact, it is impossible, without God’s help.

5. Forgiveness is not optional—Scripture tells us that we should be merciful primarily because each of us has received mercy. We are to forgive, not because someone deserves our forgiveness, but because we have been forgiven.

When, at the end of the Our Father, we pray, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," we are asking God to let the experience of being forgiven so transform our hearts that we may likewise forgive others.  It would be a foolish person who would pray the other way around, asking God to forgive us only in the puny measure we are able to forgive others.  Our life with God is a gift, from beginning to end.  We pause to let that truth sink into our bones.  When we asked for forgiveness today, we received it. The Eucharist is our act of thanksgiving for what we realize again we have received from the hands of a gracious God.   A sign that we really believe we have been forgiven free of charge, is to give similar forgiveness to others, again and again. (Archbishop Daniel Pilarcyk, from Forgiveness)

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 13, 2022

Who is truly blessed, in my value system?

Luke 6:17, 20–26

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Music Meditations

• The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor
• Psalm 22 (My God, My God, Why have you left me here)—Psalm Project—captures the plight of the poor, the reviled, neglected
• Psalm 1—Psalm Project feat. Lance Edward
• Palm 34—(a new musical setting) Karl Kohhase
• Blest are They

Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to be open to your word, even as it might make me uncomfortable or defensive. Help me to become more aware of the need to work for a transformation of those systems and attitudes which keep people mired in poverty and others mired in acquisitiveness and selfishness.

Companions for the Journey

This Pre-Note is adapted from Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits.

Today we begin what is known as Luke’s ‘Sermon on the Plain’ which more or less parallels Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s is much shorter but both begin with the Beatitudes and end with the parable of the house builders. Some of what is found in Matthew’s Sermon is found elsewhere in Luke as Matthew’s ‘Sermon’ it consists of disparate sayings of Jesus gathered into one place. Luke also omits Matthew’s specifically Jewish material which would not have been relevant to his Gentile readers.

The Sermon, which encompasses three weeks of gospel readings, can be summarized as follows: An introduction of blessings and woes (20-26) The love of one’s enemies (27-36) The demands of loving one’s neighbor (37-42) Good deeds as proof of one’s goodness (43-45)

The parable on listening to and acting on the words of Jesus (46-49) is not included in the lectionary readings for the next three weeks, but actually concludes Jesus’ ‘sermon’. It might be helpful to read the entire chapter (6) before beginning these three weeks of readings.

This commentary is taken from “First Impressions” 2009, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Prior to today’s gospel passage Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. When Jesus goes off to pray that’s Luke’s way of signaling that Jesus is about to do or say something very important. After he prays he comes down and speaks to his disciples about God’s reign; he lays out the basics for his community of disciples. In Matthew, the parallel passage is called “The Sermon on the Mount.” In Luke it’s “The Sermon on the Plain,” because Jesus stands on “level ground” to speak to his disciples. He is among them, one of them. He will live the beatitudes he spells out so that they will be able to live them too.

Luke’s beatitudes differ from Matthew’s. Matthew has eight (or nine), Luke has four beatitudes and four woes. The first impression is that, like the prophet Jeremiah, Jesus is also placing a choice before us. Will we choose to live according to his beatitudes or according to what the world usually considers “beatitudes”? What the world values, Jesus says, is worthless. If we place our security on wealth, merriment, popularity and having our fill of food---we will be disappointed in the end. In Jeremiah’s terms, we will be like a “barren bush in the desert.”

If those usually neglected, the poor, hungry and weeping, are cared for by believers then something new is afoot in the world and those who observe it will “hear” a new message. But if the poor are neglected, as we know they frequently are, Jesus says they will be blessed by God---who does not overlook them. But more. Jesus warns those who are rich, filled and happy. Those who are satisfied now, while others are in need, these are in trouble: woe to them for ignoring their brothers and sisters. There is a great reversal at work in God’s realm. We who have eyes to see ought to make sure we observe the reversal and live our lives accordingly.

What the world usually calls the “good life,” if it is so at the expense of others and their neglect, then there will be a great reversal in God’s reign. The believer must live “in reverse”---see things with kingdom eyes. Thus, the poor, hungry and weeping are blessed by God and Jesus promises them fulfillment when God’s reign comes to completion at the banquet table. Then the great reversal will finally be complete.

It would be wise then, for those of us who treasure God’s blessings, to get close to the ones Jesus calls “blessed,” living such a life by responding to the least will show our commitment to Christ and will, as he predicts, receive enmity from others who see and live in the opposite manner. We who live our lives “on account of the Son of Man” will suffer the consequences at the hands of the world. When we do, we can be assured that we too are counted among those Jesus calls “blessed.” We, who have sided with the poor, will also find ourselves marginalized with them. That’s what those who live the new life we have received from Christ can expect.

Our churches can be effective instruments in society as we use our influence to reach out to the poor and speak and take the side of the marginalized. If we receive praise for such advocacy we can be happy. But if our church communities blend well into the mainstream and “receive the first places” at society’s overflowing table, then we need be aware, for we will have gone from the side Jesus has blessed to that of those who have earned his “woes.” Like the prophet Jeremiah, in our first reading, Jesus places before us two contrasting ways to live and invites us to choose---both as individuals and as communities of the baptized. Jesus has reversed the usual measuring rods for “the good life” by his life, death and resurrection. Do we perceive it? Jesus has given us another way to live. He is our wise teacher who knows where true happiness is to be found and he doesn’t want us to miss it.

Actually, it isn’t so much that Jesus’ pronouncement of the reign of God has turned things upside down. But the opposite is true. If there are poor, neglected abused and marginalized people in the world, then that’s the proof that things are upside down. Jesus and his gospel make it quite clear that’s not how things should be. His life and message have put things right side up and that’s the way things ought to be.

Remember earlier in Luke’s gospel Jesus, in the synagogue, announced the inauguration of the hoped-for year of Jubilee. This announcement is his “mission statement” as he begins his ministry. The poor and oppressed will hear the good news and be liberated; the sick will be healed. In Jesus, the great reversal has begun. Today’s gospel is a further articulation of what will be the effects of Jesus’ coming: the poor and powerless are blessed and the rich and powerful will be unseated in woe.

Those who live comfortable lives have been given much to think about and if they follow Jesus they will wisely use their wealth to help the poor, hungry and weeping ones Jesus calls blessed. Jesus doesn’t spell out how they should do that; but the one who has announced the Jubilee wants us to find ways to release the poor of their burdens. The choice is ours and the new life that Christ gives to us makes such a choice possible.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Blessed are you poor Blessed are you who are now hungry Blessed are you who are now weeping Blessed are you when people hate you Woe to you rich Woe to you who are filled now Woe to you who laugh now Woe to you when people speak well of you

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• In this gospel, Luke has Jesus speaking in the second person” Blessed are you…”. As opposed to the third person: “Blessed are those….” Which is more powerful, in your mind? Why?
• In each of the “blessings”, it seems as if Jesus is actually describing a situation that we would normally wish to move away from, and telling us we should rejoice in that situation. Did reading these words have an impact on me when I was ever in such a situation? Do they now? What is in me that urges me to move on from poverty, sadness, hatred and exclusion? Which is the hardest for me to move on from? Do I feel “blessed” if I am experiencing any of these situations? Are my feelings normal human feelings? How do I get to where Jesus wants me to be?
• Think of a time in your life when you felt that things were not going well at all (relationships, finances, studies, work). What lessons did you learn from the experience? Were there any “consolations” that helped mitigate the experience?
• What does Luke see as the dangers of wealth? Do you consider them dangers? Has there ever been a time in your life when you simply did not consider what it might be like to be poor and needy?
• What does your political affiliation tell you about your attitude toward those who have no work, no home, no money?
• What are some of the things money buys? What are the dangers? What can money not buy?
• What makes up your concept of happiness now? What do you think would make you even happier?
• What norms do I use to measure “success” in life? How would those norms measure up to the Beatitudes? Or, are they among the “woes” Jesus rejects?
• In these beatitudes from Luke, Jesus does not idealize hunger. What does Jesus mean when He says “Blessed are you poor”? What is the danger for me of making poverty a spiritual blessing?
• What do I say to the 43.1 million poor in America, or the nearly half of the world’s population that live on less than $2.50 a day or to the 22,000 children who die each day to poverty? Why is “God loves you” or even “God blesses you” not enough?
• Woes: Why are the rich in trouble? How do I define rich? How does Jesus, do you think?
• Woes: Why are those laughing in trouble? What are they laughing about?
• Woes: Why are those filled now in trouble? Does it have to do with inequality or callousness, or greed?
• Woes: why are those of whom people speak well in trouble? What sort of situation is Jesus describing?
• “Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.” Does this passage mean we should never enjoy any of the good things in life because we will pay for that later, or is the message more nuanced? What are the dangers of thinking of this world as simply a waiting room for the next? Have I ever stopped to think that the only things I am able to bring into the next life are the things I have given away?
• This passage seems to be calling for internal transformation. What should it look like for you?
• by Daniel J Harrington, S.J. When misfortune, spiritual or physical befalls us, on what or whom can we call? What place do trusting in God and walking in God’s way have in your search for happiness? Is Jesus’ vision of eternal happiness merely “pie in the sky”? Why should we take it seriously? Where does resurrection come in?
• How can we turn woes into blessings for ourselves and others?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read Mt 5:3ff (The Beatitudes) and then reread Luke 6:20-28. What are the differences you see? Which set appeals to you more? Which set is tougher? Why do you think Luke included fewer blessings and added woes to the mix?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

This set of “Wealthitudes” is adapted from a homily by Fr, Jude Siciliano, O.P. in “First Impressions”:

Blessed are the rich and famous, for they shall have what they want. Blessed are they who cut their losses, and get rid of the losers; they will live to win another day Blessed are the rich and powerful, they will inherit the earth Blessed are the white and well educated, the world is theirs Blessed are they who cry for vengeance, they will be seen as protectors of society Blessed are they who cultivate the right people, they will go far Blessed are they who tailor their morals to meet the marketplace, they will be rewarded. Blessed are Americans for they shall have the earth’s riches at their beck and call

Which of the world’s beatitudes is a particular temptation for you? How do you deal with it? Which of Jesus’s beatitudes do you find the most comforting? Why? Which do you find the most annoying? Why? Which beatitude do you have the most difficulty living out? Why? Which of the woes are particularly bothersome to you? Imagine Jesus saying both these blessings and woes to you directly and looking straight into your heart. Pray for the openness to hear what He says to you.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford:

Choose one work of mercy (Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, bury the dead), and make a conscious effort to live it out this week. Say the prayer of St. Francis each day:

“Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Teacher, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; o be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Poetic Reflection:

Read the poem “March 1 1847, By the First Post”, about the Irish potato famine (from the collection In a Time of Violence), by Eavan Boland, the late director of Stanford's Creative Writing Program. How does it capture the indifference of those with a lot of comforts toward thoe who have none?

Closing Prayer

Lord, help me to live an uncluttered life, free of an unnecessary goods and attachments. May I learn to live in solidarity with those who are the poor and marginalized. Help me, Lord, to be transformed from withing so that I challenge the value systems my culture may live by that are not the value systems of Your Kingdom. May you count me among your “Blessed”.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 6, 2022

God’s call to the first disciples/God’s call to me

Luke 5:1–11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.

He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.

Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Music Meditations

• “The Summons”—Robert Kochis
• “Here I Am, Lord”—John Michael Talbot
• “The Servant Song”—Marantha Singers

Opening Prayer

From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Lord, you tell me, as you told Simon to “Put out into deep water”. You are ready to surprise me with the depths I can find in myself, with the work you can do through me. Save me from complacency, from settling for a routine existence. Open me to recognizing your hand in my daily encounters.

Companions for the Journey

This is a short writing from one of the Christian or non-Christian witnesses of our tradition, with a message that embodies the theme of the gospel we are studying today:

This is excerpted from a homily given at CC@S in 2004:

A few years ago, there was a show on television called “Nothing Sacred”. It was about a Catholic priest who was pastor of an inner city parish in Chicago, and how he coped with the crises he experienced, both private and professional. It only lasted a year, and the loudest critics of the series were people who were scandalized at the portrayal of a priest who was all too human: he was young, hip, cute. He wore jeans and sweatshirts; he had a wicked sense of humor and a wicked temper, and had many blind spots where his family was concerned. It was clear that he sometimes got a little mad at God, and often had doubts about his effectiveness or even his choice of a vocation. He was very, very human. Well, it seems that people who watch shows or movies about priests wanted a Bing Crosby in “Going My Way” --you know, the fatherly type who smokes a pipe, always has a smile and a ready answer, has no doubts, no weaknesses, They wanted a father-knows-best in a roman collar--one that he wears all the time. All the time! And if he can sing, all the better!

Anyone who has really looked at the gospel stories about Jesus’ disciples, especially Peter, would know that Jesus did not have those same requirements. When Peter said: “Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man”, he was just being honest. For one thing, he was frequently clueless about Jesus’ message and mission. Just one example: Peter had heard Jesus preach and preach about forgiveness and still was stupid enough to ask: “Lord, when my brother wrongs me, how many times do I have to forgive him, seven times?” (the real question--when is it okay to take my revenge?) Peter was also impulsive and prone to violence on occasion. Remember the incident in Gethsemane? Like the rest of the apostles, he was ambitious and guarded his position with Jesus jealously. There are incidents reported in all four of the gospels of the Apostles bickering among themselves as to their importance. At the last supper Peter engaged in a little self-promotion when he boasted: “Even if I have to die with you, my faith will not be shaken.” Of course we know how long his promise lasted.

So, in many instances, Peter came across as downright stupid and venal, insecure and self-promoting, full of bravado but cowardly, impulsive and sometimes even violent. Is this the kind of person you would trust to carry on your life’s work?

Well, Jesus did, and I think the reason why is right here in today’s gospel. Peter saw his own flaws very clearly, and told Jesus he was not worthy. In his finer moments, Peter recognized his human failures, and in admitting them, he opened his heart to all the rest of humanity--flawed, troubled, needy humanity.

So there is hope for Peter.

Is there hope for us?

Peter’s first reaction--that he wasn’t worthy--was a normal, honest reaction in the face of the immensity of God’s call. But somehow, he was made to see that he was just what God needed at that time. Maybe Peter’s willingness to go out into deep water, to try something new in the face of previous failure was just what Jesus wanted in a companion. His impetuousness, fueled by enthusiasm, gave him the energy to continue in what many might have considered a ministry doomed to failure from the get-go. Yes, Peter was just what God needed at that time.

And make no mistake about it: God needs us as well.

No matter where we are on the imperfection scale, each one of us is called to be disciple, to be a herald of the kingdom. At home. Where we work. In our unassuming little lives or our big famous ones.

Our call is to proclaim the gospel in the most ordinary of circumstances, situations--by words and by a life that witnesses the message of God’s immense love and forgiveness.

Jesus is gone from this earth.

Peter is gone from this earth.

What God is left with is us. You and me. We are called to be the embodiment of Jesus on earth. We are an incarnational church. As Saint Teresa of Avila said: God has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which God looks compassion on the world. Yours are the hands which bless all the world.”

Ok, maybe we can’t cure illness or walk on water, maybe we can’t move mountains or convert nations, but we can work to bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and let the oppressed go free. How? Here’s a start: We can work to change our own hearts. We can be patient and kind, we can refuse to store up grievances, and find joy in the truth. We can trust, hope and endure whatever comes. We can be love. So make no mistake about it. Each one of us is called to be disciple in our own lives, in our own jobs, in our own families. If you haven’t yet heard the call, then listen up.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• When Jesus said “Do not be afraid”, he was speaking to Peter and the others, but also to me. Of what am I afraid right now? Can I speak to Jesus about these fears? In what ways are we all like Peter?
• What did Peter James and John expect to get out of following Jesus? What guarantees did Jesus give them? What do I expect as a result of following Jesus? When I am called to make a sacrifice, do I ever ask "What's in it for me?", or "What if I fail?"
• Peter’s confession of his own unworthiness made him a better disciple because he could understand the weaknesses of others. Do we ever let our "unworthiness" serve as an excuse for inaction?
• GOD IS SO GREAT, WE ARE SO NOT…. What are my spiritual inadequacies? In what way do they interfere with my sincere desire to work for the Kingdom? Do I actually think God is big enough to contain me and all my failings? Can I see my inadequacies as ways into the imperfect, flawed, hurting lives of others?
• Can I think of a time when my effort to do good succeeded beyond my wildest dreams? Can I think of a time when my efforts failed? Jesus told Peter to "try again". Have I ever been asked by God to try again when my first efforts failed? Did I do so, or did I give up?
• They "forsook all and followed Him" (This includes the magnificent load of fish they just caught…) Is there anything or anyone in my life that I am hanging on to so tightly that it keeps me from answering the call of Jesus?
• Have I, metaphorically speaking, been paddling about in shallow (read "safe") waters? What, exactly, are shallow, safe, waters for me? In our own lives, what "deep water" are we invited to enter? ( e.g.: having a difficult conversation, changing my job or where I live, going on a retreat, volunteering) If deep water is a metaphor for risk, what am I willing to risk for Jesus?
• When the waters of our lives get too deep, when we feel like we might be sinking, who do we rely on? (or would we never let ourselves get into such a position?)
• Jesus did not approach Peter at a convenient time. It was early in the morning after a long, tiring, frustrating and unsuccessful night of fishing. Has a call to action from Jesus ever come to me at a time when I was not ready to hear? What did I do?
• This call to Peter, James and John happens not in the synagogue, but in their workplace. Do I see my workplace as a place where God (and others) might be needing me?
• Peter allowed Jesus to take possession of his most precious part of his identity: his boat and his knowledge of fishing. He allowed Jesus into his life. What control am I willing to relinquish to allow Jesus into my life?
• Jesus did not grant Peter and the others magical new talents and personalities. He chose them for exactly who they were and for the exact talents they possessed. What personality traits, what skills and talents can I use for the good of others?
• WE DID NOT CHOOSE GOD, GOD CHOSE US… What is the mission that God has chosen me for?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

God often spoke to and called His servants in Bible times in various ways. Take a moment to review several of the following servants and note the ways God spoke to them:

1. Abraham Genesis 12: 1-9 2. Moses Exodus 3: 1-12 3. Samuel I Samuel 3: 1-10 4. Elijah I Kings 6:1-8 5. Joseph Matthew 1: 18-25 6. Wise Men Matthew 2:12 7. Saul/Paul Acts 9: 1-9 8. Paul Acts 16: 6-10

From the list above, you can see that God often used dramatic means to get the attention of His servants. God used dreams, burning bushes, voices from heaven, donkeys, and angels. In our own age, the combination of the Servants Prayers, The Holy Spirit’s Whispers, and the Word of God will direct our steps. Make a commitment right now to seek God daily through prayer, listen to the Holy Spirit, and dig into God’s word.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

It seems like almost every fisherman has a “fish story” to tell. Each story is a little different of course, although most focus on “the big one that got away.” Peter and his friends had a whopper to tell too, but their story had a very different ending. Instead of losing the biggest catch of their lives, they simply walked away from it, leaving everything on the beach to follow Jesus. The call of Jesus is so powerful, so appealing, that it causes those who want to follow Him to leave everything behind.

What are you doing to reach the lost in your own community? As this passage has shown us, if we are not reaching our neighbors, we are missing out on the life-change God wants us to experience.

Then there is the fragile global community. What are you doing to partner with agencies like CRS who are reaching the lost in places where the Name of Jesus is dangerous to utter, or has never even been heard? Prayerfully consider how God would have you take part in completing His mission maybe somewhere across the globe, but maybe on our own campus, in our own workplace, in our own families.

Choose one concrete action you can take to respond to the immense need for the love of God to be transmitted to those around you.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style:

It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong one stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and come short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends herself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so their place shall never be with the cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

Adapted from Theodore Roosevelt in a speech given at the Sorbonne in 1910; part of a reflection on Call from The Ignatian Adventure by Fr. Kevin O’Brien, S.J., including the following meditation questions:

What desires, dreams, concerns, fears or hopes does Christ’s invitation stir in me?

What inspires me about the mission of a disciple?

What intimidates or discourages me?

How am I moved to respond now? (I use my own words as I talk to Jesus)

Poetic Reflection:

Excerpted and adapted from ten poems to change your life by Roger Housden. This is part of his commentary. How does it apply to Peter and the first disciples? How does it apply to you?

The true journey of your life requires a kind of madness. After all, from the standpoint of your old life you may be throwing away your life for nothing. You do not even know what you are headed toward. Yet the first step can only ever be taken in darkness. You cannot know where it will take you. You cannot plan for this sort of journey because the entire undertaking relies on the unreasonableness of faith. Faith is unreasonable because it rests on no tangible evidence. It is beyond even belief. The person of faith does not expect everything to turn out the way they want it to; they do not expect some higher power to pick them up when they fall. Their faith is beyond belief and beyond hope. It is the truth that can burn through the mists of confusion, uncertainty, fear, and leave you revealed to yourself, to a new voice that was in you all along.

“The Journey”

One day you finally knew
what you had to do and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
around your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

—By Mary Oliver, in Dream Work

Poetic Reflection:

The excerpt from T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets (Little Gidding) seems to indicate that our mission in life is constantly be open to God's Call. How hard is that?

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling   We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.

Poetic Reflection:

Enjoy this prayer/poem by a sister I took a course with—I cannot remember her name, but I have not forgotten her poem based on the version of this story as told by the evangelist John:

In the beginning was the Word./ A Word who must be spoken./ A Word spoken into skies./ and called into hills./ Spoken into rivers/ and fields/ A Word Spoken into life in flowers/ in birds/ and in every kind of animal./ A Word spoken with love and breathed into the heart of man and woman/ that they might be ready to hear./ And when the time came that all was in readiness,/ The Word was spoken into flesh,/ spoken to call his own/ out of the darkness and into the light./ To those who would know this Word, he beckoned/ and still is beckoning--now--to you./ Come, see where I live;/ spend your time with me/ Be my own,/ Be disciple./ Is the question of the first who followed your question still:/ Teacher, where do you live in my world?/ The answer they heard is the same, / which, in silence you will know:/ Come, I will take you there./ I live within your heart./ Your heart that I have seen,/ Your heart that I have known/ I live there, calling you beyond yourself/ Calling you into my own life,/ Calling you to the vision of my Father/ Calling you to be fishers of people./ Calling you to be disciple.

Closing Prayer

Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Lord, it is only when I take risks and push myself for you that I realize that it is not me giving to you, but you enriching me. Give me the confidence that comes from your call, and give me the courage that comes from you unwavering love for me. Help me to listen carefully for whatever you may have in store for me.