Thoughts on the Suffering Servant

 

Luke 13: 31-35

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen who longs to gather her chicks under her wing. As the theologian N.T. Wright points out, this is much more than a sentimental image. It refers to the gesture of a hen when fire is sweeping through the barn. In order to protect her chicks, she will sacrifice herself, gathering them under her wing and using her own body as a shield. On the cross, Jesus used, as it were, his own sacrificed body as a shield, taking the full force of the world’s hatred and violence. He entered into close quarters with sin (because that’s where we sinners are found) and allowed the heat and fury of sin to overwhelm him, even as he protected us. With this metaphor in mind, we can see, with special clarity, why the first Christians associated the crucified Jesus with the suffering servant of Isaiah. By enduring the pain of the cross, Jesus did indeed bear our sins; by his stripes we were indeed healed. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on hell

 

Luke 13:   22-30

Friends, our Gospel for today features a question that people have been asking from time immemorial and that they still ask today: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Heaven, hell, salvation, damnation, who will be in and who will be out? We have remained fascinated with these questions for a long time. Here’s how I would recommend we approach this issue. The doctrine concerning hell is a corollary of two more fundamental truths, namely, that God is love and that we are free. Love (willing the good of the other) is all that God is. He doesn’t go in and out of love; he doesn’t change his mind; he’s not loving to some and not to others. He is indeed like the sun that shines on the good and bad alike, in the words of Jesus. No act of ours can possibly make him stop loving us. In this regard, he is like the best of parents. However, we are free. We are not God’s marionettes, and hence we can say yes or we can say no to his love. If we turn toward it, we open like a sunflower; if we turn from it, we get burned. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on judging others

 

The Burden of Judgment

Imagine having no need at all to judge anybody. Imagine having no desire to decide whether someone is a good or bad person. Imagine being completely free from the feeling that you have to make up your mind about the morality of someone’s behavior. Imagine that you could say: “I am judging no one!”  Imagine — wouldn’t that be true inner freedom? . . . But we can only let go of the heavy burden of judging others when we don’t mind carrying the light burden of being judged! Can we free ourselves from the need to judge others? Yes, by claiming for ourselves the truth that we are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God. As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to the need to put people and things in their “right” place. To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, we can let go of our need to judge. “Do not judge and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get” (Matthew 7:1). Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on seeing Jesus

            The Blind Beggar

   Sunday's Gospel is the story of Jesus' cure of Bartimaeus. The Jewish theology of Jesus' day held that physical ailments and disabilities were punishment for sin, either of the afflicted one or their parents or even ancestors. They were considered judged by God and condemned and treated like public sinners, often disowned by family, thrown out of town and forced to live in the cemeteries and dumps and begging for the necessities. This is where we find Bartimaeus. He's heard stories about Jesus and when he hears that he is passing by, he begins to yell for help. He has nothing to lose and yells louder.

Jesus stops and calls for him. He asks the blind man what it is he wants and he answers, "Master, I want to see."

   Jesus knows what he wants and needs but he wants Bartimaeus to name it and own it and thereby to acknowledge Jesus as Lord with the power to heal and to forgive. He not only wants to see but to live in community with others, free of crippling guilt. When he receives his sight, the first thing he sees is the face of Jesus.

   As we pray this scene, we hear Jesus ask us, "What do you want me to do for you?" How do we answer? What do we most deeply want and need so that we can follow Jesus more lovingly?

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

More thoughts on friendship

 

Nurturing Friendship

Friendship requires a constant willingness to forgive each other for not being Christ and a willingness to ask Christ himself to be the true center. When Christ does not mediate a relationship, that relationship easily becomes demanding, manipulating, oppressive, an arena for many forms of rejection. An unmediated friendship cannot last long; you simply expect too much of the other and cannot offer the other the space he or she needs to grow. Friendship requires closeness, affection, support, and mutual encouragement, but also distance, space to grow, freedom to be different, and solitude. To nurture both aspects of a relationship, we must experience a deeper and more lasting affirmation than any human relationship can offer. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on friendship

 

Be a Real Friend

True friendships are lasting because true love is eternal. A friendship in which heart speaks to heart is a gift from God, and no gift that comes from God is temporary or occasional. All that comes from God participates in God’s eternal life. Love between people, when given by God, is stronger than death. In this sense, true friendships continue beyond the boundary of death. When you have loved deeply that love can grow even stronger after the death of the person you love. This is the core message of Jesus. When Jesus died, the disciples’ friendship with him did not diminish. On the contrary, it grew. This is what the sending of the Spirit was all about. The Spirit of Jesus made Jesus’ friendship with his disciples everlasting, stronger, and more intimate than before his death. That is what Paul experienced when he said, “It is no longer I, but Christ living in me” (Galatians 2:20). You have to trust that every true friendship has no end, that a communion of saints exists among all those, living and dead, who have truly loved God and one another. You know from experience how real this is. Those you have loved deeply and who have died live on in you, not just as memories but as real presences. Dare to love and be a real friend. The love you give and receive is a reality that will lead you closer and closer to God as well as to those whom God has given you to love. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on power and honor

 

Mark 10:35-45 (or 10:42-45)

Friends, in today’s Gospel, James and John ask Jesus to place them in high places in his kingdom. They are asking for two of the classic four substitutes for God: wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, specifically for the last two. Power is not, in itself, a bad thing. And the same is true of honor. Thomas Aquinas said that honor is the flag of virtue. It’s a way of signaling to others something that’s worth noticing. So, what’s the problem? The problem is that they are asking for these two things in the wrong spirit. The ego will want to use power, not for God’s purposes or in service of truth, beauty, and goodness, but for its own aggrandizement and defense. When honor is sought for its own sake or in order to puff up the ego, it becomes dangerous as well. So what’s the way out? “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” When you serve others, when you become the least, you are accessing the power of God and seeking the honor of God. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on persecution

 

Luke 12:8-12

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how to deal with persecution. When does the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, and not before.  From the earliest days until the present, the community of Jesus Christ has been the focus of the world’s violence. The Church will announce, until the end of time, that the old world is passing away, that a new world of love, nonviolence, and life is emerging. This announcement always infuriates the world of sin. Always. The twentieth century was the bloodiest on record—and the one with the most martyrs. Here’s Jesus’ encouragement: “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.” What do we do in the meantime? We maintain a detachment from the world that is passing away, our eyes fixed on the world that will never end. And we speak—confidently, boldly, provocatively—the message of the Gospel, the dying and rising of the Lord. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on service

 Christian Service

   Some theologians like to point out that Jesus didn't come to change God's mind about us but to change our minds about God. In Sunday's Gospel from St. Mark, the brothers James and John ask Jesus to make them first and second in importance in His Kingdom. Jesus answers them by pointing out that it's their ego motivating their request and that it's a much bigger ask than they realize.

Jesus then teaches the apostles His value system, He "didn't come to be served but to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many." For Jesus our importance isn't determined by our position or authority but by our service of others.

   Our faith teaches us to follow Jesus, trusting that we are His beloved sisters and brothers and like Him to focus on others and their needs. When Jesus entered a crowded room, He didn't look for the most important, the smartest or the most accomplished; He looked for the most hurting, the one who needed Him most. Jesus doesn't ask, "What can this person do for me?" but "What can I give to this person?" Let us ask for the grace to be like our Lord: to give and not to count the cost.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on suffering

 

Suffering

The poor we see every day, the stories about deportation, torture, and murder we hear every day, and the undernourished children we touch every day, reveal to us the suffering Christ has hidden within us. When we allow this image of the suffering Christ within us to grow to its full maturity, then ministry to the poor and oppressed becomes a real possibility; because then we can indeed hear, see, and touch him within us as well as among us. . . . Once we have seen the suffering Christ within us, we will see him wherever we see people in pain. Once we have seen the suffering Christ among us, we will recognize him in our innermost self. Thus we come to experience that the first commandment, to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, resembles indeed the second: “You must love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39–40). Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on eternal life

 

Mark 10:17-30 (or 10:17-27)

Friends, in today’s Gospel, a rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. There is something absolutely right about the young man, something spiritually alive, and that is his deep desire to share in everlasting life. He knows what he wants, and he knows where to find it.  Jesus responds to his wonderful and spiritually alive question by enumerating many of the Commandments. The young man takes this in and replies, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” So Jesus looks at him with love and says, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor . . .  then come, follow me.”  God is nothing but love, straight through, and therefore the life of friendship with him, in the richest sense, is a life of total love, self-forgetting love. Jesus senses that this young man is ready for the high adventure of the spiritual life: he is asking the right question and he is properly prepared. But at this point the young man tragically balks. The spiritual life, at the highest pitch, is about giving your life away, and this is why the many possessions are a problem. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on gratitude

 

Deciding to be Grateful

Gratitude is the most fruitful way of deepening your consciousness that you are not an “accident,” but a divine choice. It is important to realize how often we have had chances to be grateful and have not used them. When someone is kind to us, when an event turns out well, when a problem is solved, a relationship restored, a wound haealed, there are very concrete reasons to offer thanks: be it with words, with flowers, with a letter, a card, a phone call, or just a gesture of affection. . . . Every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for. Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on possessions

   Rich Young Man

   Sunday's Gospel from St. Mark tells of Jesus' encounter with the young man who comes to him seeking reassurance that he's o.k. and has his priorities in order and will deserve eternal life. The Jews of Jesus' day, much like many Americans, believed that if God loved you, you would be healthy, wealthy and easy on the eyes. He qualified and was faithful to the commandments. Jesus looked at him with love and then challenged his attachment to all of his possessions. There's nothing wrong with having lots of good things, many are clearly God's gifts, but they don't define us or give us our identity and value. I'm reminded of the old observation: "You never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer."

   

We never hear about this young man again but I'm sure that he never forgot how he felt when Jesus looked at him with love. Possessions don't last but love does and Jesus' love transforms us and makes us into His followers. As Jesus tells Peter, "All things are possible for God."

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on pain

 

Befriend Your Pain

I want to say to you that most of our brokenness cannot be simply taken away. It’s there. And the deepest pain that you and I suffer is often the pain that stays with us all our lives. It cannot be simply solved, fixed, done away with. . . . What are we then told to do with that pain, with that brokenness, that anguish, that agony that continually rises up in our heart? We are called to embrace it, to befriend it. To not just push it away . . . to walk right over it, to ignore it. No, to embrace it, to befriend it, and say that is my pain and I claim my pain as the way God is willing to show me his love. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on social conventions

 

Luke 10:38-42

Friends, today’s Gospel is the story of Martha and Mary. I’d like to offer a fresh take on this famous little story. One of the principal marks of Jesus’ teaching and ministry is the overturning of social conventions. And one of the most striking and surprising of Jesus’ moves was a radical inclusion of women.  While this typically women’s work was going on, men would sit out in the main room of the residence and talk. If a prominent rabbi or Pharisee were present, the men would sit at his feet and listen to his words.  Now we can see why Mary’s attitude was so offensive to Martha and probably to everyone else in the room. Martha wasn’t simply mad that Mary was giving her more work to do; she was mad that Mary had the gall to assume the stance of a man, to take up her position in the men’s space. In his response to Martha’s complaint, Jesus signals more than a preference for listening over acting; he invites a woman into full participation in the life of discipleship. “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on belonging

 

The Joy of Belonging

We have heard the story of the encounter between Jesus and Mary of Magdala, two people who love each other. Jesus says, “Mary.” She recognizes him and says, “ ‘Rabboni,’ ” which means Master” (John 20:16). This simple and deeply moving story brings me in touch with my fear as well as my desire to be known. . . . Often I am tempted to think that I am loved only as I remain partially unknown. I fear that the love I receive is conditional and then say to myself, “If they really knew me, they would not love me.” But when Jesus calls Mary by name he speaks to her entire being. She realizes that the One who knows her most deeply is not moving away from her, but is coming to her offering her his unconditional love. . . . Mary feels at once fully known and fully loved. The division between what she feels safe to show and what she does not dare to reveal no longer exists. She is fully seen and she knows that the eyes that see her are the eyes of forgiveness, mercy, love, and unconditional acceptance. . . . What a joy to be fully known and fully loved at the same time! It is the joy of belonging through Jesus to God and being fully safe and fully free. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on unconditional love

 

God’s First Love

Knowing God’s heart means consistently, radically, and very concretely to announce and reveal that God is love and only love, and that every time fear, isolation, or despair begin to invade the human soul this is not something that comes from God. This sounds very simple and maybe even trite, but very few people know that they are loved without any conditions or limits.  This unconditional and unlimited love is what the evangelist John calls God’s first love. “Let us love,” he says, “because God loved us first” (1 John 4:19). The love that often leaves us doubtful, frustrated, angry, and resentful is the second love, that is to say, the affirmation, affection, sympathy, encouragement, and support we receive from our parents, teachers, spouses, and friends. We all know how limited, broken, and very fragile that love is. Behind the many expressions of this second love there is always the chance of rejection, withdrawal, punishment, blackmail, violence, and even hatred. . . . The radical good news is that the second love is only a broken reflection of the first love and that the first love is offered to us by a God in whom there are no shadows. Jesus’ heart is the incarnation of the shadow-free first love of God. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on angels

 

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

Matthew 18:1-5, 10

Friends, today we celebrate the feast of our guardian angels. Why does God send these spiritual messengers to help us? Well, Aquinas says that each of us, due to our fallen nature, has been assigned a heavenly guide. Is all of this just speculation and conjecture?  One of my favorite stories about angels is this one: two relatively inexperienced pilots found themselves lost on a foggy day. Though they tried desperately to make contact with an airport, they were incapable of doing so. One of them then prayed for protection. In time, a voice crackled onto the radio. The speaker identified himself as a controller from a small airport. Through very precise instructions, he guided the two pilots through the fog to a landing strip at that airport. Once they had arrived, to their astonishment they discovered that the airport was closed and that there was no one on duty. A bizarre coincidence? A happy accident? Or perhaps a sign that we are being protected by powers at a higher pitch of ontological perfection? As you know, stories such as this come out of the woodwork once people are given the opportunity to share them. Bishop Robert Barron