What does God want?

There can often be a sense that God wants what we want. This was certainly Peter's challenge. In last weeks Gospel he received plaudits from Jesus for being on the money, this week he receives a rebuke for being way off the mark. This is where we need to quiten the warring voices within us which equate what we desire with what God desires. The challenge for us in every age is to be people who allow our minds and hearts to be in union with God. It calls us to be people who are prayerful, reflective and able to see how we can be present to our world with faith, hope and love. This is not by imposing our own will but through allowing God's will to draw us to following him.

What do we hold onto and what do we let go

The question Jesus poses at Caesarea Philippi relates to who we think he is. This seems to be such a basic question but it shapes how we relate to him as a person. This is not about an academic test but rather an understanding of how his life shapes our own. It is from this relational understanding that he is the anointed one who enables us to grow closer to our God in his person. The fact that Peter gains a deep appreciation of this insight helps us to see what can lead us closer to God and the ways that we can drift away. By seeking to become intentional disciples we look at the ways that help to nurture that relationship and what needs to be let go. What binds us closer to God and what helps us to exercise a freedom which liberates others. In all things we seek to draw closer to Christ by the way we pray, reflect and act in a way which brings hope and life to others.

Persistence

There are times when we tend to pull back from making a prayer of the heart. We wonder whether we are talking to ourselves or whether God is truly listening. The story of the Canaanite women assures us that we are called to come before God with wit and humour. The very desire to be in God's presence allows us to be present to what is needed for this day. Our prayer also tends to purify our intention and what we truly seek. This allows us to be persistent in seeking to bring good on behalf of another. This is at the heart of our intercession. It allows us to seek a threefold good. To bring another person before God, to acknowledge that what possesses or obsesses us will not have the final word and that our prayer of mercy touches the heart of God. We are called to recognise that as we gather as a community that it is God who draws us together. For the good of ourselves, for the good of others and the good of the world. We touch the creative heart of God who is ever present and ever new. 

The quiet still voice

For fear of repeating myself, we live in a world besieged by noise and opinion. We live in a climate in which we are swamped by a tsunami of media which seeks to grab our attention and focus our interest. Whether it is the daily diet of news, social media or email everybody seems to want to grab our gaze. There is also a great climate of news which seeks to engender fear and distraction away from ourselves to matters over which we have little control. It calls us to attend to something for fear that we may become bored with ourselves and the routine of our daily lives. We can see this in the way storms seem to break upon us and we are called to focus on the destructive forces of nature. There seems to be a climate which creates a sense of powerlessness which seems to be overwhelmed by these events. We seem to be diminished by our own world which seems to be fighting against us. Then again if this was not all we are confronted by those who wish to set fire and destroy what is known whether by terrorism, war or personal conflict. This desire to give vent to their own inner conflicts by force upon others. This seeking to face our own destructive instincts is at the heart of our own ability to be wounded and to wound others. 

Yet in the midst of this outward and inward ability to be overcome by forces which seem beyond our control we have two images that come to us through the scriptures. The first is Elijah in the cave. He does not hear God's voice in the destructive nature of the gale, the earthquake or the fire but in the quiet zephyr of a breeze which passes in front of him. In the midst of this gentleness he covers his face and stands present. This is a call for us to listen to a God who alone can quieten the violence which can seem to overwhelm and destroy us. 

The second image is that of the boat battling a heavy sea and Peter being invited out of the boat to walk towards Jesus. Once again this is not an ignoring of the storms that can rage around us but rather a trust in a God who calls us to reach out and touch him. There is a total reliance in how God is present even in the most difficult situation and to entrust our lives totally to him.

This is a reminder to us that our faith is built on a relationship with the one who can save us and call us to a life in union with him. It is from this relationship that we do not become passive observers of life but rather participants who do not succumb to a fatalistic way of being present. We are called to notice what frightens us but not be overcome by it. By being open to how God quietens our fears we can start to focus on what creates life, what builds hope and what sustains others in loving charity. Each day we listen to that still quiet voice which allows us to be prayerfully present to ourselves and to others.

Listen to him

How we listen to another indicates the way we will live our lives. The transfuguration puts the same words before us that we hear at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. This is my beloved son, listen to him. This is not just about hearing what he said or reading what has been written. It is allowing his life to touch our own. We encounter Jesus  by allowing his living word to engage us more deeply. To ponder how it becomes one with us and shapes how we think and act. This heartfelt response challenges us to not be afraid that God reaches out to us to enter into a living and life giving relationship. We are called to listen to his voice in the way we live.

Who do we seek to become?

There is often a subtle distinction between choosing what is right and wrong and what is good and evil. The first deals with observable acts which can be seen to be right or wrong according to a moral code or enacted law. The second deals with the unseen motivation of the person which seeks to discover what is good or evil. A person can do the right thing with evil intent, just as a person can do the wrong thing with good intent. This is what Solomon prays for as he seeks to take leadership of the people of Israel. It is not just about been knowledgeable but also about being wise. How do you apply the particular law for the particular purpose it was intended to govern. There is probably a whole book that could be written and have been written about the principle of discernment. Essentially though it is about the head and the heart acting in union for the good of the person and the good of the community. Jesus often taught this as well, it is not sufficient to know only the law but also to know the heart of the law giver. We need to seek for that pearl of great price which draws us deeper into relationship with God and with the community we are called to be part of. This visible and invisible reality is what binds us together. Discernment is not just about making good decisions but about make wise choices about who we will become. They bring a different quality and tenure to our lives. They help us to discover that the things we do flow out of who we seek to become and who we become shapes the things we do. 

What draws us into life?

"Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God's will." Romans 8.26-27
(http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072317.cfm accessed 18th July 2017)

This passage of scripture particularly struck me when I was reading through the Gospel about the darnel and the wheat. In many cases we put in a great deal of effort into making sure that we accomplish something in our spiritual life. There is a sense that we need to get it right and line up everything in a row. In this scenario we put a lot of responsibility on ourselves and seeking God on our own terms. However, there are times when at the end of the day we struggle to make sense of what is happening in the world. Those times when we seemed to solve all the problems of the world over a cup of coffee seemed to have disappeared into the mist of the day. We look at what has happened and what is happening and we seek to make sense of it all. We want God to discover us rather than it all being about ourselves.
This is why the examen at the end of the day we need to be present to God if only for a few moments. I would propose that it can be done quite simply by seeking to discover what God wants us to be present to:
For what are we thankful?
Where did we discover ourselves becoming most alive?
What deadened us or drained us of energy?
What would we seek to be present to tomorrow?
This is not about a labouring over the day but rather seeing what floats to the surface and which God wishes us to be most aware of. The sense of being present to God in this way incarnates our faith not just based on our own abilities and insights but on how God is drawing us deeper into a relationship of life and love.

Planting the seed

How many homilies can you remember years after they are spoken? In a world deluged by words what takes hold of our hearts and engages us with life? The Gospel of the good seed scattered in the  ground reminds us of how liberal and generous God is with the reminder of how the saving word can be planted within us. Often we know how easy it is for a word to be spoken and then too quickly it is taken from us. There can also be those ads which guarantee instant success without effort whether it is weight loss, financial gain or living the complete life. Here again we try it for a while but it is someone else's word which seems to work for them and not for us. Then there can be the times which while we treasure the word the pressures of life crowd in on us. There do not seem enough hours in the day to do all that we want. We seem to be swamped with too much information that the word gets choked. Yet finally there are those words which abide with us and hold us. They are like breathing in fresh mountain air and drinking from clear crystal streams. They renew us, sustain us and rest deep within us. They help us live each day with a renewed spirit and a grateful heart. They play over and over in our minds and in our hearts and help us to see things differently. They come from a place in our prayer which engages our lives more deeply. They bring scripture to life in the people we meet and in the person I seek to come. They help us to discover the opportunities to give glory to God with our whole life.

Not just theory

One of the most difficult tasks is to move from theory to practice. Part of this difficulty lies not just in an understanding of theory but a willingness to seek out whether it actually matches our practical experience. We know that the Christian faith is not just theoretical but deeply relational. It calls us to enter into a relationship with a person who helps us to engage more deeply with what is important and vital to living a Christian life. This cannot simply be learnt from a book but seeks us to engage with others who help us to become more deeply grounded in our Christian faith. Left to our own devices we will start to shape our faith based on our own personal preferences rather than an encounter with the person of Christ within a community. This is at the heart of the Gospel for this coming weekend, we are called to encounter the person of Christ in our prayer, in our community and in our world. By seeking the person who seeks us we discover how to seek him. This changes our hearts and our way of thinking. No longer is it just a journey towards a hidden goal but a discovery of the person who has planted the treasure in our hearts that we may journey with him and each other. May the Lord help us to be found that we may find, to be discovered so that we may discover, to be loved so that we can love.

For the Good of the World

When we seek to be baptised into Christ we discover that this is more than just words. We are called to incarnate the Gospel as a person and not as an idea. This discovery calls us to be open to discovering how our discipleship is founded on our relationship with the person who brings us life. This is not about us believing that it all starts with us and somehow God joins us on the way. It is actually a way of living which recognises that God always walks with us. This is not about working harder but learning from the person who walks with us. It calls us to be profoundly what God wishes us to be in relationship to the person of Jesus Christ. It calls us into a different way of seeing which opens up the simple ways that everyday allow us to be missionary disciples. By observing others, by providing what is needed and allowing the other to experience life and not death. It is a journey into the person of Christ which changes us so that we can be present to God and each other for the good of the world.

Proclaiming the one who saves us

Whom do we seek? This is the central question of our spiritual journey. We become what we most desire. This is where we need a prayerful unity both with God and the body of Christ. In our search it is necessary to quieten the strident voices both within and without which try to shape us in ways which are not for our good. We can at times be shocked by some of our thoughts which have translated into ways we did not intend. It is easy to become defensive in our life which can say that we do not sin or that at least we do not sin as gravely as somebody else. Yet in allowing God to meet us at our worst and discovering that we can be healed of our weaknesses. This is why we are called to remember the areas of life we most struggle with when we go to confession. It is not so much that we feel shamed into going but a recognition that on our own we just descend into our own swamp. The Good News is that Jesus Christ meets us in that place and allows us to be healed and accompanied in grace. By knowing our areas of greatest weakness God can assist us to allow his light to shine and we discover that we do not walk this path alone. The sacrament of penance allows us to tell what is most troubling us and in that telling to discover that we can be healed and receive absolution. This is not a get out of jail free card but a way of allowing God to meet us in the place of our greatest weakness which reaches out to bring healing, forgiveness and reconciliation to others we meet.

My life for the life of the world

Jesus said:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The way the meet Jesus in the Eucharist overflows into our daily life. It is the most intimate of encounters where somebody shares their whole life with us so that we may discover what brings us life. This is not just a giving or receiving of something it is a giving and receiving of someone. This opens us the realisation that our lives have eternal worth and that this encounter changes everything. It is all too easy to see this as something we do rather than something we become. We receive Eucharist so that we can become one with Christ. We do not just do this as individuals but as a communion which draws us close to each other. Just as we reverence Jesus in the tabernacle so we should also reverence each other where Jesus becomes the tabernacle of our heart. As Augustine says, "It was in the flesh that Christ walked among us and it is His flesh that He has given us to eat for our salvation." When we genuflect to the tabernacle we honour how God calls us to be present to his saving grace which is for our good and the good of the whole world. We are called to be disciples of that grace which draws us closer to him and closer to each other.

Not at a distance!

How do we perceive God acting in our lives? This is at the heart of our understanding of the Trinity, One God, Three Persons. This truth can be clearly stated as fundamental to our faith but we can struggle to understand what it all means. We state this reality every weekend in the Mass when we proclaim the Creed. Yet it is important that we understand how it touches deeply how we relate to God and each other. There is a sense where at times we can see God at a distance from our lives but the Gospel tells us a different story. Jesus talks about the relationship as one being present to a loving Father in our time. This is a God who sees each life as having eternal worth and that we are all called to enter into that relationship. By given expression to that relationship in our lives, we seek to discover what saves and redeems others rather than condemning them. He gifts us with the Holy Spirit so that we can continue the Mission of building the kingdom of God. We are saved in and through the person of Christ.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful!

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the heart of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy his consolations, Through Christ our Lord, Amen

The call to live a Christian life is reliant on receiving the Holy Spirit. The gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, reverence and wonder draws us into a closer union with God. They help us to experience that we do not live a life of splendid isolation but rather one which draws us deeper into the mystery of God. The gifts are entrusted to us to help us engage with life as it is and live in a way which gives expression to God’s love for the whole of creation.

As a Christian community this calls upon us to see how we manifest the gifts in our daily lives. The signs of the spirit are that it brings life not death to those who hear the Good News. It allows people to gain a deeper appreciation of how God is at work in their lives and the lives of those around them. It helps to sharpen our gaze to see what brings holiness and wholeness. What helps us to experience that the glory of God is a person fully alive!

A Domestic Jesus?

Has Jesus truly risen? This question hangs on how we respond to this question. Is it a matter of a historical event or a living reality? The Ascension brings these questions into sharper focus. We are called not just to believe because of what we have been told but who it is that we have experienced. Our faith is not a matter of just dusting off ancient tomes but it calls us into a living relationship with God. A God who cares so passionately about us that he does not want to see us destroy ourselves. At the heart of the matter is that we are called to see rightly so that our lives display what it means to be a disciple. To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and your all your mind and to love your neighbour as yourself. This is not a faith which is only theoretically possible it is one of practically applying ourselves to the proclamation of the Gospel by how we live our lives. We are called to be people who gather to celebrate the Good News in Word and Sacrament so that we can live the mission of being his disciples in the world. We are called to be disciples in every place, in every nation and in every age,

To whom do we belong?

The question of ownership can often cause us to ask what belongs to us and what rights do we have to make claims over a particular item. We are called to recognise that in owing something we invest part of ourselves in what we own. This is not just a matter of sentimentality but rather a way of becoming aware that our lives have an impact on others. However, while we need to know our legal rights and obligations we also need to ensure that the very thing we own does not own us.We can easily see how the more we invest in something the more it can preoccupy our thoughts and actions. What we need to discern is how do I discover what and who truly brings me life? What the Gospel articulates is that our lives are not solely our own we are called into relationships with God and each other which share a mutual obligation. We are called to experience how our lives formed in the image and likeness of God make us coheirs to the Kingdom. This is not ours by right but by adoption. God calls us into a relationship which is radically liberating so that we can live as sons and daughters by discovering what truly brings us life.

Do you have a plan?

Do you have a plan? This question rings down to us over the ages. Many of us, like Thomas, want a clearly established guideline or policy document about what it means to Christian. This blueprint or how to document would point us in the right direction. We know that we have many documents which can help us to draw on the wisdom of those who have walked the pathways before us. There is a careful and prayerful study of scriptures, a seeking after the truths handed on to us in the catechism and there are also the teachings provided to us by theologians and Church leaders. Each of these sources can help to clarify both our thinking and things which we should consider in living lives which are faithful to the person of Christ. They help us to recognise that our faith is relational both with God and with each other. We do not enter into the pilgrimage as solitary individuals but as disciples who accompany each other along the way. Yet like Thomas, each of us is called to encounter the person of Christ and be prepared to live with our questions. Our faith is relational and draws its foundation with how we become Christian through our thinking, our praying and by our actions. This is not just an abstract commitment which wishes us into the presence of God but one which engages us more deeply with our own lived reality. We are called to be Christian not just in theory but in practice. This calls us to be people who reflect on our faith each day and discover how we meet the person of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full!

I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full! Being guided to good pasture where we can be sustained is essential in living the Christian life. Jesus calls us to listen to his voice and his lead. He seeks us out so that we may discover what truly nourishes us. This comes about not just by our willingness to hear his voice but to find where it may lead us. It calls us to be people who are prayerful, attentive and aware of how God prompts us into action. This reflective stance of being open to God's guidance and to find out what truly fills us is at the heart of the Easter journey. It calls us to notice where God is present to us and invites us to discover how the Spirit is at work in our lives. Each day provides us with an opportunity to give thanks for the people we meet, in the place where we live, in the work that we do and in the times when we relax. In all things, we are called to be present to what brings life to us and to others. 

Who is that comes to meet us like the rising sun?

Who is this who comes to meet us like the rising sun? As we walk each day we encounter others with their hopes and dreams, their sorrows and their disappointments. As we share time with them these seem to be bought into a new way of seeing which is more than just our discussions. We start to see a greater vision of what brings meaning to life. It is this encounter with the unseen person, whose our eyes do not fully grasp or our hearts completely contain which moves us to discover the words that bring life. It is this encounter with the Word of Life that allows scripture to be etched into our living flesh. The touchstone of who we are called to be, a vision greater than our own. As we break bread with each other his life becomes part of our own or rather we become at one with him who brings us into a communion of life which transforms our whole world.

For us forgiveness is a person

When Jesus met the disciples in the flesh after his resurrection something has significantly changed not only in his life but in ours. There can be a belief that forgiveness is a task that we can pick up or put down. This belief can focus on the words, "Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven, those whose sins that are retained they are retained." At one level this can acknowledge the importance of the disciples being commissioned as ministers of forgiveness. However, this is only one important element of the sacrament of reconciliation but it can tend to put the emphasis on our actions rather than an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. This is acknowledged when we reflect on the meeting of Jesus with Thomas. Thomas has to touch the wounds of Jesus' body in order to be healed of his doubt. The same is true for us, we need to live out the sacrament as a life-giving encounter which assists us to know of God's forgiveness. Without this touch, we can tend to think that the sacrament of penance is all about us choosing forgiveness rather than an invitation to go deeper into a life-giving relationship. If the focus is all on us rather than breaking the bonds which hold us as people who doubt whether God will ever meet us we simply need to turn to Jesus and touch his wounds. For us, forgiveness is a person, not a commodity.

Are we ready for Easter?

Are we ready for Easter? After our Lenten preparation, there is a different feel to this celebration. We have been called to reflect on who Jesus is for us and how he meets us in our daily life. We have been encouraged to make room in our hearts, in our minds and in our actions to discover where he calls us to be present. We have been called to be prayerful, thoughtful and charitable. This is an important way to help draw us into the story of Holy Week and Easter. Yet the story calls us to a place where we ponder Jesus’ Passion not as disinterested spectators but as people who are affected by what unfolds. This is a profound engagement with a person who wishes us to discover the depth of God’s love for us and the way in which he cannot walk away from us. There is no greater love and it calls us to ponder on the way it moves us. What is missed in all this action is the silence of Holy Saturday. This liminal space calls us to a place in which all life is transformed not by what we say or by what we do but an encounter with silence. It is from this silence that all life changes and is renewed. That God breaks the shackles which speak only of death and destruction, horror and emptiness. They speak of a love which transcends times and space to meet us where we are. May the Easter joy surprise you and encounter a peace that disturbs you. A joy that fills us with hope and enlivens us to proclaim that Christ has risen! Alleluia!

He could not walk away from himself.

As we enter into Holy Week we become aware of the Passion of Jesus and the way it touches the lives of both believers and unbelievers. This was not just a selective act to save the lucky few, it was a divine act which sought to reconcile the whole of creation. It sought to restore our relationship with God and with each other which can be so easily broken and damaged. Often we wonder could there have been a better way? Yet we know that this causes us to stop, ponder and review what is important in our lives and the impact that this Paschal Mystery has on our whole lives. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus casting our whole life in a new light and seeks to show the depth of God's creative life engaging with our own. Jesus sought to bring life and love to the heart of all our lives by allowing us to enter into his own relationship with the Father. Fundamentally, Jesus could not walk away from himself any more than God can walk away from the heart of creation. It is with a heart broken open for the love of the world that we discover a new way of seeing and a new way of living.

Seeing the person

We live in a world where we are called on to make decisions on the fly and where guidance is informed by opinion and commentary rather than by facts and considered responses. Our lives then seem to be dissipated by the competing forces which can seem to tear us in one direction and then another. This is never more evident than when we face major trauma in our life. Whether it be the loss of a person we loved, separation and divorce, moving from one place to another, the uncertainty of unemployment or facing the challenges of retirement from paid work. What is evident is that we need to own what is happening to us. We need to acknowledge grief but we also need to be supported by a community who is willing to accompany us and by people who are able to hold our story with love and respect. This helps us to discern what is truly important from that which just appears urgent. It helps us to discover our own self and what moves us into action. This is not something we rush into because these life changing events pose important questions. The most fundamental choice, however, is that we see the person in front of us and their immediate need. By taking the first obvious step a person starts to discover how healing and restoration can take place.

That we may see

Seeing is believing. Doubts can always creep into our lives when we pray for change but the same circumstances seem to recur over and over again. We want things to be different but things often seem to stay the same. We become blinded to how God may at work because our expectations are limited to what we expect. God seeks to expand our vision by expanding our hearts. There is a desire that God wants us to see and experience more. It is not that God has gone to sleep on the job but rather that we believe that God’s power to save us is limited to just what we can see.

Our belief is not just a matter of memorising sayings or writings but rather in allowing God to engage our deep need for salvation. To discover the place where our sight has become downcast or our vision blurred. Ultimately, God does not want us to die in our sins or our lack of belief that our lives have meaning. We discover our identity as a person in becoming what God asks us to become and discovering what leads us to beauty and wonder. Lord, that we may see.

Who will sate my thirst?

The ability of someone to listen to our story and believe in us allows us to see to the heart of another. When Jesus sits down with the woman at the well we see an interchange which changes a life. In the first instance, the woman comes to fulfil a basic need to receive water so that she can live. She needs to have her thirst quenched. This goes deeper when she notices the obvious cultural context from which each speaker comes from. However, the conversation does not stop here but Jesus draws her towards a deeper thirst of what brings meaning and hope to her. Through this dialogue, Jesus encounters the person and draws them into a deeper relationship with him. This conversion experience not only touches the heart of the woman but also the community to which she belongs. Each of us has a story and a context in which we live. Each of us searches for a meaning which adds substance to that story. We thirst for someone who will bring that meaning to our life and sate our thirst. As we continue this journey may we discover the one who listens to our story and brings meaning to our lives!