Palm Sunday: The WEEK begins!

Hi Friends!

We begin Holy Week this Sunday. Sometimes it's easy to go through this week with a limited vision. We hear about Jesus' thanksgiving day parade into Jerusalem. We imagine Jesus and His disciples preparing for and then eating the Last Supper. We retell His arrest, trial, torture, Way of the Cross and Crucifixion. Then, next Sunday, we learn of His first Resurrection appearances to Mary, Peter, John, the Apostles, and the two on the way to Emaus. 

I think that seeing and hearing of all of these events as what happened some 2000 years ago limits their impact on us now. Yes, they did happen in a historical time and place. BUT, with all things with God, the things that happened with Jesus in that Holy Week  two millennia ago are way beyond any time and locale. Jesus is the Christ and God's Son and therefore is still walking the Way of the Cross. He is always living, suffering, dying and rising for all of us who still need Him to be our Messiah and the Son of God for us in our time. 

Our spiritual work this Holy Week is to prayerfully discern how He is still walking the Way for you, me and the World. How have my sins and selfishness (and yours) put Him on trial and crucified Him now? How do we reject the violence, grudge holding, hatred and selfishness that keeps us from a full relationship with Him? How do we accept the forgiveness, love, and new life that only He can give us? What is holding me back from being fully alive?

The events of Jesus' life, death and resurrection are current events. The more we let Him be our only Savior and God, the more precious and fruitful this life and His life becomes.

Have a Holy Week!

paz,
me 

Laetare = Rejoice!

This Fourth Sunday of Lent is also called Laetare or Rejoice Sunday.

Are we rejoicing because Lent is half way finished? Because, in a mere three weeks, I can eat chocolate again? Because, at Easter I can stop feeding my Rice Bowl for every word of foul language I use again? Because, why?

Both, today's sections of Paul's letter to the Ephesians and from the Gospel of John we have great reason to rejoice. Here is what they say:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10.)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life." (John 3:16.)

On this weekend we are shown, in the words of Jesus and St. Paul, God's design for us and all of humanity. God's plan is that we all be saved from eternal death by the gift of His Son's life. The reason that Jesus was born, the reason that He lived, taught and healed, the reason that He endured death by the Cross, the reason He was resurrected was all for our benefit. He lived and He lives so that we may have abundant life now and eternally because of Him.

Lent is our time try to grasp how much God is offering us by our prayer, fasting and works of charity. In our prayerful relationship with God we become intimately aware how much God dearly loves us. By our fasting and denying ourselves stuff, we hopefully learn that only the stuff that God gives us is worth craving for (even White Castle!). It is also the only stuff that is worth living and dying for. Finally, we do deeds of generosity and service to imitate God's all-giving ways. We do none of these activities to EARN God's saving gifts. We do them to get in touch with how generous God must be to give to us so freely. By our mere knowing that we need them, God's gifts of Mercy, Love, and Abundant Eternal Life our ours. Our Lenten practices (and even our failure in our Lenten practices) help us to be aware of how much we need God for all things in life and for Life itself.

We can REJOICE (or LAETARE if you really need to be Latin) because our God loves us enough  to want for us a better life now and a completely blissful life in eternity. I encourage you to meditate or contemplate about what part of that gift from God are you missing from your life. Where is it that you need God's saving graces?

peace,
Fr. Chuck

PS. I have a favor to ask. I have some friends who lost their twenty-four year old son this past week. Please lift them up to God in prayer. Embrace them, their daughter and their son's fiance in God's tender love. I ask for your prayers as well for twenty-five of us who will be leaving UofL on Sunday morning for a week of mission to the Habitat for Humanity Camp in Birmingham, Alabama. Pray for those who are making this service mission and for those whom we'll meet and serve. Thanks! cdw

The Buyers and the Sellers....

I read something recently from a Rabbi who was commenting on sports in our culture. He started out by writing that when historians or sociologists look back at the the buildings that may remain from our era, the most impressive structures will be our sports arenas. The ruins of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome are either government buildings or temples to various gods or rulers whom they thought were gods. The middle ages had huge and glorious churches, basilicas, monasteries and temples like Chartres, St. Peter's and Hagia Sophia. We have Olympic stadiums, AT&T Stadium in Dallas, and our own Yum Center, Keeneland and (co)Rupp(t) Arena.

Sports have become like a religion to many in our time, both in good ways and bad. The good is that sports can teach some very important spiritual and religious values. Team work, how to win and lose gracefully and humbly, how to channel one's enthusiasm and talent toward a goal, the importance of practice and training, and how to treat with respect both those who are team mates and those who are opponents are just a few of some very good ideals that religious folks could learn from the sports world and vice versa. Where sports and athletics get a bad rap are the actions of some fanatics and some losing focus that at the end of the day "it's only a game". In both sports and religion we always are encouraged to remember why we do what we do. "What is the priority?", is the question that all players and prayers; coaches and priests; fans and faithful have to constantly answer.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus comes to the Temple this weekend to show folks that that the focus of their religion has changed in the person of HIM. He chases out money changers and turns over tables of coins and doves. Jesus gets angry (yes, it's okay to get angry, even in Church)! He yells at the folks, accusing them of turning God's house into a din of thieves. Then He tells them the new priority. "Destroy this Temple, and I will rebuild it in three days!" He claims. Few got it then. Maybe none got it then. Two thousand years of hindsight and interpretation have helped us see that Jesus was putting the Temple worshipers on notice. Jesus is the new focus for their (and our) faith and life. Doves, coins, sheep, and bulls have no comparison to the sacrifice of the Son of God of Himself. Nor do our sacrifices of time, talent and treasure. Prayers of praise, thanksgiving, supplication, and forgiveness have only one new direction because of Him. All of the Gospel writers, but especially John, show us that Jesus is the only Lord worth living for and praying to.

So, we need to ask ourselves what our priorities are. Do we give to get a tax right off? Do we use our time, talent and treasure like a vote? Am I more generous with my stuff when I like music, the homilies, the ministries, or if I'm getting some other benefit? If the answer is "Yes!" to any of these, then who are we trying to serve here? AND this goes beyond churchy stuff. Is Christ the focus of everything in our lives? Is He the reason we work, play, live and love? If the answer is "No!" then it's time to upset a few tables in our own temples.

Lent is the time to clean house and fall in love again with the HIM again.

Peace,
me

Highway 61 Re(re)visited

The first reading for this weekend comes from the disturbing story of Abraham taking his only, and long awaited, son to Mount Moriah to sacrifice him to God. This disturbs us because we can't imagine that God would ever ask for something so extreme from anyone, especially a man who had already sacrificed homeland and kin  in order to obey God's call. We remember the story. Abram and Sara pick up tents and livestock to follow a promise from God; a land flowing with milk and honey. God promises them, also, that there descendents will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. They move to the present day Holy Land, yet after many years and much faith they are still childless, with the exception of the servant girl's son. Both in their eighties, God sends them three messengers, telling them that they will indeed have a son in their old age. Isaac comes as a fulfillment to God's promise. Maybe countless heirs is still in the stars. Then comes today's story. Sacrifice the only hope that you'll ever have for progeny to prove that you trust God.

Why would God test Abraham and Sarah in this way?

In most of our minds and hearts God doesn't work that way. My God is not some adolescent, looking for proof of love or trust. Our God is a God that loves us and forgives us unconditionally, even when we don't reciprocate. Of course, He wants us to love and trusts Him. Yet, He doesn't hold back His mercy when we err and make half-hearted pledges to Him. But still, we have to deal with this story.

One thing I remember from  Old Testament classes long ago, and from cultural anthropology classes even longer ago, is that animal sacrifices were common in almost all religions in ancient times. And, human sacrifices were not all that uncommon in some religions then. So, for Abraham and Sarah to be asked to sacrifice their firstborn son to God, may have been an unwanted request from God, BUT it would not have been a foreign idea to them. It is something that other gods would have asked for. So, why not our God? Sometimes the gods ask unwanted things. Being a man of honor, of course Abraham would oblige.

Also, as mentioned before, Abraham had trusted God in every request that he'd been given. He was never disappointed. Even with the most valuable gift that God had ever given him, Isaac, Abraham trusted with faith in the God who had given him this precious gift.

Scripture scholars also say that this reading is an evidence that our God is not like those other gods. He doesn't require human sacrifice like the neighboring tribes' gods do. When they reach the top of the mountain, it is God who does the sacrificing, not Abraham. Abraham trusted. And God promises again that He will make Abraham's offspring as numerous as the sands on the seashore. The results of that promise that God made to Abraham are the reason that Jews, Christians and Muslims can all call Abraham their spiritual and real father.

(FYI: On another mountain(hill), near the legendary location of Mt. Moriah, a human was sacrificed on trumped up charges. He was also the Son of God. Again, God makes the bigger sacrifice for our sakes.)

My encouragement to you is to figure out for yourself, what your Isaac is. What is more precious than God to you? Remembering that God is outdone in generosity, are you willing to offer your "Isaac" to God? Are you also prepared for the miracles that God will then do in your life?

peace,
me

What a Bargain!!!!

For married couples it is their wedding bands. For religious it is their scapular, habit, tonsure, rosary or three knots. For priests it is when we put our folded hands in the bishop's hands promising to pray, preach, serve the people of the Church, and obey our bishop. For Moses it was those two tablets of stone. For Noah it was a rainbow. For all Christians it is always the Cross. These are all signs and symbols of our covenant with God. We are and will always be a people in a covenant with one another and with God.These holy covenants are promises between us and God, and God and us.

In the first reading this weekend from the Book of Genesis, God makes Noah and his family a promise in their covenant. "I will be your God." "I will be with you always." (and) "I will never destroy the earth, again." The sign for this promise from God was the rainbow he showed them.

The thing about these Godly covenants that strikes me is that God always makes the bigger commitment. "Always" is a long time. Yet God is true to His Word. He promises to love, support and even give us life ALWAYS. Nothing we do can match that commitment. In Jesus Christ he shows an even larger commitment to us. On the Cross, the Son of God gives us the gift of forgiveness and redemption from our sins forever. Our small part of that bargain is only to admit that we do indeed need God's forgiveness. Following His Death is of course His Resurrection. We receive freedom from the fear of death, hope that God is bigger than every sin and obstacle in life, and a Godly purpose for which to live. God receives us calling Christ our Lord and letting God be the God of us. Again, God does the big stuff. We just have to trust more.

On this First Sunday of Lent I invite you to spend some time thanking God for His generous commitments to us. And, I invite you to also pray prayers that lead you to trusting Him more.

Happy Lent!
Fr. Chuck

"Going to the Carwash, yeah!"

A nice hot shower feels great! When I'm at the lake, and I've been weed eating, mowing, or anything else sweaty, the shower is a blessing. Not only does it cleanse your body but it does something for your attitude and mood too.

In the same way forgiveness is more than just a way to get rid of a grudge or a sin. Forgiveness lightens us and refreshes us. Not long ago a boy, about ten, and his mom were at a Communal Reconciliation service at a local parish. He was definitely the youngest one in church that evening. In fact, in comparison to the rest of us, he looked out of place. I thought that Mom had dragged him there because it was Advent or that she thought he really "needed to go to Confession". No. She told me that her son loved going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation because it made him feel clean!

Jesus cleanses a man in the Gospel today. Not just any man, but He cleanses a man with the oldest and dirtiest disease in our history; leprosy. We have heard how contagious leprosy (or Hansen's disease) is. In Jesus' day there were religious and social rules regarding the awful disease. The leper had to live banished from society and family until they were declared clean or until they were dead. No exceptions! And the word was always "cleansed" not "healed". The leper had to yell, "UNCLEAN!" to any passerby's so as not to infect them. They didn't yell, "SICK!" They yelled, "UNCLEAN!"

The man in the Gospel asks Jesus to make him "clean". Jesus tells him, "I do will it. Be made Clean!" In making the leper clean again Jesus shows God's power over disease, sin, religious and social norms, and our attitudes about our own selves that make us dirty. That's what the ten year old at the Communal Reconciliation Service was asking for and what he received in the Sacrament. As do we. God's forgiveness cleanses us wholly; body, mind and soul.

On this Ash Wednesday we begin the Holy Season of Lent. Lent is more than about ashes, fish fries, Rice Bowls, and giving up Facebook for six and one half weeks (even though I highly endorse all of those practices). Lent can be about taking a good look into our lives and finding out where we need to do some "cleaning". We all have areas in our lives that make us seem dirty. Or, we treat others like they are "dirt" to us. Lent is a good time to ask God to intervene, make us clean and extend God's cleansing to those whom need to know that they, too, are made in God's image and likeness.

Let's invite God to do a little cleaning for Lent!

peace,
Fr. Chuck

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

People of faith know or learn that life is more than this life.

In this weekend's first reading Job, the man of faith and misery, keeps his faith in spite of the torments of his life. If anyone ever told you to endure your hardships with a stoic stiff upper lip, you may want to point to Job and say, "no way!" Job berated God, was angry with God, cried to God, whined to God, brought his gloom to God, but always believed in God. His family and false friends gave up on Job and his God. Job did not. At the end of his story Job states, "I know that my Redeemer lives." After having everything earthly that matters taken away from him, Job still yells at God seeking relief. And Peace finally came to Job's life.

In St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians he states the purpose for which he witnesses and writes. "All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may have a share in it." His hardships too were manifold. Arrests, torture, rejection, distrust (even by the other Apostles), constantly uprooting and heading to new lands and cities to spread the Good News were his way of life. Eventually he even died a martyr's death. He did this because he too was aware that, "it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me." After getting knocked off of his horse and blinded, his life was never his own any more. He became bigger than he could have ever imagined.

Jesus just keeps on moving, proclaiming, and healing. Especially in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus seems to be in an urgent rush. Get baptized. Hear God say, "This is My Beloved Son!" Deal with the Devil. Call disciples. Start preaching, dealing with other demons, and healing. Go. Go. Go. Stop for a prayer with Dad. Go some more. His life was definitely not His own. He lived every moment to do the will of His Father and nothing more.

Because of this way that He lived out being the Son of God we have a template on how we are all called to live. We too are God's beloved sons and daughters. We were made in His image and thus share much in similarity to His Son. He shared our life and now asks us to share His life of trust, reconciliation, true freedom, healing, helping and living to the full.

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. In regards to trying to be more like Christ, imitation is also our best way to peace, union with the will of God, and our path to eternal life with God. The key for us is to daily let God take control of a little bit more of our lives and anything else we call our own. Jesus, Paul, Job and every saint since them has let God be the focus of their lives. Our path to full and free life starts with us letting God guide us.

peace,
Fr. Chuck