How do we live the Good News?

 Each generation has to make a decision that in encountering Christ they are called to share this good news with others. This is not so much a task to be undertaken or a program adopted as a desire to help others to witness the life at the heart of all life. This is about a missionary witness which does not just transform the person but is eager to share this with others.

This initiative may seem to emerge from within us. We notice Zaccheus longing to just catch a glimpse of Jesus as he passes by. Yet in the urgency to catch sight of him Jesus looks at him. This look not only responds to that urgent longing but it expresses itself in Jesus' willingness to be present to Zaccheus by sharing a meal with him. This willingness to come home to Zaccheus also saw a transformation that shifted his orientation. No longer was his focus on the past but on being present to others in generosity and thanksgiving.

As the Book of Wisdom notices God creates all things good and helps people to rediscover that fundamental calling. To become present to the loving spirit that is called to abide within us and learn to trust God in all things. As Paul writes to the Thessalonians this desire for goodness is to help us become beacons of hope to our nation and our world.

Thus our witness is living with the person of Jesus, our companion, and our guide. The call to be present to the person who makes our life a living prayer. This allows others to grow deeper in love with God and to make their own faithful response. Little by little, we discover that God moves close to us so that we can move close to God.

How we orientate ourselves towards God

 There can be a belief that we are called to earn our salvation through our own good works and accomplishments. Almost like frequent flyer points, we can believe merit is its own reward and miss out on the importance of who we are called to be in a relationship with. The Gospel is about how we are saved as a people of faith not just as individuals. This calls us to a profound insight that at the heart of creation God seeks out those who are pushed to the margins and who are deprived of the necessities of life. 

We come before God as people who recognize how easy it is for people to be plunged into poverty by events beyond their control. We are called to not judge people on their external appearances. We can often tell stories to ease our conscience when we seek to separate each other into the saved and the unsaved. Yet the reality is that the Good News is not a private revelation but a lifegiving light that warms the heart and directs the soul.

This orientation toward God does not seek to own the divine but rather opens us up to the possibility that we can be transformed. This is achieved not by our hard work or the adoption of spiritual formula. Rather it seeks to abandon ourselves totally on God's loving presence that directs our attention to our neighbor. It seeks to shape our lives by the encouragement that every life matters. In an age when people become increasingly individualistic and parochial, where nations seek to favor others by their wealth rather than their worth and our politics shape our culture rather than culture shaping our politics we are called to become people who become contemplatives in the marketplace. This contemplative spirit discovers that God speaks to every generation and the words are almost always the same, "The Lord hears the cry of the poor".We are moved to recognize what breaks our hearts for the good of all creation and not just our own comfort both material and spiritual. May the peace of Christ disturb you.

What does life teach us about God?

 When we consider the teachers who have the greatest influence upon us it is not so much what they taught but who they were in their teaching. They were people who not only had a passion to learn but a desire to help others learn what they understood. There was a thirst to communicate what was essential to their subject so that others could appreciate and translate it into their own circumstances.

Thus we see Jesus seeking to help his disciples to pray without ceasing and not lose heart. He uses the image of the unjust judge being pestered by a woman who seeks justice against her enemy. The image we have is of a person being harangued into submission rather than hearing what is just in this particular situation. Thus Jesus teaches us to become people who are not just examining what we want to happen but noticing how God desires justice to be achieved in the here and now.

Paul echoes this in his letter to Timothy. He sees that Holy Scripture is not just a how-to manual but rather a revelation of wisdom that leads us into a deeper relationship with God and with each other. This seeks to seek guidance in which scripture and the Word of God read our hearts. It is a call to obedience that seeks to faithfully listen patiently to God's voice speaking to our hearts.

We do not just rely on our own strength and our capabilities but rather seek God to help us grow in our capacity to love others. This faithfulness is about being present and seeking for God to help us in all things. To guard our hearts against just trusting in our own strength but rather the faithfulness to learn from the teaching of Jesus who guides us.

A life of thanksgiving

In Caroline Jones' book, "An Authentic Life" she explored how to find meaning and spirituality in daily life. One of the themes on which her life was based was becoming a person of thanksgiving. This motivated not only her attitude toward life but also how she sought to interact with people. People may remember her interviews on the radio or the ABC series, Australian Story. It was this journalistic style that sought to explore the reality that everyone had a story to tell. By connecting deeply with a person's story we seek to know them as a person.

We sense a similar reality in the Gospel reading about the ten lepers who were cured but only one returned to give praise to God and thank Jesus. The man was a Samaritan. In the midst of the story that is recounted to us, we notice that the miracle is not that the leprosy is cured but rather that one person's heart is transformed. This is the reality of our faith response we don't want it just to go skin deep but rather draw us deeper into living a life of thanks and praise.

In discovering that God enters into our daily story Jesus invites us to notice how we are called to sing a new song. This song seeks to proclaim an understanding of God's initiative which speaks truth and love to the heart of our nation. In an age where we can encounter a culture of entitlement, we can reflect on what actually brings life and meaning to our own hearts. This allows us to notice what brings meaning and spirituality into our daily life. We no longer hold God at arm's length but rather notice what wells up within us with praise and thanksgiving. Our lives are not empty and meaningless but rather are founded on God's salvific action for our good and the good of all creation.