PRAYER MOMENT  

Saturday 1 March 2014.

LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME

Pause. Be there when people bring children to Jesus

Reading: “Let the little children come to me for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs!” (Mark 10:13-16)

Reflection. I was at a concert last night and as the Chitungwiza Harmony Singers performed children came up and tried to dance with them, swinging their arms and jumping about.  It was mildly irritating but I did think of the sentiments in this passage in Mark which breaks down the boundaries between adults and children, just as Jesus was also insistent on breaking down the barriers between male and female, slave and free, Jew and gentile. Children, more than anyone, have the gift of questioning our conventions and ways of doing things and basically they ask the question, “why?” Why do you do things the way you do them? And the presupposition is there may be a better way of doing things. Unfortunately children often get suppressed and their moment of glory doesn’t last, but we should hold on to the questions of children.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, teach us what you mean by “such as these” belong to the kingdom. Help us to welcome in ourselves and others the curiosity and imagination of a child. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

GOD MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE

PRAYER MOMENT  

Friday 28 February 2014.

GOD MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE

Pause. Be still in the presence of God

Reading: “From the beginning of creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:1-12)

Reflection. We can think of three concentric circles with regard to marriage. At the core is the attraction of man for woman and woman for man and how they become “one body.” Then there is the social institution of marriage and family that is universally recognised but takes various forms and enjoys various degrees of stability. And finally there is the ideal of the gospel where the commitment of the two people to each other reflects the bond (covenant) between God and his people. This bond does not depend on feelings alone, though they can help a great deal. The bond is rooted in a mystery where two people set out, like Abraham of old “not knowing where they are going” (Heb 11:8), but believing in each other despite difficulties that arise and, over time, rejoicing to discover each other at a deeper level than they imagined possible when they first set out together.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, sustain all married people especially those we know and love. Strengthen those who are meeting difficulties in their marriage. Help them to see that you are there at the point where they feel most hurt. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

SALTED WITH FIRE

PRAYER MOMENT  

Thursday 27 February 2014.

SALTED WITH FIRE

Pause. Be still in the presence of God

Reading: “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing. But if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again?” (Mark 9:41-50)

Reflection. The reading today is uncomfortable.  In strong metaphors Jesus speaks of “cutting off” and “plucking out” parts of the body that cause you to sin. “It is better to enter into life crippled than to have all your limbs and go to hell.” The vivid language shocks us in to realising how urgent is the work of bringing about the kingdom, the rule of God. It  is an urgency that fills the pages of Pope Francis letter, The Joy of the Gospel. Compromise, hesitation, procrastination – all make us “insipid”. We are called to give ourselves generously to the task of sharing in Jesus’ mission for the lifting up of God’s people.  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to share in the urgency you showed in your ministry You had a great desire that people would respond to the Father’s love. May we do this ourselves and help others too to do so. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

ONE OF US

PRAYER MOMENT  

Wednesday 26 February 2014.

ONE OF US

Pause. Be still in the presence of God

Reading: “We saw a man who was not one of us casting out devils in your name and we tried to stop him.” (Mark 9:38-40)

Reflection. The disciple John complains to Jesus that someone who is not “one of us” is doing things “in your name.” Jesus rebukes him, “anyone who is not against us is for us.” The whites in Southern Rhodesia in the 1920s and 30s signed away their future by insisting that “those who were not one of us” should be prevented from full participation in the economic life of the colony. Excluding others has been a a common occurrence in human history and has cause countless wars. We are slowly and painfully moving towards a more inclusive world. But we have some way to go, even in our ordinary private family and social lives.  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to welcome everyone as you did, especially those who are on the margins of society; those who are poor, handicapped or in anyway left out. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

SERVANT OF ALL

PRAYER MOMENT  

Tuesday 25 February 2014.

SERVANT OF ALL

Pause. Be there as “Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee.”

Reading. “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:30-37)

Reflection. It is an attitude of mind and heart. Am I here to see what I can get out of this? I want a position, a status, a qualification, so that I am respected and people will call me “Dr” or chef. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious so long as it is the ambition to serve, the ambition to kneel down and wash the feet of people who are little in the world, disregarded and marginalised. But it is not an attitude which is optional. It is the “only way” of establishing the kind of society God wants. It is the only way to break down barriers and divisions and move towards a society where everyone one’s dignity is respected and everyone counts.        

Prayer. Lord, teach us your way – you “who came to serve and to give my life”. We have a yearning for community and true brotherhood, true sisterhood. Have compassion on our weak efforts and help us to follow your way. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

THEY RAN TO GREET HIM

PRAYER MOMENT  

Monday 24 February 2014.

THEY RAN TO GREET HIM

Pause. Be in the presence of the Lord and the confused people.

Reading. “The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him.” (Mark 9:14-29)

Reflection. Amazement, confusion, frustration, faith – they are all there in this passage from Mark. There is excitement among the people but Jesus senses the superficiality of it and cries out in frustration, “How much longer must I put up with you?” We are in chapter 9 and like with the blind man in chapter 8 this healing takes time because they are a “faithless generation.” In the end the father of the tormented boy pleads, “help the little faith I have.” And the boy is cured. We can take the passage as a commentary for today with all the excitement that can be there in religious events, even the popularity of Pope Francis. And we ask ourselves how deep is the faith? How far does it go? And we too can make that prayer, “Help my little faith.”        

Prayer. Lord, we live in a time of excitement and constant visual images of people and events. But help us to go deeper to that rocklike basis for our life which is our relationship with you. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

Breakthrough

Breakthrough

The word “breakthrough” conveys a sense of excitement even before you know what it is about. The word is used in many contexts but particularly in sport - and politics. In a tight game where defenders on both sides are guarding all openings it is thrilling to see someone actually breakthrough and score.

It is a word also favoured by writers who try to describe what Jesus did when he walked among us. Society, any society, builds conventions, customs and ways of behaviour and each generation is expected to learn them and abide by them. Yet we know that convention and custom, while giving structure and stability to society, also freezes it in a given shape. There is an expected way of doing everything and if anyone is in doubt they can simply consult the elders.

Jesus saw that Israel was like that. It demanded “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” If I do something to you I should expect you or your relations to do the same to me. It was a predictable and stable society and it did not want to be disturbed. Jesus used various images to describe what he was doing. One was very daring. He described himself as a thief in the night coming silently to break through the wall of the sleeper’s house and steal his property.

We have to be terribly clear about what Jesus was doing. He did not come just to teach people to be patient and forgiving although these too were part of his message. He came to fulfil the real longing for community. Conventional relationships, such as we have in many societies today – I mind my business, you mind yours - were not enough. We have to go beyond them and break down the barriers that separate even those who live in the same street.

Jesus shocks us into thinking about what this means: “if someone hits you on the right cheek, don’t hit him on his right cheek, offer him your left cheek.” It sounds crazy! “If someone forces you to go one mile, go an extra mile with them.” In Syria today, after two thousand years of Christianity and Islam, the leaders are far from this thinking. It makes no sense to them. Yet it is the way of Jesus. He is announcing something new: a breakthrough of the kingdom of God. We play with it at times, as we did in Zimbabwe in 1980 when we said, “Yesterday you were my enemy. Today I am bound to consider you as my friend.” We said it but we did not mean it.

The new world that Jesus announced is not easy to build. But it is possible. It is 15 years since the peace agreement in Northern Ireland and during all that time the former enemies have been sitting round the same table governing the province together. It has been difficult but they have gone that extra mile.

I was touched this week by a sentence at the end of Jesus of Nazareth, a 350 page book by Gerhard Lohfink, in which he writes of Jesus’ “restraint, which fascinates me. … It makes his language tactful and yet lends it an enormous power.” He is referring to the image I have already referred to about the thief in the night. The devil thought he had the world nicely sewn up according to his own designs but Jesus came and “broke through the wall of his house and stole his property.”

YOU ARE PETER

PRAYER MOMENT  

Saturday 22 February 2014.

YOU ARE PETER

Pause. Be still and be in the presence of the Lord and his disciples..

Reading. “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.” (Matt 16:13-19)

Reflection. Twice in the year the Catholic Church remembers Peter in a special way. Today is one of them. In the huge church in Rome dedicated to him these words, “you are Peter …” are carved in letters six feet high around the interior of the dome. It is an assertion of a claim, yes, but it is also a reminder and a celebration of the desire of Jesus to build a community where “they will all be one.” History has dealt harshly with this aspiration but the 263^rd successor of Peter, our present Papa Francis, gives us a glimpse every day of what an inspiration for the world “Peter” can be.  Some of us are bound to him in loving obedience and some are drawn to him in respectful astonishment. But whatever our stance everyone recognises deep within them the longing for relationship. When at its best the church can be an expression of this.       

Prayer. Lord, on this day we give thanks for our present Peter and all the “Peters” in our lives who call us to compassion for one another. Help us to live this love each day. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

FLY OR DIE

PRAYER MOMENT  

Friday 21 February 2014.

FLY OR DIE

Pause. Be still in the presence of the Lord..

Reading. “Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” (Mark 8:34 – 9:1)

Reflection. This paradox is at the heart of the gospel – and of all human life, perhaps of all life. I once saw gannets (sea birds) on the rocky islands off the west coast of Ireland and learnt that they are fed and fed by the mother and then abandoned. They have a choice: to cast themselves off the cliff and learn to fly and fish for themselves or to stay comfortably on the rocks and gradually starve to death. “Fly or die” is also our choice and in gospel terms it means a radical rejection of all that goes against our openness to God and instead finding Him in all the events of the day. And this means a rigorous attention to the working of the Spirit of God within and leads to an immense joy in discovering where that leads.    

Prayer. Lord, teach us to “lose our life” in all the events of the day. Teach us that central message of the gospel and lead us to the joy of finding you in all things. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

THE THOUGHTS OF GOD

PRAYER MOMENT  

Thursday 20 February 2014.

THE THOUGHTS OF GOD

Pause. Be present in the villages around Caesarea Philippi with Jesus and his disciples..

Reading. “Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s” (Mark 8:27-33)

Reflection. If you have been following these reflections you will know that this chapter 8 is a cascade of revelations. We see the disciples battling to understand and change their way of thinking. Here, the revelation of his title, the Christ (Greek), the Messiah (Hebrew), is immediately followed by his “job description.” The only way to fulfill his mission was to enter totally into the human experience. And that experience is one of constant obstacles (challenges) where the person has to stretch him/herself, go beyond himself, to achieve his purpose. It will mean dying in one way or another. Nothing worthwhile comes easily, and especially not the salvation of the world. It is still like that on the global level – economic structures, climate change, etc – and on the personal level – family, work, relationships, etc.    

Prayer. Lord, you knew early on that there was going to be no way of achieving your purpose without enduring the worst that human experience could do to you. Yet you accepted it. Teach us to follow your way. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

Pause. Be present in the villages around Caesarea Philippi with Jesus and his disciples..

Reading. “Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s” (Mark 8:27-33)

Reflection. If you have been following these reflections you will know that this chapter 8 is a cascade of revelations. We see the disciples battling to understand and change their way of thinking. Here, the revelation of his title, the Christ (Greek), the Messiah (Hebrew), is immediately followed by his “job description.” The only way to fulfil his mission was to enter totally into the human experience. And that experience is one of constant obstacles (challenges) where the person has to stretch him/herself, go beyond himself, to achieve his purpose. It will mean dying in one way or another. Nothing worthwhile comes easily, and especially not the salvation of the world. It is still like that on the global level – economic structures, climate change, etc – and on the personal level – family, work, relationships, etc.    

Prayer. Lord, you knew early on that there was going to be no way of achieving your purpose without enduring the worst that human experience could do to you. Yet you accepted it. Teach us to follow your way. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

LOOKING LIKE TREES

PRAYER MOMENT  

Wednesday 19 February 2014.

LOOKING LIKE TREES

Pause. Be present in Bethsaida with Jesus for five minutes.

Reading. “I can see people; they looklike trees to me but they are walking about.” (Mark 8:22-26)

Reflection. This is the only miracle of Jesus where there were no instant results. It seems clear that the purpose of Mark is to show that the healing was a process. First the blind man sees something indistinct and then he sees everything “plainly.” The only parallel I can think of is John chapter 9 where the man born blind, after he is cured, goes through a process of growing in courage and understanding in witnessing to his new faith. Chapter 8 in Mark is a hinge section where we encounter real faith whereas until then the disciples’ grasp of who Jesus is was unimpressive. It seems to me we need to be patient with ourselves: knowing that we are people of little faith but we can also be people longing to grow in our faith and deepening that encounter with God that Pope Francis so much wants us to have.  

Prayer. Lord, I know my life is a process of growth and you are working in and with me. Teach me to have that longing to know you better and love you more so that I may be your witness to your people. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

Two Levels

PRAYER MOMENT  

Tuesday 18 February 2014.

TWO LEVELS

Pause. Be present with Jesus in the boat for five minutes!

Reading. “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:14-21)

Reflection. Chapter 8 in Mark speaks to us in different ways about two levels of understanding. Here the disciples are preoccupied with food. They have forgotten to take enough with them. Jesus uses their worry to raise their minds to another level. If you really live at the level of God and his kingdom (his reign) you are not going to be over troubled by such anxieties. God will provide. It is not that we are foolish and never prepare for journeys or other events but that we are not stuck at the level of arrangements and our own skills. There is a dimension in life which is more fundamental and that is the breaking in of the kingdom. This is something entirely new and as Mark gets to the heart of his gospel he insists on more and more.

Prayer. Lord, teach us not to be anxious about having everything prepared. Help us to see that what we do is your work and let us give you a part in it. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

THERE WILL BE NO SIGN

PRAYER MOMENT  

Monday 17 February 2014.

THERE WILL BE NO SIGN

Pause. Be present as Jesus meets the Pharisees.

Reading. “Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.” (Mark 8:11-13)

Reflection. If we stop and reflect on the world we live in, and the way life is, we can be full of wonder. If there were no questions, only answers, if there was not searching, only certainty, what a lifeless place it would be! The Pharisees demand a sign so as to take a short cut  and have immediate certainty. But Jesus says ‘no’. Anything that gives immediate answers frustrates something beautiful in human nature: the the call to search and discover. And faith is that journey. It is true too in the world of science. And it is true in the world of faith. A child must discover things and that is its joy. So must the whole human family

Prayer. Lord, thank you for the joy of discovery and wonder. May we continue to search until the great day when we arrive in your presences and all our searching will be fully satisfied. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

I want, therefore I am

I want, therefore I am

“Education is what remains when you have forgotten everything you learnt at school.” These words of Einstein can help us understand what Jesus meant when he said, “I have come not to abolish the law and the prophets but to complete them” (Matt 5:17). Paul likened the law to the task of the slave in the ancient world who conducted a child to his teacher (Gal 3:24). Once they arrived the slave’s job was done. So it was with the law. The purpose of law was to lead us to the life of freedom that Jesus reveals.

The law said, “You must not kill.” And every society punishes those who kill. But what about those who “kill” by destroying the lives of others? It can start in a family where frustrated parents can transfer their anger to their children and be so cruel to them that the children run away and live on the streets. To such people Jesus says not just, “you must not kill” but “you must not even get angry.” Don’t even begin the journey that may end in violence. Look at your anger when it arises and see where it is leading.

There are two types of anger: one is creative and can shock a person into changing his or her ways. Jesus himself got angry and parents, teachers and those in charge often get angry with good results. But there is another form of anger which is destructive, vengeful and violent. Jesus asks us to jump on that as soon as it rears its head. We are called to an inner discipline that constantly examines our emotions to see where they are leading.

And so Jesus goes on to other things: sex, for instance. Adultery is a fairly blatant act which can be quite destructive. But that is way down the road that began when my emotions are aroused, like seeing Bathsheba bathing, which turned David’s eye (2 Sam 11). When I was learning Shona in Buhera I unexpectedly saw some ladies bathing in the Merahari River. Fortunately I have poor eyesight. There is nothing unusual in emotions being aroused. It is what I do next that matters.

So we have to see that the “completion” of the law involves so interiorising the way of Jesus that we do not need the law anymore. We are “educated”, to return to Einstein, and it does not matter that we have forgotten all we learnt “at school”. This is easy to say but it goes against a culture which constantly shouts at us about instantly satisfying our feelings. I want, therefore I am. My identity is wrapped up in getting what I want. The consumer age! All of this is challenged by the “education” Jesus offers.

18 February 2014                                Sunday 6A

Sir 15:15-20                          I Cor 26-10                           Matt 5: 17-37          

THEY ATE AS MUCH AS THEY WANTED

PRAYER MOMENT  

Saturday 15 February 2014.

THEY ATE AS MUCH AS THEY WANTED

Pause. Be still In God’s presence.

Reading. “They ate as much as they wanted and they collected seven basketfuls of scraps left over.”  (Mark 8:1-10)

Reflection. All four gospels record the feeding of thousands of people. In John 6 Jesus chides the people for not seeing beyond the bread and fish they enjoyed to its meaning. This was a constant concern of Jesus that people did not take time to penetrate the message contained in the signs he did. The abundance of wine at Cana (John2) and bread in the desert (John 6 and here in Mark) points to the abundance of gifts God is offering his people here in this life and overflowing into the life to come. It was “hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). This is always the task of the follower of Jesus; to reflect deeply through reading the bible on the hidden meaning of the words and discover the great gift that God is offering. Pope Francis reminds priests that in their preaching they should facilitate a “dialogue between God and his people.” (Evangelii Gaudium #137). Dialogue (conversation) is always about seeking understanding and nourishment.

Prayer. Lord, help us to understand the meaning of your words. Let us not pass them by quickly but teach us to relish them and draw life from them. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

BE OPENED

PRAYER MOMENT  

Friday 14 February 2014. In the ninth century Saints Cyril and Methodius (today’s feast) laboured in eastern Europe to adapt the Christian faith to the Slav people. It didn’t work and the Orthodox developed their own way of proceeding. The Churches in the East and the West have been divided since the eleventh century. Much effort an prayer is underway today to repair the divide  and  return to unity and communion.

BE OPENED

Pause. Be still and enter into your own heart.

Reading. “And he said to him ‘Ephphatha’, that is ‘be opened’.”  (Mark 7:31-37)

Reflection. Mark sometimes gives us a sweeping description -  “all those who touched him were cured (6:56). But more often he will describe graphically a particular cure. In this instance Jesus goes to considerable trouble to heal a deaf and dumb person, but again there is the reluctance for it to be known because it may lead to misunderstanding about his mission. Yet it is impossible to keep such actions secret. For Jesus the important thing is not the cure itself but the “being open.” Yes, the man can speak and hear again. His tongue is loosed and his ears opened, but the key is whether his heart is opened. Does he welcome “the gift God is offering” (John 4:10), the new way, the way of forgiveness and compassion, the way – use Pope Francis’ word – of “inclusion” – not excluding some people from my hear and mind?  

Prayer. Lord, teach us to have an open heart, to receive your life, to have your mind, to love and serve and you loved and served. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

PRAYER MOMENT  

Thursday 13 February 2014..

RELUCTANCE AND VIOLENCE

Pause. Be present in the company of Jesus as he visits pagan country.

Reading. “The house dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.”  (Mark 7:24-30)

Reflection. People have tried to soften the rawness of Jesus’ words to the pagan woman but there is no disguising his reluctance to be known in Tyre and to cure people there. He was always conscious of the danger of being misunderstood and putting his mission in jeopardy. But along comes this woman who will not take “no” for an answer and virtually forces him to act on her behalf. You can sense his joy at the woman’s violent faith as she “takes the kingdom of heaven by storm” (Matt 11:12). I was reminded only yesterday of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas who drank himself to an early death at the age of 39 yet wrote such piercing work. He “honed his poems until they shone.” On one occasion he wrote 64 drafts of a poem before he was satisfied. Violence comes in many forms.  

Prayer. Lord, help us to be passionate in bringing to maturity the seeds you sow in our hearrts. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ

NOTHING CAN MAKE YOU UNCLEAN

PRAYER MOMENT  

Wednesday 12 February 2014..

NOTHING CAN MAKE YOU UNCLEAN

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “Nothing that goes into a person from outside can make one unclean. It is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean.”  (Mark 7:14-23)

Reflection. Here again is something new. Cultures and religions developed extensive taboos about foods and washing and a range of other practices. Failure to observe these made a person “unclean” and people live in fear of breaking such customs and the ostracism that would follow. Jesus cuts through all this. “Nothing,” he says, that comes from outside a person can harm them. Corruption, for example, can be rife in our society but it cannot harm me unless I choose to be part of it by a decision that comes from my heart, from inside me. People still retain a fear of witchcraft and evil spirits and a host of other enslaving mind sets. To take the words of Jesus in our reading today seriously is to liberated from these things. It is to become free.

Prayer. Lord, free us from the many fears that surround us and teach us that nothing can harm those who trust in you. Amen.

WILL GOD REALLY LIVE WITH MEN AND WOMEN?

PRAYER MOMENT  

Tuesday 11 February 2014, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (Southern France), where many sick people go on pilgrimage. A tiny few are healed physically but many find peace in accepting their sufferings in union with the One who poured out his life for us. It is a time when we specially remember the sick; we visit them and pray with them and for them..

WILL GOD REALLY LIVE WITH MEN AND WOMEN?

Pause. Be still in the presence of God.

Reading. “Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why the heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built!”  (I Kings 8: 22-30).

Reflection. This is Solomon’s good period, before he goes a bit wild. He has built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem and dazzled the Queen of Ethiopia. But he asks this rhetorical question: is it possible that God can live among us? Well, we know the answer. We have just emerged from the Christmas season. God is “with us” so much so that it is open to us, women and men, to attain an intimacy with him, a “communion” with him, which the ancients could not even dream of. “I never tire of repeating the words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the gospel,” Pope Francis writes in his letter Evangelii Gaudium, ‘being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.’”

Prayer. Lord, you come to offer us participation in your divine life. Help us to grasp what this means and welcome this life day by day. Amen.

TOUCHING THE FRINGE

PRAYER MOMENT  

Monday 10 February 2014.

TOUCHING THE FRINGE

Pause. Be with the Lord  as he visits “villages, towns and farms”

Reading. “They begged him to let them touch even the finge of his cloak.”  (Mark 6:53-56).

Reflection. I had not noticed before that Mark mentions “touching the fringe of his cloak” a second time. He does it in Chapter 5 and now again here. People often want to touch celebrities. When the pope came to Zimbabwe and shook hands with someone he joked he would never wash his hand again! It is not magic but a sense of connecting, sharing in power and life. In fact in the first case (Mark 5:30) Jesus noted that “power had gone out from him.” People talk of physical fields of energy in the world to which we contribute and from which we benefit. This sounds to me like a parable of what we mean by prayer, except that we are not talking about “fields of energy” but a person. And this Person is the source of all energy and life.      

Prayer. Lord, you are the source of grace, that is, of life. Draw us to this source as to an everlasting spring. Amen.

The gap

The gap

People often act on the assumption that when they do something for others they will get something in return. We can even mention women who used to welcome having many children so that at least one or two of them would look after them in their old age. And often we make great preparations before going on a journey so that, as far as possible, nothing will go wrong.

So what did Jesus mean by saying, “take nothing for the journey” (Mark 6:8). It sounds crazy – and irresponsible - to set out unprepared. But the Scriptures are insistent on this attitude: “share you bread with the hungry” (Isaiah 58:7) who obviously cannot repay you “and shelter the homeless poor.”

There is like a gap between what we do and what we expect in return. We don’t actually expect anything in return. Our motive is simply to do what needs doing. Even someone who says they do not believe in God knows that doing something good is a reward in itself. Both the quote above for Isaiah and the gospel of Matthew have a phrase for it, “let you light shine” (Matt 5:16). We do not think of a light getting anything in return: it just gives light and that is it.

Actually this gap that I mention is beyond explanation. It is that attitude which says, ‘I have no idea how things will work out but I believe in doing what is right. I have no concrete expectation of reward in sight though I am sure something good will follow – not necessarily for me – but for others.’ I don’t give so that I will be recognised or thanked or loved. I just give without any thought of what will happen. I think that is what “taking nothing for the journey” means.

The Christian belief, of course, is that this is exactly what Jesus did. He entered our life, carried our burdens and ended up – as he knew he would – being rejected and crucified. He did not get anything out of it.. There was a huge gap between his actions and our response. And yet he did it anyway because he had this great desire to share his life with us. I think tennis or any sport helps us see this. You can do the perfect shot but you don’t really know where it will go. It is out of your hands. There is no sure causal link. There is a gap. Christians call this gap the divine. It is that unknown divide between our life as we know it and the fullness that is to be revealed later.

I wonder if this makes sense to anybody. It does to me but I am not sure I have managed to express it.

9 February 2014                      Sunday 5 A

Isaiah 58:7-10                         I Cor 2:1-5                  Matt 5:13-16      

A LONELY PLACE

PRAYER MOMENT  

Saturday 8 February 2014.

A LONELY PLACE

Pause. Be still with the Lord “in a lonely place.”

Reading. “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.”  (Mark 6:30-34).

Reflection. The energy and urgency in Mark’s gospel continues to build. “There were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat.” So they plan a break. But no sooner do they do that than the people “guessed” – correctly as it turned out – where they were going. So the plan for a break was abandoned and Jesus “set himself to teach them at some length.” What are we to make of this? They will be stressed out. They will reach “burn out”. It is like what we see on TV when there is a catastrophe. Rescuers work through the night. It is the same urgency – to respond to the people’s deepest longing for light, truth, wisdom and freedom.  

Prayer. Lord, did you ever rest? So absorbing was your desire to feed the people with the Father’s good news that you. Help us to share in that same joyful urgency. Amen.

HE LIKED TO LISTEN TO HIM … THEN HE BEHEADED HIM

PRAYER MOMENT  

Friday 7 February 2014.

HE LIKED TO LISTEN TO HIM … THEN HE BEHEADED HIM

Pause. Be still in the presence of the Lord.

Reading. “He knew him as a good and holy man and gave him his protection. When he heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.”  (Mark 6:14-29.

Reflection. Perhaps we are appalled by the frivolous way Herod dealt with John the Baptiser. He was clearly impressed by him and even welcomed what John had to say. But, like the seed that fell on the path, John’s words did not really change him and when his way of life as threatened he acted predictably. Herod added his name to the sorry list of those of official Israel who “did not recognise the moment of your visitation” (Luke 19:44). But we would not be wise to ignore that the spirit of compromise lingers also in us. With Jesus you are either for him or against him. The clearer we can be aware of that distinction in our own response to him the nearer we will be to a whole hearted engagement in his great project.  

Prayer. Lord, we can see the compromise so clearly in Herod. Help us too to see the ways we compromise with your gospel in our own response. Amen.

TAKE NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY

PRAYER MOMENT  

Thursday 6 February 2014, a day when we remember the martyrs of Japan at the end of the 16^th century and those killed in Musami, Zimbabwe, on 6 February 1977.

TAKE NOTHING FOR THE JOURNEY

Pause. Be present as Jesus takes a tour through the villages.

Reading. “He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purse.”  (Mark 6:7-13).

Reflection. It is hard for us to hear these words of Jesus, “take nothing for the journey.” We prepares so carefully for our own journeys. And if it is metaphorical and he is speaking of the journey of life, the work we are to do, we take years to prepare. So what is his meaning? It seems to me Jesus is pointing to our constant habit of relying on accepted ways and expected words. We do things in tried ways. We use well-worn phrases, what we call clichés. Basically we rely on ourselves. But the call here is to move from reliance on self to total reliance on God. That too is easily said. Yet it is something that has to be reflected on and lived if we are to allow God to work in us and allow his kingdom to break in on us. Otherwise we are just doing our own thing and we are calling it God’s will.

Prayer. Lord, what does it mean, “take nothing for the journey.” You seemed so insistent and I am so resistant. Teach me what it means, to rely on you.. Amen.

DO NOT DISTURB

PRAYER MOMENT  

Wednesday 5 February 2014

DO NOT DISTURB

Pause. Be present as Jesus visits his home town.

Reading. “This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary.” And they would not accept him.  (Mark 6:1-6).

Reflection. This is the setting for the saying, ‘a prophet is not accepted in his own country.’ Jesus visited his own people in Nazareth but they could not accept that someone they knew so well was now so famous. Jealousy came into it but perhaps even more a refusal to be disturbed. “I just do not want to know.” People make up their minds, for example, about climate change or about politics, and nothing you can say will change them. When Pope Francis arrived in Rio de Janeiro last July, one of his messages to the young people was, “create disturbance!” It was an unusual message for a pope to say but all the time he wants to stir people up, have them reflect and change their way of thinking.

Prayer. Lord, let me not become too comfortable in my thinking and in my ways. Keep me open to your surprises and ready to welcome disturbance sometimes for it often brings new life. Amen.

WHO TOUCHED ME?

PRAYER MOMENT  

Tuesday 4 February 2014

WHO TOUCHED ME?

Pause. Be present as Jesus moves with the crowds.

Reading. “If I can touch even his clothes,” she had told herself, “I will be well again.”  (Mark 5:21-43).

Reflection. At the heart of Mark’s gospel there is great activity and energy. Huge crowds are moving with Jesus, all hoping to gain something from his presence. One woman, who had suffered a great deal, had a great desire to get close to him so that she could find an answer to her great distress. She might not be able to speak to him because of the crowds but she could at least touch his clothes. That would be enough. She had to overcome great fear because of her condition and it was a huge move for her to push through the people to reach him. Many people were “touching” Jesus in the crowd, as the disciples observed, but only this woman touched him with a great desire and faith.

Prayer. Lord, we are sometimes like the crowds, moving along, getting used to being with you, but perhaps not really “touching” you. What is it to touch you? Help us to do that. Help us to allow you to touch us. Amen.

THEY IMPLORED HIM TO LEAVE

PRAYER MOMENT  

Monday 3 February 2014

THEY IMPLORED HIM TO LEAVE

Pause. Be still in the presence of the Lord surrounded by agitated people.

Reading. “Those who witnessed it reported what had happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they began to implore Jesus to leave the neighbourhood.”  (Mark 5:1-20).

Reflection. The change Jesus brought to the land of the Gerasenes was just too much for them. He had driven out the evil spirits from this wild possessed man, but at the cost of a whole herd of pigs. He had brought calm and peace to the district but at a price. He had disturbed everything and left them feeling highly uncomfortable. So they asked him to leave and he did. He never forces his presence on anyone. But we read the account with a sense of sadness that these people could not welcome the moment of new life they were offered. Someone once wrote, “human beings cannot bear too much reality.” Freedom sometimes hurts too much and we prefer to stay in our half world; partly free, partly enslaved. At least our half world is familiar.

Prayer. Lord, help us to have the courage to welcome your coming even if it is uncomfortable and disturbing. You are a good Father who knows what he is doing.  Amen.

Light of the Nations

Light of the Nations

There were two “official” occasions when Jesus appeared before key institutions of Israel. One was on the last day of his life when he was arraigned before Caiaphas and the whole Sanhedrin which represented the highest authority for the Jews. He was asked formally who he really was and when he told them they condemned him to death.

The other occasion was forty days after his birth when he was presented in the temple by his parents and was received into the arms of Simeon, a representative of the best of the tradition that stretched back to Abraham, with joy as the “glory of Israel” and the “light of the nations.” 

These two responses – by Caiaphas and Simeon – represent the two stances towards Jesus taken by people through the ages. With Jesus you either welcome him or you reject him. We welcome him in all sorts of ways. Anyone who is moved by compassion to serve others is automatically welcoming Jesus whether they acknowledge him or not (Matt 25:31-46). I often think of this when I see the efforts of journalists going to dangerous places to alert us about what is happening, as in the Central African Republic. The information they provide is the first step in finding a solution to the problems. Or we can think of peacemakers who are prepared to sit for hours with both sides of a conflict to search for common ground as a basis for peace, as in the talks on Syria. They may not be baptised. They may not go to church. But they are real followers of the Jesus who knelt before his disciples and washed their feet. It seems the only qualification is that we serve one another.

How desperately sad, then, are those others who use their free will and energy in block the noble plans of the international community to make the world a better place. They shamelessly traffic human beings or promote drugs that ruin the lives of young people or plunder the world’s resources without a thought for the sustainability of the planet. Poor Caiaphas! He gets the blame, as does Cain, for representing all those who “prefer the darkness” (John 3:19). But if, with Simeon, we welcome the light it means we strive each day to bring that light into the lives of people. There are so many - parents, teachers, civil servants, professionals and so many others – who do just this. The light is shining in the world and “the darkness cannot overpower it” (John 1:5).    

2 February 2014          The Presentation of the Lord in the temple

Malachi 3:1-4              Hebrews 2:14-18                     Luke2:22-40