Encouraging each other along the way!

Barnabas is a person who only turns up in the Acts of Apostles and makes important interventions on behalf of Paul. From all descriptions, he is true to his name which means "son of encouragement". In each of these interventions, he introduces Paul to other Christians and is present in Antioch when people start to identify the followers of the Way as Christians. He has a pivotal role to play in seeing the Gospel is proclaimed to people living ordinary lives in extraordinary ways. Our relationship with Christ is never just a private affair which we can contain to ourselves it will always overflow into the way we live and how we see the world.
Yet we know in our own world many challenges can come our way which call us to become people who live our prayer with love and devotion. It calls us to enter into the mystery of how Christ reaches out to us and enables us to be transformed in the area in which we live. This action of falling deeper in love with God calls us to become more ourselves and to discover the flame that burns within each of our hearts. God calls each of us to discover that unique gift which draws us together into the person of Christ. He places a question on our hearts which asks quite simply how will I become the person God wants me to be on this day? This is not so much a riddle to be solved but rather a life to be lived. To encounter each person as being blessed by God. How will we recognise that blessing and encourage the person to discover the flame that burns deep within? For even in the darkest night his light will shine.

Listening for the voice

When we listen to a person's voice we have a way of memorising not just what they say but how they say it. This familiarity allows us to distinguish between voices even when they have a similar intonation. This ability to differentiate between voices allows us to become attuned to that person's voice and to know when we should pay attention to what they are saying. This is also a learnt obedience that we can observe when someone is giving us instructions that when the person speaks, we listen. This may be our regular day life when we hear the familiar tone of the news which draws our attention to what follows. When we hear an announcement made at a railway station or airport. When someone calls us from the other room or even when we go to a lecture to hear a person speaks. 

Yet we know how easy it is also to tune down on what some people say to us. It is almost as though we have a mute button or a damping switch which lessens the intensity of what is being spoken. We can hear the noise but it is in the background and does not grab our attention or hold our interest. 

Yet the voice that Jesus speaks seeks to form us into one Body deeply in relationship with the Father. Sometimes, it can seem that we are in a way separated from God and it is only in listening that we are brought back together. The truth, however, is that our ability to recognise and respond to the voice of God is innate within our being even when we have tried to lessen its impact on our lives. It is not a separate part of us but rather a way of integrating who we are called to be. To be attentive, aware and awake to how that moves us into an ever-deepening relationship. By daily attending to that inner voice and becoming familiar with how God communicates with us. God seeks for us to discover his indwelling presence which draws us into closer union. By listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd we are drawn together as one for our good and the good of all creation.

What on earth am I doing?

Easter allows us the time for a deeper reflection on what and who is central to our life. This is reflected in each of the readings this weekend. The truth that we are presented with is knowing Jesus as he really is. This is more than just a historical understanding which seeks to trace the events of his life but rather an encounter which seeks a knowledge of who he is for us and how this affects our lives. The key theme is to stop us from falling into a life of sin which focuses just on ourselves and our abilities to make sense of the world. To shape God's creation in our own image and likeness. We need to encounter the person of Jesus as he truly is and not some phantom of our own imaginings. The question is where do we start and how do I seek the person of Jesus in my daily life.

I think the first place is by becoming prayerful aware of how Jesus encounters us each day in ways which can surprise, delight and challenge us. There can often be a sense in which we believe that Jesus only reached out to people of his age when the truth is that he reaches out to people of every age and in every nation. Each person will encounter the person of Jesus in the place where they need to be met. Often this can be in our own fears and in the situations which seem to overwhelm us. This is why it is good to reflect each day on what has enlivened us and what has frightened us. These two moments can say what draws our hearts and what binds us tight. It is in these two moments where Jesus can stand in our midst and say, "Peace be with you". Jesus will always speak in a language and in a situation in which we can understand his presence and encounter his life.

Yet this is not just about experiencing graced moments but rather seeing how this can call us to reflect on what they mean to our life. We need to be people who can ponder what is happening in our lives and how we meet Jesus the living Word who reveals to us a God who abides with us through scriptures. This is not just about studying scriptures as though they were a textbook to be learnt but rather as a way of life to be lived. They are called to become a living fire which burns deep inside us and which finds a seed that can be planted in our hearts. The word is called to leap off the page and into our lives. It calls us to respond in a way which allows it to nourish our life.

By this ability to reflect and embed the scripture in our own world we can live that Good News for others we encounter. Not by becoming lexicons of the word but by becoming witnesses to the Word. By loving who we meet and living what we seek. In all things, we seek to become one with the Word in all that we are and in all that we hope to do.

Doubt no longer but believe

Thomas was the first disciple to touch Jesus's wounds. He wanted empirical proof that Jesus was truly alive. He wanted to see the wounds that the nails made and the wound in his side. Yet when he was confronted with the reality of Jesus' presence he held back and it was Jesus who took his hand and put it into his side. This is a time when Thomas moved from just observing what was happening to an experience which took him to the heart of the matter. In fact, by placing his hand in Jesus' side he was actually able to feel the living heart. 

In our lives too we encounter the living heart of Jesus often in places where we discover that we may be called to touch the lives of people who have been deeply wounded. This is especially true when we not only see the physical wounds but also experience the deep psychological or spiritual wounds that people carry in there own bodies. We know for people living with mental illness or trauma that these wounds are not immediately visible but still affect a person's life significantly. As people who walk alongside them, we need to be able to be present to them. There is a sense in which our physical presence can say more than words when we reach out and meet them where they are. Even when we are afraid and uncertain about what to say or what to do. By being present we allow the Gospel to touch us deeply with the words that Jesus often says to his disciples, "Peace be with you." It is from this place of apparent fear that we can touch the wounds of Jesus and find our lives transformed. Easter is a journey where we are called to allow Jesus to meet us in places where we often fear to tread and discover a person transform our fear with his presence. This is not just a healing touch but an encounter with a real person who shows us what it means to be fully human and fully alive.

Whose life is it anyway?

So we enter into Holy Week where we follow the passion, death and resurrection of the life of Jesus. This week seems to come upon us so quickly that we can lose track of time and what has happened during Lent. Our practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving helps us to see more clearly what God wants to reveal to us about our own life. This is not just our need to give things up but rather to show us what is central to our life. This can at times be a rude shock because in discovering who I am we discover a God who wishes to encounter us as we are even in our own sin, failures and broken promise. This is the heart of Lent not so much what we do but how God seeks us out to discover our who we are called to be. This is not an easy time because we start to realise that our Lenten discipline is about us opening the door and inviting God into the mess. We would much prefer it if God would come back when we have it all together. 

Thus we come to the point where the pain and suffering seem to come to an end in what feels like death to us. The Paschal Triduum can actually take us through a process of death and dying where we relive the hurts and losses that we have encountered in life. It is not easy because we can start to feel a deep loneliness and isolation. The emptiness feels too present and we look to ways in which we can avoid it. Even on Good Friday, there can be a rush to turn on the TV and watch the footy or undertake some other activity to avoid this deep absence which descends upon us. This is the liminal space in which everything changes and in which the absence transforms us. Holy Saturday is probably the most misunderstood of our days. There are very few actions but only a deep silence which falls upon us. The tabernacle is empty, the altar is bare, the Church echoes and our souls cry out for meaning. The very person we hoped to solve it for us has left the stage and leaves us with ourselves. This great scandal feels bereft of hope, lacking faith and challenging all that we love. This is the moment when we are called to be most present to the absence.

It is from this space that we encounter Easter Morning but not in the way we expect. The empty tomb says that he has risen but yet we do not see him. This is the beginning of a new life in which he reaches out to us from the very place in which we experienced the deep emptiness, loneliness and sadness. The place where we encountered our deepest fears and our darkest night. Yet it is from that place that he draws us forth into the light and walks with us on the way. He encounters us as we are and travels along the pilgrim way. Easter is no longer just about what we want but discovering who we belong to. The question that we now ask is whose am I and how will I live my life. The question is now no longer whose life is it but rather whose am I?

Who are you looking for?

I remember reading a review of Mel Gibson's "The Passion" which was shown in cinemas over ten years ago. It was a very powerful account of the journey of Jesus on his road to Calvary. It recounted these important events that happened to Jesus but in many ways left you with the same impression of him that you had when you first went to see the movie. If he was just to be judged as a good man, this was an awful and unjust punishment to any human being, if you saw him as God and man then you wondered on how this redemptive action encounters our own suffering.  It focused on the events surrounding Jesus rather than actually encountering the person.
Yet Holy Week encounters us as not just a retelling of the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ as though it was a documentary but rather it calls us to encounter the person of Jesus when we seem powerless and unable to change the course of the events. There is poverty which wishes we could fix it up or choose another way and yet we experience this is as people deeply moved by what unfolds. There is a desire to encounter the person who is at the heart of this event more than the events that surround him. We long to meet the person who invites us to journey with him to the Cross.

This is not just a call to feel particularly pious but rather to live his story in our own flesh and in our own world. We know how easy it is to view the suffering of others vicariously and to wonder how this comes to be in our own age. Why has the war in Syria dragged on for so long, how did the events of child abuse unfold in the Church and other institutions and people stay silent for so long, how do we allow peoples lives to suffer the indignity of life in refugee camps and offshore detention centres? These are only a few of the stories which can bring us to silence and yet in the midst of these stories we can either respond in rage or in love. The choice that Jesus made was that his life was transformed completely by the loving relationship he had with the Father. He surrendered his whole life to this relationship which formed and sustained him. I think this is the underlying story of this week. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. For us, forgiveness is a person!

Our hearts are made for God and they will not rest until they rest in thee!

How is our Lent going? We have just celebrated Laudate Sunday and we are half way to Easter. This can be the very time when our prayer, fasting and almsgiving can start to feel burdensome. We wonder whether it is doing us any good and whether we are coming closer to Christ in the midst of what seems to be a relentless toil. We wonder whether what we have been doing makes a difference to us or to anybody else. Yet the important message is don't give up. Sometimes when we are tired we start to focus more on what we are doing rather than who we are doing it with. This movement into a deeper relationship with Christ is at the heart of all our Lenten discipline. It may be time to have a little Examin of who is at the heart of it all.

Our prayer seeks to be an encounter with God in which we raise two questions: who am I and whose am I? These two questions are not just onesided or ones which demand a simple response. In essence, we are called to encounter God as ourselves, not as someone else. While many spiritual guides can help us to go deeper into this relationship they cannot do it for us. They can accompany to tell us what they encountered so that we can have reference points for our own journey. It is only by encountering Jesus as we are that we can discover Jesus as he is.

Our fasting emerges out of this relationship. There are times wherein meeting God we can discover a deep emptiness that needs to be filled. There can be a temptation here to fill that emptiness by our own efforts and to meet our own appetites for wholeness. We can become afraid of that place where we disappear into an empty cave which seems to resound with our own voice. We can start to feel deeply fearful in this place and long to escape from this radical encounter. So because we fear to be in that place we fill it with noise, activity or stuff. As long as we do not have to experience this emptiness we can point to what we are doing, what we are in control of and things we own to show that my life has substance and meaning. Yet what we discover, is that these lessen our ability to hear the voice of God. In fact, when you look at many of the saints they would visit the cave so that they could hear God more clearly and discover what it was to be themselves. When we fast we discover a deeper meaning to be who are called to be.

It is from this place that we give our lives to others through Almsgiving. This is not just giving what is left over but rather a discovery that what I have is valuable to others. My life is not just my own. I have been gifted to bring life to others. This emerges not just as something I give away but rather a surrender to who I am called to be. By a surrender of my life to God, we discover that our lives are called to a deeper communion which is not just based on my effort but on God's grace which enables me to accomplish more than I can imagine.

Are our lives centred on God?

We can often start our day asking God to be present to us and to guide us through the day. There is something very healthy about this of surrendering ourselves over to God so that together we can do more than I could do on my own. Yet there is a trap which is also in this where we try to fit God into our agenda rather than allowing God to expand our worldview. It is almost the difference between spotlighting a particular issue and allowing everything to emerge into the light. In this first view, we narrow our focus just on to what interests us and what our concerns are. By this narrowing of our prayer just onto our own concerns, we can limit what else God has in store for us. This does not mean that our concerns are not important but they are not the sum of our whole life. In fact, it is quite natural to share them with God in prayer but they do not contain everything.

God wants us to see our lives transformed by love and mercy. When we become trapped into shrinking that only onto our own concerns we can miss the light which is being shone upon us. We are called to allow God to lead us into daily life and to notice those moments when we encounter grace-filled moments and give thanks. God is not called to revolve around the moments when we choose to be present but rather centring on God allows our lives to be transformed into a prayer where we start to see everything in that light. This is a Copernican revolution where we discover that God does not revolve around us but we are called to centre on God.

No God before me!

There can be some confusion which can strike us in the middle of Lent where we can try to juggle the things of God around our relationship with God. The readings strike at the heart of this over the weekend. We are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength and all our mind and love our neighbour as ourselves. The Ten Commandments remind us that our lives are not just our own to do with as we like but rather an act of sharing a commonwealth which is for the good of all. The question relates to how easy it is to privatise faith to my own private realm or to what I am doing and consider important.

When we gather for worship this is not just a private act created so that I can feel good but rather a liturgical gathering which seeks to discover a God who reaches out to all people over all time. There can always be a temptation to make an act of prayer which is accessible to all available only to a select few. When we celebrate Mass we encounter a God who welcomes us where we are with all our gifts and frailties. It is the place where we can bring ourselves before God and listen to the same Word spoken to us. We can offer ourselves to God so that along with the bread and wine that we can be taken, blessed, broken and given for the good of ourselves and the good of others. In receiving communion we enter into a divine communication which links us together in the Body of Christ. It is that as that body we are commissioned as disciples to take the good news to the world by our lives.

What then is our mission? It is to allow others to discover the God who draws us together. To witness with our lives the transforming power which renews us and strengthens us. In the Eucharist, we give thanks that God seeks to open the doors of our hearts for a greater good and a greater glory. By allowing God to be at the centre of our lives we can allow the life that has entrusted to us to be renewed and enlivened. May our Lent be an encounter which allows us to see how we seek to the heart of the matter and not just become consumed by the incidentals of prayer that can distract us from growing closer to God.

This is my beloved son, listen to him!

There can be times when we go aside for a time of peace and quiet. This may be during our holidays or maybe a weekly "sabbath" experience where we can be at one with God. These times becoming increasingly precious not just because they allow us to encounter our own silence but also because it allows us to attend to those moments when God is with us. There can be fleeting moments when we seem to strike gold or have a profound insight where we are caught up in a moment where heaven touches the earth. These can be times where we are caught up in God's glory and start to notice that our lives are not shaped by our own concerns. We are enwrapped by a mystery which strikes us both with awe and fear that what seems so much beyond us becomes an imminent reality which transforms us. There can even be a sense that when we leave that quiet place that we are called to re-enter "normal life"!

Lent helps us to recognise the things that seem to capture our attention and which can seem to drive our lives. There seems to be so much pressure on us to be successful, impressive and present to day to day lives of others that we can feel forced to consume what is not our own and that which may be reserved for another. In a media age when things should be becoming simpler, we find that our lives are actually becoming more complex. We not only have to attend to our own lives but find that we become caught up in a maelstrom of trivia which besieges us and demands our attention. No wonder we become so confused and anxious about how we are living. We find that we do not have the time to attend to our own wellbeing let alone the wellbeing of others. We become increasingly superficial and distant from ourselves that we pine for something more but we do not know what that more looks like.

Yet in the story of the Transfiguration, we encounter the reality of Jesus talking to Moses and Elijah who allow us to encounter the truth of a God who is present to us throughout the ages in the Law and the Prophets. There is an age-old wisdom which encourages us to be present to the mystery in which we are enfolded. This is part of the reason why during this season we are called to pray, fast and give alms, not as extra activities which are built into already busy lives but rather to reset our priorities. To discover who it is that we are actually listening to. Who has the primary call on our hearts and on our lives. This can seem to overcome us not by adding a fresh burden to us but allow us to be transformed at the heart of our being where God is all in all. Each day we need to reflect on where we have been and what has brought us life. For like Abraham we need to hear the voice of God clearly and encounter moment by moment the glory that surrounds us. In this, we are transformed from the inside out and we discover Jesus who stands hidden in plain sight. Who encounters us in the reality of who we are and who we are called to become.

Shaped by what we consume!

Lent is upon us and we commence our journey to Easter this Wednesday. This is a time of penance, fasting, and almsgiving. Where we are called to discover that there is a connection between our internal life and our external actions. The calling is to an integrated and incarnate way of living which allows us to be prayerfully attentive to God, to ourselves and to others. We are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind; and love our neighbour as ourselves.

The essential element of this journey is that it is not a 40-day boot camp which has to be endured but rather a way of drawing us into a deeper union with God as disciples of Jesus Christ. It calls us to become what we consume. This is part of the reason for its penitential nature. We know how easy it is to become a consumer of life rather than a participant. There is a tendency in which our mind, heart and body are disconnected. We know lots of things, we desire many things and we eat many things. There is a sense in which our mind, our hearts and our bodies are recipients of life. We start to consume others thinking, feelings and prepackage food. Our lives have become so busy that we are open to anyone who will make life more easy and comfortable. The danger with this is that we surrender part of ourselves to another assuming that they have the best intentions in mind for us rather than for themselves. Yet we know that often we battle the same essential dis-eases of being untrusting, overburdened and weighed down by life.

This season of Lent is to journey with God to see what we need to fast from. It is all too easy to take someone else's opinion or way of life as our own. To uncritically to assume that their confidence, good looks and success can be our own. The drive to be powerful, successful, and relevant can drive us into a life which is not our own. Fasting allows time to slow down and examine what we consume and what effect it is having on us. This is not just about giving things up but rather noticing the impact they have on us and on others. This may be in choosing food or drink, but in our media-driven world, it could be looking at what opinions that we take as our own without considering where they are leading us. It can also examine what shapes our daily life and whether it rings true to our relationship with God. Is how we are living prayerfully attentive to what is the need for this day and this moment.

Lastly, Lent is not just a self-improvement exercise. It calls us to consider how I can be attentive to how God calls me to intentional discipleship with gifts for the good of others. This can be through a contribution to a charity. But in the age of fantastic plastic, this can be done all too quickly before we move on to the next activity. The critical gift to examine is how do I become present to others with my time. This is not about quantity of activities but rather my attentiveness to the person or activity I am engaged with at the moment. It also notes what disturbs us and distracts us and confuses us. By allowing ourselves to become attentive to these moments we start to grow in our relationship with God, with ourselves and with others.

My hope and prayer for you this Lent is that you discover a God who loves you more than you love yourself. Who draws you closer so that you can discover what brings you life. To be formed by your prayer and by God's Word so that you can journey with others in faith, hope and love.

All for the glory of God!

Often we can hear this phrase and wonder how to live it with our own life. As we hear Paul say in 1 Corinthians 10.31-11.1, "Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God." There is an element of seeking the advantage of others and not just our own benefit. The sense of this is to have Jesus as our model. Yet this can be somewhat confusing because we can start to copy or imitate his way of life without actually entering into a deeper relationship with him. We can start to make our lives our own work rather than a way of cooperating with the love of God that dwells within us. I believe that what Paul is proposing is that we are intentionally present to the other by seeking what God would seek for their good and not just to suit ourselves.

This is a radical call to action because it asks us to be present to God not just in our prayer but with our life. This intentional living seeks to allow our relationships to founded on that desire to be prayerfully present at all times. The danger is that we can start to believe this is all our work and that we have to become overly pious and pretentious in appearing to be holy. This is not what Paul is asking us to do. Essentially, I believe it is by becoming more fully human and fully alive in the way which may be unique to ourselves and our way of life. 

We see this in the gospel where Jesus reaches out to the leper and cures him so that he may be integrated back into his community. The concern here is not that he does a good thing for the person who comes to him for healing but he actually seeks the deeper need of the person to be loved back into life. So often we hear about situations where people are called unclean or untouchable. Where people exclude others and push them to the fringe of society where they can be easily forgotten or overlooked. Out of sight and out of mind! Yet Jesus brings them back to the centre and challenges us to recognize their humanity. To see them as created in the image and likeness of God. This I believe is at the heart of this weekends readings and the heart of our prayer. That we take on the compassionate heart of God and live out of that place in a way which gives glory to God in everything we do.

Everybody is looking for you

Thomas of Celeno on reflecting on life of St Francis of Assisi states an advice he gave to his co-workers, "The preacher must first draw from secret prayers what he will later pour out in holy sermons; he must first grow hot within before he speaks words that are in themselves cold." (Stanton, 2012). This draws together what is in the heart of the Gospel for this weekend. Jesus went into the hills to be drawn more deeply into a relationship with God so that he could proclaim the Good News to others. He needs to rekindle the fire each day so that his words would be spoken in word and in action. To bring healing and forgiveness. This was not just so that he could become a great orator but so that through his words people might encounter the living love of God. He was calling people to be freed from the demons that enslaved them.

In our own lives, we need to be united in word and action with our God. I often reflect upon this when I read some of the prayers in our daily Mass or in the office. It is possible to pass over them too quickly and just allow them to roll through one ear and out the other. We can tend to pray too superficially where we do not allow the word to penetrate the heart. This is not easy because sometimes the words we pray cause us to wrestle with what is important to us with what is important to God. It is all too easy to pay lip service to these words and move on. It is like hearing the words of a song and then promptly forgetting what was said until we hear it again. Yet the gospel is called to become an earworm which repeats over and over in a way which is hard to forget or take away from our minds. Yet by learning not only to know the words but to inculturate the Word we start to live from a place where a fire burns deep within. We are called to become present to the word and take it more deeply. This is not about quantity of the text that we read but an engagement which is heartfelt. In this, we start to move from a desire to find Jesus outside ourselves to find the room he which he already has lit the fire, which glows within.

Bibliography

Stanton, G., 2012. The Gospel Coalition. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-misquoting-francis-of-assisi/
[Accessed 29th January 2018].

If today you hear his voice harden not your hearts

There is a difference between listening and hearing. Often we hear many things during the course of our day that we can struggle to remember who told us what. It is almost as though news stories and our lives blend into one and our memories become befuddled by trying to call to mind the exact details of what we have heard.
However, there is an intentional way of listening which calls us to be present to the person who is speaking to us. We need to turn off the television and the radio, switch off the computer, put down our book or magazine, and put our mobile phone away. These things as we know can distract from being truly present we are talking to someone else. By focussing on the other person we not only notice what they are saying but how they are saying it.  What is present in their tone of voice, how they are communicating non-verbal signals and how they choose their words. It allows us to become attentive and aware of the other.
This is equally as present when we sit with another or whether we sit with God in prayer.  Both can be acts of devotion and thanksgiving for the life of another. Looking at prayer for a moment we can use the image of making a time each day to catch up for a coffee. There is an initial phase where we choose where to sit and make ourselves comfortable. There is a greeting where we ask how the other person is going and how good it is that we can be together. We might order the coffee and then while we are waiting we start to discuss general issues of the day and what we have encountered. These preliminary steps act as a prelude to what comes next. We start to reflect on something that is happening in our lives whether it is a special event that makes us particularly joyful or some area we seem to be struggling with. As we speak the other person listens and encourages to say more. After a while, we run out of words and come to a place by we listen to their insight. In speaking we start to see the situation in a new light. We become present to how we are present. There can then come a moment of deep silence where we just look at each other and give thanks. Then at the end of our time together we say thank you and make another time to meet up.
This everyday devotion brings us to a place where we can allow God and others speak to us and we can respond, speak Lord, your servant is listening.

Time is growing short

There are never enough hours the day to attend to all the things that we have to do. I am just so busy I can't find time to scratch myself! It will be Christmas before you know it. It seems that we are often caught in a cycle of time where we become swept along by the tides of the moment and the pressures which seem beyond our control. We are caught up in circumstances and events which are of passing interest and which seem to make life into a reality game show where we are merely observers rather than participants.

This Sunday's readings bring us into the present moment. The people of Nineveh are alerted to patterns of behavior which could lead to their destruction. It is a wake-up call where they start to realize that life has an essential value and that they need to attend to what is happening which is causing hardship for them and for others. It also recognizes that God's desire for people is to discover a relationship which sustains them to live in a life giving way. 

Similarly, Paul preaches to the Corinthians that they should not just trust their life to the future but live the Gospel for this day. This is not one of fear which believes the world is going to end but what deserves our primary attention. Essentially, it looks at how we become present to God so that we can see our lives as one of communion. A life which draws its origin from the one who seeks to draw us into a relationship on a daily basis.

Jesus preaches this when he says, "The time has come, the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the Good News." This is not just talking about length of days but the appropriate time.We are called to be people who seek each day to deepen our relationship with God so that we can be of service to each other. This is not something we can lead to chance or to a more appropriate time. We seek God to be at the heart of all our relationships so that we do what is necessary for this day and this time. Then we discover that we are able to be present to what needs to happen and live with joy and thanksgiving what we are called to do. Not to become tireless workers for God but people formed in a divine friendship which echoes inside us and draws us into life where God is all in all.

Moment by moment

"Moment by moment
God's glory is unfolding into nothing
Not contained or sustained
Moment by moment"

In listening for God's voice we hear something beyond ourselves which resonates with our own hearts. Sometimes like Samuel this can arise unexpectedly and we do not know how to respond. Yet the call rests upon us persistently inviting us to go deeper. This is not a journey we take alone but often with a trusted companion who can help us distinguish between fantasy of our own design and the place in which we can become our true self.
Similarly, Jesus invites us to come and see where he lives. To become familiar with what is homely and what brings deep inner peace. Once again this is not by withdrawal into our own private fortress but through discovering what truly brings us life. Where we need not seek to set limits on the desire which leads us to holiness. Moment by moment.

At whose feet do we lay our gifts

As we start a new year there can be good intentions to make this year different. These intentions often focus in taking control of an aspect of our life or undertaking a project which will make a real difference. There is an urge in us that wants to be relevent to our current age. We want to be noticed and taken seriously.
However, we often discover our intentions finding resistance either within ourselves or from others. There appears to be this conflict which says do this but be that. This contradiction often leaves us into backing down from what we truly want. Yet if we place ourselves at the mercy of others opinions or thoughts we can often end up doing nothing. I think the question is who are we trying to please or impress?
This question can lead us to a deeper reflection of who brings meaning to our lives? When we ponder this question we start to see life differently. It is not just what I do but what I seek to become. By becoming who I am called to be I discover what I am called to do.

Christmas Hangover!

It seems that immediately following Christmas we are plunged back into real life. One moment we are contemplating the birth of a child and then we start to see how this changes the world around us. I think that there are three feasts which bring this reality sharply into view. The first is the martyrdom of St. Stephen. This does not seem to sit easily so closely to the time when we feel most peaceful we are struck by the his words, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit" as he makes his dying breath. It seems to be that the moment which called us to hold our breath took his breath away. The moment was that in encountering the person of Jesus everything changes and he sees himself in a new light. This is not just about sentimental thoughts or pious actions it is a dedication to understand that his whole life only makes sense in the person of Jesus.

The second image is that of St. John in which a person understands the contrast between conditional and unconditional love. It seems to show how our lives are caught between two worlds. We want love on our terms compared to an openness and acceptance of surrender to a love which moves us beyond ourselves. This is a place where we are called to allow ourselves to be touched by that liminal space where God meets us and draws us closer. This is a place which often captures us between what we know and what seems unknown. There is an attachment to have Christmas on our terms rather than the detachment which draws us deeper to see Christmas through God's eyes which draws us more deeply into a relationship which allows us to be our true self. It provokes us to discover someone who enables us to live in the way which brings life for ourselves and for others.

Then comes for me the hardest feast in this season which is the Holy Innocents. While as adults we can make decisions where we are willing to sacrifice our own good for the good of another this seems to express the total injustice in which we can encounter the seeming victory of the powerful over the powerless. The place where it seems that might is right and where success is seen by keeping yourself in control. The shock and horror of the suffering of innocents strikes us to the core of our being. It has been seen in the results of young children who have been abused and had their innocence stolen from them. It happens in times of war when children are robbed of home and security, It happens in decisions of life and death where the needs of the adult are considered greater than those of the child. We are shaken not just by the indignity, the indecision and the indifference to their lives but also by our ability to rationalize the distance that we can place between one life and our own. We are moved to cocoon ourselves for fear that the harm that is caused will pass us by and we can return to our normal lives.

Yet this is at the heart of Christmas. The birth of a child seeks to bring salvation to our world and disturbs us to see the world through God's eyes. St Stephen reminds us that we are called to be open to a way of life which can speak out and lives life in a way which glorifies God. St. John reminds us that we seek to live a unconditional way of loving which surrenders ourselves to God so that we can become our true self. The Holy Innocents remind us that this love sees all life as valuable and that we need to speak for the powerless rather than for the powerful. That we become voices for the hidden truth of the Gospel that all creation is called to sing of God's glory and not our own. This should always be at he heart of our way of life, that in encountering the mystery of the incarnation we allow Jesus to be at the centre of our lives and our prayer. To live in a way which radically transforms us and challenges the view that can so often place ourselves at the centre. May we prayer that God's heart may draw us into the mystery in which we contemplate his love with our lives.

May the peace of Christ disturb us!

Last Friday the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse was handed down after 5 years of painful and painstaking work. The focus has called many people to reflect on how they have been affected by this abuse. This has not just focused on what are appropriate ways of responding to people who live with the pain of the abuse but also the trauma of reporting that abuse and not being believed by the very people who they believed would act in their best interests. The pain has been deep and in some cases soul destroying where people have struggled to recover and trust again. To trust themselves, to trust others and in many cases to trust God would be present to the deep wounds that this abuse has left. We can no longer ignore the pain or tiptoe lightly around our responses both as institutions and as individuals. We are called to be people who reflect on what the Commission has recommended and consider how we will live in a way which responds in a way which brings life and hope not just in words but in deeds.
Over the last week the story which receives most publicity shines the spotlight on confession and celibacy. How do we seek forgiveness and how do we seek to live? The call of confession is not to produce a list of our sins but rather to carefully examine how our lives reflect God's life in our own. This is to notice those times when we have tried to live our lives on our own terms without reference to the core of our identity. We are made in God's image and likeness but that does not make us God. Confession is not about cheap grace but looking at ways in which we do seek to make restitution for the harm we have caused. Seeking forgiveness is not just rediscovering a warm inner glow but a profound surrender to a way of life that brings healing and reconciliation to others. There is a penitential element which recognizes that we are not the center of the universe but that we are part of that universe and need to respond appropriately.
This may all seem to be overwhelming especially as we prepare for Christmas. Yet we gather in Churches and in communities around a crib which shows the vulnerability of God in coming among us as a little child. This is not just about sentiment or feeling good about ourselves but being profoundly moved that God changes our focus. We are called to gaze upon the child and be transformed. This is especially true when we notice the first visitors at the crib: Shepherds who were considered to be at the margins of society and the wise men who came from the East to offer homage. I think that as we gather this Christmas we are called to see how God calls us to recognize that same vulnerability within ourselves. I believe it is from this place of poverty, humility and powerlessness that we recognize that God changes the axis of our world. It calls us to be communities which listen to the voice of the voiceless and centre our hearts on the needs of the most vulnerable. The strength of a society is found in how we treat the most marginalized and weakest by placing them at the centre of our reflections and action not just in words but in deeds.

Surprised by joy!

At times the weight of the world can seem to rest upon our shoulders. The world seems so close and yet so far removed from us. We want to make a difference but instead the world makes us different. We want to change but are changed. The imminent news cycle bears down upon us telling us what to think, how to be relevant to our times and gives little room for reflection. Yet in the midst of this pressure to be engaged we discover a way of being present which brings us freedom, hope and joy. The message of Isaiah promises glad tidings to the poor, healing to the broken-hearted, liberty for captives and freedom for those in prison.

St Paul in writing to the Thessalonians says that we are called to pray without ceasing and not to crush the spirit which rises inside us. There is a call to test every spirit to find what helps us to discover wholeness and holiness. This testing of the spirits calls us to discover what truly brings life rather than death to our hearts. What sustains us and our communities in which we live with joy and peace. It calls us to discover how we can be good news and be transformed by this hidden joy which will sustain us. By finding times for reflection, prayer and study we find ourselves not only more engaged with the world around us and discover how our lives can make a difference. No longer do we become claustrophobic with the demands placed upon us but we learn to see with the eyes of the heart.

John the Baptist calls us to make the paths straight. This is not just by our own hard work but by noticing what draws us closer to God and to others. What allows us to become a people of thanksgiving which allows people to be aware of the love which sustains us and beckons us to come closer. This closeness is not one which oppresses or restricts us  but rather emboldens us to reach out and touch the life within. It calls us to a place we encounter the light of Christ which burns deep inside us and surprises us with joy.

A new super highway!

As our cities become more crowded and the daily commute only seems to take longer. There is a sense of everybody wanting to reach the same destination at the same time there seems to be a competition to arrive first and on time. We can jostle for our place and quietly argue with the lane which seems to be moving next to us when we have ground to a standstill. We wish if only there was a better way which would allow us to detect some movement and end our frustration.

Into this situation we here the voice of John the Baptist echoing the words down the centuries, make the paths straight. How we wish this were true. If there was a simple path to encounter the person of Jesus in our time and space. Yet this is the challenge of this Advent season. We need to play our part in finding time to do some roadwork and put out the cones so that people can know to slow down around us.This important work of pausing is not just a time in which we do nothing but it is a time when we are called to listen to the silence deep within. To become accustomed to the fact that our lives are not just about how fast we can arrive at our destination but who we will be when we arrive. This time of prayer and reflection can allow us an opportunity to listen to God's Word spoken to us. To engage with that Word in reflecting on what truly brings us life, hope and joy. To become people who are prayerful in allowing our hearts to be directed solely towards God's desire for us.

There are many ways to do this but one application which can help us in the car, on the bus or travelling by train is Pray as you Go at (https://pray-as-you-go.org/about/) which can allow you a simple downloadable 5 minute podcast. This allows you to be a contemplative where ever you are and however you are travelling.

Sleep walking into Christmas!

Can you believe it, Advent starts this weekend and then the steady countdown to Christmas Day. The activity levels seem to increase at the very time when we would hope that they settle down. People probably have already started to make preparations about who they will visit, what they need to buy and who they need to send cards to. There are also the parties we attend, the nativity plays, end of year functions and the carol services which herald the arrival of the day. Yet in the midst of this celebratory feel do we miss something essential?

We are called to witness to the person of Christ not only in what we buy and how we celebrate but more importantly by how we seek to live. The presence of Christ is a disruption to the normal events of the year not just because it allows for a rest from our daily work. Christ seeks to enter into our lives and see them as God sees them. This season is not just centered on what we want but on what God desires for us. This means that in this time of preparation we take times to pause and see what God wishes to speak to our hearts. To find a moment on each day to quieten our quickening, to still our activity and to find what truly brings meaning and hope to our lives.

This listening allows our hearts to be softened from the daily cycle of news that seeks to deaden us and desensitize us to the reality of God. To see beyond the trimmings and discover a life which is joyful for more than one day. To discover how we are called to be good news to our world and not just for ourselves. It calls for our lives not to become privatized and shrunk to our own vision but expanded to encompass the vision which sees each person as created in the image and likeness of God. This is not just about changing our thinking but living in a way which reflects the profound gift of Christ for our world.

This stewardship of the gifts entrusted to us helps us to reflect on how our lives are called to be ones of faith, hope and charity. This comes from a relationship with Christ who seeks to open our hearts, our minds and our hands to those in greatest need. Not just to share what we have left over but to recognize in them the person of Christ who beckons us to welcome them with a generosity that ennobles their spirit. To serve the poor not just because they are poor but because they are children of God who deserve dignity and respect.

Will we open the door and let him in?

When we think of a royal visit there is a great excitement of welcoming a person who rarely visits our land arriving on our shores. All the preparations detailing where they will be and who they meet are known well in advance. Even when they are far away we read reports about what is happening in their family and every movement seems to be tracked by the media. They are never far from the spotlight and what they do seems to have a direct connection to our own lives. There is a fascination which does not diminish even when our politics about who should be our head of state differ.

Contrast this with the person of Christ and we see a different type of Kingship but no less influential. He calls us to follow him and understand what it is that he considers important. We are called to encounter him as a person but unlike other royal visitors, he seeks to enter the place we call home. Not as a person who occasionally turns up when we are fully ready for his arrival but every day. This can tend to forget or become too familiar with that presence and take it for granted. Yet  Jesus Christ wishes to reign not only in our land but also to be enthroned in our hearts. This is not one which wishes to subject us to a tyrannical regime but rather one which seeks to bring to life all that is good and holy within us. The image of Christ at the door knocking which was created by Holman Hunt reminds that even when the door seems overgrown and the path has not been well worn Christ still comes and knocks at the door. The image reminds me that he does not come as a stormtrooper breaking down the door but he still persists in knocking at the door. Yet the handle is on the inside and the question remains will we open the door and let him in?

Gifts are meant to be shared not hoarded

I remember in the movie "Chariots of Fire" there is a portrayal of two gifted young people Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. One of the lines which stays with me is when Eric Liddell misses the morning prayers and is upbraided by his sister from not showing his conviction for God replies "I believe that God made me for a purpose. But He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure." Both used their talents to the best of their ability. Yet I think this reflection best shows how we are to find out in life what gives our life meaning and where we encounter God’s pleasure. In seeking God each of us is called to give glory in the way which we are most gifted. When we use our gifts in this way it feels like prayer as we become totally absorbed body, mind and spirit in being present as we are.

Too often we can become abstracted from our lives when we seek to analyze what we are doing. Yet our lives are not called to be so complex. We are called to encounter God in this life and discover where there we can live that presence for the good of ourselves and the good of others. Our gifts are not just presents for ourselves. They call us to witness the goodness of God who enables us to be part of the creative unfolding of the universe. We do not hoard this gifts as though they are given only to the lucky and the strong but to celebrate their unfolding. Each day gives us fresh opportunities for us to give thanks that God is with us and walks close by our side. Let us run the race given to us so that we can feel God’s pleasure!

Do we seek wisdom or does wisdom seek us?

Wisdom is not just a matter of old age or grey hairs! It is a willingness to be open to God's spirit guiding us and us being receptive to that guidance. This is not just something that happens by chance to catch us unawares and unprepared. It does call us to be people who live in prayerful anticipation that God seeks us out and touches our hearts. 

This week's readings speak about three things. The first is that our thoughts need to ponder on what will bring life to us this day. They call us to be attentive to how we meet the things that bring us life and bring us hope of a life which lies at the heart of all creation. It calls us to be people who always seek life and who become creative in our response. God is present in becoming co-creators of his loving presence in the world. We can discover to see our life through the eyes of the heart, in how God looks upon the world.

The second is that Jesus walks with us and comes to meet us each day. We are called to encounter him and become familiar with his voice. There is a longing that we find in scripture, in receiving him in communion and in meeting him in our prayers which transforms our encounters with each other. It calls us to see the face of Christ in each person we meet. This allows us to not be afraid of his voice even when he calls us on our final journey home. We can start to appreciate its resonance, tone and tenure which allows us to know that he calls us to live each day.

The last point is that we cannot expect somebody else to do this for us. While it is good to offer intercession for each other and none of us journey alone each of us is called to respond to the loving invitation to know him and follow him. This calls each day to be an opportunity where we wake up to the possibility that this is the day. This is a call to the mission which does not wait for the perfect day or the perfect moment but calls us to see how we can be renewed this day. Out soul is thirsting for the Lord. Let us be present to the times that Jesus meets us on the way and walks close by our side.