For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another . . .
The ancient Shematells us how we are to live as children of God. The Apostle John reminds us that we already have the answers we seek. The Gospels describe how God has come to live among us, entering the world as a vulnerable child. The message is always the same . . . we are to love one another, even those whom we do not wish to love.
On this eleventh day of Christmas, enter the words Love One Another into the blog search bar and consider what this message means for us as Christmas people.
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child than also an heir, through God.
We struggle to realize a kind of independence from any being – natural or supernatural. We strive to gain control of our own destiny – earthly or spiritual. We tussle with time and attempt to govern the passing of minutes, hours and years – looking back into the past and forward into the future while neglecting the precious present. We have need of none of these desires and indeed we expend our energy and creativity uselessly on these false battles . . . for we already have all that we could hope for. We are rescued from darkness. We are ransomed through the love of God. And we are already heirs of a kingdom and fortune too vast to be measured or counted. We have our proof in this small, tiny child.
On this eighth day of Christmas as we stand at the threshold of a new day that marks a new year, let us live in this prized gift of the present that the Father has given to us. Let us give thanks to the Father for all that we have and all that we are. On this day when we begin a new year that we so eagerly await, let us cease our search for the proof of God’s love and let us be convinced – as Christmas people – that what we seek we already possess.
As we gather in the U.S. to give thanks for all that we are and all that we have, we remember that we are all . . .
Under the Centurion’s Roof
This story has long held our fascination – a Roman centurion approaches the very un-pagan Jesus on behalf of his servant. This story raises questions for us – who is the servant who merits so much devotion on the part of his master; and what has caused the paralysis? A fall? A disease? A battle wound? This story is repeated by many as part of the Communion Rite – Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, say but the word and my soul shall be healed. This story invites us to step into the household of this Roman centurionto discover why he has such faith, and it invites us to examine our own sense of thanksgiving for all that we have.
My servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully . . .how do we ask for God’s help when those who serve us suffer?
I will come and cure him . . .countless times each day we benefit from God’s blessing and intervention. How do we thank God?
Lord, I am not worthy . . . only say the word . . .how do we respond to the signs of God’s intervention we see all around us?
As you have believed, let it be done for you . . .how do we tell the world about the goodness of God’s love for us?
A Centurion was a person of power and influence who rose through military ranks using his skills as a soldier and leader. If he paid homage to any god or creed, it would have been in keeping with the pagan beliefs held by his contemporaries; yet he comes to Jesus.
Jesus is willing to enter under any roof to heal all suffering and to bind up all wounds. If we find our ourselves hesitating to invite the master into our hearts, let us take a lesson from the powerful and compassionate soldier. Let us go to God with our needs and hopes. Let us speak plainly to the Lord about our feelings and circumstances. And let us give thanks to God for God’s great goodness and love.
Phyllis Tickle offers us a prayer of Thanksgiving that we might share with others as we gather under the Centurion’s roof.
“O Lord my God, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; yet you have called me to stand in this house, and to serve at this work. To you and to your service I devote myself, body, soul, and spirit. Fill my memory with the record of your mighty works; enlighten my understanding with the light of your Holy Spirit; and may all the desires of my heart and will center in what you would have me do. Make me an instrument of your salvation for the people entrusted to my care, and grant that by my life and teaching I may set forth your true and living Word. Be always with me in carrying out the duties of my faith. In prayer, quicken my devotion; in praises, heighten my love and gratitude; in conversation, give me readiness of thought and expression; and grant that, by the clearness and brightness of your Holy Word, all the world may be drawn into your blessed kingdom. All this I ask for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen”. (Tickle 255)
Tickle, Phyllis. THE DIVINE HOURS: PRAYERS FOR AUTUMN AND WINTERTIME. New York: Doubleday, 2000. Print.
Do not give what is holy to dogs or cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Swineand dogswere words used by Jews to express contempt for Gentiles. Commentary tells us that they may also be used by Christians to describe those obstinate, impenitent Christians. In this portion of Matthew’s Gospel, the writer records the teachings of Jesus in which we are asked to pray for one another rather than judge one another. A true disciple is one who is willing to go to his knees and pass through the narrow gate onto The Way which Jesus walks. A true disciple is wary of false prophets, looks to build his life on a sturdy, strong foundation, and understands that he need not fight God’s fight. A true disciple knows that if we want to tap into our divinity, we must first humble ourselves as Christ does. A true Christian depends on God for all things, and witnesses this loyalty by praying for the swineand the dogs in his life.
This saying can be a harsh one. This teaching can be difficult to take on and live out. It calls for the courage to remain on our own with God rather than be in the company of a crowd. It calls for perseverance in traveling a long road with many turnings that hide the future from our eyes. But we are pearls of great price, worth more than any amount we might imagine. And these pearls have been bought at great cost by Jesus’ redemptive suffering, death and resurrection. These pearls will not be left alone to be snatched up by a thief. These pearls are worn by God with great love. They are tended with great care.
Weare pearls of great price, as Paul reminds the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23), bought with sacrifice and love. So rather than step casually into a life we have been given as gift, let us live each day with the care and devotion God gives to our creation. Let us value the breath we have been given even as wet us pray for those who do not. And rather than give what is holy to dogs or allow ourselves to be trampled by swine, let us celebrate with joy each new dawn that brings us the mystery and of God’s love.
Have mercy on me, oh God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
One of the most famous stories in scripture is that of David’s complicated sin of lust, adultery and murder. The most intriguing portion of this story is the way in which the prophet Nathan carefully, but firmly, points out to his king that a grave breech of the covenant with Yahweh has been made. David is far too intelligent and too spiritual to walk away from the opportunity that Nathan offers, the opportunity to admit to transgression, to see the multiple sins he has committed, to ask forgiveness, and to repent with sincerity. This is what makes David truly great. He is so human that when he sins, he tries to cover up these willful acts, and we can identify with this. But when confronted by the truth, he admits his guilt and seeks forgiveness. This may be the difficult part for us, asking forgiveness for those things which hide so deeply in our depths that we may not even recognize that they are there.
Enter the name Nathanin the blog search bar to discover more about this prophet and to consider what he might have to say to us today.
Tomorrow, more thoughts on David as we explore Jesus’ parables.
Adapted from a reflection written on February 13, 2008.
My song will please the Lord more than oxen, more than bullocks with horns and hooves; see, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek the Lord, take heart!
More than any sacrifice, God awaits an open heart. More than any burnt offering, God awaits a heart eager and ready to receive the marvelous gift of God’s love.
Hebrews 10:5-6: Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased”.
“For sacrifice to become a value, you must discover something for which life is worth living . . . Sacrifice is born of the heart-thawing yearning of the love of Christ . . . The truest sacrifice is to recognize a presence. What does it mean to recognize a presence? The I, instead of affirming itself, affirms you. This is the greatest devotion: ‘There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’; it is the same as giving one’s life . . . To affirm the other implies the forgetting of ourselves, which is the opposite of being attached to ourselves; we sacrifice to the other . . . The truest sacrifice is to recognize a presence, which means the truest sacrifice is to love”. (Cameron: L. Giussani)
Our song is one of thanksgiving to God who created us.
Our song in one of gratitude for a God who saves us.
Our song is one of joy for a God who transforms us.
Our song in one of serenity for a God who forgives, and guides, protects and abides with us.
Our song is one of a life offered in sacrifice to a God who is limitless and profound, to a God who loves us without end.
Cameron, Peter John. Fr. Julián Carrón. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 30.11(2013): 399-400. Print.
Luigi Giovanni Giussani (October 15, 1922 – February 22, 2005) was an ItalianCatholic priest, educator, public intellectual and founder of the international Comunione e Liberazione (Catholic movementCommunion and Liberation). (Wikipedia)
At last I admitted to you that I had sinned; no longer concealed my guilt, I said, “I will go to Yahweh and confess my fault. And you, you have forgiven the wrong I did, have pardoned my sin.
When we are in the wrong we sense that a huge ogre stands outside our door if we even begin to admit that we have erred. And when we finally open the door of the soul to enter into an honest conversation with God we find that the imagined ogre is less than an inch in height. We have been held hostage by our own imaginings that festered in the dark silence of our troubled hearts.
God says: Do you see why I have been calling at your closed door for so long into the night? I want to bring you out of the corner in which you have been crouching. Your sins are never too great for me to forgive. Your transgressions are always smaller than the love with which I heal. Do you know that the conversation I am waiting to have with you will bring you more joy than pain? Do you remember that my prophet Jeremiah has told you that I have plans for you, plans for your joy and not woe? Do you recall that my prophet Isaiah predicted that I would walk among you as the light? Do you not hear my voice on the other side of that closed door – the voice that encourages you? Do you not feel the love I send to you through the closed thickness that separates us? Open the door. Answer my call. And allow me to fold you in to the immense love of my sacred heart.
We say that we seek God when all the while God is seeking us. We say that we look for serenity when all the while God offers us peace. We say that we have nothing to confess when all the while our troubled thoughts weigh heavily on our hearts and minds and souls. And all the while . . . God awaits our simple admission with a healing touch and a generous heart.
Enter the words sacred heart, forgiveness, or God’s love into the blog search bar and explore the many ways God persists in calling us to union.
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
We have reflected before on our lack of patience and our inability to experience life patiently and humbly. We have thought about how our need for immediate gratification causes us anxiety, narrowness and shortsightedness. The millennia seem like immovable objects. The universe is far too vast for us to take in and yet we persist in trying to shrink God’s view into our own narrow field of vision. We are willing to sacrifice immense love and eternal peace for a few immediate moments of independence.
The psalmist sings: Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Better the threshold of the house of my God than a home in the tents of the wicked. (Psalm 84:10)
God says: My generosity is unlimited because my vision is so broad. My love is so deep because my hope reaches to the heights. My strength is unbounded because I take in all of time. The span of a human life is brief and yet you are precious to me. I want you to enter into my tent so that you might dwell in my heart. And yet if you are unwilling to spend time with me I am willing to wait. My patience is eternal. My endurance is unmatched. My love is all-encompassing. That is why I am able to wait for you to trust me. And although I would rather have you lodged well within my heart I am willing to wait. If you only enter my tent as far as the threshold I will wait for you . . . for thousands upon thousands of years.
We humans believe that we control and even manipulate time. Today we consider the magnitude and depth of God’s presence in our lives. And we imagine the new confidence we might find, the new energy we would have if only we might fully believe God’s promise.
May grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
This is so very simple. God makes a gift of grace and peace. Rather than strive to add cash to our accounts, square footage to our homes and friends to our social media, we will do well to focus on gaining knowledge of God. We increase this knowledge through the study of God’s word, through prayer and worship, and through conversations with others who are like seekers.
This is so complicated. We do not want to leave behind our old agendas, our old goals and our old norms. We are comfortable with the world as we have arranged it and we do not want to shift perspective or viewpoint. We are content . . . for a time. And when life presents its catastrophes as it always will . . . then we will yearn for peace and grace.
We understand the peace is an uplifting serenity that calms and focuses our shattered thoughts. Peace is a state of tranquility and harmony with self and with our surrounding world. This is something to yearn for. t is a quality worth struggling for. And what is grace?
Grace is a freely offered gift from God that brings us full participation in the life of God. It is throughGrace that we are pulled into intimacy with the Creator. Grace is intended for the common good and so it frees us to collaborate with others as we grow in the Body of Christ. Grace is brought to us by the Spirit so that we might be healed and sanctified. And so, because Grace is a gift given freely by God the Creator, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, we understand that it surpasses the power of human intellect and will. We can see that it perfects the soul itself to live withGod and to act byGod’s love. It is this Grace in which we hope to be rooted. It is this Grace from which we hope to draw strength. It is through this Grace that we reach our full potential both individually and collectively. It is this Grace that shows itself in the many small miracles that mark our days. It is the gift of grace that brings us peace. It is this gift of grace that is God’s love for us.
This is complicated. This is simple. Let us add to our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord so that the gift of grace and peace may be ours in abundance. In these troubles days, we will want to seek these gifts. We will want to hold these miracles.
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