Who is a saint? What are saintly qualities? Does a person have to be a spitting image of Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul II, or St. Francis Assisi to be a saint? If so, you wouldn't have a chance (me neither)!!!
The good news is that the world has already had a Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul II, and Francis Assisi. Now God has them, and they are His saints. The better news is that you are the only "you" that God has made, and God wants you to be His saint too.
I promise you that I do not look in the mirror each morning saying, "Good morning, St. Chuck!" I know my holes, sins, weaknesses, and lusts way to well to ever think that I am as saintly as I need to be. But I also know that God wants me to live with Him, trust Him, follow Him, love Him, and obey Him in the unique way that He made me to. I am doing all of those things to varying degrees although they may not be quite up to as high as I would like them to be (or as high as the standards someone else may have in measuring my holiness). But the good news is that measuring holiness is God's job, not mine.
Nov. 1st is All Saints Day. We thank God for the saints who have gone before us. I like to spend time thinking about the people who have done saintly things for me. I want to spend some time on this day honoring men, women, girls, and boys who have shown me some Godly example, or loved me with some Godly love. They too were never destined to be Mother Theresa, Pope John Paul II, or Francis Assisi, but in their own ways they were just who God needed them to be for the time and people destined them.
How is God calling you to be a saint? What can you do this week to honor a "saint" who has helped you?
peace,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Changes in Latitude
Howdy!
A bad habit that I've developed in my 28 years of being a priest is not trusting folks who come to me begging for something. Folks come to my door or call me on the rectory phone needing financial assistance. Sometime they need a meal, or a place to stay, or gas money, or transportation. My inclination is not to believe the story they tell me, especially if they are asking for money from me. I presume that the person is going to use the money that they are requesting not for the purpose they say want it for. I presume that I am being lied to.
I guess this comes from actually being lied to by a few of the folks that have come to me in need. That has caused me to form the attitude that all beggars are using me. I have formed a gross generalization to cover all of the needy. They have to prove to me that they are truly in need before I believe them. They are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Thank God that Jesus' attitude was different.
Beggars were a lot more prevalent in Jesus' time than in our day. The sick, the handicapped, divorced women, many widows, prostitutes, "public" sinners, and lots of others depended upon the charity of others for their "daily bread". They were outcasts. There was no Social Security or social obligation to help them. They were an unwanted drain upon society. Yet Jesus seemed to seek out these people. He actually ate and drank with outcasts. He touched the leprous and befriended beggars.
At the end of the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark a blind beggar named Bartimaeus approaches Jesus wanting sight. The others in the crowd were like me. They just wanted to ignore Bartimaeus, and asked him to shut up and quit bugging Jesus. Jesus had a better idea. Having the compassion of His Father He actually called the beggar to Him. After Jesus heard his request, He gave Bartimaeus sight. As a result Bartimaeus began following Jesus. Rather than ignore this beggar, Jesus listened to him and granted his plea.
Just before this story Jesus told His disciples that if they wanted to be great in the Kingdom, then they needed to be the least of the world and act as a servant or slave to the needs of God and others. This Gospel follows as a "how to" lesson for us disciples. He lifts up the blind beggar by listening to him, treating him with credibility and respect, and helping him. He shows us would be disciples that no one is beneath us and that everyone deserves a merciful and compassionate hearing.
Jesus' bigger lesson comes on Calvary. That is where all of us get lifted up and given a reward that none of us deserve.
I need to change my attitude toward all others, especially those who have little. If Jesus can forgive me and love me even with my glaring faults, then I can change the way I look at others. How about you?
peace,
Fr. Chuck
A bad habit that I've developed in my 28 years of being a priest is not trusting folks who come to me begging for something. Folks come to my door or call me on the rectory phone needing financial assistance. Sometime they need a meal, or a place to stay, or gas money, or transportation. My inclination is not to believe the story they tell me, especially if they are asking for money from me. I presume that the person is going to use the money that they are requesting not for the purpose they say want it for. I presume that I am being lied to.
I guess this comes from actually being lied to by a few of the folks that have come to me in need. That has caused me to form the attitude that all beggars are using me. I have formed a gross generalization to cover all of the needy. They have to prove to me that they are truly in need before I believe them. They are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Thank God that Jesus' attitude was different.
Beggars were a lot more prevalent in Jesus' time than in our day. The sick, the handicapped, divorced women, many widows, prostitutes, "public" sinners, and lots of others depended upon the charity of others for their "daily bread". They were outcasts. There was no Social Security or social obligation to help them. They were an unwanted drain upon society. Yet Jesus seemed to seek out these people. He actually ate and drank with outcasts. He touched the leprous and befriended beggars.
At the end of the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark a blind beggar named Bartimaeus approaches Jesus wanting sight. The others in the crowd were like me. They just wanted to ignore Bartimaeus, and asked him to shut up and quit bugging Jesus. Jesus had a better idea. Having the compassion of His Father He actually called the beggar to Him. After Jesus heard his request, He gave Bartimaeus sight. As a result Bartimaeus began following Jesus. Rather than ignore this beggar, Jesus listened to him and granted his plea.
Just before this story Jesus told His disciples that if they wanted to be great in the Kingdom, then they needed to be the least of the world and act as a servant or slave to the needs of God and others. This Gospel follows as a "how to" lesson for us disciples. He lifts up the blind beggar by listening to him, treating him with credibility and respect, and helping him. He shows us would be disciples that no one is beneath us and that everyone deserves a merciful and compassionate hearing.
Jesus' bigger lesson comes on Calvary. That is where all of us get lifted up and given a reward that none of us deserve.
I need to change my attitude toward all others, especially those who have little. If Jesus can forgive me and love me even with my glaring faults, then I can change the way I look at others. How about you?
peace,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, October 12, 2009
Let's Get Small!!!!!
Steve Martin used to do a routine on Saturday Night Live about "getting small". This was back when Steve Martin was edgy, quirky, and belly hurting funny. He would get this real druggie voice going and talk about how mind altering it was to "be small". It was like getting high only backward.
In Mark's Gospel this weekend (Mark 10:35-45) Jesus tells his disciples if they want to get high (in the Kingdom) they have to serve the needs of all ("get small"). Jesus has been described as the upside down Messiah who brings about an upside down Kingdom. If you think about that sentence it is very true, especially in Mark's Gospel. Jesus is the Suffering Servant Messiah in the Gospel of Mark. He didn't mount a throne. He was raised up on a Cross. He doesn't seek power and control. He empowers the powerless by eating and drinking with outcasts and sinners and He touches lepers and heals the sick. Rather than seeking wealth and kingly trappings, He asks His disciples to abandon all things to be a part of the upside down Kingdom of God.
We (or at least I) struggle to fit in. I want to be liked. I want (the right) people to think well of me. I dress to impress. I want the popular trappings (car, boat, TV, phone, etc.). I want to hang out with folks that are like me or that I want to like me. Today Jesus says worry about the little people first. Be the friend of the small of the world. Don't be a ladder climber. Get in the gutter. Be a cellar dweller.
I've got a long way to go. How about you?
paz,
Fr. Chuck
In Mark's Gospel this weekend (Mark 10:35-45) Jesus tells his disciples if they want to get high (in the Kingdom) they have to serve the needs of all ("get small"). Jesus has been described as the upside down Messiah who brings about an upside down Kingdom. If you think about that sentence it is very true, especially in Mark's Gospel. Jesus is the Suffering Servant Messiah in the Gospel of Mark. He didn't mount a throne. He was raised up on a Cross. He doesn't seek power and control. He empowers the powerless by eating and drinking with outcasts and sinners and He touches lepers and heals the sick. Rather than seeking wealth and kingly trappings, He asks His disciples to abandon all things to be a part of the upside down Kingdom of God.
We (or at least I) struggle to fit in. I want to be liked. I want (the right) people to think well of me. I dress to impress. I want the popular trappings (car, boat, TV, phone, etc.). I want to hang out with folks that are like me or that I want to like me. Today Jesus says worry about the little people first. Be the friend of the small of the world. Don't be a ladder climber. Get in the gutter. Be a cellar dweller.
I've got a long way to go. How about you?
paz,
Fr. Chuck
Monday, October 5, 2009
I Think I'm Possessed!!!!!
The Gospel reading for Oct. 11th is a tough one for me to read (Mark 10:17-30). It is about the young man who comes to Jesus asking how to get to Heaven. Jesus and he agree that he is a good guy. He follows the commandments and knows what they are. But then Jesus asks him to give away his possessions to those in need, and come and be a disciple with Him. The young man walked away from the most generous invitation that anyone could ever receive. The Gospel says that he walked away sad because of his many possessions.
I do not consider myself a wealthy person. In the eyes of our culture I am comfortable but not rich by any stretch. Compared to some of the Third World countries that I've seen, or even parts of our own state or the inner cities of our country, I am extremely wealthy. However, I consider some other "possessions" as detrimental to my being able to be the disciple Jesus would have me be. I know that I possess some pride in my insistence on being "correct". I also possess some false judgement in the ways that I classify people. I possess laziness and apathy in my failure to want to change some "bad" habits. I possess fear when I am confronted with an opportunity to change and be a better person. The list could take up several pages of blogs if I wanted to list all of my possessions. So I'll just leave it here with the ones that I'm comfortable to declare. But just like the young man in the Gospel, I have chosen to cling to these possessions rather than give them away in order to help others and be a better disciple.
Jesus gives a rather funny image to talk about us rich people. He says it would be easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God's Kingdom. I think He meant this to be a funny image for His disciples to help them jettison some of their baggage in order to be a part of God's way of living. If you read the Gospel of Mark, Jesus keeps repeating Himself. He tells the disiples several times that they have to trust God like He does in order to be a disciple. They may not have gotten the message, but He kept on issuing the invitation to them. The same is the Good News for you and me. Daily God calls us to let go more, to trust more, to know God's forgiveness, mercy, and compassion more, to grow deeper into the life of His Kingdom and abandon the foolishness of selfish living. God keeps on offering opportunities. He never quits. Whether we totally ignore Him, or begin to trust just a little, God gives us more chances to squeeze in. Let's look for something to let go of today.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
I do not consider myself a wealthy person. In the eyes of our culture I am comfortable but not rich by any stretch. Compared to some of the Third World countries that I've seen, or even parts of our own state or the inner cities of our country, I am extremely wealthy. However, I consider some other "possessions" as detrimental to my being able to be the disciple Jesus would have me be. I know that I possess some pride in my insistence on being "correct". I also possess some false judgement in the ways that I classify people. I possess laziness and apathy in my failure to want to change some "bad" habits. I possess fear when I am confronted with an opportunity to change and be a better person. The list could take up several pages of blogs if I wanted to list all of my possessions. So I'll just leave it here with the ones that I'm comfortable to declare. But just like the young man in the Gospel, I have chosen to cling to these possessions rather than give them away in order to help others and be a better disciple.
Jesus gives a rather funny image to talk about us rich people. He says it would be easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God's Kingdom. I think He meant this to be a funny image for His disciples to help them jettison some of their baggage in order to be a part of God's way of living. If you read the Gospel of Mark, Jesus keeps repeating Himself. He tells the disiples several times that they have to trust God like He does in order to be a disciple. They may not have gotten the message, but He kept on issuing the invitation to them. The same is the Good News for you and me. Daily God calls us to let go more, to trust more, to know God's forgiveness, mercy, and compassion more, to grow deeper into the life of His Kingdom and abandon the foolishness of selfish living. God keeps on offering opportunities. He never quits. Whether we totally ignore Him, or begin to trust just a little, God gives us more chances to squeeze in. Let's look for something to let go of today.
paz,
Fr. Chuck
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