In next weekends gospel Jesus is touched by a bleeding lady & then he goes to a synagogue official's house & touches his dead daughter. Both of these actions would have made Jesus ritually impure. In Jesus' culture & in His Jewish law being impure meant you were now an outcast from the synagogue & from polite society. Yet Jesus allowed himself to be made dirty & an outcast in order to show that God & His compassion is bigger than religious norms & social conventions. Jesus, showing the empathy of His Father, healed the hemmoriaging woman & raised the dead girl to life.
I want to read your comments on this reading this week from Mark 5:21-43. If you could focus your comments on one or both of these two sets of questions:
1. If Jesus is willing to risk His health, religious stature, & social standing to show God's compassion, then what boundary, phobia, politically correct behavior, or social wall would you be willing to ignore in order to imitate His compassion?
2. We all have some thing dead, sick, or dirty in us. Are you willing to bring the digusting part of yourself to God in order to given His new life, healing, & forgiveness?
Thanks for the comments, support, & suggestions from last week. Let me know if you can think of ways to make this blog more helpful.
peace,
Fr. Chuck Walker
This is hard. Bringing up the stuff that even I don't want to admit I have inside is difficult to face - and I would like to believe that there's nothing like that in there - but I know that's not possible. Sometimes it surprises me when it comes up like it's a part of myself I don't know. It seems that bringing this part to God should come naturally, but I don't know that it does for me. Maybe. It leaves me feeling vulnerable which makes it more difficult to face, though I believe it also allows God the room to do the work of fixing it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard saying, and hard questions. As I read Mark, I marveled not just at the faith, but also the courage of Jarius and the woman. The woman made me think of the second question. She brought that disgusting part of her life to God for healing. Do I have the courage to bring all of the darkness in my life into the light? Can I bring out all of those parts of me that I hide so that God can bring his healing? Can I bring it to the light knowing that it will be seen and recognized for what it is? Can I touch the hem of His cloak, knowing that as I receive healing, I may need to own up to those dirty, disgusting habits, actions, addictions, parts of me? I do not know. I do not know if I have that courage yet. Do I have the courage to approach another in whom I clearly see the dirty, disgusting parts or their lives, to approach them and show them God's compassion? Can I look past another's addictions or wounds and see the person, love and be compassionate to the person? I want to resound a whole-hearted yes! but, in truth, I do not know. But there must be a place to start. As I have pondered this over the past few days, I have realized that the problem isn't a lack of opportunity, but an over-abundance. Do I start with the forgotten in nursing homes? The dying who are abandoned and alone? The sick? The families of the sick? The poor, underprivileged, homeless? The imprisoned? Criminals? Their victims? Those coping with addictions? Do I start with showing solidarity with the alien? Homosexual? Those of other religions, especially of those that are so different from mine? I think, perhaps, that my courage is not yet strong enough to seek out the need. I think, to begin, I can at least reach out a hand in compassion to those who come to me or cross my path, who say "please, come..."
ReplyDeleteGood stuff Sarah and Joellen. Thanks for your willingness to confront the hard stuff we're called to look at in our lives. I think constantly confronting our sin and lack of compassion is part of our constant spiritual growth. It is easier done with the assurance of the help and forgiveness of God, and the support and encouragement of Church/community.
ReplyDeleteFather: A beautiful homily last Sunday and also at the funeral Mass for Mary Elizabeth Hagan Brangers. Mary was a cousin on the Hagan side of our family. Barbara
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